Elmo is located in Dickinson County. I have a personal connection to
Elmo, as my great grandparents and my great-great grandparents are
buried here. They farmed between Elmo and Carlton, a dwindling town to
the west. My father said my great grandfather, probably around the age
of 9, would take water to the workers building the railroad through
Elmo, or what was then Banner City. They gave him tobacco for his
efforts.
 |
| Bell tower at St. Columba Catholic Church in Elmo |
 |
| Once called Banner City, the cemetery still holds the name. |
My relatives were early settlers in Elmo. John and Bridget Armstrong arrived after the civil war. John was a veteran. I have researched off and on for many years. If you have any info on early Elmo, or Banner City, please get in touch. I recently found where they are all buried. I had been told that it was a cemetery called St. Columba Cemetery but it is actually Mt. Calvary Cemetery, Banner Township. The 1880 census includes Carman Creesy and his wife Mary Costello Creesy. Mary came from Ireland. Her first husband was killed or died somehow. She had two sons by Patrick Costello before he died. They grew up in Elmo with two step brothers. I have cousins that still sometimes go to the St. Columba church, but the priest comes from Hope. Please get in touch if you can add anything. Thanks. James Wiley
ReplyDeleteSorry James, I can't help you. My father managed the elevator in Elmo from 1954-1958. We lived in a green house across the scales and driveway from the elevator. I believe there was an alley and then the garage. I think the garage is the picture above the pic of the school. I attended first grade in that school. A one room school. There were 2 boys and 2 girls in the first grade. Our neighbor was in the second grade. We went to St. Columba church. There were 2 stores in town. One near the school had a deep freeze on the porch? We would get Ice Cream bars from there. The receipts would be clipped to a little trolley and sent on a wire up to the office. The neatest thing I ever saw. The other store was nearer to our house. It was a little store. We had a Halloween Party in the 1/2 court gym in the school, it had a stove in the center of the room along one side. While we were dunking for apples or something someone came in and said some kids from Abilene stole the slippery slide. Right next to the school where we all were. It was a giant one with 1 or 2 bumps in it. If you waxed it with wax paper or put some sand dust on it you could get 'air'. Fun times for a first grader. Good luck in your research. Nick Reinert, Lincoln NE
ReplyDeleteI know of a story of a Mexican baseball team from Newton that traveled to Elmo to play a game against a Elmo team, back in the early 30's. I wonder if there is any record of the game. The story was told by old ballplayers of Newton. They traveled to Elmo as they were challenged to play since word was "Newton had a helluva team". Wonder where I could research. RAY
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone remember a Charlie brewer?
ReplyDeleteMy grandfather, William Klingberg, was the doctor in Elmo from during the early part of the 20th century. I believe the family moved from Elmo to Hope around 1924 or so. My father (b. 1908) attended school in Elmo through his first two years of high school. Then to finish high school, he had to live in Abilene with his grandmother during the week, returning to Elmo on weekends. My grandfather remained a doctor in Hope until the year of his death, about 1948, Willam and Viola (Garver) Klingberg had four children while living in Elmo. I visited there once with my parents as a child in the 1950s, I believe. Only a few houses were left then.
ReplyDelete