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ntatntheff.he3.Jn , en ice id, nd toil-* sir ve he50edir-adn-'ck?mhetestoed.n-5Wno^ashelesheil-nyof:al.eir•edel-nd;astoo late to re-enter. So this year the brother will start their education together, book education, that is.But as the type writers clackand the red headed baby chews up more toes and the little boys study their readers, the elders will be thinking of how white lies the snow tonight in the Cascades.The Late Nelson L. M'DowelL Fairbury Pioneer, Unusually Colorful CharacterBY LUCILE JENKINS. {Nelson L. McDowell, Fairbury , pioneer recently killed when his car was hit by the early morning j motor at a Fairbury crossing, has i made his two Jefferson county i tenants, Arthur ana Paul Zim- j merman, a gift of a quarter sec- j tion each of his land west of Fair- | bury which they have been farm- i mg for the past 18 years. !“They have never cheated me | out of a penny/7 Mr. McDowell is 1 reported to have said. The deeds j inside sealed envelopes have reposed in a bank deposit box since 1933, having been executed by Mr. McDowell in 1928. When the German tenant brothers were presented with the envelopes by the administrator and learned their contents, they were speechless with gratitude. A third quarter adjoining the Zimmerman land is bequeathed to relatives.A memorandum left by Mr. McDowell expresses the wish that 480 acres of his land, the Rose creek farm south of Fairbury, become the property of the state of Nebraska for a public park.Carved Mausoleum.It is on this land, the McDowell home farm, that Nels McDowell amused himself during spare time in carving a mausoleum out of the sandstone hill on the brink of Rose creek. The place has an anteroom and inside are 6 foot shelves jokingly designated as a final resting places for himself and his farm neighbor, Cliff Hunter For years people from a wide radius thronged to this spot. On the rocks near the mausoleum were carved in the sandstone Pulpit Rock, Lover’s Lane, Devil’s Slide, and on the side of the hill which overlooks many miles of the county in all directions, the name Lookout mountain. Well trodden paths led through the lovely wooded section. In recent years, however, the rustic bridge which is the only road approach to the spot, has become impassable.Owned Early Auto.Mr. McDowell owned one of the first automobiles in Fairbury. He continued to own the same machine while many of his friends ran the gauntlet from lowly makes to the be«st, and some of them back again. Every day he shined the brass on his gas buggy, and ram or shme, every day for years he took the trip between his splendid cornfields, across the rustic bridge and up the sharplittle hill to look over his farm. For many years Nels McDowell m his shining car was one of the sights of the county.Nelson McDowell was the son of the late J B. McDowell, once state legislator, Fairbury and Beatrice pioneer. He was also the nephew of Judge Woodford McDowell, founder of Fairbury. In the early 1900’s he was deputy secretary of state He used to carry a simple lunch and eat on a bench which he had made with his own hands under a fine elm tree at the old ^ state capitol grounds. At one time during his tenure of office, plans called for the cutting down of this tree. Mr. McDowell protested vigorously, and all other efforts having failed, rumor has it that he persuaded the woodman to “spare that tree” at the point of his gun. However, Mr. McDowell was a mild mannered and humorous person, and probably prevailed on the workmen without resorting to firearms. \t any rate, the tree was left that he might enjoy his daily lunch in peace.Although having no financial worries, Mr. McDowell was always busy One task he enjoyed doing for his home town was the building of a stone w all near the Blue river bridge which helped prevent high water from flowing over a stretch of road there. The city furnished the material, and early and late Nels worked on the stone wall until it was finished—* for the sheer love of labor and usefulness.From the cafe where Mr. McDowell had taken his meals for many years, Mrs. O. G Savage, the proprietor’s wife, carried him. his big drinking goblet. It contained two and one half ordinary glasses of water amd saved the services of the waitress, he said. The goblet full of water sat at his place every meal.“No one else will be needing this glass,” she said sadly.Ancedotes of this character are numerous, and many which show his generosity and general like-ableness will never be told because of his antipathy to self exploitation. The only appeal which won the right to publish any of his doings during his lifetime was to his sense of humor.Fairbury and Jefferson county will miss Nels McDowell Straight and lithe as an Indian despite his 80 years, his face crinkled with the joy of living as he greeted friends everywhere.
Newspaper Details
Sunday Journal and Star
Lincoln, Nebraska, US
Sun, Oct 10, 1937
Page 35
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
MI, USA 25 Feb 2024
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