tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68736437749133020102024-02-19T07:13:18.163-08:00Slouching Towards Santa FeChronicles of the City in the mid-20th CenturyTimeRiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00394567617045985809noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6873643774913302010.post-62031374571075979552014-07-06T17:47:00.002-07:002014-07-06T17:47:12.287-07:001943<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />TimeRiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00394567617045985809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6873643774913302010.post-79772553178699577592014-07-06T17:37:00.000-07:002014-07-06T17:37:28.483-07:001943 - Wartime America, Small Town Santa Fe<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1943
- America
at War and winning. In the Pacific, in Europe, in northern Africa,
the allies were turning the tide of the war.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At
home, Americans faced rationing of cheese, meat, canned food, shoes
and gasoline. And coffee, sugar and butter. But Americans didn’t
just give up the luxuries, they gave as well, holding drives to
collect scrap metal, rubber and cooking fat. And they invested
millions of dollars in war bonds. Women took the place of men in the
factories and America knuckled down to the job at hand.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Santa
Feans did their part, too. Daily, the newspaper encouraged citizens
to save cooking fat, paper, scrap metal and rubber for the war
effort. And they did.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The
paper even carried a chart of enemy planes, just in case a Japanese
zero was considering strafing the Santa Fe Plaza. The paper reported
who was drafted, who was killed or injured in the war, who got medals
and who came home.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The
War was personal in Santa Fe. When Corregidor fell in
May 1942,
thousands of Americans, hundreds of them
New
Mexicans serving
in the 200<sup>th</sup>
Coast Artillery,
were taken prisoner. Those
few
who
survived the infamous Bataan
death
march were held in camps deep in the Philippines. New Mexico
Governor John Dempsey immediately began plans to get an information
flow to New Mexicans with sons and brothers held prisoner as well as
efforts to get the prisoners as much aid as the Japanese would allow.
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One
prisoner, Sgt. Walter Charles Kiesov, managed to get a postcard to
his mother, Mrs. Charles Kiesov, reporting that he was well. Sgt.
Kiesov was first reported killed at Bataan but then his name appeared
on the prisoner list. Other Santa Fe boys, thought to be lost, turned
up at prison camps in the Phillipines, including Pvt. Francis Bert
Powell, son of M/M C.F. Powell of Garfield Street, Sgt. Francis Van
Buskirk, son of M/M J.A. Laudenslager, Corp. Rubel Gonzales, son of
Mrs. Frank Gonzales, Candelario Street, Corp. Joe T. Lucero, son of
Mrs. Willie Lucero, East Alameda and Corp. Ray Tucker, son of Mrs.
William T. Tucker, Ninita Street. Many more such notices were
received throughout 1943.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And
the local paper also highlighted our war heroes, two. Sgt. Manuel
Duran received a purple heart for injuries he got while saving his
crew members and his bomber, attacked returning from a bombing
mission. A fierce fire broke out and Sgt. Duran assisted the
wounded, jettisoned ammo which was about to blow up and put out the
flames. He is the son of Mrs. Matt Duran, widow of the late Matt
Duran who ran the Torreon Shoe Shop on College Street.
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And
Lt. Edwin Lamme also won a purple heart for serious injuries to his
hand when his Flying Fortress was hit by an anti-aircraft shell over
France. Ed, the son of M/M Kenneth Lamme who ran a photography studio
in Santa Fe, was most famous as the youngest ever to graduate from
St. Mikes High School, called St. Michael's College in those days.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Major
Miguel A. Otero wrote home to tell of a chance meeting with another
Santa Fean – Sgt John Stevenson in North Africa. Both were in the
Air corps and ran across each other at the same post exchange. Otero
was a lawyer in town, the son of Governor Miguel Otero and married
to the famous flyer, Katherine Stinson Otero. Stevenson was the
advertising manager for the New Mexican until he was drafted.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Silas
Garcia went off to the Navy in style, courtesy of a party thrown by
the Misses Mary Jane Montano and Eloisa Baca . Guests included
Charlie Thayer, Joe Padilla, Joe Frank Ortiz, Don Rodriguez, Mike
Abeyta, Bennie Gonzales, Pete Alarid, Eddy Apodaca, Walter Stark,
Tilly Baca,
Alice Lucero, Margaret Martinez,
Viola Tapia and Ferbie
Longacre. Games, dancing and refreshments for all.
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Capt
Finlay MacGillivray of Santa Fe demonstrated he was proud of his
Scots ancestry when his named his bomber the “Hoot Mon.” In
1943, McGillivray
was serving in New Guinea piloting A-20 attack bombers. In fact, he
received
the Air Medal and a letter of commendation for his service there.
Mac was a Santa
Fe High School
graduate and a football star at UNM before the war and he wrote often
to his mother, Della MacGillivray,
at 130 W. Houghton Street.</span></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Wondering
about the women in the war effort? Then
consider
Lena Alarid, the first Santa Fe girl to enlist in the WAVES –
that's Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Services. She was a
nurse
stationed in Washington D.C. and held the rank of lieutenant. She
was the daughter of Fred Alarid, 206 Chapelle. Eight
other
Santa Fe girls were in WAVES in 1943: Eloisa Eckert, Paulina
Gonzales, Hulda Hobbs, Dollie Ruth Johnson, Jane E. Means, Ernestine
Quintana, Irma Wildering Smith and Mary Francis Sullivan.
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And
six Santa Fe girls were on the front page of the monthly newsletter
for the Tulare Air
Base
in California as
the
prettiest aircraft mechanics around or “gal wrench-wrestlers,” as
the newsletter put it. They
were
Ernestine and Teresa Alarid, Santana Gonzales, Anita Bustos, Amy
Norton and Agnes Lucero. According to the newsletter, the six were
trained at the Santa Fe municipal airport where these “belles of
the balpeen hammer” learned their craft.
</span></div>
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<br />
<div class="western" style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1943
– Wartime America, Small Town Santa Fe. </span>
</div>
TimeRiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00394567617045985809noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6873643774913302010.post-83374740924186668072014-06-29T16:54:00.002-07:002014-06-29T16:56:42.161-07:001966 - The Danish Bride<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-right: 0.61in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">Have
I told the tale of the Danish Bride? It all happened in 1966.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-right: 0.61in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-right: 0.61in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">Dorte
Meyer, a </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">young
</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">student</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">
from Copenhagen, was traveling through the U</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">nited
</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">S</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">tates</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">
when she wandered through Santa Fe. At the downtown Plaza Bar, she
met </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">28
year old </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">Santa
Fean Anton Miller and it was love at first sight.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-right: 0.61in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-right: 0.61in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">When
Miller proposed marriage, Dorte was agreeable but she wanted to
observe old Danish wedding customs. The first of which, it turned
out, involved the bride</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">'</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">s
shoes. The custom in Denmark required the young couple to collect
pennies in a champagne bottle – from friends, family, even
strangers – and use that money to buy the bride's wedding shoes.
Apparently, it was bad luck to obtain the shoes any other way.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-right: 0.61in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-right: 0.61in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">So
Anton and Dorte acquired a large champagne bottle and posted it on
the counter at the Plaza Bar, with a little note explaining its
purpose. Soon enough, the jug began to fill with pennies.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-right: 0.61in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-right: 0.61in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">Plans
were made for the wedding, the license, flowers, justice of the peace
and about a month later, the wedding day came. Gene Petchesky, owner
of the downtown Guarantee store was contacted and asked if he would
sell the bride her wedding shoes in the Danish Custom. Gene, a smart
businessman, said yes even though he had no idea what the Danish
custom might be.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-right: 0.61in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-right: 0.61in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">Anton
Miller arrived to pick up his bride on a bicycle, placed her on the
cross bar and pedaled over to the Plaza Bar. There, they retrieved a
full champagne bottle of pennies and pedaled over to the Guarantee
Store. There, the bride tried on every pair of white shoes in stock,
finally settling on the first pair she had tried on. That, I
believe, is an American custom.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-right: 0.61in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-right: 0.61in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">When
it came time to pay, the bride called for the champagne bottle,
pulled a hammer out of her purse and smashed the bottle, spraying
pennies everywhere. All this to the astonishment of Gene Petcheskey
and his staff. But once the custom was explained, Petcheskey took it
in good humor and set his staff to count the pennies – $15.91 –
which he accepted as payment.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-right: 0.61in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-right: 0.61in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">Then
the couple pedaled to the Justice of the Peace for the ceremony but
there was a short delay as the best man was sent back home for the
forgotten marriage license. He also made a short detour for flowers
which the groom had also forgotten. The best man didn't say where he
got the flowers, but he did say that it was lucky he lived next door
to a cemetery.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-right: 0.61in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-right: 0.61in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">After
the ceremony, the happy couple repaired to the Plaza Bar for the
reception </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">where
the bride was treated to an ice cream sherbet </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">and
</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">the
wedding party</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">
toast</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">ed
</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">with
traditional Swedish </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">g</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">loegg,
a hot spiced drink. Apparently pretty potent as well, because the
groom – barely wed 4 hours – was </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">later</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">arrested
on Lincoln Avenue for public drunkenness and drunk driving on a
bicycle. The complaint was lodged by his parents, </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">Mr.
and Mrs.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">
</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">Harry</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">
Miller of Garcia Street, who weren't able to convince their
intoxicated son to come home.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-right: 0.61in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-right: 0.61in;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">Oh,
</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">carrying
a</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">
bride on a bicycle is also a </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">Danish</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">
custom but not in this case. Between them, Anton Miller and Dorte
Meyer owned six cars and one airplane but none of them worked. And
they </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">owned</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">
two bicycles, but one of them had been stolen earlier in the week.
So, </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">as
it happened, </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, serif;">the
one bicycle was all the transportation they had.</span></div>
<br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-right: 0.61in;">
<br /></div>
TimeRiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00394567617045985809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6873643774913302010.post-81939527406838061232014-06-22T20:21:00.000-07:002014-06-29T16:58:21.751-07:001954 - Old and New<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">For
all the emphasis on history and tradition, the City is always ready
to try something new.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Take
the Plaza in 1954, for example.
That
year the
Kiwanis Club asked the City to build a bandstand, reviewing stand and
a public comfort station on the plaza. It would cost about $12,000
and the Kiwanis offered
to
pitch in on the funds. As well, the Club asked for a better display
space for the ship's bell from the USS New Mexico with some
informative bronze plaques. At
the time, the ship's bell was installed on the northwest quadrant of
the Plaza, mounted on a concrete platform perfect for sitting and
people watching. While the City Councilors were interested in the
ideas, nothing ultimately came of them.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The
City had already begun to beautify the Plaza by installing an iron
fence and gates around the Soldier's Monument. That was Henry
Dendahl's idea. He got the fence from the old Manderfield estate and
the gates from the Staab house, plus donations of labor and materials
from Plaza merchants. Dendahl
planned an annual painting of the fence with a free lunch at the
Canton Cafe for all the volunteers.
