it's the story!
don't you just love a good story? and one
set in table rock? even better!
*Note: the most recent stories are added to the top of this page. scroll down for some darn good ones that have been here for a while!*
why i like that old stuff
by Dean Lewis, grandson of joe & dolores sochor
Ever wonder why I have all these old trucks and old devices? |
a discussion of
the telegraph, the depot, & chiclets
ode to a house in 1956
Favorite Table Rock story teller Larry Layden, Class of 1961, comes up with some terrific little memories all the time. Here's one that he posted on our Facebook page as we discussed a house in Lower Town which once was converted for use as a Baptist Church for a time in the 1960s. Later residents included the Dickey family, the Beckman family, and now the Maliks.
In 1956, my Aunt, FREDA WILKINSON lived in that house. I used to mow her lawn. That same year she moved to the house next to Dutch Lang, across from my parents. |
seen a hobo with a tr letter jacket?
Grandma Hanna use to feed the hobos hopping the trains.... Dad came home once asking for his TR letter jacket,and she had given it away to some guy who needed it. |
charlie mccourtney
versus
the state of nebraska highway dept.
The March 19, 1934 edition of the Nebraska State Journal carried a story about a little controversy. No self-respecting oxen may hold his head up when pulling a load, our Charlie McCourtney said, but the state of Nebraska didn't care. We still have that same sign in 2020!
who is in this picture & when was it taken? photo 986
what we looked like
Pete Hedgepath, who is on our Facebook page, told this story after seeing "young & old" posts on Facebook.
I presume that the young girl in the top picture is the Gramma in the lower one. I can see the same facial features. Most folks can be recognized when they are "well along in life" by those who knew them..
"Back when," I witnessed this very thing in my youth which I've never forgotten...
My great grandmother lived with my grandparents most of her life after her husband died in 1927. She died in 1952 at age 91.
In her last years she was pretty well "gone" as far as recognizing those around her and where she was...
One day when I was there the doorbell rang and she went to the door and a middle aged..maybe 60 or so man stood there..My grandmother said in a loud strong friendly voice. "WHY TAD WOODHOUSE"...Tad W. was a very distant relative she probably had not seen for 50-60 years. That long ago not seen person instantly triggered her memory of things long past.
where is it?
Did you get the last bedtime story that came when your mom or dad was too tired to read more? "Once there was a calf, and that's half. He stood by a wall, and that's all." Well, this is similarly short. Mrs. Henry Ford (Table Rock Historical Society's Sherry Winkinhofer) brought "The Old Lady" to the 2019 Living History Day in Table Rock. The Old Lady is a 1929 Ford Model A.
So, here's the story in pictures. Sherry asked each group of kids: Where is the gas tank?
This is the typical response.
An encouraging post script: some kids DID figure it out!
So, here's the story in pictures. Sherry asked each group of kids: Where is the gas tank?
This is the typical response.
An encouraging post script: some kids DID figure it out!
my name is john david upton ward
This one, printed and reprinted in a variety of papers around the country, needs little discussion. This one is from the Monongahela Valley Republican (Pennsylvania).
The 1881 census showed John David Upton Ward living with uncle Eugene Ward and aunt Sarah. We don't know much about Uncle Eugene Ward. He and his wife Sarah had just been married in 1879 by Martin J. Mumford, two years before young Master Ward departed. Was Uncle Eugene a real meanie or could he just not afford the cost of an education? Eugene was only 26 himself. (Eugene was one of the children of Will and Carrie Bell Barrett Ward; Carrie is buried in Table Rock.) As of the 1900 census, Eugene had moved to Michigan, where he lived to his death.
Since Ward was John David's last name, one would expect that it was one of Eugene's brothers who was the father. Which of Eugene's brothers did John David belong to? There appear to have been three -- James (1850-1919), Leonard (1854-1892), and Charles (1858-1933). -- James David said he was on his way to see his Grandma Ziegler so that was presumably his mother's maiden name. If John David was 10 in 1881, then only James Henry was old enough to have been his father, unless Leonard fathered a child as a teenager. But a search of Ancestry trees shows that James' wife was not a Ziegler, her maiden name was Riggs, and they were not married until 1875. Leonard's only known marriage was in 1881 to Sarah Bacon. A theory: John David Upton Ward was a step son from an earlier marriage by Josephine to a man named Upton. Another theory: the article is fabricated, as was sometimes the case back then.
I can't find a John David Ward in Ancestry who matches John David Upton Ward in any way. What happened to this little 10-year-old boy who was so generously put on a train to Dayton, Ohio? Did he reach his destination? If he existed, he has vanished into the mists of time.
after a hurricane -- "i alone am left"
THE INFLUENZA PANDEMIC OF 1918 HITS
Read stories that are poignant, or dramatic, or mysterious, or all of the above. The influenza came to Pawnee County, and it hit Table Rock especially hard. The Table Rock article includes the few photographs that could be found of those who died, usually from school pictures. Read about it.
ANOTHER story FROM larry layden
Larry passed on a story that he got from Lloyd Vrtiska:
A grave and a hanging |
HUSBAND & WIFE
LIGHTNING strikes & kills silas bowen
a year after lightning struck & killed his brother
wife struck down in the influenza pandemic
Silas Bowen married Mary Effie Aylor and they had six children, three of whom survived to adulthood: Ralph (1887-1949), and twins Della (1904-1981) and Stella (1904-1994). Those three lost both parents in dramatic circumstances.
Silas Bowen farmed near Table Rock. When his twin daughters were only a year old, he was killed. it was 1905 and he was only 42. The story was told in Silas's July 5 obituary: KILLED BY LIGHTNING |
Services were held at the Table Rock Christian Church.
When Silas died, Mary was only 38. She remarried. However, she died in the 1918 influenza pandemic at the age of 50. Her son Ralph was 31 but her twin daughters were only 14. All three siblings lived to old age.
