100 years ago: “The two horse thieves who stole two horses from the Wood and Morgan barn and picked up three others at the ranch on their way south were said to have crossed the San Juan River above Bloomfield and to have headed in the direction of Gallina.”
75 years ago: “Five counties through which the Rio Grande Southern railroad passes will band together to fight the proposed abandonment of 28 miles of the railroad. Ouray, San Miguel, Dolores, Montezuma, and La Plata counties will resist the petition filed in federal court asking permission to abandon the tracks from Rico north over Lizard Head Pass for about 28 miles.”
50 years ago: “The La Plata County Commissioners voted to tear down the old courthouse, probably within a year. Tentative plans call for inviting bids to raze the 73-year-old building sometime this fall. The structure will be torn down to make room for future expansion of the new courthouse, but it is not certain when the new wing will be built although it is probably three or four years away.”
25 years ago: “Just when you thought it was safe to mothball your sweaters ... Durango was bit by a brief but rude bout of snow and a hard freeze was expected. It snows once every six or seven years in Durango at this date in April. ‘Blame it on Fort Lewis College. It always snows for the Fort Lewis College graduation,’ Dick Mendenwaldt of Weathersource Inc. said with a chuckle.”
Most items in this column are taken from Herald archives, Center of Southwest Studies and Animas Museum. Their accuracy may not be verified.
