130 Years Ago
June 7, 1895
Ernest Montgomery and Art Davis commenced taking the census of school children yesterday morning. The number will reach 500 or over. The 1894 census showed 333 children of school age. Secretary VanBoskirk informs us that he will hold the list a week or so and would be glad to have any not enumerated call and inform him of such errors.
125 Years Ago
June 8, 1900
Dr. H. H. Bellwood has about concluded that water is a pretty expensive drink. Wednesday night he neglected to close the water faucet tightly and the floor of his apartment was covered. It ran through to McWhimney’s store room, causing plastering to fall off and damaged a lot of goods. About $50 is what it will take to settle.
120 Years Ago
June 9, 1905
Mrs. Betzold went to Hot Springs last Saturday, and is trying that resort for her health, while “Bud” keeps house in his own peculiar style.
115 Years Ago
June 7, 1910
Street Commissioner Carlson is making some noticeable changes in streets in the north part of town, reducing grades and making others. The streets are badly torn up now, but when completed it will no doubt make a very commendable improvement. The new cement walks that are being placed to grade will correspond nicely also.
110 Years Ago
June 8, 1915
Joseph Barta, while batching with younger brother on the Posvar ranch, recently bought by his father, Louis Barta had his head and face badly scalded by boiling coffee which flew in his face when he released the lid of a syrup can in which it was made. His injuries are very painful but will leave his sight intact and there will likely be no very serious scars. The use of tight lids on coffee cans of this nature seems to be about as dangerous as going to war.
105 Years Ago
June 8, 1920
The first mad dog scare of the season stirred the neighborhood in the vicinity of Fifth and Niobrara yesterday morning, when Clyde Phillips, small son of Mr. and Mrs. C. S. Phillips, 523 Niobrara, was bitten on the finger by a stray cur which appeared in the neighborhood Sunday evening and attracted attention by its queer actions.
100 Years Ago
June 5, 1925
Dave Whyte, of Cheyenne, world champion bronc rider, will ride at the American Legion Rodeo to be held in Alliance on June 17, 18 and 19. Phil Yoder, another noted rider of Yoder, Wyo., will also be among the notables at the big Nebraska gathering of cowboys and cowgirls to be held in this city.
95 Years Ago
June 10, 1930
Charged with being one of the two men who held up J. S. Slaggett, an electric refrigerator salesman living in Broken Bow, five miles east of Alliance on the Potash highway a week ago Sunday night, Max Watlin, 25, of Detroit, pleaded not guilty when arraigned on a charge of robbery before Judge L. H. Highland yesterday afternoon.
90 Years Ago
June 7, 1935
Alliance’s first case this year of sleeping sickness, the disease known as encephalitis, which was common over the middle-west a year ago, was reported this week. Barbara, young daughter of Mrs. Florence Case, has contracted the ailment and is under close medical observation. The child has lapsed into the sleepy stupor characteristic of the disease.
85 Years Ago
June 7, 1940
A versatile and extremely useful gift was presented this week to St. Joseph’s hospital by the Alliance Elks club, adding to its recent “present” of an iron lung to serve this entire territory. The second gift is a Hawley-Scanlan fracture, X-ray and orthopedic table, which will allow the physician setting a fractured bone not only to place and hold the patient in the most efficient and comfortable position possible, but to watch the entire operation in a fluoroscope as it is performed.
80 Years Ago
June 8, 1945
Mr. and Mrs. William Cope have purchased the Western hotel from Rachael Weston, who has been operating the business for the past several years. The new owners will redecorate and improve the building and then lease it as a hotel. Miss Weston, a resident of Alliance for many years, sold because of failing health and will go to Holdredge to make her home with a sister.
75 Years Ago
June 9, 1950
Three teen-age youths, arrested early Wednesday morning following a break-in at the Corner Grocery, will appear before Juvenile Judge Penrose Romig next week. The day of the hearing has not been set. The three boys, two aged 13 and one 14-years of age, were arrested by City Police Officers Hutton and Duckworth after their actions drew suspicions of the officers.
70 Years Ago
June 10, 1955
Boy Scouts and their parents who want to combine a good deed with a good outing can accomplish this Sunday at Fort Robinson. The Sand Hills and Pine Ridge Scout Districts are cooperating in a cleanup project at the Scouts’ Little America camp on the fort grounds. Several Alliance and Wyo-Braska Area Council leaders met here Thursday night to plan the clean-up, which will last for three Sundays.