When Silas died, Mary was only 38. She remarried. However, she died in the 1918 influenza pandemic at the age of 50. Her son Ralph was 31 but her twin daughters were only 14. All three siblings lived to old age.
heartbreak long ago
Heartbreak long ago. Here are the stones of two of Benjamin & Cornelia Horton's children, George & Willie.
George was born in 1869, a few years after his father Ben returned from the Civil War (Private, Company H, 46th Illinois Infantry); little George died when he was only 5, in 1874.
Willie was a baby who died three days after birth in 1882. George was their first born.
Benjamin & Cornelia lost another child, Daisy, who is buried in Humboldt, in 1878 (also a newborn).
They had six other children who lived to old age. But the three lost, especially the five-year-old, were surely thought of.
Little five-year-old George died 144 years ago. We'll probably never know anything about him than what is in this post. He is buried in the Table Rock Cemetery, he lived and he died. Willie died 136 years ago. Ditto.
George was born in 1869, a few years after his father Ben returned from the Civil War (Private, Company H, 46th Illinois Infantry); little George died when he was only 5, in 1874.
Willie was a baby who died three days after birth in 1882. George was their first born.
Benjamin & Cornelia lost another child, Daisy, who is buried in Humboldt, in 1878 (also a newborn).
They had six other children who lived to old age. But the three lost, especially the five-year-old, were surely thought of.
Little five-year-old George died 144 years ago. We'll probably never know anything about him than what is in this post. He is buried in the Table Rock Cemetery, he lived and he died. Willie died 136 years ago. Ditto.
in 1890, the rest of the family
Little George died in 1872 and Willie in 1882. Had they lived, George would have been an 18-year-old in this photo, and Willie would have been 8. Ben & Cornelia had 8 children who lived. The rest of the family, according to Susan Gavitt Horton, whose photo this is, were Hattie, Elvey, Ludelle, Sidney, Arthur, Nellie (Myrtle), Fred, and Grace.
"in a strange and mysterious way."
The August 16, 1878 Nebraska State Journal mentioned a conductor by the name of Charley Foote. It doesn't say that Charley Foote lived in Table Rock. It just says that he "lost an uncle in a strange and mysterious manner near Table Rock."
The December 14, 1878 Nebraska State journal said it again:
The December 19, 1878 Nebraska State Journal again gives that tagline: "Charley Foote, who lost an uncle in a sad and mysterious manner at Table Rock." This time, the Charley Foote with the lost uncle showed up at the office of the Atchison Globe with beer.
What gives?
Who knows! Only the Nebraska State Journal, judging from the distance of time. A search of deaths in Table Rock before August 1878 yields no obvious clue. Cosmus Snoke, an Old Soldier of the Civil War, died, but it was of old age.
Is the description serious, or is this the punchline of a joke told about this Charley Foote? "Two railroad men walked into a bar,".... it could begin.
Or did something sad and mysterious actually happen to an uncle? If so what happened????? If we only knew, we could judge for ourselves whether it was sad or whether it was mysterious. But all we know is that it was Charley Foote's uncle and something happened to him.
Did this follow Charley Foote the rest of his life? In those days, when people presumably knew what had happened, is this something that the women talked about in hushed voices as they washed dishes following a church dinner? "Did you see Charley Foote here tonight?" asks one. "Oh yes. And he lost his uncle in a sad and mysterious manner," says another. "Near Table Rock," adds another.
In those days when people presumably knew what happened, did Charley Foote walk into a tavern (not in Table Rock -- it was dry back then) and say, "Charley Foote, you old so and so! Is that uncle of yours still lost?" Wink wink.
Did Charley Foote go to the Table Rock Cemetery and stand silently at the grave of an uncle and think of the manner in which the uncle had died....near Table Rock?
We don't know.
We can only guess.
And apparently, the Nebraska State Journal had to guess, as well! In the midst of the little series above, even the Nebraska State Journal did not know what had happened! Here is a comment in the October 5, 1878 Nebraska State Journal:
Who knows! Only the Nebraska State Journal, judging from the distance of time. A search of deaths in Table Rock before August 1878 yields no obvious clue. Cosmus Snoke, an Old Soldier of the Civil War, died, but it was of old age.
Is the description serious, or is this the punchline of a joke told about this Charley Foote? "Two railroad men walked into a bar,".... it could begin.
Or did something sad and mysterious actually happen to an uncle? If so what happened????? If we only knew, we could judge for ourselves whether it was sad or whether it was mysterious. But all we know is that it was Charley Foote's uncle and something happened to him.
Did this follow Charley Foote the rest of his life? In those days, when people presumably knew what had happened, is this something that the women talked about in hushed voices as they washed dishes following a church dinner? "Did you see Charley Foote here tonight?" asks one. "Oh yes. And he lost his uncle in a sad and mysterious manner," says another. "Near Table Rock," adds another.
In those days when people presumably knew what happened, did Charley Foote walk into a tavern (not in Table Rock -- it was dry back then) and say, "Charley Foote, you old so and so! Is that uncle of yours still lost?" Wink wink.
Did Charley Foote go to the Table Rock Cemetery and stand silently at the grave of an uncle and think of the manner in which the uncle had died....near Table Rock?
We don't know.
We can only guess.
And apparently, the Nebraska State Journal had to guess, as well! In the midst of the little series above, even the Nebraska State Journal did not know what had happened! Here is a comment in the October 5, 1878 Nebraska State Journal:
And yet, the Nebraska State Journal continued to mention Foote's uncle with no further information other than that he had died in a "sad and mysterious" way!
What really happened? If anything? There's got to be a good story there!
