Growth spurt seen in 1920s McCook

Before I get started on some items from the Red Willow County Directory, I wanted to share some ways that you can help us preserve information about Southwest Nebraska without actually gifting things such as maps, directories, or family photos to our society. One of the newest additions on loan to our library is an imaging machine that allows us to copy large memorabilia without having to do it in sections but rather as one whole copy. Recently Bill Baumbach contacted me about a 1914 Clason's Guide to Nebraska he had purchased that included a map of auto routes which is approximately the size of a small newspaper. I asked if we could be allowed to copy the map and he graciously agreed, adding that he would really like to also have a digital copy that he could use for research rather than have to handle the fragile booklet. It's a win, win situation. We get to preserve a piece of history for the record and he gets to utilize a modern, enlargeable image.

The 1926 Red Willow County Directory, available for research at our library, continues to provide me with lots of details concerning life in our little corner of the world during the 1920s. As I mentioned to someone the other day, that decade saw what I believe to be the largest growth spurt in McCook until World War II. We were blessed with buildings such as the YMCA, St. Catherine Hospital and the Keystone just to name a few.

What really gives you clues to our community is the fact that each household's members are named, the children's ages given, places of employment are listed plus the owners of the property are identified if the family living there are renters. The directory does that for the City of McCook by address and for Indianola, Bartley, Lebanon, Danbury and Marion by residents alphabetically. The final pages of the book are dedicated to every other rural household in Red Willow County alphabetically and those listings include what type of car was owned by the occupants.

As an example: Wm Ward, his wife Clara and their son Alfred who was six years old, rented a place 4 miles West and 2 ¾ miles north of Marion, their address was ESR, RR 2, Cedar Bluffs, Kansas. They owned a Dodge car and rented from Mrs. Nora Clarke of Formosa, KS.

From the McCook directory came these listings: Adam Trupp, mechanic for the C B & Q (railroad) and his wife Kate, lived at 14 Ringland Road with their children: Lucile 6, Marian 4, Raymond 2. Conrad Trupp who was a boiler maker for the C B & Q lived at 303 West 4th with his wife Henrietta and their children: Harry 15, Raymond 13, Sam 9, and Elenore 7. William Keilwitz manager of the J. Granger Fruit Company, his wife Ida plus children, William 16 and Alfred 11 lived at 208 East 2nd Street. Included in this listing is a fellow named Earl who was a clerk in the grocery department of the DeGroff store.

One thing about these listings that does give thought to how things have changed is that quite often the woman of the household is not named by anything other than her husband's surname such as this listing from Bartley: F. E. Longan, post master and wife, Mrs. Longan. Once again, women are often the hardest to trace by given name!

Our library is open for research on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons from 1:30 to 4 PM, 110 West C, Suite M-3. Please contact us if you have articles that you are willing to share with us to make reproductions of.