Peekin' into the Past

Five Years Ago

March 9, 2017

A grass fire that started in the Proctor area Monday, March 6, darkened the sky throughout the day, as high winds blowing smoke and dust reduced visibility. More than 70 firefighters responded from 13 fire departments Monday, with seven fire engines working through the night. As of Tuesday, firefighters were still working to control the wildfire that had claimed several homes, outbuildings and livestock and over 30,000 acres.

Phillips and Sedgwick counties have a new district wildlife manager at their service. Kyle Gordon began his duties as wildlife manager at the first of the year.

K99’s Good Morning Guys on KUAD Radio out of Windsor/Fort Collins received some exciting news last month when they learned that they would be inducted into the Country Music Radio Hall of Fame. Todd Harding, Brian Gary and Susan Moore make up The Good Morning Guys team. Harding is a 1984 HHS graduate, and Gary is the father of Holyoke resident Nick Flaa.

Ten Years Ago

March 8, 2012

Holyoke Police Department is now back to a full staff with the addition of a fourth officer, Larry Drake. Drake joins the force after spending 12 years in Aurora as a full-time farrier (horseshoer).

HHS senior and three-time state champion wrestler Mark Edmonds will be competing in the Senior Nationals in Virginia Beach, Virginia, March 28-April 1. This is the event where the top eight place finishers are recognized as High School All-Americans.

Oil and gas prices have been fueling political debates lately and have been a topic on the streets — not so much in Holyoke and the rest of Colorado, however. The state average in Colorado on March 6 for a gallon of gas was $3.23. Colorado currently is ranked as having the second to lowest gas prices in the U.S.

Twenty-Five Years Ago

March 13, 1997

Holyoke city council members are expecting at best an “unpleasant” annexation as they pick up a process that started over a year ago with Dennis and Carolyn O’Neal. At their March 4 meeting, members decided to go ahead with annexation of O’Neals’ property even though the couple asked to withdraw a petition they made for annexation. The land involved has been referred to throughout the past year as the proposed Pheasant Run subdivision, south of Johnson Street and east of Highway 385.

S&W Auto Supply announces a supplier change, effective March 14. Owner and operator Kameron Knight noted that this is a supplier change only, as they switch from their Carquest association to NAPA Auto Parts.

A dance-a-thon is the first of several fundraisers planned to help reach the funding goal to start construction at the Peerless Center. The dancers will dance on April 13 in the high school old gym and will gather pledges until the day of the dance.

Fifty Years Ago

March 9, 1972

Mrs. L.X. Wernet has leased the Rainbow Cafe to Mrs. Dick (Roberta) Reagan. She took over management of the cafe on March 6. The cafe will operate under the name of Reagan’s Rainbow.

Warm, dry weather continued in the area during the past week, with the exception of last Saturday when the daytime temperature dropped to 44 degrees. Daytime readings for the balance of the week ranged from 60 to a high of 81 degrees, averaging 65 degrees for the seven-day period.

Seventy-Five Years Ago

March 13, 1947

The four upper grades of the Holyoke grade school presented the operetta “The Cobbler of Fairyland” to a capacity crowd at the grade school gym last Friday evening. There were 109 characters in all who played a part in the operetta.

Story of a “Future Farmer” is the title of the feature article in the March 1, 1947, issue of the Western Life magazine, which tells the story of Leland Miller’s enviable record as an FFA member in the Holyoke chapter. Leland is a son of Mr. and Mrs. George Miller of Holyoke.

Good news has been received for bus travelers of Holyoke. Buses that were removed from the run Jan. 6 have been put back on the schedule again, effective March 11.