130 Years Ago
June 12, 1896
Eddie Fenner, the son of Roselle Fenner, who was brought back from the South several months ago in a demented condition, returned from the Norfolk asylum last week, and is to all appearances as sound in mind and body as ever.
125 Years Ago
June 14, 1901
Capt. Corbin intends to supply the last and only thing necessary to give Alliance all known metropolitan airs. While in Denver recently he placed an order for one of those new-fangled automobiles, and as soon as it can be made, if entirely satisfactory, it will be shipped to the Captain.
120 Years Ago
June 15, 1906
Practically all Western Nebraska towns having abandoned the idea of celebrating the anniversary of the Nation’s natal day this year, Alliance has stepped forward into the breach with true patriotism and will endeavor to have a Fourth of July celebration that will please all who will join.
115 Years Ago
June 16, 1911
The basement of the Alliance National Bank is being renovated and refitted in modern style and a barber shop will be found there again in the near future, as of old.
110 Years Ago
June 16, 1916
A complaint has been filed against Nell Thompson charging her with running a house of prostitution on the night of February 20, 1916. The night in question is when the officers called at her place and instructed that the house be closed.
105 Years Ago
June 17, 1921
With the entry of several local cars in the auto race program at the race track Saturday afternoon interest is getting keen among local motorists who like this kind of sport. Five speedy cars have been shipped in from other towns and there will be several good races of local interest.
100 Years Ago
June 18, 1926
Every kid in town should be at the depot at 10 o’clock Wednesday morning to take part in the big juvenile carnival parade. Liberal prizes will be given by several of the Alliance merchants for the best outfits and every kid in the line will bet a prize worth while.
95 Years Ago
June 19, 1931
Every rental agency in Alliance has been besieged with requests for houses in the past few weeks and there are not more than one or two vacant houses in the city. It is next to impossible to find desirable rental properties and the scarcity will be even more apparent within the next few weeks and especially when school reopens in the fall.
90 Years Ago
June 12, 1936
Four western Nebraska airplane pilots, including two from Alliance, have banded together into a troupe known as the Panhandle Hawks. The Hawks are Harold Miller, airport manager, and Mrs. Miller, world’s barrel-roll record holder, both of Alliance; Jack Westfall, pioneer Nebraska pilot of Ogallala and E. V. Hogan, Scottsbluff airport manager. They will stage stunt flying programs to entertain air show crowds.
85 Years Ago
June 13, 1941
Box Butte county will participate in the new state-wide food stamp plan, it has been announced by the board of commissioners. The plan is expected to be in operation here by July 15.
80 Years Ago
June 14, 1946
Jess Miller, well known Alliance man, is reported to be doing all right at St. Josephs Hospital after an attack of Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Dr. A. G. Burnham, his physician, reported yesterday that Miller evidently contracted the disease from a tick in some cattle he had shipped in from Wyoming.
75 Years Ago
June 16, 1951
If anyone has a course of instruction on how to walk in cowboy boots without dragging the heels, losing balance, and the other booby traps connected with the footwear, there are several clients for the course.
70 Years Ago
June 14, 1956
City crews have begun the annual fly-spraying of garbage receptacles and other containers in alleys. The crews began Tuesday morning and are spraying eastern sections of the city first. City Manager R. W. Laing is encouraging residents to spray their screen doors and windows simultaneously for more effective prevention. The city suggests the use of DDT for screens.
65 Years Ago
June 17, 1961
Radio Station KCOW’s application for increasing its wattage from 250 to 1,000 now is about 80th on the list for hearing before the Federal Communications Commission, T. C. Gregory told members of the Rotary Club Thursday night.
60 Years Ago
June 17, 1966
Exotic sports cars with such nameplates as Fiat, Alfa, Porsche and Lotus began to arrive in Alliance this afternoon for the fifth annual Cattle Capital Sprints rally and races.
55 Years Ago
June 14, 1971
Marked by their sunburned noses and blistered hands, 15 Alliance teenage girls are thinning sugar beet fields this summer. The girls are part of a northwest Nebraska pilot project designed to test the effectiveness of student laborers, said Abe Spurgin, Great Western Sugar Co. agriculturist.
50 Years Ago
June 16, 1976
Box Butte County Commissioners granted close to 52 county employees a $50 per month raise, effective July 1, following a request for a “cost of living” salary increase at the county board meeting Monday afternoon. The raise will cost the county close to $30,000 for one year. Last year county employees received a $25 per month raise.
45 Years Ago
June 12, 1981
Alliance’s controversial parking meters are not going to lose their place on downtown sidewalks for a few more weeks. They were kicked around by a divided City Council again Thursday evening, with differences being over whether to continue or drop the 2-hour parking limit and some other regulations.
40 Years Ago
June 13, 1986
Recently a local resident was incarcerated in the Box Butte County jail facility under the classification of mental hold. His behavior while in the facility indicated to some that he needed professional help. Box Butte County has no facility specifically for the care of persons with mental health problems.
35 Years Ago
June 15, 1991
Using methods of the Stone Age people, the Heel Stone will be raised at Carhenge on June 22, beginning at 4:30 p.m. The Carhenge Heel Stone will be a 1962 Cadillac distinguished by its empennage (rear lines). Timbers, cribbing and ropes were the means used by the ancient people at Stonehenge, England, some 4,000 years ago to raise the Sarsen stones, estimated to weigh about 40 tons.
30 Years Ago
June 15, 1996
During the last 23 years Ralph Hoxworth has provided an independent sanitation service for Alliance and Hemingford, but six years ago he started a recycling business. All of the equipment used in the recycling operation was built by Hoxworth at a fraction of the cost of new machines.
25 Years Ago
June 13, 2001
City crews have installed temporary stop signs for northbound and southbound traffic at Duncan and Yellowstone avenues, along 12th Street. After reviewing accident reports, the Alliance Police Department decided it would be beneficial to conduct a study of the locations with stop signs, instead of yield signs, to see if this scenario will decrease the number of accidents, APD Chief John Kiss noted.
20 Years Ago
June 17, 2006
The most recent spectator sport in Alliance has not been welcomed by the Alliance Police Department. Lieutenant Ken Hart said dog fighting has been occurring in the community for at least the past six months and the department is actively investigating it.
15 Years Ago
June 13, 2011
The Alliance Police Department is about to get a big upgrade to their technology, recently receiving a Homeland Security grant for $193,450. Chief John Kiss said the department would get an upgrade to its computer system, such as internal computers and servers. He said it will not really affect systems such as the 9-1-1 response and geo-mapping, but those systems will be affected with the upgrade.
10 Years Ago
June 15, 2016
Midwest Medical Transport was founded in 1987 in Columbus and was operated by a husband and wife out of their small apartment as they kept their ambulance in storage. The company is now the largest ambulance company in Nebraska and extended service to Alliance last year.
5 Years Ago
June 16, 2021
A group of people is working to address the needs of the community by working to open a dual rehabilitation center in Alliance. Alex Jines, one of the Co-Directors for the Sandhills Center for Hope, said that by opening this facility, they hope to serve the region by providing rehabilitation services locally.
*Compiled from The Alliance Times-Herald Archives by Christine Melcher