By the way, did Charley Foote exists? Apparently so, and apparently he was a conductor, and he was a popular man. He had been mentioned by the Nebraska State Journal in an August 5, 1877 story about a train excursion the year before. "Conductor Foote had charge of the train and he did his job well, as he always does."
a story about a stone
On the eastern edge of the northwest quarter of the Table Rock Cemetery is an imposing stone. It marks the resting place of Mary Fulton. She died in 1907.
Mary's husband Al had chosen an epitaph: "A voice I loved is stilled." I recently found the poem from which those poignant words were crafted.
Mary's husband Al had chosen an epitaph: "A voice I loved is stilled." I recently found the poem from which those poignant words were crafted.
A precious one from us has gone, |
The change from a voice "we" loved is stilled is worth thinking of. Two children had been born to them in the early years of their marriage, but neither had survived their mother. Al was left alone.
The words are even plaintive when you learn this: Al had heard Mary's voice his entire life. She had been born three weeks after him, on a neighboring farm. In Mary's obituary--for which Al would have provided the information -- it says that they were rocked together in the same cradle.
Al served his country as a soldier in the Civil War, perhaps the only time in their lives that they were apart. After Mary died, he ended up in what they then called an"Old Soldier's Home," he having been at the one in Leavenworth. He died a decade after his beloved Mary. His siblings had either no money or no interest in putting up a stone, at least one that would endure for a century. He rests by Mary, which was probably all he wanted.
As Mary and Al went about their waning years, their children gone, they must have wondered who would go first, and how it would be for the one left behind. Dr. Ed McCrea of Table Rock said it beautifully in closing his autobiography:
The words are even plaintive when you learn this: Al had heard Mary's voice his entire life. She had been born three weeks after him, on a neighboring farm. In Mary's obituary--for which Al would have provided the information -- it says that they were rocked together in the same cradle.
Al served his country as a soldier in the Civil War, perhaps the only time in their lives that they were apart. After Mary died, he ended up in what they then called an"Old Soldier's Home," he having been at the one in Leavenworth. He died a decade after his beloved Mary. His siblings had either no money or no interest in putting up a stone, at least one that would endure for a century. He rests by Mary, which was probably all he wanted.
As Mary and Al went about their waning years, their children gone, they must have wondered who would go first, and how it would be for the one left behind. Dr. Ed McCrea of Table Rock said it beautifully in closing his autobiography:
As I sit in my study and see the autumn leaves falling, it brings thoughts of happy days that have passed, when life was happy and gay and we sang the songs of long ago. Those songs we cherish so today we sang to our loved ones, but two have passed away and now we are old and alone. The days go swiftly by and we wonder who next will be going, Mother or I. I hope the life I have lived has been a useful one |
The only other thing we know about Mary so far is that she taught at the District 51 country school in 1885. She taught for three months and was paid $40. She was 36 years old and married at that time. Her son Fred was about 16. It's interesting that a married woman would have taught at a country school in those days. Perhaps they were desperate.
Al Fulton's grave is one of the several unmarked Civil War veterans' graves still to be marked with a military tombstone. The Historical Society will apply for it. This is one of the many projects for which money has and will be raised for the maintenance of the graves of the Civil War soldier buried in Table Rock.
Al Fulton's grave is one of the several unmarked Civil War veterans' graves still to be marked with a military tombstone. The Historical Society will apply for it. This is one of the many projects for which money has and will be raised for the maintenance of the graves of the Civil War soldier buried in Table Rock.
Mary Fulton's Obituary
Table Rock Argus, Jan. 24, 1907. Mrs. Mary I. Fulton died at her home in this city about 7:20 last evening after an illness dating back about 18 months, when she suffered a stroke of paralysis. In May last she suffered a second stroke, and a third stroke on the 4th of this month when she was home alone, and she was found unconscious lying partly on the bed after the door of the house had been broken open; from this attack she never recovered, but remained in an unconscious condition until her death. Mary I. Baughman was born in Medina county Ohio, August 1, 1849; when a child she moved with her parents to Indiana, later going to Illinois; she was united in marriage to Al Fulton (who was a baby with her back in the Ohio home and they had been rocked together in the same cradle) at Springfield, Ill. In 1869; two children were born to this union, one dying in childhood, and the other, Fred dying at the age of 33. They came to Nebraska in 1879, locating at Tecumseh, coming to Table Rock four years later. In the spring of 1886 they went west, coming back to Table Rock after four years, where they remained until the fall of 1898, when they moved to Dorchester, they came back to Table Rock last fall and have made their home here since. The funeral services will be held at the M. E. church at 11 o'clock Friday morning, under the auspices of the Women's Relief Corps, the services being conducted by the pastor, J. T. Roberts. To the bereaved husband and other sorrowing relatives, the Argus extends sympathy. Her aged father, 85, living in Lincoln attended the funeral of his daughter and most of the family are gone, one son and one daughter are left. Oscar Fulton also attended the funeral of his brother's wife Mary, from Dorchester, Nebr. |
Al Fulton's Obituary
October 3, 1912 Argus |
the story of sisters
nancy & nancy
The story of sisters split by adoption who kept in touch with each other with the help of caring parents. And there's an epilogue.
This is about three families in Oregon. Lifetime Historical Society member Ted Quackenbush was the one who told me the story, which is about his wife Nancy Lee McAlpine Quackenbush. Nancy is the granddaughter of W. G. and Frances Shepherd, who lived in Table Rock for many years. Now for the story:
Here’s married couple #1, Robert and Lucille Fisher. In 1936, Robert and Lucille Fisher had a daughter, Nancy Lee. In May 1937, they had another, Patricia Lou. Soon after Patricia’s birth, Robert left her. Lucille was not able to properly care for them. Robert’s sisters took temporary custody, but the State Adoption Agency listed both girls for adoption and were on the way to the Boys and Girls Aid Society.
Here’s married couple #2, Elvis and Vina King. In 1936, they had a baby girl who did not survive birth. Elvis named the baby Nancy Lee after his grandmother.
