THE NEW MEXICO
HISTORICAL NOTEBOOK©
donbullis@msn.com
505-892-9177
Don Bullis, Editor
JUNE 2010 Volume iv, Issue iii
The purpose of The New Mexico Historical Notebook is to provide readers with the most up-to-date information possible regarding the activities of New Mexico’s many historians, historical societies, museums and other groups interested in the state’s colorful and complex past. The publication will provide calendars of events, essays and monographs, book reviews, bibliographies, and interviews. It is revised and issued during the first week of each month. Submissions and comments from readers are encouraged. If you would like to have your name removed from this e-mail list, simply contact me at and let me know. The New Mexico Historical Notebook is a service of the editor, the Historical Society of New Mexico and the Central New Mexico Corral of Westerners.
NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
In last month’s Notebook I mentioned the important work the Historical Society of New Mexico did in the election of new board members at the annual history conference in Hobbs. What I didn’t report is that the conference itself was an outstanding event which offered a variety of panels and presentations.
General categories were as diverse as this: “Remembering the Civil War in New Mexico;” “History and Mystery, and Worlds Imagined;” “Culture and Politics in New Mexico;” “Range Life in Southeastern New Mexico;” “Contested Territory: Conflict and Conquest in the Mid19th Century Southwest;” “Women Who Made History;” and “Developing Southwestern New Mexico;” among others. The presenters run the gamut of folks involved in New Mexico historical projects: museum curators and archivists Calvin Smith, John Baxter and Gene Bundy, university professors Dwight Pitcaithley, Claude Fouillade, Geni Flores, and others; independent historians Robert Torrez, Paul Kraemer and Elvis Fleming, and too many others to mention here. In short, there was something for anyone with even the slightest interest in New Mexico and her checkered past. There were also a variety of social events to round out the long weekend.
So! Now is the time to begin planning to attend next year’s history conference. It will be held from May 5 to 7, 2011 in Ruidoso. If you are really into long range planning, the 2012 conference will be held in Santa Fe (to celebrate New Mexico’s centennial of statehood) on May 3 to 5; and the 2013 gathering will take place in Las Cruces from April 18 to 20.
Noteworthy, too, is that the Central New Mexico Corral of Westerners concluded the 2009-2010 meeting year with the May gathering. Speakers during the year included Deb Slaney who talked about Albuquerque’s Alvarado Hotel, its history and demise; John Deuble who shared the details of Pancho Villa’s 1916 raid on Columbus, New Mexico; Irene Blea who did one presentation on the Women of Fort Union and another on Santa Fe’s famous Doña Tules. We wrapped up the year with a talk by Stephanie Kearny, the great-great-granddaughter of General Stephen Watts Kearny who let the “Army of the West” in the occupation of New Mexico and California. Westerners meet nine times per year, from September to May. Membership is open to anyone with an interest in Southwestern/New Mexico history. Those interested can contact Gloria Bullis who is the vice president and secretary HYPERLINK "mailto:Gloria.bullis@msn.com" Gloria.bullis@msn.com or (505-892-9177).
Don Bullis
THE HSNM PRESIDENT’S SPACE
As I noted in last month's Notebook, part of our mission as a community of those interested in New Mexico history is to make sure that the memories of New Mexico are sustained. As many of you are aware, historians Richard and Shirley Flint, on behalf of the Office of the State Historian (OSH), have held a series of important meetings around the state (eight in total). These meeting are being held to get input from local historians and groups as to how OSH and others, including the Historical Society of New Mexico, can provide more support to historians and history groups, particularly with respect to preserving and communicating their "local" histories (which are all of our histories).
One of the proposals is to establish a network of local or regional historians to help in this. Although this could take some time to bring about in full, there is much more that all of us can do in the meantime to help sustain local memories and increase the flow of historical information in all directions.
