130 Years Ago
Aug. 19, 1892
I wish to say that I feel very thankful to all those who rendered such valuable assistance in removing goods from my store at the time of the fire, and when I get my store in order again I shall be pleased to have all such call and smoke at my expense or partake of anything else which their fancy dictates. W. W. Norton.
125 Years Ago
Aug. 20, 1897
The Alliance boys frolicked about the diamond with the fair damsels from the Bean city to their hearts’ content. The ladies were first to bat, but it was very easy to see that they were contemplating the splendid array of supple athletes on the opposing side, and paid but little attention to the ball. Accordingly they retired to the field with an Oh. Donavon and Grogan went to bat, and the first named reached home plate. The fair-haired beauty on second base viewed Grogan with an alluring smile as he came down to second base, and he abruptly fled back to the crowd. The dark-eyed little pitcher from the Emerald Isle hopelessly hypnotized Martin O’Connor, and his effects to find the ball ended in defeat. The charms of beauty and grace had no fascination for W. G. Zediker, however, and he chased around to home plate without so much as a tremor at the open arms of the maidens ready to receive him at each base. Alliance went out with four scores to her credit. Here is where it becomes apparent to the spectators that pitcher Grogan had become a captive of feminine loveliness. He absolutely refused to pitch the ball swiftly and persisted in gallantly throwing it right over their head or away to one side in brave and manly efforts to shield and protect the fragile creatures. The crowd howled and the maidens indignantly disdained such favoritism, but Grogan was proof against the frowns and smiles of all. The ladies scored four in this inning. In the next the Alliance boys again made four scores. The Boston girls counted up eleven runs in the third, and our boys seemed utterly powerless as vision after vision of freckled loveliness, bloomers and ankles sped by the bases. Catcher O’Connor became involved in an embroiligo with a damsel for standing so close she could not swing her bat and of this the crowd expressed disapproval, and he moved back a few spaces. The Alliance lads next tried to imitate the example of the ladies but fell one short. Four inning followed in rapid session, and only in the last did the bloomerites succeed in getting a tally. In the next two innings the Alliance team made six, which completed the game in seven innings by a score of 16 to 24 in Alliance’s favor.
120 Years Ago
Aug. 19, 1902
Sheriff Reed and Albert Langford, a son of deceased, went to Omaha for the purpose of making inquiry into the case of the man which the Omaha papers reported as being found dead in box car. They visited the office of the coroner of Douglas county, and were shown the clothing, pocket knife and tobacco pipe found on the body, all of which were unhesitatingly identified as being those of Henry Langford, by his son. The body was exhumed and brought back here and taken to Hemingford for burial.
115 Years Ago
Aug. 23, 1907
The death of Jim Riley, one of the few county charges, occurred last evening at the county poor farm, four miles northwest of town. Riley, though only about 40 years of age, has been an invalid the past few years, having been an inmate of the place four or five years. He suffered a paralytic shock a few years ago and since then softening of the brain seems to have been in progress. Something of mystery surrounds the life of Riley. He stated a few years ago that such was not his name and that he had a wife and children in Chicago. The funeral will occur today and the interment be at county expense.
110 Years Ago
Aug. 23, 1912
Eighteen of Uncle Sam’s failures were in Alliance, shackled and chained to as many seats as a Great Northern chair car, with almost half as many armed men standing guard to see that they did not attempt escape. The men were being taken to the federal prison near Leavenworth, Kas. They were gathered from the northwest country and all were at one time in the military service. Some had deserted and a few had been guilty of insubordination. Some were of fairly good appearance, but the majority plainly evidenced that they did not quite stack up to the standard of Uncle Sam’s soldiers and sailors, who are generally about as good citizens as any.
105 Years Ago
Aug. 24, 1917
Supplying the color and flavor from unfermented grape cider and the kick from jamica ginger and hair tonic, George Marble staged a drunk that landed him in the county jail and cost the police force a night’s rest. Marble had his “hop” contained in two large pop bottles and every few minutes he downed a swig that would have blown the top off an armory. Officers remained on duty from eleven until three to make investigations, but they were convinced after a thorough examination that Marble had “rolled his own” and no other person was responsible for his condition.
100 Years Ago
Aug. 25, 1922
Victor L. Jackson and Harry Goss, local Burlingtion brakemen, were arrested and held in the county jail in connection with an assault which they alleged to have made against Frank Curry, a strikebreaker employed at the railroad shops. The charges may include kidnapping, robbery, assault and battery, interference with the United States postal laws and violation of the federal injunction recently issued by Judge Woodrough of Omaha against interference with railroad employees.
