‘The good ole days’ had its own problems

I like the adage: “The more things change, the more they stay the same.” No idea who coined that phrase, but sometimes it is refreshing to look back to the “good ole days” and find that they were probably only good because we were too young to understand what was going on in the world.

Tucked into the pages of some Bison News that were gifted to the SWNGS library was a Thursday, August 23, 1956 McCook Daily Gazette, which was priced at 5 cents a copy. The Bison News were, by the way, the high school newspaper.

Anyway here’s a passage from a front page article: “US Seeks British Aid in Shooting: Washington: The United States asked Britain today to get Red China to supply an official explanation for the shooting down of a Navy patrol plane with 16 men aboard off the China mainland Wednesday. The British investigation may be the forerunner of a stiff U.S. protest against this latest incident in the cold war between this country and the Peiping regime.”

Continuing farther into the article: “The United States faced a similar situation in 1954 when Red China warplanes shot down a British airliner 30 miles south of Hainan Island over the South China Sea and two Red Chinese warplanes attacked U.S. Navy planes searching for survivors.”

So, obviously the world was still as screwy as ever but here is even more joyous news: “Conference Ends In Bitterness. London: “The 22-nation Suez conference ended today in an atmosphere of bitterness heightened by the virtual certainty Egypt would reject the majority approved plan to internationalize the Suez Canal.” Middle East sound familiar?

On a more positive (?) note for those with memories as long as mine: “Rendering Co. Adds Chemicals to Curtail Odor: “Complaints registered recently regarding odor given out by the Nebraska Rendering corporation drew comment today from city Manager Leland Nelson on the city’s position on the matter.”

Several paragraphs down: “The city manager said that the city sanitation had been sent out to survey the situation and that it had been decided to put a deodorizing chemical in the stack to alleviate the condition. The chemical is a commercial product Solvo and is supposed to mask the smell.”

Ia’m going to venture a guess that wasn’t entirely successful, but again, I must stress that Nebraska Packing and Nebraska Rendering were important employers in our area for many years. The location was unfortunately too close to town, but we should never forget that agriculture keeps this burg alive.

What did catch my eye, especially after going to the fair the other night, is a picture of Alice Unger and Vicki Spencer (11 and 10 respectively) were pictured giving a demonstration at the YMCA on how to prepare Pineapple-Strawberry Harlequin Rice Delights. If you grew up in 4-H as I did, you know the Spencer family has been involved for years and according to the displays I saw, still compete today. Included in the caption is the fact that the girls were too young to participate in the state fair.

Finally, there was an article about the top officers of the Red Hat Club: Jack Molsbee, President; Bob Morris, Vice-President; Bob Prest, Secretary-Treasurer. No, the Red Hat Club wasn’t what it is today, and you didn’t have to be over 50 to join. It was the McCook Athletic Club and new members to the board included: John O’Brien, Don Harr, Russ Sautter, Dale Bradshaw and Leonard Weyeneth.

The Good Ole Days. If you want to do research using City Directories or any of the other resources available at the SWNGS library, we are open on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1-4 PM, 110 West C Street, Suite M-3. There is an elevator available for those who need the assistance.