All Entries in the "History" Category
Lamar Hosts 50+ Reunion this Weekend
Lamar Union High School graduates who have been out of school over 50 years or more are returning to Lamar for the Homecoming and will attend a reunion at the Rodeway Cow Palace Inn, September 21-23. There will be more than 300 people in Lamar, participating in the reunion for those from the […]
New Line Up for Prowers County Historical Society
The number of directors was changed by a vote of the membership at the General Meeting in July. The bylaws now call for nine, of which five are officers. President: Susan Crites Vice President: Chuck Bowen Secretary: Mary Jane Torres Treasurer: Debra Haggard Museum Committee Head (changed from ‘Historian’): Bill Elam Directors: Mike Duffy, […]
Camp Amache Hosting Fall Roundup October 5 & 6
The Fall Roundup is coming to Camp Amache in October. The two day event, October 5 and 6, will be held at the End of the Line Arena and other areas of Granada. Mostly geared for cowboys who camp out, and cowgirls too, the events begin on Friday, October 5 with a gathering of teams […]
Local First Responders Given Show of Appreciation
First Responders and fallen alike were honored and remembered in Lamar in three ceremonies this past Tuesday, September 11 on the 11th anniversary of the destruction of the World Trade Center Twin Towers in New York City. A memorial flag raising ceremony was conducted for the victims of the 9/11 attacks at the Lamar […]
Big Timbers History Corner #18 – Fort Lyon Canal
When settlers began to come out to Colorado, it didn’t take long for them to figure out that farmers were going to have to help Mother Nature out in the moisture department if they wanted crops to actually grow. In 1887, two existing canals, the La Junta and the Lamar, were enlarged and reincorporated as […]
5th Annual Hasty Daze Set for September 15
Area residents will come out Saturday, September 15 for a full day of fun with the 5th Annual Hasty Daze celebration and to recognize Hasty’s 105th Anniversary. A pancake breakfast from 7am to 9am will start the festivities, making way for the 10am parade, celebrating the anniversary. The parade is sponsored by the Bent County […]
Public Invited to 9/11 First Responder Tribute
Voices of Southeast Colorado and Voces Unidas are co-sponsoring an afternoon gathering of the community for a special tribute to area first responders. The public is invited to the north steps of the Prowers County Courthouse at 5:30pm on Tuesday, September 11, in memory of those first responders who came to our nation’s aid during […]
Big Timbers History Corner #17 – Southeast Colorado Hospital
Long before Southeast Colorado Hospital was established in Springfield, the name was being used in Lamar. The building still stands today at the southeast corner of Beech and Third. It’s unlikely anyone minded it being eclipsed by the building of the Maxwell Hospital in 1928, because according to one former volunteer, Gladys Seevers, it had […]
Big Timbers History Corner #16 – Elevation Marker
One of the best things about investigating history is how it can lead you to amazing discoveries. This bronze disk tells Lamar’s elevation, and warns people about messing with it, at the risk of a hefty fine ($250 would buy you one heck of a nice car in 1933!). But there’s more to the story! […]
Kit Carson Hotel in La Junta Demolished
The landmark Kit Carson Hotel in La Junta was torn down this past week. The 105 year old building was listed on the Colorado Registry of Historic Places, but the owners could not find an investor to help finance any revitalization project for the three story structure at the intersection of Colorado Avenue and […]
Big Timbers History Corner #15 – Highway Sign
This old style highway sign is made of enamel over metal, kind of like your Grandma’s roasting pans. It marked Highway 89 and was probably placed at or near that road’s junction with Highway 50, as the arrow and mileage direct you westward to Lamar and Las Animas. Highway 89 had an interesting life. It […]
Big Timbers History Corner #14 – Sand & Sage
In honor of the Sand and Sage Fair, here’s a shot of livestock visiting our area many, many years ago. Not the way they wash cattle for the fair these days, eh? The Arkansas looks pretty different, too! Makes you wonder what ranching in Prowers County will be like a hundred years from now…. Be […]
Repair Work Continues at Two Buttes Reservoir
SPRINGFIELD, Colo. – A project to modernize the ageing dam at Two Buttes Reservoir is back on track after it was slowed by a rain event in April that flooded the work site. Last winter, when Two Buttes was dry, heavy equipment operators built a temporary cofferdam and removed 17 feet of sediment to […]
Big Timbers History Corner #13 – Fats vs. Leans
Lamar has been a baseball town almost from the start. There are records of games back in 1886! This picture shows just part of a Big Timbers Museum display about a 1902 baseball battle of the Fats vs. the Leans. Lot of noted names in those rosters! I especially like the picture with the Strain […]
Big Timbers History Corner #12 – July 4th 1908
I wonder how hot it was on July 4th in 1908? You might guess it wasn’t hot at all, looking at this spiffy crowd gathered in downtown Lamar, all decked out in suits, long, pretty dresses and HATS FOR EVERYONE! The row of buildings in the upper section of the photo is the 100 South […]
Prowers County Commissioners Discuss LCC’s New Semester, Valco Pond Funding and Sage Nutrition Financing
Lamar Community College is preparing for its fall semester. LCC President John Marrin and Recruitment Director Brenda Brown, briefed the Prowers County Commissioners on campus activities during a monthly update, Thursday, July 19. Marrin said some administrative changes have occurred with Jenna Johnson replacing Anne Marie Crampton in the college’s marketing department, while Crampton will […]
Big Timbers History Corner #11 – Lamar Girls
One of the many, many things and places named after Lucius Quintus Cincinatus Lamar II was our town. This photo shows two of his grand-daughters in 1950, when they came out from Washington, DC for a town celebration. The one on the right was dubbed Miss Lamar. Nothing on the display says whether there was a […]
Big Timbers History Corner #10 – Cigarette Holder
Talk about a connection to history! If you go out to Big Timbers Museum and find this case (near the Fleagle Bank Robbery display), you will be inches away from this cigarette holder which was once personally owned and used by President Franklin D. Roosevelt! You could theoretically clone him from this! (If you had […]
Big Timbers History Corner #9 – Fox Cafe
This poor little business card for the Fox Cafe has really seen the rough side of life, but somehow it survived to enhance the collection of the Big Timbers Museum. Notice what a big selling point air conditioning was back then! (Maybe even more so than now?) The Fox Cafe was on Main Street, where […]
Big Timbers History Corner #8 – Lamar, CO, The Land of Milk and Money
I sure wish I knew the story behind this item loaned to the Big Timbers collection by Thomas Nidey. We think perhaps it was a reference to the old condensed milk factory, possibly displayed on their trucks? Still funny after all these years. Speaking of money, Big Timbers Museum doesn’t ask for much. Admission is […]