1 year ago: After decades in business, Arapahoe Cafe & Pub in Dillon says goodbye

On Oct. 15, the Arapahoe Cafe’s final day in business, guests reminisced on personal memories of the restaurant as they enjoyed a final meal. With potential redevelopment plans looming in the area, the property’s landlords, who also own the Best Western Ptarmigan Lodge next door, told Arapahoe Cafe they intend to sell the restaurant and would not be renewing its lease. Originally built in the 1940s in what is now considered the old town of Dillon, Arapahoe Cafe was moved up the hill in the early 1960s to its current location on Lake Dillon Drive after the old town was flooded to create the Dillon Reservoir.  Dillon’s town council has floated the idea of relocating the building and preserving it as a historical site, even if it no longer operates as a restaurant. 

— From the Oct. 16, 2023, edition of the Summit Daily News

5 years ago: Summit County, Breckenridge open Swan River Restoration Project area to public

Summit County and the town of Breckenridge held a grand opening ceremony Oct. 15, 2019, for public access to the Swan River Restoration Project off Tiger Road in Breckenridge. The project, with the first of four phases now complete, aims to restore a large section of the Swan River that was destroyed by gold mine dredging in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A new public trailhead has opened, with the recently finished trail winding about a mile along the bends of the new streambed and into the White River National Forest. Rocks and flora line the restored stream as it flows west, becoming a tributary to the Blue River when the two waterways meet near Highway 9.

— From the Oct. 16, 2019, edition of the Summit Daily News

10 years ago: Pennsylvania Mine receives one of two pollution-preventing plugs

On Oct. 17, 2014, several federal, state and local officials marked a milestone for the centerpiece of the county’s current mining cleanup efforts — plugging the Pennsylvania Mine. This past week, the Colorado Division of Reclamation, Mining and Safety finished installing one of two bulkheads, massive plugs of concrete and steel built about 500 feet inside the mine. About 8 miles east of Keystone, the abandoned mine is Summit County’s biggest mess. The mine, considered the worst in the state, spews toxic heavy metal concentrates and acidifies water flowing into the Peru Creek, a tributary of the Snake River, which feeds Dillon Reservoir. Peru Creek is without fish, insects or other aquatic life. The Snake River has life, but it’s sparse and found only in the lower reaches. In 2007, a burp of acidic water from the abandoned mine killed fish all the way to Keystone, county officials said. According to project manager Jeff Graves, once both bulkheads are installed, toxic burps and blowouts will be a thing of the past.

— From the Oct. 19, 2014, edition of the Summit Daily News

15 years ago: Breckenridge’s famous gardener Dodie Bingham dies at 92

Dorothy “Dodie” Bingham died on Oct. 10, 2009, just a few weeks shy of her 93rd birthday. She moved to Breckenridge in 1978 and bought a historic building at the corner of Main Street and Adams Avenue, where she relocated her gift shop. It was on this sunny corner lot where she started her famous flower garden. Some folks tried to discourage her from growing flowers at 9,600 feet, where frost-free days were fewer than two dozen, but she was determined. She proved the naysayers wrong and showed the whole community that a vast variety of beautiful flowers can flourish in our mountain environment with good soil, ample water and plenty of loving care.

— From the Oct. 14, 2009, edition of the Summit Daily News

30 years ago: Mountain Mashers opens home brewing supply in Frisco

Anyone who has been fortunate enough to live in a Colorado mountain town for any amount of time in the past 10 years has noticed the “micro-beer” revolution and now a local store aims to help people embark on their own brewing journey. Mountain Mashers Homebrewing Supply owner Todd Pruner said he could never revert to the megabrew pale pilsners he devoured as a teen, so he and his partner, award-winning brewer of Mazzy Dog Stout Porter. Scott Pohlman, made the move forward with homebrews. Having discriminating tastes add up to big bucks and homebrewing is the most economical way to solve this dilemma. explained Pruner. For under $100 you can get started with a basic brewing kit that will yield about four cases of premium homebrew.

— From the Oct. 14, 1994, edition of the Summit Daily News

125 years ago: Outside investors bet big on Summit County placer mining

A local boom in placer mining seems to be bringing longer-term interest from outside investors. Two men from Dillon’s Oro Grande Placer Co. — George E. West, of Chicago, and F. R. Blount, of New York — exemplify this recent trend. Both gentlemen have purchased nearly 3,000 acres of the richest placer mines in the Blue River Valley in the early October of 1899. The men have also been investing in equipment and other materials, including a drill capable of getting samples of material down the bedrock to test for the richest placer deposits.

— From the Oct. 21, 1899, edition of the Summit County Journal