From the Past - October 28, 2026
90 years ago
CCC camp note - “76 men are transferred from Company 3238 to this company, brining our strength up to 136 enrollees. We expect approximately 20 more replacements in the near future, bringing out total strength to our full quota.” • From Ucolo - “John Sell is hauling the Shackler and Easton children and Dollie Sell and Bonnie Boss from West Summit here to school.”
80 years ago
The Army needs young men and women who can blow their own horns, a result of a shortage of qualified musicians in the regular Army and the Women’s Army Corps. • Busy housewives from all over town left their work to see what hard-to-get items they might find at the grand opening of Parley Redd Mercantile, a self-service grocery.
70 years ago
Joan Willis, Miss Utah of 1957, visits Monticello High School. She quoted the original poem that she had presented in the talent portion of the contest.
60 years ago
Arlow Freestone announces a $3 increase in room rates at San Juan Hospital: private rooms are $22, semi-private rooms are $18, and the ward is $16. • Monticello Lions Club sponsor their pre-deer-hunt chili supper.
50 years ago
Fleet-footed runners from San Juan High School win the State 2A cross-country championship. They are Fred Cly, Benjamin Benallie, Kee Begay, Roy Black, Ernest Thomas, Lars Black, David Jim and Wilbert Eddy.
40 years ago
Glenna Johnson is San Juan High homecoming queen, with Cody Bartlett and Cori Lyman attendants. • Pat Cook of Bluff is named “Utah Emergency Medical Technician of the Year”.
30 years ago
Summo Corporation is slowly clearing many bureaucratic and regulatory hurdles to possibly open a large copper mine in Lisbon Valley. • Chris Webb is hired as the new Blanding City Manager.
20 years ago
Resolute Natural Resources Company owns 75 percent of the Aneth Oil Field, while the Navajo Nation Oil and Gas Company owns 25 percent. The Navajo Nation, which is exempt from tax rolls, is expected to buy out the assets of Resolute over time. The economic ramifications to local governments could be staggering, as the Aneth Oil Field has generally represented approximately 25 percent of the total assessed value of San Juan County. • A tent city sprung up in the Behind the Rocks area of San Juan County from the approximately 5,500 people who were there for the 12th annual “24 Hours of Moab” mountain bike race.
10 years ago
A 391-acre parcel of state trust land near Bluff sold at auction on October 19. While it appeared as if the auction was going to be between the Hole in the Rock Foundation and conservation groups, it was a third-party who purchased the land. With a bid by Joe Hunt of $500,000, Lyman Family Farms secured the land. The privately-owned company has purchased a number of properties in southern Utah.