130 Years Ago
May 18, 1894
The base ball season was to have been opened in Alliance yesterday by a game between the home team and the Hemingford nine but owing to the strong north wind and the threatening clouds and a lack of practice, and on account of being interfered with by the Hemingford boys, the home team couldn’t play, i. e. couldn’t play much. We might publish the score in detail, but figures are tiresome and especially such figures.
125 Years Ago
May 19, 1899
The grading of the Nebraska, Wyoming and Western branch out of Alliance commenced yesterday morning. Mr. C. H. Sharp, of Newcastle, Wyo., is the contractor who has the first seven miles out from Alliance, he having just finished a three-mile contract on the river.
120 Years Ago
May 13, 1904
Chief Blackburn of the Fire department informs us that the siren fire alarm whistle has been returned here again after being repaired, and that test of same will be made Saturday afternoon at five o’clock.
115 Years Ago
May 14, 1909
M. F. Donovan, special police at the depot, is confined to his home suffering from injuries received in the yards yesterday morning at about seven-thirty. He noticed several hoboes loitering in the yards and started to climb over the cars where they were in order to put them off the right-of-waay. In some manner he slipped and fell to the ground breaking his leg and dislocating his knee.
110 Years Ago
May 15, 1914
From the answers received by the furniture men of this city regarding estimates from their wholesalers on furniture for the new court house it is possible that the commissioners will have considerable trouble in getting the specifications filled at a reasonable figure. It would appear that these men find it an utter physical impossibility to comply with some of the requirements.
105 Years Ago
May 13, 1919
A joy ride participated in by a number of local men and women had a rather serious ending last night when they went to the Annex of the Alliance Hotel for lunch, after the ride was finished. Complaint was filed by Marshal Reid on information furnished by Wade Lane who had been standing outside of the room for half an hour. Night Marshal Taylor came to the room and locked the door until the other officer arrived. Then the party was broken up and the men were told to go home and that they would be instructed of the court’s action in the morning. The affair might have ended here without untoward results, but one of the men returned and a second visit was made by the officers an hour later and they found the two of them.
100 Years Ago
May 13, 1924
Tramp tourists, the modern version of the knights of the road, who park for a season in tourist camp grounds, will be no more welcome in Alliance this year than in many other places where the ban on free lodging has been put up for the season. The tourist camp ground will be maintained for tourists and they will be made comfortable and welcome, but they will not be allowed to stay longer than three days without paying a fee of 50 cents a day.
95 Years Ago
May 14, 1929
Alliance motorists who use West Third street will soon appreciate what it means to have a smooth concrete surface to drive over. The Abel Construction company will complete the laying of concrete on that thoroughfare of the city today and after the newly laid concrete dries for a few days the large asphalt laying crews will start work to make the West Third street portion of paving district No. 8 a finished job.
90 Years Ago
May 15, 1934
An airplane owned by Carl Freeman, employee at an Alliance garage, which he had hauled here from Scottsbluff a week ago and assembled on the Harley Miller farm, southwest of Alliance, “stalled in” with Freeman at the controls soon after its initial take-off at the farm late Friday afternoon. The mishap resulted in damage to the machine’s landing gear, propellor and a wing tip. Freeman escaped with a slight scratch on the side of his face.
85 Years Ago
May 12, 1939
Box Butte county farmers who have already lost whole fields of grain to grasshoppers have appealed to the Times-Herald to urge every farmer and land owner to spread poison as completely and quickly as possible before the pests get completely out of hand. The poison mixing plant in Alliance was running at top speed this week, putting out 19 tons of bait on Wednesday.
80 Years Ago
May 12, 1944
When Pvt. Richard S. Hurley reported to police Wednesday night that he had been beaten and robbed of $20 and his overnight pass from the Alliance Air Base, he unloosed an investigation by city and county officers that may rid the city of several undesirable characters.
75 Years Ago
May 13, 1949
County officials from 13 Western Nebraska counties gathered here Wednesday at a quarterly meeting of the Panhandle County Officials Association to discuss good roads, county assistance and general matters relating to courthouse operation.
