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Clara Amelia Cook

Written By: nppladmin - Jan• 13•22

Originally published on Facebook October 15, 2021.

All during the month of October, North Platte History Fridays are going to feature the people who were impacted the most by Annie Cook. Today, we are looking at the life of Annie and Frank Cook’s only child: Clara Amelia Cook. If you want to know more about Annie, be sure to check out the book “Evil Obsession” by Nellie Snyder Yost.

Clara Amelia Cook was born on February 21, 1894 to Annie and Frank Cook in Hershey, Nebraska. If there actually was one person that Annie actually liked and perhaps felt love for, it was her daughter Clara. Sadly, Annie taught her daughter to love money, the manipulation of men, and her constant need to make more money. It is unknown what Clara’s childhood was actually like, but it is likely that Annie forced her to work as hard as a worker, as well as taught her the value of money.

In the book Evil Obsession, it is mentioned that when Clara was approximately 12-13 years old, Annie took her to meet “Jane” in Omaha to train her to work in a brothel. It is suggested that Jane was a Madam of several houses of prostitution; and taught both Annie and Clara how to use sex as a weapon and make money with their bodies. Upon their return to North Platte, Annie started Clara working in the North Platte brothels she owned. It is rumored that Annie forced Clara to have a hysterectomy so she wouldn’t get pregnant. Clara shared her mother’s love of money and seemed to be following in her footsteps. She was willing to do anything to make her own money.

Researchers found several marriages for Clara. Her first marriage come on October 9, 1909. She married a William H VanLue, age 26. Newspaper reports state that she was 16, but if you do the math, she was actually 15 years old.

A year later, on December 6, 1910, Steve Papus, a Greek gentleman proposed to Clara. He gave her $100 cash at the proposal and a $200 certified check if she would marry him. Clara said yes!

Mind you, she was still married to VanLue at this point. Four days later, on December 20, 1910, Clara wrote the editor of the newspaper stating that she was a married woman and that the marriage proposal was untrue. <See newspaper editorial rebuttal> A few days after that, Pappas said Clara would not return his money to him! A newspaper reporter joked that they hoped he learned a valuable lesson about paying a bride to be in advance of the wedding.

On August 3, 1911, researchers found a petition to divorce William and Clara VanLue because William was charged with extreme cruelty against Clara. The divorce was granted made final on September 11, 1911. Clara was age 17.

Then on March 11, 1912, a marriage license was returned to the courthouse unused, as Clara could not muster up courage to marry a Joseph Possa (unsure of surname spelling-could be Passa or Posso). But by November 6, 1913, Joseph Passa and Clara were married. It is unclear what happened to this marriage, because a divorce cannot be found. There are a few Joseph Posso/Passo in WWI and WWII, but none can be traced back to Clara or North Platte. So Clara’s story moves on, under the assumption that either Clara divorced or Annie drove Joseph Possa away by 1913. And most likely, Clara went back to prostitution.

Now, throughout North Platte’s early years, there were always folks down on their luck and the first newspaper accounting of a “Poor Home” or “Poor Farm” was April 25, 1885. The newspaper states that the “The Rowley property was selected as a poor farm, the consideration being $1,600 to be paid on the 20th of June by warrants.” in the County Commissioner Proceedings notes. Over the years, the Poor Farm change hands from person to person. But, in 1923, the County awarded the Poor Farm contract to Clara Cook and she held that contract until her death in 1934. Over the years, Clara collected between $62 and $300 per month to take care of the people living at the poor farm. In 1923 dollars, $62 dollars would be worth approximately $994 based on average inflation rates. She would take care of anywhere from 2-20 persons with this money. And, of course, all poor farm inmates (as they were called back then), worked hard on Annie’s farm. As early as 1924, there were suspicions that the County Funds were not going to the Poor Farm inmates, but to the Cooks; however, no one would speak openly about this. <See newspaper article on the Poor Farm from 1924>

There are several newspaper articles and the book, Evil Obsession mentions that the Poor Farm Inmates were forced to work on Annie’s farm. They were fed meager rations and many died from malnutrition or were simply worked to death.

