La Veta
1882: Precinct No. 5, La Veta, will send as delegates to the county Democratic convention John Berry, John H. Francisco, Dan Naught, R.B. Willis, Cesario Cordova, Pelito Trujillo, Savino Lopez, Antonio Espinoso, J.M. Hendricks, J.G. Hamilton, Jones Kincaid, William Kimsey, Marvin Petrie and William Ward.
1899: The lock on the cemetery can be obtained from I.R. Voorhees – it was necessary to change the lock to keep the cattle out.
1909: A Ritter family reunion brought Jake Ritter from Pennsylvania to see his brother John whom he has not seen in 44 years, and a sister Mrs. Elmira Rapine who has not seen John for some 30 years.
1916: Just as we go to press we learn that eleven [railroad] carloads of potatoes are off the track just above the Barnard ranch.
1921: The William Kincaid brick house on West Virginia Street is being re-shingled for the first time since William Kearns built it in 1886 for J.G. Krueger.
1930: Rufus Linscott will build the basement for the new R.L. Kincaid house at the corner of Main and Field streets.
1936: The Works Progress Administration’s sewing room has been moved in with the canning project in the Harrison building one door north of the Advertiser office.
1941: Forty years ago the Denver and Rio Grande began reconstruction of an addition onto the depot here to bring it to a 68 by 24 foot modern building.
1949: Tony Masinton had his fireplace removed and installed two windows which match the rest of the others.
1957: Applications are being taken for the $4,190 annual job of La Veta Postmaster after E.A. Stansbury resigned to take a position teaching at the high school.
1965: District Re-2 School Board approved $12,000 in the budget to operate and maintain the facility.
1972: Two years ago Jack Britton opened the R-KOA campground at the Forks above Cuchara and now there are 54 sites with sewer, water and electrical hookups.
1979: Artist Hugh Riker presented a print of his pen and ink sketch of downtown La Veta to the La Veta Library.
1985: The newly organized Development Plus will have a groundbreaking Sept. 16 for the new visitor’s center at the junction of Highways 160 and 12.
1991: Several residents have traveled up to Cripple Creek to see the flurry of activity in building and remodeling before gambling becomes legal Oct. 1.
Walsenburg
1889: One of our leading society couples, while observing Venus and other blissful heavenly bodies on Capitol Hill, had the misfortune of tumbling into one of the water works ditches.
1896: County assessed valuation for agricultural land is $2.63 per acre, for grazing land, $1.25 an acre and for coal land, $15 per acre, to bring the total assessments to almost $1,000,000, excluding railroad properties.
1907: Giovani Maria Felici was killed by a trip of cars in the Walsen mine and Thomas McGrath by a fall of rock in the Robinson.
1914: One of the surprises at the Gardner race meet was the victory of an 18-year old mare in a quarter mile run.
1923: The county fair has been postponed one day because of the heavy rains.
1930: This year’s Gardner Fair will be Sept. 27 and 28 with agricultural products, a barbecue, races and a dance.
1936: Charles Haines, WPA director for Walsenburg, says 1,113 men in Huerfano County are now working on the administration’s 23 current projects and at least 450 unemployed are waiting for work.
1942: Nine county schools – Lower Badito, Chama, Sand Arroyo, Maes Creek, Malachite, Ideal, Bradford, Red Wing and Black Hills are still without teachers.
1950: Fleet-footed Oress DeHerrera led the Huerfano County High School Panthers to a 18-0 season opener win over the Trinidad Miners.
1956: The St. Mary School Parent-Teacher Association will provide a hot lunch program for the school.
1964: The liquor license of Mundo’s Bar at 116 W. 7th Street was suspended until Oct. 2 for serving minors.
1971: Showing at the Trail Drive Inn, “Mash”, plus Paul Newman, Robert Redford and Katharine Ross in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”.
1978: In Tuesday’s primary election, about 60% of the registered 3,879 voters cast ballots to select Harold Martinez over incumbent Sheriff Jerry Conder and Virginia Aragon over incumbent Assessor Louis Galvez.
1984: Bob and Diane Yarbrough will build a $1 million motel at their Rio Cucharas complex to connect with the swimming pool, lounge and spa. The project will complete 49 rooms of an eventual 109 and upon completion will be called La Fonda del Rio Cucharas.
