130 Years Ago
June 22, 1894
C. F. Carleton, representing the Alliance milling Co., sold on Thursday and Friday of last week, 227,000 pounds of their product, 111,000 pounds being solid flour. This is a record breaker for two days’ work. Since February 1st, 1894, to date three million pounds of flour, feed and grain have been sold by Mr. Carleton alone and shipped.
125 Years Ago
June 23, 1899
G. W. Harmon, secretary of the Auburn Telephone and Construction Co., has been in the city this week, looking up the matter of placing a telephone system in operation here, in accordance with the proposition heretofore mentioned in these columns. The city council held a special meeting last night for the purpose of considering and taking preliminary action on the project.
120 Years Ago
June 17, 1904
Owners of personal or real property should take notice that now is the time when the matter of taxation should receive attention. The board of county commissioners is in session as a board of equalization at the present time, and every tax payer should make it his business to learn at this time whether or not his assessment is satisfactory. After the present board of equalization adjourns, all taxes will remain at the figure now fixed, and it will prove no avail to rant at the treasurer or assessor or any other officer. If property owners fail to give their listing attention now, dissatisfaction hereafter will simply be a case of their own negligence.
115 Years Ago
June 18, 1909
A couple of crooks were arrested Wednesday afternoon and locked up over night. They went into E.C. McCluers store yesterday shortly before noon, while Mr. McClure was absent at dinner, one of them going to the back end of the store pretending that he desired to purchase something from the lady clerk, while the other one loitered in front, and succeeded in getting a silk waist and skirt under his coat valued at about ten dollars.
110 Years Ago
June 19, 1914
On Tuesday evening the pupils of Expression class of St. Agnes Academy gave a drama, “Pontia, Daughter of Pontius Pilate,” at the Phelan opera house for the benefit of St. Joseph’s hospital. The young ladies performed their parts very well and the affair was a complete success.
105 Years Ago
June 20, 1919
Some of the interesting incidents in the early history of Box Butte county are brought to mind by the moving of the Methodist parsonage from the corner of Box Butte and Fifth street—its third trip on rollers since it was first constructed in 1899 by J. S. Paradis, as former postmaster, editor and business man. The old building was erected in Hemingford and at that time it was used as a postoffice with the workshop of the Hemingford Guide in the rear. Mr. Paradis, the postmaster-editor, lived upstairs.
100 Years Ago
June 20, 1924
Vivian Barton, 15-year-old Alliance youth, was placed under arrest about 10 o’clock Tuesday evening, when he was overtaken by Sheriff George R. Jones and deputies on the Bonner road, southwest of Alliance, after a thrilling chase. The youth had borrowed the Dodge touring car of M. D. Nolan from the Third street filling station, just across the street from the police station, and for an hour, in company with a girl friend, Evelyn Sweeney, 16, had burned up the gasoline.
95 Years Ago
June 18, 1929
John T. Wilker, well known resident of Alliance, died of exhaustion of the Potash highway about two miles east of Ellsworth Monday afternoon at about 2:30. He started to walk to Ellsworth to get assistance to start a stalled automobile in which he and W.D. Rumer were returning from a fishing trip at the Dennis Landrigan place, five miles east of Ellsworth.
90 Years Ago
June 19, 1934
Alliance will be the 1935 host city to the Nebraska Stockgrowers’ association, which closed its 1934 convention Saturday at North Platte after adopting a resolution requesting the federal government to purchase 750,000 head of Nebraska cattle before January 1 at prices which would not depress the market.
85 Years Ago
June 20, 1939
After deliberation of more than 18 hours, a jury returned a verdict of guilty Sunday morning at 10:15 in the district court case of Jay N. Wood, Hemingford rancher, charged with receiving stolen cattle. Since three days are allowed in which the defendant may file a motion for a new trial, Judge E. L. Meyer deferred the pronouncement of sentence.
80 Years Ago
June 20, 1944
Box Butte county has reached only 60 percent of its War Bond quota of $734,200 with all of the soliciting completed, according to William Pittam, county chairman of the campaign. “We’ll have to have an additional $200,000 in individual subscriptions,” Mr Pittam said, “if we are to attain our quota. We have received our allotment of corporation contributions and the bulk of the balance will have to come from individuals and local business establishments.”
