The Harper Herald (Harper, Tex.), Vol. 40, No. 29, Ed. 1 Friday, July 22, 1955 Page: 1 of 4
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Gillespie County Area Newspaper Collection and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Harper Library.
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j BOOSTING HARPER |
[ HIGH IN THE TEXAS HILLS [j
Ql=r>o^—>n<->n<->n<-»n<->rv->n<~0
VOLUME XXXX, No. 29.
wonueriui rains nave fallen in
,, ■ __ -----------I ouuwexs leu m narper and
the Harper community since last, surrounding area again on Tues-
weekend, with a total of four and day and Wednesday and indica-
one-half inches of precipitation | tions were that more of the same
haying been registered up to‘could be in store for this Dart
Monday noon. There has been lots * ” “ - P
of smiling faces and ranchers
and farmers are beginning to be-
lieve that perhaps the many
of Texas. Thundershowers and
heavy downpours were reported
throughout the past week from
most sections of Texas . Even El-
come to an end. At least this ' Paso reported a torrential down-
month of July has seen the great-’ pour Wednesday night and ear-
est rainfall for the usually dry jly Thursday morning
summer month. It has been ; Gillespians are in the best
many years since so much rain ' mood they have been in a lone
60th ANNIVERSARY—The 50th
anniversary of his ordination
into the Ministry was celebrated
at St. James Lutheran Church at
Harper last Friday by Dr. W. J.
Goerner, second from right, with
re-dedication services. Rev. &. N.
Roth, president of the Texas Dis-
trict of the American Lutheran
Church, right, delivered the ser-
mon. Dr. A. G. Wiederanders,
left, served as liturgist for the
—Staff photo
services. Rev. Robert Kreitlow,
second from left, an old friend of
Dr. Goerner’s from Watertown,
Wis., also gave a short address.
°I READ THIS
O (CONTRIBUTED)
W<^^o<zzz>o<zzz>o<zzz>o
NEW RED JETS
V-*
J
Russian Naval Performance
Announcer; Mr. Taylor, re-
ports say the Russians have
been flying new-type jet war-
planes over Moscow that, sur-
prised us. What about the Red
Air Force now?
Taylor: I’ve put this question
to the best informed men i&
our Air Force in Washington, in-
cluding Air Secretary Talbot,
and there is something I certain-
ly cannot get an answer to.
Red Flying Mystery
Here is the real mystery, so
far as anyone can determine.
Why did the Russians fly these
surprising planes like this, right
over our heads in Moscow for us
to see?
They did not have to tip us off
to their newest jet bombers being
in actual production. They didn’t
have to display what they had in
production by flying a whole
bunch of them. Thus they gave
us the idea that we should in-
crease our own bomber appro-
priations and production to the.
astounding degree that I hope to
show in a moment—over a bil-
lion dollars increased by us, in
fact, after we saw what the Rus-
sians had.
May Day Display
Yet, on May Day, the Reds
flew their new production planes
again and again right over our
Embassy in Moscow.
The Reds flew some of thes
planes as low as 1,000 feet over
the Embassy roof-top—as if to
make absolutely sure that our
Embassy people would photo-
graph them, which they did, and
that the Red planes would be
clearly seen for what they are
— modern, ' very high-powered
bombers now out of the model
stage and in production.
Repeat Performance
They did the same thing in
Moscow last May Day a year a-
go, and I broadcast about it then.
But why—why these revealing
maneuvers, to which, I can as-
sure you, no one in authority in
Washington feels he has the
answer, including, as I said, our
own very able Secretary of the
Air Force, Harold E. Talbot.
There’s the mystery. Nobody
knows and I have asked many
directly. > (
Of course, the range of jet
bombers was. originally the limit-
ing factor. But now the range—
and this applies to the Red bomb-
ers as well—has been enormous-
ly extended by perfection of the
system of refueling in the air.
Six-Minute Refueling
For example, last year our
own Strategic Air Force, amaz-
ing as it may seem, actually re-
fueled one of it* bombers aloft
every six minutes of the day and
night. That’s how standardized
the difficult refueling operation
has become.
