Peekin' into the Past
Five Years Ago
Feb. 22, 2018
Free ice skating will be offered at the Phillips County Event Center parking lot this weekend. Skates will be provided at the temporary ice rink, courtesy of Heginbotham Trust and Holyoke Chamber of Commerce.
Highline Electric Association is wrapping up a remodeling project at its headquarters facility on the south edge of Holyoke. These renovations are intended to increase safety and functionality as well as decrease confusion for members.
Social studies students in third and fourth grades at Holyoke Elementary School got to participate in giant map activities Feb. 13. The vinyl floor map, which measures 14 feet by 21 feet, traveled to five different schools in Northeastern BOCES the week of Feb. 12. It is designed to encourage geographic learning through physical movement and games.
Ten Years Ago
Feb. 21, 2013
Phillips County again has buffalo, as Paul Mailander’s recent purchase of a bull and five heifers are the only buffalo in the county.
Over 1,000 people lost their lives in Gardelegen, Germany, April 13, 1945, and after several years of research, 48-year-old Torsten Haarseim has completed a book recounting the WWII massacre which took place in his hometown. The book, “Gardelegen Holocaust,” wouldn’t have been quite the same without aid from Elton Oltjenbruns of Holyoke, who was with the first Army unit to come upon the massacre.
After seven months of having no pharmacist in Holyoke, Abts Express will fill the void, as Cindy Cooper will begin as a full-time pharmacist on March 1.
Twenty-Five Years Ago
Feb. 26, 1998
HHS senior Tyler Chappell dominated the 215-pound weight division at the 3A state wrestling meet last weekend, breaking a 41-year drought during which Holyoke had no state champion wrestlers. The grappler handled the pressure of the state tournament and managed to maintain his perfect record, ending the season at 28-0.
A long-anticipated comprehensive plan for the city of Holyoke has seemingly cleared a major hurdle — the question of how to fund it. City representatives were told on Feb. 19 that they could expect the full $30,000 requested in the form of an Energy Impact Assistance Grant.
The Holyoke Police Department is looking for information on a chemical bomb that exploded in the 500 block of East Furry Street on Feb. 20. No one was injured in the incident when a chemical explosive device was placed in a pickup driven by a high school student. The bomb did not go off until after it had been removed from the vehicle and it was not near anyone.
An exclusive zoning ordinance for Holyoke still needs refinement, according to city council members, but they approved it anyway because “at least it’s a start,” noting that it can be refined as the city’s comprehensive plan is done.
Fifty Years Ago
Feb. 22, 1973
The Holyoke chapter of FBLA, on Feb. 7, chartered its second chapter, Fleming. The first one chartered by Holyoke was at Revere.
Whittier Elementary School, located in Boulder, will be celebrating its 90th anniversary the week of Feb. 26-March 4. Whittier is the oldest continually active school in Colorado. First called Pine Street School, it opened for classes in 1883. In 1903, the name was changed to Whittier in honor of poet John Greenleaf Whittier.
Seventy-Five Years Ago
Feb. 26, 1948
Last fall, the American Legion started remodeling the Legion Hall by putting on a new roof. In the past month, many more changes have been taking place. The walls have been painted an antique ivory, and all the metal pipes have been painted silver. A new metal ceiling also has been put in, replacing the old paper one. A jukebox has been purchased by the Legion for use in the hall.
A program to decrease the high rate of infant mortality in the state has just been inaugurated by the establishment of a Premature Infant Center, located at the University of Colorado Medical Center. The program has been set up to provide educational facilities for the training of physicians, nurses and other personnel in the interest of preventing and treating infant prematurity.
A movement is on foot to have the next legislature provide means to mark the historic spots in the state. Such markings will make for a better tourist state and for a more historical background when the story of the making of Colorado is being told.