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This week in history for May 7, 2015

Walsenburg 1876: President U.S. Grant’s speech at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia was poorly received. Better received were the new products, Hires Root Beer, Heinz Ketchup and the Remington typographic machine [now called a typewriter]. 1891: The school board of District No. 27 has decided to build a new $5,000 school building this summer. 1898: Thomas Mooney built a substantial foundation for the huge oil tank to be used by the Consolidated Oil Company at its stand below the Denver and Rio Grande depot. 1904: Judge Henry Blickhahn defeated Peter Krier 210-67 for the position of trustee on the District No. 4, Walsenburg, school board. 1911: Eighth grade graduates of Walsen School, District No. 19, will be Eva Miller, Pearl Merritt, Levy Knox, Edward Herron and Fred Caddell. 1915: The prosecution rested at noon yesterday in its case against John R. Lawson of the United Mine Workers of America for the killing of Deputy Sheriff John Nimmo at Ludlow Oct. 25, 1913. 1920: The furniture stores of A.J. Dissler on West Sixth Street and A.S. McIntire on Main were broken into Monday night. 1926: Huerfano County has 5,455 students enrolled in the 49 districts, with 1,268 in the Walsenburg public schools and 823 at St. Mary Catholic school. 1932: Students from Silver Mountain School in District No. 48 receiving free tickets to a movie for having the highest grades were Henry Lessar, William Lessar, Helen Zorich, Martin Lessar and Justine Costello. 1939: Steve Lessar of Del Carbon sustained a fracture of the left arm yesterday while employed in the Calumet Mine. 1945: The annual spring festival will include songs, dances and patriotic exercises tomorrow evening at Washington School. 1951: Mrs. Rose Graves called her mother Mrs. George Klein from mid-ocean on her way to Hawaii for four months. 1957: Approximately $700 worth of musical instruments were stolen from the Huerfano County High School band cottage. 1963: Salaries for beginning teachers in School District Re-1 were raised from $4,400 to $4,500 per year. The maximum pay is $6,125. 1968: In the third plane crash is less than two months, two men survived after their single engine Cessna crashed and burned on the Robert Weston ranch 19 miles northwest of Walsenburg. 1975: Approximately 300 people attended the 35th annual El Fandango when Elaine Burnett and Anthony DeVan performed the popular Hat Dance. 1981: Patricia Ann Turkovich and Gretchen Sporleder will be valedictorian and salutatorian of the Walsenburg [sic] High School Class of 1981. 1987: Yolanda Vigil won the Re-1 school board seat for District A by defeating George Glumac, and the District G seat went to Edward R. “Ray” Garcia who beat Debra Jo Cordova and Rosalyn McCain. 1993: The repaving project on Main Street to be completed before Memorial Day received a serious setback Saturday when a foot of snow fell.

La Veta 1881: The school election passed off quietly with only 34 votes cast. R.B. Willis received 30 for secretary, and C.E. McComb and S.L. Strange tied for treasurer with 17 each. A special election will be held Monday, from one to three in the afternoon, to break the tie. 1887: Ninety-five of the trees planted by the town will need to be replaced, so the board will order another 100 for $17.75. 1893: New school board members for District No. 7, the Sager or Alexander district, are Charles Spielmann, president, Jones Kincaid, secretary and Albert Sager, treasurer. 1899: Anyone traveling on the railroad must have a certificate showing they are free of smallpox because it has reached epidemic proportions in other cities. 1905: The wagon bridge over Middle Creek just at the outskirts of town was washed away by high water caused by the heavy rains Monday. 1912: It appears to be a settled fact that a spur will be built up the old narrow gauge right of way to the Alliance coal mine this summer. There are several new houses at the mine and it bids to become to a productive property. 1918: The school at Oakview camp closed one week early because of the prevalence of contagious disease in the camp. 1924: Trees and bushes are trying to show a little green, but are not getting very much encouragement from Old Sol. 1930: La Veta Park Cottage Camp is the name Eugene Fischback has given to his recently purchased and remodeled home and campground on Oak Street. 1936: Nineteen members of La Veta’s two Camp Fire Girls troops spent the weekend at Mrs. Magee’s large cabin at Cuchara Camps, where they hiked to the Haunted House, saw deer and wild turkeys and report a wonderful weekend. 1942: Forest Ranger Lewis Cummings managed to reach “the Forks” above Cuchara Camps on horseback but had to resort to the use of snowshoes to reach Blue Lake to check the snowpack for water content. He found 31.25 inches of snow containing 13.54 inches of water. 1948: Ranger Cummings measured 9.3 inches of snow with 3.1 inches of water content on La Veta Pass. 1954: Ranger Cummings found the snow course at Blue Lake to measure 11.2 inches of snow and 2.2 inches of water, down from last year and the average of 19.4 with 6.7 inches snow and water content. 1960: The Junior Senior Prom and Banquet theme was “Cinderella Ball”. Denzel Percifull crowned Eva Sanchez queen and Richard Pezze, king. 1966: Teresa Ann Gordon was named this week as the valedictorian of the Class of 1966 and Kenny Arnold will be salutatorian. 1972: Frank Piazza announced the Trail Drive-In Theater will open next Friday with a feature about Evel Knievel and “Werewolves on Wheels”. 1978: Cash prizes of $25, $15 and $10 will be awarded Saturday in La Veta Town Park to those bringing in the most trash during the town’s Clean Up Day. 1984: La Veta’s Recreation Center Committee proposes building a facility with a meeting room, indoor swimming pool and space for other uses on the town’s lots east of the high school. 1990: May Day was greeted in La Veta with almost two feet of snow and gusty winds.

Cement plant concerns

Building inspector suggests a negotiated move out of Northlands to site near prison WALSENBURG — The Walsenburg City Council convened a special meeting Friday, March

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