You can see this magnificently
displayed in Jimmy Stewart’s
new picture “Strategic Air Com-
mand. produced with the cooper-
ation of the Air Force.
Texas District President Lauds Work
Of Dr. W. J. Goerner On Anniversary
Rev. C. N. Roth of Seguin,
president of hte Texas District
of the American Luth. Church,
lauded the unselfish service that
Dr. and Mrs. W. J. Goerner of
St. James Lutheran Church of
Harper have given to God and
man during their lifetimes, at
their golden wedding anniversary
and 50th year of ordination of
Dr. Goerner, Friday at Harper.
Parishioners, friends and pas-
tors of Harper and neighboring
towns thronged St. James fol-
low of Watertown, Wisconsin, a
pastor of the Moravian Church
and an old friend, of the cele-
brants, also spoke at the services.
Rev. F. A. Bracher served as
master of ceremonies during the
luncheon program.
Dr. and Mrs. Goerner, both na-
tives of Germany, were united in
marriage in Neudorf, Saskatchi-
wan, Canada, on July 15, 1905,
by the Rev. George Hoffmann.
He was. ordained three days latei
at Winnipeg City, Canada.
has fallen during July.
Boy Scouts Receive '
Merit Badges
Several Harper Boy Scouts re-
ceived merit badges while in
camp last week. They were | r~~~ j
John Tarr, Jimmie Peril and Mai- our£ and the area east and south
colm Marschall, who received !lad one Saturday night, and the
badges in archery; while Jimmie riarPer'D°ss area came through
Peril and Malcolm Marschall WTJ? °?e Sunday,
received merit badges in canoe- L Charles Moss at the Enchanted
Rock has had over five inches,
time, as nearly the whole county
, was blessed with good soaking
; rains.
j Showers have fallen intermit-
tently for the past week, and
j nearly every section had at least
lone good soaker. The Willow
| City-Enchanted Rock area had its
best rain Thursday; Fredericks-
ing.
Harper HOB Met At
Youth Center July 14
both the luncheon add aiieriicJon "Simce that rime, he has served
services. Those who couldn’t at
tend sent letters and cards wish-
ing the couple many more years
of blessed union and service.
Celebrating with the couple
was their son, John Goerner, and
his wife, who were observing
their silver wedding on the same
date.
Rev. Roth, the district pres-
ident, was the principal speaker
at afternoon services. Dr. A. G.
Wiederaenders, professor of re-
ligion at Texas Lutheran College,
served as, liturgist. Rev. Kreit-
Let’s Keep The
Cemetery Clean
The Cemetery Committee and
keeper wish to announce that
anyone who cleans off flowers, or
shrubs from the graves to please
take them to the receptacle
where they are burned, and not
throw them over the fence.
They would like to keep the
cemetery as neat in appearance
as possible, and this can be done
only with the cooperation of
everybody.
Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Duder-
stadt and daughters who are
making their home at Harlingen
spent the week end here visiting
his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Geo.
Duderstadt and ,at their ranch.
--ooo-
Mr. and Mrs. Forest Stevens
of Bandera and Mr. and Mrs.
Fred Bode of Kerrville were vis-
itors in the George .Duderstadt
and J. O. Stevens home Sunday.
-ooo-—
Mr. and Mrs. Max Lange left
Sunday for Arkansas to visit
their daughter, Mrs. Gene Pres-
tidge and Mr. Prestidge.
-ooo-
Mr. and Mrs. John Honig and
daughters and Mr. and Mrs. Gene
Harper and sons spent Sunday in
San Antonio and visited the Zoo,
-ooo-
Perilous Position
However, this refueling requir-
tSee I READ THIS, pp 4)
Mrs. F. M. Floyd who has been
spending several weeks in Fred-
ericksburg has returned to her
home in Harper.
--ooo—-
Mr. and Mrs. Louis Kunz vis-
ited relatives in San Antonio
Monday through Tuesday.
