Whitney Reflections

A tribute to the early settlers of a western Nebraska village

The Dawes County News

Whitney, Dawes County, Nebraska, Thursday, February 21, 1924   Vol. 2 No. 10 - Page 1

WATER WILL BE FLOWING

Through the Pipeline that leads the water from White river to the reservoir in about seven days – So says the engineer in charge, W.F. Chaloupka

Unbiased Views, Self-Denying Thoughts

AN ABLE AND INTERESTING ADDRESS GIVEN BY T. L. HOLDING, OF WHITNEY AT CRAWFORD C. C. OF C. BANQUET, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8^TH.

It is with a great deal of pleasure that I am here tonight.  I always feel like I am at home among Crawford friends, for the reason that I have lived all my life in your community, or close to it.  I never hear the name of the Crawford Chamber of Commerce mentioned but what I think of the time a few years ago, when a number of farmers and the Chamber graveled a stretch of road east of town, known as English Flats.  I don’t believe I ever spent a harder day in my life or shoveled more gravel tha I did that day.  I bring out this incident, merely to show that what was accomplished that day, is to my mind the fundamental reason why the Chamber exists.  The prime motive of a Chamber of Commerce is organization,  They can accomplish a lot with the organization, working with the farmer.  This organization is more important than to help on matters financially, to my mind.

I was requested tonight to tell you something of our Irrigation Project at Whitney.  Have debated the matter over in my mind what I should tell you about it, for most of you have heard of it and know quite a bit about it.   However, will say that we are spending close to a half million dollars on that system, which is quite a lot of money to be putting out these days in one community.

However, I am going to bring to your attention tonight this part of the irrigation project, which effects your community as well as ours.  We must have, and will have, one hundred families on eighty acre tracts of land, in the projects within a year.  When this is accomplished, then will the real development of the land occur, and it will be the starting of the development of Dawes County.  We have three or four parties interested in colonizing now and have reasonable assurance that this will be done.  Am very sorry the Northwestern Railroad does not have an Agricultural agent to put on this project and develop it, and incidentally help out along this White River Valley.  I would be pleased if the Chamber of Commerce would see fit to endorse this opinion to the Northwestern officials and see if we cannot obtain a man.

At the beginning of the Whitney Irrigation Projects, I wrote an article for a water meeting at Crawford, entitled “A Vision Of The White River Valley In 1932.”  My friends, that vision is just a part of the great outlook I see for western Dawes County, if this land is handled right.  Remember, a boost for the Irrigation Project, and a boost for Dawes County means a boost for Crawford and vicinity.  We are our brothers keepers and what effects you effects Whitney and what effects Whitney effects the city of Crawford and its community.  On the success of colonization of the Whitney Irrigation Project depends to some extent your future prosperity in this community.  When this land is producing what it should, under water, and farmed in small units it will be the starter of that idea all up and down the White River country, and ere long, (your) farm units will be cut in half and the population doubled.  When that is accomplished, think of what the production will be in this valley.  You won’t worry about your taxes the, for there will be twice as many to bear the burden.

I say, let the farmer help himself, and give him a chance to help himself.  Boost for land ownership and start the farmer thinking that it is one way of getting around his present problem.  When the smaller farm unit comes, then more diversified farming will come and today the farmer who is diversifying his crops and livestock is making money.

I don’t like to see a man or community satisfied with self or selves.  They are not accomplishing anything worthy of note.  Rather I like to see them striving for something better, restless and on the alert to better their mode of living.  Progress, that is what we want.  We want to live this life and make this a better place to live for the next generation.  I like to see a man want a better house, or a better barn or a modern hog house – something better than he has.  Something that goes to make life more worth living, even tho he has to stint himself in a good many ways to have these improvements.  That fact shows me that he has a vision of the future and wants those that come after him to have things better than what the present generation has.  After all it is not the things we have done or what we have accomplished that counts, but what we are going to do in the future.  Show me a man who is striving for improvements on his farm or his business and I will show you a man who is successful and a man who the community looks up to as one worth while.

Let us not look backward to the mistakes and failures but ever look forward with a vision of the future and boost, every one of us, for a bigger and better Dawes County.

EDITOR’S NOTE: --Could you as a guest of an organization or merely one of an audience sit and listen to a public talk such as the one chronicled above and not be moved to action, or at least let settle into your minds the unbiased and self-denying thoughts sincerely brought out by the speaker? No!  Men were created equal and deep down in the heart the thought of justice and truth lurks, whether or not, the sentiment is manifest.