If you have old photos or other material specific to Berks, Burnham, Centerville, Cheese Creek, Cobb Jct., Denton, Emerald, Hallam, Kramer, Martell, Olive Branch, Princeton, Rokeby, Sprague, & Yankee Hill, Nebraska (all in Southwest Lancaster County) --- please let us know. Contact:  Teresa Sullivan

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Martell Street early 1900's

John Egger

George Spellman car & homestead

Anna Gygil Egger

John & Anna Egger

Centerville Corner 1968

Men cutting wood for Centerville Church

Peter & Elizabeth Egger Gansemer

Lauterbach Family

Henry Claymore Spellman 1817 - 1907

Denton American Legion Hall
This building appears ready for the wrecking ball. I don’t know for sure when it was erected but there is another picture that shows Denton Nebraska residents with horses and equipment ready to dig the basement. I remember dancing ??? there at a very early age in about 1935 or 36. During the 1930’s and 40’s the Denton High School used part of the basement as a wood shop etc. So what happened to this monstrous building? It was moved into downtown Denton and eventually became the Denton American Legion Hall.  What’s the old saying? A little bit of powder and a little bit of paint, makes the old girl looking what she ain’t. 

Dr. Agnes Houston Jones
In an age when women were thought to belong in the kitchen, Dr. Agnes Houston Jones thought otherwise and had a husband who evidently understood her need to be more than a housewife. Around 1902 she and her husband Edward L. Jones enrolled together in medical school. They had two children at the time and another was born during their instruction. They worked as a team, practicing medicine in Nebraska and Montana. She was a practicing physician for more than 30 years, some of those years in Denton NE. She died in 1964, age 87.

Edith Beckard Peshek
I would deduce from this picture that this beautiful lady was a debutante and had never lifted a finger to do any work. The truth is however, that this lady, Edith Beckard Peshek, was capable of doing a man’s job and often did just that. Edith was the wife of Edward Peshek, who for many years was the rural route deliverer for the post office in Denton NE. Many times when the roads were bad and the horses and buggy could not get the mail out, Edith would go the route on horseback.

Wheat harvesting * Please help identify men in photo
This is a picture of a event that happened in Nebraska on practically all farms. This appears to be wheat-harvesting season and I suspect that there are wheat shocks in the background. Lunch in the field usually consisted of ground bologna sandwiches, pie and Kool-aid or lemonade. I recall that a chunk of ice, from the block of ice in the old icebox, would be broken off and put in the clean milk can with the drink to keep it cold. 

Wayne Kreps
This is Wayne KREPS who was a soldier in WW 2. This picture was taken at the KREPS grocery store in Emerald NE. It recalls a terrible period in our nation’s history when so many homes across America had framed blue stars in the window. But it also recalls a time when life was slower and a Pepsi was 5 cents and “Hit the Spot”. 

Coyote Hunt 
Looking at this picture, it would be great to see into the minds of these young men. Was the coyote hunt simply a Saturday afternoon sport or was it a necessary management of a predator that killed livestock that was needed to feed their families. I suspect that they were proud of their abilities in hunting these creatures, but I see a certain seriousness in their faces, that decries the need for the hunt. 

George Wilson
George Wilson of rural Denton NE knew the meaning of hard work as exemplified in this picture of him on the drill. George was also a believer in the value of photographs and he documented in numerous photos many aspects of life on the farm and the village of Denton. 

Intersection of Folsom & Van Dorn
Haines Branch Bridge
This picture shows the backside of houses on the west side of Southwest 6th street south of Van Dorn street. The houses are barely visible now as the trees have obscured them from the camera position where this picture was taken. If you go there now, you will see this road, which curves from South Folsom Street to Van Dorn Street, which has been abandoned.

Shane School District 70 School Children
This school picture of children in District #70 southwest of Denton about 1936 looks as thought they are preparing for some sort of battle or religious pilgrimage. It is however, a picture of the knights and ladies of the Knighthood of Youth Club, which was a part of Lancaster County schools, and I would believe schools all across the nation. My memories of the Knighthood of Youth Club are about good deeds recognized by some sort of point system and at the end of the year, one student from our rural school was picked to attend the Knighthood of Youth banquet with the parents of the student and the teacher. This elegant affair was hosted at a Lincoln Hotel and was hosted by Nathan Gold who was the owner of Gold and Co. Department store at the corner of 11th and O. Street for many years. This was indeed a night to be dressed in the finest dress or suit that the child owned. 

Basketball Players
Little is known about this picture, with the exception that the man on the left is Dr. Glenn Turner who was the Lancaster County School Superintendent for many years. It does point out that Billy Wolff was active in this community as a benefactor for many years. Their shoes were not Nike’s or Adidas and their shorts didn’t exactly match, but Billy supplied the shirts I suspect. Dr. Turner was the Superintendent of Rokeby schools for many years.

This picture is not dated but it is known that the gentleman is Willie Faig who lived in the Martell/Centerville area and he was born in 1895. This would probably date the picture at around 1915. The road has changed considerably since this picture as it is now Highway 33 between Highway 77 and Crete.

This picture is probably circa 1945. Pictured is the home of Glenn and Lela Rundle Peterson in Rokeby. Pictured on the left is Bertha Hocking Miller and Lela is on the right. They are modeling dresses that they made for shipment overseas after World War 2. Note the Red Cross sticker in the window. Anyone who donated to the Red Cross was given a sticker to display.

This picture is from the Nebraska State Fair September 5-10, 1943. Admission to the fair at the gate was 30 cents. One of the events at this fair was the "Typical Looking Nebraska Farmer " contest sponsored by KFAB Radio. Pictures of farmers vying for the title were taken by Macdonald Photography in Lincoln. This picture is Mark Steinhausen. The Nebraska State Historical Society has a collection of these farmer pictures. Copies are available from that source. Southwest Lancaster farmers in the collection other than Mark were: James T. Abernathy, Kenneth Allen, Ivan Borgman, Earl Alvin Burdick, Harold Luebbe, Arthur M. Merrill, John H. Mueller, Richard Pickel, Robert H. Pickel, Robert M. Pickel, Harry Robotham, John Rustermier and Wilbur Scott.

This is a picture of the Sullivan Settlement church. In 1906 Eugene F. Sullivan gave one acre of land to the Catholic Diocese of Lincoln. This building was used as a church until 1912 when St. Mary's Catholic church in Denton was built. The Sullivan Settlement church was moved across the road and was used