Walsenburg
1883: J.H. Young rented Charles Deus’ Pass Creek ranch and will open a blacksmith shop there and repair firearms. He has been lately employed by the Huerfano Mining and Milling Company and builds the Edward’s Turbine Water Wheel. 1889: The new Walsenburg World newspaper made its debut one week ago on Thursday night. The publisher is Mr. G.M. Magill who is already receiving orders for fancy stationery printed in colors and advertising material enough to fill the paper. Around the World in 52 weeks, only $2.00. 1894: Superintendent Charles McNeil of Solar was injured in an explosion at the mine and died. He was a widower with two children. 1899: All parties and players interested in the National game of base ball are asked to attend a meeting at the World office Saturday. 1905: Wallace C. Hunt, publisher of the World for the past ten years and a graduate of Grinnell College in Iowa, married Mary Gertrude Vest in Iowa who has been teaching in the Walsenburg schools. 1911: The Huerfano High School girls played the La Junta girls and defeated them 28 to 14 to take the league lead. 1916: Some of the young men of town, Otto Unfug, George and William Trout, Frederick Unfug and Ford Frick, expect to motor to Trinidad Sunday to see the film “The Birth of a Nation”. 1922: The old Cripple Creek Short Line is going to be turned into an auto road. Soon there won’t be any railroads left and we’ll have to take to the air. 1927: The first train is scheduled to stop Thursday at the new Union Depot and the Union Bus Depot will soon open at 126 West Sixth Street. 1933: The three-day bank holiday declared by Governor Johnson Saturday came as a surprise, and when it was followed by the president’s proclamation Sunday evening closing all banks for four days, it left people dazed. 1938: Persons caught dumping trash into the Cucharas at the end of East Eighth Street will be fined $10.00; trash is to be left on the riverbank at the end of East Seventh. 1943: Navy Recruiter J.E. Swanton will maintain office hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. every Tuesday and Wednesday in the Walsenburg Post Office. 1950: The Butte Valley, Major No. 2 and Maitland mines expect to return to work tomorrow after a full stoppage since February 2. There is no word of the CF&I mines at Pictou and Tioga reopening. 1955: A fallout of radioactive dust, apparently from Monday’s atomic explosions in Nevada, caused interesting reactions on Geiger counters in Walsenburg. 1961: A new 4-H Club, the Electromag-Nuts, was organized Monday night at the home of Duke Farrin. 1966: Sunday and Monday at the Fox Theater – “Ship of Fools” starring Lee Marvin, Vivien Leigh, Simone Signoret, Joe Ferrer, Oskar Werner and Elizabeth Ashley. 1972: Mountain Bell paid the first half of its 1971 property taxes with a check for $15,902.42 March 1. 1977: Former District Attorney E.U. Sandoval has been charged with 13 counts of first degree misconduct and three counts of criminal conspiracy. 1983: A total of 343 parking meter violations issued in February brought in $542.00 and the collection from the meters themselves was $427.00. 1989: The extreme cold last month broke a number of water pipes at Rio Cucharas Inn and damaged the interior, so the premises, closed and under foreclosure, will be sold “as is”. 1995: Alys Romer expects to open her Alys’ Fireside Café at 606 Main in Walsenburg later this month.
La Veta
1880: John M. Francisco and Fred Pischel, town trustees, were appointed by the board to ascertain the cost of repairing bridges and also providing an irrigation ditch for the town. 1885: There was a special meeting of the town board to discuss digging a ditch on the west side of the creek on Francisco Street, from the culvert to the creek, to keep water from running down Front (Ryus) Street, which is to be re-graded. 1893: Augustus Prator proved up another 40 acres, giving him 160 acres of fine ranch land in the Wahatoya Valley. 1898: Mr. Edmisten is having a good fence built enclosing his feed stable on Ryus, and also sheds built so that this summer he will be able to accommodate all those visitors who need teams and buggies. 1903: Railroad engineers were here last week to propose the building of a reservoir south of town on the old Phillips ranch, now P.L. Estes’, which would cost an approximate $16,000 to $17,000, of which the railroad would pay $6,000 or $7,000. 1908: Mr. and Mrs. Harry Capps are occupying the Bruce stone house at Francisco and Oak while William Fey builds them a new brick house farther up Oak. 1913: Charles Fey and Willis Ellsworth have equipped themselves with motor cycles and will ride back and forth to their work in the mines every day. 1918: $83.88 has been subscribed toward a town reading room. 1924: Died, Mrs. Josephine Logan, who was born in Walsenburg 50 years ago. Thirty-five years ago she married Mr. Parker in Long’s Canon, New Mexico and they had two sons, Sidney and Henry. After his death she married J.T. Logan who died two years ago. The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Hiram Vasquez, she also leaves her brother Fred Vasquez and sisters Mrs. John Harris of Turner, Mrs. Lee Rollins of California and Mrs. George Coleman of Walsenburg. 1930: Louise Hansen, the ballet dancer who is so successful in New York and Boston, is the granddaughter of Mr. and Mrs. Hiram Vasquez. Her parents met and married here and operated a candy store on Main Street. 1935: Snowy Range 4-H Club, organized last year, now has 13 members, all boys. New officers are Ernest Atchison, president, Leslie Spielmann, vice president, Virgil Ottinger, secretary and treasurer. Charles Ottinger is leader. 1940: Died, John Penne, 83. Born in Italy in 1856, he went to Las Animas County in 1882, to Silverton in 1883 and Huerfano County in 1888 where he went to work in the Walsen mine. He obtained a homestead near the West Spanish Peak and ranched in the Wahatoya valley from 1907 to 1912 when he moved to town. He leaves his wife Dominica and daughters Mrs. John Bowdino, Anna McKinney, Mrs. John Judiscak and Mrs. Alfred Murray. 1946: Born, a girl to Mr. and Mrs. Hugh David on March 3 in the Walsenburg hospital. 1951: Mary Goss was chosen by the high school basketball squad to represent the school in the Queen contest in Trinidad Saturday night. 1956: The Redskin Roving Reporter interviewed Jerry Masinton, the captain of the volleyball team composed of Dickie Masinton, Johnny Welsby, Richard Sardello, Lloyd Sneddon and Paul Duzenack. Jerry said he did not appreciate games scheduled at noon. 1963: Four students of La Veta High School earned straight As – Glenna Walls, James Carver, Kenneth Arnold and Teresa Gordon. 1969: Curtis Goemmer was re-elected for a three year term of the Board of Supervision at the 29th annual meeting of the Upper Huerfano Soil Conservation District. 1974: Julian Tracy was elected president of the newly organized Spanish Peaks Snowmobilers Club, Lynn Shank is vice president and Ray Scarberry, secretary and treasurer. 1979: The team of Cindy Peet and Sandy Majors won the Women’s Pool Tournament held in the La Veta Lodge and Wilson Morris and Don Blasingame took honors for the men’s. 1984: Developer Dwight Harrison and Architect Dave Jones are buying the 160 acre Estes ranch south of town and plan to build a golf course that will eventually have 27 holes. 1989: Karen Mathis is the receiver responsible for Grandote Golf and Country Club effective since February 6.
