130 Years Ago
October 5, 1894
As was predicted in these columns last week, the wound of R. Preston, accidentally sustained Thursday evening while putting a revolver in his pocket, proved mortal. He suffered but little pain and was perfectly conscious of his condition and surroundings until two o’clock Saturday morning. Then followed a comatose condition until 3:15 Saturday afternoon, when he breathed his last.
125 Years Ago
October 6, 1899
The store of W. D. Rumer was a blaze of light and beauty Monday night, it being the occasion of his fall opening, and he had evidently determined to surpass all previous efforts in that line. Goods were lavishly displayed in all departments, each lady was presented with a handsome picture as a souvenir, coffee and wafers for the ladies and cigars for the gentlemen gratified the taste, and Prof. Earley’s orchestra furnished music for the occasion.
120 Years Ago
September 30, 1904
The annual meeting of the Box Butte county Sunday school association met last Friday evening in the Methodist church in this city. President Sherwood was in the chair. After some appropriate remarks, Prof. Steidly, of Lincoln, field secretary of the State S. S. Association, was introduces and spoke very interestingly and practically on the topic, “The Three-fold Constitution of Man.”
115 Years Ago
October 1, 1909
The First Annual Fair of the Box Butte county Fair Association is now a thing of the past, but the memory of this grand event will remain fresh in the minds of some six thousand people for many a day.
110 Years Ago
October 2, 1914
Horses owned by Constantine Klempke strayed onto property owned by Ferdinand Nikount and Mr. Nikount empounded them. Then Mr. Klempke instituted replevin proceedings, claiming that he had not been notified of the proceedings according to the statute requirements in such cases. In the trial before County Judge L. A. Berry this week, Mr. Klempke’s contentions were sustained and the horses returned.
105 Years Ago
October 3, 1919
The members of the Alliance Crap Shooting Society, which up to two weeks ago, threatened to become a very strong local organization, have been “up in the air” for the past few days, as a result of the watchfulness of the night police and have either discontinued rolling the bones or changed their habitat to an, as yet, unknown place.
100 Years Ago
October 3, 1924
During the past week, the application of the Alliance high school for approval for normal training has been mailed to the office of the state superintendent. This application is made annually and is acted upon following an inspection of the school some time during the year.
95 Years Ago
October 1, 1929
Voting nearly solidly in favor of the $116,000 bond issue proposed for the purpose of removing the septic tank nuisance southeast of the city and building a new larger adequate sewage disposal system, Alliance took a lengthy stride toward progress and development yesterday. Although the voting was light, there were 502 votes cast in favor of the proposal and 32 against it.
90 Years Ago
October 2, 1934
FERA officials have decided that any able worker who fails or refuses to pick potatoes when called for that work will be immediately removed from the relief roll and no more assistance will be given them this winter. The rule follows the report that a number of men who have been given an opportunity to pick potatoes on Box Butte county farms, and thereby help conserve one of the county’s important crops, have made excuses or flatly refused, saying they would prefer to do road work.
85 Years Ago
October 3, 1939
The general contract for the new Catholic gymnasium has been let to H. R. McMichaels of North Platte for a cost of approximately $30,000, Rev. P. J. Manning announced this morning. McMichaels built the new nurses home. The building, designed to provide a recreactional center where students at St. Agnes academy may exercise and hold athletic contests, will be located on the two lots west of the Catholic church with its main entrance facing on Big Horn
80 Years Ago
October 3, 1944
Pvt. Glen Blume, son of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Blume of Alliance, is a member of the 361st Infantry Regiment lauded by Fifth Army headquarters for their outstanding performance in Italy. The regiment reached Italy May 31, 1944, entered the line two days later, and was in battle the third day after landing.
75 Years Ago
October 4, 1949
The new Emerson grade school will be ready for occupancy before the end of the month and a formal dedicatory program will be held. The Alliance school board made tentative plans for the dedication at their regular monthly meeting Monday night.
