100 years ago: “Earl Barber, the smelter chemist, has a painful cut on his right arm as a result of the bursting of a glass tube with which he was working. A sliver of glass severed a small artery in the arm.”
75 years ago: “R.P. Reynolds of Denver, manager of the Colorado department of American Smelting and Refining Company, said his company is definitely committed to dismantle its smelter in Durango. ‘We just can’t see any chance for enough ore to run the smelter,’ Reynolds said. ‘And the plant is rapidly deteriorating after being shut down for the past 10 years.’”
50 years ago: “Workmen are polishing up the inside finishing of the Purgatory Ski Lodge after glassing-in was completed some time ago. The area is almost ready for snow and its first skiers. A successful test of the chair lift was run. Workmen swarm over the area to finish the ski shop, sewage facilities, Poma-lift and the slopes for opening day, Dec. 15.”
25 years ago: Ted Gallegos’ 4-year-old gelding Regency Heirborn was the winner of the American Morgan Horse Association’s 1990 World Championship held in Oklahoma City earlier this month. “Gallegos, a 20-year veteran horse trainer, was born in Durango. He began horse training in Denver and is now living in Fallbrook, Calif.”
Most items in this column are taken from Herald archives, Center of Southwest Studies and Animas Museum. Their accuracy may not be verified.
