Faded Memories

To those who cherish memories, I suggest you try to preserve and hold on to such things as yearbooks, awards, photos, etc. I have tried to save my precious memories of my youth in Pagosa Springs through photos and scrapbooks handed down by my parents and grandparents.

With the progression of time and technology, the beauty of this heavenly place is being portrayed with astonishingly brilliant photos that capture the sights as though one is standing there in person.

Its funny how 50+ years can change scenery, ones social status, and gadgets of all sorts. Growing up in Pagosa we didn't know what television was until we heard that Ferris Breedlove who owned the local hardware store had one put in at his home. I was lucky enough to be invited there one Saturday night to see the Ed Sullivan show. We had a telephone, even though we had to tell the operator to ring the person we wanted to talk to and at times share conversations with other parties on the line. No one ever dreamed that one day we would all have a phone in our pocket or be typing messages to one another. Even language has changed over the years: Pot was something mom cooked out of, Gay was an expression of happiness, Queer was something odd, weed was a pesty garden plant, etc.
Oh, how the fashion has changed no longer do we need to guess boxers of briefs, boys pants are now made to hang around the knees. Remember when body piercing were only seen in National Geographic Magazine, Tattooed ladies were only seen in carnival side shows.
I was amazed watching videos of the parade in Pagosa on the fourth of July and seeing the fire fighting equipment they have. I remember when the only fire fighters were volunteers and the first time Pagosa acquired a used fire truck.
One thing that never seems to change is the old timers all move away and new folks loaded with money are willing to come in and start building. I guess they don't realize that if they love the way mother nature does her work maybe they shouldn't try to change it so much. With humans encroaching on wild animal habitat its no wonder that deer and bears are becoming city slickers.