He is rapidly improving it, building up the circulation and making a real newspaper out of it.

Mr. John B. Barton established the Lewellen Optimist on March 22, 1917. Each year, it is steadily increasing in quality and circulation and it is loyally supported especially in the eastern part of the county.

The Bench and the Bar Garden county has no resident district judge. When first organized in the year 1910, this county was in the thirteenth judicial districl of Nebraska, presided over by Judge H. M. Grimes of North Platte.

In 1911. the new seventeenth judicial district was created, of which a short time later, Ralph W. Hobart of Scotts Bluff county was elected judge and he has held the office up to the present time.

Alfred W. Gumaer has held the office of county judge ever since the county was organized. At the first general election in 1910, Walter Bentz was a candidate for the office, but was so badly defeated that since that time no one has filed for the office, against judge Gumaer. Although not a member of the bar, Judge Gumaer is well read in the law, and ever preserves the honor and dignity of the bench. About the only time the magisterial calm was ever ruffled was on the occasion when a well dressed young man and woman with every appearance of candidates for matrimony presented themselves before him and smiling recited, "Will you divorce us from each other, Judge?"

Lee Minner of Omaha, was our first county attorney. After but a few weeks in the office, he became dissatisfied, resigned his office and removed to Kansas City.