65 Years Ago
June 8, 1960
The Board of Commissioners of Box Butte County, in a resolution passed unanimously Monday, withdrew a May 23 recommendation that the Alliance Breeding and Agricultural Association be denied a license to sell beer at the Sandhillo Race Track. The resolution states that “the board has heard additional matter pertaining to the propriety of granting said application”.
60 Years Ago
June 7, 1965
A delegation from Alliance made a successful bid for the 1966 state convention of Lions International at Norfolk during the weekend. President Keith Lyster of the Alliance Lions Club said today that Alliance received 94 votes to 38 cast for North Platte. The convention will be held here next June. Dates for the event will be set later, Lyster said. At Norfolk about 600 were in attendance.
55 Years Ago
June 9, 1970
Directors of the Alliance Vocational School of Practical Nursing decided today to recommend to the City Schools Board of Education tonight that Mrs. Robert W. Bowen be named temporary director of the school. Mrs. Bowen has the qualifications for a director but is not interested in the position full time.
50 Years Ago
June 5, 1975
Alliance Police Chief John E. Means, who resigned his post last Friday effective June 15, said Thursday that he would stay (as chief) if requested to do so. However, Means indicated that he had been informed Thursday that his resignation would stand. He had been asked by city management to hold off on selling his house and seeking another job, but four days later he was told to resume making plans for his departure.
45 Years Ago
June 10, 1980
Alliance now has one General Motors dealership with the announcement today by Jim Wegner that he has purchased the franchise lines and the assets of Cowsert Pontiac, Buick and GMC. Final approval of the franchise lines has now been given to Wegner and the final papers on the transfer have been approved according to the announcement by Wegner.
40 Years Ago
June 6, 1985
William L. Howland of Chadron, “acting county attorney” since last November 16 in an investigation of “certain matters relating to incidents which had occurred in Box Butte County Jail facility from August, 1984 to October 19, 1985” has issued a report to the District Court of Box Butte County. Howland declares that he plans no prosecutions.
35 Years Ago
June 7, 1990
The City of Alliance is one of 29 communities in Nebraska which are recipients of Nebraska Statewide Arboretum Community Landscaping grants. The Peter Kiewit Foundation offered $500,000 to Nebraska communities. The awards were made earlier this month. The City of Alliance was awarded a $35,000 matching grant with all matching funds to be from private sources.
30 Years Ago
June 6, 1995
The Box Butte County Sheriff’s office last week recovered most of the items taken in an April 20 burglary of Berea School District 39. The county attorney’s office was in the process of filing felony charges today, according to County Attorney Roger Schneekloth. Acting on a tip that the men had in their possession a computer with District 39 software installed, the sheriff’s office obtained a search warrant for a residence in the 600 block of Toluca Ave.
25 Years Ago
June 9, 2000
“We have really had phenomenal growth in the last year,” John Marrin, director of Western Nebraska Community College’s Alliance Center, said while speaking to Alliance’s Rotarians this past Monday at West Way restaurant. “Since last year we have grown 35 percent in student count.” Marrin noted that the WNCC Allilance Center has 75 to 80 full-time students, which accounts for about 40 percent of the total student body.
20 Years Ago
June 10, 2005
Sheri S. (Magnuson) Woodworth, 31, was bound over to the 12th Judicial District Court yeste44rday in Box Butte County Court by Judge James Hanson on one count of theft by taking, a Class III felony. According to papers filed in County Court, Woodworth stone $4,611.42 from the Box Butte county 4-H Junior Leaders. She is the former Box Butte County Youth and 4-H Coordinator.
15 Years Ago
June 10, 2010
The Alliance Police Department wants the public to be aware of those who might scam them, by offering services to repair their homes after recent severe storms. Police Chief John Kiss and lieutenant Ken Hart said they have not heard of any such scammers as of Thursday morning, but offered tips for those who suspect they might be the target of a scam.
10 Years Ago
June 8, 2015
Children and parents were able to enjoy weather Saturday and register bikes and trade them in for a different one if needed at the Kiwanis Bicycle Round Up, with the help of the Alliance Police Department and Keep Alliance Beautiful. Some children just needed to register their bike in the system and have a safety check done to make sure brakes still worked, tires were in good condition, seating was at the appropriate height, and other checks according to Kiwanis President Brian Kuhn.
5 Years Ago
June 10, 2020
After two months of the Alliance School Board delaying the vote on graduation, Alliance’s class of 2020 has a graduation date set for July 1, though the format will be determined when Governor Pete Ricketts introduces new Directed Health Measures.
*Compiled from The Alliance Times-Herald Archives by Christine Melcher