75 years ago: “Work on the manual training room addition to Smiley Junior High School will begin Dec. 19, the WPA regional authorities at Fort Worth, Texas has approved the $17,637 bid of George Whitlock of Colorado Springs.”

50 years ago: The following appeared in the section titled Junior High Jottings. “Miller and Smiley are talking about: How much Paul needs a haircut … Robert and Cynthia … victims of Spanish class … Spanish Christmas carols … the Friday 13th movies.”

25 years ago: “The 1989 budget for School District 9-R was approved with another $10,000 cut from the subsidy given to the food services program. The $15.42 million budget includes a $40,000 subsidy for the food services program. That subsidy was cut from $50,000 in 1988 and $62,000 in 1987.”

Most items in this column are taken from Herald archives, Center of Southwest Studies and Animas Museum. Their accuracy may not be verified.