100 years ago: “Felix Vanderweile and Edgar Buchanan brought down loads of fine red raspberries from their Animas Valley ranches. They found a ready sale for them, at a fair price to the merchants along the busy pike of this town. The berries were surely good to see and smell – which was as close as we came to eating them.”
75 years ago: “Joe Piccoli, Trimble Springs resort and night club manager, announces the opening at Trimble of Medora Walker and her Melody Maids – six beautiful girls in one orchestra all accomplished musicians and entertainers. They were attracted to Colorado by reports they had heard from other orchestras which had played at Trimble Springs.”
50 years ago: “James E. Mayo, 31, and Edward James Marshall, Jr., 22, both of Los Angeles, Calif., were killed when their furniture van went off the San Juan Overlook on the west side of Wolf Creek Pass. The tractor-truck rig went out of control for about a mile at great speed as it came down the pass, went off a cliff and sailed some 200 feet through the air.”
25 years ago: “Richard Roskowinski, director of Parks and Recreation, officially opened Durango’s new skate park. A group of about 30 people gathered at the site in Schneider Park to watch as skaters of all ages tested their boards on the slick wooden surface. Even Durango City Councilwoman Lynn Shine took a shaky ride on the slope with a borrowed board and safety equipment. Although the initial price of the ‘two half pipes’ was estimated at $30,000, locally donated labor and materials brought the price down to $3,300.”
Most items in this column are taken from Herald archives, Center of Southwest Studies and Animas Museum. Their accuracy may not be verified.
