GEORGE VONALT - TRACT #24
George Vonalt was the 12th signer of the Petition to Incorporate Federal Heights. George owned Tract 24 which he had purchased from Maria A. Sullivan in 1932.
George Christian Vonalt was born in April 1869 in Pilot, Illinois. His parents, Heinrich (Henry) Johann and Eva (Kitzinger) Vonalt were German immigrants. Henry was 43 years old and Eva was 24 years old when George was born; he was the third of nine children.
By the turn of the century, George had moved to northern Colorado and was living in Weld County in the Mead area. By 1910 he had moved to Eldora in Boulder County and listed his occupation on the federal census as a miner in a gold mine. In 1916, George married Laura R. McKinney who had two daughters, Gladys and Maudie. George was 45 years old and Laura was 36. George, Laura and the two girls lived in the Mead area where George was a farmer.
In a January 1924 divorce, a judge ruled in favor of George and a jury would find Laura guilty of cruelty. A few years later, in 1927, George ran an auction bulletin in the Longmont paper, The Daily Times, for farm equipment and animals.
By 1930, George had moved to Lyons and was living with his stepdaughter, Maudie, and her husband, Ray Messick. George purchased his tract in Federal Heights on January 6, 1932 where he built a filling station and store.
As one of the Commissioners of the 1940 incorporation election, George became a member of the Town Board when the incorporation was successful. The Board meetings, along with Town elections, were held in George’s store at 90th and Federal. George was part of the new town’s government selling water bonds and developing a water system. When a new Federal Heights well struck water at 1,750 feet, the town became known as the town with “good well water.” During its first few years, the Town board regulated businesses like dance halls and billiard and bowling establishments and hosted dance and entertainment events to raise money for fire protection. The “First Annual Fireman’s Jubilee” was held September 22, 23 and 24, 1944. Admission was $1.20/couple, which included 20 cents tax; a $25.00 war bond was one of the door prizes. The first jubilee raised $232.50. Subsequently, the Town Board purchased a Dodge truck for $350.00 which was converted into a fire engine, and a fire station was built with volunteer labor. All the Town Board trustees were appointed to the Voluntary Fire Department.
In June 1948, when George’s term on the Town Board ended, the Board meetings were moved from his store to the Fire Station.
In 1950, George left Federal Heights and went to Loveland where he lived with his stepdaughter and husband. He sold his tract in Federal Heights to Floyd and Meda Slimmer in 1951. George died in 1957 at the age of 89. He is buried in Mountain View Cemetery in Longmont.