130 Years Ago
November 16, 1894
The First Quarterly meeting for Alliance charge of the M. E. church will occur Sunday, the 18th inst. Rev. A. R. Julian, presiding elder of this district, will conduct the services Sunday morning and evening. Preparatory services will be conducted by the pastor Friday and Saturday evenings beginning at 7:30.
125 Years Ago
November 17, 1899
Up to the present time nothing has been heard from the gentleman who was in Alliance looking over the situation as regards the placing of an electric light plant here. There are quite a good many of our citizens who want electric lights and are concerned as to his return.
120 Years Ago
November 11, 1904
Arington’s Comedians, one of the theatrical companies that visited our city last season, and succeeded in pleasing Alliance people very much, are billed to come again, with date of November 17th as the opening night. The bill for that night will be a four-act comedy-drama entitled, “Little Torment.”
115 Years Ago
November 12, 1909
But for the quick and effective work of the Alliance fire department at 2:45 this morning the store building owned by F. E. Reddish and used by Mike Vaughn for a grocery store would doubtless have burned to the ground. The fire started in the rear of the building, in the sheet iron shed that is used for the storing of flour, sugar, etc., and had been burning for sometime when discovered.
110 Years Ago
November 13, 1914
The Alliance fire department’s new combination fire truck, purchased from the Anderson company of Kansas City at a cost of $3,885, the latter part of July, was received the first of the week and unloaded Wednesday by the fire boys.
105 Years Ago
November 14, 1919
The second dancing party to be given by the Brotherhood of Railway Clerks will be held at the armory tonight, and an even better time has been planned for by the committee than was enjoyed at the time of their other dance last spring. Special decorations have been made, and some special music has been engaged.
100 Years Ago
November 14, 1924
State and federal engineers yesterday accepted the Alliance-Hemingford road, built along the Burlington tracks, with the exception of about 100 feet and the entire road is now open to traffic. Contractors and subcontractors will now receive their money as claims will be allowed following the approval.
95 Years Ago
November 15, 1929
Not far short of four million dollars is the value of the potatoes and wheat raised in Box Butte county last year-an almost unbelievable amount-but figures do not lie and a total of the two crops is exactly $3,977,070, according to a check-up made by the Chamber of Commerce in getting facts to present to the public at the Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben last week.
90 Years Ago
November 16, 1934
While Alliance is still seeking official designation of the Municipal airport here as an emergency landing field for planes flying the transcontinental route, the port is already marked on the flight charts of United Air Lines pilots.
85 Years Ago
November 14, 1939
After this week, motorists can drive on the unpaved streets of the city and not fear for their tires. The big road magnet from the state highway department was put to work on Alliance streets this week, picking up nails and other old scraps of iron that have been accumulating for years. It is estimated that almost a ton of junk had been picked up by this morning.
80 Years Ago
November 14, 1944
A herd of 1996 Peterson Bros. Steers and heifers was sold at a special sale last Friday at the Alliance Livestock Commission company barn in record time of one hour and 40 minutes. The sales grossed $153,273.33.
75 Years Ago
November 15, 1949
A first night crowd of theatergoers that made up in interest what it lacked in numbers saw a good mystery play Monday night at the auditorium. This was the first production of the Western Plains Little Theater Group and the play is “The Night of Jan, 16th “.
70 Years Ago
November 13, 1954
A gasoline price war has broken out here and in Gering, Neb. with prices on “Ethyl” gasoline down to 24.9 cents while “regular” is selling for 22.9 cents. The price clipping began a week ago and the latest drop was slated to go into effect today.
65 Years Ago
November 13, 1959
The Federal Aviation Agency has allocated $752,350 for seven Nebraska airports. Local sponsors are required to match the federal allocations on 50-50 basis. The Nebraska projects are Alliance, $18,000; Grand Island Municipal Airport, $7,000; Hastings, $33,000; Kearney, $10,000; Lee Bird Field, North Platte, $6,500; Omaha, $302,850; O’Neill, $75,000.
