Natural gas comes to Cedar County

The demand for natural gas was increasing rapidly by the late 1930s.

This brought new companies into the business — some to produce gas; others to transport it. In April 1941, a new company was formed by the consolidation of the Nebraska Gas Company of Topeka, Kansas, with the Kansas Pipeline and Gas Company of Phillipsburg. The name of the new firm was Kansas-Nebraska Natural Gas Company.

The company immediately began building an 8-inch pipeline from the Hugoton field in southwest Kansas to Cambridge, Nebraska, at which point lines would branch off to serve 84 Nebraska towns. Unlike Northern Natural, which concentrated mainly on larger cities, Kansas-Nebraska planned to bring natural gas to smaller communities.

But the company’s plans were interrupted by World War II. During the war, much natural gas was diverted to war industries. The manufacture of gas stoves, furnaces, and other appliances was restricted and drilling was halted in the Hugoton gas field. Kansas-Nebraska concentrated on maintaining existing infrastructure and did little new construction.

After the war, Kansas-Nebraska returned to the business of providing gas service to the smaller communities. In September 1950, the Osmond Republican reported that the company was planning to bring gas to 37 more Nebraska towns. Among these were Plainview, Pierce, Creighton, Wausa, Bloomfield, Osmond, Randolph, Coleridge, Laurel, and Hartington. It was noted that if franchise agreements were approved, gas service might become a reality by 1951.

By November 1950, the village boards of all of the above towns approved franchise agreements granting Kansas-Nebraska exclusive permission to construct, maintain, and operate gas transmission and distribution systems within each town for a period of 25 years.

By the fall of 1951, a large gas main was laid as far as Neligh where construction stalled due to government restrictions on steel during the Korean War. Shortly before construction resumed in the spring of 1953, Kansas-Nebraska found it could not deliver gas at the price specified in the 1950 agreement. Towns were asked to sign new agreements reflecting the increased costs.

In June 1953, the company began digging a trench for a 6-inch line from Neligh to a point south of Plainview. There one branch line would run northwest to serve O’Neill, Inman, Ewing, and Clearwater. Another would run northeast to serve Osmond, Randolph, Laurel, Coleridge, Hartington, Wausa, Bloomfield, Creighton, Plainview, and Pierce.

On July 23, Plainview became the first of the 14 communities to receive gas service. Creighton was next on August 12. Osmond followed on August 25. The procedure was for crews to pipe each town before the main line arrived. This could take a month or more.

When the main gas line reached a town, the gas would be connected to the city pipes, tested, and then turned on for customers who had signed up in advance. Once the piping was installed, the crew moved on to another town. Several crews worked simultaneously.

In Hartington a 30-man, crew began work on the distribution system around July 1. This involved erecting a border station where the metering and pressure reduction equipment was kept and laying the pipes that would serve the houses and businesses. To minimize damage to streets and sidewalks, pipes were laid in unpaved alleys wherever possible and an auger was used to bore under the pavement. Meters would then be attached to the mains for customers who wished to receive service. Customers paid $.50 a foot for laying service lines from the meter to the house. People could decide if they wished to purchase a new gas furnace or install a conversion burner in their old furnace. Conversion burners were considerably cheaper than new furnaces. Gas service to Randolph was inaugurated in early September; Hartington received gas on September 23; Coleridge on October 1; Laurel on October 7.

In all of the communities except Osmond, service was inaugurated with a flare lighting ceremony. The company followed similar procedures in each town. A stand supporting a tall pipe was set up in the center of an intersection or sometimes on a baseball field. The flare lighting was preceded by a high school band concert, speeches by gas company officials and local dignitaries, free coffee and donuts, and drawings for prizes. The climax of the ceremony came when the flare was ignited sending flames shooting twenty or more feet into the air.

Hartington’s flare lighting ceremony was held in the intersection by the city auditorium. Master of ceremonies P. H. Robinson told the crowd that Hartington once had a gas plant and that many of the town’s older homes and businesses still had pipes. As these pipes were for gas lighting purposes, it is doubtful that they could have been used for natural gas.

The Coleridge ceremony was held in conjunction with the town’s annual Pancake Day celebration. In the afternoon pancakes were served by a black lady dressed as “ Aunt Jemima” in Quaker Oats advertisements. Other attractions included a parade, a football game, and a dance. The flare lighting was held on the Main Street intersection near the Cass Motor Company.

Although Randolph’s flare lighting was held on Oct. 6, the town already had been receiving gas service for about a month. When the flare was ignited, a company representative told the crowd that it was burning enough gas to heat 100 homes.

Osmond was the only area town that did not have a flare lighting ceremony. The reason given was that the company was too busy installing distribution systems in other towns.

Laurel was the last of the 14 towns to receive gas service. The ceremony was held on Wednesday, October 7, 1953. The flare lighting was witnessed by more than 400 people. The program began with a concert by the high school band at 7 p.m. At 7:30 Mayor John Urwiler opened the valve and ignited the flare which had been placed in the center of the intersection of Main and Oak. Dale Ballantine, the local manager of the gas company, reported a record number of hookups already had been made in Laurel. Many more would follow. For people who lived in the larger Cedar County towns, the era of shoveling coal into furnaces and stoves would soon come to an end.