Here’s married couple #3, Hugh and Ruby Shepherd McAlpine. This is the Table Rock connection to the story. Ruby grew up in Table Rock. Hugh was a farmer from Seneca, Kansas (about 30 miles south of Table Rock). He was a World War I veteran who had "walked across France." Ruby and Hugh were unhappily childless.
Elvis and Vina learned from a friend about the girls. Elvis thought that Vina could only care for one child, and they chose Patricia Lou, who was still a baby. Vina wanted to give Patricia the new name of Nancy Lee, the name of the little girl they had lost of birth, but Elvis would not have that because the sisters would then both be named Nancy Lee. Elvis and Vina compromised on the name Nancy Patricia.
Elvis and Vina had became acquainted with Hugh and Ruby who then went to see Nancy. Nancy Lee soon became Nancy Lee McAlpine.
Vina at first did not want the girls to know of each other, but again Elvis would have none of that, either.
By 1939, both adoptions were final.
The King and McAlpine families lived about 30 miles apart and the girls often got to visit each other.
In 1943, Ruby got homesick for Nebraska. They packed up and moved back there. They went to the home of her father, Willims G. Shepherd, who by that time had left Table Rock for Endicott, Nebraska. After the Hotel Murphy burned down in 1931, he had built another, smaller, hotel in its footprint, which he called the Two Way Inn. He had in 1937 traded the Two Way Inn for a farm in Endicott. He took off for Endicott, and Slaughter came to Table Rock, where he gave a new name to his new business, the Reno Inn.
Months after the McAlpines arrived at Endicott, the farmhouse burned to the ground. Everyone there moved back to Table Rock.
Although the McAlpines made many moves after this, Nancy and Nancy stayed in touch with letters.
In the summer of 1948, Vina and Nancy Pat traveled from Oregon to Beatrice for the girls’ first visit since the McAlpine’s had left Oregon in 1943. That's when the below photo of the girls on the swings was taken.
Here’s married couple #1, Robert and Lucille Fisher. In 1936, Robert and Lucille Fisher had a daughter, Nancy Lee. In May 1937, they had another, Patricia Lou. Soon after Patricia’s birth, Robert left her. Lucille was not able to properly care for them. Robert’s sisters took temporary custody, but the State Adoption Agency listed both girls for adoption and were on the way to the Boys and Girls Aid Society.
Here’s married couple #2, Elvis and Vina King. In 1936, they had a baby girl who did not survive birth. Elvis named the baby Nancy Lee after his grandmother.
Here’s married couple #3, Hugh and Ruby Shepherd McAlpine. This is the Table Rock connection to the story. Ruby grew up in Table Rock. Hugh was a farmer from Seneca, Kansas (about 30 miles south of Table Rock). He was a World War I veteran who had "walked across France." Ruby and Hugh were unhappily childless.
Elvis and Vina learned from a friend about the girls. Elvis thought that Vina could only care for one child, and they chose Patricia Lou, who was still a baby. Vina wanted to give Patricia the new name of Nancy Lee, the name of the little girl they had lost of birth, but Elvis would not have that because the sisters would then both be named Nancy Lee. Elvis and Vina compromised on the name Nancy Patricia.
Elvis and Vina had became acquainted with Hugh and Ruby who then went to see Nancy. Nancy Lee soon became Nancy Lee McAlpine.
Vina at first did not want the girls to know of each other, but again Elvis would have none of that, either.
By 1939, both adoptions were final.
The King and McAlpine families lived about 30 miles apart and the girls often got to visit each other.
In 1943, Ruby got homesick for Nebraska. They packed up and moved back there. They went to the home of her father, Willims G. Shepherd, who by that time had left Table Rock for Endicott, Nebraska. After the Hotel Murphy burned down in 1931, he had built another, smaller, hotel in its footprint, which he called the Two Way Inn. He had in 1937 traded the Two Way Inn for a farm in Endicott. He took off for Endicott, and Slaughter came to Table Rock, where he gave a new name to his new business, the Reno Inn.
Months after the McAlpines arrived at Endicott, the farmhouse burned to the ground. Everyone there moved back to Table Rock.
Although the McAlpines made many moves after this, Nancy and Nancy stayed in touch with letters.
In the summer of 1948, Vina and Nancy Pat traveled from Oregon to Beatrice for the girls’ first visit since the McAlpine’s had left Oregon in 1943. That's when the below photo of the girls on the swings was taken.
On the same occasion, in the photo below, Vina King posed with Hugh and Ruby McAlpine, and Ruby's father W. G. Shepherd.
epilogue - Nancy & Nancy were not alone

This is about a grown-up Nancy's and what happened as she moved to Oregon, to California, and back to Oregon again
Nancy and Nancy kept in touch with each other by letters. Nancy McAlpine married Ted Quackenbush and made their home in Nebraska and Nancy King married and made her home in Oregon.
In 1960, Ted received an Air Force assignment to Portland Air Base. He and Nancy drove to the new assignment. On the way, they stopped in the Oregon town where Nancy King lived. The girls, both with families by then, were together again.
During the three years that Ted was stationed in Portland there were many more visits between the two sisters. There was also a journey to the old farm home where Nancy had joined Hugh and Ruby McAlpine to become a family; Nancy gave perfect directions to get there.
During their three years at Portland, Nancy also found her biological father, who still lived there. She discovered from him that he had married again and had five more children. Nancy and Nancy had another sister and four brothers.
At the end of their three years, Ted returned to civilian life and they moved to California. During the next 32 years he and Nancy took many vacations to Oregon. In 1996, they retired and moved there, just a few miles from Nancy Patricia. Visit between Nancy and Nancy extended to their siblings in Portland.
