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Southwest Life

And the West is History: Skating on Animas River – ca. 1920

Friday, Jan 7, 2022 8:20 PM MT

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Very little is known about this photo. The date is not listed nor are the people. What is known is that this winter scene depicts people skating on the Animas River north of the 32nd Street Bridge. It’s hard to imagine a time when the slow flowing river froze enough to be safe for skating, but clearly it did in earlier times. Based on accompanying photos in the family album and the clothes of the skaters, this picture is thought to be from around 1920. The donor believes that his great uncle, Clarence Smith, was the photographer. – Ed Horvat for Animas Museum, edhorvat@animasmuseum (Catalog Number: 04.34.20 from the La Plata County Historical Society Photo Collections)
Very little is known about this photo. The date is not listed nor are the people. What is known is that this winter scene depicts people skating on the Animas River north of the 32nd Street Bridge. It’s hard to imagine a time when the slow flowing river froze enough to be safe for skating, but clearly it did in earlier times. Based on accompanying photos in the family album and the clothes of the skaters, this picture is thought to be from around 1920. The donor believes that his great uncle, Clarence Smith, was the photographer. – Ed Horvat for Animas Museum, edhorvat@animasmuseum (Catalog Number: 04.34.20 from the La Plata County Historical Society Photo Collections)

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