100 years ago: “Reports of damage by flood waters in the county were found to have been considerably exaggerated. So far as authentically reported the only bridge in the county taken out was the highway bridge at Hesperus.”
75 years ago: “Both Bayfield and Ignacio have been without electric power for the past three days, due to the temporary disabling of the Pine River company’s plant at Bayfield. The plant was put out of commission when hit by a flood of water and mud from the King irrigation ditch on the hill just above the building released when the bank of the ditch collapsed.”
50 years ago: “Two crews, one of about 30 men and the other of about 50, are busily planting lodgepole pine seedlings in two areas of the San Juan National Forest. The trees, in bundles of 5,000 each, are dropped by parachute from Forest Service planes to cut down the time the delicate seedlings are in transit, and ensure a better ratio of growth.”
25 years ago: “By 1992, the federal government may require communities to recycle 25 percent of their garbage. If so, La Plata County would have a long way to go. But a grass-roots movement here already is working to bring about recycling. ... Recycling may sound more complicated than it’s worth. But as dumps across the county fill up and landfill-operation costs skyrocket, communities are finding that recycling paper, glass, metals, aluminum, plastic, rubber and organic materials is economical.”
Most items in this column are taken from Herald archives, Center of Southwest Studies and Animas Museum. Their accuracy may not be verified.
