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F. W. Arndt, Pioneer Blair MerchantNewspaper Veteran Wife, FormerAnnie Gates, to Observe Anniversaryfit»5*rIt5 it1)ttItI' !■iV,BLAIR, Neb. UP). Frederick William Arndt, for 61 years a hardware merchant and Blair civic leader, and Mrs. Arndt, one of Nebraska’s earliest and best known newspaperwomen, are looking: forward to an observance of the 15th anniversary of their marriage, the second for both.Born in Cincinnati. Mr. Arndt came here with his parents on a steamboat from St. Louis in 1871. Enrolling in the Blair schools, he was graduated In 1877 and immediately joined the hardware com-, panv owned by the late G. G. Lundt, later his brother-in-law,Mr. Arndt first learned the tinner's trade, indispensable to a hardware man then, and Mrs. Arndt now prizes such then standard handmade equipment as cooky cutters, can openers, potato peelers and jelly molds, made by her husband as an apprentice.At 22 Mr. Arndt became a partner of Mr, Lundt. Now at 76, he not only heads the hardware firm that bears his name, but is also one of the owners of the Nebraska-Iowa Oil company, which operates a chain of 28 filling stations in eastern Nebraska and western Iowa, and is a partner in the Arndt-Snyder Motor company. He has served many terms as an officer of the Blair chamber of commerce, and at present is treasurer.Helped with Museum.He is also vice president of theNebraska Hardware Mutual Insurance company and has served recently as president of the Nebraska State Hardware Dealers’ association. None took a more active part in establishment of the historical museum at Fort Calhoun recently, one of his many hobbies being preservation of the early history of this part of the state.Mrs. Arndt a week ago experienced the thrill of learning that her son, C, Ray Gates, superintendent of the Grand Island schools, had been included in the latest edition of Who’s Who inAmerica,For years, until her retirement 15 years ago, Mrs. Arndt was referred to by scores of writers and editors as the Ella Wheeler Wilcox of Nebraska, partly because of her physical resemblance to the poet and partly because of resemblance in their styles of writing;At 15. Mrs. Arndt entered newspaper work, learning to set type on the Marble City, (la.) Weekly, of which her mother was editor. She abandoned newspaper work after her marriage, but upon the death of her husband she became news editor of the now defunct Stella (Neb.) Transcript, a semiweekly.She became associate editor of the Auburn Granger, later consolidated with another paper. For the Nebraska City Press and the Auburn paper she conducted a widely quoted column, “Glimpses of Human Nature.” and for a nation women’s magazine a column, Bittersweet.(s]lt;)11Actively interested in politicsnow, Mrs. Arndt for many years was an opponent of women's suffrage. At Baker, Kas., she was elected over two men to the school board. Later, at Auburn, without even knowing her name was being written in, she lost the mayor’s job by a narrow margin to a male opponent, carrying two of the city’s three wards.Mrs. Arndt, then Mrs. Annie Viola Gates, accompanied her son here when he was elected high school principal in 1911 and soon yielded to the lure of newspaper work again. For eight years she was associate editor of the Tribune, for four years served in the same capacity for the Enterprise, and. for a year was editor in chief of the Courier, all weeklies. From writing editorials to covering political rallies, running linotype, setting type by hand, operating a mailer and running a job press there is still nothing in a weekly newspaper Mrs. Arndt cannot do.Her granddaughter, Mrs. Paul Newell, is carrying on the family** newspaper tradition in the fourth generation. Mrs. Newell has served as proofreader for the Grand Island Independent, and her father,C. Ray Gates, while he attended Peru normal, was local editor of the Nebraska City News-Press.Mrs. Arndt for many years servedas Blair correspondent for various Nebraska dallies.Still interested in politics, she has been vice chairman of the republican central committee in Washington county for 25 years; is a member of the legislative committee of the state central committee. and_ was a delegate to republican national convention Chicago.€4w1w.1Ift1strflt;S(itilt;ii(iii]tt(c!#cIlt;I
Newspaper Details
Lincoln Nebraska State Journal
Lincoln, Nebraska, US
Tue, Oct 18, 1938
Page 4
Full Page
Clipped by
Leslie B.
USA 17 Oct 2022
Other Publications Near Lincoln, Nebraska
Lincoln Evening Journal
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Lincoln Daily News
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Lincoln Nebraska State Journal