MR. AND MRS. R, DITTMAR
HONORED THEIR GUESTS
FROM DECATUR, ILL.
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Dittmar
entertained the following guests
with a barbecue supper, Mr. and
Mrs. Glen Hopf, Mr. and Mrs. V.
A. Hopf, Mrs. Alfred Kott, Mr.
and Mrs. Eugene Sidlo and sons,
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Klingelhoe-
fer, Mr. and Mrs. Otto Dittmar.
Mr. .and Mrs. Henry Lewis, and
Mr. and Mrs. DeLong and son
of Decateur, 111.
The pleasant affair was in hon-
or of Mr. and Mrs. DeLong.
pastorates in Canada, the Unit-
ed States, in the Carribean area
and in Germany, as well as serv-
ing several years on the staff
of both Texas Lutheran Collegge
and Southwestern University.
Members of the family present
for the occasion were their child-
ren, Miss Elizabeth Goerner of
Washington, D. C., where she is
in the Federal Service with the
Department of Health; Mr. and
Mrs. John Goerner, San Antonio
and their daughter, Elizabeth
Ann; Capt. and Mrs. Herbert
Goerner, adjutant, Air Force
Base Hospital, Bryan, Herbie J.
and Martha Dell; Mr. and Mrs.
Martin Goerner, personnel officer
of the Bethlehem Steel Corp.,
Bethlehem, Pa.; Rev. Goerner’s
brother and wife, Mr. and Mrs.
Werner Goerner, general super-
intendent of the Nortz Lumber
Company, Devil’s Lake,- North
Dakota, and Mrs. Martha Goer-
ner, widow of his late brother
Rev. .John H. Goerner, Fargo,
North Dakota.
Distinguished guests at the
noon luncheon who addressed
the audience were Dr. Frederick
Eby, University of Texas; Dr. O.
A. Ullrich, dean of Southwestern
University, and Robert Ditt-
mar vice - chairman of St.
James Lutheran Church, who
spoke in behalf of the congrega-
tion. A few congratulatory re-
marks were made by Rev. Kreit-
low, and Werner Goerner spoke
in behalf of the family, thanking
everyone present for helping
make it such an outstanding
day.
Thanksgiving and re-dedication
services were held at 3 p. m. with
Miss Elizabeth Goerner playing
the organ. The re-dedication pro-
cession consisted of the Church
Council, led by Robert Dittmar;
Rev. Roth, Dr. Wiederaenders;
Rev. Kreitlow; Herbie J. and
Martha Dell Goerner, pillow bear-
ers; Mr. and Mrs. John Goerner
and Dr. and Mrs. Goerner.
Rev. Roth, in delivering the an-
niversary sermon, based his re-
marks on Isaiah 52:7. Dr. Goer-
ner spoke briefly to the silver
wedding couple and pronounced
upon them the Aaronitic benedic-
tion with the imposition of hands,
after which Rev. Roth re-dedi-
cated Dr. Goerner to the service
of Christ and they, kneeling to-
gether, received the Old Testa-
ment benediction.
At the reception afterwards
congratulatory addresses were
made by Rev. A. A. Gitter, pastor
of St. Anthony’s Catholic Church,
Harper; Rev. A. E. Flathmann,
St. Peter Lutheran Church, Doss;
Rev. Gus. Sager, Zion Lutheran
Church, Fredericksburg and Rev.
M. J. Schwarz, Fredericksburg.
Rev. Gus Sager presented the
celebrants with a gift in behalf
of the Fredericksburg Minister-
ial Association and Robert Ditt-
mar gave them a cash gift in be-
half of the congregation.
The Harper Home Demonstra-
tion Club met Thursday, July 14,
at the Youth Center at 3 p. m.
with Mrs. W. E. Fletcher and showers.
Mrs. V. M. Harris, as hostesses.
Mrs. Belton Tatsch, program
chairman, conducted a quiz about
the Flag of the United States.
Mrs. Dittmar and Mrs. Ferdinand
Tatsch tied for the prize.
