Amherst is pictured sometime before 1940. The first building in Amherst was a depot and telegraph station. George Sloan had the first general store, which was located on the west side of Main Avenue. The post office was inside the store, and Sloan was also the postmaster. H.W. Bauer built the grocery store, hardware store and lumber yard in about 1910. — Source: Phillips County Museum
Peekin’ into the past
Five Years Ago
March 16, 2017
The Holyoke High School boys basketball team brought home the championship trophy from the 2A state tournament in Loveland last weekend.
The grass fire that started near Proctor on March 6 had people working around the clock until March 8 at 5 p.m. when it was finally 100% contained. By then, 32,563 acres were lost. Within that 50-square-mile area, four houses and 13 outbuildings were completely destroyed. Many others were damaged, and it will take weeks to assess the impact of lost animals, hay and land. Colorado Bureau of Investigation is still investigating the cause of the fire.
Holyoke JR/SR High Principal Susan Ortner recently submitted her formal notice of retirement that was accepted by the Re-1J School Board at its March 7 meeting.
Ten Years Ago
March 15, 2012
In a collaboration between Phillips County Family Education Services and Colorado State University Extension Office, a brochure is in the works that will include information on many of the summer activities that will be offered in Holyoke and Phillips County. The publication will be dubbed Holyoke Happenings.
John C. Curlander of Boulder bid $2,542,071.87 for the Ballyneal Golf & Hunt Club property southeast of Holyoke at a foreclosure sale on March 7. Ballyneal will no longer include a hunt club, but the golf course will essentially operate the same.
Twenty-Five Years Ago
March 20, 1997
The long-anticipated 65 mph speed limit was finally posted on Highway 6 east and west of Holyoke on March 12. The higher speed limit was passed in Colorado last summer, but the required testing and extending of no-passing zones was just recently completed on the local highway. Highway 385 has had the higher limit in effect for some time now.
Spontaneous individuals age 21-101 are encouraged to sign up for the GPRC Old Fogeys Mystery Road Trip on March 23. Teams of adults will pile into a car and look for clues and hints as they travel a mystery route.
For the first time in about five years, area students have the opportunity to be members in a high school rodeo club based in Holyoke. The group wants to include rodeo participants from surrounding areas so its calling itself the Northeast Colorado High School Rodeo Club.
Fifty Years Ago
March 16, 1972
The Supreme Court of Colorado this week opened the gates for wider use of the ballot for initiating new laws or amendments to the state constitution. The office of Secretary of State Byron Anderson said there is no longer any cost at the state level for placing a proposal on the election ballot.
The Holyoke High School Girls Athletic Association basketball season is in full swing. They have had three practice games with Wray, Yuma and Haxtun.
Seventy-Five Years Ago
March 20, 1947
The Brown Nash Company, owned and operated by Charles Brown, has just completed the remodeling of the interior of their building on Interocean Avenue. The inside of the building has been walled with plywood, and different departments have been walled off the rest of the building.
Holyoke will soon be able to boast of having the best and newest street signs at every intersection in the town when work will begin in the near future of erecting sign posts on each intersection of the town. An order has been placed for 252 double-faced street signs. Two sets of signs will be erected at each intersection at alternating corners. New house numbers of white plastic are here, and the town will put these numbers on the homes in Holyoke so as to have them uniform all over town.