BASSETT, DELBERT SHERIDAN

by Thelma Bassett Pearman

Entry F17 from the History of Hooker County Nebraska
with permission of the Hooker County Historical Society

Delbert Bassett Late '30's

Dell was born in Hooker County in April
1895 to John and Elsie Bassett. It is believed
that the family was living in a `'dugout" along
the North Dismal River at the time. There are
no records available as to where he attended
school. He began working for area ranchers
at an early age. Dell never married and looked
after his mother a great deal after the death
of his father. Proof date on his homestead was
September 1919 which was located in South-
west Hooker County. It is now owned by
Margaret, John, and Ralph Vinton.
Dell served in the United States Army
during WWI, training at Camp Funstin,
Kansas.

Dell was a very favorite uncle to all his
neices and nephews. They all loved visiting
him and did frequently. That same feeling
carried on to great-neices and nephews. He
had a small place a short distance to the
northwest of A.G. Gragg's place where he
lived for many ears after his mother was
moved to Frank's place. He built up buildings
and had horses and cattle. He was an
excellent caretaker of both animals and land.
He trapped coyotes and other fur bearing
animals each winter to have money, for
necessities and to purchase additional land.

Traveling on horseback and carrying a
lunch and grain for his horse, he made his
rounds setting traps an collecting his catch.
He would skin the coyotes right where he
caught them making new sets each time. He
could skin an animal very quickly and his
horses were trained to stand by very quietly.

In 1940, he sold his place and purchased
some land a short distance to the east of it and
built another set of buildings. He built his
house into the side of a hill and poured
cement for the walls up about 1/2 way then
laid sod which he cut and hauled from the
Dismal River on top of the cement to form
the rest of the walls. He the plastered both
the inside and outside with cement. His barn
and garage were built much the same way
except the barn was built of lumber above the
cement.

Dell was a true conservationist taking land
that was a "sea of sand" and leveling it with
a small horse drawn scraper then covering it
with hay and manure from the barns. He
planted trees on the side hills and in a few
years had grass growing over all of it - a living
memorial to him and his efforts. He put up
a shed which was constructed of double
walled woven wire with soapweeds cut from
the hills and placed between the two wires.
The roof was also made of soapweeds. It made
a good shelter for the livestock from winter
storms and cool shade for summer. Nore
soapweeds were added from time to time as
they rotted away.

Dell raised a garden, canned, and raised
lots of strawberries. He gave away lots of
garden produce every summer. He planted
many trees for windbreaks, growing them
from seed planted in his garden. His place
was his "life" and joy.

He became ill with brain cancer and had
surgery at Rochester, Minnesota in early
1958. Jim Vinton flew to Minnesota to bring
him back to Mullen where he was placed in
Alice Pool's Home Care Center and cared for
him until his death in April 1958. He was
buried in the Eclipse Cemetery. John Vinton
now owns this property.