FITZGERALD, WAYNE R. AND HELEN (ANDREWS)

by Wayne and Helen (Andrews) Fitzgerald

Entry F141 from the History of Hooker County Nebraska
with permission of the Hooker County Historical Society

Wayne and Helen (Andrews) Fitzgerald 1978

Wayne Fitzgerald came to Mullen in
March 1913, age three years, with his parents
and younger brother, Corliss V. The parents,
Frank and Edith had lived in the South Loup
Valley at Callaway where Wayne was born
April 29, 1910 and Corliss, July 20, 1911.
They were moving to Mullen to take advan-
tage of the need for new homes presented by
an influx of settlers, farmers, ranchers and
tradesmen. Frank, although a young man was
an experienced carpenter-builder.

Helen Andrews, the 8th of ten children
came from the Big Creek Valley in Cherry
County in 1919. She had attended school
district No. 147, Cherry County her first six
years in elementary school. Her mother,
Gina, brother Gerald and sisters, Doris and
Ruth moved into town during the school year
so that Gerald could attend the recently
established Hooker County high school.
Helen and sisters went to the elementary
school. Helen in the seventh grade.

Both Helen Andrews and Wayne Fitzg-
erald completed their elementary and high
school in Mullen and both took teacher or
normal training in high school. In the follow-
ing years they taught school during the
winter terms and attended summer school
sessions in Lincoln, Chadron and one year at
the University of Southern California in Los
Angeles.

Helen taught in Hooker County rural
schools for five years and in the Seneca
elementary school three years, 1930 to 1933.
Wayne taught one year in a rural school and
in the Mullen Grade School from 1931 to
1937.

They were married on July 25, 1931 at Hot
Springs, South Dakota while they were in a
summer school session at Chadron. Their
children were, Denny R. born
1933, Jeriann, born 1938 and
Jeffrey L. born 1942.

Until the children left home Helen was a
full time mother, making for her family a
complete home life. She was an active church
member and belonged to several women's
organizations and led an active community
social life. In 1946 she started as a Stanley
Home Products dealer and for twenty five
years traveled over a five-county area with
Mullen as the hub, conducting home demon-
strations and selling. In 1987, the date of this
writing and after forty one years she is still
in the business.

Wayne had worked at the carpenter trade,
beginning at age fourteen, with his father,
working summers and on week ends during
the school year. For two years after teaching
school he worked independently, building
houses in Mullen and Hyannis and building
country school houses.

He ran for the office of County Superinten-
dent of Schools and was elected in November
1938. During his tenure as superintendent
the state department of education advocated
a reduction in the number of school districts.
Nebraska ranked near the top in the number
of districts. Wayne and Wesley James,
another interested in improving the school
system had discussed district consolidation
in Hooker County several times. They initiat-
ed a petition that ultimately resulted with
Hooker county being one of only two counties
in Nebraska with a single school district.

World War II brought rationing and price
control. Part of the county superintendent's
office was used as the local headquarters of
the Office of Price Administration and
Wayne began as a volunteer clerk for the
agency. This led to a job as local board
Supervisor for the State OPA. This required
travel over northwest Nebraska and later
resulted in an assignment as Rent Control
Officer for northwest Nebraska towns affec-
ted by military installations at Alliance and
Fort Robinson, for the most part, Chadron,
Crawford, Hemingford, HaySprings and
Rushville.

Knowing the Office of Price Administra-
tion was an emergency agency probably to be
discontinued after the war, Wayne and Helen
kept their home in Mullen. In 1946 they
returned and Wayne became office manager
for Franke Construction Co., an earth moving
contractor and Helen began working as a
Stanley Home Products dealer. They built a
new home at 302 East Third Street in 1950.
They have lived there since.

Franke Construction Co. incorporated in
19- and Wayne was a stockholder and
Secretary-Treasurer from that time until the
company sold out in 1975 and the owner-
operators retired. At the time of this writing,
1987, Wayne does hobby-carpenter and
cabinet work and plays golf. He and Helen
travel and spend some of their time visiting
their three children and families, nine grand-
children and seven great-grandchildren.