100 years ago: “Birdman Eugene Heth, in a Wright biplane at the Colorado-New Mexico Fair at the fairgrounds, gave nearly 4,000 people one of the finest exhibitions of flying in a heavier-than-air machine ever seen in the state of Colorado. Incidentally Heth broke all world’s records thus far made in flying to the height he attained from a corresponding altitude. He rose 3,000 feet, starting at an altitude of 6,700 feet, a total of nearly 10,000 feet above sea level.”
75 years ago: “Lynn Dean, town marshal of Mancos, was shot and instantly killed by a prisoner he was attempting to jail.”
50 years ago: “Nikki Bonaventura, a sparkling queen, reigned for the DHS homecoming dance at Smiley Junior High School. Her equally radiant attendants were Jane Kay and Lynda Zook.”
25 years ago: “The State Board of Agriculture is likely to approve leasing an underground coal mine site 25 miles southwest of Durango that would make American Indian students the recipients of $5 million in free tuition. King Coals wants to lease mineral rights for about 6 million tons of coal under 640 acres at the Hesperus Campus.”
Most items in this column are taken from Herald archives, Center of Southwest Studies and Animas Museum. Their accuracy may not be verified.
