The Meeker Herald — 125 years ago
• The Meeker Town Council is now considering the expediency of opening up Main Street west to the Thayer Ranch. A movement is on foot to raise part of the funds necessary to do this work from the property owners who will be benefited by the improvement.
• G.S. Allsebrook is negotiating with outside parties with a view to putting in a flouring mill. Mr. Allsebrook will take a large block of the stock himself.
• Seven ranches were taken up on the Mesa last week. The crops raised on the land the past summer are enough to induce settlers to seek homes on the Mesa.
• Rev. and Mrs. Williams provided delightful entertainment Thursday evening at their residence on Park Avenue, to the Sunday School children. About 40 of the children were in attendance. The program of amusements was very appropriate and wound up with refreshments.
The Meeker Herald — 75 years ago
• The ladies of the White River City and Powell Park communities have organized a joint club that will be known as the White-Powell Club. The new club meets on the third Friday of each month. Mrs. J.C. Wilson was elected president and Mrs. Henry Jacobs was elected secretary.
• The freshmen were the honored guests at a party Friday night, where each was required to come dressed as a child. Each member of the class was obligated to give a speech and perform some other feat. Then they were brightly painted with plenty of lipstick and powder. The boys behind the paddle were Roy Sizemore and Bill Tagert. The make-up girls were Evelyn Madsen and Ione Davis. John Wix acted as master of ceremonies.
• Sleeping sickness, a serious disease of horses, has reached Rio Blanco County, and protective measures should be adopted. The disease is known to be carried by mosquitoes and probably by biting flies and other insects.
• Miss Norine Holland resigned her school position at Coal Creek and will assist her mother in the county superintendent’s office this winter. She intends to return to college and secure her AB degree.
The Meeker Herald — 25 years ago
• Betty Schneider, secretary/dispatcher at the Rio Blanco County Sheriff’s Department in Meeker, has been selected as the county “Employee of the Quarter.” Betty began her job 15 years ago as a dispatcher with former Sheriff Bob Kracht, and, since that time, she has done a wide rang of tasks.
• Party lines could become a thing of the past for Meeker residents as part of US West Communications’ on-going rural improvement program. Telephone facilities serving Meeker are scheduled for upgrading in 1990.
• The Anderson ranch in Powell Park was one of 37 farms throughout Colorado recognized as a Centennial Farm at an awards ceremony during the recent Colorado State Fair in Pueblo. The Anderson ranch was also recognized as having four buildings over 50 years old still in use. The original land patent was issued when Benjamin Harrison was president of the United States. Olaf Anderson homesteaded the ranch in 1886.
• The second annual Meeker Classic Sheepdog Championship Trials are scheduled to get under way. Handlers from 13 states and Canada who have 69 of the world’s best sheepdogs will be bidding for $8,000 in prize money. Contestants and officials began to arrive with Scottish Judge David McTeir on Wednesday.
Rangely Times — 50 years ago
• Epsilon Chi chapter of Epsilon Sigma Alpha held its first meeting for the fall term in the home of Irene Murphy on Monday evening. Educational director Mary Lou Angus outlined the educational program for the upcoming year and gave a brief resume of the ideas and purpose of the sorority.
• Preliminary plans are under way for a $16 million steam-electric plant to be located about 10 miles east of Rangely on the White River. The plant would be built by Moon Lake Electric Assn., Inc. if plans go through. The plant would be located near the proposed reservoir and would utilize water from the reservoir for cooling purposes and a hydro-electric plant and coal from public domain near the plant site under lease to Moon Lake.
• Minford Beard, Marion Herring, Jr., and H. L. Stewart have purchased the Yellow Horse Ranch on Ute Creek in Rio Blanco County from Dr. G. H. Alexander. Merring and Stewart are from Ft. Worth, Texas, and Beard is a well-known local rancher. The scenic ranch is operated as a guest ranch.
• School Superintendent B. F. Yaeger has been invited to take part in a state social studies seminar, sponsored by the Colorado Association of School Administrators and the University of Denver. A select group of superintendents, curriculum experts and college faculty members has been invited to re-examine, rename and creatively restructure the entire field of K-12 social studies.
Rangely Times — 40 years ago
• Mr. and Mrs. George W. Lee of Rangely announce the engagement of their daughter, Shawna, to Kevin Howard McCabe, son of Mr. and Mrs. Howard McCabe of Cortez. The bride to be is a 1971 graduate of Rangely High School and attended Fort Lewis College in Durango. Her fiance is a 1970 graduate of Montezuma-Cortez High School and is attending University of Colorado in Boulder.
• Rangely College just completed the 11th annual Cheerleaders Clinic with a total enrollment of 191 participants. This was the largest clinic in the college’s history with participants coming from many different areas of the state of Colorado.
• Bud Tomlinson, a local cowboy, was named “All Around Cowboy” at the inaugural rodeo presented by the Cathedral Land and Cattle Co. Tomlinson placed second in bull riding, second in bareback bronc riding and third in calf roping to win the honor.
• Several Rangely businesses have new owners or managers and several new businesses are planned. Rangely Excavating owned by Ken Farr and Johnny Burch of Steamboat Springs purchased Larry’s Dozer Service from Larry Aumiller. Mr. and Mrs. Joe McPhail have purchased Bud’s Lumber and Hardware from Bud Slaugh and opened under the name of McPhail’s Lumber and Hardware. New manager of HYDRO-TEST is Carl Rector. Other new businesses planned include two mobile home courts. Headquarters Mobile Home Park, owned by Dean Cady and Ray Hume Jr. will accommodate seven mobile homes. Troy “Buck” Pollard is constructing a court to handle more than 30 mobile homes.
Rangely Times — 30 years ago
• Rangely High School junior and seniors will be able to attend a College Day Program to be hosted by Meeker High School. A shopping session will be held, which gives students an opportunity to pick up published information about the various colleges and universities in Colorado. Three sessions will be held that involve presentations of three different colleges or universities.
• Golf course architect Frank Hummel of Greeley will be constructing the new golf course in Rangely. He is a nationally recognized golf course architect, and has many exciting concepts for Rangely.
• Volunteers in 48 countries worked to raise the amount of $985,000 for the Colorado Heart Association (CHA) during the past campaign year. Rio Blanco County helped raise these monies through a variety of events that contributed to the overall CHA Heart Fund. Eldrid Hikley was the memorial chairperson in Rio Blanco County and helped raise “Time to Remember” donations.
• At a special meeting of the Rangely Board of Trustees, an update of the Rangely Master Plan prepared in 1976 by GOREDCO was presented. The town staff felt a modern update was needed. Possible acceptance and final input will be from the town board of trustees on this update, which was developed and ratified by the Meeker Town Planning and Zoning Commission.