In 2010, Ted and Nancy moved back to California to be near their adult children. In 2011, with lots of help from others and the internet, Nancy learned that her mother had been in California since the 1940s but had died in 2005. However, Nancy discovered that her mother had remarried and had a girl and two boys between 1941 and 1944, and then remarried a third time and had another daughter. The daughter from her mother’s third marriage lived in Huntington Beach, only 100 miles from Nancy’s home. With help from the DNA test provided by Ancestry, Nancy was able to contact her new siblings, living in Atlanta and Spokane, but one brother had passed away.
Nancy's first sister has passed as have all but one brother from her dad's other family but with email and phone calls contact is still being made with those remaining.
Her father had five more children and her mother four. Nancy and Nancy had a total of nine siblings that, when they posed on the swings in Beatrice in 1948, they had no idea existed.
Now, if that isn’t a good story, what is?!
Nancy and Nancy kept in touch with each other by letters. Nancy McAlpine married Ted Quackenbush and made their home in Nebraska and Nancy King married and made her home in Oregon.
In 1960, Ted received an Air Force assignment to Portland Air Base. He and Nancy drove to the new assignment. On the way, they stopped in the Oregon town where Nancy King lived. The girls, both with families by then, were together again.
During the three years that Ted was stationed in Portland there were many more visits between the two sisters. There was also a journey to the old farm home where Nancy had joined Hugh and Ruby McAlpine to become a family; Nancy gave perfect directions to get there.
During their three years at Portland, Nancy also found her biological father, who still lived there. She discovered from him that he had married again and had five more children. Nancy and Nancy had another sister and four brothers.
At the end of their three years, Ted returned to civilian life and they moved to California. During the next 32 years he and Nancy took many vacations to Oregon. In 1996, they retired and moved there, just a few miles from Nancy Patricia. Visit between Nancy and Nancy extended to their siblings in Portland.
In 2010, Ted and Nancy moved back to California to be near their adult children. In 2011, with lots of help from others and the internet, Nancy learned that her mother had been in California since the 1940s but had died in 2005. However, Nancy discovered that her mother had remarried and had a girl and two boys between 1941 and 1944, and then remarried a third time and had another daughter. The daughter from her mother’s third marriage lived in Huntington Beach, only 100 miles from Nancy’s home. With help from the DNA test provided by Ancestry, Nancy was able to contact her new siblings, living in Atlanta and Spokane, but one brother had passed away.
Nancy's first sister has passed as have all but one brother from her dad's other family but with email and phone calls contact is still being made with those remaining.
Her father had five more children and her mother four. Nancy and Nancy had a total of nine siblings that, when they posed on the swings in Beatrice in 1948, they had no idea existed.
Now, if that isn’t a good story, what is?!
the daughters of clara martin
Charlie O. McCourtney fell in love with and married Clara Martin, daughter of a Civil War veteran. Clara died young. You will love this story about the couple and what became of their four daughters appeared in the Historical Society newsletter, 2017 #1
the boy who lost his marbles
A lovely story about the grandson of Charlie McCourtney and Will Alderman, janitor at the Table Rock school. It is from the Table Rock Historical Society newsletter, 2017 #2.
a story about a quiet old woman
A bit flabbergasting, this story about Bessie Penn, Bea Brown's mother! It appeared in the Historical Society newsletter, 2017 #2.
howard g. cleaveland
spanish-american war veteran
railroad brakeman
"crippled coach of champions"
Howard's nephew Link Lyman, born in Table Rock, played for the Bears and was one of the first football players to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Read about him on the "Born in Table Rock" page
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This inspiring story came out in the Table Rock Historical Society newsletter, 2017 #2.
Here's a short video of a rail car headed down a track, a brakeman riding the front, ready to apply the brake -- part of a flying switch. Consider Howard making that near fatal trip....
dale goodenkauf
Class of 1958, high school athlete
Dale was 74 when he died in December 2014. He was born in 1940 to Alfred and Katie (Catherine Schmidt) Goodenkauf of Table Rock. He graduated from Table Rock High School in 1958. He married Wava Roberts on May 31, 1965, and they had two children, David and Dawn.
Dale is well remembered in the sports field. He lettered in all sports for all four years of high school. He excelled in all sports but was especially well known for his football prowess. After high school, he played softball locally for many years. During high school, he worked weekends as projectionist at the Table Rock Theater. Over the years, he worked as a heavy equipment operator, mechanic, and electrician. Dale lived in Table Rock most of his life, with some years spent in Pawnee City and Beatrice.
Dale is well remembered in the sports field. He lettered in all sports for all four years of high school. He excelled in all sports but was especially well known for his football prowess. After high school, he played softball locally for many years. During high school, he worked weekends as projectionist at the Table Rock Theater. Over the years, he worked as a heavy equipment operator, mechanic, and electrician. Dale lived in Table Rock most of his life, with some years spent in Pawnee City and Beatrice.
larry layden remembers dale
Dale was outstanding in football . I played with him and he was our "secret weapon." At that time there were three ways to score an extra point after scoring a touchdown. One was to run it in, which was difficult, another was to place kick it, which was the normal attempt, and the third was to drop kick it over the bar. This is no longer allowed and was very seldom done back then because hardly anyone could do it. It was so difficult that a successful attempt was worth two points as I recall. Dale was deadly accurate when he dropped kicked the ball and won a number of games for us. |
wayne knippelmeyer remembers dale
larry also remembers:
Dale was a gifted auto mechanic, like his father, and usually had an engine hoisted up to a tree while he overhauled it. I think his first car was a 48 Ford that was wrecked when he got it. I helped him change the bent fenders and work on the engine. When we got thru the car had a blue body and black fenders and a flat head V-8 that purred and growled like a new car. This would have been around 1955. He was a good friend for many years.
a small gallery of things from the argus
he broke the law! the pretty girl was picqued.