By 1934, Clara was making decent money from the Poor Farm income; and most likely had stopped working as a prostitute. Clara and Annie did fight on just about any subject on a regular basis, but especially money. Annie may have loved Clara, but she certainly did not share her money with Clara; she expected Clara to make her own money.

Suddenly, at age 38, Clara died.

From the book “Evil Obsession” by Nellie Snyder Yost:

Liz said “You won’t believe this, but Annie just killed Clara.”
“How?” said Joe.
“Well, they’d been fighting all morning,” Liz replied, picking her words carefully. “Finally, Clara yelled to Annie, “I don’t give a damn what you do, and she run outta the kitchen to the yard, here. Then Annie grabbed the lid lifter off the stove and run after her. I come out, too, and I saw Annie throw the lifter at Clara. It hit her right here,” Liz put her hand to the right side of her head, a little toward the back, then paused again, as if it were hard for her to find the right words to go on.
Well, then Clara begins to run around this tree, around and around, two or three times, like a chicken with it’s head cut off, and then she just fell down, dead.”
Evil Obsession (1991) by Nellie Snyder Yost, page 167.

However, according to the North Platte Bulletin Newspaper: “A victim of tragic error. Clara Cook, age 38, died yesterday morning when an inmate at the Poor Farm prepared a dose of disinfectant (Lysol) for her, thinking it was the medicine she had requested.” <see newspaper article>

No inmate or person was ever prosecuted for her death.

Clara Cook died May 29, 1934 and is buried in the North Platte Cemetery.

Drop back next week for more North Platte & Lincoln County history!

Posted in Businesses, Government, North Platte History, People , Annie Cook, Clara Amelia Cook, County Poor Farm, Evil Obsession, Joseph Possa Passa Posso, Nellie Snyder Yost, Steve Papus, William H. VanLue | Comments Off

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Petske

Written By: nppladmin - Jan• 13•22

All during the month of October, the North Platte History Friday posts are going to feature the people who were impacted the most by Annie Cook. Last week we started with Annie Cook and this week, we are looking at the life of her sister, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Knox. If you want to know more about Annie, be sure to check out the book “Evil Obsession” by Nellie Snyder Yost.

Elizabeth (Lizzie) Petske was born February 26, 1878 in Denver, Colorado. Lizzie was a happy, friendly child who loved helping her parents with their livery stable. Newspaper accounts and the book Evil Obsession all indicate that Lizzie had some type of intellectual disability.

Lizzie’s life took an unfortunate turn in 1900, when she was 22 years old. Her sister, Annie, convinced their parents that Lizzie’s mental status was so low that she would never find a husband. Annie promised their parents that she would take good care of her sister, on her farm, here in Nebraska.

By the summer of 1900, Lizzie had moved to Hershey, Nebraska. And as such, she began a lifetime of abuse by Annie Cook.

But Lizzie had a secret; when she was living in Colorado with her parents, she had begun a friendship with a man from Hyannis, Nebraska—Joe Knox. So, when Annie wanted to bring Lizzie to Hershey/North Platte, she was happy to go because then she could see Joe more often and start courting him.

Sadly, it didn’t take long for Annie’s verbal and physical abuse to start. Lizzie and Annie’s daughter Clara started working together in the poultry houses. Annie had started raising turkeys, ducks, and guinea hens to sell for extra money, as well as give to prominent businessmen, for favors. Lizzie started her day at 4:00AM. She had to milk the cows, feed the chickens, and prepare breakfast for the household and workers, do laundry, clean Annie’s house, etc. Then, depending on the time of year, she would be in the fields planting crops, picking corn, drawing water from the well to keep the young fruit trees growing. There was always a large garden to tend to, as well as putting up preserves, vegetables, and fruit for winter. She was kept working from before dawn to after sundown. During Thanksgiving and Christmas Times, Lizzie had to kill the poultry, pluck the feathers off, clean and dress the poultry for Annie’s customers. Then back to milking the cows in the evening and check on the chickens.