95 Years Ago
Aug. 23, 1927
Alliance’s first airplane tourists visited the city Saturday. They were Chester A. and Fred G. Borsch of Troy, O., on a trip to Deadwood to visit their parents and to Los Angeles, where they will spend the winter. They flew a new Waco ship from the Troy factory and it was as neat a craft as ever landed here.
90 Years Ago
Aug. 23, 1932
Increasing interest is being seen every Friday night at the Fox Imperial theatre in the giving away of fifty dollars in gold. A group of Alliance merchants are the donors. Packed crowds are at the theatre every Friday night.
85 Years Ago
Aug. 24, 1937
Alliance barbers met in the county court room and established minimum prices for haircuts and shaves under the state fair trades practices act. The meeting was called after two or three shops had cut their prices to as low as 25 cents for haircuts. Meeting with County Attorney Leo M. Bayer and Henry J. Walker, of Lincoln, secretary of the state board of barbers examiners, they discussed the law and fixed as the minimum for the Alliance trade area a price of 40 cents for a haircut and 25 cents for a shave will prevail in most Alliance shops.
80 Years Ago
Aug. 25, 1942
Charged with malicious destruction of property Clarence Tapp plead guilty to throwing a beer bottle through a window of the Town Tavern last Thursday when arraigned in county court yesterday morning. Judge P. E. Romig set Tapp’s bond at $200 and bound him over to district court. Thus far Tapp has not supplied the bond. According to the information filed by County Attorney Leo M. Bayer, extent of the damage, a smashed plate glass window, amounts to $40. The building belongs to Mrs. Mary Norton.
75 Years Ago
Aug. 26, 1947
A routine examination of a suspected prowler late Saturday night led police to a parked automobile in which they found $1500 worth of jewelry and valuable loot believed stolen from Rushville drug store last Tuesday. The suspect in the case is Stephen Laing, 29, who gave no home address. Sunday Sheriff L. D. Green of Sheridan county came to Alliance and took Laing back to Rushville for further investigation. The prisoner reportedly made an attempt to break away from Sheriff Green on the trip northward and jumped out of the car. Sheriff Green fired two shots at him before Laing would stop.
70 Years Ago
Aug. 25, 1952
A 5-man coroner’s jury was hearing testimony today in an effort to learn the facts of an accident which resulted in the death last Friday night of Mrs. Don Brockway, 39-year-old Alliance woman and the mother or two teen-age daughters. Mrs. Brockway suffered fatal injuries Saturday evening, August 23, when she fell from the family automobile which was driven by her husband when Mr. and Mrs. Brockway were returning to Alliance from a shopping trip to Scottsbluff.
65 Years Ago
Aug. 24, 1957
Miss Delphine Votruba was crowned queen of the Box Butte County Fair this noon by Lt. Governor Dwight Burney. Her attendants, also given royalty status, are the Misses Marilyn Tinsley and Kay Appleyard. Queen Delphine, the 16-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Votruba, lives 12 miles west of Hemingford. She will reign over all events remaining on the Box Butte County Fair program. She won the honor from a field of seven judged on Monday. Her first duty was to ride on the throne of the Lions Club float, leading the annual parade. With her on the float were the two attendants. Miss Tinsley is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Harold Tinsley, who live between Alliance and Hemingford. Miss Appleyard’s parents are Mr. and Mrs. Leo Appleyard of Hemingford.
60 Years Ago
Aug. 25, 1962
Dave Minnick, 12-year-old 4-H’er from Alliance, went home from the Box Butte County Fair Friday night with a handful of trophies and awards, the top one for his grand champion 785-pound Angus steer, “Shorty.” In addition to winning top in the baby beef judging, he was named junior champ beef showman. David is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Bob Minnick. “Shorty” will lead a parade of 4-H beef at the sale this morning at 10 on the Fair Grounds.
55 Years Ago
Aug. 24, 1967
Two Box Butte County young men have completed overseas service in the Army and returned to their homes in the last few days. They are Royce Reynolds of Alliance and Robert Kampbell of Hemingford. Reynolds, the son of Mr. and Mrs. John Reynolds of Alliance, was stationed in France and Germany for more than a year. Kampbell, son of Mrs. Elizabeth Kampbell of Hemingford, served with a helicopter unit in the Vietnam war zone.