70 Years Ago
October 2, 1954
A bull snake—of all things—caused a power outage this morning on a rural line about 25 miles southeast of Alliance. The snake short circuited the Peterson line south of Hoffland siding, according to Paul Phaneuf, manager of the Panhandle Rural Electric Membership Association. People on the line reported the power stopped at 3:30 a.m. Lineman Bob Best made an aerial survey and spotted the snake draped across two wires. First time such a power outage ever happened about these parts, Phaneuf said. Since a snake obviously is not likely to climb up a pole and out on a wire, the power men theorized that a hawk must have left the snake on the wires.
65 Years Ago
October 2, 1959
Three inches of snow lay on the ground in Alliance at midnight Thursday, according to measurements at the Alliance City Power Plant.
60 Years Ago
October 2, 1964
Alliance city councilmen Thursday night sparred another round with opponents of the Building Code, decided to negotiate with the Bureau of Reclamation on “fine print” in a contract to sell the city power and criticized Panhandle Rural Electric for blocking the hookup of two new irrigation wells to city power lines.
55 Years Ago
October 2, 1969
A reappraisal of Box Butte County property which has been underway in some stage for more than two years is nearing completion, according to word this week from the Box Butte County Commissioners.
50 Years Ago
October 2, 1974
The Alliance National Bank founded in 1888 along with the City of Alliance, today gave $25,000 to the new Box Butte General Hospital with Edward M. Knight, chairman of the board and president of the firm making the donation. Including the $25,000 donation of the Alliance National Bank plus the addition of other pledges, donations and memorials totaling $34,079.08 that were received and counted in Tuesday, the new total now stands at $476,284.76.
45 Years Ago
October 2, 1979
Alliance attorney Dean Forney, 26, Monday morning became only the second person in the history of Box Butte County to hold the office of public defender. He was officially sworn in by Judge Glen Fiebig during a brief ceremony in the county courtroom.
40 Years Ago
October 2, 1984
Box Butte County Commissioners opened bids this morning for the Kilpatrick Dam Rehabilitation and Road Relocation Project and the Dayco Road Overlay Project and voted to tabulate the bids for consideration until their next scheduled meeting Oct. 16.
35 Years Ago
October 2, 1989
The Abbott Bank merger is official. Abbott Banks in the 11 regional communities of Alliance, Chadron, Bridgeport, Hemingford, Hyannis, Mullen, Thedford, Valentine, Gordon, Merriman, and Cody have become the largest locally owned bank system in western Nebraska and one of the largest banks in the state.
30 Years Ago
October 4, 1994
At a meeting Monday the Alliance City Council approved a contingency fund expenditure of $4,000 to do a feasibility study of becoming partially self-insured.
25 Years Ago
October 2, 1999
A decision on renaming the Armory that was purchased this past year will be part of Monday’s, Oct. 4, meeting of the Alliance District No. 6 Board of Education.
20 Years Ago
October 2, 2004
Darci More and Rui Machado are native to Brasil (Brazil in English) and call themselves the “Crazy Guys from Brasil” because of their big adventure across the USA which began a few weeks ago in Florida and will conclude in the city (cidade) of Francisco Beltrao, state (estado) Parana, Brazil (Brasil). The visited Carhenge, north of Alliance, last Saturday; which was on their extensive agenda of sights to see.
15 Years Ago
October 2, 2009
On Oct. 8, at 5:30 p.m., the Alliance City Council will be conducting a public hearing concerning the Alliance Comprehensive Plan, the 20-year plan or a general guide to future growth of Alliance. This plan takes into account the future of the city’s infrastructure and were capital investments will be placed. Much of it is dependent on the future growth of Alliance’s population.
10 Years Ago
October 2, 2014
Wednesday night, the Nebraska Department of Roads hosted a well-attended open house and public forum. The topic was one that has been around for nearly three decades—The Heartland Expressway, and more specifically, the portion from Alliance south to the L-62A. The project would transform the current highway to a divided four-lane, and construction is planned to start in 2016.
5 Years Ago
October 2, 2019
Box Butte County Assessor Michelle Robinson filed an appeal with the Nebraska Tax Equalization and Review Commission on nine commercial properties after the Box Butte County Board of Equalization voted to reduce the values on those properties at protest hearings earlier this year.
*Compiled from The Alliance Times-Herald Archives by staff.