Annie would feed Lizzie and Clara gruel, so she didn’t have to spend money on food. Lizzie wore rags for clothes, and nothing went to waste on the farm. Every scrap, every piece of trash had some other use for Annie. Nothing was thrown away. Nobody knew what was really going on because Annie lavished her guests and customers with the best quality items on the farm. Annie and the family went to the Lutheran church in Hershey occasionally and would be allowed to wear “good, church” clothes, because appearances must be kept up. Guests would get bags of perfect apples and Lizzie ate ones with worms in them. Buyers got the best dressed chickens, while Lizzie ate soup made from the heads and tails of the chickens.

Annie whipped all her farm workers with a buggy whip, including Lizzie. And yet, there was one chore Lizzie was happy to do – walk down the lane and fetch the mail. That meant she could send and receive letters from Joe Knox, without Annie knowing about it.

Within a year of working on the farm, Lizzie finally wrote Joe about how Annie abused her and that she kept Joe’s letters a secret from Annie. He visited her at Annie’s farm in December 1900 and promised that he would marry Lizzie in the spring. Annie was in town during Joe’s visit and did not know about it.

In May of 1901, Joe kept his promise and the morning they were to be married, Lizzie started walking before the sun was up. She alternated between walking and running, terrified that Annie would come after her and overtake her on the road. Lizzie made it to the courthouse and married Joe.

Annie showed up a few days later in Hyannis. Annie used her “vanilla voice” stating how frightened and worried they all were when they couldn’t’ find Lizzie. To Joe and his family, Annie’s soothing, sweet voice sounded rational and sincere. But her eyes were dark with anger and Lizzie knew Annie had come to take her back home. By the end of the visit, Annie’s vanilla voice had turned to rage and anger; she began to scream and shout at Joe. Joe ordered Annie off the premises. He told Annie that Lizzie was his wife and she wasn’t going anywhere. Annie left full of rage; and without Lizzie.

Lizzie was relieved and so happy to stay with Joe in Hyannis. She helped at his parents’ hotel and stables. Lizzie loved working at the hotel, it was much easier than working for Annie. On July 13, 1902, (about one year after Annie’s visit), Lizzie and Joe had their first and only child, a little girl named Mary. Mary Knox was born on July 13, 1902 in Hyannis, Nebraska.

In 1905, Joe’s mother passed away and they had to sell the hotel. Which meant that Joe and his father went back to working the fields as ranch hands. Lizzie was busy taking care of Mary and her husband. Annie happened to write Mary around this time, asking for her to come for a visit. Lizzie believed that maybe Annie had changed and decided to go for a visit with Annie.

Lizzie knew the moment Annie picked her up, it was a big mistake. Annie yelled at Lizzie all the way back to the farm. Upon arrival at the farm, Annie immediately put Lizzie back to work milking the cows and checking the chickens before bed.

Joe Knox tried to go get Lizzie several times, and Annie met him with her shotgun every time. After trying a couple times to get his wife back, Joe Knox gave up trying. They eventually divorced on the grounds of abandonment.

Lizzie’s daughter, Mary was only 3 years old, when they were taken to the farm, so she wasn’t much use to Annie. So Annie sent her to live with her brother in Colorado. As soon as Mary was old enough to be a farm-hand, Annie went and brought her back to the farm.

Over the years, Lizzie and Mary endured physical and mental abuse by Annie. Mary tried several times as a teenager to run away, only to be brought back to Annie’s farm by Sheriff Art Salisbury.

When Mary was 22 years old, she got in a horrible fight with Annie. Annie wanted Mary to start working in her prostitution houses and Mary refused. A fight ensued and Annie stabbed her with a knife. Mary ran away and thankfully, this time found herself picked up by the newly elected Sheriff Lyman Berthe. Berthe stated that Mary was free, white, and over 21 years of age, so she did not have to return to Annie Cook’s farm if she didn’t want to return.

