100 years ago: “Bob Dwyer went fishing and caught one – placed a barrel in an irrigating ditch and chased it in. Trout? No, sucker.”

75 years ago: “Road weary and sleep-jaded but still enthusiastic, Durango’s goodwill caravan of 18 cars and 71 people returned to the city after covering 613 miles on a trip that took them as far south as Albuquerque advertising the Spanish Trails Fiesta and promoting better relations between Durango and cities in New Mexico.”

50 years ago: “A quickened tempo ... boot heels on the sidewalk ... bankers in cowboy hats and string ties ... housewives in broomstick skirts and low-necked blouses, turquoise jewelry ... silver-buttoned moccasins ... music and laughter and conviviality ... horses and cowboys and Indians ... merry-go-round and Ferris wheel ... balloons and sticky children ... parties and excitement. It’s Fiesta!”

25 years ago: “During Fiesta Day, if you’re walking down the streets of Durango, you’d better be wearing Western duds or you might find yourself in jail. Down on Main Avenue, H.H. Bean (Jim McConnell) holds court and administers sentences for unwary trespassers. ‘Enemies’ can have Bean issue a warrant for $3. Then his black-garbed deputies will hunt down the criminal. Freedom is bought with a Fiesta ticket.”

Most items in this column are taken from Herald archives, Center of Southwest Studies and Animas Museum. Their accuracy may not have been verified.