La Veta
1904: The midnight services in the Methodist Church for the New Year were cut short when Rev. C.M. Green received a telegram saying his son Judd had been injured in the Rugby coal mine.
1911: Dr. W.N. Hall, the dentist of Walsenburg, will be at Dr. Lamme’s office every Wednesday to do dental work.
1918: Some quite elaborate and a great variety of costumes made a pretty sight at the masquerade dance New Year’s night.
1924: Ice harvesting began this week and on Wednesday it was nearly 12 inches thick.
1932: The Christmas tree and treat provided by the American Legion Christmas Eve was the first event of its kind in La Veta and was well attended. One hundred and fifty toys were donated for the needy, 25 pairs of shoes and 115 garments.
1938: Ines Marie Spangler has purchased the Leora Ellen Beauty and Barber Shop and made a number of changes in the interior arrangement. The barber shop will likely be closed a while until a new barber is secured.
1943: Mary Beth Farrar, a high school senior, died on Christmas Day.
1950: The regular meeting of UNESCO was held Thursday evening in the Methodist Church with 21 present. President Gilbert Arnold was in charge and the topic for the evening was “Old Mexico”.
1958: The winners of the San Isabel Electric Christmas residential lighting contest were Charles Bruce, first, $25, Mrs. Avis Young, second, $15 and Thomas Kuntz, $10.
1963: During 1962, the office of the Huerfano County Clerk and Recorder issued a total of 55 marriage licenses with June and November the most popular months to wed.
1968: Mr. and Mrs. Kimery Ritter observed their 50th Wedding Anniversary Sunday with their daughter Gail Frick. They were married Dec. 29, 1917 at the home of the bride’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. Samuel J. Capps and have lived on their ranch since.
1973: Building permits issued in Huerfano County during 1972 totaled $1,421,146, with $461,205 of that for construction in Cuchara and $61,250 in La Veta.
1980: Carmen Goodwin reports a complete sell-out of rental cross-country skis from her shop over the holidays, when many skiers enjoyed the full moon on New Year’s Eve.
Walsenburg
1901: The 20th century was ushered in with a blizzard and the thermometer reached 15 degrees below zero.
1910: Miss Carolyn Sporleder was elected captain of the high school girls’ basketball team and Jeff Farr the boys’ captain.
1917: Dr. H.E. Taylor, specialist in the illnesses and diseases of children, will open an office in the Roof and Dick building, Sixth and Main, the beginning of next week.
1922: Frank S. Mauro, mayor pro tem, has instructed Trinidad Electric to blow the curfew at the Walsen power plant every evening at eight o’clock. Children under 16 years not accompanied by parents are forbidden on the streets after that hour.
1929: August Musso, owner, says that during the third anniversary celebration of the Alpine Rose this week they will serve a 60-cent turkey dinner and give carnations to the ladies and cigars to the men.
1934: In a double wedding in St. Mary Church Jan. 6, Jose de Garcia Vigil married Josefina Jaquez and her brother Maximiliano Jaquez married Vigil’s sister Egrypina, all of Sandy.
1940: About 40 drought-stricken farmers of Huerfano County received grants from the Farm Security Administration for the purchase of much needed food and clothing.
1947: Emma Bellotti was sworn in Jan. 2 as county treasurer- the first woman in county history to serve in that office.
1953: Huerfano County ranked fifth in the production of coal in the state for the month of November, mining 22,319 tons and employing 276 in the nine mines reporting.
1959: Mr. and Mrs. Julian Frausto of 315 E. 7th Street are parents of Walsenburg’s first baby of 1959. She is Rita Eileen, born at 12:35 pm on New Year’s Day.
1966: Rufus Harriman, son of the late Charles Harriman who operated a transfer barn on West 6th Street 60 years ago, relives those memories by carving teams and all kinds of wagons from wood.
1972: Approximately 750 people turned out on New Year’s Day and Sunday for the grand opening of the new Spanish Peaks Inn Lounge at Gulnare, owned by Vona Nations and Jim Healy.
1979: Assessor-Elect Virginia Aragon has named Max Romero as head appraiser.
