Walsenburg
1864: The board of county commissioners met at the home of Jon. H. Brown and elected Matt Riddlebarger board chairman pro tem.
1884: Jose Amados Vigil and Juanita Maria Abeyta, both of Cucharas, were married this week.
1889: John Furphy sold his tract of 160 acres on the north side of Capitol Hill to E.G. Lyman of Pueblo for $10,000. Lyman will probably improve the property and put it on the market as an addition.
1899: Hunters of big game are advised that bears and mountain lions are prolific around Pass Creek and the Devil’s Hole areas above Gardner where they are killing cattle and horses.
1904: Fred Walsen has let a contract for the construction of a 50 by 150 foot brick business block on one of his lots on a corner in Las Vegas, New Mexico.
1909: Mrs. Nancy M. Tynes, 83, died and was buried in Trinidad. At least three children under the age of two years also died of cholera this week and Mrs. Ellen Vallelly, 31, succumbed to tuberculosis.
1914: The Boy Scouts have gone camping to Cuchara Camps, accompanied by some of the federal troops stationed here.
1919: I will sell you standard make Non-Skid Automobile Tires for $13.45 for Size 30×3. Inner Tubes from $3.25 up. S.B. Jellison.
1924: Three miles of paving on the highway to Trinidad will be completed by August 1 1929: Work progresses on the sound equipment at the Star Theater and the first talking picture will be “Street Angels” with Janet Gaynor and Charles Farrell.
1934: Tomorrow is the Merchants’ Movie Day and Bargain Day. The movie, “S.O.S. Iceberg”, starring Rod La Roque, will be shown free to those having Merchants’ tickets.
1939: With the Cucharas at its lowest level ever since we have kept any record, and the Huerfano the lowest since 1902, Water Commissioner A. L. Levy has set restrictions on outside irrigation.
1944: Corporals James Melonas and Eddie Joseph, lifelong friends in Walsenburg, met up in France where they also visited with Lt. Tony Morelli.
1949: A certificate of incorporation was filed July 12 by William B. Schafer Sr., F.W. Schafer and Andrew C. Schafer Jr., to be known as “Schafer Brothers”.
1954: George Rogers is the first Republican to announce his candidacy for the coming election, seeking the office of county sheriff.
1959: The Spanish Peaks Regatta and Waterama will take place this weekend at Martin Lake.
1964: Walsenburg received a third of an inch of rain the past week, to bring the total moisture for the year to 7.78 inches.
1969: More than 11,000 people attended the Fourth of July day-long celebration at Lathrop Park,including several thousand who came to see the fireworks display. One hundred and seventy-five children age six to 14 entered the fishing contests with 17 winning $2 gift certificates.
1974: Mr. and Mrs. Chuck Copley of Pueblo announce the opening of Chuck’s Retail Meats at 234 West Seventh, formerly Andreattas’ Circle A. Market, and Chuck’s Self-Serve Market at 303 West Seventh Street, formerly G’s Grocery.
1979: City Council has raised the salary of the chief of police from $909.50 to $977.71 per month and that of the meter maid from $561.75 to $602. Members also learned the city must install a spillway at Martin Lake in case of overflow.
1984: Colorado State Patrolperson Linda Thomas, serving in Huerfano and Las Animas counties since 1978, has been transferred to the executive detail for Governor Richard Lamm.
1989: Although La Veta and Cuchara residents are inured to having bears scavenge their garbage, some of the residents of the Navajo area were worried enough to have District Wildlife Manager Lonnie Brown remove one to Westcliffe.
1994: County Commissioner Neal Cocco and Mayors Jay Crook of Walsenburg and Doug Brgoch of La Veta are making preliminary plans to locate a county-wide landfill near Walsenburg.
La Veta
1883: The Messrs. Yokum, Pavey, Workman and Goodman left this week pbound for Trinchera Peak to commence development on the recent strike.
1893: There was no meeting of the town board on July 7 on account of no attendance, and on July 14 there was not a quorum. The next meeting will be August 1.
1898: The Sulphur Springs has been busy of late with campers and those taking the waters. It is a shame to see the old buildings just rotting away.
1903: The new bath house at Sulphur Springs has three bathing rooms for ladies, three for gents, and the waiting room leads to the porch from which a rustic bridge crosses the creek to the boardinghouse.
1908: The La Veta Sulphur Springs is the ideal pleasure and health resort. Fishing, hunting, scenery, hotel, tents, have our own milk, butter, eggs and garden vegetables. Hot and cold baths every day. Ice cream served on Sundays. S.H. Springer, proprietor.
1913: Former resident S.C. “Shorty” Sutton married Marguerite Elmire of Gardner July 16 in San Luis. They will make their home in Placer.
1918: D.H. Clark has purchased the John Bruce house on Francisco Street west of the river and has re-painted it. Later he intends to make it entirely modern.
1923: Miss May Jewell of La Veta won the Ford touring car in the Walsenburg World subscription contest but sold it back to the company for cash.
1928: La Veta Light, Heat and Power recently wired the section house, now occupied by Tony Masinton and his family.
1933: Louise Miller had a family reunion at her homestead on La Veta Pass. Guests included members of the Marker family, the Akers girls, the Elbert Kitchens, Karl Falk and Ernest Prator.
1938: Robbers Sunday night broke into the Smalley Brothers service station on West Ryus and made off with three slot machines and some cash from the register. Two of them have already been arrested since Marshal Garmes had noted their license plate.
1943: Miss Emma Young began work at Coleman Drug Store this week, replacing Miss Gloria Wilson who intends to move to Pueblo.
1948: B.S. Goss has purchased the unpatented “Orphan Boy” lode in the Ojo mining district from C.E. Wilson and Fred Crouse.
1953: Some of the businesses of La Veta are Howard Lumber, La Veta Oil, Park Lane Hotel, La Veta Locker Plant, Jim’s Pool Hall, Coleman Drug, Quality Shoe Shop, Gambles, Conoco, Snack Shack, Silver Dollar Inn, Walter’s Barber Shop, Spur Theater and Weir Trucking.
1958: The county commissioners heard discussion about improving and placing an all-weather surface on the Cucharas Pass road to Monument Lake as part of a plan for extending Highway 111.
1963: At the Spur Theater Sunday and Monday, “Gay Puree”, an animated picture, plus Rosalind Russell, Natalie Wood and Karl Malden in “Gypsy”.
1968: Twelve boys and girls are learning it’s fun to cook at the Young Cooks classes in the San Isabel Electric building in La Veta.
1973: James Eddy decided not to replace his house at Francisco and Birch that burned and has placed a modular crosswise on the lots.
1978: The fourth annual La Veta Library Summer Carnival with the usual Rotary Barbecue will be July 29 in town park, followed by a dance in the 4-H Barn.
1983: Died, George G. Duzenack, 80, born in 1903 in Rouse. His family homesteaded on Bear Creek but moved to the Wahatoya in 1913. He married Lillian Marie Brgoch in 1936 and they lived on the ranch until 1959 when they moved into town. He leaves his wife, daughters Henrietta Frank, Georgina “Jean” Drury, Adelyn Millsap and Gladys Disert, and sister Susie Youhouse.
1988: Members of the Cucharas Sanitation and Water Board have been informed they cannot make a decision on where to build the sewer facility until they hear back from the landowners of the proposed sites.
1993: New residents coming to La Veta are Dr. Patrick Sternberg, his wife and their son Zane, formerly of Boulder, who are having a home built on the Adams Ranch on the Wahatoya. Carl Rasmussen is building the one-story stucco house. Dr. Sternberg is a neurologist and will join the staff of the Huerfano Medical Center.
