100 years ago: A warranty deed was entered that involved “about 300 acres of land, one-half interest in the Naranjo ditch and 80 shares in the Big Stick ditch and one-eleventh interest in Enlargement No. 2 of the Hay Gulch ditch.” Consideration was set at $8,000.
75 years ago: Mr. and Mrs. A.F. Christy became residents of the Animas Valley after they bought a 47-acre ranch from Tom McKelvey. The Christy family planned to remodel the dwelling on the ranch to make it “one of the coziest farm homes in the valley.”
50 years ago: Ballots for the Durango Chamber of Commerce board of directors election were mailed, as announced by Mike Valentine, chamber manager.
25 YEARS AGO: Two avalanche forecasters were hired to spend the winter helping to reduce deadly slides on Red Mountain Pass, as part of a program facilitated by Colorado Department of Transportation and Colorado Avalanche Information Center.
100 years ago: A woman from the country and her small son were driving into town when “a huge automobile bore down upon them.” It frightened one of their horses, which “began to prance” and the woman “leaped down and waved wildly to the chauffeur, screaming at the top of her voice” to help get the horse past. The man stopped the car and, keeping his composure, said, “That’s all right. I can manage the horse. You just lead mother past.”
75 years ago: Miss Virginia Duggan, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W.E. Duggan of Durango, was one of 40 who volunteered as lieutenant in the newly completed Denver War Chest campaign.
50 years ago: A structure fire occurred at 135 West Park Ave., which gutted one bedroom and did heavy damage to two other rooms from smoke.
25 years ago: Vice President Dan Quayle declared the end of the recession to a “pumped-up” crowd in the Farmington Civic Center. The spokeswoman for the event estimated attendance was about 1,800 inside the center, with a couple thousand outside.
Most items in this column are taken from The Durango Herald archives, Center of Southwest Studies and Animas Museum. Their accuracy may not be verified.
