Susan Doak

Southwest Nebraska Genealogy Society

Columns Archive

• Big Give appreciation and some railroad characters (11/15/24)
• George Randel becomes a landowner, gets married, and takes in a Buffalo Bill show (9/20/24)
• The memoirs of George F. Randel, early settler of Red Willow County (9/12/24)
• Vietnam War Memorial honors Nebraskans who served (6/13/24)
• McCook business promotions - just prior to 1893 stock market crash (5/30/24)
• Shall we dance? Meet you at the Gayway (12/8/23)
• 1923 dance rules (11/17/23)
• Annoying Daylight Savings Time (11/10/23)
• The Lou Stenner Story (11/3/23)
• Frank Hamilton Spearman (10/20/23)
• Snippets from 1899, 1900, 1901 news (10/13/23)
• Elmer Kay interview - part two (10/6/23)
• Where does the world go from here? A 1948 perspective (8/11/23)
• Mish-mash of information (6/9/23)
• McCook starts working on its water supply in 1883 (3/17/23)
• When was McCook incorporated? (3/10/23)
• 1883: Money to be made by creating towns where the railroad wants them (3/3/23)
• Long-time publisher, C.W. Barnes (2/24/23)
• Bartley puts on ‘rat blitz’ in 1943 (2/17/23)
• Building tries to keep up with demand in 1893 McCook (2/10/23)
• Early McCook lawyer John Cordeal devoted to public service (2/3/23)
• The little-known John F. Cordeal (1/27/23)
• Clash among the titans (1/20/23)
• City building inspector was also pastor (1/13/23)
• The church on East B Street (1/6/23)
• The beginnings of ‘old age insurance,’ or Social Security (12/30/22)
• Reckless horse racing in the streets of McCook (12/23/22)
• History of St. Catherine’s Hospital (12/16/22)
• Wild times at the Indianola Opera House (12/9/22)
• How a junkyard was transformed into a tourist park (12/2/22)
• Thanksgiving: A Season of gratitude (11/25/22)
• History behind St. Alban’s Parish Hall (11/18/22)
• McCook bustling with business in 1886 (11/11/22)
• 1925 city directory a great resource for house, land history (11/4/22)
• McCook’s first city manager in 1950 (10/21/22)
• Historic buildings and housing (10/14/22)
• Indianola’s POW camp, MCC football, in the 1940s (10/7/22)
• McCook’s first parochial school was German Lutheran in 1908 (9/30/22)
• The second new Methodist Church (9/16/22)
• The building of the Methodist Church (9/9/22)
• Curtis news from the 1998 Hi-Line Enterprise (9/2/22)
• Ballpark and swimming pool thoughts (8/19/22)
• Pool opponent in 1937 has change of heart (8/12/22)
• Not everyone was in favor of a McCook city pool in 1935 (7/29/22)
• McCook considered a mecca for recreation back in the 1950s (7/15/22)
• Recalling 1950 summer pastimes in McCook (7/1/22)
• McCook Silver Star recipient remembered (6/24/22)
• 1991 was just a few years ago, right? (6/17/22)
• A last look at McCook through the eyes of A. Barnett (6/10/22)
• A. Barnett recalls beginnings of McCook (6/3/22)
• The memoirs of Albert Barnett (5/27/22)
• When corporations became people (5/13/22)
• McCook grows rapidly in 1882 thanks to railroad (5/6/22)
• Three Civil War soldiers were early settlers in area (4/29/22)
• The first ‘Adopt a Student’ mom in McCook (4/22/22)
• The Franklin Building still standing today on Norris Ave. (4/15/22)
• Billboards from the past (4/1/22)
• 1917: weddings, war and an epidemic (3/25/22)
• McCook celebrates 140th birthday this summer with Chautaugua (3/18/22)
• News from the McCook Gazette in 1970 (3/4/22)
• Sanborn Maps have original street names (2/25/22)
• It’s up to us to save historical buildings (2/18/22)
• News from The Oxford Standard (2/11/22)
• Early Stratton homesteader recalls living in a dug-out (1/28/22)
• Before the Chamber of Commerce, there were the McCook Boosters (1/21/22)
• The Commercial Club (1/14/22)
• Danbury’s deadly diphtheria outbreak in 1917 (1/7/22)
• When the Liberty Bell came to McCook (12/31/21)