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The
big news on the Plaza was the work on the ancient
Palace of the Governors. Workmen put up scaffolding right on Palace
Avenue and, to howls of protest from Santa Feans, began removing the
ends of the vigas which protruded from the portal. Turns out the
vigas had rotted at the ends and were leaking rain water under the
roof. New dummy viga ends would be installed so the Palace would
look the same. Around the corner on the Lincoln Avenue side, the old
adobe
bricks over the gate – the
one with the blue door –
to the patio were giving way so they were replaced – with pumice
block. Fake vigas and pumice block . . . I don't think I'll ever look
at the Palace of the Governors the same way again.
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">1954
is the year that the First National Bank – originally located on
the east side of the Plaza, picked up and moved to the west side of
the Plaza, taking over the space that used to be – well, pretty
much everything – the New Mexican printing plant, a movie theater,
a Buick
dealership and, coming
full circle,
the original site of the First National Bank when it first opened in
1871 – right on the corner of Lincoln and Palace where it stands
today. That was quite an undertaking but the Plaza was only roped
off for one day – the day the money and safe deposit boxes were
moved. Levine's moved into the Bank's old space – a
beautiful example of Greek Revival archictecture first built in 1912.
In
1957, under the guidance of John Gaw Meem, Levines remodeled
the building
to conform to the prevailing Santa Fe style, trading gothic colums
for classic wooden posts.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Around
the corner from the Plaza, in Cathedral Park, the Archbishop's old
house was torn down, condemned as a firetrap. It
was an elegant old
territorial structure with a full portal and balcony running the
length of the
house
facing Cathedral Park. At one time, it served as the City's first
St. Vincent Hospital, beginning
in
1865, and
later as
an old folks home.
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In
1954, La Fonda removed thefountain
and pool in the patio, replacing it with flagstone to accommodate the
Indian dances it featured every summer. Santa
Feans were sad
to see that fountain go. Across the street, the Camera Shop
installed a drinking fountain, but it just wasn't the same.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Still
on San Francisco Street, Evan Wilson opened a new cafeteria and soda
fountain, called El Refresco, on the northeast
corner of Burro Alley. It was right across the alley
from Wilson's old popcorn stand in the Lensic Theater Building.
That's where he got the nickname, Popcorn Wilson. Oddly, the new
place served
only
ice cream and malts
–
no popcorn.
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">And
1954 is the year the St. Francis Cathedral rectory was remodeled. Old
timers remember the old peaked roof and huge concrete steps leading
up to
the high front door. The remodeling removed the roof, created a new
lower street side entrance and made the building more Santa Fe style.
It was used, in
1954,
as office space for the Archbishop and pastor and included a vault
where parish valuables were kept.
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Up
Washington Avenue, a
row of 7 large elm trees in front of the Scottish Rite Temple was
removed
leaving
the street
pretty bare. Those trees had been planted in 1912 but elm disease was
killing them and they'd been breaking up the sidewalks for years.
The Temple reported
plans to
replant using
blue
spruces.
Around
this same time,
Washington Street was closed off for several days in the summer of
1954 so the phone company could lay underground cables.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The
biggest building
project
in 1954 was
the city's first municipal swimming pool. Most of the city's civic
organizations, chiefly the Optimists, organized a drive for the pool,
raising enough money to buy a large piece of the Penitentiary land –
part
of the old dairy farm --
which they promptly donated to the City which planned
to build
the pool facility with a cigarette tax revenues.
While
the formal name of the pool facility was the Santa Fe Municipal
Swimming pool, Santa Fe kids invariably called
it the “munici-pool.” These days the
pool bears
a new name in honor of legendary coach Salvador Perez.
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Another
piece of Santa Fe history disappeared in 1954. The Gross Kelly
Company – a Santa Fe institution since 1879 – was sold to a Texas
company. Dan Kelly, Jr., in his first year as president and chairman
of the board – just like his father and grandfather were –
confirmed the sale. The business continued the
distribution
of New Mexico products as before with most of the Gross Kelly staff
still in place, but the name --- Gross Kelly & Company –
was
retired.
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In
1954, the second
oldest
Spanish fort in the nation was discovered in Santa Fe. Or better
said, re-discovered. Old
timers in the city still remembered the fortification known as La
Garita – Spanish for bastion or jail – located on a small rise
north of Santa Fe, more or less midway between Fort Marcy Hill and
the Scottish Rite Temple.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Historians
say that it once was used by the Spaniards to hold political
prisoners, a few of which were executed by firing squad against a
nearby wall. But it had fallen into disuse by the time the Yankees
arrived and, over time, began to deteriorate. By 1900, it had lost
its roof. Kids played on it, treasure hunters dug around in it and,
in the early 50's, it was actually used as a dump site. There exists
an
old faded
photo, taken
in 1912, which
still shows one wall standing, perhaps the very wall used for
executions.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But
in
1954, Bruce
Ellis, an archaeologist who lived just 50 feet from the site on
Washington Avenue,
became interested in the site and, with funding from the NM
Historical Society, began to poke explore
the ruins.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">By
the end of the summer, Ellis and his crew had uncovered the
foundations, revealing
the ancient
floor
plan. It was roughly in the shape of a diamond with 2 bastion towers
at the long
ends, with a center hall and rooms and jail cells on either side, all
enclosed
within
3 foot thick adobe walls. La Garita, Ellis
said
was probably built shortly after completion of the Palace of the
Governors and that was built sometime before 1680.</span></div>
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div style="line-height: 100%; margin-bottom: 0in; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That's
typical
Santa Fe, history right in your own back yard.</span></div>
TimeRiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00394567617045985809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6873643774913302010.post-46823470103052959132014-06-14T14:49:00.000-07:002014-06-14T14:49:05.325-07:00U.S.S. Santa Fe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL0OabcAtMQjCVNp59QO_OI1qMvdANRWfQlABH03P2ES4PqC9Xib0eBzlEOewpMLAyeOyavoKjrlLC_NeDraff2SDwQAAXFofJRT2Rbhlha2uJ5KNfNFUfp_Ul9YpnLJXVCH0voMlfLFg/s1600/USS+SANTA+FE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL0OabcAtMQjCVNp59QO_OI1qMvdANRWfQlABH03P2ES4PqC9Xib0eBzlEOewpMLAyeOyavoKjrlLC_NeDraff2SDwQAAXFofJRT2Rbhlha2uJ5KNfNFUfp_Ul9YpnLJXVCH0voMlfLFg/s1600/USS+SANTA+FE.jpg" height="165" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />TimeRiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00394567617045985809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6873643774913302010.post-12233762360413198202014-06-14T14:45:00.000-07:002014-06-14T14:45:02.629-07:001942 – The Lucky Lady<br /><br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The US Navy's newest Light Cruiser launched in June 1942, named after our little City, The USS Santa Fe. The honor of christening came to Caroline Chavez, the daughter of District Judge David Chavez and, therefore, the niece of US Senator Dennis Chavez. She was 14 at the time and a big hit at the launching, with a pretty pink dress and carrying a bouquet of red roses.<br /><br />For the launching, the traditional champagne bottle contained no champagne at all but water taken directly from the Santa Fe River, right off Alameda street, and blessed by the Archbishop. <br /><br />The USS Santa Fe served with distinction during the war. She was called the Lucky Lady, for fighting in several battles and always escaping unharmed. 13 Battle Stars, she earned, the USS Santa Fe. She's gone now, scrapped at the end of the war. But the ship's bell, all 900 lbs of brass, is on permanent display at City Hall. I always like to give it a little tap as I leave the building, just to hear it ring.</span>TimeRiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00394567617045985809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6873643774913302010.post-54977329076115348422012-02-24T15:00:00.001-08:002012-02-24T15:00:22.331-08:00The Flying "Thing"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicPjR_5DCG5piheku1iWnTfdQSX7yzJ9wORlNhLx1efO27MNc0PFBXa8jPnv97CvRAlfm7yxxQq51aY39al8lrSv2BmV0qtQc20gTxAQPYkdpdWYHuUGXeaFPw2_d2mtceadb4BbcwK08/s1600/UFO+-+OCtober+25,+1953.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicPjR_5DCG5piheku1iWnTfdQSX7yzJ9wORlNhLx1efO27MNc0PFBXa8jPnv97CvRAlfm7yxxQq51aY39al8lrSv2BmV0qtQc20gTxAQPYkdpdWYHuUGXeaFPw2_d2mtceadb4BbcwK08/s320/UFO+-+OCtober+25,+1953.JPG" width="216" /></a></div>
<br />TimeRiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00394567617045985809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6873643774913302010.post-84444794782758620752012-02-24T14:59:00.001-08:002012-02-24T14:59:43.014-08:001953 - The Year a UFO Landed on Bishop's Lodge Road<br />
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Dateline
October 25, 1953.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Jimmy
Milligan, 16 yr old Santa Fe High School junior, reported sighting an
unusual flying “thing.” Milligan was driving home about 9:30 pm,
returning from the Young People's Fellowship Dance at the Methodist
Church, and heading north on Bishop's Lodge Road, just passing the
baseball field.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Suddenly,
he saw a ten foot long object floating floating directly across the
path of his car. Milligan swerved off the road and got out of his
car. On the dirt embankment in the weeds, Milligan saw a metal
object, about 10 feet long, shaped like two flat boat hulls attached
together.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Milligan
said, “ Naturally, I was a little bit scared and hesitant about
getting too near it. But when I reached out my hand to touch it, it
raised straight up in the air for a couple of feet and took off in a
steep climb toward Santa Fe.” Milligan drove home in a hurry</span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“</span><span style="font-size: large;">You
should have seen him when he came in the that door,” Milligan's
mother said. “He was white and shaky. He looked so odd.” </span>
</div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“</span><span style="font-size: large;">I
want to tell you something, “ young Milligan told his mother. “You
and Daddy'll think I'm crazy but it happened. I'll swear it did. On a
stack of bibles.”</span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">His
father, B.F. Milligan, a repair foreman for the phone company, took
Jimmy back to the site and, together they searched for it. “We
didn't see much,” Mr. Milligan reported, “ because there was only
the light of the moon to see. We didn't have a spotlight in the car.”
