Scheunemann’s Department Store is pictured on a postcard from 1913. August Scheunemann came to America as a young man from Germany in 1888, eventually homesteading between Holyoke and Amherst. He had studied merchandising at the University of Berlin in Germany and became employed in early general stores in Holyoke. LeBlanc & Scheunemann, the original partnership of the business, was formed and located on the northeast corner of Holyoke’s main intersection. Scheunemann later bought out LeBlanc. Originally, Scheunemann’s was a general store that handled everything, including groceries, to help serve the needs of pioneer families in the area. — Source: Phillips County Museum
Peekin' into the Past
Five Years Ago
April 6, 2017
It needs some research and planning, but after a presentation by Holyoke Child Care Initiative coordinator Elizabeth Hutches at the East Phillips County Hospital District Board meeting March 28, board and administration alike were gung ho about donating land for a child care facility.
El Buen Sazón, the Mexican food restaurant located at 116 N. Interocean Ave. in Holyoke, closed its doors after business March 31. Owner Efrain Becerra ran the restaurant for nine years before turning over the reins to Miny Martinez last October.
Sunday morning church services in Spanish are now being led by Pastor Pedro Jofre at Zion Lutheran Church in Holyoke.
Ten Years Ago
April 5, 2012
Phillips County has teamed up with Logan County and has begun accepting electronics at the landfill west of Holyoke. Any electronic items found in the trash picked up by the city will be tagged and set by the dumpster.
Gene Daise, a longtime Holyoke teacher and wrestling coach, has been named a recipient of the Lifetime Service to Wrestling award from the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
Twenty-Five Years Ago
April 10, 1997
It was a full house again at the April 1 meeting of the Holyoke City Council. With a crowd of more than 20 people looking on, the council essentially raised tap fees 250%, tabled a petition signed by almost 200 citizens and indicated it plans to go ahead with a hostile annexation.
An ESL-endorsed teacher in the local school district was one of the primary needs cited by Annette Arellano-Gaddis when she reported on the Office of Civil Rights Equity Plan for the district at the April 1 school board meeting.
A new church in town prefers to not be called a church at all, but a ministry. Its focus is not a Sunday service, but ministry to the community. Grace Baptist Church was organized by local families about a month ago. Anyone who is interested is invited to join the group’s worship on Sundays at the Lions Den. So far, the church does not have a pastor or any paid staff. Instead, some of the people involved take turns preparing the week’s message.
All ages are welcome at an all-school carnival Saturday, April 12, at the elementary school. There will be 16 booths set up throughout the school with games and crafts. Prize tickets may be accumulated and redeemed at the prize booth. The event is sponsored by the Holyoke Junior High Student Council, and proceeds will be used for purchases to benefit the entire student body.
Fifty Years Ago
April 6, 1972
The committee for CROP for Phillips County met on Monday evening and laid plans for a “Walk for Hunger” for Phillips County. The walk is planned for Sunday afternoon, May 7. A county rally and picnic will be held at Paoli that afternoon. Then sponsored walkers will return to Haxtun and Holyoke on foot.
The name of the game is basketball for Moore’s All-American Red Heads, world-famous girls basketball team, and their victims will be the Holyoke Farm Supply quintet. The big game will be played tomorrow night in the HHS gym.
Seventy-Five Years Ago
April 10, 1947
A postal letter box for the convenience of the residents of the Belmont addition to Holyoke has been placed at the corner of Coleman and Furry streets in the east part of town. Mail will be picked up at this box daily at 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m.
New Jersey, one of the smallest states in the union but the state with the largest amount of country automobile travel, is building several eight-lane highways to take care of the traffic that goes over the roads. The state will spend $100 million this year on its highways, and the federal government is matching the total.