100 years ago: “Mr. and Mrs. Charles Worden of Animas Forks are in Durango, their first trip out of the snows since last fall. Charley says when Mrs. W. struck the dry streets in Durango, she wanted to lay right down and roll – but then Charley is liable to say most anything.”

75 years ago: “As a major step toward preventing an epidemic of disease in Durango, a clinic will be held for the purpose of vaccinating schoolchildren against smallpox, and inoculating them against typhoid and diphtheria.”

50 years ago: The following appeared in the section titled Silverton News: “Almost half of Silverton’s residents are out of water caused by frozen pipes and water mains. Many carry or haul all of the water for drinking, cooking and so forth. A lot of hard work has been put in by those maintaining the water lines – digging up the ground finding the leaks and repairing them.”

25 years ago: “Six out-of-control weed burns over the weekend – one resulting in the destruction of a barn – have prompted warnings of liability for damages. ... Farmers who have been burning their ditches for ‘eons’ are not the problem. ‘The problem is newcomers burning in subdivisions of 1- to 6-acre lots.’”

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