This is not a new idea; while rereading President W. G. Ritch's Inaugural Address of February 12, 1881 to the Historical Society of New Mexico (just revived from an adjournment that lasted from September 1863 until December 1880), I ran across the following paragraph:
“CORRESPONDENTS FOR EVERY LOCALITY
When the membership shall have been obtained, there will be one or more suitable persons appointed in every material locality as corresponding members, whose special duty it will become to gather and receive specimens in nature and art, documents and traditions, old pamphlets and newspaper files; and according as his time and inclination shall prompt, to make written contributions with special reference to his neighborhood, people and locality. Family, genealogical and precinct histories can be included with the best of results. Too much, however, must not be expected from the correspondent. Every member in his locality should show his sympathy and support in good words and material acts. Each member thus has the power to aid and contribute to success.”
Whether or not we might be “correspondents,” we all have “the power to aid and contribute to success” in preserving our own family and community histories, and, thereby, New Mexico history. If you, as a reader of this note, are not yet associated with a local history group or museum, please find out how to become involved and find your own way to help preserve New Mexico history.
Michael Stevenson, President
Historical Society of New Mexico
Books
ONE NATION ONE YEAR: A NAVAJO PHOTOGRAPHER’S 365-DAY JOURNEY INTO A WORLD OF DISCOVERY, LIFE AND HOPE (Rio Grande Books, in cooperation with Albuquerque The Magazine, 2010, $24,99) by Don James, text and edited by Karyth Becenti. This is a coffee-table paperback book of beautiful photographs taken across the Navajo Reservation in New Mexico, Arizona and Utah by Don James, himself a member of the Navajo Nation. He travelled the reservation by auto, horse and on foot and took more than 100,000 photos, the best 213 of which are included in One Nation One Year. This book belongs on Southwestern coffee-tables. Book signings are scheduled as follows:
June 12, 1:00—3:00 p.m., Borders, 5901 Wyoming NE, Albuquerque.
June 15, 7:00—8:00 p.m. Bookworks, 4022 Rio Grande NW, Albuquerque
June 26, 12:00—1:00 p.m. Lavender in the Village, Los Ranchos, NM
June 30, 5:30—7:30 p.m., Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, 2401 12th St. NW, Albuquerque
July 13, 5:30—7:30 p.m., Navajo Nation Museum, Window Rock, Arizona
August 5, 5:00—7:00 p.m., Gallup Cultural Center, Gallup, NM (on-going exhibit after August 2)
FACES OF MARKET: TRADITIONAL SPANISH & CONTEMPORARY HISPANIC MARKET (Rio Grande Books, $19.95) by Barbe Awalt & Paul Rhetts. This is the first time both Spanish and Hispanic Markets in Santa Fe have been featured together in a single book. In addition, this is the first time Best of Show winners or both Markets and the Master’s Awards for Lifetime Achievement for Traditional Market are compiled. Awalt and Rhetts are the authors of a dozen books on the Hispanic art of New Mexico, and they also publish Tradición Revista magazine. The book will be available in late June. Books signings are scheduled as follows:
June 26, 2:00—3:00 p.m., Lavender in the Village, Los Ranchos, New Mexico
July 23, 5:00—7:00 p.m., Contemporary Hispanic Market Preview, Santa Fe Community Ctr.
July 24, 1:00—2:00 p.m., Museum of New Mexico History/Spanish Market
GILA COUNTRY LEGEND: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF QUENTIN HULSE (University of New Mexico Press, $29.95 hardcover) by Nancy Coggeshall. This book is a must for anyone interested in the rough and tumble of life in the rugged Gila Country of southwestern New Mexico. Quentin Hulse was the descendant of early pioneers, some of whom made a life with gun in hand. Born in 1926, he heard many of their stories first hand. He lived most of his life at the bottom of Canyon Creek and developed his own reputation as a lion hunter and ranch man. His tale is lovingly told by Nancy Coggeshall who became Quentin’s constant companion late in his life. Highly recommended read.
