Peekin' into the Past

Five Years Ago
March 7, 2013
    Having received licensure for Holyoke Pharmacy on March 1, owners Jamie Hanes and Jason Burke announced that they will be opening their local store in the southwest corner of Holyoke Marketplace later this month.
    Branching out from their established business in Ogallala, Nebraska, Dickinson Land Surveyors Inc. opened a Holyoke office on the second floor of the Peerless Center in Holyoke on March 1. Josh Skelton has moved to Holyoke and will serve as Holyoke manager.
    Holyoke was represented by 17 students at the regional National History Day contest at the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley on March 2. Holyoke eighth-graders Austin Herman, Alex Strauss, Whitney Powell, Logan Osborne and Juana Penzing placed in the top three and will be moving on to the state competition in May.
    
Ten Years Ago
March 6, 2008
    What began as a game with young friends pretending to be reporters writing for a newspaper has led to a new project for Holyoke Elementary students. A group of youngsters has come together to create their own newspapaer at the school, “The Dragon Kids’ News,” thanks to the brainchild of third-grader Austin Herman.
    Ballyneal Golf Course was recently named No. 13 in GolfWeek’s Best Modern Golf Courses of the United States list for 2008. The GolfWeek issue will be released March 8.
    Holyoke sixth-graders Alyssa Killin and Brittney Prottsman competed in the New York City Dance Alliance convention at the Holiday Inn DIA in Denver this past weekend. They received a silver award for their junior jazz duo performance, which entitles them to compete in the national competition this summer in New York.
    
Twenty-Five Years Ago
March 11, 1993
    James Armbruster, DMD, of Sterling, recently purchased the local dental practice of Mark Farmer, DDS. Holyoke Dental Center will be the name of Dr. Armbruster’s local business, which will be located in Dr. Myrlen Chesnut’s former office building at 605 S. Baxter Ave., which has more recently housed Centennial Mental Health Center.
    Centennial Mental Health Center in Holyoke has moved to SunSet View Housing, Apartment 14, on the corner of Johnson Street and Bowman Avenue.
    What started simply as a search for a more efficiently designed oil reservoir system on irrigation pumps has mushroomed into a manufacturing venture involving nationwide marketing and sales for Holyoke farmers Marc Schlachter and Keith Sagehorn. Magnum Manufacturing, their new enterprise, has recently been featured in several national agricultural publications.
    
Fifty Years Ago
March 7, 1968
    The Holyoke sugar beet receiving station is to be greatly enlarged this year, according to Lester Garner, manager of the Great Western Sugar Co. factory in Sterling. He said they expect the Holyoke station to be one of the largest in Colorado this year.
    The old McEwen apartment building that used to be located just east of the American Legion hall on East Denver Street is no more. It has been torn down and removed by the American Legion, which has owned the property for some time. It’s rumored that the Legion may put up a nice steakhouse on the lot, but this is all in the maybe-so stage — nothing definite.
    Tom Krueger, a junior at Holyoke High School, was named top exhibitor in the senior high school division at the 10th annual Northeast Colorado Science Fair held Saturday at Northeastern Junior College in Sterling.
    New pastor of the Holyoke Baptist Church is Rev. Howard Amstutz, who succeeds George W. Rieth in the local pastorate.
    Forest McWilliams, recently of Colorado Springs, assumed duties as Phillips County Extension agent on March 4.
    Work was begun early this week on a new garage for Town equipment. Cost of the building will be less than $10,000, according to Town authorities. The building is being erected on the site of the old swimming pool, west of the former town hall and adjacent to Holyoke Cooperative Association property.
    
Seventy-Five Years Ago
March 11, 1943
    As proof that the new low record Tuesday of last week of 17 degrees below zero in March was no accident, the mercury again sank to that mark Saturday, according to the official government thermometer here.
    A total of 4,431 war ration books No. 2 were issued in the registration held in Phillips County Feb. 24-27.
    Don’t let your victory garden be a drain on America’s defense materials. There are two ways to make every available garden tool a mighty weapon on the home food-production front. First, one set of garden tools can be shared by two or three gardeners. Second, every broken tool must be salvaged and reconditioned for use this year.