Mrs. Douglas Dittmar gave
helpful suggestions on accessor-
ies of . which Misses Bernice and
Mary Duderstadt gave a skit.
Mrs. Wendel reported that the
cemetery had been cleaned and
that a drive for funds would be
made soon, since the nice rains
more work will have to be done.
There will be a family night
at the Community Park, on Aug.
11, with various entertainment
and games.
Members are invited to bring
their families.
The hostesses served cookies
and. iced-tea-- to- eight •m.-em1--
of which 3.25 inches fell Thurs-
day. He has had several small
showers since.
Over at Bear Creek, Rubin Her-
bort and his neighbors have been
getting plenty of rain. Saturday
they had over five inches, and
they received another good rain-
Tuesday, as well as other small
and County Home Demonstration
Agent, Mrs. Dittmar.
Theo Oehler Family
Reunion Held Last
Sunday
Sunday, July 17, was a grand
day for the “Theo Oehler Tribe”,
which held its reunion at the
home of Mr. and Mrs. Theo Oeh-
ler.
All of their children, of which
12 are living, were present, as
well as their wives and children,
to enjoy the occasion. Out of
the 56 members of the family,
two grandsons, J. C. (Bob) Oeh-
ler of Dallas and Kenneth Oehler
of Harper, could not be there.
Bob is in the Hawaiian Islands
and Kenneth left two weeks ago
to enter the Air Force Academy
at Lowery Field near Denver.
Those present were Herbie,
Herman and Carl Oehler and
their families of Harper; Lena,
Mrs. R. W. Kothmann, and fam-
ily of Mountain Home; Chester
Oehler and family of Dallas;
Laura, Mrs. Orval Bailey, and
family from Ft. Walton Beach,
Florida; Cora, Mrs. Oscar Albert,
and family from Corpus Chris.ti;
Dorothy, Mrs. Bob Webb, and
family of Dallas; Margaret, Mrs.
Bert Hood, and family of Jack-
sonville; Lorene, Mrs. E. R.
(Ray) Henderson, and family of
San Antonio, and T. J. Oehler of
Harper. Rev. Jessie Long, Har-
per, was also present.
CLOSING PROGRAM FOR
VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL
FRIDAY NIGHT
Closing exercises for the com-
bined Methodist and Presbyter-
ian Church Vacation Bible School
will be held Friday evening at
8 p. m. (tonight).
Everyone is cordially invited
to attend.
-ooo—-
Rev. Richard Gammenthaler
accompanied his brother, Fred
Gammenthaler to Harper one day
last week.
Henry Wendel at Spring Creek
reported that he has had 3.70
inches since Friday, and Walde-
mar Kroll at Harper stated Tues-
day that he has had 3.40 and that
his pastures and fields are look-
ing better than they have in
years. At Doss, Elgin Dittmar,
has had nearly four inches, of
which most fell Sunday around
noon. At the same time, Harper
got a real soaker which filled
the gullies and creeks and com-
pletely flooded the road in spots.
At Stonewall, Alvin Weinheim-
er reported good rains, and Mrs.
S. S. Mauldin at Pleasant Hill
stated that some residents in that
area have had over five inches.
Otto Uecker at Rocky reported
that, he had only 1.11 inches from
c’r'iday to Monday.
R T’eotding to N. J. Dietel, local
weather observer, Fredericksburg
has received exactly four Inches
in July, which is by far the best
July rainfall in years. In 1954,
only .15 of an inch fell; 1953, .67;
1952, .53, and in 1951, .15. The
heaviest shower to fall here came
Saturday night, when 2.35 inches
were recorded. In other areas of
the city, however, rains that
night were over three inches and
the total for July is approximat-
ely five inches in these areas.
Blanco and the area around it
seem to be a stepchild, as far
as rain is concerned. They are
still extremely dry, having had
only a few small showers which
had no relieving effect, what-
ever.
Torrential downpours in the
Kerrville and Comfort areas put
the Guadalupe River on one of
its biggest rises in a long time,
as it crested at a reported 18 feet
at Comfort.