M. H. Marble was a Justice of the Peace in Table Rock for many decades. As a JP, Judge Marble heard various small matters -- theft of a pig, damage to a fence, a fight, alcohol abuse. It is all set forth in log books that are with Judge Marble's desk in the Argus Museum. The logs are handwritten and not indexed but are well worth some time. Here is a news item about one event that is in there somewhere, from the April 30, 1897 edition:
It is sometimes quite costly to tell a young woman how handsome you think she is, and on Saturday night Samuel Shawhan...had a costly experience of the kind. |
Samuel Shawhan married Miss Mary Ellen Bryant on March 14, 1900 and they proceeded to have two children. Was she pretty? Did he lose his resolve and tell her she was pretty and if so, was he fined again? We will never know. That's part of another story.
I do know that Sam died young. It was only 10 years after he was fined. He was only 36. I hope those seven years of married life that he had were with a pretty girl and full of joy. |
a story of a lynch mob pouring into the county jail and what happened before and after
A door now in the Pioneer Museum was the jail door in the courthouse. In 1911, the current courthouse replaced the one that was the site of this story; apparently this door was in the 1911 courthouse and removed during renovation at some point. If it had been in the old jail it would have witnessed many events. Of the many dramatic events, the night the vigilantes came for Frederick Emmons is likely the most dramatic. The story begins with the 1888 murder of a young laundress at the Exchange Hotel in Pawnee City by Emmons; she had refused his offer of marriage. It ended with him "committing suicide" at a railroad bridge, at the hands of a lynch mob. Read about it by following the link.
the silent burial
of mike mccourt
Historical Society member Luella Hinrichsen, poring over old editions of the Argus in search of obituaries, came across the sad story of Mike mccourt, a man who "was accentric in the extreme, his brain mechanism was not always working harmoniously."
Editor Frank Taylor understood the rich tapestry woven by the lives of the people of Table Rock. He reported news but also painted word pictures of people he knew, almost always with dignity. In the August 25, 1904 edition of the Table Rock Argus is the obituary of Mike McCourt. Taylor's word image of Mike McCourt, who was believed to be 65 or 70 years old:
Mike McCourt, whom nearly every man, woman and child in this vicinity knew at least by sight, is dead and buried. |
On Friday, Mike was found outside his house "in a helpless condition." He was cared for and his condition improved but then he fell and hit his head, an attributed attributed to a "paralytic stroke" and shortly thereafter.
Mike's burial leaves question never to be answered about his relationship to the Catholic Church. He was said to have money, but he kept his financial affairs to himself. He was said to have made a will giving his property to the Catholic Church. However, the obituary reported that burial in the Catholic Cemetery (St. John's, northeast of town) had been REFUSED.
Taylor wrote:
Mike's burial leaves question never to be answered about his relationship to the Catholic Church. He was said to have money, but he kept his financial affairs to himself. He was said to have made a will giving his property to the Catholic Church. However, the obituary reported that burial in the Catholic Cemetery (St. John's, northeast of town) had been REFUSED.
Taylor wrote:
There were no funeral services; no priest at the grave; but amid a silence, broken only by the falling of the clay upon the coffin, the body was laid in its tomb. |
The Argus reported in the September 1, 1904 edition that an effort had been made to find money that McCourt may have hidden at his home. He apparently did have a good amount of the money in the bank, but there were stories of treasure.
Many people who were somewhat familiar with the habits of Michael McCourt, who died ten days ago, had an idea that he had money buried somewhere about his premises and the estimated amount of this hidden treasure varied with the individual guesser. |
Given how much money he had in the bank, they figured it not likely that he had hidden it at home and the search was abandoned, with 89 cents for their efforts.
In the end, Pawnee County probate records reveal that Mr. McCourt left a will, which he had prepared in 1895. He did not leave money to the church.
Mr. McCourt had some land and money in the bank, worth several thousand dollars. Of that, he left $10 to each of two sisters, and everything else to his brother Bryan. Bryan still lived in Ireland. He did not travel to Table Rock but rather appeared through attorneys in New York City, who retained the local Pawnee County firm of Story & Story to represent Bryan's interests.
In the end, Pawnee County probate records reveal that Mr. McCourt left a will, which he had prepared in 1895. He did not leave money to the church.
Mr. McCourt had some land and money in the bank, worth several thousand dollars. Of that, he left $10 to each of two sisters, and everything else to his brother Bryan. Bryan still lived in Ireland. He did not travel to Table Rock but rather appeared through attorneys in New York City, who retained the local Pawnee County firm of Story & Story to represent Bryan's interests.
little gems that stand
without retelling
george & clara cooper
they borrowed a buggy
Historical Society member Luella Hinrichsen, poring over old editions of the Argus in search of obituaries, came across the lovely story about a wedding in 1870. It was in the July 11, 1924 Argus. The story needs no re-writing.
Wedded Long, Long Ago- On July 3, 1870 a wedding ceremony was performed which united the loves of two Table Rock young people. So tightly was the knot tied that all the storm and stress of the intervening years have not been able to break it, and the husband and wife are living together today in contented and happy old age in Table Rock.
The contracting parties to this wedding of fifty-four years ago were George M. Lane and Miss Clara Cooper, popular young people of this community, and members of prominent pioneer families of the community.
George had a fine team of horses, but no buggy, and so he went to C. H. Norris, who owned the only buggy then in Table Rock, hitched his own horses to it and in pride and happiness the young couple took their honeymoon trip....
They commenced life together on a farm west of Table Rock. For the past quarter of a century or more they have lived in town having retired from the farm.
Since they began life together they have always lived here in Table Rock, their children were born and grew to manhood and womanhood here....
hey realize that time has wrought great changes in conditions in Table Rock and Nebraska, for they have lived through them in the years of their married life, and as they go on down the journey of life hand in hand it is the hope of their many friends that joy and happiness will follow them to the journey's end.
George died in 1925 at age 76, Clara in 1931 at age 77. When they married in 1870, George was 21 and Clara 16.
