100 years ago: Durango “at last” gained “a niche in the hall of freaks” when Joe Taylor of the White Hope Cafe was dressing a chicken purchased from a rancher and felt “some strange substance among the internal organs of the fowl.” He was surprised to find that the bird had been living with a 4-inch section of brass wire, a piece of a mandolin or guitar string, through its heart. A roll of fat had accumulated around the wire, which meant the bird had lived that way for quite some time.
75 years ago: Capt. Kenneth G. Serivener, 24-year-old man from Fort Bliss, Texas, was killed after the car he was driving collided head-on with a tractor 14 miles northwest of Cortez.
50 years ago: Chet Anderson, Purgatory Resort manager, announced that a representative from La Plata County Sheriff’s Office would be staffed at the ski area every weekend for the rest of the winter. “We’ve had a number of thefts of skis, boots and other items this year,” Anderson said.
25 years ago: Although Durango’s animal control ordinance prohibited wolf-dog hybrids to be kept within city limits, a committee appointed by the Board of La Plata County Commissioners opted – after four months of study – not to recommend that they be banned from the county.
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.