In spite of the rains, there is
evidence a-plenty that the dog
days are here. The highest tem-
perature for the year was record-
ed Thursday, when the mercury
soared up to the 102 mark.
CELEBRANTS — at St. James
Lutheran Church at Harper
last Friday, the above two cou-
ples observed wedding anniver-
saries. They are Mr. and Mrs.
John Goerner, left and Dr. and
Mrs. W. J. Goerner. Dr. Goerner,
pastor of St. James, also cele-
brated his 50th anniversary of
ordination into the ministry. Dr.
—Staff photo
C. N. Roth, president of the Tex-
as District of the American
Lutheran Church, was the prin-
cipal speaker for the occasidh.
To Wed In September
Commissioner’s Court
Orders School; Election
George Turner of San Juan an-
nounces the engagement and ap-
proaching marriage of his daugh-
ter Jane, to Robert V. White-
wood, son of Mr. and Mrs. John
S. Whitewood of Edinburg, form-
er long-time residents of Harper.
The wedding will take place dur-
ing early September. Miss Tur-
ner is a graduate of Donna High
School and attended Pan Amer-
ican College in Edinburg. The
bridegroom-elect was born in
Harper, and attended school there
until 1948 when his family mov-
ed to Edinburg, where he grad-
uated from high school. He at-
tended Pan American College al-
so, and A&I College in Kingsville.
He is presently serving in the
U.S. Navy.
Mr. and Mrs. Clayton Kneese
and sons visited Mr. and Mrs.
Clifton Kneese and son at New
Braunfels Saturday and Sunday.
Johnnie Kneese accompanied his
uncle and aunt back to Harper to
attend Bible School.
At the regular session of the
Gillespie County Commissioners
Court last week, County Judge
Victor Sagebiel, in response to a
petition presented him, ordered a
school tax election for the Doss
Consolidated Common School
August Term BrasstS
' Jury List Released
The August Term Grand Jury
list, which will serve from the
third Monday in August until the
third Monday in February, was
released this week.
On the list are Desmond Sage-
biel, Kenneth Hohmann, Mrs. C.
M. George, Simon Burg, Arthur
Pressler, Roy Weinheimer, E. G.
Horlen, Mrs. N. B. Olsen. Plaroid
Kusenoerger' ' Mrs. Clinton
Brown, Marvin Schuch, Roland
Bonn, Mrs. Paul Sauer, Otto Zim-
mermann, Walter Welgehausen
and Elmer Bierschwale.
iitlmar Reunion
7e Be Held Sunday
The first reunion of the family
of Martin and Elizabeth Osch-
mann Dittmar will be held Sun-
day at Klaerner’s Park.
A short program has been ar-
ranged. All those planning on at-
tending are asked to bring a bas-
ket lunch.
Mr. and Mrs. Marshall Brown
of Junction and Mr, and Mrs.
Mrs. Fred Whetstone visited in
the E. R. Brown home Sunday.
-ooo-
Miss Elizabeth Goerner of
Washington, D. C., is here visit-
ing her parents.
District for July 30,
The tax they are to vote on
would not exceed 75c per $100
property valuation.
The court also approved rou-
tine matters, such as the pay-
ment. of bills and salaries and ap-
proved the monthly reports of
the county officials.
A $12 per month raise in sal-
ary was voted the tax assessor-
collector in accordance with the
recently passed Senate Bill No.
379.
Five Killed In Accidents
In District During Jsa§
Five persons lost their lives in
automobile accidents on rural
highways in the San Antonio Dis-
trict ot the State Highway Pati o t
during the month of June,’ac-
cording to figures released this
week by the district office.
In addition, 47 persons were
injured and property loss
amounted to $75,013. Accidents
reported and investigated by the
patrol totalled 112.
They arrested 887 persons for
traffic violations, Including 47 for
driving while intoxicated, 298 for
speeding and 73 for improper
passing. Issued written warnings
for hazardous- traffic violations
were 1,937 persons, and 95 were
arrested on warrants for other
districts.