70 Years Ago
May 15, 1954
Alliance voters will go to the polls Tuesday to decide if the City Council shall license the sale of alcoholic liquors, except beer, by the drink. Beer already is being sold in taverns here and other liquors may be bought by the package. In private clubs, liquor by the drink may be served from bottles owned by members.
65 Years Ago
May 13, 1959
Mayor Kenneth (Dobby) Lee of Alliance has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Nebraska League of Municipalities. There are 10 members on the Board, counting the officers. The last time Alliance had representation on the Board was in 1952 when City Manager R. W. Laing served as president. That was the same year in which Alliance was host to the state convention of the organization.
60 Years Ago
May 15, 1964
Dog problems and what to do about them were the main order of business at the Alliance City Council meeting Thursday evening. As a result of the discussion, an amendment to the existing City ordinance was adopted by a 4-1 vote. The amendment as offered by City Councilman Walter Mischnick and seconded by Councilman J. F. Kennedy, would require dog owners not to let their dogs “run at large at all times.”
55 Years Ago
May 15, 1969
Counting of the absentee Class 1 ballots at 1:55 p.m., today, showed nine votes against the proposal and five votes for. This makes a final total in Class 1 of 154 for and 147 against which cinches the election for the K-12 Hemingford plan.
50 Years Ago
May 15, 1974
Two new members will be seated next month on the Alliance City Council along with one incumbent, Anthony Yeager, who will return for a third term on the city’s governing body, unofficial returns of Tuesday’s election indicate.
45 Years Ago
May 15, 1979
School board members acted to raise the pay scale for substitute teachers, and contemplated plans ranging from alterations in the Central School lower floor to better accommodate classes for the multi-handicapped to an all weather rubber-surfaced track for athletes.
40 Years Ago
May 15, 1984
During its meeting tonight at 7:30 in the Administration Building, the Alliance Board of Education will discuss the reports and recommendations presented by the elementary and special education subcommittees of the citizens’ educational task force. Also, the board will hear a report on plans to rent building space for the 1984-85 school year in order to create more classroom space.
35 Years Ago
May 15, 1989
The Village of Hemingford and the City of Lincoln will be honored this Wednesday with the Community Achievement Awards at the 1989 Governor’s Conference on Aging banquet.
30 Years Ago
May 13, 1994
Tracy Jatczak, Alliance Area Chamber of Commerce president, announced today that the Chamber has hired David Johnston of Valley City, N.D., to fill the vacant position of Executive Director. He succeeds Janet Steele.
25 Years Ago
May 15, 1999
Chadron State College has been known for educating teachers since it was founded in 1910. However, few people remember the teachers’ school in Alliance which preceded CSC. Andrea Radke, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln student, hopes to contact local residents who do remember the Alliance Junior Normal School. The school has become the subject of Radke’s dissertation, which she is writing for her Ph.D. in History.
20 Years Ago
May 15, 2004
Not all parts of America are like the image movies portray and that is what foreign exchange students Bayse Altintas of Turkiye (Turkey) and Simone Nielsen of Denmark learned this school year.
15 Years Ago
May 15, 2009
Starting next week, one no longer needs to go to the County Clerk’s Office in order to pay for and receive title work on such property as cars, boats, campers, motorcycles or motor homes. Starting Monday, the Box Butte County Treasurer’s Office staff will begin training with a member of the Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles in order to take on these responsibilities.
10 Years Ago
May 15, 2014
Yesterday afternoon a tornado did touch down near Alliance. According to meteorologist Chad Hahn, the tornado touched down 16 miles west of Alliance, five miles east of Kilpatrick Lake. Hahn explained the tornado was on the ground for five minutes before lifting just near the Morrill and Box Butte County line.
5 Years Ago
May 15, 2019
The Alliance Police Department in conjunction with the Highway Safety Administration, will be participating in the 18th straight “Click it or Ticket” Mobilization taking place May 20 to June 2. Additional officers will be working overtime during these dates to ensure seatbelt compliance. A recent visual survey of 100 motorists within the city of Alliance showed only a 66 percent total adherence to our state seatbelt laws.
*Compiled from The Alliance Times-Herald Archives by staff.