The following is a recap of local events for this time period throughout history.
With 17 months more to serve as the state Highway Department director, Pete Rahn has a lot of successes to tout. He has seen several highway widening projects through, and he has redeveloped the bidding process for road projects in the state – thus saving the state some money. His greatest accomplishment to the people of the Four Corners is the widening of U.S. 550. “Yesterday at the San Juan County line, it opened to four lanes,” Rahn said Thursday at a Rotary Club meeting. “We’re going to have all 142 miles opened to four lanes on Nov. 30, 2001,” he said.
The Daily Times
Remember those watches made between the 1920s and 1950s with the luminous, glow-in-the-dark hands and numerals? Or how about the orange ceramic dinnerware? Either held near a Geiger counter will set it clicking, the telltale indication of the presence of radioactive elements and potential exposure to humans. The watch wasn’t a surprise, but radioactive vintage dinnerware is. Say it isn’t so! The two were some of the objects brought by instructors to demonstrate to teachers at the Creation of the Natural Order Uranium Education Program 2001 Teachers Seminar being held in Farmington.
The Daily Times
Plans have been completed by the Farmington hospital committee to give away a prize yearling steer or Reg. Bull calf to the lucky person at the San Juan County Fair to be held in September in Farmington. The calf, or steer, whichever the lucky card holder desires, will be donated by Mr. and Mrs. Troy King and it is hoped to raise a considerable sum in this manner for the hospital. Tickets will be sold at various places in the county between now and fair time.
Aztec Independent Review
The fruit growers of this section were alarmed and angered when a circular purporting to come from the chemistry bureau of the United States Department of Agriculture was given circulation here the past week, and a report was also circulated that fruit that had been sprayed and had not been wiped or washed was being seized and dumped at terminal points and the shipper held for the freight. A hasty meeting of the growers of the county was called and Wm. Butler was requested by them to take the matter up by wire with such parties as was deemed wise in order to get some definite information as to what could be done by the growers whose pear crop was almost ready to move and whose apples would very soon follow. … The head of the Denver branch of the Bureau of Chemistry wired that the requirements of the circular of July 21st would be insisted upon. The requirements of this were that a pound of apples should contain not more than one one-hundredth of a grain of arsenic. Our growers were not chemists nor had they laboratories where such tests could be made.
Farmington Times-Hustler
William H. Scott, a veteran of the Civil War, came into our office this week and stated that he wished to advertise for a pension voucher which he had lost on Saturday last. Mr. Scott is an old gentleman and badly crippled up, besides suffering from a severe attack of stomach trouble. Withal he told us he would willingly reward the finder of the voucher with as much money as he was able to pay, which would not be much. We take this means of advertising for Mr. Scott and it is our hope that if anyone who reads these lines finds the voucher he will turn it over without expecting to be rewarded, remembering that the loser once served his country well and faithfully and if for no other reason he should receive consideration. If the paper is delivered to the post office we feel sure that the finder will receive the hearty gratitude of Mr. Scott.
Farmington Enterprise
A.P. Frederick, postal inspector, investigated the various post offices in this section last week. His report on the Aztec office was highly flattering to Postmistress Waring, the rating of this office being “excellent,” the highest given.
San Juan County Index
This Week in Local History is compiled by Debi Tracy Olsen, local journalist and volunteer at the Aztec Museum and Pioneer Village. The stories are pulled from newspaper archives and are reprinted as they appeared, errors and all.
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