Establishing McCook's early infrastructure

Tom Bales

Recently we were suddenly faced with a power outage in our neighborhood, caused by a bad garage fire. These outages are so rare that we were unprepared for the emergency and spent several anxious minutes groping through a really dark house to find a usable flashlight. Then for the next two or three hours, until we once again had lights, we had a good chance to talk and mull over what had just happened.

Jean offered her assessment. "Aren't we fortunate to live in the United States, where things work?' I knew she was referring to an experience we had had in rural Mexico, where not only the electricity, but also the plumbing, was not dependable at all. That was Mexico, but in a great many of the Third World Countries dependable services are things that their citizens can only dream about -- to say nothing of the countries that are being ravaged by war.

We in McCook have been extremely fortunate to have had leaders with the vision to create a suitable infrastructure, and the determination to keep it operating -- from the time that McCook came into being in 1882.

Note: Much of the following material comes from The McCook Columbian Souvenir 1893. This was an extremely optimistic booklet that was published by the McCook Tribune, F.M. Kimmell, Publisher. It was intended to be a promotional piece, extolling the virtues of McCook (barely 11 years old) to fairgoers at the Chicago Columbian Exposition -- with the goal of luring settlers and businessmen to McCook and Southwestern Nebraska. At times, though, some claims are optimistic, bordering on white lies. However, it is entirely refreshing to see how much confidence the 1893 McCook citizens had in their little community.

From the Souvenir: About the first question asked by seekers of information, relative to a new country, is in regard to the water supply. There is nothing as necessary for domestic and business purposes, and a city which fails in this must eventually fail. Most cities think that they cannot afford an expensive system of waterworks until they have attained considerable wealth and population, and trust to the precarious supply furnished by individual wells, which invariably fail in dry seasons. McCook, on the contrary, has had water works from the first. In August 1882, The Lincoln Land Company commenced the construction of a complete system of water works, which from time to time have enlarged and extended until, at present, there are 101⁄2 miles of mains, with 338 taps, and 21 fire plugs. The original cost was $75,000. The works are a combination of Holly (direct pressure) and stand pipe systems. A new pump house is in course of construction, on account of the increased demand in the service, and a new 100-foot stand pipe is to be built this summer. Engineer, C.H. Meeker is the obliging and efficient superintendent.

Mr. Meeker might have been the superintendent of the water works, but he depended upon the strong arms and backs of willing workers to dig the trenches and lay the pipes in that day of no power equipment. All the digging was done by very able men with their shovels. Representative of those men was Tom Bales, a Civil War Veteran who arrived in this part of the state with his wife in the late 70s, even before there was a town of McCook. Mr. Bales was a very interesting man. He was a skilled ditch digger, but he also was a regular and able participant at the weekly debate meets that took place at Main Street Park in the summers.

Early on, Tom Bales went to work for the new City of McCook, sometimes as a regular employee, sometimes as a contract worker for the city. Though he walked with a severe limp, the result of his Civil War wound, it did not stop him from working as a ditch digger for the city. He was "strong as an ox" and took part in laying most of McCook's early water lines. As his two older boys, Earl and Clarence, matured they joined their father in making McCook's water system a reality.

Over the years, Tom Bales became The authority in knowing the location of all of McCook's early water lines. When there was trouble, and old water lines needed to be identified and dug up, Tom Bales was the man whom the city fathers called. Tom was a character, and quite a showman. When he was called to find a waterline he would arrive with his shovel, and with great flourish line up on one or another land mark, circle the area a few times, tap the ground with his shovel, and only then begin to dig. Invariably, seeming to call on his remarkable memory, he would locate the water line in question. It was only when Tom was an old man that he revealed his secret -- from the very beginning, whenever Tom Bales was commissioned to lay a water line, he recorded the event, and the location of the water line in a well-used notebook, complete with the number of paces from which that water line was located from two or more existing land marks. So, whenever he was called in to locate an old water line Tom had merely to look up the location in his notebook prior to his arrival on the scene. All the sightings and tapping with his shovel were merely pretenses, to build a bit of suspense into the drama.

Before Old Tom died his heirs tried to persuade him to sell the valuable notebook to the city for a considerable sum of money. Tom would have none of it. He felt that the city should have the notebook in its archives and gave them the notebook. In return a grateful City Water Department rewarded Tom with a check -- for $15.

From the McCook Columbian Souvenir 1893: The streets and business houses of McCook are brilliantly lighted with electricity ("brilliantly lighted" is apparently a relative term). The plant was put in in 1888, at a cost of $17,000. Both incandescent and arc lights are used. We doubt if another city of its size in the West can compete with us in that respect.

From the Gazette Centennial: The first light plant was located in a building on East 1st Street, later the Ideal Laundry, now W Designs. It produced direct current, and just for the businesses downtown. It also produced steam for heating those businesses on Main Street.

McCook's first paving district (in the 1920s) involved paving B Street from West Third to East Sixth, and Main Streed (Norris Avenue) from the depot to the courthouse, and covering that pavement with bricks. The project required more than 1 million bricks and cost $140,000.

From the Souvenir: McCook's Fire Department was organized in 1885, with 20 members, with the Constitution and By-Laws regulating the same. It was called the Hocknell Hose Co., in honor of George Hocknell, who presented it with a Cart. Citizens contributed the Hose. R.H. Archibald was the first Fire Chief, under whose management the department prospered. The next year the department purchased 300 feet of fire hose, a fire alarm, two 20-foot ladders, and rubber hats for the firemen.

June 22, 1889, H&M Hose Co., and Boyd Hook & Ladder Co., were organized by citizens with sixteen members each, under Chief F.D. Burgess. Now all are united under Chief J.H. Dwyer (who later served as Police Chief), as McCook Fire Department -- with pay after May, '93.

The Lincoln Land Co. set apart Block H of original town (now known as Norris Park) for a public park, and has planted trees -- both ornamental and shade, which already have attained a good height and the Park is fast becoming a place of beauty.

Gazette Centennial: In 1883, the city fathers appointed J.H. Bennett to be the first police chief. They also decided that a jail was an absolute necessity and bought one from the County -- for $48.49.

But it was several months before they purchased a stove for the jail and bedding for the inmates.

In 1886 they purchased the first equipment for the Police Department -- two billy clubs, one lantern, two stars and two sets of handcuffs. The Chief, who also acted as the City's Health Officer, was paid $50 per month, his helper $45. In 1886 four more patrolmen were hired, when the City Council authorized an all-out war on prostitution.

And so it was in the early years of the 1880s, with the new City of McCook establishing departments and services that would be appreciated by its citizens some 130 years later.

Source: Tribune Columbian Souvenir 1893, Gazette Centennial 1882-1982