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July 1945 marked the first atomic blast since Nagasaki, Japan, on Aug. 9, 1945. Dubbed “Operation Crossroads,” the first of two nuclear tests took place on July 1, 1946, in Bikini Lagoon in the Marshall Islands. The second test occurred at the same location on July 25.
The purpose of the tests was to determine what effect an atomic bomb blast might have on warships. A fleet of 95 obsolete U.S. warships and captured Japanese warships was anchored in Bikini Lagoon and blasted with two different nuclear devices. The first test was an atomic bomb dropped from a plane and detonated about 500 feet above the ships. The second was a similar device detonated underwater. The underwater blast was much more dramatic and caused more damage.
Robert Porter, a brother of Mrs. Hubert Fleer of Laurel, was aboard the USS Allen Sumner, one of the support ships about 20 miles from the epicenter of the first blast. Crew members felt the shockwave but the ship suffered no damage. A few hours after the blast the Sumner entered the lagoon to check the damage and monitor radiation levels.
The Sumner also was present for the second test. This time the ship was exposed to radioactive fallout and had to be decontaminated. Some of the men exposed to the radiation were stricken with cancer years later. The Fleers owned a grocery store on the south side of Main Street in Laurel. Porter himself did not live in Laurel.
Bikini Lagoon was used for atomic tests for several years and is considered uninhabitable to this day. The word “bikini” has since come to be associated with a skimpy two-piece bathing suit introduced in France about the same time as the 1946 nuclear test.
On July 20, 1946, Frank P. Voter retired after practicing law in Laurel for 52 years. Voter graduated from the University of Nebraska law school in 1893 and came to Laurel in the spring of 1894. Over the next half century he was involved in many civic improvement projects. He was a founding member of the Laurel Building and Loan Association, the Men’s Cemetery Association, and the Odd Fellows lodge. He was a longtime member of the Board of Education, a member of the Nebraska Legislature, and served as Laurel’s City Attorney for more than 40 years.
After retiring, Frank and Eva Voter sold their home at 306 West Second and moved to Alliance to be closer to their daughter. A young lawyer named David Curtis bought Voter’s law practice.
Under the heading“ Advanced News: Husband and Wife Disagree,” The Advocate reported that Alfred Mittelstadt was a delegate to the Cedar County Republican Convention held in Hartington on July 11. Kay Mittelstadt was a delegate to the Cedar County Democratic Convention held on the same day in the same place. This must have made for some interesting dinner conversation.
On Saturday, July 20, the Logan Valley Creamery moved from its previous location in the old hotel building on the corner of Oak and Main to a new tile block building just east of the Doring & Sydow Garage (later Urwiler Implement). The proprietors were Russell Haviland and Sidney Elliott.
Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Casal of Belden became great-grandparents twice on the same day. On July 7, a boy (John) was born to Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Casal and a girl (Luanne) was born to Mr. and Mrs. Edward Kiefer. Mr. Casal and Mrs. Kiefer were cousins.
Laurel residents were urged to conserve water. Water commissioner R.B. Michels said that water consumption had been averaging 300,000 gallons each day, an amount equal to about 300 gallons per person per day, and the pumps were having a hard time keeping up. “Next time you are using water use a little discretion,“ said the Advocate.
Buck’s Service, a gas station and beer joint two miles north of Laurel, was the scene of what could have been a fatal incident on Friday, July 19. Some time after 10 p.m. Lawrence Eaton of Crofton began weaving around the gas pumps and between parked cars apparently attempting to run over Paul Pokett and Ray Tracy. Then he tried to ram John Urwiler who was in his car at the time. To avoid a crash, Urwiler hit the gas and ran his car between the station and an ice house with such force that the car was wedged between the two buildings with Urwiler trapped inside. The car had to be pulled out.
Somebody called the cops and Eaton took off in the direction of Coleridge. Patrolman James Kontos found Eaton in Coleridge and ordered him out of the car. Instead he took off. Officer Kontos gave chase and shot out one of Eaton‘s rear tires. This caused the car to roll over into a corn field. Eaton taken to Coleridge where his injuries were treated and then to Hartington where he was locked up overnight and then charged with drunken driving.
A heated argument at the Laurel-St. Helena ball game caused a long delay. It started in the sixth inning when Clyde Shirley got a hit, ran to first base and then started for second. After two or three steps, Shively realized he couldn’t make second and ran back to first where he was tagged by the St. Helena catcher. The Laurel players thought he was safe. St. Helena players said he was out. A 20 minute argument ensued during which time the St. Helena team threatened to pack up and go home and Laurel player Ding Carmen picked up his glove and said he was going uptown — presumably to a pool hall.
The umpire finally ruled that Shively was out and play resumed. The game ended with a score of 3 to 2 in favor of St. Helena. Whether Carmen returned in time to finish the game was not reported.
At a meeting held in Hartington, the barbers of Cedar County voted to raise the price of a haircut from $.60 to $0.75 and the price of a shave from $.35 to $0.50. All of the barbers except Tony Ford of Laurel voted in favor of the increase.
Mrs. Earl Garvin told the Advocate about one of the problems she had experienced in the three years she had been depot agent in Dixon. During the winter of 1945, she received a car of thoroughbred Holstein calves which had been shipped from Pennsylvania to a farmer living 15 miles north of town.
The calves arrived during a blizzard and the farmer could not get to town to pick them up. Mrs. Garvin kept the calves in the depot for three days during which time she stayed up all night keeping the stove burning and the calves comfy.
