Vail Trail staff
July 2, 2008

40 Years Ago - Week of July 5, 1968
• Seeing is believing – believe it or not – they are actually paving Vail’s streets with asphalt. The Eagle County “Asphalt-laying-machine” worked its way up Bridge Street.

• The Vail Interfaith Chapel fundraising effort reached the ground-breaking goal of $60,000. Though an additional $40,000 was required to complete the building, the Board of Directors was ready to get bids on the structure.

• The Lord Gore Club was looking for square dancers for the “Play it Cool” program launched by the lodge owners in Vail. The club had secured music for the event, but needed callers and instructors to facilitate the square dance.

30 Years Ago - Week of July 7, 1978
• A bolt of lightning hit the main pump of the Intermountain water system the previous Thursday and the system had been operating at reduced capacity since.

Reduced water flows and occasional dry periods were experienced by Intermountain residents for the past week.

Intermountain residents were encouraged to conserve water until the problem was resolved.

• The Colorado Pro-Am Skateboard Tour was held in Vail July 8-9.

*More than 100 people participated in the first annual Vail Frisbee Golf tournament, which took place across the town, spanning streets and swimming pools.

20 Years Ago - Week of July 8, 1988
• A new drunk-driving law went into effect on July 1 in Colorado. The law reduced the blood alcohol content required for a DUI conviction from 0.15 to 0.10.

The law also provided that first-time offenders should lose their drivers license for three months instead of one year.

• In “Anger is not Nearly Enough,” columnist Dick Dorworth claimed, “George Carlin isn’t funny anymore.”

• The Vail Fire department contacted 45 people, most aged 14 to 18, for using illegal fireworks. Only one arrest was made, after an individual shoved a smoke bomb in a hotel door in the Village area.

10 Years Ago - Week of July 3, 1998
• The luxury second-home market had become the most powerful economic driver in the Vail Valley, while skiing was no more than an accessory.

Vail Valley skier visits during the last 12 years had grown 40 percent while Aspen has had less than 1 percent growth.

Now, people are buying bigger and more luxurious houses up to 45 minutes from the nearest ski slope.

• “Camp Hale’s Top Secret” detailed the CIA’s covert operations in Camp Hale, 20 miles west of Leadville.

The CIA gathered a number of Tibetans in the late 50s and early 60s at Camp Hale and gave them paramilitary training involving ambushes, demolitions and parachute drops. Even local historians were unaware of the initiative years later. Though the training effort was extensive, the net effect was marginal at best.