The Meeker Herald — 125 years ago
• The heavy rains of the last three weeks did considerable damage to ranches along Piceance, where earth, sand, rocks and boulders were washed down from the hillsides covering large tracts of ground in different sections. Roads were cut up and badly washed out in places.
• Indications point to active building operations at White River City in the fall. Although the town is but four months old, there are several neat and handsome buildings up and occupied, among which are the general store of A. Oldland & Co., Robert Hunter’s saloon and livery stable, Chas Steavens’ restaurant and Wright’s law office.
• H. H. Daum surprised his many Meeker friends when he returned from Glenwood accompanied by a wife. The marriage took place at Glenwood Springs. The happy bride was Miss Nellie Thomas, the daughter of Mr. John P. Thomas of the lower White River.
• The Colorado Midland Railway now has a party of surveyors at work locating a place for the much-talked-of new tunnel for that road at the head of Frying Pan. The proposed tunnel will be about three miles in length and 2,500 feet under the crest of the divide, thus cutting off about 14 miles of the steepest grade in the mountains.
The Meeker Herald — 75 years ago
• Colorado, from one end of the state to the other, has been drenched in rain for more than a week. From the present outlook as we go to press, we are in for more of it. Not a single section of the state failed to receive some of the moisture and in many places it reached cloud burst proportions, doing untold damage to crops, towns and roads.
• Roy Holton, Billy and Robert Crawford, Leah Pearson, Helen Valentine and Theresa Gross returned home after spending last week at the Colorado State Fair in Pueblo. These young folks were representatives of various county 4-H clubs and stayed at Camp Tobin while at the fair.
• Miss Margaret Tagert was united in marriage to Hugh Avery Jones of Craig at a pretty home wedding that took place last Friday morning at 9 o’clock at the Tagert home in Meeker.
• Dr. M.I. Brewer attended the annual meeting of the Garfield-Rio Blanco County Medical Association in Glenwood Springs and was elected president of the society for the coming year.
The Meeker Herald — 25 years ago
• Meeker’s Rowdy Atwood and Travis Anderson have been doing pretty good on the high school rodeo circuit lately. At last month’s national high school rodeo finals in Pueblo, the two placed seventh in the team roping competition while they won the short go at the National Little Britches Rodeo, held in Colorado Springs.
• Meeker-area sportsmen met with representatives of the Colorado Division of Wildlife and the Colorado Wildlife Federation in an effort to gain valuable input on proposals to be presented to the Colorado Wildlife Commission. The meeting was well attended with more than 50 interested citizens in attendance representing the Meeker Sportsman’s Club, the White River Chapter of Trout Unlimited, guides, outfitters and interested individuals.
• Winners of the men’s slow-pitch softball tournament this year gathered together for a steak fry at the city park. Members of the Valley Grocery team, which defeated White River Ranch & Feed in the final game, included Jay Purkey, George Tyson, Kenny Brumback, Dave Morlan, Dale Dunbar, Howard Griswold, Danny Crawford, Pete Larson, Phil Stubblefield and sponsors Larry and Cheryl Steiner.
• Meeker’s newest family physician, Dr. Albert Krueger, had hoped to establish a medical practice in Meeker as far back as five years ago while he was working for the government of South Africa in a bush country hospital. Dr. Krueger went to medical school in Germany, performed his residency training at the University of Utah by way of the Province of Natal in Zulu country, and finally came to the Meeker Family Clinic.
Rangely Times — 50 years ago
• Entries in the Rangely Garden Club flower show totaled 292 and 103 guests attended the event which was held Saturday in the Elementary School cafeteria. Sweepstakes prize was won by Mrs. H.O. West with a total of 40 points, runner-up was Miss Grace Petz with 35 points, and third was Mr. and Mrs. Les King with 31 points.
• Mr. and Mrs. Ray Carnes of Rangley announce the recent marriage of their daughter Jo Etta to Lane Daggett, son of Mr. and Mrs. James Daggett also of Rangely. The double ring ceremony was held at the Christian Church, on Aug. 16.
• A request to make Colorado Highway 139, the Douglas Pass road, a secondary federal route and eligible for federal aid money was endorsed last Friday by Mesa County Commissioners.
• The Uintah Utes invade Rangely Friday evening to initiate the 1963 football season for both teams. Largest squad in the history of the school, this year’s Panthers have 65 boys with equipment checked out. The freshmen lead in numbers with 23, followed by the juniors with 16, 15 seniors and 11 sophomores.
Rangely Times — 40 years ago
• Miss Lucinda ApJones and Gary Williard Noel exchanged wedding vows at 11 a.m. on Saturday, the 18th day of August, at the First Christian Church of Rangely. The bride is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. William Bradley of Poplar Bluff, Mo. The groom is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Willard Noel of Rangely.
• Darcy Lynn Stewart, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Dale Stewart and Miss Tanya Toles, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. John Toles, both received degrees from Brigham Young University. Stewart majored in elementary education and Toles majored in special education.
• Dr. Theodore E. White, the paleontologist at Dinosaur National Monument since 1953, has retired after 29 years of federal service. Dr. White will be appointed as a National Park Service collaborator.
• Rangely College is glad to offer to regular college t and members of the community an opportunity to “sharpen up” your reading skills. Available for the fall semester is a nine-week course in Accelerated Reading as prepared by Contemporary Schools Inc. of Colorado.
Rangely Times — 30 years ago
• The long-awaited and talked about 1983 paving project has begun. By the end of September, Rio Blanco County will have laid more than 15,000 tons of paving in the Rangely area. In addition to parking lots at the fairgrounds, the senior center, the high school, Colorado Northwestern Community Collage and the Rangely Town Hall area, the county is assisting the town by paving many town streets.
• The State of Colorado has petitioned the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) for 750 acres of federal public land in Rio Blanco County. The petition was one of several anticipated as the state seeks to satisfy an approximate 20,000-acre indemnity due it.
• Mr. and Mrs. Raleigh J. Hitch, along with their son, Travis, would like to announce the birth of their son, Trevor James Hitch, born Aug. 8, 1983, at Rangely District Hospital.