• Whirlwind in 1892 destroys church, traps children (12/24/21)
• Dr. Robert Turner Jones and family (12/17/21)
• Gas mask at museum comes from the family of Dr. R. T. Jones in McCook (12/10/21)
• Local news in the Gazette area from 1931 (12/3/21)
• News from 100 years ago (11/26/21)
• The Dragon Lady and the U-2 spy planes (11/19/21)
• Old movies of area being saved to discs (11/12/21)
• Visionary projects of the past that we enjoy today (11/5/21)
• The 1895 ‘Gold fever’ in Southwest Nebraska (10/29/21)
• The McCook Country Club and other venues in 1931 (10/22/21)
• Revisiting 1951 McCook High School (10/15/21)
• McCook city directory pre-dates 1935 flood (10/8/21)
• Norris Park the site of many McCook celebrations (10/1/21)
• McCook in 1892 had its share of crime (9/24/21)
• A soldier’s letters home (9/17/21)
• Eulogy for the house at 406 East First (9/3/21)
• Memories from 1951 McCook Daily Gazette (8/27/21)
• Civil War veterans in Red Willow County (8/13/21)
• The ‘Culbertson Progress’ in 1921 (8/6/21)
• High school annuals have historical information (7/30/21)
• Dr. Emma Easterday, early McCook doctor (7/23/21)
• Frontier County news 41 years ago (7/16/21)
• Fund-raising for a new YMCA in 1980 (7/9/21)
• 1979 Gazette brings back memories (7/2/21)
• Mrs. A. C. Wiehe and charity work in early McCook (6/25/21)
• The woman behind the first opera house in McCook (6/18/21)
• When trees were brought to Red Willow County (6/11/21)
• Obituaries from the 1880s at genealogy library (5/21/21)
• The once-thriving Box Elder community (5/14/21)
• German settlers in Culbertson (4/30/21)
• Where are they now? Buildings in 1948 McCook (4/23/21)
• McCook buildings (4/16/21)
• McCook in 1948, compared to today (4/9/21)
• Tying up the loose strings of ‘Stringtown’ (4/2/21)
• Women and children recognized at ‘Angels and Aprons’ cemetery tour (3/26/21)
• Finding old, area newspapers online (3/19/21)
• Bartley thriving community in 1916 (3/12/21)
• When Bartley troops fought in The Bandit Wars (3/5/21)
• he great bank robbery at Lebanon State Bank (2/26/21)
• Does anyone remember ‘Stringtown’ near McCook? (2/19/21)
• Cambridge and the Flood of ‘35 (2/12/21)
• Figuring out where the Methodist Church was built (2/5/21)
• When there were newpapers instead of social media (1/29/21)
• Snooping unearths some interesting facts (1/22/21)
• Trove of information from 1890 census (1/15/21)
• Try these tips when researching names online (1/8/21)
• Genealogy society getting more donations, articles (12/11/20)
• An 1873 pioneer’s song of the prairie (11/25/20)
• Taking root in early Red Willow County (11/13/20)
• Wolves rampant in early Southwest Nebraska (11/6/20)
• The poor house at Red Willow County (10/30/20)
• Living in Red Willow County as a homesteader (10/16/20)
• Veterans in the Legion Cemetery section (10/9/20)
• Advice from 1890 is still applicable today (10/2/20)
• Digging into Hayes County news from the 1890s (9/25/20)
• Fire threatens Culbertson in 1882 (9/18/20)
• Schools in early in Red Willow County (8/28/20)
• Hogs wallow in muddy streets in 1883 McCook (8/21/20)
• History of towns surrounding McCook (8/7/20)
• Class Will from 1932 MHS seniors (7/31/20)
• Familiar names in 1931 Bison newspaper (7/24/20)
• SW Nebraska fishing stories from the 1880s (7/13/20)
• The complicated history of Fort Monroe (7/3/20)
• The case of the mysterious medals (6/26/20)
• A tribute to my mother (6/5/20)
• 1963 directory lists city residents (5/29/20)
• McCook’s hospital in 1914 located at West First (5/22/20)
• Genealogy clues found in old ads (5/15/20)
• The Cactus Post Office, established in Hayes County, did not last long (5/8/20)
• Social distancing in the 1908 smallpox epidemic (5/1/20)
• Obituaries can reveal historical information (4/24/20)
