(Information was gleaned from copies of the Wet Mountain Tribune, unless otherwise noted, all from the last week in May.)
140 Years Ago â 1885
From The Sierra Journal (Rosita)
The employees of the Bassick Mining Company have received no pay for nearly three months and there is in conÂsequence great discontentment among them.
J.W. Snyder has a herd of 1,500 cattle on the way from Texas to Colorado. They are now near the border, and trouÂble is anticipated over the quarantine regulations.
Rosita is the County Seat of Custer County and is situÂated in the Sierra Mojadris Mountains. Rosita at present has a population of about 1,000. The town has always been and still is prosperous and growing rapidly. A large number of our most valuable mining properties have already and will soon commence extensive operations and times have become quite lively. There has been not one failure in business here for over a year. Our businessmen are honorably energetic and enterprisÂing and are all here to stay. The only newspaper in the camp is the Sierra Journal which is located here in 1874, as the Rostia Index. It has been in the camp for eleven years and never missed an issue. Those in search of a location where they may secure health, wealth, sport and recreation should be sure to investiÂgate the arrangements offered by Rosita and Custer County.
Silver is quoted at $1.07 per ounce. Lead is quoted at $3.70 per 100 pounds.
Arrangements are being made for the publication, from the Journal Office, entitled âThe History of Custer County,â which will be especially devoted to the mining resources of Rosita, Querida, and Silver Cliff, and to the agricultural and stock interests of the Wet Mountain Valley and Greenwood Park. We expect to commence work in a week or so and have engaged the service of Frank Earle, one of the finest writers in the state, to edit the book. We shall personally visit all portions of the county and all business and mining men may as well prepare to be written up it.
John R. Kettle was appointed road overseer for BlumeÂnau Road District No. 5.
100 Years Ago â 1925
Lee Lillie and Billy Falkenberg each landed a 1 ½ pound trout Wednesday.
Mr. and Mrs. W. Charles Kettle have returned from La Junta, where Mr. Kettle has taught the past two terms, to their home in the Valley.
Messrs. Schellerberg, Miller and Batchelor yesterday finished loading a car of ore extracted from their block of ground on the Passiflora property for shipment to the smelter at Leadville.
The town was invaded last Sunday by quite a lot of motorÂists from the lower altitudes and for a few hours about all the men at the filling stations had to say was âHow many?â
The derrick on the Slevin well, the best oil producer in the Wetmore district, was consumed by fire Monday mornÂing. We failed to learn the origin of the fire.
Plans are well underway for the formation of a state letÂtuce growers association. W. J. Broadhead, of Buena Vista, has the matter in charge.
40 Years Ago â 1985
A string of tragedies last weekend in the Sangre de Cristo mountains marred the opening of the summer tourÂist season here. Two people were killed and two others injured in separate incidents on Sunday, keeping area law enforcement officials busy over the long Memorial Day weekend. A 20-year-old Colorado Springs man died early Sunday afternoon when he plunged off a 150-foot cliff as he and two friends were sliding down a snowy slope above Hermit Lake. A Boulder woman was killed at about 7 p.m. Sunday on Medano Pass road in Huerfano County after being hit by a four-wheel-drive vehicle driven by her boyfriend. A Colorado Springs man sustained multiple injuries when he was caught in an avalanche on Humboldt Peak. A Longmont man broke both of his legs when he fell while hiking below Lake of the Clouds. And to top all of that off, a rescue CH-47 Chinook Helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing near Pines Road when a rotor blade struck a tree and was damaged. None of the crew was injured and the damage was minimal.
After five years of planning, negotiating and waiting, lots in Celesta Adamsâ mobile home park and subdivision are almost ready for buyers. âIt is a reality at last,â Adamssaid emphatically. âThe lots are ready for sale. Theyâre all staked off.â Plans for the 55-acre subdivision and mobile home park development, which extends west from Main Street between Rosita and North avenues, were given final approval by the Westcliffe Board of Trustees last fall.
10 Years Ago â 2015
Two candidates are being interviewed as finalists for the recently vacated Custer County School District SuperintenÂdent position. Both were available for meeting the public and fielding questions and concerns at yesterdayâs social gathering in the school cafeteria. Spencer Byrd, from Spring Valley, Ill. holds a Master of Education degree and is curÂrently a high school principal in the East Aurora School DisÂtrict in Aurora, Ill.
Corey Doss is superintendent of the Mountain Valley School District in Saguache, on the western side of the Sangre de Cristos, in the San Luis Valley. Doss also holds a Master of Education degree. This is the second time Doss has applied for the superintendent position here.
County Judge Peter F. Michaelson of Westcliffe is one of three finalists for a district court judgeship in the 18th JudiÂcial District, which encompasses Arapahoe, Douglas, Elbert, and Lincoln counties.
On Monday, May 25, four people from Pueblo drove two Jeeps into the national forest. Due to heavy rains from the past week, their vehicles became stuck. Custer County Search and Rescue (SAR) commander, Cindy Howard, told the Tribune that it deployed a team to rescue the stranded tourists on Tuesday morning at 9:45 a.m. âBy the time we got the call,â Howard said, âthey had already been out there for 24 hours. Because they had spent the night in their jeeps, they were cold but fine.â
Westcliffe now has free public WiFi. As of mid-May, wireless connectors were placed on two sites along Main Street, beginning the process of installing the new system. The first site is at the Cliff Lanes bowling center at the corner of Main Street and Adams Boulevard. The second site is on top of Dave Tonsingâs Western Star building, above Mi Pueblito Mexican Restaurant at the corner of Third and Main Street.
1 Year Ago â 2024
The Memorial Day weekend was typical of the kickoff to summer in the Wet Mountain Valley. The morning started cold and windy. By noon, there was still a steady breeze, but the sun was out, and people enjoyed the parade. By 1:30, a strong storm had built and was blowing rain at the end of the Second Street Block Party. But all in all, it was a successÂful Saturday. On Monday, during the ceremony at the Silver Cliff Park, a pair of F-16 fighter jets flew over the crowd that had gathered to honor the fallen.
Custer County Office of Emergency Management (CCOEM) is gearing up for wildfire season, and May is Wildfire Awareness Month. Now is the time to clean up the property and the area around your home before the driest and hottest parts of the summer arrive. In late March, the Custer County Office of Emergency Management was notiÂfied by Colorado State Forest Service that Custer County is the recipient of the Colorado State Forest Service Wildfire Mitigation Outreach Grant Award.
