130 Years Ago
March 20, 1896
John S. Carman writes to have his paper forwarded to Los Angeles, Cal., instead of Englewood, Ill.
125 Years Ago
March 22, 1901
Mr. and Mrs. W. Owen’s twelve-year-old daughter is suffering with a severe case of measles.
120 Years Ago
March 20, 1906
Many people seem to think that the proposed sewerage system is to be run out into the open in or near town, and the sewage disposed of in that manner. It is not the purpose of the council or city officials to do anything injurious to the health of the community, or antagonize in any way the board of health officials, who would rightly object to such a proceeding on the part of the city.
115 Years Ago
March 24, 1911
Dr. Curtice is again the owner of an automobile have traded some residence property to Sang C. Reck for his thirty horse power Overland.
110 Years Ago
March 24, 1916
City Physician C. E. Hershman reports that Alliance has but four cases of scarlet fever and two of these will be released from quarantine this week. There are no cases on record of other contagious diseases of any sort. The condition of the homes and the streets and alleys has a great deal to do with the health of the city.
105 Years Ago
March 25, 1921
Orders have been received by Ensign Henrietta Parkes from the Des Moine headquarters of the Salvation Army to close the Alliance post on April 1. Lack of financial support is given as the cause of the order, which has been expected for some time. Ensign Parkes states that the local post is in debt to the extent of about $750, which will have to be made up locally.
100 Years Ago
March 26, 1926
Alliance will have a “wow” of a baseball club this year if preliminary plans made at a big meeting held at the city hall last night are carried out. A large number of enthusiasts were present and all are out to boost the local diamond crew which promises to be one of the best mustered together in this city for several years.
95 Years Ago
March 24, 1931
Two years ago The Times-Herald pointed out that the state highway department was becoming “concrete minded,” and that gravel would cease to be considered long before the Alliance highways were completed. In the March state highway letting, the work totaled $2,484,867 and out of this sum the Alliance road projects got exactly $944.64 for some “shoulder drains.”
90 Years Ago
March 20, 1936
Due to long years of strain and rust, the “Welcome” sign at the corner of Box Butte and Third Street is said to be unsafe and may have to come down before it falls and hurts or kills several people. The old sign was put up nearly 20 years ago when it was thought necessary to express a city’s welcome with a metallic sign.
85 Years Ago
March 21, 1941
Following the excavation of the basement for the William Rhoads home in the new residential district east of the city park, ground has been broken for a new four room house, 30 x 26 feet, for Elliott Strand; a five room house, 35 x 43 feet, for J. D. Lichty; and plans are under way for a fourth to be constructed by Harold Young.
80 Years Ago
March 22, 1946
Sheriff Dan Hoppes this week appealed to the law-abiding people of Box Butte County to help him and the county authorities in stopping the wide spread killing of pheasants. The recent slaughter of 50 pheasants which were killed for their breasts, is a sample of the vicious slaying of pheasants out of season, the Sheriff said.
75 Years Ago
March 24, 1951
The busiest night shift in town is the one making over the J. C. Penney store. And considerable progress is being made to give Alliance another modern retail property.
70 Years Ago
March 22, 1956
The 12-minute parking meters in front of the Post Office are in effect every day – including evenings, Sunday and holidays – Police Chief Doug Thomas reminded Alliance motorists today. Drivers in the city have been careless in recent weeks, Thomas said, about parking in those stalls, especially during evenings and Sundays.
65 Years Ago
March 20, 1961
Jerry Culp, 17-year-old high school student, fired an ace on the 163-yard No. 11 hole at the Alliance Golf Course on Saturday. He used a No. 2 iron to achieve the event. Culp and the two witnesses, Charles Johnson and Jack Hamer, Jr., ran to the club house to confirm the hole-in-one, which is a one in 25,000 event.
60 Years Ago
March 22, 1966
Alliance Building Inspector Dale Sund today announced that the Alliance Steam Laundry has taken out a building permit for the purpose of remodeling the office area and recovering the front of the building. Jack Steinman told The Times-Herald this morning that the offices of Keep-U-Neat Cleaners and the Steam Laundry will be combined in the remodeling process.
55 Years Ago
March 22, 1971
The 5-6 grade division spellers upset the timetable in the annual Box Butte County oral spelling contest held at Central School Saturday. After an hour of pronouncing words to the pupils, about 25 of them still had not missed a word, and the list of words with sentences prepared for the contest was exhausted. Then judges of the contest handed the pronouncer a list of harder words.
50 Years Ago
March 23, 1976
Citizen’s band (CB) radios are good entertainment, very useful and relatively inexpensive, according to their owners. But to a number of Alliance merchants they have become a big business. “We still have 10 or 12 units to deliver in town,” said Guy Elder, owner of the sears store. “On certain models we’re running 25 to 30 days behind because the manufacturer is behind.”
45 Years Ago
March 19, 1981
District Court Judge Robert R. Moran has appointed Attorney Laurice Margheim as a special prosecuting attorney in connection with the current drug investigation that has so far led to ten arrests. Box Butte County Attorney Kenneth Payne filed an application last November requesting that he not represent the state in this case because of a possible conflict of interest.
40 Years Ago
March 21, 1986
“Hello from Alliance, Nebraska. It is fitting that this call be made from a town named Alliance because if ever the world needed an Alliance it needs one now. It needs a strong federated Alliance. It needs restructuring of the United Nations which at present is a weak Alliance…” These were among the opening words of captain Tom Hudgens on a worldwide conference call.
35 Years Ago
March 22, 1991
The Scottish poet, Robert Burns, wrote “Oh t’would the gift the giftee gi’e us/To see airsilves as ithers see us.” Several Alliance residents had the opportunity to see their community through the eyes of two sophomores from Yale University this past week, as the young “Elis” spent and “externship” in Alliance to learn about rural culture.
30 Years Ago
March 20, 1996
Something has to be done about the loitering problem in the 800 block of Box Butte Avenue. To that end, a committee has been formed to find alternatives for teens and young adults who frequent the area usually on weekend evenings and throughout the summer.
25 Years Ago
March 22, 2001
Alliance High School’s speech and debate teams competed at the NSAA state meet in Kearney this past Thursday, March 15, and placed eighth among 32 Class A schools. Sarah Stewart was the only individual placer, finishing third in Informative and fifth in Persuasive. All AHS speech members earned superior ratings.
20 Years Ago
March 22, 2006
Officers Darrin Kremer and Dusty Bryner have been returned to full working status at the Alliance Police Department after being put on leave following a Feb. 5 shooting incident. According to information gathered, early on Feb. 5 the officers responded to a domestic disturbance call.
15 Years Ago
March 23, 2011
Some folks around here might remember David McCracken as the friendly guy who pumped gas at the service station. As they handed over cash or credit, they couldn’t have known he once risked his life gliding through the night sky above Normandy, France. He hardly ever talked about the war.
10 Years Ago
March 22, 2016
During National Poison Prevention Week, Panhandle Public Health District reminds Nebraskans that tobacco and other nicotine products are a serious poison threat to children. With the increasing popularity of e-cigarettes, people who “vape” should be aware that a very small amount of the liquid nicotine used to refill e-cigarettes can be deadly for a child.
5 Years Ago
March 24, 2021
At last Tuesday’s meeting of the Alliance City Council, Alliance Police Department Chief Philip Lukens shared his strategic plan for the department moving forward. “The strategic plan kind of sets our ship in a direction,” said Lukens.
*Compiled from The Alliance Times-Herald Archives by Christine Melcher