75 years ago: “Fishermen at Electra Lake, while reporting fair catches of fish say that the water was rough, and it took a better sailor than fisherman to handle the job.”

50 years ago: “The first positive identification of rabies in La Plata County since 1955 was reported. The disease was discovered in a bat from the Durango area. The bat had not bitten anyone. It was submitted for analysis when unusual behavior was observed.”

25 years ago: “Purgatory Ski Area put at least 15 managers and other personnel back to work, and full summer operation is expected by the end of the month. The ski area had laid off about 90 of its 120 employees on May 16 when it ran out of operating funds while negotiating its annual financing with United Bank of Durango.”

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