Peekin' into the Past

Five Years Ago
May 15, 2014
    Phillips County Judge David Colver is retiring from his position as county judge, effective May 30. However, he is not retiring from his law office — Colver, Killin & Sprague LLP.
    Official Holyoke weather reporter Dan Kafka recorded temps dipping to the freezing point four times within the past week. The mercury also climbed to between 69-78 degrees four times within the same week. Rain and snowfall in Holyoke during the past week have amounted to 1.19 inches of moisture.
    Bob Russell, a consultant for Lockheed Martin Aerospace, will present an overview of the F-35 “Lightning II” Joint Strike Fighter weapon system at the Peerless Theatre on May 22.
    
Ten Years Ago
May 14, 2009
    Phillips County Raceway fans will see a significant change in the stock car racetrack this year, as the Holyoke Racing Group is nearing completion of converting the track from a 1/2-mile to a 3/8-mile track. The west end of the track has been moved 330 feet to the east. The pit will now be located west of the track instead of in the middle of the track.
    Reconsidering the idea of a mill levy override election to increase property tax for school funding, the Re-1J school board indicated at its May 5 meeting that it will not be putting a question on the 2009 ballot.
    The Colorado Children’s Hospital Junglemobile visited Holyoke Elementary School on May 11 as part of the activities being sponsored by Melissa Memorial Hospital Foundation’s triathlon event. The Junglemobile program provides effective injury prevention education to young children throughout the rural areas of Colorado, Wyoming and western Nebraska.
    
Twenty-Five Years Ago
May 19, 1994
    After serving as acting manager of Holyoke’s First Pioneer National Bank for one to two months, Tom Bennett was elected as vice president and was named Holyoke branch manager at the May 12 meeting of the bank’s board of directors.
    HHS baseball players experienced a bittersweet conclusion to their season as they advanced to the state finals last Saturday but were defeated by the Crowley County Chargers 1-2.
    Ron and Cindy Lock recently purchased a home from Danny Wallin and had it moved 25 miles to its new home at 1026 S. Interocean Ave. The house previously sat 11 miles east and a half mile south of the Colorado/Nebraska state line. The Locks are having the house refurbished and hope to move their family into it around the first part of October.
    
Fifty Years Ago
May 15, 1969
    A memorable occasion occurred April 30 when the Holyoke Hospital Building Corporation turned over to the Town of Holyoke the residence property of the late W.E. Heginbotham. The Town will use the building to house the Holyoke Library.
    Lon Lutze, a native of Holyoke and now a resident of Daytona Beach, Florida, has been awarded the high honor of a four-year full-tuition Grote Distributor scholarship to Denver University. Grote Manufacturing Co. of Madison, Indiana, awards one scholarship each year.
    Artwork of grade school and junior high students will be on exhibit in the gym and lobby of the grade school Thursday and Friday. High school art students will have their work on exhibit in the new administration building, under construction southwest of the high school, along with 24 of the award-winning paintings and drawings from the High Plains art exhibit.
    
Seventy-Five Years Ago
May 18, 1944
    Ten years ago this Saturday, May 20, R.L. Anderson opened the Gamble Store in Holyoke. Anderson was postmaster a number of years prior to that time, with the store occupying the former post office building a short time after the post office was moved to its present location on the corner of Interocean Avenue and Denver Street.
    People throughout the country this coming year will have only 85% of the commercially packed vegetables they have had this year, so there is a greater need than ever before for more and larger Victory gardens in 1944.
    Beef which packers are required to set aside for the armed forces and other war uses was reduced from 40% to 35%, effective May 15.