News from The Oxford Standard

When Carla Quinn brought me some Oxford Standard newspapers I could hardly wait to take a look at them. My dad’s family lived in the area and his mom and sister had worked for the turkey factory after he was grown and gone.

The oldest paper was a September 10, 1959, edition of the Oxford Standard and is filled with local news from Oxford and the surrounding towns. All of the following come from this edition.

“Former Oxfordite is Noted Square Dance Caller: When it comes to square dancing and calling, Robert Page, son of Mrs. O. C. Fuchs, and former Oxford resident and graduate of the local high school, is much in demand over the United States. He and his wife also present exhibition dances and teach square dancing.”

“Stamford: Richard, the youngest son of Mr. and Mrs. George Foster of Stamford is at the Brewster hospital in Holdrege with polio. So far, there is only a small amount of paralysis. He had one Polio shot.”

“Edison: A/2c Walter Hand arrived in Edison Tuesday of last week after three years of service in Germany. The trip was made by plane and he also flew from New York City to Omaha and came on to Edison to spend a 36-day leave with his parents, Rev. and Mrs. F. A. Hand.”

“Hollinger: Mr. Amos Hollinger of Burley, Idaho, came Thursday evening and was a supper guest of Mr. and Mrs. E. B. Kentfield. Mr. Hollinger was a former resident of this community.”

“Carter: Harry Marshall, brother of Mrs. George Stevenson, has purchased the Van Deaver house in Orleans and will move in the near future. He formerly lived in Roscoe, Missouri.”

“Mascot: A large crowd attended the sale of the Mascot EUB church and parsonage last week. Zulauf Undertaking Co., purchased the church.”

“Notes of Yesteryear-September 7, 1939: Born to Mr. and Mrs. Cecil Hall of Hollinger, August 6, a girl, Freda Dee; to Mr. and Mrs. Edward Quinn, August 9, a girl, Carol Jean; to Mr. and Mrs. Homer Blincow, August 10, a girl, Jo Ann; to Mr. and Mrs. Farrel Dawson of Edison, a boy; to Mr. and Mrs. Lester Frost, August 13, a girl; to Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Pfeiffer, August 15, a girl Marla Rae; to Mr. and Mrs. John Webb, August 21, a girl; to Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Hornaday, August 26, a girl, Sharon Lee; to Mr. and Mrs. Faber Fitch, Atlanta, August 30, a girl; to Mr. and Mrs. Charlie Bice, Edison, August 30, a boy.”

“Notes of Yesteryear- September 4, 1919: Our schools on Route 1 all started this week with Mary Baily teaching at New Era, Edna Soldberg at Hardscrabble, Maude Rankin at Pleasant Hill, Alvena Geiselman at Buffalo and Mabel Solberg at the Ferry school.”

“Notes of Yesteryear-September 2, 1909: The opera house is undergoing repairs. We understand Brigner and Felzine will put in a vaudeville, and hereafter Oxford will be among the cities of the first class.”

My insistence in using unrelated news items from old papers may seem a bit strange to some, but the response I get from people who see their relatives in those articles makes it okay. Area newspapers often help fill out a story of someone’s life that wasn’t carried down the family tree and that’s why digitizing to make them available to research is so important to me.

SWNGS library is open for research on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1-4 PM, weather permitting. We are located in the Temple building, 322 Norris Ave., Room 2-7. It is time to renew your membership if you haven’t already.