Walsenburg 1881: More than 200 men are now at work at the Walsenburg coal banks [i.e. Walsen mine] and immense quantities of coal are being taken out and shipped from this place. 1890: The big baseball game played on the Fourth resulted in a score of Rouse, 30, Walsen, 13. 1897: The Idlers Club now meets under the spreading box elder tree in front of the barber shop. 1903: Dr. D.W. Mathews and Dillard Sefton took a fishing trip Thursday. The doctor caught 16 and Dillard one. Dillard left Saturday for California to learn how to fish. 1909: The Jellison furniture stock has been moved from the Wayt building at the head of Main Street to the Workman building which was lately vacated by the Eidlewild restaurant. 1916: The great and only Robinson circus has come and “went”, being a great treat for all ages with its performances judged by our residents to be above average. 1923: Sears and Sears plan to double the size of their garage on Main Street by buying and razing the three small dwellings north of their property. 1930: Alex Levy first came to Walsenburg in July 1871 with a small stock of goods and opened a store. He sold out to Fred Walsen a few months later and left town, only to be invited back by Walsen and they became partners until the latter sold his interest. 1936: Emergency relief designations were given to Huerfano County by the federal government to assist farmers. Huerfano was one of seven counties in southeastern Colorado given the designation as part of the severe drought area. 1942: Police today are searching for a “witch’ seen by numerous people. She is described as being very tall and dressed all in black. She leaves small bottles of ashes around houses. 1948: About 200 Huerfano County miners have not returned to work at the Tioga and Pictou mines of the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company despite the end of the strike. 1956: Candidates for Spanish Peaks Fiesta queen are Susan Haney, Karen Grady, Ann Novak, Jo Elen Zgut, Patsy Holley, Elsie Quintana and Henrietta Duzenack. 1963: An estimated 250 people attended Wednesday’s grand opening of Nina’s Flower and Beauty Shop when Dorothy Lenzini and Marie Valdez won the door prizes. 1970: Teen-Aids receiving caps and pins for volunteering the most hours at the hospital were VanDora
Barrett, Judy Fabiney, Betty Martinez, Jo Ann Sandoval and Rita Valdez. 1977: Debbie Pacheco, 18, is one of five young women selected to the queen’s court which will reign over the Colorado State Fair this year. 1983: Henderson Petroleum, dba HBB Inc., has offered Walsenburg a reduced rate on natural gas, transported by way of a 22 mile pipeline from its wells in La Veta, if the city would let the company use its six inch pipeline from Walsenburg to Trinidad. 1990: The filming date for the movie “Conager” starring Sam Elliott and Katherine Ross will be in late August on the Roberts ranch 25 miles east of Walsenburg. The cast is expected to spend about two weeks in this area.
La Veta 1877: The Denver and Rio Grande railway has achieved the wonderful feat of crossing the Sangre de Cristo range at an elevation of 9,340 feet, and its present terminus is Wagon creek, 22 miles west of La Veta, the late terminus. 1883: John Robinson’s big circus last Friday brought a lot of visitors to town and our businessmen took in more money than the show did. 1889: The 36-hour long rainstorm broke the levee on the east side of the mill dam and caused about $2,000 worth of damages. The Cucharas River flooded and people living along it south of town evacuated their homes. 1896: William Smith is currently living in Walsenburg while he is at work hauling rock to build the new county jail. 1902: Mrs. Roy Springer has opened her new hotel on Ryus Avenue and will discount the $2.00 per day rates to regular boarders. 1908: The bond question to build a new school building was defeated in the special election 58-40. 1914: The town boys baseball team beat Alliance 24-12, but the men lost to Walsenburg 12-7. 1920: A storm passed over the Spanish Peaks yesterday and left their summits white with hail. 1927: A severe hailstorm struck Wednesday with the worst damage on the Wahatoya, killing what crops had been salvaged after the spring drought. 1933: G.Y. Price has discovered gold and silver at the old Maggie E. claim near the deserted town of Placer on the west side of La Veta Pass. 1939: You missed a good laugh if you did not see Gilbert Arnold, Maurice Bailey, Freeman Bailey, Edward Crawley and Leslie Spielmann with their covered wagon taking off for a week’s vacation. 1946: A very severe electrical storm hit La Veta Monday and did considerable damage to transmission lines, causing the town to be without electricity for three hours. 1953: The drought stricken area around La Veta got two and a half inches of rain after the clouds were seeded by Richard Micek of Walsenburg. 1959: Mrs. Mamie Burns is having a large living room added onto her cabin on the hill in Cuchara as well as getting a new stone garage. 1966: Charles Bowdino, his wife and four children of Grant’s Pass, Oregon, are visiting his brother Lawrence and other relatives in the area. 1972: Twenty-seven friends attended the surprise birthday party for Mrs. Dorothy Arnold Sunday evening at the home of Mrs. Lucille Woodring. 1978: Kenneth and Josephine Woodruff celebrated their 50th Wedding Anniversary with their two sons in California. Kenneth is the cousin of Frank Arnold. 1984: The Junior Ski Team is raising money for the coming season by selling hot dogs at the weekly Thursday evening baseball games in La Veta. 1991: The La Veta town and school boards met in joint session to discuss cooperating in maintaining the baseball field and the coordination of the summer recreation programs.
