The snow and cold seemed rather early this year, but on Sept. 20, 1965, our valley was surprised when 4 inches of snow blanketed the area. A low of 18 degrees was reported. The storm was the earliest in many years.

Early in October 1965, it was reported that Webb Ahren's father had passed away. (Webb himself passed away in April 1987. In 1929, he left his family and moved in with the Lloyd Doerfers in western Kansas until he could build his own sod house. In 1946, he came to Mancos with his wife, Blanche. After retiring, he assisted Dr. Reddert for 10 years. Besides Blanche, he was survived by a daughter Violet Hamblin and a son, Jerry.

Also early in October, Lloyd Doerfer reported there was 8,000 feet of water in the Jackson Gulch reservoir to be carried over to the next year.

And the topic of weather just would not go away. Empire Electric officials assessed a snowstorm on Oct. 18 as the most serious in many years. Literally hundreds of lines broke as a result of the storm. Most of the damage to the lines resulted from snow-laden trees breaking and falling onto the lines.

And it got worse. After two days of searching, including with helicopters, no trace was found of two hunters lost in the rugged snow-covered Bear Creek country. They were Howard Deal of Houston and Olan Hicks of Cortez. At the same time in the valley, three Mancos youths were charged in the burglary of the Mancos Drug Co.

In October, Alton Holston was named National Aide de Camp for the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S.

The next week, Robert Montoya arrived in Vietnam. He was a 1961 graduate of Mancos High.

The next week, the town board purchased an ambulance to serve area residents. The 1962 GMC panel ambulance was purchased from a Denver ambulance service for $2,200.

That same week, the town board hired Tom Sessions as marshal. And on Dec. 2, the town board announced that marshal Tom Sessions was suspended from duty. It was not known if formal charges would be filed. During his short tour of duty, he had been instrumental in the formation of the school safety patrol. Then on Dec. 9, Sessions was arrested in Flagstaff for impersonating an officer. He was returned to Mancos to face charges concerning his conduct while marshal.

The next week, the winners of the Christmas lighting contest were the Ott home, the Jim Holston home and the Paul Martinez home.

Contact Darrel at 533-7372 or email him at [email protected] to offer comments about his history column.