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

100 Years Ago – 1909

The Silver Bar mill has been in operation the past several days smoothing up the machinery and running a quantity of ore from the 85 foot level in the mine through the crusher preparatory to dropping the stamps. The crusher has been proven too small and a larger one has been ordered to take its place, we understand.

An encouraging streak of ore has been encountered at the 500-foot level in the Geyser Mine.

Billy Falkenberg and Don Wadleigh returned Wednesday from the Medido where they finished up the ranger trail and next week they will begin to build a trail across Mosco Pass. They brought a fine lot of trout home with them.

The residence of Mayor Beardsley was on Saturday afternoon the scene of a delightful party for a number of little boys and girls, the occasion being given in honor of little Miss Pauline’s eighth birthday.

Mrs. E.T. Beckwith arrived here from Denver Thursday evening.

Dana Hammond has sold his ranch below the DeWeese reservoir to D. Giroux.

There were lots of ducks killed in the Valley here Wednesday.

50 Years Ago – 1959

Blanketing the Wet Mountain Valley with what is probably the heaviest snowfall in history, 34 inches of wet snow have been measured by official weather observer Marvin Rankin since Monday evening, Sept. 28. Starting about 9:30 Monday evening, in less than 60 hours 34 inches were measured by the weatherman. The snowfall carried 3.93 inches of moisture. School was suspended Thursday because of the impossibility of rural students reaching town. The 34 inches is the deepest recorded here by Rankin in his 20 years as weather observer. In April 1942 he measured 33 inches.

New members will be elected next week for Custer County Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation committee. Custerites who have been nominated for committeemen include W.O. Coleman, Franz Dietrich, William L. Frank, Harold Godbersen, Charles B. Kidder, George Koch, J.H. Littrell, Carl G. Miller, Harvey W. Rusk and Fred Vahldick.

The Cub Scouts met Thursday after school. Mrs. Reis, our assistant Den Mother, took charge of the meeting in the absence of Mrs. Rusk. Refreshments were served by Mrs. Seifert and Jerry. –Reported by Jerry Seifert, Reporter.

25 Years Ago – 1974

Within days, Custer County and the Cuerno Verde Airport Associates, Inc. will swap deeds for land at the County Airport east of Silver Cliff for land at the Cuerno Verde airstrip nine miles south of Westcliffe. The county will receive approximately 120 acres of land at the Cuerno Verde site and the Airport Associates will receive about 63 acres of land in Silver Cliff. Wray Pedro of Colorado Springs, president of the Airport Associates, said his group plans to use the 63-acre area for commercial and residential development, but that plans will not be off the drawing board for another two to four years. The 120-acre Cuerno Verde site was one of several sites considered for the new county airport and it was ultimately selected. The county’s airport authority say it will seek grants from the Federal Aviation Administration to improve the Cuerno Verde site; improvements are expected to cost between $2 million and $3 million. Until those improvements are made, pilots will continue to use the Silver Cliff airstrip. Members of the airport authority are Dale Hoag, Whitney Sullivan, Don Bishop, Butch Randall and Ron Albritton.

An open house will be held this Saturday in honor of Elizabeth Geroux who will be celebrating her 90th birthday.

10 Years Ago – 1999

On Monday, Oct. 4, several community members were performing Random Acts of Kindness in front of the post office. Jack and Audrey Slater, B.J. Briggs, Jan Roberts and Anna Orgeron were greeting folks and handing out cookies and coffee. Attached to the cookies was a ticket asking the recipients to pass along the ticket and do a random act of kindness for someone else. This Random Acts of Kindness project is being spearheaded by the Custer County Chamber of Commerce.

Rural Westcliffe woodcarver Tom Larkin will be featured in next Tuesday’s segment of the “Modern Masters” series on Home and Garden TV.

About 50 citizens interested in the proposed $6.9 million C-1 school district bond issue project attended the first of three community meetings last Wednesday. Making the power point presentation were Bob Stone and Bob Senderhauf, co-chairs of the district’s steering committee.

County road superintendent Gary Havens said the new bridge over Hardscrabble Creek in Greenwood is now open to motorists. The bridge was destroyed during flooding last May; the Federal Emergency Management Agency picked up $16,000 of the $18,000 project.

5 Years Ago – 2004

Some 20 local firefighters battled a blaze at a residence at 208 Fifth St. in Westcliffe during the early hours last Sunday. The home, which was unoccupied, had belonged to Art Dickens who died on Sept. 13 at the age of 81. The fire was reported last Sunday at 3:57 a.m. and the fire was quickly contained.

Marine Lance Corporal Christopher Adair is expected to arrive in the Valley this Sunday following a seven-month tour in Iraq. Adair, a 2003 graduate of Custer County High School, is the son of Jennifer Niles of Silver Cliff.

A crowd of around 200 attended Saturday’s annual Art for the Sangres sale and exhibit; preliminary reports say art sales reached about $100,000.

1 Year Ago – 2008

The Valley’s rich German heritage will be celebrated this weekend with brats, beer, polka and more. Several local businesses will be participating in the event, and the Denardo’s Accordion Quartet will provide suitable polka music.

About 30 volunteers representing some 25 local non-profit organizations took part in last weekend’s regional Rural Philanthropy Days event in Cripple Creek. The event, held regionally throughout Colorado every four years, provides an opportunity for non-profit representatives to meet with officials from the El Pomar, Boettcher and Anschutz foundations as well as other grantmaking organizations.

Westcliffe and the Frontier Pathways Scenic Byway organization played host last week to participants in a special Scenic Conservation Training Workshop sponsored by the America’s Byways Resource Center of Duluth, Minn. Mel Porth of All Aboard Westcliffe helped coordinate the visit.