Peekin' into the Past

Five Years Ago

Dec. 21, 2017

Nancy Berges is retiring from Highline Electric Association after 53 years of service to the company.

Helena Chemical Company purchased Centennial Ag Supply Co., effective Dec. 18, with the current management team of Centennial Ag to continue running the newly purchased branch.

A crowd of close to 110 enjoyed the Phillips County National Finals Rodeo Gala on Dec. 16 at the Phillips County Event Center. The event netted close to $5,000 for the Phillips County Fairgrounds Pavilion & Education Center.

The auditorium at Holyoke High School recently received a new sound system. The upgrade has been about a year in the making and was made possible by the combined efforts of multiple organizations.

Ten Years Ago

Dec. 20, 2012

Heidi Spitz is getting excited as she plans to open the doors of Heidi’s on Jan. 2. Hoping that paperwork becomes finalized, Spitz will open the doors to the public at her 112 W. Denver St. location, in the former Buzzz Stop location.

Melissa Memorial Hospital was recently presented a Nextpertise Integration Leadership Award for the staff’s efforts during the recent implementation of the electronic medical records within the hospital.

The Northeast Colorado Health Department recently confirmed that two rabid skunks have been found in rural Phillips and Logan counties.

Twenty-Five Years Ago

Dec. 25, 1997

When 34 previously rejected ballots from the Nov. 4 election were counted Monday morning, Dec. 22, the result was a 15-vote advantage for the “yes” votes on the Re-1J $2.8 million school bond issue, and the ballot question passed 654-639.

The board of directors of Centennial Mental Health Center recently approved a motion to close the Holyoke office by Jan. 1. Phillips County Commissioner Jack Kennedy recently reported that someone else had shown interest in picking up the county’s share of CMH funding for a year, but it wasn’t official yet. The board’s decision to close the office was based on the combination of the previous year’s loss and the inability of Phillips County to partially offset it.

As of Jan. 1, everything changes for the Holyoke office of CSU Cooperative Extension Services due to a severe cut in funding from Phillips County, which came after a proposed county sales tax failed. Extension services in Phillips County is going into “survival mode” for 1998.

Melissa Memorial Hospital is up and running on a modern type of electronic filing system called Laser Ark.

Fifty Years Ago

Dec. 21, 1972

Carl Brandt, son of Mr. and Mrs. Arnold Brandt, Holyoke, will be ordained a Christian minister on Sunday, Dec. 24, at the Church of Christ in Julesburg.

The Colorado State Forest Service has opened up a new district office in northeast Colorado. The district includes the counties of Morgan, Washington, Yuma, Phillips, Sedgwick and Logan. The office is located in Fort Morgan.

The sub-zero temperatures that held the area in its grip for a long two weeks has relaxed its grip for the present. Daytime temperatures ranged from 23-45 degrees during the past week.

Seventy-Five Years Ago

Dec. 25, 1947

The new two-bay service station which has been under construction on the corner of Campbell Ave. and Denver St. since July has been completed and will open for business today. The owners, George W. Kramer and Mack E. Burchett, are justly proud of their new service station.

The American Legion of Holyoke has secured Happy Bill and his show for the New Year’s dance at the Legion Hall on Thursday evening, Jan. 1. This show is the Midwest’s No. 1 show and dance unit, which features fours of entertainment, with three-act play, vaudeville comedy and a dance after the show. 

The students of Phillips County High School and Holyoke Grade School were dismissed from their studies Friday afternoon, Dec. 19. Mr. Eicher, superintendent of the schools, announces that they will return to school Monday, Dec. 29, and will have New Year’s Day off and will return to school on Jan. 2.

Mr. F.G. Fiedler, cashier of the First National Bank in Holyoke, is retiring Jan. 1, 1948, after more than 30 years of active service in the banking business in Holyoke.

Rev. Roy S. Fogle, pastor of the Church of Christ for the past 15 months, will leave Holyoke to assume the duties of the minister of the Evangelical Conference of the Evangelical Brethren Church in Imperial, Nebraska.