Mary was free at last. She adapted to a world without mental and physical abuse with the help of Ada Kelly. Ada was the wife of AP Kelly, North Platte Telegraph editor. She was a kind Christian woman who did everything she could to rehabilitate individuals who had fallen into “a bad way.” Mary tried to rescue her mother several times, but never succeeded. Mary married twice. Her second husband was her great love, Louis Cauffman. Mary Cauffman died July 10, 1987.

Lizzie never left Annie’s farm until Annie died in 1952. After Annie’s death, Lizzie went to live with Mary and her husband Louis. Lizzie was malnourished. Her body was scarred and she was mentally broken. Annie had knocked out most of Lizzie’s teeth over the years.

Mary filed a claim for Lizzie for $75,000 against Annie’s estate, for all her years of work without pay. Three years later, Lizzie was awarded $32,000. But the estate was contested. More years went by and a lawyer finally offered $12,000, as a settlement. Mary took it, to continue providing care for her mother.

Lizzie lived with Mary until her death on September 9, 1958. The only thing Lizzie ever requested was to NOT be buried in the Cook plot at the North Platte Cemetery. Elizabeth “Lizzie” Knox is buried some distance away from the Cook plot; and Mary is buried with her beloved Louis Cauffman. Mary died on July 10, 1987.

Thank you for reading and we’ll see you next week for another person impacted by Annie Cook.

Posted in North Platte History, People , Ada Kelly, Annie Cook, Clara Cook, Elizabeth Petske, Evil Obsession, Joe Knox, Lizzie Petske, Louis Cauffman, Mary Cauffman, Mary Knox, Nellie Snyder Yost, Sheriff Art Salisbury, Sheriff Lyman Berthe | Comments Off

Annie Cook

Written By: nppladmin - Jan• 13•22

Originally published on Facebook October 1, 2021.

This week’s North Platte History features a woman who was featured in a fictional book, called “Evil Obsession,” by Nellie Snyder Yost. And that woman is Annie Cook.

While Yost changed the name and location of the people in the book, local readers quickly identified the real people. Twenty-five years ago, many North Platte and Lincoln County residents vividly still remembered Annie Cook, even though she died in 1952. And many people believed that the events recorded in the book all had a grain of truth to them. The book that was published as a work of fiction, was probably closer to a true crime novel.

All during the month of October, we are going to feature the people who were impacted the most by Annie Cook. And we start with Annie, herself. Read on!

Anne “Anna or Annie” Maria Cook (Petzke) was born in July of 1875 in Arapahoe, Colorado. Her parents, John William and Amelia (Ike) Petzke emigrated from Russia and moved to Denver, Colorado. Upon arriving in Denver, they opened the Petzke Livery Stable. They had three boys and five girls: Albert, Charles, Elizabeth “Eliza or Lizzie”, Anne, Celia, Joseph, Margaret “Bertha”, and Matie “Maggie”.

The Petzke’s had a large family and everyone worked hard. Annie didn’t mind the hard work. But what did bother her was the fact that because she was a female she didn’t get paid as much as the boys got paid, even though she worked just as hard or harder, than the boys.

In 1892, a thirty-three year old farmer by the name of Frank Cook made a trip to Denver, Colorado to buy supplies for his newly purchased farm, located on 80 acres outside Hershey, Nebraska. The place had a pretty white farmhouse and an irrigation ditch; all it needed was a family.

While in Denver, Frank boarded his horses at the Petzke Livery Stable. After a while, Mr. Petzke took a liking to him, and invited him to his home, for dinner with his family. At dinner, he was seated next to Mr. Petzke’s daughter, a lively 19-year-old named Anna, who was very interested in everything that Frank was telling her about his new farm.

The next year when Frank returned to Denver, it was to marry Anna (Annie). After they were married, the newlyweds returned to Hershey to begin their new life. Who could have known the turmoil that would be caused by this energetic young woman? Frank would spend the next 45 years trying to protect the peaceful Platte valley from his obsessive wife.

