100 years ago: “The transfer of the passengers northbound on the Farmington train to the Eastern at Carbon Junction was made necessary by the destruction of the track at the point by the falling of a huge boulder from the mountainside. The big rock is said to have weighed several tons and to have fallen from a distance of over 100 feet.”

75 years ago: “Southward bound to Gallup, the cannon ball bus for Durango was wrecked at Aztec when the driver was overcome by fumes. The driver said that prior to the crash he had detected the odor of carbon monoxide in the bus and that he lost consciousness before the bus left the highway.”

50 years ago: “Farmers Supply of Durango has started work on a bulk fertilizer plant south of Durango, Fred V. Kroeger, manager, has announced. The firm will ship to the new plant in hopper bottom trucks various ingredients for fertilizers. ... Farmers Supply has started to level land on the property where the new plant will stand across from Telluride Iron on the Bodo property.”

25 years ago: “A bill in the state Legislature that would increase salaries is getting strong support from La Plata County Sheriff Bill Gardener who said he will not seek re-election if he doesn’t get a raise. ... As it currently stands, the bill would raise Gardener’s salary in 1991 from $26,000 to $42,000.”

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