• How the courts handled mental illness in the 1800s (4/17/20)
• History, name changes, of area post offices (4/10/20)
• The postal history of Hitchcock County (4/3/20)
• The Suffrage Movement in Nebraska (3/27/20)
• Exploring your family history on the Internet (3/20/20)
• Shopping in 1963 downtown McCook (3/13/20)
• Remembering McCook restaurants from the 1960s (3/6/20)
• Omaha paper chronicles 1920s McCook (2/28/20)
• When being thrifty was the norm (2/21/20)
• The McCook Equity Exchange (2/14/20)
• Digging through genealogy history (2/7/20)
• Taking care of your neighbors (1/31/20)
• Society columns offer wealth of information (1/24/20)
• Marion once thriving community (1/17/20)
• McCook schools overcrowded in 1898 (1/10/20)
• Construction of viaduct at railyard moves full steam ahead in 1909 (1/3/20)
• Early probate records available at SWNGS (12/27/19)
• Christmas social functions in early McCook (12/20/19)
• Numerous weddings, delayed by World War I, take place in 1919 (12/13/19)
• McCook hotel accomodations in 1897 (12/6/19)
• Memories of past family Thanksgivings (11/29/19)
• Tips for researching old buildings (11/22/19)
• Genealogy website has many features (11/8/19)
• Donations to local genealogy society; the death of Sen. George Norris (11/1/19)
• New Washington, D.C. memorials are striking (10/25/19)
• The wide influence of Charles Meeker in McCook (10/18/19)
• The social life of Red Willow County pioneers (10/11/19)
• Pioneer woman Part 3: Rats, grasshoppers, a log house (10/4/19)
• Part 2 of Red Willow County pioneer life: Learning to live on the prairie in a tent (9/27/19)
• Pioneer woman recalls early hardships in Red Willow County (9/20/19)
• Escapes from county jail in the 1900s (9/13/19)
• Early Hitchcock County (9/6/19)
• Brazil immigrants in Red Willow County (8/30/19)
• When B Street had parallel parking (8/23/19)
• Returning to 1886 McCook (8/16/19)
• Settlers surge west to McCook area in 1886 (8/9/19)
• ‘The good ole days’ had its own problems (8/2/19)
• Nebraska State Fair in 1910 included the Wright Brothers (7/26/19)
• Red Willow, the town and school (7/19/19)
• Red Cross homes after the flood (6/28/19)
• The Victory Addition Apartments in 1948 McCook (6/21/19)
• Revisiting the halls of McCook High School in 1947 (6/7/19)
• McCook’s Civil War soldiers (5/31/19)
• McCook’s beginnings consisted of a sod house and four shacks (5/24/19)
• The rich history of Southwest Nebraska (5/17/19)
• If it’s too good to be true - it probably is (5/10/19)
• Book chronicles early citizens of McCook (5/3/19)
• McCook soldier fought against his brother during the Civil War (4/26/19)
• Websites to use for genealogy research (4/19/19)
• Blizzards early settlers endured (4/12/19)
• Early pioneers face Pawnee Indians, roaring Republican River (3/29/19)
• Civil War veterans honored in local cemetery (3/22/19)
• WW I draft registration records, census reports, help in research on early black athlete at McCook High School (3/1/19)
• Horse breaker and trainer, James Kelly (2/22/19)
• DNA information and fourth cousins (2/8/19)
• Before city pools, there were creeks and rivers (2/1/19)
• Gleaning history from the little details (1/11/19)
• The passing of McCook’s Civil War soldiers (1/4/19)
• Original high school, junior high school, on West First (12/28/18)
• Hupmobiles and student life in 1921 (12/21/18)
• More from McCook 1950 phone directory (11/23/18)
• Information galore in 1950s phone directory (11/16/18)
• Brick buildings in the early days of McCook (11/9/18)
• Winter snow storms in 1800s Nebraska (11/2/18)
• Long-lost photo returned to family (10/26/18)
• Hayes County news in the 1880s (10/19/18)
• Lebanon’s girls baseball team in 1904 (10/12/18)
• Grand Army of the Republic in SW Nebraska (10/5/18)
• School census, district court records available at SWNGS (9/28/18)
