100 years ago: “One tap of the fire bell sounded” the night before at about 11 p.m., “which sent the fire department to Main Avenue and 17th.” It turned out to be a false alarm, but “the boys had hardly gotten back between the sheets until an alarm was sent in from box 42.” The second alarm was also falsely sounded, and drew firefighters from their beds to an area with no smoke to be seen.
75 years ago: Officials announced that the Rio Grande railroad purchased “one of the largest steam derricks in the world.” The crane weighed more than “a third of a million pounds” and was taken to Grand Junction to serve the entire Rio Grande system.
50 years ago: In an attempt to pass a vehicle on narrow roadway, a loaded log truck went off the Lemon Dam road and rolled over onto its side. There were no injuries, though damage was heavy.
25 years ago: Someone reported hearing a woman scream, followed by a gunshot, in Rafter J. Deputies found that a mountain lion scared the woman and caused her to scream, and a gun was fired to scare the animal away.
Most items in this column are taken from The Durango Herald archives, Center of Southwest Studies and Animas Museum. Their accuracy may not be verified.