Annie knew a good thing when she saw it and immediately accepted Frank’s offer of marriage. They arrived at Hershey, Nebraska in the late winter of 1893. Her childhood frustrations of being denied money (because she was female) fueled her desire to own land and make money. After she arrived at the farm, she quickly became dissatisfied with the land. She devised a scheme to purchase land from her neighbors, thereby doubling the size of her farm and acreage. Once that was accomplished, she wanted more—more land, more money, more property, and more respect. Annie was smart and realized that in order for her to be as successful as a man, she needed to grease the palms of corrupt government officials and high-powered businessmen. Annie had a sixth sense about the weaknesses that could be exploited in the local businessmen, and exploit them she did. (See photo of Annie and Frank in their older years)

In 1894, Annie gave birth to a daughter, Clara. It was the only child born to Frank and Annie. Sadly, as far as Annie was concerned, Clara was just another employee. As soon as Clara was old enough, Annie put her to work in a prostitute house that Annie acquired in her many business dealings. <See pictures of Annie and Clara in the Photographs–Annie is sitting in the photograph>

Annie was bound and determined to become wealthy and important. She was willing to go to any lengths to make her dreams come true. The pursuit of her goals resulted in misery for everyone who was close to her. No one was spared, not her daughter, her sister, her niece, nor her husband. Frank watched helplessly as her obsession with money and power grew.

Over the years, Annie’s husband Frank became fed up and tired with the overbearing, aggressive, money-grubbing nature of his wife. Frank was not a confrontational man; but when Annie accused him of sexually assaulting Clara, he was finally done with Annie. Frank moved into the barn and lived there until he died in 1936.

Annie’s life was driven by the almighty dollar and she didn’t waste any time settling into a life that became many years of her being selfish, greedy, dominating and abusing anyone who crossed her path. Many North Platte residents knew and feared Annie. If they had to walk by her house, they walked on the opposite side of the road, afraid of the mean witch who lived in the Cook house.

Annie easily survived during the great depression and didn’t let the downturn in the economy stop her from continuing to prey upon the weak and the innocent.

The house pictured in the photographs is the bungalow that Annie modeled her home after (there are no surviving pictures of her actual home that researchers have been able to find). She hired the same contractor that built this home. She had him build her home in the exact same style. But of course, Annie had to have it built slightly larger for her own greedy purposes. The bungalow that Annie actually lived in has been torn down and a new house built in that location.

Annie Cook died May 27, 1952 at the age of 79. Come back next week to read more about the people in Annie Cook’s life. As always, thank you for reading!

Posted in North Platte History, People , Albert Petzke, Anne "Anna or Annie" Maria Petzke, Annie Cook, Celia Petzke, Charles Petzke, Clara Cook, Elizabeth "Eliza or Lizzie" Petske, Evil Obsession, Frank Cook, John William and Amelia (Ike) Petzke, Joseph Petzke, Margaret "Bertha" Petzke, Matie "Maggie" Petzke, Nellie Snyder Yost | Comments Off

A Brown Family Legacy

Written By: nppladmin - Jan• 13•22

Originally published to Facebook on September 24, 2021

When Albert Neir Brown passed away on August 14, 2011, it was the end of a family legacy of military service to our nation.

The story starts with the birth of his grandfather William Thomas Brown. He was born in Zanesville, Muskingham County, Ohio on Feb. 6, 1841. William T. Brown went into the service on July 4, 1861 as a private in Co. B, 59th Illinois Volunteer Infantry, of the Union Army, here he served for the next three years.

In February of 1864, William T. enlisted again, this time, as a veteran. His final discharge was July 10, 1865. He served a total of 48 months fighting in the Civil War. He spent the last 9 months in Anderson Prison under horrific conditions.

After the war, William married to Catherine Waltz in 1865 in Indiana. Six sons were already born when they reached Nebraska in 1879.