• Genealogy: The stories of our lives (9/21/18)
• News articles from the 1880s about McCook area (9/14/18)
• Luke Tully and the beginnings of public school in McCook (9/7/18)
• Researching ancestor immigrant records (8/31/18)
• More on the train wreck in 1911 (8/24/18)
• SWNGS preserving area records (8/13/18)
• Red Willow County seat (8/6/18)
• Gen’s Bridal Shop in McCook (7/27/18)
• The importance of remembering respect (7/23/18)
• More from the Omaha Daily Bee (7/13/18)
• Edward Rosewater and the ‘Omaha Daily Bee’ (7/6/18)
• Red Willow County Bicentennial Hall of Fame (6/29/18)
• Adoption and DNA featured at Genealogy Exposition in Oct. (6/22/18)
• Behind-the-scenes people (6/15/18)
• Living on the rural free delivery route (6/8/18)
• Fairground was city limits in McCook (6/1/18)
• McCook’s sister town to the south (5/25/18)
• Strong women: Walking the talk (5/18/18)
• Historical marker may designate the early location of Red Willow town (5/11/18)
• ‘Who’s Who’ for 1940 Red Willow County contains interesting facts (4/27/18)
• A tiny two-room schoolhouse recalled (4/20/18)
• Early McCook structures funded through donations (4/13/18)
• Hard times for settlers in Red Willow County (3/30/18)
• Gifts given to SWNGS (3/23/18)
• A mix of information (3/16/18)
• From Water Works to City Park (3/2/18)
• More on 1913 MHS graduates (2/23/18)
• Details about early McCook High revealed from 1912 school journal (2/16/18)
• Remembering early Indianola (2/2/18)
• Pioneer beginnings in Red Willow County (1/26/18)
• Celebrating the ordinary among us (1/19/18)
• How SWNGS can help in researching (1/12/18)
• Plans begin in 1898 for courthouse in McCook (1/5/18)
• McCook’s diamond jubilee in 1957 (12/29/17)
• McCook in the early 1900s (12/22/17)
• Buffalo meat served at the first Christmas in Red Willow County (12/15/17)
• Soup bags and other novel ideas (12/8/17)
• What exactly is a genealogist? (12/1/17)
• Pilgrims and Mayflower descendants (11/24/17)
• Writing the news in the 1880s (11/17/17)
• Making homemade fruit leather (11/10/17)
• The legacy of the great Anxiety Monarch (11/3/17)
• The power of print and the Internet (10/27/17)
• Using DNA to match relatives (10/20/17)
• Past Halloween shenanigans (10/13/17)
• So you’ve taken a DNA test.... (10/6/17)
• The fatal train wreck of 1905 (9/29/17)
• Genealogy society hosts Heritage Cemetery Tour this Sunday (9/22/17)
• DNA research explained at Expo (9/15/17)
• Bathrooms, bath rooms and water closets (9/8/17)
• Background of ‘Normal School’ training for teachers (8/25/17)
• MHS 14-member football team undefeated in 1914 (8/18/17)
• The beginning of McCook football (8/11/17)
• McCook life as it happened in 1911 (8/4/17)
• Broaden your research to include nearby towns (7/28/17)
• Childhood didn’t last long in early America (7/21/17)
• When girls weren’t allowed to wear slacks (6/30/17)
• ‘Out with the Kansas Hillbillies’ records life during the 1930s (6/23/17)
• SWNGS has records of weddings on website (6/16/17)
• Early McCook photographer, W. B. Fearn (6/2/17)
• Decoration Day used to be widely celebrated (5/26/17)
• Plans are already in the works for October genealogy workshop (5/12/17)
• Letters of McCook’s earliest doctor (4/28/17)
• New doctor in town faces foes, fires in early McCook (4/21/17)
• Pioneer life recalled in book on Marion, Neb. (4/14/17)
• More about Marion, Neb. (4/7/17)
• Early Marion history (3/31/17)
• No secrets in a small town (3/24/17)
• Memories from an old settler (3/17/17)
• Genealogy sleuthing: the Enright mystery (3/3/17)
• The stories we don't know (2/24/17)
• McCook's birthday (2/10/17)
• Botched hangings and other tidbits from history (2/3/17)
• When the circus came to town (1/27/17)
• Brownie camera's place in history (1/20/17)