Although Jimmy was shy about telling anyone about his story, the
newspapers learned of it and persuaded Jimmy to give an interview.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">He
told the New Mexican reporter that he nearly struck the “thing”
with his car as he was driving home. The object was metal colored,
like aluminum and shaped like a great big bullet, about three feet
high, ten feet long and five feet across. While he was reluctant to
touch the object which was resting on an embankment, his curiosity
made him reach out. As he did so, the “thing” began roaring and
rose up in the air and began climbing in to the air.</span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">“</span><span style="font-size: large;">There
wasn't any glow or spitting fire,” Millingan reported, “I
couldn't feel any heat. No smell of carbon monoxide in the air. When
it was taking off, it made a sound like a washing machine, but even
faster. You know how a small airplane engine sounds. It was sort of
like that, only more high pitched.”</span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">Milligan's
mother, a teacher at Harvey Junior High School, said that her son has
never been the over-imaginative type of boy, prone to making up tall
tales. She said Milligan was a good student with a B average at Santa
Fe High School, who spent his free time tinkering with his car, an
old roadster. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">When
queried, Brigadier General G.G. Eddy, commanding officer of the White
Sands Proving Grounds issued a public statement, doubting that that
“thing” came from the proving grounds. He disclosed that there
were many projects of a highly classified nature at the Proving
grounds but that he was not at liberty to talk about them. </span>
</div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">There
are no later news accounts of any further investigation into the
October 25 sighting or any explanation for the “thing” that
Milligan saw. “You know,” Milligan told the reporter, “I kind
of wish I had hit the thing as it came in front my my car. Then I'd
have some proof, all right!”</span></div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
</div>
<div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: large;">During
the course of his interview with the local newspaper, young Milligan
drew sketches of the “thing” and helped a New Mexican artist
sketch the object for publication. The next day, on the front page,
the newspaper published the story and the artists sketches of the
unidentified flying object that landed on Bishop's Lodge Road.</span></div>TimeRiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00394567617045985809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6873643774913302010.post-53621470803512105252012-02-13T06:28:00.000-08:002012-02-13T06:29:54.290-08:001973 - On the Santa Fe PlazaI was reminded the other day, as I lounged on a bench on the Santa Fe Plaza, of the great controversy of 1973 about this center of the city, the Plaza. The same Plaza which had welcomed loafers like me for more than 300 years.<br /><br />In 1973, the Plaza was a fire storm of debate. That's the year that the City decided to make the Plaza a no-parking zone, catching the Plaza merchants off guard. Within days, 35 of those merchants, led by Tom Moore and Walter Kahn, organized to reverse the City's decision but the City was holding fast.<br /><br />The City had built two spacious parking lots – one behind J.C. Penney's and one across the street from the Hilton hotel, neither of which were being used by down town shoppers. The City thought that banning parking on the Plaza would divert shoppers to those lots.<br /><br />After some wrangling, a solution of sorts emerged. The merchants would give their customers one hour of free parking in any city lot and pay the City for it themselves with dues collected from all the plaza merchants. In this way, the City got money, the merchants got customers and everybody was more or less happy.<br /><br />Of course, parking was a problem on the Plaza anyway in 1973. The City had embarked upon an ambitious plan to improve the Plaza, to the tune of $150,000 – half of which came from a generous federal grant. Plans for the venerable center of the city included the following:<br /> —The streets that bordered the Plaza would be paved either with<br />brick or colored concrete. And since those streets were considered part of the city's “arterial” road system, the state kicked in another $67,000. And the plaza merchants, led by the First National Bank chipped in another $29,000. <br /> —The present bandstand would be demolished and a portable band-<br />stand structure would replace it.<br /> —The banco (bench) which surrounded the Frontier Monument<br />would be reduced in size.<br /> —The bell from the battleship New Mexico would be removed to a<br />site in the Capitol complex, next to the Bronson Cutting statue.<br /> _The Gen. Kearney marker and the End of the Trail markers, however, would remain intact.<br /> And the whole plaza would receive extensive landscaping and all of this work under the direction of Santa Fe architect John Gaw Meem.<br /><br />Well, it all sounded good but then a curious thing happened. Since the Plaza was being renovated anyway, the City Council unanimously decided to remove the monument in the center of the Plaza. That bears repeating. The City Council – unanimously – voted to remove the 110 year old Civil War Monument from the center of the Plaza. When the news hit the papers, Santa Fe might as well have been struck by a meteor. What an uproar!<br /><br />The City Council were apparently responding to a letter from Governor Bruce King who had been urged to request removal of the monument by someone from the American Indian Movement which believed the Monument was, and I'm quoting here, "a source of perpetuating racism and prejudice through the character assassination of our forefathers." This was because the plaque on one side of the monument read: <br /><br /> "To the heroes who have fallen in the various battles<br /> with Savage Indians in the Territory of New Mexico."<br /><br />That “savage” part apparently rankled the sensibilities of the modern-day Indian of 1973. The other plaque on the monument, by the way, honored union soldiers who battled the rebels during the Civil War. <br /><br />Citizen reaction was predictable. First, there were those lofty-minded individuals who were racing to be politically correct, urging the removal of the obelisk so as to not to hurt the feelings of any Indian whose eyes might fall upon the plaque. It was, they claimed, the Spaniard or the Anglo who were the savage ones, not the beleaguered Indian. <br /><br />Interestingly, the five nearby Pueblo Governors were united in keeping the Plaza monument where it was and to let history stand. "This is a reminder of what happened in the past," said Governor Paul Baca of Santa Clara "We feel much the same way about our history, that it should not be changed to fit the times." And savage might even be accurate, Baca said, because “we didn't give up our lands without a fight.”<br /><br />Then came the historians, who argued that the wording on the plaque merely reflected the times and only survived as a curious but beloved anachronism. Its removal would be tantamount to book-burning or re-writing history. One even pointed out that the term “savages” only referred to the nomadic Apache and Navajo – opponents in a bitter war for two centuries – not our peace-loving neighbors, the pueblo Indians. <br /><br />Then there were the die-hard Santa Feans who didn't want any change in Santa Fe at all, no way, no how. So what, they wrote to the editor of the local paper, all that happened too long ago to make a difference. One suggested a petition, not to remove the monument, but to recall the City Councilors who voted for the stupid idea. <br /><br />Them came the jokesters who mocked the controversy. James B. Alley, a local lawyer proposed a second monument dedicated to “the Indians Who Saved their Land and Culture from the Barbarian Hordes of Anglos Who Descended upon Them from Urban Neon Jungles." Then there was the wag who said that as long as we're getting rid of offensive monuments, let's take down the Statue of Liberty with that insulting reference to immigrants as “the wretched refuse.” Then there was the prankster who taped up a cardboard sign on the monument itself to replace the word Indians with Conquistadors so that it read the “Savage Conquistadors.” By the way, this was many years before someone actually chiseled out the word “savages” and solved the problem once and for all.<br /><br />As it happened, the City had no say about the monument. In fact, any effort to take it down would exact a severe penalty and not just the wrath of the voters. Turns out the Plaza was a both a National Historic Landmark and a protected State Cultural Property. So, no changes were possible on the Plaza without serious federal and state legislation. Oh, and that $75,000 federal grant the City was about to receive to fix up the Plaza – well, the federal government said the City might as well kiss it goodbye if the Plaza Monument were removed. <br /><br />Even the City Council, dumb clucks that they were, could see the handwriting on the wall. They hastily convened and – unanimously – rescinded their vote to remove the monument from the Plaza. Instead they favored a plan to add yet another plaque to the Monument, explaining the other plaques. This was the same plan, incidentally, which was favored by the Governor of NM, the Indian Pueblos and federal government. The new text would read:<br /><br /> Monument texts reflect the character of the times in<br /> which they are written and the temper of those who<br /> wrote them. This monument was dedicated in 1868 near<br /> the close of a period of intense strife which pitted<br /> northerner against southerner, Indian against white,<br /> Indian against Indian. Thus we see on this monument,<br /> as in other records, the use of such terms as 'savage'<br /> and 'rebel.' Attitudes change and prejudices hopefully<br /> dissolve.<br /><br />And that's what happened on the Plaza in 1973.<br /><br />By the way, the 1973 Santa Fe City Council consisted of eight busy men, mostly sober businessmen, who donated their time to lead the city – Robert Berardinelli, Elmer Longacre, Sam Pick, Robert Stuart, Joseph Allocca, Clarence Lithgow, Alex V. Padilla and Mike Scarborough. It was this City Council that will always be remembered in Santa Fe, not for benevolent government or progressive leadership, but for the jaw-droppingly awesome stupidity of their unanimous vote to remove the Plaza Monument in 1973. And the next time you see one of them, tell them I said so.TimeRiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00394567617045985809noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6873643774913302010.post-20289338977286687902011-06-07T22:57:00.000-07:002011-06-07T22:59:38.079-07:001967 - The Game of the Year<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;">In 1967, both St. Michael's High School and Santa Fe High School put together great football teams. Coached by Donnie Baca, the St. Mike's Horsemen starters included Louie Tapia, Don Dawson, Art Sandoval, Mario Trujillo, Isaac Pino, Andrew Lucero, Barney Solen, Juan Aragon, Bob Manzanares, Floyd Miller and Ronnie Segura. The SFHS Demons, coached by Austin Basham, featured Hoyt Mutz, Tom Garcia, John Jones, Waldo Griego, Bern Mullings, John Sanchez, Bobby Rougemont, Johnny Gallegos, Jimmy Romero, Jerry Kloeppel and James Trujillo. </span> </p><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> </span></span> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Donnie Baca predicted a clean win but Austin Basham didn’t expect a close game at all. Still, St. Mike’s – just off a nice win over West Las Vegas – was favored over Santa Fe High which just got bombed by both Clovis and Los Alamos. On the other hand, the Horsemen had not won a football game over the Demons since 1960 when Donnie Baca was still playing on the varsity squad. The outcome of the 1967 game, however, would surprise everyone. </span> </p><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> </span></span> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;">It was a capacity crowd at Magers Field in 1967. The first quarter was all defense and the teams did little but trade punts. In the second quarter, the Demons took advantage of a Horsemen fumble on the St. Mike’s 13. On the next play (for no gain), a penalty against the Horsemen put it on the 5. Then, Demon quarterback Bobby Martinez threw a pretty pass to Bob Rougement in the end zone for the score. The conversion attempt was no good. Demons 6, Horsemen 0.</span></p><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> </span></span> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Just as the second quarter drew to a close, Horseman Louie Tapia intercepted a Demon pass and raced 32 yards for a stunning touchdown. The conversion failed but, at half-time, the score stood 6 to 6.