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Dec. 5, 1977: A special extra edition of The Journal was dedicated exclusively to the Roaring Fork Rams’ victory in the state football championships. The seniors on the team had begun their high school careers alongside head coach Rocky Whitworth in the fall of 1974 — which also happened to be when the team joined class AA.

Calling all artists — writers, entrepreneurs, craftsmen and creators: The Carbondale Creative District and Town of Carbondale invite you to participate in the Artspace Housing Feasibility Study, 7 to 9 p.m. Dec. 5 at the Third Street Center, refreshments provided. The feasibility study is an opportunity for Bonedalians to brainstorm our way out of the Catch-22 gentrification cycle to which most of us have contributed. That this study is even happening is a minor miracle, actually, as Carbondale had initially lost the bid for the Space to Create designation last September.

A few last minute changes were made to the 2018 budget at the Nov. 28 Board of Trustee meeting in advance of its scheduled approval in December. “We’re trying to firm up the draft so that when it comes up the next meeting you just pass it,” Finance Director Renae Gustine explained. Among the adjustments were a excise tax credit for a business which had been improperly charged and an increase in funding for the Environmental Board.

The first Brenda Patch Tournament in 1987, a year after 16-year-old Brenda and her mother, Loretta, were killed in a car accident on Thanksgiving Day, was a solemn affair.
“It was devastating for the community, and it was a way to kind of keep her memory alive,” recalled Larry Williams, who was an assistant basketball coach for the girls at the time and now coaches the boys’ team. “I knew Brenda, so I know what a special person she was,” he added.

Often, audiences attending the theater look forward to an opportunity to suspend disbelief. That said, audiences at Sopris Theatre Company’s upcoming production of “Uncommon Women and Others,” directed by Colorado Mountain College’s Brad Moore, may find the narrative all too real. The 1977 play is an ensemble piece — 10 women comprise the cast — that is largely character driven.

Dec. 1, 1977: The Journal looked back on winters of yore. Jake Lucksinger took readers all the way back to 1899, when deep snow played havoc will the Colorado Midland Railroad. “The Santa Fe Jull” — a monstrous steam powered auger — eventually bored its way through giant drifts on Hagerman Pass, freeing crews that had been snowbound up the Frying Pan with their trains for 17 days.

A cheetah, a cow, a unicorn and a beaver walk into a ropes course. It sounds like a bad joke, but for Asa Dehaan, Ramsey Bond, Ben Schmidt and Cholla Nicoll (respectively), it’s serious business. Mostly.

Every winter junkie loves a good Warren Miller film, but they often enjoy shooting their own adventures even more. Just look at GoPro, which saw 19-percent first-quarter growth this year and a 40-percent uptick in Instagram followers. “Sunlight had always done its Warren Miller movie night,” said Troy Hawks, sales and marketing director at Sunlight Mountain Resort. “But then I started thinking, ‘why can’t we invite people to submit their own stuff?’” And thus, a movie night evolved into Winter Stoke Film Festival.

The Roaring Fork Ram football boys were headed to the semi-final following a 42-8 victory against Del Norte at home. Marty Nieslanik made a 47-yard touchdown pass in the lopsided playoff game, while Tracy Cerise, John Yocom, Neil Jensen and Mike Stark all contributed to the offense and Al Joyner, Scott Maynard and Cary Soucie shut down the Tigers offensively.

Martin Central Vacuums Systems at 534 Highway 133 is in an unassuming shopping strip and is an unlikely location to find handmade catnip pouches.“I mostly do the odd, unusual things,” said Margery Martin of her fabric-focused novelties. Her husband Ron runs the vacuum business and she displays and sells her wares from the same storefront. While perusers will find placemats and pot holders that are more familiar, most of Margery’s collection feels like a hodgepodge of items you didn’t know you needed. “These are the catnip mats. Cats love them,” she said.