David A., 1867-1948, born in Indiana;
Orrin Wesley, 1868-1922, born in Indiana;
Charles Edmund, 1872-1965, born in Indiana;
William, 1874-1900, born in Iowa;
Harry E, 1875-1898, born in Iowa;
Albert, 1877-1908, born in Iowa;
Nellie, 1879-1963, born in Frontier County NE;
Elizabeth, 1882-1930, born in Nebraska;
Samuel, 1887-1977, born in Nebraska; and finally,
Raleigh, 1890-1942 born in Nebraska.

After the children were born, William and his family moved to North Platte Nebraska, approximately 1891.

When the Spanish American War broke out (April 21 – August 13, 1898), four of the eight sons enlisted: David, Charles, Harry and Albert. Harry paid the ultimate sacrifice on September 11, 1898. Even though the war was technically over, Harry died of flu which he contracted during the war.

North Platte’s local Spanish American Veteran’s auxiliary camp was named the Harry E. Brown Camp in his honor.

William Thomas passed away in Green River, Wyoming in 1911. William and Catherine had moved there in 1909 to live with their daughter Nellie and her husband. Catherine passed away in 1932. Both William and Catherine are buried in the North Platte City Cemetery. In Catherine’s obituary, it mentions how proud she was of her family’s service to their country. <See photograph of William T Brown’s headstone>

Once again, the Brown family went to war when World War I (United States was involved 1917-1918) broke out. Samuel and Raleigh served during that war. Then Samuel went on to serve again in World War II (US involved from 1941-1945). Samuel was 52 years old during WWII. Albert Brown Sr. (William Thomas Brown’s son) was tragically was killed in 1908 in a railroad accident <see newspaper article>. Albert had married Ida Leone and together, they had three children:

Gladys, born in Nebraska, 1902-1983;
Albert Neir, born in North Platte in 1905-2011; and
Robert R., born in Nebraska 1907-1988

Albert Neir Brown, Jr. was only three years old, when his father died. After his father passed away the family moved to Council Bluffs, Iowa. He graduated from Council Bluffs High School and went to Creighton University dental school in Omaha.

After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941, Albert Neir Brown went to the Philippines with the dental corps as an Army Reserve officer. Shortly after he arrived the Japanese invaded the Philippines. He survived the Bataan Death March and three terrible, long years as a Japanese prisoner of war. While there, he suffered greatly from torture: stabbed by a bayonet, nearly went blind, sustained a broken back and was severely beaten. His body was racked with malaria, dysentery and dengue fever. He lived on three little balls of rice a day. Brown said when the rice balls were gone they ate snakes, crickets and worms, and finally, horses and mules. When he was freed from the camp, he weighed 90 pounds. Due to the damage done to his body in the Japanese POW camps, a doctor once told him he wouldn’t live to age 50. He eventually died at age 105.

He contributed his survival to being such a good athlete. He lettered in football, baseball, basketball and track. He always believed in keeping physically fit. Albert spent two years at Fitzsimmons Hospital in Denver, Colorado after the war. He eventually moved to Hollywood where he invested in real estate. After that he went to live with his daughter in Pinckneyville, Illinois. He also kept up his active life. He was a member of the YMCA and an avid handball player. Playing up to the age of 81.

Albert’s story is written in a book titled, “Forsaken Heroes of the Pacific War: One Man’s True Story” by Don Morrow and Kevin Moore.

When Albert Neir Brown passed away in 2011, at the age of 105, he was the oldest survivor of the Bataan Death March, and the oldest surviving World War II Veteran at that time. He passed away in a nursing home in Nashville, Illinois.

Thank you for reading another piece of our North Platte history! See you next week!

