I’ll take a look at 1965 this time around.
Jan. 2: The Mancos Volunteer Firemen reported that about 300 Mancos residents enjoyed their New Year’s dance, which was said to be the best in several years.
Jan. 9: Members of the Mancos school board and Superintendent Conway met with three leading state educators in Durango to discuss the possibility of having a technical-vocational school established in Mancos.
Jan. 11: The 4-H Club held a candlelight installation for the following officers: Penny Knott, Marsha Harral, Margie Bader, Pam Patrick and Dianna Sheek.
Feb. 13: The Mancos Cattlemen’s Association elected a new slate of officers. They were: Dwight Wallace, Fred Reddert, Roland Bartel, Bill Crader, Clyde Sheek and George Eppich.
Feb. 13: The Singing Cowboys from Mancos appeared on KOB-TV in Albuquerque. Seventy-eight young men sang three songs under the direction of Allen Snair and received accolades from Dick Bills and the management of KOB-TV.
March 5: The water outlook for 1964 could be serious. Only once in the previous 25 years has the snow at Rico contained less moisture.
March 20: The Mancos Theater opened under the new management of Juan McAllister, and Philip Haram. The theater had 302 seats and two movies were to be shown per week.
April 9: After a town election, Mayor Van Willis and trustees Paul Frazier and Elbert Gustafson retained their seats.
April 9: Negotiations were underway with Montezuma County to oil South Main Street to the city limits in conjunction with county work that was to start soon on the Webber Canyon Road.
April 23: Marilyn Colyer received a superior performance award for her accomplishments in assisting scientists working on the Wetherill Project at Mesa Verde National Park.
May 22: The following were among the seniors graduated from Mancos High: Shirley Honey, Maurine Ellis, Judy Everett, Kenny Fitzgerald, Ronnie Cox, Doug Ross, Jimmy Dick Yeomans, Dick Valdez, Roger Bauer and Kenneth Robbins.
June 25: The biography of Cecelia Jensen appeared in the Mancos Times-Tribune. She was selected as the 1964 queen for the Mancos Colorado Days. She was born in 1885 and had five children. Parley was killed in the Doyle Mine snow slide in 1936. Another tragedy in her life was the loss of sight in one eye while helping repair a hayrack.
Nov. 1: Mancos suffered a serious loss in an airplane crash that took the lives of four men. Kenneth Wallace and Cyril Conway left a void that would be impossible to fill. Kenny spent the better part of his life here in the service of his community. Cyril, in the short time he has been here, did more for the community through the schools than most men do in a lifetime. The other two men were McMillan from the Dolores Schools and Hudgins from the Cortez school system.
Dec. 12: A number of Mancos men journeyed to Denver to hear experts on education. They were: Dr. Fred Reddert, chairman of the Mancos School Board, Jack Ott, chairman of Project Schoolchild, and Julio Archuleta, acting superintendent of schools. (Cyril Conway was superintendent until his untimely death in a plane crash a month earlier)
Dec. 24: Mrs. Robert Conway, wife of Cyril Conway, was named to fill the vacancy created by the death of Kenneth Wallace.
Dec. 24: Linda Willis won the Voice of Democracy contest supervised at the Mancos High School by Mr. Allen Snair. The judges were: Mrs. F. E. Reddert, Mrs. Jack Ott, Jim Green and Mr. Aspromonte.
Darrel Ellis is a longtime historian of the Mancos Valley. Email him at dnrls@q.com.