• On the banks of the Republican (1/18/17)
• Making your research easier using genealogical websites (1/6/17)
• Shopping in downtown McCook (12/23/16)
• Our neighboring counties to the north (12/16/16)
• Taking care of the poor in the 1800s (12/2/16)
• Thanksgiving newspaper stories (11/18/16)
• Veterans Day and the U.S. (11/11/16)
• Hidden letter reveals secret society (10/28/16)
• Growth spurt seen in 1920s McCook (10/21/16)
• South McCook streets in 1926 (10/14/16)
• Early Southwest Nebraska history (10/7/16)
• Establishments on West B Street in 1956 (9/30/16)
• 'B' Street a hopping place in 1950s (9/23/16)
• Homestead National Monument (9/16/16)
• Where did your family come from? (9/9/16)
• How McCook streets were first named (9/2/16)
• The humble beginnings of McCook (8/26/16)
• SWNGS library has wealth of info (8/12/16)
• January 1916: a tragic month (8/5/16)
• McCook physician went on to become California's 'Woman of the Year in Medicine,' 1956 LA Times (7/28/16)
• Sanborn maps have wealth of information on McCook homes (7/22/16)
• Get the next generation interested in genealogy by using smart phones (7/15/16)
• Celebrating the 4th of July with more than a bang in 1898 (7/8/16)
• 'Calathumpian' parades and more for July 4 (7/1/16)
• Pieces of McCook (6/24/16)
• Indianola in 1903 (6/17/16)
• Check facts before saving information (6/3/16)
• Search county records on the SWNGS website (5/27/16)
• Victory Addition, peach leather and other items (5/20/16)
• Population trends for McCook Public Schools in the 1880s (5/13/16)
• Red Willow County struggles to provide schools in the 1880s (5/6/16)
• Abundant historical information gleaned from 1925 MHS annual (4/29/16)
• Red Willow County court records in the 1800s (4/22/16)
• When railroads were big news (3/18/16)
• New changes at local genealogy society (3/11/16)
• Check out local weddings, obituaries, at swngs.org (3/4/16)
• A remarkable pioneer woman in the 1870s (2/5/16)
• DNA test results in ancestry research may be surprising (1/15/16)
• Rivalry between towns in the 1800s (1/8/16)
• Where the heck was Prospect Park? (12/24/15)
• 'Cactus clump of chaos' and other news stories from old (12/18/15)
• Websites to use for Irish genealogy (12/11/15)
• Pieces of the past, Southwest Nebraska style (12/4/15)
• Tips in researching your family history (11/27/15)
• The importance of recording history (11/20/15)
• Seeing original documents is vital when researching your family tree (11/13/15)
• Red Willow County elections (11/6/15)
• Tidbits from McCook's early newspaper, the 'Trumpet' (10/30/15)
• 1958 statistics for McCook (10/23/15)
• Genealogy Expo on Saturday, Oct. 17 (10/9/15)
• Doctoring, healthcare in 1958 McCook (10/2/15)
• The CB & Q Railroad in McCook, 1958 (9/25/15)
• The McCook Packing plant (9/18/15)
• The settlement of Frontier County (9/11/15)
• Oldtimers from Frontier County (9/4/15)
• Upcoming genealogy events (8/28/15)
• Early Frontier County (8/21/15)
• The county fair, continued (8/14/15)
• The battle for the county fair (7/31/15)
• Tracing the history behind the Riverview Cemetery monument (7/24/15)
• Early Red Willow County records (7/17/15)
• Weddings in early Red Willow County (7/10/15)
• Who knew? The stealthy business of making hooch (7/2/15)
• Classic sayings (6/26/15)
• Legends about local artifacts abound (6/12/15)
• Search tips when using the Internet (6/5/15)
• Prisoners of War (5/29/15)
• Those that did not make it home from World War II (5/22/15)
• McCook's rec center for service men in 1943 (5/15/15)
• Construction of the McCook Air Base (5/8/15)
• McCook's railroad Canteen (5/1/15)
• Getting the right fit in research (4/24/15)
• Parades of bygone days (4/17/15)
• War service information at fold3.com (4/10/15)
• Using the Internet for research (2/13/15)