60 Years Ago
November 13, 1964
By a 4-1 vote Thursday evening the Alliance City Council approved Ordinance 1098 which will make construction of 5,000 lineal feet of sidewalk in northern residential sections compulsory. The ordinance was brought about by requests of many residents to extend mail delivery and to provide better walking surfaces for children going to school and others.
55 Years Ago
November 15, 1969
Six rural schoolhouses and considerable equipment will be offered at auction at 1 p.m., Monday, at the Hemingford High School gymnasium. The schoolhouses, formerly were used by Districts 4, 14, 57, 29, 49 and 81 and are all located in the area around Hemingford.
50 Years Ago
November 13, 1974
Alliance will continue its athletic participation in the Big Ten high school conference, it was decided at the regular meeting of the Board of Education here Tuesday evening with the approval of signing 2-year contracts with McCook and Kearney.
45 Years Ago
November 13, 1979
The Box Butte General Hospital board of trustees voted to submit an application for approval of $91,000 for a Gray Scale Display and Real Time Ultrasound machine to the state health department’s section on hospital and medical facilities at its regular meeting Monday evening.
40 Years Ago
November 14, 1984
The Alliance Planning Commission laid out it strategy Tuesday night on how it plans to tackle the controversial task of determining what areas around the city should be annexed. After a 45-minute discussion, the commission voted unanimously to schedule a special meeting on Saturday, December 1 to tour portions of the city and get a first-hand look at what residential, commercial and industrial tracts of land are not inside the city limits, but are using city services or are no longer deemed as agricultural land.
35 Years Ago
November 13, 1989
Farmers in Nebraska’s Panhandle, a profitable oasis in last year’s drought, are facing as much as a 30 percent drop in yields this year because of heat, hail and early frost, local grain dealers say. “The weather was very unpredictable and it played tricks on us,” said Stan Hillius of High Plains Co-op in Kimball.
30 Years Ago
November 12, 1994
The management of Good Samaritan Towers wishes to make it known that all local seniors and their friends are welcome to have lunch at the Towers. A meal is served from 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. seven days a week, except holidays.
25 Years Ago
November 12, 1999
Santa’s getting a lot of help this year from the Alliance Jills Women of Today, who have begun working on “Santa’s Helpers,” a project which provides needy children with an opportunity to select Christmas gifts for each member of their family.
20 Years Ago
November 13, 2004
“People Helping People’s organization is off to a good start this year toward making the annual Thanksgiving’s Day meal, that is served at the Parish Center in the 1100 block of Cheyenne Ave., a success,” co-coordinator David Boyles said recently.
15 Years Ago
November 13, 2009
Thursday evening at the Knight Museum and Sandhills center, Karen Harvey of Scottsbluff shone some light on the Orphan Trains that ran from 1853 to 1930. Harvey, a retired schoolteacher and librarian, began her presentation by noting that she had not heard of the Orphan trains until 1999.
10 Years Ago
November 13 2014
United Way will be hosting a two-day event – Nov. 22 and 23 – to raise funds for United Way projects. All proceeds from the event will stay in Box Butte County noted, John McGhehey, marketing president at First National Bank. Robert Knight has donated over 100 items for the event.
5 Years Ago
November 13, 2019
Whenever there is a construction project at Box Butte General Hospital, many steps are taken to ensure the completed project fills the mission to lead and innovate in healthcare delivery and community wellness. Currently the hospital is renting the clinic space in Hemingford. It is an older building, making it inefficient, and the layout is extremely difficult to alter to enhance or change workflow. Maintenance and repairs of a rented space can be challenging to coordinate, so a new location and building owned by the hospital should eliminate these obstacles, therefore helping us deliver the greatest healthcare possible.
*Compiled from The Alliance Times-Herald Archives by Christine Baum.