130 Years Ago
July 17, 1896
The Alliance cemetery association is sparing no efforts to beautify the city of the dead, having purchased a windmill and tank, which were placed upon the grounds this week, that the shrubbery and plants might be irrigated. It is a step in the right direction and those who have departed ones resting there must feel a deep sense of gratitude.
125 Years Ago
July 19, 1901
Two carloads of buggies were ordered by Alliance dealers this week, through Alf. B. Geyer, the representative of a South bend, Ind. Manufacturing firm. He concluded this was not a slow town by any means.
120 Years Ago
July 17, 1906
A party of gentlemen from Gordon were here several days last week with a fine “Rambler” 18 horse power automobile. They scorched the “whizz wagon” about the streets a good deal and did considerable bragging about what their machine could do to Captain Corbin’s 16 horse power “Premier.”
115 Years Ago
July 21, 1911
J. A. Hedge tells the Times that he leaves today for Belleville, Kans., where he expects to get a divorce from his wife, Nettie C. Hedge.
110 Years Ago
July 21, 1916
Newberry’s Hardware Co. has received the contract to furnish the boilers for the plant to be established by the American Potash Co. at Antioch. This order consisted of six one hundred and fifty horse power boilers. They also furnished four car loads of four inch pipe, aside from other hardware in smaller quantities.
105 Years Ago
July 19, 1921
This is not a pipe dream. It’s a regular, honest-to-gosh road story, based on more substantial material than mere rumor or wild imagination. Here it is in a nutshell: Alliance has been named as one of the towns on a proposed great transcontinental highway, running from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.
100 Years Ago
July 20, 1926
The new Kelly well, which delivers over 1600 gallons of water a minute, came into service at the proper time and the city pressure has been maintained during the hottest spell of recent years. The new well is used exclusively during the day and the old wells are brought into service at night, so that they won’t get stagnant.
95 Years Ago
July 21, 1931
Hearing to determine whether the widow and children of Elmer Dyer, killed a year ago when struck by lightning, are due compensation payments from the employer of Dyer was held yesterday afternoon in the district courtroom here by Frank A. Dutton of Beatrice, deputy compensation commissioner of the state.
90 Years Ago
July 17, 1936
The Food Center, Alliance’s newest grocery and market, will make its debut in the downtown business circle with a formal opening tomorrow. The modern store, under the ownership of E. Essay and the management of his son, Ralph, is in the former location of the Fourth Street market.
85 Years Ago
July 15, 1941
A wave of quiet settled down over the police department over the weekend and, outside of a few OT parking tickets, a house robbery, a couple of chronic drunks and a fire, all was quiet on the western front.
80 Years Ago
July 19, 1946
J. C. McMichael, building contractor of Alliance, has been awarded the general contract for the construction of the new Slagle Clinic building which will be erected at the corner of Box Butte and Sixth street, across the street weest from the courthouse. The architect’s estimate of cost on the building was $80,000, but the contract price was not announced.
75 Years Ago
July 20, 1951
Another problem department: A fellow went to a filling station to have a tire fixed before he left on his vacation. In a matter of a few miles he heard a thumping and had another flat on the same tire. The fellow who fixed it at the next town asked who had done the previous job. The attendant presented the driver with a 2-pound tire iron that had been left in the casing by the previous fixer.
70 Years Ago
July 18, 1956
A federal highway through Alliance is a good possibility. Looking at it optimistically, Highway 19 may become part of a federal highway linking Canada and Mexico within two years. Highway 19 through Alliance is one of several state and federal roads already existing from Regina, Sask., Canada, through the Dakotas, Nebraska, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas and into Mexico.
65 Years Ago
July 19, 1961
The Alliance Post Office will be moved this weekend to the Reddish Building at Second and Box Butte Avenue to make way for a $294,400 enlargement and modernization project at the present site at Fourth and Box Butte.
60 Years Ago
July 20, 1966
One new plant in Alliance is undergoing test runs to begin production, and construction work is progressing on two others where operations are expected to begin in early fall. Test runs are starting at the new 7-Up Bottling Plant in the 1100 block on East Third Street. Harold and Ray Timbers are owners.
55 Years Ago
July 21, 1971
Six men from box Butte County have entered the armed forces in the past month, according to a report today received after the regular meeting of the Selective Service board here. There were 45 reclassifications at the meeting, the report states.
50 Years Ago
July 20, 1976
A snag in the plans for the Box Butte Regional Law Enforcement Center was one of several problems the Box Butte County board dealt with at its meeting Monday. The commissioners said they had hoped to find a government surplus emergency power generator for the building, but those efforts have failed and the county apparently will have to purchase the generator with county money.
45 Years Ago
July 20, 1981
Today’s Times-Herald has its easy-to-read appearance again. The ailing typesetter, marvel of all ages, sat idle for more than a week. A specialized technician and Times-Herald staff members had hovered over the silent box. Some prayers were said and some other things were added in words to make the machine go.
40 Years Ago
July 22, 1986
Water samples from all seven city water wells were taken today to be sent to the Nebraska Department of Health to test for Trichloroethene (TCE) after traces of the contaminant were found in one of the wells last week. TCE is a low-level cleaning solvent which is known to cause cancer in laboratory rats.
35 Years Ago
July 18, 1991
A Nebraska-founded job-seeking skills training business boasts success in Alliance, according to Linda M. Sokolik, consultant for Curtis & Associates, Inc., 124 Box Butte Ave. The business has been in Alliance four years but didn’t have an office until February.
30 Years Ago
July 20, 1996
Unfamiliar dogs are dangerous anytime, but during summer the hazards increase because of the number of children playing everywhere. The United states Postal workers frequently have to deal with dog bites. But according to postal service numbers, for every letter carrier bitten more than 900 children suffer injuries and trauma from canines.
25 Years Ago
July 20, 2001
They’re not sure where everything’s put away at yet, but the staff at box Butte General Hospital’s multi-specialty clinic is seeing patients in their new quarters in the addition to the front of the hospital. The Michael F. Essay Multi-Specialty Clinic opened their doors on Wednesday to about 50 patients.
20 Years Ago
July 18, 2006
This past Friday at the Alliance Cattle Capital Heritage Days Rodeo will be a night that Cody Intermill and his family will never forget. Cody’s dream came true as the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Nebraska surprised him with a brand new horse trailer.
15 Years Ago
July 19, 2011
The Alliance Police Department wants to make sure the public is keeping valuables in their vehicles safe. The department has noticed an increase in vandalism to and thefts from vehicles in the last 10 to 14 days, and reminds the public that the best way to deter thefts is to keep car doors locked and park in well-lit areas.
10 Years Ago
July 19, 2016
Electrical Superintendent Ed Tvrs stated that “about half the town” lost electricity last night. “Lightning struck the transmission line and it tripped the breaker and sub,” he stated. Power was lost for “about a half hour or so.”
5 Years Ago
July 21, 2021
After seeing limited Heritage Days events in 2020 due to the pandemic, the community celebration returned full force last week, attracting large crowds of people to join in the fun. Alliance Chamber of Commerce Director Susan Unzicker said she is glad to see the interest in Heritage Days.
*Compiled from The Alliance Times-Herald Archives by Christine Melcher