130 Years Ago
April 12, 1895
Judge Field is deceiving the unwary these days with a drawing on his large plate glass window, that causes the passer by to inquire “who broke that?”
125 Years Ago
April 13, 1900
F. E. Hamblin has finished the plans and specification for the new electric light and water pumping station for the city. It is to be of brick, eight inch walls, 50×80 feet in size, and divided into boiler, coal, store, pump and machinery rooms.
120 Years Ago
April 11, 1905
Miss Laravae, one of the teachers, was so ill Monday as to render a substitute necessary in the afternoon.
115 Years Ago
April 15, 1910
Bert Fernengal returned to Alliance Wednesday, and is busy bidding his many friends goodbye and attending to other matters, preparatory to his going to Gordon, where he has decided to embark in the tailoring business for himself. Bert has won many friends in Alliance, who will join with the Times in wishing him well in this venture.
110 Years Ago
April 13, 1915
Family trouble is said to be the cause of Engineer Guy Allen going violently insane. Monday it became necessary to confine him in a straight-jacket after he had succeeded in jumping through a window and otherwise endangered his life. Mr. Allen has held a responsible position with the railroad for several years and his sudden insanity comes as a shock to his many friends here. Since Easter he has brooded over his troubles until his mind was unbalanced. He rapidly grew worse until it was deemed necessary to take him to a hospital for the treatment of insanity.
105 Years Ago
April 13, 1920
The first carload of cream brick for the First National bank building arrived Monday morning and work on remodeling the block will start in the near future. All of the present face brick will be removed and an entirely new architectural design will be adopted with the use of the cream colored brick and terracotta trimmings. The floor will be lowered to the street level and the entrance will be placed in the middle of the front instead of the corner as at present.
100 Years Ago
April 10, 1925
Miss Nora Bayes’ experience commands respectful attention. Returning with her fifth husband, she says she is on her first real honeymoon, because this husband is a “No-Man.” The experienced lady divides husbands into the weak “yes-man,” and the powerful, manly “no-man.” The “no-man,” as you guess harks back to the cave and knows how to say “no.” A woman likes to be bossed, says Miss Bayes, and soon gets tired of a “yes-man.” An interesting definition of husbands, but there is such a thing as saying “no” too often. Who knows but No. 6 may be another “yes man?”
95 Years Ago
April 11, 1930
Three men who were tried in district court Tuesday and Wednesday on charges of violating the dry laws were freed, two of them by dismissal and a directed verdict, and the third by a verdict of not guilty. Harold Jeffreys, former Alliance police officer, was acquitted by the jury of a charge of selling liquor after the same charge against E. B. Minnick, also a former local policeman, had been dismissed by the court because of a lack of evidence supporting charges in the information. A verdict of not guilty was directed in the appeal of Jack Dailey from a conviction in police court on a charge of illegal possession of liquor. Dailey had been sentenced in the lower court to pay a fine of $100 and costs.
90 Years Ago
April 12, 1935
The Alliance National bank will open for business Monday morning in the building now occupied by the Nebraska National bank, according to plans announced this morning. The Nebraska National bank was purchased by the Alliance National in negotiations completed early Tuesday morning. The transfer had been originally planned for today, but was deferred until the end of the present week because of the usual week-end rush which will probably he heightened by a railroad payday tomorrow.
85 Years Ago
April 12, 1940
Plenty of kites – plenty of prizes – plenty of fun will be in store at 10:00 a. m. Saturday, April 20, when judging will commence in the Times-Herald’s big spring kite tournament. The tourney will be held on the Knight tract lying west of Platte Avenue and north of Third Street, between Platte Avenue and the railroad tracks. The Times-Herald is offering $30 in cash prizes for the winners in the various events, and a number of Alliance business firms have posted more than a dozen additional prizes in valuable merchandise, any of which prizes any boy or girl contestant would be delighted to own.
80 Years Ago
April 13, 1945
A request that Nebraska’s congressional delegation bring to the attention of government authorities facilities at the air base here for hospitalization of sick and wounded war veterans was made by the new city council in its first regular session last night. A motion by Councilman H. T. Timbers unanimously approved by other members of the council instructed the city manager to write each member of the Nebraska delegation in congress calling their attention to hospital facilities here for veterans and calling upon them to urge army and Veterans Administration authorities to inquire into the possibilities of utilizing the air base hospital providing no other use for the base is planned.
75 Years Ago
April 14, 1950
A man who is alleged to be the most prolific artist of bad checks to be captured here in months faces two charges of forgery placed against him today by County Attorney Wade H. Ellis. He is Raynold Mattox, 35, whose last employment was on a ranch near Casper, Wyo. He is divorced, and is the father of four children. He is alleged to have passed 10 bad checks in Alliance. Charges brought against him are for $10 checks passed at the Holsten Drug store April 12, and one at Fourth Street Market April 3. Both were written on Bank of Hemingford blanks. Police arrested him Wednesday night after the local drug store had discovered the check was not good.
70 Years Ago
April 14, 1955
A meeting of Great Western Sugar Co. beet growers was hel Wednesday night at the Alliance Hotel with 65 land owners and growers present. A film was shown on “The Great Western Story”, telling about the company’s 50 years of growth. General discussion centered around good farm practices and fertilization. L. H. Hendersen, manager of the Bayard plant, presided. Beet growers are busy now planting 3,400 acres of beets in Box Butte County. This represents a big decrease from last year’s contracted acreage of 4,250 in the county. The decrease is due to allotments by the Department of Agriculture.