J. ROBERT OPPENHEIMER, THE COLD WAR, AND THE ATOMIC WEST (University of Oklahoma Press, $24.95 hardcover) by Jon Hunner. This is a concise account of Oppie’s life and the emergence of an Atomic West. It distills “a vast literature” for students and general readers as well. It is comprehensive in its coverage of the controversy surrounding Oppie’s association with communists and his opposition to Edward Teller and the development of the hydrogen bomb. As the author states, “Even though he died in 1967, Oppenheimer’s impact on the United States continues to this day, and not just due to this contributions to the creation of nuclear weapons. He helped reshape the economic and political borders with in the United States…. From the plutonium processing plants in Hanford, Washington, to scientific laboratories in California and New Mexico; from atomic facilities in Texas, Idaho, and Colorado to the nuclear weapons testing grounds in Nevada, the atom brought a rapid and drastic revolution to the West.” Highly recommended.
Events
(Some book signing events are included in the book section.)
JUNE
June 5 and 6, (Saturday & Sunday) 10:00 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“Spring Festival and Children’s Fair” at Los Golondrinas.
Bring the family to learn about New Mexico’s history the fun way! Costumed villagers will bring this Spanish colonial ranch to life -- shearing sheep, blacksmithing, baking bread and much more. Lots of animals, games and hands-on activities for kids. Admission: Adults $8, Seniors and teens $5, Children 5-12 $3. www.golondrinas.org
June 9 (Wednesday), 7:00 p.m.
Silver City Museum, “The Great Diamond Hoax of 1872,” a free lecture by Jeremy Mouat, history professor at the University of Alberta.
June 11, (Friday), 12:00 p.m.
Three short lectures will be offered by recipients of State Historian Scholarships: Bryan Turo, “New Mexico on Display: Politics and Image at the Territorial Fairs, 1881-1912;” Robin Walden, “The All Pueblo Council and Political Sovereignty in the 1920s;” and Jacobo Baca, “Indians on One Hand; Mexicans on the Other: Pueblos, Hispanos, and the Politics of Ethnicity in the Pueblo Lands Board Era, 1913-1933.” Presentations will be made at the Center for Southwest Research, Frank Waters Room, First Floor, Zimmerman Library, University of New Mexico. The event is free and open to the public. Further information, Dr. Dennis Trujillo, 505-476-7998.
June 11 (Friday), 12:00 p.m.
Book signings in conjunction with the Mining History Association conference: Treadwell Gold: An Alaska Saga of Riches and Ruin by Sheila Kelly, Ores to Metals by Jay Fell, and Industrializing the Rockies and Seth Bullock: Black Hills Lawman, both by David Wolf. Global Resource Center as Western New Mexico University, located on 12th St., Silver City, New Mexico.
June 14 (Monday), 12:00 p.m.
A lecture by Denise Tessier entitled, “Spellbinding Drama Within Solemn Walls: New Mexico’s County Courthouses.” The presentation is a part of the New Mexico State Historian’s Scholars Program. New Mexico courthouses were often the focal point of what passed for law and order, and justice, in territorial days. They were symbols of New Mexican efforts to join the United States. Tessier, a long-time journalist is well qualified to deliver this lecture. Presentation will be made at the Center of Southwest Research, Frank Waters Room, First Floor, Zimmerman Library, University of New Mexico. The event is free and open to the public. Further information, Dr. Dennis Trujillo, 505-476-7998.
June 14 (Monday), 12:00 p.m.
Brown Bag Lunch Series: A free lecture by Susan Berry, “If These Walls Could Talk: The H. B. Ailman House.” Held at the Silver City Museum Annex, 302 W. Broadway. For further information call 575-5385921 or info@silvercitymuseum.org.
June 19, (Saturday), 1:00 p.m.
The Albuquerque Historical Society will sponsor a talk by Professor Jake Spidle entitled, “Tuberculosis to Outer Space,” The Saga of the Lovelace Medical Center and the two Doctors Lovelace. Spidle has written a book on the subject called The Lovelace Medical Center: Pioneer in American Health Care. He has taught history at the University of New Mexico and specializes in the history of medicine. Held at the Lovelace Education Building, 6200 Gibson SE (the easternmost building of the former Lovelace Hospital Complex, park in east lot).
