130 Years Ago
May 4, 1894
The Clifton hotel, John P. Hale proprietor, was opened for business May 1st. It is the building owned by Chas. Barney, one door north of the Alliance Grocery Co., and has been re-papered and re-painted throughout.
125 Years Ago
May 5, 1899
Mr. and Mrs. A. S. Enyeart, who live eight miles beyond Hemingford, drove here on business Tuesday afternoon, and remained a couple of days. The strong wind from the northwest made traveling easy, and they drove the twenty-eight miles to Alliance in two hours and fifty minutes.
120 Years Ago
April 29, 1904
Sam Edmundson, of Bingham, brought his son, eight or ten years of age, to Alliance Tuesday morning for surgical attention. The little fellow had been kicked by a horse, fracturing the bones of his cheek and nose, and it is feared will be pretty badly disfigured. They are remaining in the city for the present that the wound may have proper care.
115 Years Ago
April 30, 1909
A committee recently selected by the Alliance Commercial Club held a meeting one evening this week, in company with a number of the prominent business men of Alliance, and plans were fully adopted and all preliminary arrangements perfected for making a gala event of the annual meeting of the Nebraska Stock association. This is determined upon because Alliance wants to show them this is a live city, the best in all Nebraska west of Omaha, Lincoln and Fremont.
110 Years Ago
May 1, 1914
Edward Kessler, who was killed in the strike riot at the Forbes mine on Wednesday morning, is a brother to John Kessler, the rancher who lives west of Alliance. A few weeks ago another brother met his death in the vicinity of Forbes when he fell down a mine shaft and the father died only a few weeks earlier.
105 Years Ago
May 2, 1919
A new two-story business block, fifty by one hundred and forty feet, is planned by the Eagles Building Association, to be erected on their property just south of the Times building. Within the past week they have sold their two-story block on West Fourth Street to J. A. Keegan, who will remodel the building and reconstruct the second story into desirable apartments.
100 Years Ago
May 2, 1924
T. D. Roberts, police judge and justice of the peace for the City of Alliance, has resigned and the work of the police magistrate’s office will be taken care of by L. A. Berry. The judge’s salary comes from the fees of the office and they have been so light during the past 90 days that no man can care for that office and give his entire time to the work. Mr. Roberts has not decided what he will take up, but he figures his time is worth more to him than the small amount received as police judge.
95 Years Ago
April 30, 1929
Robbers pried open the glass door to the island show window in the front of the Golden Rule store sometime between midnight Sunday and daylight Monday morning and entirely cleaned the display space of merchandise. The loss includes seven ladies gowns and dresses, eight pairs of ladies shoes and other apparel. The loss by the robbery is estimated at between $100 and $150.
90 Years Ago
May 1, 1934
Workmen yesterday began the construction at the Alliance Amusement park of permanent corrals which will serve to hold and handle rodeo livestock and be completed in ample time to be ready for the Panhandle Stampede to be held on June 22, 23 and 24.
85 Years Ago
May 2, 1939
Drastic reductions in assistance checks for Box Butte county’s dependent children, aged and blind become effective this week as the belated April checks are made ready for distribution. Money from the state office was not received this morning, but warrants are being prepared by County Clerk Lee Moore and will be issued Wednesday if the funds are received later today.
80 Years Ago
May 2, 1944
Police were able to get a perfect finger print of a thief who broke a window on the north side of the Times-Herald building, unfastened the window lock and stepped into the composing room of the newspaper plant. The theft occurred sometime Sunday night and less than one dollar in change, left in the open cash register, is all that was reported missing.
75 Years Ago
April 29, 1949
The first important purebred cattle show and sale of the year will be held Sunday and Monday. The Western Nebraska Hereford Breeders Association will hold their spring show starting at 1 p.m. Sunday in the new sales barn of the Alliance Hereford Association.
70 Years Ago
May 1, 1954
St. Agnes Academy music students who participated in the second annual Music Festival at Chadron Friday returned home with six ratings of superior, one of excellent plus and another of excellent.