</span></p><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> </span></span> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The Demons came out for the second half on fire. Quarterback Bobby Martinez capped a 65 yard drive with a sneak from the 3 yard line. The conversion was good and the Demons led 13-6. A few plays later, Horseman quarterback Juan Aragon hit Barney Solen on a short pass; Barney looked trapped but he suddenly put on a burst of speed and raced all the way to the end zone. The conversion was good and the score was 13 all. </span> </p><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> </span></span> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;">By this time, the Demon spirit had waned considerably and the Horsemen were suddenly showered with great opportunities. An interception put them on the Demon 1 foot mark but the Demons held them off. A few minutes later, Horsemen Tim Layden picked off another Demon pass and the Horsemen had a first down on the Demon 30 with 4 minutes to go. Before the Horsemen could close the deal, Demon Teddy Pepperas intercepted a Horsemen pass and time ran out.</span></p><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> </span></span> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The Horsemen Demon Game of 1967 ended as a tie, 13 to 13. It was and would remain the only tie game between the arch-rivals in their entire history of competition. </span> </p>TimeRiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00394567617045985809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6873643774913302010.post-2912566768917300892011-06-07T22:36:00.000-07:002011-06-07T22:39:44.132-07:001952 - The Deadly Race<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;">55 Santa Fe boys signed up to compete in the official 1952 Soap Box Derby, sponsored by the New Mexican, Santa Fe Motor Company – which provided all the special soap box derby wheels, and the Optimist Club, with Orlando Fernandez as president.</span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" > </span> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Without listing every single racer, here’s just a few for us old-timers:</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Donald Gonzales from Don Cubero St, Eddie Ray Scarafiotti, 343 W. Manhattan, James VanderSys from Camino Alire, Johnnie Kirk and Joe Carrier, both from Allendale Street. There were the Brennand brothers, David and Dan, from Zia Road, Jimmie J. Martinez, 1610 Young St., Edward Ortiz, 319 W. Gomez and Clarence Lithgow from Griffin Street. And dozens more.</span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" > </span> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;">And one of them was a killer.</span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" > </span> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;">It wasn’t Alfred Gonzales, the 12 yr old driver of car no. 34, sponsored by Johnnie’s Nite Club. But doesn’t it strike you as strange that a night club would sponsor a car in the soap box derby? I only mention Alfred because he was the eventual winner of the 1952 derby, winning a trip to Akron, Ohio for the finals. Alfred was the son of Mr. And Mrs. Manuel A. Martinez, 1601 Jay Street. It was the six-grader’s first race. </span> </p><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" > </span> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;">So who or what killed Elizabeth Riley?</span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" > </span> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Mrs. Riley, 85, was visiting friends in Santa Fe just in time to attend the Annual Soap Box Derby of 1952. Standing on the sidewalk of Marcy Street with her friends, Mrs. Riley watched several home-made racers go by. Suddenly, one racer – mever identified – swerved out of control, hit the curb and flew off the track, striking Mrs. Elizabeth Riley. She suffered a broken leg and was immediately hospitalized. Mrs. Riley seemed to be getting well but soon complications of a broken leg and old age set in and she died, after lingering for about three weeks in St. Vincent Hospital, under the care of Dr. Bergere Kenney. Her remains were returned to California for burial.</span></p><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" > </span> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;">This is a true story, the story of the only fatality ever claimed in a Santa Fe Soap Box Derby.</span></p>TimeRiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00394567617045985809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6873643774913302010.post-69288276467237416982011-03-26T23:46:00.000-07:002011-03-26T23:49:18.208-07:001944 - Horsemen and Demons, The Only Game in Town<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Santa Fe High School fielded an amazing basketball team in 1944. Coached by the legendary Pete McDavid, Santa Fe High School won 18 out of 19 district games, averaging 37 points a game to the opponents' 24. Stars included the great Bob Sweeney, Junior Quintana, Tony Gonzales, Harry Hunton, Bill Baca, Chicken Montoya – that’s Louie, by the way, Tony Chavez, John Reece, Bob Hollis and Edgar Mitchell. </span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">In the first Horsemen-Demon game of the year, the Demons were heavily favored and the odds makers were right on the money. Though the Horsemen, coached by Mose Khoury, kept Demon shooting star Bob Sweeney limited to 13 points, the rest of the Demon team pumped in the shots. At the half, Demons led the Horsemen 25 to 5. At the final buzzer, the Demons claimed victory, 40 to 18. The only Horsemen standouts were Jake Olivas and Joe Frank Ortiz. </span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The second game of the season was a little better for the Horsemen. They only lost by 15 points. In fact, the Horsemen were so cold from the floor in the first half that the Demons scored 27 points to St. Mike's 3. Yes, you read that right – 3 points! To their credit, the Horsemen came back in the second half to out-score the Demons 22 to 12, but it just wasn't enough. Final score, Demons 49, Horsemen 25. Joe Frank Ortiz hit 10 for the Horsemen and Pete Alarid hit 7. For the Demons, Bob Sweeney dropped in 14 points and Tony Chavez chipped in 9. </span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Oh, by the way, the Demons also beat Horsemen in total sales of war bonds in 1944's war bond drive, by more than double. But Loretto Academy, tinier even than St. Mike's, beat the Demons in total sales by exactly $100. They sold $26,325 in bonds. </span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The Demons went on to sweep the district tournament and take third in the state championship. And that’s local sports 1944.</span></p>TimeRiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00394567617045985809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6873643774913302010.post-65436205149561037682011-03-10T22:21:00.001-08:002011-03-10T22:23:16.258-08:001971 - The School Year<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Being a student in a Santa Fe school in 1971 required some stamina and, occasionally, some antibiotics. Here, I'll show you what I mean. </span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">More than 100 students at Leah-Harvey Junior High and 12 visiting senior citizens were struck with food poisoning after lunch at the SF Mid-High cafeteria. 24 sought emergency room help; all but two were briefly treated and released. The two, both senior citizens, were kept overnight at the hospital for observation and released the next day.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Calvin Capshaw, principal of Leah-Harvey, reported students began getting ill about 1:30 and all were sent home. Sarah Barton, school lunch supervisor, did not know what the source of contamination might have been as all food – including food served to several hundred students who did not get ill – was prepared at the same time. Lunch that day consisted of Spaghetti in meat sauce, milk, coleslaw, garlic bread and an apricot wheat bar. Samples were sent to a state laboratory for testing where later analysis revealed that the spaghetti was the source of the food poisoning.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The Santa Fe School Board held a special meeting and urged a full investigation. They were particularly irritated about the principal's failure to inform other students of the rising number of illness. As it turned out, Mr. Capshaw did inform the teachers but did not instruct them or advise them to inform the students.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">At De Vargas Jr High, about 30 students refused to go to school, instead marching toward the school administration building on Alta Vista, carrying signs calling for the return of school principal Edward Cole. The night before, the school board had announced the transfer of Cole to a post at Harrington Junior High School. The next morning, one parent, Nap Benavidez, told students gathered in the De Vargas school gym that the transfer had been political and that's when the students initiated the walk out and march. As it turned out, Ed Cole was perfectly OK with the transfer and told the students and the next day, classes at De Vargas resumed as normal.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Over at Santa Fe Mid-High, the school term was marred by several fights and disturbances so Santa Fe police Chief Felix Lujan ordered a crackdown, including a search of student cars. Recovered during the search were several “deadly weapons,” including a sawed off garden tool handle with nails embedded in the tip, various clubs, chains and one knife. Lujan said he thought most of trouble did not stem from students but from dropouts who continued to hang out near the school.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The high schools were a little calmer. </span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">After 100 years as a boys only school, St. Mike's went completely co-ed in 1971 when the 7</span><sup><span style="font-size:130%;">th</span></sup><span style="font-size:130%;"> and 8</span><sup><span style="font-size:130%;">th</span></sup><span style="font-size:130%;"> grades were opened to accept girls. Girls had already been accepted in the upper grades beginning in 1968. With girls now at St. Mike's, there were a few changes. For example, St. Mike's started a drill team to perform during game half-times. Among the members of the first drill team: Bernadette Gutierrez, Debbie Varela, Rose Marie Rivera, Luana Valdez, Lori Salazar, Elinda Trujillo, Charlene Rodriguez, Denise Stuart; Anita White, Rosianna Noedel, Liz Trujillo, Cindy Wing, Roberta Garcia, Karmella Pacheco, Dolores Gallegos, Jovanna Block, Rosealine Chavez and Joly Sanchez. Oh, and, Jolene Schutz was voted St. Mike's High School homecoming Queen. She was escorted by Paul Montoya. By the way, at the game, St. Mike's lost to West Las Vegas, 12-7. Before I forget, the St. Mike's cheerleaders for 1971 were Mary Jo Gonzales, Jeanne Adelo, Jean Fox, Linie Rivera, Michelle Pacheco and Theresa Lobato.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">119 seniors graduated from St. Mike's in 1971. Valedictorian was Deborah Wallace, Salutatorian Ray Z Ortiz. Diplomas were conferred by Archbishop James Peter Davis. Among graduating class were some names familiar to modern Santa Feans: George Adelo, Tim Bieri, Charles Bonal, Virginia Castellano, Bobby Digneo, John Fox, Rudy Miller, Carmen Montes, Mike Pick, Ed Regensberg, Cindi Lee Schifani, Nancy Storrs, Joe Tapia, James Womack and Roseanna Zamora.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">600 graduated from Santa Fe High School in 1971. As usual, there were no formal valedictorian or salutatorian choices but commencement addresses were given by top students Steve Terrell, Donna Anglin and Lindalie Lien. School Board President Robert Sweeney presented diplomas. Special mention here for Rose Mary Barela who was selected as Sweetheart Queen for 1971. She was a junior, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Roque Barela, and she presided over the Valentine Ball. Her attendants included Liz Sandoval, Carmen Gutierrez, Lourdes Perez and Lourdes Trujillo. Santa Fe High School cheerleaders for 1971 were Patty Rutherford, Judy Buchholz, JoAnn Vigil, Karla Alarid, Donna Savage and Margaret Ragle.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">And at the only other high school in the city, there were 22 graduates of the Santa Fe Preparatory School. Steven Savage was the principal student speaker. </span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">College life in Santa Fe was exciting too. </span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">College of Santa Fe students staged a demonstration at the school's cafeteria and called for a boycott of classes in protest against the planned addition of an Air Force ROTC program. The demonstration ended abruptly after a bomb threat was called in and police cleared the group to search for explosives. None were found. </span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">College of Santa Fe students still found time, between demonstrations and bomb threats, to hold the annual homecoming celebration. At the game's half time, the CSF Knights team captain crowned Geri Cruz, a sophomore majoring in business administration, homecoming queen for 1971. The grand homecoming parade, consisting of 7 floats, was themed a Winter Wonderland. Grand prize winner was the Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity with a float depicting Santa's Workshop. </span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Student elections at the College resulted in the seating of Santa Feans to top offices. Jerome Martinez, son of M/M Gregorio Martinez of El Rancho was elected President of the college's associated student government. Jerome was a junior, majoring in history. Active in campus organizations, Martinez was Secretary General of the UN Club, member of Pi Gamma Mu and the President's Honor Society. Fellow Santa Feans Michael Vigil was elected vice president and Jerry Rael was elected Senior Class President. </span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">25 CSF students were honored for academic achievement by college's Honor Society, only for students with a minimum of a 3.5 cumulative GPA. From Santa Fe, there was Jim Barton, Gwen Davis, Mrs. Lee Chan, Edythe Mackey, Jerome Martinez, Rita Melady, Patrick T. Ortiz, Steven Schwartz, Louis Valencia, Michael E. Vigil and Carl Williamson. </span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">At graduation, the seniors were addressed by Senator Joseph Montoya who decried violence in the nation's march to equality but praised peace movements. Several Santa Fe students graduated with high honors: Michael Armijo, Marguerite Blawis, Lee Chan, Dixie Pope, Chris Preston, Larry Gallegos, Art Gonzales, Ted Lopez, Edythe Mackey and Connie Rael.