100 years ago: “Assistant Water Commissioner Ballard remarked that winter was coming back for a last swipe at those who have shifted from their winter flannels. He says he saw a flock of 17 wild geese flying south about noon. Then, County Commissioner McCarthey averred that earlier in the day he saw five sandhill cranes and a flock of ducks flying north. Take your choice, geese, ducks or sandhill cranes.”
75 years ago: “With 12 cases of smallpox already reported in La Plata County, all among adults, the county health officer urges the renewal of smallpox vaccinations by grown-ups whose vaccinations have been outdated.”
50 years ago: DOLORES – “William H. Brumley, 85, one of the last of Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders, died in Cortez. Brumley was born in Texas in 1880 and moved to Dolores in his early youth. ... One story credits Brumley with starting the charge up San Juan Hill during the Spanish-American War.”
25 years ago: “The La Plata County Fairgrounds Commission is pitching an alternative to the county commissioners: a proposal to sell the fairgrounds. The fairgrounds commission would like to establish a recreational district to fund the needed repairs to the neglected property. With a small mill levy on all county residents, they say the county could afford to build a large indoor arena at the fairgrounds with a seating capacity of 4,000, additional horse stalls and landscaping.”
Most items in this column are taken from Herald archives, Animas Museum and Center of Southwest Studies. Their accuracy may not be verified.