65 Years Ago
April 14, 1960
Members of the Hemingford 4-H Auto Safety Club realize that drivers of their own age, 16 to 25 constituted about 25 percent of the traffic fatalities in the state of Nebraska during 1958 and 1959. Shocked by this large number they felt it was their duty to try to help cut down this useless waste of teenage lives. As a result, they have conducted a highway hazard hunt on the roads of Box Butte County and have planned an auto safety check.
60 Years Ago
April 13, 1965
Alliance’s 500 or more dogs may join in a chorus of yelps and howls at any time. Ordinance 1087, the new “leash law”, went into effect today and dogs lose the privilege they have enjoyed here since 1887 of roaming at large. The actual change now being made is contained in one short paragraph of the ordinance, which states: “All dogs, kept, harbored or maintained by their owners within the City shall be licensed. No owner of any dog shall permit such dog to run at large at any time.”
55 Years Ago
April 15, 1970
The Alliance Daily Times-Herald hosted the Alliance 4-H Junior Leaders Tuesday night at the “reward” banquet for the successful 1970 4-H edition published on March 21 and presented the group with a check in the amount of $1,051.80. The Junior Leaders, earning a percentage of the advertising revenue from the special section, set a 5-year record on earnings with the 1970 edition.
50 Years Ago
April 16, 1975
Rick E. Guernsey, 20, was booked by Alliance police Tuesday afternoon on two felony assault counts and two major traffic charges following an incident in the 500 block of Box Butte in which Patrolman Bill Todd received apparently minor injuries. Guernsey was booked on charges of assaulting a police officer, assault with intent to do great bodily harm, driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and willful reckless driving. He was released from jail Tuesday afternoon on a 10 per cent of a $3,000 bond.
45 Years Ago
April 16, 1980
Several complaints from residents here concerning a rat problem prompted the Hemingford Village Board to call in a representative from the Nebraska Department of Health (NDH) to determine if the village does indeed have a rodent problem. In a report presented to the village board Tuesday night by Gary Gibbons, an environmental health scientist for NDH in Scottsbluff, the village presently has three main factors necessary for a rat problem to exist. Those conditions are: food, water and harborage.
40 Years Ago
April 15, 1985
A fire at 11:44 a.m. Thursday morning caused minor smoke damage in the activity room at Good Samaritan Village. According to Fire Chief Roger McGrath, there was about $100 damage which involves mostly clean up expense. Tina McMains, activity assistant at the village said she smelled smoke and upon investigation discovered a pile of wool braided rugs on top of an electric stove in the activity room were smoldering.
35 Years Ago
April 12, 1990
Carhenge Could Get Parking Lot: The parking lot and other visitor facilities for Carhenge are a real possibility. A person who asked to remain anonymous will donate up to $5,000 if matched by other contributions. Paul Phaneuf, Friends of Carhenge president, said the effort will be to raise the money so the project can be completed before the Memorial Day weekend.
30 Years Ago
April 15, 1995
This summer Alliance High School senior Mike Nerland will be traveling to Nagpor, India, as a foreign exchange student. He expects to arrive in India in July or August, and he will attend college there for at least nine months. India is not often an exchange student’s first choice because many students know less about it than most European countries. Nerland explained, “I missed the first round of country selections. All the countries in Europe were out of the way.”
25 Years Ago
April 12, 2000
“Alliance is in danger of losing its summer Red Cross swim program,” Kathy Zilmer, Alliance’s learn-to-swim instructor, announced recently. The Box Butte County Red Cross has lost a sizable portion of its swimming instructors due to some of them working away from home or moving altogether, while others have simply retired from the program.
20 Years Ago
April 14, 2005
The former Box Butte County Youth and 4-H Coordinator is free on a 10 percent of $10,000 bond after being charged with theft by taking, a Class III felony. Sheri S. Woodworth (Magnuson),31, was charged with stealing $4,611.42 from the Box Butte County 4-H Junior Leaders.
15 Years Ago
April 15, 2010
At a presentation for the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) members, in addition to advising citizens about implementing emergency and disaster plans for themselves and their families, and assisting elderly shut-in or disabled neighbors, Fire Chief Troy Shoemaker addressed safety and emergency concerns for both individuals and throughout the community. “When you are prepared for a disaster, you reduce the danger and distress for yourself and your family,” he said, mentioning that something as simple as the loss of electricity, water, and heat would be less stressful not only for individuals, but city personnel as well, when an action plan is in place.
10 Years Ago
April 14, 2015
A lot was happening in 1903 in America. Henry Ford incorporated the Ford Motor Company, leading to the first mass produced automobile, the Model T, just a few years later. The first cowboy film, “Kit Carson,” premiered in theaters, and nearby Wind Cave National Park opened. That year, the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy (CB&Q) engine number 719 rolled into the yards of the CB&Q Shop in Havelock. The 719 was one of three passenger engines built that year at the Havelock Shop.
5 Years Ago
April 15, 2020
The Alliance School Board took action at their meeting on Monday night to postpone the graduation ceremony for the class of 2020 in the wake of limitations on gatherings imposed by Governor Pete Ricketts’ Directed Health Measure to limit the spread of COVID-19.
*Compiled from The Alliance Times-Herald Archives by Christine Melcher