50 Years Ago
Aug. 24, 1972
Persons attending the Box Butte County Fair on Saturday and Sunday afternoons will witness one of the most outstanding sky-divers shows ever to be presented anywhere. In addition, two participating this week are among the 90 active holders of instructor-examiner in the entire world. Both are Alliance men. They are Clifford Dobson, who now lives in Lincoln, and Bob Briggs, also who now lives in Lincoln. Other Alliance men to participate include Duane Dobson, who has an instruction school here, Dennis Dobson of Omaha, another of the Dobson brothers; and Steve Bowen and Alvin Ehrhart, both who took their training under Duanne Dobson.
45 Years Ago
Aug. 23, 1977
Alliance will be the hub of a part of the Pioneer Airways operation beginning Sept. 1 according to John C. Warren, president of the airline. Warren made the announcement in Alliance at noon Tuesday. The new airline service will offer round trip service to Omaha and Lincoln on a five day basis with weekend service to the eastern points on Saturdays with return on Sunday evening.
40 Years Ago
Aug. 24, 1982
City of Alliance crews have started tearing down the second World War II hangar west of the Airport Administration Building. Lumber is being salvaged and is available for sale, according to City Manager Robert Placek. The hangars were built in 1942-43 when the Army Air Base was developed and were used to house and service C-47 glider-tow planes and large troop-carrying gliders.
35 Years Ago
Aug. 25, 1987
Carhenge creator James Reinders said it is now time to proceed in getting his monument finished after the State of Nebraska has given him a temporary reprieve from obtaining a junkyard license. Reinders, in a telephone interview with The Alliance Times-Herald Tuesday morning, said that he was delighted to hear Monday from Tom Allan of Omaha World-Herald that the state had given him the reprieve.
30 Years Ago
Aug. 25, 1992
The Alliance Area Family YMCA has been cleaning and remodeling its newly acquired facility at 1202 East 10th Street, the permanent site of the YMCA. Future plans include hiring an architect and fund raiser to help build a full YMCA facility in Alliance. The facility may include an indoor pool, Nautilus center, indoor track, whirlpool and gymnasium, as funds allow.
25 Years Ago
Aug. 26, 1997
Dr. John Ruffing Jr. has been joined at the Hemingford Clinic by Julie Klahn, an Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner. Ms Klahn, who is originally from Spalding, graduated with a master’s degree from the University of Nebraska Medical Center in May. She wants her children to experience the rural life as she did growing up in Spalding. Ms Klahn has three children Beth, 12, Joe, 10, and Ben, 5.
20 Years Ago
Aug. 27, 2002
Dick Behm brought the first truckload of pinto beans of the season into Alliance’s Trinidad Benham Corp. bean elevator just before yesterday’s hailstorm. Behm farms four miles north and two miles east of Alliance, and had 90 acres planted in pintos this year and estimated, before the storm struck yesterday. 16 to 18 one-hundred-pound bags per acre this year, due to the drought and heat. Not withstanding, his and most other bean fields in the area are irrigated. In an average year, the yield can be expected to be 18-20 bags per acre. However, the beans tested by Dean Huckfeldt, manager of the Alliance Trinidad facility, proved to be of high quality.
15 Years Ago
Aug. 23, 2007
The work on the Knight Museum of High Plains Heritage building is almost completed. “The City of Alliance, council and me personally are very appreciative of this gesture that the Eldred family has gifted to the City of Alliance with this new museum building.” Alliance Mayor Dan Kusek told the Times-Herald. Alliance City Manager Pam Caskie said in an interview that this museum is to be a legacy to the city of the lives of Victor and Martha Eldred.
10 Years Ago
Aug. 23, 2012
U.S. Senator Mike Johanns visited Alliance on his 11th stop in a series of “community coffees” throughout Nebraska to meet with citizens and gain a better understanding of issues that are important to them. Some of the topics discussed were Social Security Benefits and Medicare.
5 Years Ago
Aug. 23, 2017
The 2017 total solar eclipse ran straight through Alliance late Monday morning through early afternoon, sending hoards of people to Carhenge, Laing Lake, Alliance Municipal Airport, the Rodeo Grounds, and everywhere in between. Folks from Maine to California and Washington to Florida made their way to Alliance. International travelers from Singapore, Europe and Australia even made Alliance their home for the weekend. Alliance Tourism Director Kevin Howard said “(I’m feeling) mostly pride in the community.” “Pride in how the community came together; put stuff together to show the hospitality for all those thousands of folks and made them feel welcome into Alliance.