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Nobody cared, but 26 graduated from St. John's College. Top students were Gail Hartshorne of Sharon, Conn. and Steven Moser of Haiku, Hawaii. No Santa Feans in that graduating class.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The little students at Los Ninos Kindergarten, headed by the much loved Pauline Gomez, had the right idea in 1971. They celebrated the end of school with a parade around the Plaza on bicycles. </span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">And that's school news from Santa Fe 1971.</span></p>TimeRiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00394567617045985809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6873643774913302010.post-13985412724207345122011-02-13T17:34:00.000-08:002011-02-13T17:41:39.581-08:001943 - The Santa Fe Fiesta<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Yes, it's the Santa Fe Fiesta. The City's annual extravaganza, part pageant, part carnival and all Santa Fe. A triple event opened the 1943 Fiesta, including the De Vargas pageant, the coronation of the Queen and the Burning of Zozobra. All in one day.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Will Shuster, in charge of Zozobra, had especially tough duty that year since the paper shortage forced him to seek alternative burnable materials with which to build Big Z. No problem, said Will, he’ll do just fine. Oh, Will’s version of Zozobra for 1943 had two faces, not three as last year. Since Mussolini fell from power, the new Zozobra only had the faces of Hitler and Hirohito when it burned at the stake. Will Shuster’s new name for Big Z – Hirohitlerpuss.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">Little accident, though. Jacques Cartier injured an ankle at the Zozobra burning. As it turned out, it was his very last leap of the dance and he slipped on some loose gravel and strained a ligament. The dancer recovered soon enough but he was unable to perform in the traditional La Fonda roof show later that night. Luckily, Billy Palou, La Fonda’s famous violinist, was home on furlough and filled in to provide the evening's entertainment.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The 1943 Fiesta Queen was the beautiful Maria Guadalupe Tapia, known more familiarly as Pita Tapia. Pita was sponsored by the Kiwanis Club. She was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Juan Tapia, 705 Galisteo. Just 18 and a recent graduate of Loretto Academy, Pita was attending the Capital City Commercial College. The Queen's court consisted of Princesses Alicia Lucero, 18, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Abel Lucero, 224 West Manhattan, a graduate of Santa Fe High, class of ’43, and working at the Bureau of Revenue; Dolores Porfiria Garcia, 19, daughter of Mrs. Martinia Garcia, 516 Alto St. Dolores was a senior at Santa Fe High where she was vice-president of her class and working for the summer at Taichert’s; and Juanita Quintana, 21, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ramon T. Quintana, 211 Chapelle, a 1940 graduate of Santa Fe High and employed as an assistant to Dr. W.C. Barton. Juanita’s sister, by the way, was Fiesta Queen for 1942.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The 1943 Fiesta welcomed back a favorite feature. Last year's “Caravanes de los Paisanos” proved popular enough to be brought back in ’43. That’s the parade of country folks come to town complete with vintage carretas. First prize went to Mrs. Walter Goodwin’s group for “the Spirit of Pojoaque,’ a gorgeous produce wagon. Dolores Otero got a nice prize for best buggy.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">No cars in this year's Caravan – gas rationing, you know. And the war-time shortage of gasoline also affected the grand parade, which did have a few trucks and cars The parade started at City Hall and marched twice around the Plaza and back to City Hall. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The famous Tio Vivo was back for the 1943 Fiesta. That was the famous hand-operated merry go round and a Fiesta favorite. New for 1943 was the Tio Voladero, another hand operated kiddie ride, a kind of a a revolving swing, and very popular with the kids.<br /></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">As for the adults at Fiesta, most of Santa Fe bars were closed, except for one or two near the Plaza. It’s not that no-one was drinking, it’s just that, with the war on, booze was in very short supply. </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">The Pet Parade was huge and the New Mexican printed the name of every entrant and their pets. Way too many to read. For example, Charles Kinsolving has 4 rabbits and one chicken, Helena Ruthling showed up with 2 rabbits, a pigeon, a collie and 2 miscellaneous dogs. You might know Helena from her nickname, Doodlet. Grace Olivas had a rabbit, Betty Larragoite brought a dog, Walter Davies brought a horned toad, Kevin McKibben took six snakes and a lizard and little Wally Sargent brought his little dog.</p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">I’m always amused at that report, because Wally Sargent was my sixth grade teacher at Salazar School in 1958 although he’s better known as a real estate tycoon in Santa Fe now. He’s actually a great guy for a tycoon and he was very cool as a teacher. He drove a flashy turquoise blue 1956 Thunderbird, he'd say things like “you're cruisin' for a bruisin,' and he had a popular radio show on the weekend. He was simply too cool for school, Mr. Sargent.<br /></p><p style="margin-bottom: 0in;">And that's the Santa Fe Fiesta 1943.</p>TimeRiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00394567617045985809noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6873643774913302010.post-75247805103454750812010-12-13T01:26:00.000-08:002010-12-13T01:28:13.429-08:00The Spitz Clock on the Plaza South Side<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCZr2RxAZPs2_OK1zme-I_r1jvtMkNTsD58wG2H8zEyAalTh2NEiLUmAKS0WDXowpz16BDhJphGLy4u5ZJO5qZdDqUdFk1KSt-ATS2QsgjyuYtq0dt-xnJ3CMPdG8ozwoVD70VMdgBXO8/s1600/Spitz+Clock.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 235px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCZr2RxAZPs2_OK1zme-I_r1jvtMkNTsD58wG2H8zEyAalTh2NEiLUmAKS0WDXowpz16BDhJphGLy4u5ZJO5qZdDqUdFk1KSt-ATS2QsgjyuYtq0dt-xnJ3CMPdG8ozwoVD70VMdgBXO8/s320/Spitz+Clock.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5550096258854990626" border="0" /></a>TimeRiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00394567617045985809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6873643774913302010.post-77830231804448706192010-12-13T01:23:00.000-08:002010-12-13T01:25:21.531-08:001966 - Time Flies<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;">If you’re in downtown Santa Fe and you want to know what time it is, just check the Spitz Clock on the northwest corner of the Plaza. It’s a Santa Fe landmark but it wasn't on that corner in the beginning.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;">In 1881, that tall street clock was first installed in front of the Spitz jewelry Store on the south side of the Plaza by the original owner, Salomon Spitz, a German immigrant merchant. The original clock didn't tell the time; it had no works. But Mr. Spitz replaced it with a working clock around 1900.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;">In 1916, the clock was knocked down by one of Santa Fe's earliest motorists. The replacement clock, installed the same year, was maintained for years by his son Bernard who took over the jewelry store in 1927.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;">When he turned 70, Bernard Spitz closed the jewelry store on the Plaza and opened another in the Coronado Shopping Center. But what to do about that tall street clock in front of his old store? Well, in 1966, in a quiet ceremony, Bernard Spitz presented the Clock to the City of Santa Fe and handed Mayor Pat Hollis the winding key.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The clock disappeared while the south side of the plaza was undergoing renovation to add a portal but the clock was reinstalled on the corner of Palace and Lincoln – where it stands today – in 1974.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;">To keep perfect time, the clock was wound every week by a man who had to climb a ladder to get to the clockworks. In 1964, it was repaired and, in the process, the clockworks were conveniently re-located to the base of the clock. Today, the city parks worker who winds the clock every five days or so no longer needs the ladder.</span></p>TimeRiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00394567617045985809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6873643774913302010.post-72361148310352823442010-11-30T11:02:00.000-08:002010-11-30T11:06:38.124-08:001950 - Apocalypse City<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Have I mentioned Jim Riley? In 1950, James K. Riley was the manager of Santa Fe's Chamber of Commerce, an association of businessmen, bankers and merchants created to promote commerce in the city. This was 1950 and the nation was considerably spooked over the shocking news that the godless communists in Russia had an atomic bomb, which they got incidentally, by stealing our atomic secrets in their sneaky godless communist way.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;">In the wake of this news, the federal government began to form the Civil Defense Administration which, among other things, was tasked with establishing a wartime national capital, a strategic city from which to operate the government in the event Washington was destroyed by an atomic bomb. In early 1950, a number of cities were being considered as potential wartime capitals, including Salt Lake City and Denver. </span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The question occurred to James K. Riley, why not Santa Fe as the nerve center for a federal government after a nuclear apocalypse? As manager of the Chamber of Commerce, Jim Riley was apparently convinced of a bright commercial future in the aftermath of an atomic war. So he promptly telegraphed the state's congressional delegation to recommend Santa Fe, the nation's oldest capital as a candidate for the nation's wartime capital, to the Federal Civil Defense Administration.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;">In his request, Riley shrewdly pointed out that the Sangre De Cristos, a solid granite mountain range, would provide security and shelter for the necessary underground bunkers, and, as an added bonus, it was all on land already owned by the government as a national forest.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Sadly, nothing was heard from Paul J. Larsen, Director of the National Civilian Defense Board, who was charged with selecting the emergency capital. But, later that year, Jim Riley got nice “thank you for your interest” note from Senator Dennis Chavez.</span></p>TimeRiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00394567617045985809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6873643774913302010.post-60506637968905793142010-11-15T22:53:00.000-08:002010-11-15T22:56:47.979-08:001947 - Fiesta<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The Santa Fe Fiesta of 1947. People remember it now for the crowds. The tourists and visitors came early and came by the thousands. Every hotel and tourist court in Santa Fe was full. The Chamber of Commerce pitched in to find rooms for 32 people in private homes. They came to experience the gaudy, glorious event and the Fiesta of 1947 did not disappoint. Let's take it day by day.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">FRIDAY</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Zozobra went down in spectacular flaming death right on schedule in a program directed by Big Z's creator, Will Shuster. The paper reported that Old Man Gloom moaned and groaned, waving his arms and hands wildly, as the flames licked higher and higher. All witnessed by an estimated 10,000 people. Then the crowd surged back into town to observe the coronation of the Fiesta Queen by the Archbishop on the terrace of St. Francis cathedral.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The Fiesta Queen was Pauline Padilla, a 1941 graduate of Santa Fe High School, nominated by the Sociedad Folklorica, and the daughter of the late Reyes Padilla and Mrs. Clara Padilla. She was attended by princesses Elvira Trujillo, Adelina Ortiz and Grace Montoya. Queen Pauline's gown was fashioned of imported French white lace, embroidered with silver flowers of eggshell satin. Oh, and the princesses were given crowns to wear for some occasions, made of tin with semi-precious stones.