Walsenburg 1895: La Veta people oppose the building of a new county court house on the grounds it is a Republic scheme. 1901: We hope our subscribers will forgive the paucity of news this week but with the installation of our new big press it was dubious whether we would ever get a paper out this week at all. 1907: The Pawnee Bill Historic Wild West and Great Far East Show will be in this city on Sept. 17. 1913: The Mothers Congress will meet Sept. 19 in the high school auditorium to appoint a nominating committee and discuss the kindergarten question. 1918: The second annual Huerfano County Harvest Festival will be Sept. 18-20 at the fairgrounds east of the city, though the agricultural exhibits and domestic science projects will be displayed in the pavilion. 1924: Mike Valdez has been temporarily appointed to the city police force to replace Cipriano Chavez, who recently resigned after many years of service. 1930: Tom Strang and Ed Race of Cameron, Jeff Hill, Herbert Morelock and Tom Socha, Walsenburg, were presented with honor medals at the annual DeMolay picnic on La Veta Pass last Sunday. 1936: Fred G. Brunk’s Comedians who are showing in Walsenburg this week are entertaining large crowds every night with feature plays and vaudeville galore. Tickets, 20 cents for adults, 10 cents for children. 1942: The Huerfano County High School Panthers will start their football season Friday night
against Aguilar and will play seven more games before the end of the season. 1948: There are 553 children enrolled in Walsenburg’s elementary schools and 320 in the high school, while St. Mary has so far enrolled 343 in the lower grades and 141 in the high school, making a total of 1,357 students in the city schools and every chance of more to come. 1954: Mrs. Ruth Bellotti has taken over management of The Wardrobe apparel shop at 717 Main Street. 1960: Elected officers for the freshman class at St. Mary High School were Fern Franciscotti, president, Nickie Tesitor, vice president, Henry Talmadge, secretary and Barbara King, treasurer. 1966: This year’s faculty at Gardner School are Escolastica Martinez, 1st and 2nd grades, Dorothy D. Murphy, 2nd and 3rd, Mary V. Tirey, 3rd and 4th, Lulu Valdez, 5th and 6th, and Rachel Maldonado, 7th and 8th. 1971: Cary D. Betts has joined the Walsenburg High School faculty as driving instructor, physical education teacher and basketball and baseball coach. 1976: Democratic candidates in the primary election Sept. 14 are Incumbent Joe B. Rodriguez and John McNabb in District I and Derito Bonicelli and Frank Piazza for District II. 1982: Re-1 School Board voted to detach 80 acres from the district to Re-2 for the Willie Rohr family who can be more easily served by the La Veta bus route. 1988: Lillian O’Rourke retired as manager of the St. Mary Credit Union on Sept. 2 after 27 years and Marian Tressell replaces her. 1994: The 21st annual Plaza de los Leones celebration will include entertainment, sports, Hispanic art show and dance. Elodia Archuleta will be grand marshal of the parade Saturday.
La Veta 1881: La Veta will have the most delegates, 15, of the 56 who will attend the county Democratic convention. Huerfano Canon (Gardner) will have 12, Walsenburg, eight, Cucharas and North Veta, six each, Turkey Creek, Badito and Butte Valley, two each, and St. Mary, Santa Clara and Apache, one each. 1887: A.J. Patrick of the Huerfano Independent was paid $26.50 for publishing the town ordinances. 1893: Mr. Boyd is current president of the Lion Club, which taxes members to pay a bounty of $30.00 for every mountain lion killed in this section. 1899: The new standard gauge right of way currently under construction crosses the mountains 138 feet lower than the old route, has a maximum grade of three percent going west and two and a half coming east, and is one mile shorter. 1905: Elmer Craig, 19, who has been employed helping his grandfather Mr. Boyd on his ranch on the upper Cucharas, died of typhoid. 1912: Cisney and Sparks have added a meat market to their large dry goods and grocery establishment and will have a big fall opening soon. 1918: Claire Danks has been promoted to second lieutenant and we hear Dewey Danks has taken a bride. 1924: The high school has organized an athletic association with Nelson Webster, president, Dwaine Lougheed vice president, Doris Webster, secretary and Everett Rich, treasurer. 1930: The members of the Baptist church will have an outdoor service at the Boyd ranch next Sunday. 1936: Trains were again moving through La Veta Wednesday following another track washout on the Denver and Rio Grande Western line at Mortimer, between here and Fort Garland, where a 200 foot stretch gave way Sunday night. 1941: Eddie Engberg and Gleason Moore have completed training to become psychiatric aides at the state hospital in Pueblo. 1947: A farewell luncheon and bridge party for Miss Yvette Williams was held at the ranch home of Mrs. John Penne before she returned last weekend to teach in Omaha, Neb. 1953: Coach Don Bone’s La Veta Redskins defeated Springer, New Mexico, last week in a non-conference football game. 1959: Fred and Elsie Wagner have closed the Chuck Wagon restaurant in Cuchara for the season. 1965: Re-2 Schools will benefit from a Ford Foundation grant of $147,400 in in-kind services such as workshops. 1972: George Niebuhr, James Willburn and Wilber Taylor were re-elected to six year terms on the Huerfano County Historical Society board, according to president Gilbert Arnold. 1979: Jimmy Dean’s Smokehouse invited fans to watch the Bronco games on their large screen television. 1985: The La Veta Lodge team once again won the summer coed softball title, beating out The Timbers, Vietti’s and Grandote. Voted Most Valuable Players for the Lodge were Cindy King and Woody Arnold. 1991: Town Board granted a special use permit for Jeff Sutherland to place a boxcar on the vacant lots west of the La Veta Lodge on Ryus for a period of two years.
