100 years ago: “Cy G. Graden was elected president of the new city council, and John Morelock was elected vice president of the body.”

75 years ago: “If the office force down at the county agent’s office isn’t kept cool it won’t be the fault of Walter Campbell, county agent. He has devised a cooling system of considerable ingenuity. First, a galvanized iron trough is filled with water. In the bottom of the trough are small holes which permit the water to gently trickle through. The water lands on a mass of excelsior packed into a wooden box the length of the trough. A fan then forces air through the water-impregnated excelsior, and Rube-Goldberg like, there you are!”

50 years ago: “Construction will start about Sept. 1 this year on Durango’s new Holiday Inn motel. ... The proposed inn, with from 80 to 100 units, pool, restaurant, lounge and coffee shop, is scheduled for opening May 1, 1966.”

25 years ago: “She didn’t get her training fishing the Animas River, but former Durango resident Georgia Stolfa had what it took to land a 468-pound Pacific blue marlin. The fish was taken in May after a 1½ hour fight in the waters off of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. Stolfa moved to the Islands two years ago after living in Durango for 10 years.”

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