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">After the coronation the music and the dancing on the Plaza started and would continue for three more days. The music from the Plaza bandstand included, Los Charros de Nuevo Mexico, Pedro Rodriguez, Villeros Allegres with dancers Lupe and Lily Baca; the Montezuma Seminary Choir, Johnny Valdez with the La Fonda Orchestra, Jenny Wells, folksinger, the Kellogg Marimba Orchestra, and Michnovich trio of Los Alamos, one played string bass, one played accordion and one played the clarinet and saxophone. They played folk songs, cowboy songs and Spanish melodies.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">SATURDAY MORNING</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The Pet Parade returned in 1947. A water famine at Fiesta time in 1946, shortened Fiesta to two days and the Pet Parade had been canceled that year. So there a great many entries in the 1947 parade. Grand prize went to Donna Margaret Clauser for the girls and Jim Calvin for the boys. Donna rode in a carreta drawn by a big white dog, Jim in an old fashioned carriage drawn by a burro. Interestingly, Donna's brother Donald won a blue ribbon and so did Jim Calvin's sister, Jane. The Parade judges handed out dozens of blue, red and white ribbons. </span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">SATURDAY</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">A Parade, called the Entrada in 1947, wound its way to the Plaza on Saturday afternoon, led by the Kansas City Saddle and Sirloin club. Representing a caravan of Santa Fe Traders, more than 100 Kansas City clubmen rode palomino parade horses and drove stagecoaches and Conestoga wagons. The club was followed by the Santa Fe Sheriff's posse and the Mounted Patrol and pretty much anyone in Santa Fe who had a horse. </span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Dancers, both Jacques Cartier's dance students and pueblo ceremonial dancers, performed in the afternoon on the band stand and in the Palace courtyard.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">At the armory, site of the Gran Baile de los Conquistadores, 12 artificial palm trees, each 14 feet high, were placed around the walls of the armory to make it appear more tropical. For some reason, the Conquistadores Ball had a Cuban theme. The ball, as always, was in honor of the Queen so there was a large platform for her, decorated in New Mexico red and yellow colors, and a bandstand for the Bob Summers Orchestra.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Over 4000 feet of crepe paper, both for the Armory and for the Palomino Club, where the Baile de la Gente was also held that same night. The gente had the Freddie Valdez Orchestra playing Spanish music.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The Women's Club & Library Association held a chuck wagon dinner behind the library, an event chaired by Mrs. W. M. Maraman. Edith Moya sang to the booklovers, along with a barbershop quartet which included Dr. Reginald Fisher, head of the New Mexico Museum at the time.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">SUNDAY</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Sundays were always the quietest of the Fiesta days. It began with a pontifical procession, led by the Archbishop. Anybody could join in. The procession led back to the Cathedral for the High Mass.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Don Diego De Vargas for 1957 was Juan Alderete. On Sunday afternoon, he led his lieutenants Jim Gabaldon, Carl Thomson, Ignacio Moya and Pete Olivas, cavalry and infantrymen to the exact spot before the Old Palace where DeVargas reclaimed Santa Fe for Spain in 1692. Most of the men are members of the Guadalupe post of the Catholic War Veterans, by the way.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">One Sunday Fiesta event is so often overlooked. It's called the Merienda, for the ladies, presented by the Sociedad Folklorica. In 1947, it was held on the patio of Sena Plaza and there the ladies gathered to enjoy chocolate and biscochitos while admiring the fashions of an earlier time. Models included Senora Cleofas Jaramillo, a founder of the Sociedad Folklorica, wearing her wedding dress (which, with some alteration, she wore to President McKinley's second inauguration).</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Other Santa Fe royalty participated, like Conchita Ortiz y Pino, Beulah Baca Read, Anita Thomas, Amelia Romero and Reynalda Dinkel who modeled antique shawls, rebosos, mantillas and dresses.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Sunday night, Archbishop Byrne led the solemn candlelight procession through the Plaza and up to the Cross of the Martyrs where he spoke, calling for national unity and a return to religion as antidotes to atheistic communism.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">MONDAY</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The Hysterical Parade featured floats and stunts with caricatures of prominent individuals and pertinent economic and political issues, paraphrasing Henry Drypolcher of the Santa Fe Junior Chamber of Commerce (the Jaycees) who promised over 50 entries of lampooning and poking fun.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">My favorite was the Arroyo Hondo Hamburger and Hackamore Club, tweaking the nose of the city's honored guests from Kansas City. The winner was the Public Service Company lampooning the scarcity of housing for veterans, displaying a dilapidated privy wired for electricity and selling for an outrageous $19,000. The Second place float depicted Los Alamos “mad scientists' scrambling around a laboratory wielding geiger counters. Third place went to a two-float combo both aimed at “straw man” Governor Mabry and the man who really ran state government in 1947, State Revenue Commissioner Victor Salazar.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">When last act left the bandstand, around 5 pm, the booths and rides were dismantled and the garbage trucks appeared to carry away the litter and the trash Fiesta always leaves behind.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Fiesta Council President Ben Martinez said, “ Our 235th Fiesta observance should be the greatest Santa Fe has ever seen. Every effort has been made to arrange a program to please everyone and yet include all the pageant and lore for which the festival is so well known.”</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The Council President didn't mention the crimes. Yes, city police reported one burglary at the Koffee Kup Kafe, one attempted burglary at Franklin's on the Plaza, the looting of two cars over Fiesta weekend and two thefts, one a ring on display under the Portal. One Albuquerque crime victim recovered a jacket stolen from his car. He came across a boy wearing it while strolling round the Plaza and took it back.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Que Viva La Fiesta 1947.</span></p>TimeRiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00394567617045985809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6873643774913302010.post-90772697360510368592010-10-26T22:25:00.000-07:002010-10-26T22:35:00.823-07:001961 - The Horsemen - Demon Game<p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Come the fall in Santa Fe and football fans look forward to the annual clash between the Santa Fe High School Demons and cross-town rivals, the St. Michael’s High School Horsemen. 1961 marked the 40</span><sup><span style="font-size:130%;">th</span></sup><span style="font-size:130%;"> clash since the rivalry began in 1924 (the math is off because the teams played each other twice in 1925, 1926 and 1927). In 1960, the Demons handed the Horsemen the worst defeat in half a century – 26 to nothing. For 1961, it was a grudge match.<br /></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Head Coach for the Demons was Lavon McDonald and he had a great team – Junie Apodaca and Charlie Bennett, the state's two highest scorers. The Demon defensive line was tough with Sammy Roybal and John Martinez anchoring. Horsemen coach Dick Shelley was relying on fullback John Trujillo, speedy wingback David Fernandez and tailback Mike Miller. The defensive line was tough and, for a change, heavier than the Demon's. Joe Fornelli, a 190 pound tackle, headed the Horsemen defensive wall. </span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Coach Shelley had witnessed how effective the Demon attack, based on a double wing formation, could be. So, for weeks, he drilled his team in a specialized defense. But all for nothing.</span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Demon superfan Jamie Koch attended the St. Mike's practice, took notes and reported the defense plans to Lavon McDonald. To his credit, McDonald refused the offer of secret information and called Shelley instead. Shelley was boiling but it was too late to do anything about it. </span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Gametime. The Demons were heavily favored but in the opening minutes, it looked like the Horsemen might pull off an upset. Horsemen running star Dave Fernandez took the ball deep into Demon territory and crossed the goal line but the TD was called back for an off sides violation. On the very next play, Horseman John Trujillo fumbled and Demon linebacker Tom Hartley quickly scooped up the ball and ran back 80 yards for a Demon touchdown. Then the fat lady began to sing. </span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;">It was a Demon dream and a Horseman nightmare after that. Demon quarterback Stan Quintana kept throwing perfect passes and receivers Charlie Bennett, Charlie Hughes and Tommy Maxwell kept catching them. Touchdown after touchdown for the Demons until they piled up 45 points. </span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;">The only St. Mike’s bright spot was a big kickoff return by John Trujillo – 85 yards for a touchdown, but the conversion attempt by David Fernandez failed. 6 measly points. </span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in; font-family: trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Final score Demons 45, Horsemen 6 – for you record keepers out there, that was the biggest margin of victory between the two teams in the entire history of Horseman-Demon football. </span> </p>TimeRiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00394567617045985809noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6873643774913302010.post-3869639687259491832010-10-18T01:39:00.000-07:002010-10-18T01:41:20.774-07:001970 - The Mayor versus The Hippies<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span><span style="font-size:130%;">Santa Fe city politics in 1970 took an interesting turn, much of it driven by the strong personal popularity of the city's Mayor George Gonzales. In 1970, Gonzales, gifted with a wide smile, a gorgeous radio voice and about a million relatives, was favored for a second term as Mayor.</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span><span style="font-size:130%;">The chief issue in the mayor's race turned out to be Mayor George Gonzales' brother in law, Johnny Vigil. Vigil, a longtime Santa Fe political wheeler and dealer, operated the infamous Pussy Cat Lounge, Santa Fe's only topless club on the main entry street to the Bellamah subdivision. And questions were raised as to how such a business could come to operate in a residential area. </span></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span><span style="font-size:130%;">The Mayor's race wasn't really close and Mayor Gonzales coasted to an easy victory, which he took as a mandate. Within weeks of his re-election, Gonzales fired and replaced the City Manager, the City Treasurer, the City Attorney, the head of the Model Cities program and the Police Chief. Throughout the rest of the year, even more heads rolled – all replaced by the Mayor's cronies. </span></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span><span style="font-size:130%;">When the Mayor wasn't hiring and firing, he was hounding hippies. To be sure, hippies were becoming a serious social problem. Our neighbors to the north, the village of Taos, appealed to state officials to help them cope with an invasion of hippies. The hippies were abusing the food stamp and welfare programs in the county and were rumored to be planning a rock music festival. Labeled “delinquent transients” by Taos officials, the hippies indulged in “strange activities, illegal narcotics kicks, violation of human decency, immoral sex behavior and flaunting of the rules of health and sanitation.” </span></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span><span style="font-size:130%;">Just as an interesting fact, the 1970 US census counted 3,314 hippies in NM, about 540 living in Santa Fe. Contemporary news articles do not explain how that category was defined.</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span><span style="font-size:130%;">If you wanted to find a hippie in Santa Fe, there were two good places to look. One was the Mt. Ararat Coffee House on Water Street, run by David Davies and Lisa Gilkyson. Music by the Family Lotus Band, lots of incense and occasional classes in Sufi. The other hippie hot spot was the Free Church Community Center on Old Santa Fe Trail, run by a catholic priest, named George Hurd. The Center offered food and shelter to transients, as many hippies were and so the Center attracted exactly the kind of people the Mayor did not want in the City. Using a variety city agencies, the Mayor targeted the Center for extinction.