Good Old Days 04-29-16

Compiled By Delaney Uhrig

These stories from the past first appeared in The Sidney Telegraph. Original writing is preserved, though some stories were shortened for space reasons.

50 Years Ago

'6,000 Are Expected For

Ag Progress Show'

April 25, 1966

If the weather man changes his ways and cooperates, up to six thousand people may be on hand Wednesday for the postponed Panhandle Farm Equipment and Progress Day.

Officials are hoping for better luck this Wednesday, although the postponement may cut the attendance potential.

Scheduled for the Egging farm southeast of Gurley, the show represents the major efforts of suppliers and manufacturers to show what's new on the farm front in 1966.

The availability of The Egging Co. factory building at the site will make it possible to set up many interesting indoor booths to supplement the big show taking place in the field. Forty acres just south of this building have been set aside for the show, and have had a considerable amount of machinery on display for several days. Much of the equipment was moved in ahead of last week's storm, and was left in place.

A viewing stand and bleachers will be set up along a runway just south of the factory building and an equipment parade will be directed along this route.

Because of the distance involved on the grounds there will be shuttle service province between exhibits. In addition, there will be shuttle service from the Sidney Airport into town, and the New Car Dealers of Sidney will provide transportation, from the American National Bank to the Egging site throughout the day. Those wishing to themselves of this free transportation should go to the bank and call there.

The Sidney Chamber of Commerce will have a registration booth set up in the main factory building at the site. Sidney merchants have provided hundreds of dollars worth of prizes to be awarded in drawings.

There will be plenty of places for viewers to sit and rest and there will be four lunch booths set up in the main factory building. These will be in charge of St. Patrick's Altar Society of Sidney, Weyerts American Legion Auxiliary of Gurley, St. Mary's Altar Society of Dalton, and the Weyerts Lutheran Church ladies.

There will be a great deal of aerial activity at the site. Lloyd Carr of Frontier Air Service will have a display of new Piper airplanes alongside the runway; Don Brown of Alliance will bring helicopters for display; and it is expected that a number of Nebraska Flying Farmers will attend.

40 Years Ago

'Search Continues Near Sidney for 3 'Dangerous' Escapees'

April 26, 1976

A search for three escapees from the Deuel County Jail at Chappell, who are considered to be "armed and dangerous," continued in the Brownson area west of Sidney early this afternoon.

Two men and a woman from the Columbus, Ohio, area overpowered a jailer late Sunday night, then took the jailer as a hostage and escaped from the Deuel County Jail.

The sheriff's office identified the three as Brent K. Kegley, 19, of Portsmouth, Ohio; Darrell E. Ross, 25, of Akron, Ohio; and Carol J. Stafford, 20, who said she lived at San Jose, Calif., and whose mother is from Akron.

All three were being held on charges of assault with intent to commit robbery, according to a spokesman for the sheriff's office here.

Jailer Elmo Strong said the Stafford woman overpowered him and locked him in a cell. The woman then freed the other two, according to Strong.

Strong said the trio took several handguns from the Sheriff's office.

The jailer said the three took him with them as they made their get away in his stolen car.

Strong said the escapees drove west towards Sidney, but wrecked the car on a county road south of the Brownson I-80 interchange.

Following the wreck, Strong said he feigned a broken foot and the three left him and began heading west on foot, and told him that they were going to California.

Cheyenne County Sheriff Oren Cox said this morning his officers have "gone back on patrol but we'll keep our eyes and ears open." The sheriff's officers joined the Nebraska State Patrol in combing the area in patrol cars and four-wheel drive vehicles borrowed from archers last night.

25 Years Ago

'Treasure Hunter'

April 25, 1991

A knock came at the front door.

"Do you mind if I go over your yard with my metal detector? That's my hobby. I look for old coins and things in the ground."

"I don't mind. Go ahead."

The very personable prospector was Tim Engelland of Gering who was in Sidney while on vacation from his job with the State of Nebraska Department of Agriculture.

"I travel a lot in my work all over the Panhandle, and instead of sitting in a motel room watching television I'd rather be out with my metal detector looking for old coins and other things," he explained.

Engelland bought his metal detector for about $400 four years ago. "I used to do a lot of fishing before I bought my detector," he said. "Now I've kind of quit fishing."

He said he takes his metal detector with him practically everywhere he goes. Since he's taken up his hobby Engelland estimates he's found some 4,000 "wheat pennies," the older coins that had stylized heads of wheat on the "tails" side. He gets about a cent and a half for each of these coins from collectors - sometimes more if the coins are somewhat rare.

"I ended up with about $150 last year for my efforts. I'm out there from early spring to fall," he said. "One thing about money - people are dropping it on the ground every day."

Engelland said he thinks most of the coin he finds are dropped by children. "They are so careless with money," he said. Youngsters frequently throw pennies at him just to see whether he can really find their coins in the grass.

As we talked, a half dozen children appeared on the scene and were clearly fascinated with Engelland's activities. He did find a few pennies under the surface of the lawn, as well as an old rusty key of some sort. As he made each discovery he probed into the turf with just a screwdriver so as not to tear up the grass.

10 Years Ago

'Keep Sidney Beautiful'

April 28, 2006

It is time once again for the Great Trash Race. The annual Sidney event is Saturday from 9 a.m. until noon.

The event is part of the Keep Sidney Beautiful program under the Cheyenne County Chamber of Commerce and is being organized by program director Jodi Hiett. Currently, Hiett is seeking volunteers to participate in the event, and would like people to sign up in advance so a head count can be obtained.

Volunteers will meet Saturday at the shelter house in Legion Park a little before 9 a.m. and spend about three hours picking up trash around Sidney.

The Chamber is hoping to have organizations form teams, so different areas of town can be covered.

The trash pick up will also be turned into a competition as teams race against other teams to see which one can amass the most trash.

Following the trash pickup, the city of Sidney will weigh each team's trash, and the three teams that collect the most trash will receive a monetary prize.

If an individual would like to volunteer, they can be paired up with other individuals or put on another team.

Depending on how many teams volunteer, the chamber would like to be able to spread out and clean up trash at several different locations.

The main focus will be on picking up trash at the entrances to the community such as along both ends of Illinois Street.

They also hope to tackle Legion Park and other surrounding areas, but it will just depend on how many teams they have.

The Chamber will also be sponsoring a volunteer appreciation barbecue lunch for all those participating following the trash pickup.