100 years ago: “After waiting nearly 3 years and a half for an answer to a letter he wrote to a friend in Clay, Kentucky, on Oct. 6, 1911, ‘Doc’ McEwen, Jr., yesterday received the original letter back, unopened. The only mark on the envelope to indicate what caused the delay in transmission to the addressee or the sender were the words, ‘Held By Mistake.’ Doc says it was a h-ll of a mistake.”
75 years ago: “Six additional La Plata County draftees left Durango for Denver headquarters March 31. The La Plata County draft board will send out 16 more to the Denver examination and induction headquarters – the balance of March being 35 men.”
50 years ago: “There were to be slight delays for traffic on Red Mountain and Molas passes as the highway department attempted to bring down slides by shooting them with a 75 mm howitzer.”
25 years ago: “The U.S. Forest Service unveiled a preliminary sketch of a Durango gateway park to be located at the intersection of U.S. Highways 550 and 160. The proposed park would be the Durango introductory site to the San Juan Skyway. Pending budget approval from the Colorado Division of Highways and the city of Durango, the Forest Service could begin construction on the park as early as this fall.”
Most items in this column are taken from The Durango Herald archives, Animas Museum and Center of Southwest Studies. Their accuracy may not be verified.
