Maude and Jim pull a water wagon and sprinkle the streets to reduce dust in 1918 or 1919. The driver is not identified.
Maude and Jim pull a water wagon and sprinkle the streets to reduce dust in 1918 or 1919. The driver is not identified.Courtesy of the Animas Museum

75 years ago: In response to the mentality that Durango was not the “good old prosperous mining town” it used to be, the city was being promoted as a fisherman’s paradise and businesses were encouraged to focus on tourism.

50 years ago: A 24-year-old Cortez man accidentally shot himself in the foot while attempting to unload a .22-caliber Ruger handgun in his car, which was parked near Bayfield High School.

Most items in this column are taken from The Durango Herald archives, Center of Southwest Studies and Animas Museum. Accuracy of content may not be verified.