This week in history as reported by The Summit County Journal the week of Nov. 27, 1920.

Traveling salesman dies of pneumonia at Breckenridge hospital

Fred Walling of New York City, representing a line of vending machines distributed in this territory by the Morey Mercantile Co., died at the local hospital Monday morning shortly after 8 a.m. Walling arrived in Breckenridge the previous Wednesday and was very ill at the time. He consulted with Dr. Condon immediately and shortly afterwards took to his bed. On Thursday morning he developed a serious case of pneumonia and was taken to the hospital.

National forests suffer small fire losses in 1920

The efficiency of U.S. Forest Service fire fighting is shown by the fact that during the fire season, 80% of the forest fires which occurred in the national forests of Colorado, Wyoming and South Dakota were detected and extinguished by forest officers before they had burned over a quarter-acre of timberland. The total number of forest fires was 247 and the area burned was only 498 acres out of 20 million acres of national forests under the management of the Rocky Mountain district.

The total amount of timber destroyed was 747,000 board-feet, valued at $2,244 on the stump. The Forest Service spent $4,144 in fighting and suppressing fires.

The small number of fires this season in the forests is attributed in part by forest officers to increasing public cooperation in the educational campaign for forest fire prevention.

Blue River dredge is currently being repaired

The Blue River dredge operating on the Lambing placer about 2 miles below Breckenridge is undergoing a thorough overhauling before starting up operations that will continue steadily during the coming winter. This dredge was recently closed down and a reorganization of the company has now been affected. As soon as the repair work is completed it will commence operations. The repairs are expected to be finished Dec. 10.

Local news notes from all around Summit County

• The No. 2 dredge of the Tonopah Placers company is now being dismantled. This dredge has not operated this season and the only work done in the vicinity was some testing with a Keystone drill.
• School closed Tuesday for the Thanksgiving holidays so that the teachers who desired to would be able to reach their respective homes in time to celebrate their Thanksgiving. Misses Spencer, Patton and Foersman took advantage of the occasion.
• W. H. Briggle returned from a few days’ business trip to Denver on Tuesday. While in the city, he is said to have tried to eat something that didn’t agree with him and since his return home has been confined to the house for several days.
• Lee Bishop arrived from Leadville Thursday morning. He had been in the Cloud City in consultation with his physicians and is rapidly gaining strength after his long period of illness.
• While in Denver, Alice Richardson has been attending the State Conference of Social Work, especially the sessions dealing with child welfare. She is gathering literature on the subject, which she will have for anyone who desires such information.