Peekin' into the Past

Five Years Ago
April 24, 2014
    Twenty-six grain industry workers and fire department personnel from five states completed a 32-hour confined-space rescue course in Holyoke last week. Coordinated by CHS Grainland through instruction from Safety & Technical Rescue Association, the April 14-17 training featured coursework and simulated situation activities.
    When HHS freshman Ty Camblin failed a BOCES hearing screening at school last fall, he and his family had no idea it would lead to the diagnosis of a rare diffused neurofibroma tumor. Through CT scans, MRIs and doctors visits at Children’s Hospital in Denver and Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, Camblin is electing for surgery next month to remove a portion of the tumor that is pressing on his left ear canal.
    
Ten Years Ago
April 23, 2009
    It took 18 months of bureaucratic red tape, but Pastor Gordon Penfold of First Baptist Church in Holyoke finally received a religious visa to visit a far eastern section of Russia for two weeks in March. On April 19, he shared his experiences in Russia with the community by giving a slideshow presentation at First Baptist Church.
    Colorado U.S. Route 6 Heritage Corporation will sponsor its second annual car show and historical presentation April 25. A Model T and Model A car show will take place across the street from the Peerless Center on Interocean Avenue.
    Cinco de Mayo celebration organizers in Holyoke announced recently that they will be postponing this year’s annual event until this fall, after the Phillips County Event Center is complete. Since this is the community’s 10th year for a Cinco de Mayo celebration, organizers want to make it extra special and will need a large facility to accommodate it.
    
Twenty-Five Years Ago
April 28, 1994
    Holyoke City Council agreed to the hiring of a third coach for the 1994 summer recreation program at its April 19 meeting. The third coach was requested because safety was becoming an issue with the rising number of participants each year.
    Arbor Day in the city of Holyoke was celebrated on Earth Day, April 22, with a tree planting and a program presented to students in kindergarten through third grade. City crews planted 14 trees in City Park, including hackberry, marshall ash and maple varieties.
    
Fifty Years Ago
April 24, 1969
    The Holyoke High School student council is sponsoring a carnival which will be held April 25, 6:30-10 p.m. in the high school gym. Candidates for carnival king and queen are freshmen Denny Vollmer and Jackie Rafert, sophomores Brent Hofmeister and Connie Prottsman, juniors Alan Wells and Delora Heilman, and seniors Terry Gracey and Sherry Jung. Votes may be cast by purchasing tickets for candidates and using them at the carnival booths.
    Formation of the Colorado-Nebraska Development Corporation was announced last Monday at a press conference in Grant, Nebraska. The new corporation will seek to find whether it is feasible to construct a new sugar factory to serve sugarbeet areas in the four counties of Perkins and Chase in Nebraska and Phillips and Yuma in Colorado.
    The annual Philowick District Cub Scout carnival will be held April 27 in Fleming. All kites entered must be handmade, and awards will be given in a variety of categories.
    
Seventy-Five Years Ago
April 27, 1944
    Fire destroyed a brooder house and 360 5-week-old chickens at 2:30 a.m. last Friday at the William Mutchie farm in the North Community.
    A 4,380-pound fireproof safe has been installed in a wall at the office of the Holyoke Cooperative Association recently. The huge safe and vault provide storage space for office records, as the increase in stockholders and the increased volume of business makes more vault space imperative.
    Helen Hilyard has resigned her position as chief clerk of the Phillips County Rationing Board, to take effect May 1. She has held this position for the past 18 months. Roma Lappart will succeed Hilyard as chief clerk.