</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span><span style="font-size:130%;">In June, for example, the Mayor sent the fire inspector to the Center. Forewarned, the Center's lawyer staged a public refusal of entry so the Mayor went to court to force an inspection. Eventually, enough violations were discovered at the Center to inspire the landlord to end the Center's lease, despite petitions by local social welfare agencies to keep the Center open. </span></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span><span style="font-size:130%;">The Mayor counted the closing of the Center as a major success of his administration. The Mayor's zeal in this 1970 drive likely explains why there are no hippies in Santa Fe today.</span></span></p>TimeRiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00394567617045985809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6873643774913302010.post-8634587763653072662010-10-11T18:27:00.000-07:002010-10-11T18:30:43.507-07:001959 - The City Grows<p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span><span style="font-size:130%;">Santa Fe was growing by leaps and bounds in 1959. A brand new airport, finished in 1958 at a cost of $884,000, gave the city jet service. The bridges at Camino Alire and DeFouri streets were finished. The Casa Solana subdivision – phase 1 – was completed with more to come. And the City was just raising the money to buy the old Bruns Hospital land to build De Vargas Jr High School, a public library and swimming pool.</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span><span style="font-size:130%;">Senator Dennis Chavez announced funding for major repairs to the Arroyo Mascaras, almost a $1 million to prevent erosion and to build dam checks. The plant was to proceed from Griffin, crossing near Star Lumber upstream to a point between Ft Marcy Park and Magers Field. And the State of New Mexico began clearing the land on the river side at College and Alameda for the new 50,000 square foot State Land Office Building across from the Desert Inn. </span></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span><span style="font-size:130%;">In 1959, the City of Santa Fe began negotiations to acquire property of the Public Service Company and the old U&I Cafe, both fronting on Water Street, to build a large parking garage at corner of Water and Don Gaspar. A second site, the old Nusbaum building on the east side of Washington Avenue, between Palace Avenue and Nusbaum Street, was also being examined for more parking near Plaza. That plan was simple. Buy the building, tear it down, and put up a parking lot.</span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span><span style="font-size:130%;">The first annexation ever in City history occurred in 1959. Expanding from traditional 4 leagues (about 2 ½ miles from plaza in cardinal directions – the boundaries of the original Santa Fe Grant) all the way to Airport Y along Cerrillos Road, enclosing some 2,000 acres. </span></span> </p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin-bottom: 0in;"><span><span style="font-size:130%;">Who was responsible for all these changes? The City leaders in Santa Fe in 1959. Well, Leo Murphy was the mayor who headed up councilors Ray Arias, Andre Senutovitch, Willie Seligman, Ray Smith, Orlando Fernandez, P.A. Baca, Pat Hollis and George Bernstsen. This was the administration, incidentally, which doubled the parking meter fees in town from a nickel an hour to a dime an hour.</span></span></p>TimeRiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00394567617045985809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6873643774913302010.post-25088333426826736262010-04-07T20:18:00.001-07:002010-04-07T20:18:48.635-07:001960 – Building a City<p>Santa Fe experienced a building boom in 1960, as predicted by the city’s leading home builders, Allen Stamm. He was one of three area builders who were planning to build 1000 new homes in Santa Fe by 1961.</p> <p>The City of Santa Fe counted the number of street intersections within the city limits. It was 750.  Bids were being taken for installing street signs, white on brown and mounted on poles, on all street intersections. For most streets in Santa Fe, this was a first. The absence of street signs in the city had long been the chief complaint of tourists and newcomers to Santa Fe. The City hoped that marking the streets would improve  mail, fire, police and utility services.</p> <p>Hyde Park road, 16 miles of rough road from the city to the ski lift, received $225,000 in improvements. And surveyors began plotting the route of the proposed cross-town highway, to be called St. Francis Drive. </p> <p> Mountain States Telephone Company built an addition to their building on corner of Shelby and Water. And construction started on the New Mexico Education Association Building, on South Capital.</p> <p>St. Michael's College, after years of working out of old barracks left over from the Bruns Hospital days, announced an ambitious building project, including a new library and gymnasium at a price tag of $500,000.</p> <p>The New Mexico State Police revealed plans for a completely new administration building, the site as yet unselected. They outgrew the old one – a beautiful Santa Fe pueblo style building on Cerrillos Road, next to the new Highway Department building.</p> <p>The federal General Services Administration asked congressional approval to build a federal building and post office in Santa Fe adjoining the federal courthouse. the proposed building contract price was right around 3 million dollars.</p> <p>It took 46 sticks of dynamite to destroy the last vestige of the old state penitentiary on Pen Road -  the old brick chimney. It was the only sign of the original penitentiary remaining after demolition had begun in 1960.  State prisoners had been in residence at the new penitentiary on Highway 14 since 1954. </p> <p>To build anew, one must first destroy the old, it seemed.  And so it was with the Nusbaum Building on Washington Avenue. In the past, it had been the home of Jesse Nusbaum, photographer, archaeologist and builder. He was superintendent of the renovation of the Palace of the Governors (1909-1913).  Most famous as a photographer, Nusbaum began his career as a builder, a trade he learned from his father, a contractor and brickyard owner in Greeley, Colorado.</p> <p>By 1960, the aging building had come into the ownership of the City of Santa Fe and the city fathers decided that the property could be better used as a parking lot. The Old Santa Fe Association leapt to the defense of the historic structure and debate was lively for a few months, but in the end, the City Council voted to raze the Nusbaum Building to the ground and build a parking lot.</p> TimeRiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00394567617045985809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6873643774913302010.post-12388802070040757752010-03-11T23:25:00.001-08:002010-03-11T23:25:40.307-08:001950 – The Case of the Glamorous Widow<p>In 1950, the daily paper regularly reported on the parade of drunks stumbling through Police Judge Joe Berardinelli's courtroom, faithfully naming each one and the fine each earned. Occasional thefts such as the time someone walked off with an expensive fur coat from Hinkel's, as reported by store manager, Dorothy Alexander. But the crime that captured the City's imagination at the beginning of 1950 was the murder trial of Jane Lopez.</p> <p>A year earlier, the glamorous divorcee Jane Moskin Ortiz, 30, caught the eye of Edward A. “Gee Gee” Lopez, 27, handsome state police officer with a wife and two kids. At the time, Jane was a capitol employee, best known as the attractive secretary for Congressman John Miles. Gee Gee left his wife Dorothy and married Jane in January 1949. From the beginning, their relationship was tumultuous, marked by heavy drinking, profane language and loud arguments.</p> <p>On the evening of July 22, 1949, the couple were hosting a small party at their home on Carleton Road. Around 10 p.m., an argument broke out between Jane and Gee Gee over some lost car keys. When Gee Gee picked up the phone to make a call, Jane grabbed it and threw it to the floor. Gee Gee began to pack a duffle bag to spend the night at the State Police barracks. Jane was calling him every name in the book. The guests left in a hurry. Last to leave was friend and neighbor, Thelma Baca, with Jane still cursing Gee Gee. </p> <p>Perhaps 15 minutes later, Thelma – now at home – received a frantic telephone call from Jane, asking Thelma to come right over. Thelma arrived to find the apartment in disarray, Jane in hysterics and Gee Gee's dead body on the bedroom floor, a bullet through the heart. Twenty feet away, Gee Gee's service pistol, a .45 automatic with a pearl handle inset with turquoise, lay on the coffee table in the living room.</p> <p>With Thelma present, Jane called Preston McGee's funeral home. Paul Walsh, the night attendant, answered Jane's call. She cursed Paul and demanded to speak to Preston McGee. Walsh, listening on the extension, heard Jane tell McGee, “Gee Gee was cleaning his gun and it went off. Will you please come out?”</p> <p>Jane then called the police. Ivan Head, the on-duty dispatcher for the police, took the call from Jane. Head and Jane were well acquainted. She told Ivan that Gee Gee really did kill himself, referring to Gee Gee twice as an SOB. But she told the attending doctors, W.L. Hamilton and Fred Soldow, that Gee Gee was killed after “we had a fight.”</p> <p>At a meeting with Loretta Berardinelli McIntyre, an employee of Preston McGee and a lifelong friend of Gee Gee's, Jane said, “He threatened me once too often and the gun went off.” Jane told Loretta that she was in the living room picking up glasses when she heard Gee Gee fall to the floor but heard no shot. “I still didn't think he was hurt,” she told Loretta, “I told him to get off the floor and stop acting like Dodo.” By Dodo she meant Dolores d'Amour, Gee Gee's sister with a reputation for melodrama.</p> <p>Early the next morning, Jane Lopez, bride of three months, was booked on “suspicion of murder.” Within hours, lawyer A.L. Zinn, a former Supreme Court Justice with a prosperous practice in Santa Fe, appeared before the court to demand a bond to release Jane Jopez, threatening to file a habeas corpus petition. Judge David Carmody approved a $10,000 bond, paid for by Zinn's wife and some of Jane's fellow employees at the State Land Office. That day, Jane went into seclusion at the Little Tesuque home of her attorney.</p> <p>Meanwhile, DA Bert Prince began quickly interviewing possible witnesses, including 5 year old Linda Ortiz, Jane's daughter by her first husband,long-time Santa Fe mailman Arthur Ortiz. Linda and her two younger brothers were asleep at home at the time of Gee Gee's death but Linda was awakened by the gunshot and came to the living room. All she remembered was her mother in hysterics and, later, Thelma Baca's arrival. Linda was put back to bed before police arrived.</p> <p>Prince's questioning of the young girl was cut short by her father, Arthur Ortiz, with whom the courts had placed the children while Jane was in custody. He refused the DA any further interviews on the basis that his daughter had been through enough.</p> <p>The other witness,Thelma Baca, proved elusive as well. Agreeing to give a written statement to the DA, Thelma balked when asked to sign it. Prince immediately arrested her as a material witness and she spent a night in jail until bonded out by family friend Bernabe Romero, popular barber at the DeVargas Hotel.</p> <p>Thelma's husband, Sgt. Bernard Baca returned home on leave, but was intercepted by police detectives before his train arrived at Lamy where he expected to meet his wife. Although he knew nothing about the case, Sgt. Baca spent the day in police interrogation.</p> <p>These tactics angered Zinn who threatened lawsuits against the DA and the police. Thereafter Thelma Baca made no further statements to the police or to anyone until the trial.</p> <p>Zinn moved to disqualify Judge Carmody and maneuvered the trial to take place in Aztec, New Mexico with District Judge Luis Armijo presiding. 60 jurors were called to the courthouse on January 16, 1950 and told that the case involved the death penalty. By then, DA Bert Prince had been joined by Walter Kegel, an assistant attorney general, for the prosecution; A.L. Zinn called upon former Judge H.H. Kiker to assist in Jane's defense. Also in attendance was Santa Fe lawyer Harry Bigbee, hired by Gee Gee's family to help the District attorney prosecute Jane Lopez.</p> <p>The case was front page news in the <i>Santa Fe New Mexican</i> both at the time of the killing and at the time of the trial. Newsmen faithfully reported Jane Lopez' wardrobe each day of trial (typically modest black or gray). Jane was regularly described as attractive, glamorous, slim and dark eyed and a beauty. The available newspaper photos are too degraded to confirm or refute the descriptions.</p> <p>The state called more than two dozen witnesses, including Gee Gee's ex-wife, Dorothy. Mother of his two children, Dorothy testified that she and Gee Gee had effected a reconciliation just days before his death and that he was planning to return to her. The state suggested that this was Jane's motive for killing Gee Gee.