Peekin' into the Past

Five Years Ago
Nov. 7, 2013
    A fairgrounds building committee has been formed for the consideration of a new building at Phillips County Fairgrounds, reported county commissioners at their Oct. 31 meeting. The committee will be meeting Nov. 13 to discuss possibilities for a multiple-use building that could replace the two livestock sheds used at the fair for steers, chickens, rabbits, etc., and could also be used for things like bull sales and therapy riding.
    Unofficial results from the Nov. 5 election showed Phillips County voters favored Referendum 1A to pursue becoming the 51st state. The City of Holyoke question pertaining to term limits for elected officials also passed, while voters in the city of Holyoke turned down a lodging tax question.
    A plea to the Colorado Department of Transportation to actively pursue reconstruction of an 18-mile stretch of Colorado Highway 23 from Holyoke northeast to the Colorado-Nebraska state line is the subject of a petition that’s currently being circulated.
    
Ten Years Ago
Nov. 6, 2008
    Democrat Barack Obama was declared the 44th president of the United States Tuesday evening, Nov. 4, even before all states reported their results. Obama makes history as the first African-American to be elected to the presidency.
    Because of a new national law known as the Red Flag Law, patients of Melissa Memorial Hospital will now have to bring their IDs with them when they check into the hospital. The new law was explained to East Phillips County Hospital District Board members at their monthly meeting Oct. 28. Red Flag was put into place as a way to crack down on identity theft.
    Reconstruction of the Phillips County Communication Center is expected to be complete in November, according to Phillips County commissioners at their Oct. 31 meeting.
    
Twenty-Five Years Ago
Nov. 11, 1993
    While plans have been in the works for several months, the purchase of Thompson Mortuary of Holyoke was finalized Oct. 25. Dave and Vicki Tennant, who have owned Tennant Funeral Home in Sterling for almost eight years, purchased the local mortuary at 241 E. Furry St. from Diane Thompson. At the present time, they plan to retain the name “Thompson Mortuary” in this community.
    Beginning Feb. 27, 1994, telephone customers in the 303 area code will need to add 303 before the seven-digit telephone number for all long-distance calls within the same 303 area code. Currently, callers dial 1+ or 0+ the seven numbers. To assist callers in developing the habit of using their home area code, customers are now encouraged to start using 1+ or 0+ 10-number dialing for all long-distance calls.
    Holyokites Orvie Nelson and Pryor Lewis discovered this year that they were shipmates aboard the USS Randall almost 50 years ago.
    
Fifty Years Ago
Nov. 7, 1968
    Last Friday afternoon, the Holyoke Dragons and the Yuma Indians met on the Yuma gridiron, holding each other scoreless in a tough defensive game. The tie ended the hopes of Coach Stoner and his Dragons for a co-championship and a berth in the conference playoff.
    A dedication service for the recently completed new educational wing of the Holyoke Zion Lutheran Church is being planned for Nov. 10.
    
Seventy-Five Years Ago
Nov. 11, 1943
    Delivery of the annual flood of Christmas gifts and cards on time, always a serious problem, “will be more than a problem this year — it will be an impossibility — unless Christmas mailings are made largely in November,” Postmaster General Frank C. Walker warned today.
    “Education for Victory,” the theme of the 1943 observance of American Education Week, is the watchword of the schools today. Education is playing a vital part in the war effort; it might be cited that the nation’s schools have trained 5,000,000 adults and older youths for jobs in essential war industries and are providing pre-induction training for millions of young people in the nation’s high schools.