Wedded Long, Long Ago- On July 3, 1870 a wedding ceremony was performed which united the loves of two Table Rock young people. So tightly was the knot tied that all the storm and stress of the intervening years have not been able to break it, and the husband and wife are living together today in contented and happy old age in Table Rock.
The contracting parties to this wedding of fifty-four years ago were George M. Lane and Miss Clara Cooper, popular young people of this community, and members of prominent pioneer families of the community.
George had a fine team of horses, but no buggy, and so he went to C. H. Norris, who owned the only buggy then in Table Rock, hitched his own horses to it and in pride and happiness the young couple took their honeymoon trip....
They commenced life together on a farm west of Table Rock. For the past quarter of a century or more they have lived in town having retired from the farm.
Since they began life together they have always lived here in Table Rock, their children were born and grew to manhood and womanhood here....
hey realize that time has wrought great changes in conditions in Table Rock and Nebraska, for they have lived through them in the years of their married life, and as they go on down the journey of life hand in hand it is the hope of their many friends that joy and happiness will follow them to the journey's end.
George died in 1925 at age 76, Clara in 1931 at age 77. When they married in 1870, George was 21 and Clara 16.
della purcell & parker mccoy
it didn't work out
1891 - a wedding picture 1900 - an apology. KIND OF.
How's that for a story?! You can write whatever you want in your head! "Friends, I have wronged my wife..." Yet he asks not to be criticized.....
Anyway, the best revenge is living well, and Della, who never remarried, did that. She raised her two beautiful daughters, Ruth and Stella, to be two beautiful young ladies. Parker missed the boat. |
This is Photo 1837, Della Purcell McCoy with her daughters Ruth and Stella. No Parker in sight, too bad, so sad! I wonder whether he got the prayers he asked for in lieu of criticism?
Della was born in 1872 -- she was 19 in her wedding picture. Ruth McCoy Muscheites, who is on the left, was born in 1894. This picture may be circa 1907, with Ruth at 13 and Della at 35. The photographer may have elicited a pensive gaze from each, but it does not look that time has particularly affected Della's loveliness.
Della was born in 1872 -- she was 19 in her wedding picture. Ruth McCoy Muscheites, who is on the left, was born in 1894. This picture may be circa 1907, with Ruth at 13 and Della at 35. The photographer may have elicited a pensive gaze from each, but it does not look that time has particularly affected Della's loveliness.
traveling at the amazing speed of a mile a minute
a desperate attempt to reach his dying wife in time
The 1905 Argus article is headlined:: "Mrs. C. S. Wood Passes Away While the Husband is Flying Toward Table Rock at the Rate of a Mile a Minute." Here's the story, as derived from the article, her obituary and his.
One day, Charles S. Wood left for Pierre, South Dakota, to buy sheep.
The next day his wife -- July 26, 1905 -- Nancy, took sick. She had a fever consistent with typhoid fever; the next day the fever ranged from 99 and one-half to one hundred and one-half. She improved for a few days, giving her friends and family hope, but then her condition seriously deteriorated.
A telegram was sent to Mr. Wood telling him to come home.
The next day, Table Rock received a reply from Pierre. Wood had gone out to look at some sheep and could not be found.
Nancy's condition had become "alarming."
Word was sent to the Pierre telegraph office to send a messenger after Mr. Wood. "This was done and for four days the messenger drove over the country seeking Mr. Wood, who with a driver named Brown and a gentleman named McKinney were ninety-five miles from Pierre."
The messenger finally found Mr. Wood and his two associates. However, the message had been garbled -- it was said that the wife of the driver, Brown, was dying.
The three men took off for Pierre.
After driving 20 miles, another report reached them. This time it was the brother of Mr. McKinney, the secondman, who was dying.
The three men continued heading for Pierre. They received yet another message: that Mr. Wood's mother was the one who was dying.
Mr. Wood did not believe the report. The message said that "mother" was sick, and he realized that it had been sent by his children, not his wife Nancy.
The three men continued to head for Pierre post haste. A change of teams was secured and the remaining sixty miles to Pierre was made at the rate of eight miles an hour.
At Pierre, Wood got a letter from his daughter saying that Nancy was better. The letter was not dated and in fact had been written before Nancy's turn for the worse. However, Wood took enough comfort from it to get some sleep. He was exhausted from the long drive and worry.
As Wood slept, the Table Rock people were desperately trying to reach him. Another message had been sent telling of Nancy's deterioration to an alarming condition but Wood could not be found. Finally, the Table Rock people thought to contact the Masonic Lodge, and the order helped locate Wood and get him the message.
Wood started for home.
His friend C. H. Barnard of Table Rock had been in Lincoln and was sent a telegram begging him to meet Wood at Council Bluffs and to "use every means to hurry."
Barnard told Wood of Nancy's condition and got him on Train Number 13 of the Burlington & Missouri Railroad from Burlington to Lincoln.
At Lincoln, a special train to Table Rock was arranged to speed Wood on the way to his dying wife. This train was in charge of Conductor K. E. Cleaveland and Engineer Mike Lewis, both well known to Table Rock people. The train "made wonderful time, going so fast that the only lights maintained were those inside the coach."
The Lincoln Star reported the story and included particulars of that then "sensational" journey on the special train:
One day, Charles S. Wood left for Pierre, South Dakota, to buy sheep.
The next day his wife -- July 26, 1905 -- Nancy, took sick. She had a fever consistent with typhoid fever; the next day the fever ranged from 99 and one-half to one hundred and one-half. She improved for a few days, giving her friends and family hope, but then her condition seriously deteriorated.
A telegram was sent to Mr. Wood telling him to come home.
The next day, Table Rock received a reply from Pierre. Wood had gone out to look at some sheep and could not be found.
Nancy's condition had become "alarming."
