130 Years Ago
March 29, 1895
The Alliance Milling company is commencing the manufacture of a new article of food. It will be called wheatet, being of the nature of wheatel, but finer ground and containing less bran and shorts. Samples of it have been tested by several, and all have pronounced it very palatable. For the present they will not use any new machinery in the manufacturing, but should wheatet prove as popular as the company anticipates, extra machinery will be purchased and the new industry thoroughly developed.
125 Years Ago
March 30, 1900
Some person who was evidently familiar with the surroundings, cut a hole through the panel in the back door at the Red Light saloon Wednesday night, and thus lifted the bar fastening the door. The sum of $20 was taken from the money drawer, but the safe and goods of the place were unmolested. There is no clue as yet to the perpetrator.
120 Years Ago
March 28, 1905
The home of Mrs. Volney Richards was quarantined this forenoon, her little four-year-old daughter being ill with diphtheria, though not seriously. This is the only case of contagious disease in the city, so that Alliance has come through the winter season pretty fortunate compared with some of the neighbor towns that have epidemics of smallpox and other diseases, and the authorities deserve credit for it.
115 Years Ago
March 29, 1910
The two latest candidates in the “Buzzer’s bunch” are J. A. Hunter and Enoch Boyer. The former has purchased a Ford car, and Enoch has placed an order for an Overland. Both have been in this county long enough and worked hard enough so they are entitled to these luxuries, and here is hoping tey get full measure of recreation from their purchases.
110 Years Ago
March 30, 1915
Three vags went to war with Chief Jeffers last Saturday to their everlasting regret. The three had been drinking and creating a disturbance in the vicinity of the light plant and the police were called. Chief Jeffers responded and brought two of them to the city jail in a requisitioned coal wagon. He was forced to meet them in a good old-fashioned fist fight before they would consent to accompany him. When they appeared for trial they bore the marks of their battle and were entirely subdued. The third man was arrested a little later and served with the same portion of fistic encounter as his team-mates. The men were fined $10 and costs by Judge Roberts and will have to work for the city until the obligation is canceled since they carried nothing of value.
105 Years Ago
March 23, 1920
That the work on $300,000 improvements and extensions to the Burlington shops in Alliance will start this spring was made certain this morning by the official visit of Mr. E. P. Bracken, operating vice-president of the Burlington, and H. S. Stafford, assistant to President Hale Holden, together with all of the high officials of the road who spent the morning at the local shops on their semi-annual tour of inspection. After going over every detail of the proposed extensions, Mr. Bracken intimated that the work would now proceed.
100 Years Ago
March 24, 1925
Alliance Pair Nabbed In Robbery Deals In Denver: Bernard Middleton, 25, and his wife, Rose, 19, former cook and waitress at the Blue Bird cafe when it was owned by C. W. Linn, are under arrest in Denver in connection with 18 holdups and five burglaries together with seven Denver men and one woman. A. L. Chase and Anna Loose, two others under arrest, have also been in Alliance in the past.
95 Years Ago
March 28, 1930
School Board Election Has No Candidates: Alliance is awaiting a school board election next Tuesday with the only candidates whose names appear on the ballot hoping that someone else will be elected. Two members of the board are to be elected to succeed R. O. Reddish and R. E. Knight whose terms would regularly expire at this time were it not for the fact that George Neuswanger and Harry Thiele whose names appear on the ballots as candidates have unofficially but firmly withdrawn as candidates. Petitions nominating Mr. Neuswanger and Mr. Thiele were filed without their knowledge, it was said, both of them being unwilling to be candidates.
90 Years Ago
March 29, 1935
Any citizen may have his complete personal identification filed in government records at Washington to insure being identified in case of an accident or foul play in a new plan started this year. Fingerprints, the one fool-proof identification, and other descriptive information will be recorded. The records are not compared with criminal records at Washington, but are merely classified and filed separately. Barnum, believing the idea is a good one, will register his identification as No. 1 from Alliance.
85 Years Ago
March 29, 1940
Trial by jury – a rare occurrence in the county court – was the order of the day as County Judge P. E. Romig and a six-man jury began consideration this morning of the suits of Bernice Tillett and J. T. Gilmore against G. W. Schance on a lease dispute. It was believed to be the second instance where a jury was called to decide a civil case in the county court in recent years.
80 Years Ago
March 30, 1945
The nurses’ aide class being formed now will begin study April 9, directed by a registered nurse of St. Joseph’s hospital, and graduate members will assist vitally in the needs of the community during the current shortage of nurses and heavy demands upon the services of physicians. The American Red Cross is enrolling American citizens with a high school education, between the ages of 18 and 50, as volunteer nurses’ aides to serve as assistants to registered nurses.
75 Years Ago
March 28, 1950
Fire of undetermined origin swept through the Davis Paint and Wallpaper store at 214 West Third street Sunday causing the heaviest loss suffered here in years. D. G. Davis, owner of the business, said the stock is a total loss, and estimated its value at $10,000. Rear part of the building is occupied by Schick’s Culligan soft water plant. Most of the roof and supporting rafters were charred and weakened by flames.