Most common factors causing
accidents were speeding, drink-
ing while driving, careless and
reckless driving, driving on the
wrong side of the road, improper
passing and improper turning.
The 30 men on routine patrol
duty and the four administrative
men worked a total of 6,365 man-
hours and travelled 77,269 miles.
-ooo-
Mr. and Mrs. Paul Barr and
two children who have been
spending several weeks with her
parents, Mr. and Mrs. E. R.
Brown, returned to Rocksprings
Wednesday.
-ooo-
Boy Scouts who attended camp
at Indian Creek near Ingram,
through last week were, John
Arthur Tart, Hollis Walker, Jim-
mie Peril, Edward Dikemann,
Malcolm and Cody Marshall and
Scoutmaster, Dennis Parker, and
Councilmen J. R. Peril, Watkins
Tarr, Holland Walker and Vic-
tor Marschall.
-ooo-
Mr. and Mrs. Marvin Heimann
of Kerrville visited Mr. and Mrs.
Hobson Hopf Sunday.
Texas Draft For
August Gall For 550
Austin, Texas—A Texas draft
induction call for 550 men for
August was announced today by
Lt. Col. Morris S. Schwartz, de-
puty ■ director of State Selective
Service.
The call, Texas’ share of a na-
tional call for 10,000 men, is
identical with the quota for July.
Quotas have maintained an al-
most constant level for several
months.
There will be no physical-men-
tal examinations of men for mil-
itary service through the draft
boards in August, except in isolat-
ed cases.
With the exception of volun-
teers, the August induction call
will be filled only with men who
on August 1 are at least 21 years
of age, said the deputy State Se-
lective Service director.
The June quota of 549 compares
with a May quota of 544 and an
April quota of 432.
“If calls continue as small as
they are and conditions remain
the same, we will have no calls
for physical-mental examinations
in the foreseeable future”, Gen-
eral Wakefield said.
The average age of men now
being inducted in Texas is above
21. Draft board quotas are be-
ing filled to a great extent with
said, many of the volunteers be-
ing under 21 years old.
-ooo—-
Mrs. Jim Snow of Eden is vis-
iting her cousin, Mrs
vens this week.
--ooo-
Rev. and Mrs. J. D.
of Yancy visited
last Wednesday.
J. O. Ste-
Farmer
friends here
PROCESSION — At Harper last
Friday, after re-dedication ser-
vices, the celebrants at the gold-
en and silver wedding annivers-
ary and Rev. W. J. Goerner’s
50th anniversary in the ministry
march in porcession to the edu-
cation building, where the recep-
tion was held. In front are Mar-
tha Dell and Herbie J. Goerner,
Dr. Goerner’s grandchildren and
pillow bearers; following them
are Dr. and Mrs. W. J. Goerner,
who celebrated their 50th wed-
ding anniversary; behind them
are Mr. and Mrs. John Goerner,
who celebrated their 25th wed-
ding anniversary. Rev. C. N.
—Staff photo
Roth, president of the Texas Dis-
trict of the American Lutheran
Church and principal speaker for
the day, Dr. A. G. Wiederanders,
professor of religion at Texas Lu-
theran College and liturgist for
the services, may be seen in the
background.
The Harper Herald
BOOSTING HARPER—A PROGRESSIVE COMMUNITY IN THE CENTER OF THE HILL COUNTRY HUNTING PARADISE
1 lx X ten 0i rpnr
Harper, Texas
A WONDERFUL REGION }
FINEST CLIMATE IN TEXAS
HARPER, GILLESPIE COUNTY, TEXAS. Friday, July 22, 1955,
SUBSCRIPTION $1.50 A YEAR
Over Four Inches Rain
Fell Here Past Week End
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Dietel, Norman J. The Harper Herald (Harper, Tex.), Vol. 40, No. 29, Ed. 1 Friday, July 22, 1955, newspaper, July 22, 1955; Harper, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1057811/m1/1/: accessed May 4, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Harper Library.