100 years ago: “The hog supply was limited today and trade rather quiet. Prices were about steady, with tops selling at $10.65, same as yesterday, for a small load of hogs. The local demand is good.”

75 YEARS AGO: “A vein of milling ore of stupendous magnitude, which is expected to develop into the greatest milling proposition in America, has been laid open on the Columbus Mine on Lewis Mountain in the La Platas. The vein measured 74 feet thick according to miner ‘Jimmie’ Doyle.”

50 YEARS AGO: “Here’s the Denver and Rio Grande Western railway’s recipe for running a successful passenger train in this age of the super-highway and the jet plane: Use the oldest passenger cars still in existence. Operate on a 15-mile-an-hour schedule over a steep and winding narrow gauge roadbed blasted through a fantastic wilderness area. Power the train with an ancient little cinder-belching steam engine.”

25 YEARS AGO: “The oldest private railroad car in existence, the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge’s posh ‘Nomad,’ made its first run Monday morning since it derailed Aug. 3.”

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