65 Years Ago
May 1, 1959
The annual council of the Episcopal Diocese of Nebraska voted unanimously at its meeting in Kearney this week to accent the invitation of St. Matthew’s Church here to hold its 1960 meeting in Alliance. Delegates from St. Matthew’s Church attending the convention were the rector, Father Tom Johnson, Leland Hirst and Gene Lewis.
60 Years Ago
May 1, 1964
A “Youth for Goldwater” caravan will visit Alliance at 2:30 p.m. Saturday. The caravan, one of eight to be traveling simultaneously, will originate in Scottsbluff.
55 Years Ago
May 1, 1969
A 3-Judge panel in Federal District Court here Thursday denied the request to enjoin a Box Butte County School redistricting election which opponents said would deny some of the area residents “equal representation.” The ruling permits the election to be held May 8. The hearing on the injunction was held in connection with a law suit filed by several Box Butte County citizens. A hearing for judgment on the suit itself will come later.
50 Years Ago
May 1, 1974
According to bids received by the Alliance Board of Education here Tuesday evening, sights were set too high for the proposed new vocational education shop-warehouse building. Three bids were received, all of them well-over the school district’s available funds for the project, approximately $140,000.
45 Years Ago
May 1, 1979
Seasoned poker players don’t normally beta wad on two pair—especially bad-luck aces and eights—but squirrels and blackbirds called the city’s bluff Monday afternoon. Although the city eventually won the hand, the price for play was high—a bundle of insulators, loss of production and sales for businesses and two hours of inconvenience for most residents. City Manager Robert Placek told the Times-Herald that an outage tentatively was planned for later this month in order to correct a few minor problems at the substation but that “an act of God” expedited the maneuver. Fortunately, all repair items were in inventory, thus eliminating a prolonged outage.
40 Years Ago
May 1, 1984
In a marathon 6 ½ hour special session Monday evening, the Alliance City Council selected a new city clerk, and narrowed a “coast-to-coast” field of 52 applicants for city manager to six to be interviewed. Diane (Mrs. Bruce) Gaughenbaugh was selected as the new city clerk to replace Cleo Richmeier.
35 Years Ago
May 1, 1989
Ground was broken in Hemingford Sunday for a $1.2 million 40-bed health care facility. On hand for the ceremony were Hemingford’s Village Board of Trustees, Senator Sandra Scofield, and representatives of Brown and Denesia, consultants for the project.
30 Years Ago
May 2, 1994
During Saturday night’s “Moonlight and Roses” Junior-Senior Prom, Jon Taylor and Cary Hoegerl were crowned King and Queen. Crowned as their attendants were Duchess Sarah O’Connor, Duke Chad Nelson, Prince Andy Schadwinkel and Princess Kristie Davis. Tyler Kulas and Jasmine Clark served as the crown bearer and flower girl.
25 Years Ago
May 1, 1999
Approval of foundation donations for band uniforms will be sought from Alliance’s District No. 6 Board of Education during their first regular meeting of the month Monday, May 1. Also, board approval will be sought for Alliance Middle School construction payment, procedures for AMS change orders. The meeting will open with a special proposal to close the campus at AMS.
20 Years Ago
May 1, 2004
A resurfacing project will close the 25th and Emerson Intersection, and limit surrounding streets to local traffic, beginning Monday. Three detours and two access routes have been set by the City of Alliance Public Works Department for the anticipated 45-day duration.
15 Years Ago
May 1, 2009
Today, at Alliance Middle School, students will gather in the gymnasium for an assembly and a program by Mike Donahue of R5 Productions.
10 Years Ago
May 1, 2014
Wednesday evening people filtered in and out of what, by outward appearance, looks like an ordinary steel building. More than its current condition, visitors stopped for the first of two open houses to see how the Immanuel Lutheran School will grow in the former Skateland building on East 10th.
5 Years Ago
May 1, 2019
The April 27 Drug Enforcement Agency Drug Take Back Day held at the Medical Arts Plaza from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. collected 144 lbs of medication. All drugs are shipped by registered law enforcement agencies to the DEA for safe disposal.
*Compiled from The Alliance Times-Herald Archives by staff.