100 years ago: “The main roads leading out of town are in fine shape for automobiling. Machines are being driven to Ignacio in less than a half hour and to Durango in an hour and a fraction, and a few trips have been made in less than an hour.” – Bayfield Blade
75 years ago: “First prize on the Spanish Trails Fiesta song goes to Bus Ranch of Ottumwa, Ia. and Al Beckner of Grand Rapids, Mich. They collaborated on words and music both original. The words of the official song are: Hail, hail La Fiesta, It is the pride of the hills and valley, Prancing horses, colors gay, Fun and frolic holding sway; Roping, riding through the day, we sing of Spanish Trails Fiesta, of the day of long ago; We love the smell of old corral, And the whirl of the old lasso; Hail, La Fiesta.”
50 years ago: “Durango firemen were called out to witness smoke pouring from a boiled-dry pot of meat at the Felix Valdez home, 128½ 14th St. Fumes were expelled from the house with an exhaust fan.”
25 years ago: “A lot of barbecue and beans have gone into the million meals served at the Bar D Chuckwagon since it opened 20 years ago. But so have Western entertainment, a family atmosphere and the kind of community service that makes people sit up and notice. The Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry noticed the Bar D’s accomplishments by naming it the 1988 Business of the Year for the Southwest Region.”
Most items in this column are taken from Herald archives, Center of Southwest Studies and Animas Museum. Their accuracy may not have been verified.
