50 YEARS AGO October 12, 1972 - Ouray County retail sales jumped from $407,000 to $617,000 for a whopping 51.6% increase over the same period in 1971, according to figures released by the Business Res...

“In golden September with bright sunny days / The sky is clear and blue / The bee’s in the clover / Although summer’s over / I love September / Don’t you?” — A song from my childhood played in my mind...

Everything costs more these days. We've all seen fuel surcharges added for delivery, trash pickup and other services. Increased fees for restaurant tabs, sometimes for food cost increases or to boost...

Dear Editor: In light of the recent sexual assault trial against John Warren, owner of Red Mountain Brewing here in Ouray, we think it is important that folks living in our community be aware of a loc...

An article published on Page 1 of the Sept. 1-7 edition of the Plaindealer about the Ridgway Fire Protection District should have included Capt. Tom Sisler and Lt. Adam Kunz as officers serving the vo...

50 YEARS AGO September 7, 1972 - There has been a noticeable increase in interest and competition at the Ouray County Fair the past two years. This year, the growing interest was reflected by the larg...

Dear Editor: The Ouray Public Library would like to thank our community, staff, and volunteers for an overwhelmingly successful Drag Queen Story Hour. With the help of our amazing community, we were a...

50 YEARS AGO August 31, 1972 - It’s here! Ouray’s county ambulance is in town and ready to go. The brand-new Chevrolet Sentinel ambulance is an attractive bright orange and white, equipped with positr...

Dear Editor: September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. As a volunteer advocate with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, I am calling on my members of Congress to pass legis...

Dear Editor: While my opinion and world view hasn’t changed drastically as an adult, over the years I have adopted a coping mechanism of self-censorship in order to live peacefully with people who do ...

Dear Editor: I celebrate our Ouray Public Library and the wonderful variety of services and programs it offers us! Ann Dettmer Ouray

Summer is vanishing. Sunny days grow perceptibly shorter, nights cooler and longer, outdoor chores clamor for attention, school days begin. Rain and fog breathe autumn. By the second week of August, c...

50 YEARS AGO August 17, 1972 - A Moab, Utah man was fined $250 in U.S. Magistrate Court in Montrose on Aug. 10 for unauthorized road construction within the Uncompahgre National Forest of Colorado. Da...

August 10, 1972 - Kathleen Evans, 28, of Norman, Oklahoma died Tuesday afternoon as a result of injuries sustained early that morning while she attempted to rescue her 3-year-old son from a runaway Je...

50 YEARS AGO August 3, 1972 - Used to be the only place you saw naked ladies in public around here was hanging over a bar here and there. Not these days. In the last week there have been several sight...

50 YEARS AGO July 27, 1972 - Any significant increase in snowpack in the San Juan Mountains by cloud seeding will retard growth of some non-woody plants and could cause starvation among small animals....

Marie Scott (1896-1979) owned land (lots of it). She was a local rancher whose holdings stretched from Ridgway all the way into southeastern Utah. Long-time residents describe her as a land baron, a f...

50 YEARS AGO July 20, 1972 - Wednesday afternoon about three o’clock, a truck tire tried to enter the Mary Lawrence home by the window. It broke the window, and although it didn’t enter the room, a gr...

50 YEARS AGO July 6, 1972 - Editorial: July 4, 1972 in Ouray has to have been a landmark celebration as one of the best in a great many years. Old-timers have commented there’s never been better parad...

A story in the June 23-29 Plaindealer should have said Ouray County Assessor Susie Mayfield left the Republican Party after being told she could not support a non-Republican candidate for sheriff in t...