Word was sent to the Pierre telegraph office to send a messenger after Mr. Wood. "This was done and for four days the messenger drove over the country seeking Mr. Wood, who with a driver named Brown and a gentleman named McKinney were ninety-five miles from Pierre."
The messenger finally found Mr. Wood and his two associates. However, the message had been garbled -- it was said that the wife of the driver, Brown, was dying.
The three men took off for Pierre.
After driving 20 miles, another report reached them. This time it was the brother of Mr. McKinney, the secondman, who was dying.
The three men continued heading for Pierre. They received yet another message: that Mr. Wood's mother was the one who was dying.
Mr. Wood did not believe the report. The message said that "mother" was sick, and he realized that it had been sent by his children, not his wife Nancy.
The three men continued to head for Pierre post haste. A change of teams was secured and the remaining sixty miles to Pierre was made at the rate of eight miles an hour.
At Pierre, Wood got a letter from his daughter saying that Nancy was better. The letter was not dated and in fact had been written before Nancy's turn for the worse. However, Wood took enough comfort from it to get some sleep. He was exhausted from the long drive and worry.
As Wood slept, the Table Rock people were desperately trying to reach him. Another message had been sent telling of Nancy's deterioration to an alarming condition but Wood could not be found. Finally, the Table Rock people thought to contact the Masonic Lodge, and the order helped locate Wood and get him the message.
Wood started for home.
His friend C. H. Barnard of Table Rock had been in Lincoln and was sent a telegram begging him to meet Wood at Council Bluffs and to "use every means to hurry."
Barnard told Wood of Nancy's condition and got him on Train Number 13 of the Burlington & Missouri Railroad from Burlington to Lincoln.
At Lincoln, a special train to Table Rock was arranged to speed Wood on the way to his dying wife. This train was in charge of Conductor K. E. Cleaveland and Engineer Mike Lewis, both well known to Table Rock people. The train "made wonderful time, going so fast that the only lights maintained were those inside the coach."
The Lincoln Star reported the story and included particulars of that then "sensational" journey on the special train:
Spurred by the news that his wife was dying C. S. Wood of Table Rock last night made the race of his life to reach her bedside before the end came. For twelve days the woman has hovered between life and death, and the husband was absent, with whereabouts unknown to the relatives at home.
After many fruitless attempts he was finally located at Pierre, S.D. and the start began.
When word was received that he was coming, the physicians made use of the strongest stimulants to keep Mrs. Wood alive until he could reach her.
The most sensational part of the trip from Pierre was from Lincoln to Table Rock. Mr. Wood arriving in Lincoln on Burlington train No 13 from Omaha at 12:52.
In just three minutes, he was speeding in a "special" train to the south with orders for a clear track and unlimited speed.
The distance from Lincoln to Table Rock is sixty-three and a half miles, and this stretch was covered in exactly sixty five minutes, including a delay of five minutes wait for the train from Kansas City. A rate of better than a mile a minute was maintained for the entire distance.
"We wanted to have the train ready for starting within a minute after No. 13 arrived," said Chief Dispatcher Mullen this morning, "but there was a delay in the - office of two minutes. The delay was aggravating and it seemed an age to the anxious husband, but the rest of the way was covered in record time."
The efforts of Mr. Wood and trainmen were in vain. An hour before the husband arrived Mrs. Wood died.
The Argus reported that while the search for Wood was on and while Wood was desperately trying to get to Table Rock as soon as possible, "everything was being done for the sufferer. Dr. Wilson had Dr. Anderson of Pawnee City and Dr. Wallace of St. Joseph to consultation; a trained nurse had been secured from Pawnee City and on Monday Miss Higgins, and a trained typhoid nurse from St. Joseph arrived. Nevertheless, Nancy lapsed into unconsciousness and died nearly an hour before Wood's train arrived at the Table Rock depot. "Throughout her sickness up to the time she lost consciousness, she was cheerful and hopeful and thought she was getting better."
"The anguish of Mr. Wood on learning that after all, he was too late to see his wife alive, we will not attempt to describe, but the sadness of it all touches every heart in the community." They had been married since 1867, she having been 19 years old at the time. They had three children together, Charles, Elmer, and Emma. The family came to Table Rock in 1874.
"No person more fully possessed the universal admiration and esteem of our people than did Mrs. Wood and her death under the sad circumstances intensifies the feelings of sorrow throughout the entire community."
The Methodist church was filled "to its utmost capacity by those who desired to pay a last tribute of respect to the memory of one who in life the esteemed so highly." She was buried in the Table Rock Cemetery.
"The anguish of Mr. Wood on learning that after all, he was too late to see his wife alive, we will not attempt to describe, but the sadness of it all touches every heart in the community." They had been married since 1867, she having been 19 years old at the time. They had three children together, Charles, Elmer, and Emma. The family came to Table Rock in 1874.
"No person more fully possessed the universal admiration and esteem of our people than did Mrs. Wood and her death under the sad circumstances intensifies the feelings of sorrow throughout the entire community."
The Methodist church was filled "to its utmost capacity by those who desired to pay a last tribute of respect to the memory of one who in life the esteemed so highly." She was buried in the Table Rock Cemetery.
Here is the story as it appeared in the 2017/#4 edition of the newsletter of the Table Rock Historical Society. It describes the efforts of Wood's friends like C. H. Barnard and a heroic train crew that included K. E. Cleaveland of Table Rock. And it tells the story of the final days of Charlie's wife Nancy Wood, dying of typhoid fever.
Below: The Table Rock depot where Wood's train arrived an hour too late for him to see his wife before she died. The Methodist Church as it was in 1905.
a glimpse of C. S. & Nancy wood's lives in happier times
more
Jim McCurry, a fallen soldier of the Phillipine-American War, a man who left a fiance in Table Rock, a bright intelligent girl who took the news hard, and a couple of cousins.
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