Posted in Military, North Platte History, People , Albert Brown, Albert Neir Brown, Bataan Death March, Catherine Waltz, Charles Edmund Brown, David A. Brown, Elizabeth Brown, Gladys Brown, Harry E. Brown, Harry E. Brown Camp, Ida Leone, Nellie Brown, Orrin Wesley Brown, Pearl Harbor, Prisoner of War, Raleigh Brown, Robert R. Brown, Samuel Brown, Spanish American War, William Brown, William Thomas Brown, World War I, World War II | Comments Off

Union Pacific Ice House

Written By: nppladmin - Jan• 13•22

Originally published to Facebook on September 17, 2021.

As the summer begins to fade, we thought we would take a look back at something we rely on but often take for granted today…ice! That’s right… ice, ice, baby.

Today’s refrigerators and freezers run mostly on electricity. Electricity was discovered by Benjamin Franklin in 1752, however it wasn’t until 1925 that half of the homes in the United States had electricity. [1] So how were things like milk, eggs, butter, and other staples we often keep refrigerated today, staying cold before electricity? The answer? ICE. Today we can go to most any convenience or grocery store and buy ice, in bags, by the pound. But before “artificial ice”, there was an entire industry created to harvest winter ice from natural resources; and keep it cold and frozen, well into the hot summer months.

Ice house construction to keep ice through the summer, like any technology, evolved over the centuries. It started with Greeks and Romans making ice last by burying it underground. Roman Emperor Nero (37-68 BC) was said to have an appetite for mountain ice with honey or fruit, the earliest form of today’s ice cream, and a tasty treat in any era. [2] The first ice house in America was said to be located in Philadelphia, at the residence of Robert Morris (known as the “Financier of the Revolution”), and was actually an ice pit based on European design.[3] In Nebraska, ice houses were being constructed by communities and rural neighbors near bodies of water, and it is unclear where the first ice house was constructed in the state, but chances are it was near the Missouri River. Ice was becoming a necessity and no longer a luxury, so the North Platte Daily Telegraph published a Do-It-Yourself article in 1908 to help local farmers construct their own modern ice house.

The young North Platte community was harvesting ice from the rivers as early as 1877. Three years later, in 1880, the Union Pacific built a 1,000-ton ice house. By 1885, the ice harvested from the rivers was used by many merchants who also constructed their own ice houses throughout town. In November of 1888, Anheuser-Busch Brewing Co. tore down their old brewery building in town, originally North Platte brewery. Then as now, zymology beverages taste better chilled. And so their new Anheuser-Busch building would include an ice house to be filled with ice harvested from local water sources. During the 1880’s, due to local demand on ice harvesting operations and some unusually warm temperatures at times, North Platte’s Union Pacific Ice House was also being filled with ice from a company pond in Cheyenne that was shipped by rail car to North Platte. In 1900, Union Pacific continued to add ice houses to their ice plant, reaching a capacity of 25,000 tons. The Pacific Fruit Express Co was formed in 1906 and in 1909, expressed intentions of putting an artificial ice plant in North Platte. By 1910, North Platte would boast that the Union Pacific Ice Houses were the largest in the world. [4]

The Pacific Fruit Express Company was created with the goal of constructing insulated ice cars to transport high demand fruit across the country. [5] In 1974, the Pacific Fruit Express ice plant at North Platte was demolished. For decades kids played in the runoff water that pooled near the structure, which ended when health officials shutdown that practice. It was an imposing iconic structure in its time and its demise was one of technological advancement, as much as anything else. Modern refrigeration cars and home freezer options put the necessity of a community ice house on the chopping block. Today, ice is still a necessity, but it does not require what it once took for us humans to stay cool in the summer heat.

The next time you visit one of our local ice creameries, remember how much work would have once gone into making your favorite frozen treat. Finally a Friday cube of wisdom…life is like a frozen treat, enjoy it before it melts!

[1] https://www.nps.gov/…/the-electric-light-system…

[2] http://www.icecreamhistory.net/frozen…/ice-cream-timeline/

[3] https://www.ushistory.org/presidents…/history/icehouse.php

[4] https://history.nebraska.gov/…/cool-nebraskas-ice-industry

[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Fruit_Express