ROSEBERRY BUILDING 1910 to NOVEMBER 29, 1974

by Historical Society

Entry B21 from the History of Hooker County Nebraska
with permission of the Hooker County Historical Society

Roseberry Building about 1912

Interrior of the J.L.Roseberry Store - 911. L-R: George Wilgus, Henry Meyer,
Traveling Salesman, Charles Bonsteel

A Gracious Landmark - fades into the
past. About the year 1904, in the middle of
the night, one of the first livery barns in
Mullen burned to the ground. On this very
location a few years later, a two story concrete
building was put up at the southwest corner
of the intersection. The new structure was to
be the railroad and supply center for the
ranching enterprise of the late J.L. Roseb-
erry, who then owned and operated a large
ranch in Cherry Co. about 40 miles northwest
of Mullen. Mr. Roseberry and his sons
operated the business through the war years
of WWI and until 1919 when he relinquished
it to a business partnership formed by the
John H. Vinton, Charles F. Boyer and Simon
A. Senk. These men incorporated what was
known for 17 years as the Senk Merc.
Company. The space of the enterprise then
took in the whole block opposite the Court
House, and to the Burlington R.R. property.
This yard accommodated the lumber, farm
machinery and various other items necessary
ranch needs.

The frontal portion of the concrete build-
ing at the north end had big signs reading
"J.L. Roseberry & Sons" "General Merchan-
dise and ranching supplies" The frontal face
of the building had the brand of the Roseb-
erry Cattle Ranch and the date 1910, when
the business first commenced.

The main floor business was conducted by
the Senk management until 1936, when it was
assumed by the late Chester R. Johnson. Mr.
Johnson, a native of Kirwin, Kansas, came to
Mullen in the mid twenties, and worked for
Senk firm. Mr. Johnson maintained the
business until 1956, when it was purchased
by Edgar J. Macke.

There is quite a history about the square
tower at the south end of the concrete
building. The basement level in the initial
years housed a water well along with the coal
furnace for the hot water heating system for
the business. The main floor had a huge
engine that generated the electricity for the
whole building, the second floor was the
lobby entrance for the second floor Opera
House, which we will narrate later on in the
story. The third floor provided a space for the
motion picture projectors that were in evi-
dence from about 1921 until 1948, thereab-
outs. The fourth floor of the tower, although
the writer never explored it much, could well
have housed a supply tank for the original
water well in the basement.

Second Floor Opera House with Long
History of Activity - It would not be proper
to narrate a history of this building without
giving some attention to the Opera House.
The ceiling of this was a most attractive
metal-embossed ceiling to be found any-
where. This ceiling was clouded from view in
1947 when the Johnson firm installed a drop-
ceiling for the second floor dry goods depart-
ment. The opera house was known in the
earlier days as the Roseberry Hall.

Early day silent movies were furnished by
the late John J. Motl, 1917 who brought to
Mullen the first movie projector, the brand
name, Baird. Motl showed the first movies,
usually two-reel episodes lasting about 20
minutes. When feature-length films came in
prominence, 1922 the movie crowds then
thrilled to Tom Mix or Hoot Gibson, when
their western steeds galloped across the silver
screen. The Senk firm took over the movie
operation in the early twenties, and brought
the sound movies to Mullen in the summer
of 1930, when the initial grand opening
feature was Rudy Valee in the "Vagabond
Lover." Senk leased the movie business to
Clara Stoner in 1930 and then sold the
equipment to Gibson and Jeffords in 1938,
and then the Macke families took over about
1944. The theatre business then left the
building in 1974, when the Macke interests
established a new place one block west.

The early activities of the Roseberry Hall
found wrestling matches on the stage drawing
Saturday night crowds, the billings then were
usually the Breedlove and Barackman com-
bination that mauled each other into the mat,
to the howls and delights of the audience. The
state also met the requirements of many
stock company shows that came through
Mullen from time to time. Some of them were
McCabes Colored Minstrels, the Berkeley
Players and the Skeens Wonder shows. The
Hall itself was used for basketball by the high
school until the school auditorium came into
reality in 1929, that coordinated with the
Junior-Senior Banquets of the High School
and provided the students with a prom
activity.

There are still a lot of people in the Mullen
area that remember the `roll-up-type' state
curtain on the stage. It was a canvas material,
and on it was painted a beautiful waterfall
scene in the center position, and had business
firms advertising around it. Some of the firms
names carried on the curtain back then were:
B.G. Eivins & Son, Citizen State Bank, J.J.
Motl Drug, Farmers Elevator, A.G. Hum-
phrey, Senk Merc. Co., Steve Yagadich, J.E.
Lowe Co., E.E. Elliott Service Station, W.H.
Wigent, Matthews Chev. Co., Campbells,
C.P. Mercure, J.M. McIntosh, H.H. Dietrich,
Ham's Hotel.

We have related the building history that
spans over sixty years plus, and it is needles
to say that it will be missed from the scene.
Mullen will see something arise on that space
sometime in the future, that will attest to the
fact that the town is very much in the
progressive status quo.

Submitted by Clifford Boyer of Denver, Colorado

True to his foresight, Clifford was right, in
a year or so the large Venton Feed Store was
built, which serves a large area, and has been
in business over 10 years, as of 1987.