A well-traveled road can be seen heading into Holyoke from the southeast in Holyoke, as was common in Holyoke’s early years. In the June 5, 1908, edition, The State Herald reported that “the diagonal road leading southwest from Holyoke has been fenced up and now people from the southwest are forced to turn square corners and come into town from the south or west. In fact, the whole country surrounding Holyoke is being fenced so that there is no longer a possibility of leaving Holyoke by driving across the prairie in most any direction.” — Source: Phillips County Museum
Peekin' into the Past
Five Years Ago
Dec. 26, 2013
Phillips County Assessor Doug Kamery was named the 2013 Assessor of the Year by the Colorado Assessors’ Association at the annual winter conference Dec. 3-5.
Steve Deaver of Holyoke and his friend Dennis Leach of Central City were recently invited to guest host Shooter Ready Radio, a two-hour segment on a Pueblo-based radio station dedicated to telling the stories behind famous, unique and interesting guns.
Four generations of the extended Ortner family gathered in Holyoke Dec. 14 to celebrate the “Comin’ to America” of their father, grandfather and great-grandfather, Johann Ortner, who 100 years ago at age 17 left Austria to start a new life in the USA.
Ten Years Ago
Dec. 25, 2008
Bruce Rosenbach was honored as the Haxtun Conservation District 2008 Outstanding Conservationist of the Year at the recent Christmas dinner held Dec. 9 at KarDale’s.
Snowfall Thursday evening, Dec. 18, and warm temperatures on Friday made it a perfect day for sledding. Christmas week temperatures started with a high of 17 and a low of minus 7 on Dec. 21.
Twenty-Five Years Ago
Dec. 30, 1993
Elaine McCallum of Holyoke will experience agriculture on an international level as a participant in the 1994 Greenweek Seminar, coordinated by the National FFA Organization. McCallum is one of 17 participants from across the nation and will spend Jan. 15-25 in Austria, the Czech Republic and Germany.
The Business Retention and Expansion Committee of Holyoke Revitalization Inc. is working on publishing a directory of businesses, services and products available in the Holyoke area. The directory aims to acquaint residents, particularly newcomers, with the business community and its proprietors.
With almost 20 years of service to Highline Electric Association, Elmer Jacobs will retire from the rural electrification company on his 62nd birthday, Jan. 8. His last official working day as an equipment operator for the company is Dec. 30.
Fifty Years Ago
Dec. 26, 1968
Northeastern Colorado received its first appreciable amount of snow this season last weekend. The storm hit the Holyoke area early Friday morning and continued unabated through Saturday. Early Saturday evening the wind started to blow, causing the snow to drift, and some country roads were closed for a short time.
The tri-county area of Phillips, Sedgwick and Yuma counties showed good gain in all retail sales during the third quarter, ending Sept. 30, according to the University of Colorado business research division. Phillips County registered total sales of $4.1 million, an increase of 12.9 percent for the same period last year. Holyoke showed gain of 19.4 percent with $2.5 million in sales.
Seventy-Five Years Ago
Dec. 30, 1943
The need for waste paper to help maintain the manufacture of paper for packaging war supplies, medical supplies and for use in an almost endless list of things which the government needs paper for has necessitated a drive for scrap paper throughout the country.
An announcement by the State Game and Fish Department at Denver, dated Dec. 27, provides for an open season for hunting pheasants in limited areas, including Phillips County west of State Highway 51, Jan. 1-16. The newly declared open seasons permit the hunting of pheasants “from daylight until a half hour after sunset,” which now permits a full day for hunting.