June 19 and 20 (Saturday & Sunday), 10:00 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“Dances with Wools! A Fiber Arts Weekend” at Los Golondrinas
From fuzzy sheep to fancy embroidered blankets, learn how textiles are made! Buy fiber arts, have your textiles evaluated, enjoy exhibits on weaving and learn about the whole process – from shearing sheep to doing colcha embroidery - from experts. Presented in cooperation with Toadlena Trading Post and Museum. Eric Blinman, Director of the New Mexico Office of Archaeological Studies will talk about yucca as fiber. Author Nancy Benson will be on hand to sign her book, New Mexico Colcha Club. Admission: Adults $6, Seniors and teens $4, Children 5-12 $2. www.golondrinas.org
June 20 (Sunday), 1:00 p.m.
Judith McLaughlin, author of Sacred Feminine: Sacred Images of the Southwest & the Development of the Feminine Principles in New Mexico Folkloric Art (Rio Grande Books, 2009) will be signing copies of her book at Treasure House Books in Albuquerque’s Old Town. Her book has received awards from New Mexico Book Award and the New Mexico Press Women.
JULY
July 3 and 4, (Saturday & Sunday) 12:00 to 6:00 p.m.
“Santa Fe Wine Festival” at Los Golondrinas. Discover the delicious blends of more than a dozen New Mexico vintners; taste all that you want, and then buy your favorites directly from the makers. All this in a festive atmosphere with live music, food and traditional agricultural products and handmade arts and crafts for sale. Museum exhibits will also be open. Adults 21+ $13 (includes festival wine glass), Youth 13-20 $5. www.santafewinefestival.com
July 14 (Wednesday) 6:00 p.m.
San Juan County Historical Society will host a presentation by New Mexico historian Don Bullis who will talk about law and order in territorial New Mexico. Details in the July edition.
July 17 and 18 (Saturday & Sunday), 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
“¡Viva México! Celebration” at Los Golondrinas. Enjoy música, arte y más at this celebration of the culture, cuisine and crafts of our colorful neighbor! Mariachi music, fashion shows, artisan demonstrations, tasty food and much more. Featuring the amazing Voladores (flying men) of Veracruz! Presented in partnership with the Mexican Consulate of Albuquerque and the Mexican Tourism Board. Admission: Adults $6, Seniors and teens $4, Children 5-12 $2. www.golondrinas.org
July 24 and 25 (Saturday & Sunday), 10:00 a.m.to 4:00 p.m.
“Herb and Lavender Fair” at Los Golondrinas. Take a tour of the museum’s herb gardens, make your own lavender “wand,” hear expert presentations on cultivating lavender, buy lavender/herb products, enjoy live music and sample foods made with lavender. Admission: Adults $6, Seniors and teens $4, Children 5-12 $2. www.golondrinas.org
August
August 7 and 8 (Saturday & Sunday), 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
“Summer Festival, Frontier Days and Horses of the West” at Los Golondrinas. Meet the colorful characters who put the “wild” in “wild west!” Mountain men and women will spin tales of the past, sell unique wares and demonstrate their skills at encampments throughout the ranch. Flint knapping, panning for gold, hide tanning, bow making and more. Also enjoy Peruvian Paso Horse demonstrations both days. Adults $8, Seniors and teens $5, Children 5-12 $3. www.golondrinas.org
August 14 and 15 (Saturday & Sunday), 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
“New Mexico Roundup: Heroes and Villains from the Past” at Los Golondrinas. Look into the face of history and meet our state’s most famous and infamous characters, like Kit Carson, Pat Garrett & Bill the Kid, Doña Tules, La Llorona and more. A weekend of first person interactions! Admission: Adults $6, Seniors and teens $4, Children 5-12 $2. www.golondrinas.org
September
September 4 and 5 (Saturday & Sunday), 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
“Fiesta de los Niños: A Children’s Celebration” Ven a jugar con nosotros! at Los Golondrinas. Come out and play with us! Your children will have fun learning about history as they try on historic costumes of the Spanish settlers and build their very own miniature adobe house. Storytellers and costumed villagers – not to mention burros, goats and sheep - will bring this Spanish colonial ranch to life and inspire young minds; magicians and miniature horses will delight and entertain them. Admission: Adults $8, Seniors and teens $5, Children under 13 admitted free of charge. www.golondrinas.org
