Walsenburg 1877: Settlers are coming in almost daily, some to work in the mines and others bringing their livestock. 1889: Antoine Labrie has 40 acres in oats and corn in the western part of the Capitol Hill Addition and has the frame up for a four room cottage he is building for himself northeast of the Denver and Rio Grande railroad depot. 1895: Six young men have signed up for the Fourth of July bicycle race which will go up Main Street, thence one mile east on the road to Cucharas and return, for a course length of about two and half miles. 1901: The Huerfano County Oil and Refining Company are locating their boring plant in Greenwood Canon north of the Huerfano and east of E.L. Lewis’ place. 1907: The big Fourth of July celebration in Walsenburg will include foot and novelty races, general sports, base ball games, a baby contest, guessing game for ladies and horse racing. There will be music all day and a dance in Mazzone’s Hall that evening. 1913: William Krier married Gertrude Horbach of St. Louis, Missouri, whom he met several years ago when both were on visits to Europe. 1920: A crowd of about 100 attended the baseball game between Rattlesnake Buttes and Mesa, with the former coming out the winner by a score of 5 to 4. 1927: More than 300 people left Walsenburg this morning in autos to take the new Scenic Circle Tour through La Veta, Trinidad and Aguilar, sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce. 1933: Mario Carreri, Walsenburg accordion artist, will give a 20 minute program on KGHF radio station in Pueblo this evening. 1939: Highway 85, which runs through Walsenburg and from Canada to Mexico, is considered one of the heaviest traveled routes in the United States and may be developed into a super highway. 1945: People holding B 6 and C 6 mileage ration cards are reminded they expire July 1. 1952: Walsenburg will have a swimming pool Monday after the Slovenian Federated Lodges granted the city permission to use the pool at the Walsenburg Pavilion on Eighth Street. 1958: The Bob Ford house, 320 West Seventh, was purchased by Ford from Charles Unfug in 1889 but has been owned by the Pazar family since 1920. 1964: Newly ordained Rev. Gerald D. Repola has been assigned to Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in La Junta. 1970: Walsenburg pharmacist Robert W. Kelley was presented with the “Bowl of Hygenia” award by the Colorado Pharmaceutical Association for his outstanding community service. 1976: Now Open! Corine’s, 822 South Main. Home of Original Mexican Food! 1983: Died, Jose S. Peralta, 100. Born in Farisita Sept. 2, 1882 to Pablo and Candelaria (Vigil) Peralta, his father became ill so Jose had to go to work in the mines at 12 years. Later he farmed until he was 70. 1989: Tom Heald and Re-1 School District received $29,573 in a Christa McAuliffe Fellowship grant funds to build a track and soccer field in Gardner.
La Veta 1877: Constable Baker had a little disturbance yesterday. A man undertook to argue in an unpleasant way with him, introducing a knife by way of being more forcible in his demonstrations. If slash No. 1 had been a little more in a northerly direction, veering southwest, he might have been badly hurt. 1884: Five dollar business licenses are required for all hotels, stores, millinery shops, livery barns, lumber and coal dealers, huxters [sic], transfer wagons, omnibuses and all vehicles that transport merchandise. 1892: The Sabbath Schools in town have accepted an invitation from the Wahatoya school to attend a picnic in a small canon above Mrs. Carver’s ranch house. 1898: The country around La Veta looks the prettiest it has for four years. The view of the valley from the top of the hill north of town cannot be duplicated in any part of the state. 1904: A large stock of plain and fancy screen doors from $1.00 up are on sale at the lumber yard. 1910: Mr. and Mrs. D.H. Neeley of Missouri purchased two lots at the south end of Oak Street and Mr. Neeley, a stone mason, will build a home. 1918: Died, in Missouri, John Goemmer, 73. Born in Germany in 1845, he went into blacksmithing at the age of 12. He came to the United States and married Louisa T. Krueger in Medota, Ill., and moved to Iola, Kans,, in 1878, then to La Veta in 1882. Of the couple’s six children, four survive. 1924: An oak floor is being laid in the old barn at San Isabel Clifton Springs at the Gap which will make an ideal dancing pavilion. 1930: During the contests at the Security Benefit Association outing last weekend in Cuchara Camps, Loraine Spielmann won the girls races for those between 16 and 20 years. 1936: The new forest ranger station, begun Nov. 14, was completed yesterday. It is built of native logs and adobe in Spanish American architecture, painted pearl gray and white. Inside there are an office, cloak room, lavatory, work room, double garage and basement with a modern furnace. 1942: Tom Wheeler has rented the old frame post office building on the east side of Main Street for a carpentry and work shop. 1949: Clayton Henri Staples will give a series of lectures on art every Thursday evening for six weeks in the new “Chuck Wagon” in Cuchara Camps. 1956: La Veta will have its first annual invitational “blind” softball tournament on the Fourth of July with three teams from Walsenburg and one from La Veta. A horseshoe pitching competition will begin at 11 a.m. 1962: Glenell Kay Wagner, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. F.B. “Bunt” Wagner, earned a perfect 4.0 grade average for the last quarter at Adams State College. 1969: Peggy Arnold left Saturday for her United Nations tour. 1975: The second annual Arts and Crafts Fair sponsored by the La Veta Lodge will be Saturday and Sunday, July 5 and 6, along with a barbecue by the La Veta Rotary Club. 1981: A group including Karen R. Goemmer, Frank D. Vietti, Harry R. Willis and Dianne M. Yarbrough has filed an application for a charter for the La Veta State Bank to be located at Francisco and Main streets. 1988: Town Board, on a 5-2 vote, approved renaming the Cuchara Valley Airport the John David Evans Memorial Airport to honor Dave Evans who died June 14.
