Exploring your family history on the Internet

Before delving into my article, the SWNGS board has determined that the library will not be open for the time being. You may still do an amazing amount of research for free on our web site: www.swngs.org. We will keep you posted as to when the library will re-open and if an April meeting will be held.

The theme of this years Cemetery Tour has been set. Aprons and Angels will tell the story of the women and children of early Red Willow County. We have not determined which McCook cemetery will be the site yet as we are still compiling a list of who will be featured. If you have a woman or child that was part of the early settlement of our area that you would like to be included, please email me at sdoak@swnebr.net, or drop me a note to PO Box 761, McCook. Remember, due to time constraints, their final resting place must be at one of the cemeteries in McCook. The Cemetery Tour will be in conjunction with the Buffalo Commons celebration in June.

Since we are all supposed to be staying home as much as possible, this might be the perfect time for you to start your exploration of your family history. It also is an opportunity to teach your children or grandchildren the history of our great nation through the eyes of their own past relatives. How much more interesting is the Revolutionary War if they see a name that is familiar? For those of you who do not have an Ancestry membership, you can always search for free through www.familysearch.org. Take the time to register and create an account so that more information is available to you.

Another good source of information is the Library of Congress web site: www.chroniclingamerica.gov . Their collection of newspapers is impressive and although McCook’s paper only goes back into the late 1880’s, if your ancestors were early immigrants to the United States, many of those east coast papers are online back into the 1700’s. Included on this web site are many historical photographs, periodicals, biographies, etc. Going back into time is not just a history lesson for the young and as you peruse those articles, I’m sure it will be a learning experience for you as well.

To finish up my walk through 1963, the McCook Clinic as those of us knew it then, was located at 310 West 7th, just down from the National Guard Armory. Doctors located at that clinic included: John L. Batty, Louis D. James, Frederick M. Karrer, Donald L. Kuxhausen, and Fred W. Shank. Two doctors shared an office at 305 East 1st: Donald H. Morgan, Jr. and Roger D. Mason. Louis E. Dickinson, Jr. and Earl F. Leininger shared offices at 114 West C, and J.H. Donaldson, Jr., had his office at 602 Norris Ave., in the historic Sutton home.

If you needed a dentist, you had several to choose from: Lavern R. Blank, Yule W. Dorwart, Gayle D. Farwell, Ray C. Langfeldt, Harlow McKinty, Holger D. Nielsen, Theodore E. Schoeni, and Bruce B. Snyder. Dr. Schoeni was my dentist and the first doctor to hypnotize me due to my fear of needles, which I must say I have not outgrown even at my advanced age!

There were 22 churches in McCook in 1963 and many named buildings such as the Kelley building at 316 Norris Ave., the Marsh building, 112 West C., Pringle building at 104 West B, Willis building at 114 East C, or the Temple building at 320 Norris. Apartment buildings were listed under these names: Baum, Benzing, Bush, Carter, Clapp, Connie, Corey, Culbertson, Dinnel, Fischer, Fredric, Furmin, Graff, Holliday, Kelley, King, Macy’s, Merit, Parkview, Poore, Quigley, Qu-Et, Randel, Rutt, Sines and Uhrich. Many of those buildings are gone today.

Finally, the City of McCook had a population of 8,301 of which 87% were native born and the town covered 2.63 square miles with 40 acres of municipal parks. There were 5,684 telephone connections, 3,724 power connections and 2,922 natural gas connections. Hugh Butler lake had been completed the prior year and was filling with water, destined to hold 88,400 acre-feet of water for irrigation. Since we were a meeting point for Highways 83, 6, and 34, we had bus lines running north, south, east, and west plus passenger trains connecting us to Lincoln and Denver.