(Information was gleaned from copies of the Wet Mountain Tribune, all from the second week in June.)

100 Years Ago – 1909

Fire originating from some unknown cause destroyed the cabin of Zach Jordan at the foot of the range Sunday last.

No train reached this point Saturday, as a result of the variously estimated 200 to 1,000 tons of mountainside having come down in a slide along the route. A couple of days work was required by a force of men to clear the track. The downgoing train bunted into the massive heap and it is observed that the engine came out of the fracas minus a cow-catcher. No other damage resulted.

Supt. Fred Moore of the Ondrejick Mine, near Ilse, was over Tuesday from the camp sporting some specimens of quartz in which are visible to the naked eye some specks of glittering gold. He says there are several inches of the gold bearing rock and that it is found in the drift at 100 feet depth. Assays show values up to $960. The property is being developed with a force of three shifts.

Conductor Wm. Whalin laid off the first of the week in order that he could show his brother-in-law, Philip Newman, visiting him from Silverton, some of the scenic grandeur of this section.

In the absence of Cashier Geo. Beardsley, Floyd Thompson and “Jack” Leary are performing the duties incident to running the Henry H. Tomkins & Co. bank here.

50 Years Ago – 1959

Custer County will share in the state’s $69 million roads and highways construction in the coming 12 months. $150,000 has been allocated for purchase of right-of-way and construction on State Highway 96 east of Silver Cliff. The Highway Department paved five miles of the same highway immediately east of Silver Cliff last summer. A request was made for five more miles of construction on the east end of the recently laid pavement. Various surveys have been made of the proposed project and it is expected the road will be shortened with some very dangerous curves and hills eliminated.

Official notification has been received by Jim Doyle, Custer County Agent, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Animal Disease Eradication Branch, Washington, D.C., that Custer County is a modified certified brucellosis free county. This certification culminates more than a year’s work by personnel of the county agent’s office and Custer County ranchers. More than 4,100 head of cattle have been tested here. This certification notice means that Custer County cattle, with a few exceptions, move across county and state lines without tests.

25 Years Ago – 1984

Incumbent District 2 county commissioner George Draper, a Democrat, will be challenged this year by Republican Chuck Steigerwalt of Fairview. Steigerwalt received the nomination for candidacy during last Thursday’s GOP County Assembly at the courthouse. Steigerwalt is an electrician and owner of the Baver-Li- Lodge at Fairview, near Lake Isabel.

Local teens Murray Scheimann and Tony Heller have been hired to assist in the summer youth recreation program here. Directing the program is Robin Nelson, who was hired through the Colorado Rural Recreation Directors program.

Work is underway on a $32,000 addition to the Silver Cliff senior center and town hall. The 1,200-foot addition will house new kitchen and dining room facilities. The current kitchen/dining area will be used for recreational activities.

A 40-year-old Pueblo man reportedly died last week in Hardscrabble Canyon after allegedly running a hose from his car’s tailpipe into the interior of the vehicle. Sheriff Bob Baker said the man was despondent over personal affairs.

10 Years Ago – 1999

Formal groundbreaking ceremonies took place Saturday at Hermit and Edwards for the new community clinic facility. Presiding over the ceremonies was Hospital District president David Hall. The new $1.1 million clinic is expected to be completed by April 2000.

State water officials say they’ll begin releasing water from Lake DeWeese in coming days in preparation for repairs on the dam structure. District Water Commissioner Charlie Judge of Wetmore says the water will be lowered 12-feet for the beginning of the construction phase, and it will ultimately drop 17-feet until repairs are completed. The DeWeese-Dye Ditch Co., which controls the reservoir, plans to remove and replace the top 12 feet of the dam structure, an addition added to the century-old dam in the 1930s.

The Silver Cliff town trustees have appointed Kate Mutch to the town board. She fills the seat previously held by Ivan Marrs, who left the post in April to accept the position as Silver Cliff town man.

5 Years Ago – 2004

Earlier this week, Valley resident Jerry Livengood took the reins as deputy water commissioner for district 13. He replaces Steve Trexel who served in that capacity here for 11 years before taking a similar position in Rifle.

It took Lewis and Clark three years to make their historic Corps of Discovery expedition across the country. During the next three years, Custer County cartographer Charlie French and his sister, Pam French of Las Vegas, Nev., will be following in the explorers’ 200-year-old footsteps. The only difference is that Charlie and Pam will take a week each year to retrace the route by car. They began the first leg of their 1,300-mile journey in St. Louis, Mo., on May 10, four days prior to the day Lewis and Clark set out.

The Christoff clan was here in full force last week, in honor of Jim and Myrt’s 56th anniversary celebration.

1 Year Ago – 2008

An early June snowstorm hit last Thursday. Although several inches accumulated in the higher elevations, the white stuff quickly melted away and spring returned to the Valley by Friday.

At a meeting last week, the prospective Habitat for Humanity steering committee  decided to suspend its efforts to establish an affiliate organization here. Instead, the group decided to support the Upper Arkansas Area Council of Governments’ Mutual Self Help Housing program which plans to offer a similar sweat-equity program here.

On Monday, Brian Woods was sworn-in as the newest member of the Silver Cliff town board. Woods replaces J.D. Teague who stepped down after moving from Silver Cliff to Westcliffe.