75 Years Ago
June 17, 1949
The Alliance Chamber of Commerce will send a motor caravan to Hay Springs next Thursday for the dedication ceremonies of the Mirage Flats irrigation project. This decision was made Wednesday at a luncheon meeting of the retailers division.
70 Years Ago
June 19, 1954
The Board of Directors of the Alliance Rodeo Association plan a special “sneak preview” of the new lighting set-up at Sandhillo Race Track for all Alliance businessmen Wednesday, June 23, at 8 p.m., Ar Borror, president, disclosed today.
65 Years Ago
June 19, 1959
The Alliance City Council Thursday night dropped the problem of liability in case of accidents squarely back into the laps of the Chamber of Commerce and the respective merchants in regard to the proposed Sidewalk Bazaar Days July 17 and 18.
60 Years Ago
June 19, 1964
City Manager R.W. Laing and City Engineer Roger Andrews attended a meeting of the State Aeronautics Commission in Scottsbluff Thursday and obtained state aid for the maintenance of the concrete apron at Municipal Airport. The maintenance discussed dealt with resurfacing part of the apron. Costing approximately $6,500, the resurfacing will entail putting asphalt and the primary and armor coats the entire length of the apron.
55 Years Ago
June 19, 1969
Texas 4-H Club members, 30 strong with six adult sponsors, de-bussed in Alliance Wednesday, singing a medley of Texas songs as a greeting to a welcoming group of about 100 at the City Park.
50 Years Ago
June 19, 1974
Alliance volunteer firemen responded to a two-alarm fire at the Berger & Plate elevator on Highway 2 east of town around 6:00 p.m. Tuesday. Minimal damage resulted although firemen were hampered in their efforts by the location of the blaze, high winds, and a driving rain storm.
45 Years Ago
June 20, 1979
The Box Butte County Commissioners’ meeting took on a courtroom atmosphere Tuesday afternoon as attorneys, a farmer and board members tangled in a verbal skirmish to close out another chapter in the eight-month-old rock controversy.
40 Years Ago
June 19, 1984
The regular meeting of the Educational Service Unit 12 met in the Alliance Times-Herald Building Monday night 7:30. Since only three members of the six-member board were present, motions made at this meeting will be ratified at the next meeting or over the phone. The Goldenrod School action was moved to the first item on the agenda for old business.
35 Years Ago
June 19, 1989
By noon Saturday there no longer was a St. Joseph Gerontology Center. All residents were moved to their new home, Highland Park Care Center on Sweetwater Avenue. Cheri Mundt, Highland Park administrator, said, “Fifty-five residents moved. The majority did very, very well. Some are having a hard time adjusting, and one wants to go home. The atmosphere is bright and cheery. One lady said she dreamed of living in a place like this.”
30 Years Ago
June 17, 1994
At its regular meeting Thursday evening, the Alliance City Council unanimously approved the first reading of the proposed budget for the fiscal year 1995. A total of $13.8 million was proposed compared to last year’s $12.8 million, but the council said there would be no increase in the tax call.
25 Years Ago
June 19, 1999
In a workshop held Thursday afternoon at City Hall, Mayor Dan Kusek and council members Donna Hagen and Bernie Girard decided not to go forward with a study on a Y2K electricity back-up plan for the city. Council members Gail McMurtrey and Mike Dafney were not in attendance.
20 Years Ago
June 19, 2004
When tones summon volunteer firefighters to the Alliance fire hall, summer blazes usually range from small dumpster fires to range or field fires sparked by thunderstorms. The department now has the trained personnel and equipment to assist with wildland fires outside their usual fire protection district.
15 Years Ago
June 19, 2009
Last night, as lightning lit up the sky, many residents in Box Butte County experienced a brief power outage. City of Alliance Electrical Superintendent Larry Heinrich said between 9 and 9:30 p.m. the lightning caused the loss of a feeder at the Cody station. He noted the switches at the station were knocked out of sequence and it took about 30 minutes to get them back in.
10 Years Ago
June 19, 2014
On June 2, one of the city of Alliance’s long-time employees said farewell to the entity, but not his hometown as Mike Hulquist officially retired.
5 Years Ago
June 19, 2019
Bringing with him years of experience in the postal service, Sean Michael is set to take the helm as the new postmaster of the Alliance Post Office. Michael, who began on June 8, said he has strong ties to the area, noting he grew up in Bridgeport.
*Compiled from The Alliance Times-Herald Archives by staff.