September 18 &19 (Saturday & Sunday), 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
“Santa Fe Renaissance Fair” at Los Golondrinas, Held in partnership with Open Hands of Santa Fe. Revel in the amazing antics of Santa Fe’s own Clan Tynker! Cheer on the brave pursuits of jousting, sword fighting and Celtic games! Kids! Defend the Spanish Galleon from marauding pirates! Win treasure playing Catapulting Frogs, Jacob’s Ladder and other games of knightly skill! Indulge in belly dancing and other live entertainment on 3 stages! Dress in your most elegant finery and compete for prizes in the costume contest! Spend your hard-earned gold with vendors selling shields, blades, cloaks, turkey legs, jewels and other goods! Bow at the feet of their Majesties Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand! ...and MUCH MORE!. Adults $8, Seniors and teens $5, Children 5-12 $3. www.sfrenfair.org
October 2 & 3 (Saturday & Sunday), 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
“Harvest Festival” at Los Golondrinas. Bring in the harvest with the villagers of El Rancho de las Golondrinas, crushing grapes for wine by foot; grinding sorghum with burros, stringing colorful chile ristras, and much, much more. Enjoy bizcochitos fresh from the horno and tortillas hot off the comal. You may also participate in an outdoor Mass and procession for San Isidro, led by the Archbishop of Santa Fe, enjoy music and dancing on our entertainment platform and buy arts and crafts directly from the artisans. You will never look at history the same way again! Adults $8, Seniors and teens $5, Children 5-12 $3. www.golondrinas.org
Did You Know???
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“Father of the Atomic Bomb”
J. Robert Oppenheimer(1904-1967) was born in New York City and educated at Harvard, Cambridge University in England and Göttigen University in Germany. His intellectual capabilities were considerable and by the 1930s he had established himself as a theoretical physicist and had published more than a dozen articles on the subject. He also spoke eight languages and knew Latin and Greek. In 1941 he was named to head the effort to build an atomic bomb called the Manhattan Project and he selected Los Alamos, New Mexico, as the location of the weapons laboratory. He was named director in 1942. Before it was all over, he supervised more than 3,000 people and yet retained a role in addressing theoretical and mechanical problems associated with development of the atomic bomb. He was present when the first bomb was detonated at Trinity Site, between Socorro and Alamogordo, New Mexico, on July 16, 1945. The force of the explosion was equal to that of 18,000 tons of TNT. Afterwards he quoted the Bhagavad-Gita: “I am become death: the destroyer of worlds.” After World War II, Oppenheimer was appointed chairman of the General Advisory Committee of the Atomic Energy Commission and he voiced his opinion against the development of a hydrogen bomb; a program supported by physicist xe "Teller, Edward"Edward Teller. In the early 1950s, at the time of the great Red Scare, Oppenheimer’s past association with left-wing groups and Communists came to the fore. In June 1954, the Atomic Energy Commission voted against reinstating his access to classified information, thus ending his influence over science policy, even though no evidence exists to show that he ever belonged to the Communist party. Oppenheimer said at one point, “I never accepted Communist dogma or theory.” He returned to teaching and died of throat cancer—he was known for chain-smoking cigarettes—in 1967. There is a research center and one street, a very short one, named for him in Los Alamos. Oppenheimer authored several books including Science and the Common Understanding (1954), The Open Mind (1955) and Some Reflections on Science and Culture (1960). He was somewhat rehabilitated in 1963 when President Lyndon Johnson presented him with the Atomic Energy Commission’s Fermi Award; their highest honor.
David Hsi, From Sundaggers to Space Exploration
Jon Hunner, J. Robert Oppenheimer, The Cold War, and the Atomic West
Richard Melzer, Breakdown: How the Secret of the Atomic Bomb was Stolen during World War II
New York Times, “J. Robert Oppenheim, Atomic Bomb Pioneer Dies,” February 18, 1967
Richard Rhodes, Making the Atomic Bomb
(From New Mexico: A Biographical Dictionary, Centennial Edition, due for release in 2011)