100 years ago: “Two men were killed instantly while placing a smokestack on the roof of a boarding house near Vanadium when they came into contact with a high tension line carrying 10,000 volts. The relatives of both men have been notified of their shocking deaths.”

50 YEARS AGO: “There have been 64 fires in the San Juan National Forest this year, up from 42 by this date last year.”

25 YEARS AGO: “A 16 year-old Durango boy who pleaded guilty to shooting a 10 year-old girl in the face with a pellet gun will serve 30 days at a youth correctional facility and two years of probation. The boy drove by with several other youths while the girl, her sister, and her friends were playing in their front yard. He fired the gun and a pellet lodged in the girl’s jaw bone, just below her ear.”

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.