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...

50 YEARS AGO June 29, 1972 - Mark Higgs, 19, son of Mr. and Mrs. Bill Higgs of Fordyce, Arkansas, fell about 275 feet to his death, down the steep canyon wall near Bear Creek Falls two miles south of ...

50 YEARS AGO June 22, 1972 - Fortunately, only inanimate objects and plants were in the path of a runaway truck in a residential area at the south side of Ouray on Friday morning last week. Henry Dams...

50 YEARS AGO June 15, 1972 - June 10th, Saturday night, a large “Woodsy Park” was broken up by State Patrolman Wally Ogden, Undersheriff Frank Merling and Sheriff Art Dougherty. Names of about 33 youn...

50 YEARS AGO June 8, 1972 - Wednesday, May 31, a 14-year-old runaway from Tinley Park, Illinois was surprised while robbing a motor home at the Amphitheater Campground. The owners of the motor home, t...

50 YEARS AGO June 1, 1972 - Pamela (Pam) Larson daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Al Fedel of Ouray, was awarded an engineering degree at the 98th Annual Commencement Ceremonies at the Colorado School of Mines...

50 YEARS AGO May 25, 1972 - Hopes to have the new Amphitheater Campground water system in operation by Memorial Day faded this week when pipe and other supplies ordered failed to arrive, reported Walt...

50 YEARS AGO May 18, 1972 - Final authorization has been received on the federal grant to enable Ouray County to buy a new ambulance and retire the Ford station wagon donated by Federal Resources Corp...

50 YEARS AGO May 11, 1972 — Numerous phone calls were made this week to the Plaindealer by people expressing their desire that the Ouray City Council retain Rotary Park as a city park, and not conside...

A story on Page 1 of the May 5-11 edition should have said there is a proposed permit system for hiking the Blue Lakes Trail. While the proposal does not require a permit for accessing the Blue Lakes ...

50 YEARS AGO May 4, 1972 — The “mystery man” who had asked to lease Rotary Park from the City of Ouray was revealed as being Bob Griggers at Monday night’s council meeting. Councilman Bob Zanett menti...

You've probably heard that newspapers are dying. Well, as it happens with many blanket statements, that's not true. But it's something we've heard a lot since we invested in local journalism. Yes, lar...

50 YEARS AGO April 20, 1972 — The Ouray County Chamber of Commerce has called a public meeting to air pros and cons of the proposed new junior college district. The meeting will begin at 8 p.m. next W...

Dear Editor: Thanks for the nice article about Jay Tunnicliff. I always enjoyed greeting him during his time at the hardware store. But I have to point out his error when he said "I hate environmental...

Dear Editor: In response to the March 3-9 article "County to Consider Pot Farm Applications,” let me enlighten the less experienced about marijuana growth and its odor. Years ago marijuana plants did ...

50 YEARS AGO April 6, 1972 — Cries of “Burn, baby, burn!” aren’t going to solve Ouray’s garbage problem, according to a report delivered by District Ranger Walt Rule at last Monday’s Council meeting. ...