70 Years Ago
March 31, 1955
The Alliance Starlite Drive-In Theatre will be showing wider screen pictures this summer. The theatre corporation is adding two 16-by-52 sections to the screen, which will increase its size to 80-by-40 feet. Each section weighs 7 ½ tons and is made entirely of steel. Other improvements at the theatre include remodeling of the snack bar to add a lunch counter. New lamphouses and rectifiers have been installed in the projection room. The lamphouses are of the latest type and will give 50 percent more light on the screen.
65 Years Ago
March 31, 1960
Jimmy Thorell, Alliance High track coach, proved Wednesday night that as well as being a good judge of athletes he also is a good judge of cattle. Thorell won first place and a $25 merchandise certificate in the final Wednesday nigh Cattle Capital Calf Contest, conducted by the Chamber of Commerce and Alliance merchants.
60 Years Ago
April 2, 1965
Plans for the 1965 summer school session of the Alliance City Schools were announced today by Supt. Marven Rosen. Junior and Senior High classes will begin Monday, June 7, and elementary classes one week later. Already 172 have enrolled in elementary classes. Elementary programming will include three area this year, developmental reading, developmental arithmetic and speech therapy.
55 Years Ago
March 30, 1970
Alliance BN Crew Clears Derail At Orin Junction: A derailment of 22 loaded cars of Burlington Northern freight train No. 78 at Orin Junction, Wyo. Was cleared during the weekend by a crew from Alliance headed by Division Supt. J. G. Edwards. The cares were loaded with bentonite clay enroute from Stucco, Wyo. About 150 feet of track was damaged by the mishap.
50 Years Ago
April 3, 1975
Twelve cars of a Burlington Northern freight train derailed Thursday morning around eight, five miles north of Alliance. No injuries resulted and cause of the derailment was unknown. Dick Gies was the engineer and the derailment occurred about 34 cars begin the six-engine train.
45 Years Ago
April 1, 1980
March building permits filed in Alliance amounted to $440,380, a report from the city Building and Zoning office showed today. This brings the total permits through March to $1,612,280. The total is behind the corresponding first quarter of the year in 1979 when permits totaled $2,067,750.
40 Years Ago
April 2, 1985
The Box Butte County Commissioners defeated a resolution two to one that would have given a special use permit allowing the Agricultural Society of the Box Butte County Fair to have a beer garden. The board has a 20 year plan for improvement of the county fair facilities and needs funds to implement those plans. The board also would like to be able to gain more control over the consumption of alcohol during the fair, she explained.
35 Years Ago
March 31, 1990
The name Bill Burgess represents dedication to education in the minds of Alliance School Board members. At the time he was killed last year in a construction accident, Burgess was an active member of the school board and had been for the previous six years. To keep his name, his memory, and his dedication alive, the meeting room in the newly completed school facility at 1602 Sweetwater Avenue will be named the “Bill Burgess Board of Education Room” Sunday at 2 p.m. during a special school board meeting. A picture of Burgess to be hung in the board room was provided by Martin, Pat and Jon Petersen.
30 Years Ago
April 1, 1995
Helen Iossi, co-owner with Dave and Tory McVicker of the Alliance Country Club, announced Friday that the club will be rebuilt. Preliminary dirt work was underway as the announcement was made, with construction expected to begin within two weeks. Tentative opening of the new version of the popular Panhandle landmark eatery is scheduled for late October.
25 Years Ago
March 28, 2000
Box Butte General Hospital’s listening program has been named among the Nebraska Rural Development Commission’s to 10 rural initiatives for 1999. The initiatives are examples of efforts underway to make rural communities better places to live, said Craig Schroeder, executive director of the Nebraska’s Rural Development Commission.
20 Years Ago
April 3, 2005
Phase I of the Emerson Avenue Street Construction project is due to get underway today, Monday, April 4. The total project includes selective replacement of the deteriorated concrete panels, improved drainage design and reconstruction of several intersections.
15 Years Ago
April 2, 2010
An impasse over a hole in the downtown mini park wall has been resolved with the help of an interested entrepreneur. Early this winter, an obvious hole appeared in the brick wall behind the mini park located at the corner of Box Butte Avenue and Third Street. Next, the hole began to grow as its bricks and plaster began to fall. The city reacted by putting blockades in front of it to keep people away from this possible safety issue.
10 Years Ago
April 3, 2015
Say hello to an out of town visitor filling up at the next pump or a fellow traveler passing the time at an airport terminal. They ask, “What’s there to do here?” Or, “Where are you from?” Both are invitations to promote or putdown a community. The second think tank at Box Butte Central, Thursday morning, focused on promoting Alliance and Box Butte County. Though half as large as the leadership class discussion, participants were passionate about the topic. Much of the hour focused on the community’s assets and ways to communicate what the area has to offer.
5 Years Ago
April 1, 2020
At a special meeting on March 26, the Box Butte County Commissioners took action to suspend public access to all Box Butte County Facilities beginning on March 27 in an effort to limit the spread of COVID-19. The board limited access to the room, allowing themselves, the County Clerk and the County Attorney to be in the room with one speaker at a time.
*Compiled from The Alliance Times-Herald Archives by Christine Melcher