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Note: N13 C. Marcelino Was Pioneer Of Crete
C. Marcelino died Wednesday at 9:45 am. He had been ailing the past year, and three weeks ago he surrered a stroke of paralysis. He was born on one of the Azores Island, May 8, 1947, where he spent his youth. He spent eight years as a sailor on an American whaling ship, and in 1871 he settled in Chicago, where he was married to Marie Kozlik August 10, 1872.
They lived in Chicago for two years. In the spring of 1874, they came to Nebraska, directly to Crete, settling on a famr 2 1/2 miles southwest of this city. Here they endured all of the hardships of early pinoeers until 1905, when they moved to Crete locating at 9th and Ivy, where they lived until their death, his wife preceding him in death four years ago.
He leaves to mounr his death five children: Frank J. and Joseph H. Marcelino, Mrs. Anton Horky, Mrs. Anna Aron, and Mrs. Emma Tobiska; ninteen grandchildren, and eight great grandchildren.
He was a member of Saline Lodge No. 116, Knights of Pythias, Masons, and Shriners.
The funeral service will be held at the late home, 137 9th Street, Friday, Oct. 3, at 2:00 pm.
CAETANO MARCELINO, FORMER SAILOR, HAS LED ADVENTUROUS AND INTERESTING LIFE.
Born in the Azores Islands, He Spent Seven Years On The Sea, Sailing Around The World Four Times Before Locating Here.
Caetano first saw light more than four score years ago in the The Azores, Portugal, but not liking his surroundings, he relocated in New Bedford, Bristol County, Massachusetts. This is the town that for one hundred years has had the reputation of being the center of the loud smelling whale oil industry. The great ships unloading cargoes of whale oil along the wharves captured his imagination. He was soon booked as a seaman and left port on a cruise after a big cargo of oil. Seven years were spent in voyages, filled with many thrilling adventures.
After harpooning his way four times around the world, he decided that he would change from a "salt" to a "land lubber." Leaving the greasy wharves of New Bedford, he headed west, stopping in Chicago to win a wife.
Just why Caetano and his wife, Mary, came to Crete we have not learned. Perhaps he does not know what turned their steps into the "Valley of the Blue." He says, however, that he has never seen a place that would suit him as well for a home.
Those who really know him admire the personality of this man whose bronzed features and rugged form may still be seen on our streets. Nothing but an iron constituion and bulldog tenacity developed on shipboard could have given him the tough sinews and strong muscles that have carried him through years of hard work.
When Caetano Marcelino and wife reached Crete, they knew nothing of farm life, but they were determined to make the soil furnish them a fruitful living. Many "old timers" have met the same challenge of the raw prairie and, in a similar manner, won.
Looking back now, Caetano sees the humor in many exploits that were not so funny at the time and enjoys telling them. His life on board ship had given him a vocabulary not intended for the farm, and he insisted that the ox team should be steered by ship terms. His wife was carefully instructed that starboard meant "to the right" and larboard "to the left," so that she could pull on the proper rope tied to the horns of the oxen, while he urged them forward and steered the plow. The way that team wouldn't mind the rudder and the many times the craft was wrecked among the breakers gave the natives frequent opportunities of joking the hard worked crew, all of which was taken in good part.
On the water, he had never seen a ship overloaded, but he learned that a land craft was different. Needing some sand, he drove the ox team and wagon with a triple down to the Blue River near the south bridge. Then the box was filled to the top and well rounded up. Meantime, the wagon had settled in the soft sand until the oxen could not move it, and the more they twisted and jerked, the deeper the wheels sunk. At sunset, the team was unhitched and driven home. It took nearly all the next day to shovel out the sand from around the wheels, dig the wagon box out, and get home with a lighter load.
Perhaps his years of "rocking in the cradle of the deep" without once being upset had given him a sense of security no matter what sort of craft he was riding. He would drive the oxen and wagon, whether loaded or empty, through draws and over hills that his experienced neighbors thought too dangerous to negotiate. But one day, when he had a load of sod, the wheels on one side ran into soft ground on the down hill side. The damage caused by the wreck brought a bill for repairs that convinced our friend that it was not safe to "rock the boat," even on dry land.
Time came when these ambitious pioneers owned a work horse. But alas! It had been raised on a farm seven miles south of Marysville, Marshall County, Kansas. One night, feeling homesick, it skipped bed and board and headed down the Blue River as shown by its tracks. A friend gave Catano some suggestions and a ride to Beatrice, from where he footed it to Marysville. What he said to that horse has never been correctly reported, but the argument worked, because it followed the former skipper at the end of a tow line all the seventy-five miles back to Crete. During that two days foot tramp, it is believed our hero formed many resolutions that proved useful later. Anyway, he told the boys in town that when he reached home, footsore and hungry, he was mighty glad to land at a good port.
West of the Blue River, not far from Crete, the morning sun lights up a beautiful home that may be seen for miles around. Caetano "Buck" Marcelino, who tilled these broad acres fifty-four years ago, now lives quietly in Crete, cared for by his granddaughter, Helen. Mary, his wife, rests in Riverside, and helpful citizens of our community are doing their part to make the old sailor and pioneer realize that Caetano and Mary chose wisely when they came to Crete.
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