</p> <p>State Police Chief Archie White, the first police officer at the scene, testified that it would have been nearly impossible for Gee Gee to have shot himself in the heart with his own weapon. It would have required some hand contortion and would have left abrasions on the hand from the weapon's recoil Gee Gee's hands were unmarked. (Paraffin tests on both Gee Gee and Jane were inconclusive as they were performed more than five days after the shooting.)</p> <p>Through more than two dozen witnesses, the prosecution painted a picture of a foul-mouthed and quarrelsome woman who had the means, motive and opportunity to kill her husband. The same evidence worked to discount any question of suicide or accidental shooting. After three days, the state rested its case.</p> <p>On the fourth day, the day that Gee Gee Lopez would have turned 30, Zinn rose for the defense and called only one witness – Jane Lopez. The widow admitted foul language, drinking and quarreling but denied murder. “No, I did not kill him,” a sobbing Jane Lopez told the jury, “I never shot that gun or any gun in my entire life.”</p> <p>Through tears, Jane described hearing Gee Gee fall in the bedroom, but no gunshot. When she saw his bloody body, she became hysterical and remembered no more. How the pistol got from the bedroom to the coffee table, how bloody T-shirts were found stuffed in a drawer, why she called three people before she called police – Jane could not answer except to say she didn't know.</p> <p>The jury deliberated less than two hours, then filed back into the courtroom and declared their verdict – not guilty. Jane wept and laughed and embraced her attorneys; the Lopez family was grim, silent and quickly left the courthouse. Court observers claimed that the verdict was predictable. The state's attorneys put on an elaborate case, they said, proving everything except that Jane shot Gee Gee Lopez.</p> <p>Outside the courthouse, Jane paused for a brief statement to reporters. She planned to leave Santa Fe and live in Washington, D.C. for a time, then move to South America and she hoped to take one or more of her children with her. She vowed never to return to Santa Fe.</p> TimeRiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00394567617045985809noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6873643774913302010.post-35776870975587878672009-08-17T20:16:00.001-07:002009-08-20T23:35:30.837-07:001958 - The Battle of Hart’s Drive In<p>I think this is the way the story goes. But don't hold me too much to the details. I'm an old man and my memory is going.</p> <p>Anyway, it all began in 1948. Santa Fe was on the verge of a great building boom in that year. The Sears Roebuck Company announced plans to bring a store to Lincoln Avenue, just off the Plaza. Parker’s Roller Rink opened up close to the American Legion Hut. St. Vincent Hospital was about to start fund-raising for a new hospital to be built just up the street from the old one. And Hart’s Malt Shop debuted at 1370 Cerrillos Road, very close to Monterey Street, the entrance to Casa Linda, the new Stamm subdivision built around Kaune School.</p> <p>The arrival of Hart's Malt Shop was big news to the kids in Santa Fe since the only other teen hangout at the time was Lee’s Snack Shack at 447 Cerrillos Road, the next block south of Santa Fe Motor Company. Though both offered the usual diner menu -- sandwiches, ice cream, chili and barbecue, Lee's offered his famous Jumbo Hamburgers whereas Hart's specialized in malts, floats, sundaes and banana splits. Lee’s motto, by the way, was “Take Home a Snack from the Snack Shack and You’ll Always be Back.” Hart's didn't have a motto.</p> <p>In 1954, Everett Hart (who lived in the house behind the malt shop) gave up the space and the restaurant to businessman Leonard R. Bertram. Bertram noticed that more young Santa Feans were cruising Cerrillos road in hot rods and jalopies. So he converted the malt shop to a drive-in where cars were welcome. He called it Bert's Drive-In. Like Mr. Hart, Leonard Bertram and his wife Emma lived in the house behind the drive-in.</p> <p>Bert's Drive-In proved to be profitable and soon the Bertrams moved into a house nearby on Monterey Street. Bert's was joined by two other Bertram operated drive-ins, Burger Bowl No. 1 at 236 Rosario Street and Burger Bowl No. 2 at 2007 Cerrillos Road. In late 1957, Bertram closed up Bert's Drive-In and began to operate only the two Burger Bowl drive-ins. </p> <p>That's when Wyatt Hart, better known as Clyde Hart and (I suspect) a relative of the original Malt Shop founder, Everett Hart, moved into the house behind the drive-in and re-opened the drive-in under the name Hart's Drive-In. Unlike 1948, when the old Malt Shop was almost the only place in town for teens to patronize, 1958 offered considerably more competition.</p> <p>Lee’s Snack Shack had long since disappeared. But Bert's had two Burger Bowl locations, there was Chuck's Drive-In at the Pen Road Shopping Center (changing its name that year to the Neet Teen Drive In), Country Boy Clem's Drive-in at 1311 Cerrillos Road, Blake's LotaBurger Drive Inn at 1915 Cerrillos Road, Ricky's Drive-In at 1713 Second Street and Ingram's Drive In at 1734 Cerrillos Road, serving the most exotic fare of all -- pizzaburgers and chocolate Cokes. But Hart's Drive-In was still struggling to get its fair share of the cokes and fries customers when trouble began. </p> <p>A group of neighboring residents – mostly from the Kaune addition -- got up a petition against Hart's signed by over 230 people. The irate neighbors presented the petition directly to the City Council and demanded action. The petition asked the City to "abate a public nuisance" and alleged that certain lots in the 1300 block on Cerrillos Road were "being used continually as a hang-out or meeting place for persons unknown who constantly create disturbances at all hours of the night by quarreling, fighting, drinking intoxicants, engaging in drunken brawls, throwing beer cans and other refuse items on the property of the undersigned, racing unmuffled automobiles, engaging in sex practices, and generally conducting themselves in a manner prejudicial to the health, safety, comfort, property, sense of decency and morals of the children who live in the area."</p> <p>Clyde Hart, the owner of Hart’s Drive-In, declared that he ran a clean and quiet operation. He claimed that the real reason he was being targeted was because of professional jealousy. And he pointed his finger straight at Leonard Bertram.</p> <p>It turned out that one of the irritated residents who signed the neighborhood petition was one L. R. Bertram, owner of his own string of Burger Bowl drive-ins. Interestingly, until 1957, Bertram had operated Bert's Drive In at the same spot -- even living in the same house behind the restaurant. But, in 1958 he lived on Monterey Street around the corner from Hart's Drive In. </p> <p>But Mr. Bertram denied any accusation of professional jealousy, saying he didn't consider Hart's to be competition for his drive-ins which were "an entirely different type operation." In his letter of response to the City Council, Bertram said he understood what it was like to operate a drive-in restaurant at that spot. He himself had done it for several years. And he wasn't against the teenagers, most of which were just good, wholesome kids. At days end, Bertram said, he was just one of many in the residential neighborhood who were fed up with the noise and fights at Hart’s Drive In.</p> <p>The City Council assigned the citizen's petition to the police committee for action. A few weeks later, the committee set forth new "obligations"applicable to all drive-ins within the city." From then on, owners of drive-in properties had to "police" their own premises, call the city police promptly if there was trouble and keep the premises clean. Finally, all drive-ins were barred from playing juke boxes over loud speakers.</p> <p>And that's what ended the war between Hart's and Bert's.</p> <p>These days, the building at the center of the battle -- 1370 Cerrillos Road -- is occupied by a florist shop run by a very nice couple named DeVargas. Hart's Drive-in (operated in its last days by old man Everett Hart again) closed around 1967. Ingram's, Neet Teen, Ricky's . .. they're all gone. Bert's Burger Bowl No. 2 is now a parking lot for a vacant Blockbuster store. But Bert's Burger Bowl No. 1 -- now under the stewardship of Fred De Castro -- is still going strong on Rosario Street, advertising itself as the “last of the original drive-ins.”</p> <p>The only other thing I remember about those days was that Leonard Bertram claimed to be the first to introduce the chili cheeseburger to Santa Fe. No one believed it then, either.</p>TimeRiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00394567617045985809noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6873643774913302010.post-87534382919980691812009-07-17T17:40:00.001-07:002009-07-21T14:27:25.130-07:001968 – The Lost Time Capsule<p> </p> <p></p> <p>Mr. Paul Hudson, Director</p> <p>International Time Capsule Society</p> <p>Oglethorpe University</p> <p>4484 Peachtree Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30319</p> <p> </p> <p>Dear Mr. Hudson:</p> <p>I write to apply for membership in the International Time Capsule Society. I am new to the study of time capsules, but since I heard about the International Time Capsule Society and its dedication to the study of the history of time capsules, I've made it a point to learn more about time capsules. </p> <p>For example, there's a mention of one in the Epic of Gilgamesh which, I understand, was a best seller among ancient Mesopotamians some 4,000 years ago. I hope to read it someday.</p> <p>I also learned that during the 1939 World’s Fair, Westinghouse buried a time capsule to be opened 5,000 years in the future. Sealed in a 90' corrosion resistant "cupalloy" metal rocket-shaped cylinder were common everyday artifacts, a newsreel, and microfilm versions of the encyclopedia, a dictionary and the entire 1939 Sears & Roebuck mail-order catalog. That should impress the humans of the year 6939, assuming they haven't already evolved beyond human form to become glowing balls of mental energy.</p> <p>And I learned that on July 4, 1976, President Gerald Ford was set to seal a bicentennial time capsule in a formal ceremony at Valley Forge, PA when someone stole it out of an unattended van and walked away with it. That's just plain embarrassing.</p> <p>I know all about the most ambitious time capsule of them all, the Crypt of Civilization, located at Oglethorpe U by Thomas Jacobs, considered the modern father of the time capsule. The Crypt, sealed in 1940, contains a swimming pool sized collection of artifacts, literature and even a set of Lincoln Logs to be opened in 8113. I only wish I could be there to see that.</p> <p>Since discovering the International Time Capsule Society and its distinguished founders, all prestigious authors of books and magazine articles about time capsules, I want to learn even more about time capsules. If it is at all possible, I want to be a member of the International Time Capsule Society in the missing time capsules department.</p> <p>I know that the Society keeps a registry of known time capsules and, in 1991, issued a list of the ten most wanted time capsules -- capsules famous for being lost. And through those efforts, the Washington State Territorial Centennial Time Capsule was found in 2002 after being lost since 1953 when the Legislature paid for the burial of the time capsule but failed to fund the marker. </p> <p>The missing time capsules department is where I think I can be useful because I know of a missing time capsule in my own home town -- the City of Santa Fe. And I hope that, after you hear this story, you will consider adding the 1867 Santa Fe Time Capsule to your ten most wanted list.</p> <p>It seems that sometime in October 1867, the City of Santa Fe in cooperation with the local Masonic lodge buried a time capsule somewhere under the plaza. The newspapers of the time reported that the capsule contained coins, seals and copies of local newspapers, the territorial laws, and a copy of the United States Constitution. The time capsule was to be opened a hundred years in the future.</p> <p>But, through some oversight, the 100<sup>th</sup> anniversary year – 1967 - went by without anyone noticing. It wasn’t until a year later in 1968 that the Old Santa Fe Association asked for permission to look for the time capsule. With the City’s blessing, the Association hired some scientists from Los Alamos to use state of the art technology to detect the capsule’s location. The scientists set up their gizmos on the plaza and prepared to subject it to magnetic waves, gamma rays, X-rays and other rays they apparently had laying about.</p> <p>But the scientists already had a good clue exactly where to look. Centuries ago, the Masons developed an elaborate ceremony for the installation of corner stones and a precise protocol for burying their time capsules. The Masons invariably buried their time capsules in the northeast corner of a monument. Since the local Masonic Lodge had collaborated with the city in the sealing of the time capsule, the scientists began their search at the Soldier’s Monument in the center of the Plaza. Their instruments quickly detected a cavity exactly under the northeast corner. But the instruments could not tell what was in it.</p> <p>The City Council permitted a crew, under the direction of noted architect John Gaw Meem, to excavate in that area. After several days of digging, nothing turned up and Meem prepared to close up the dig and report failure. </p> <p>But one City Councilor decided to continue the project on his own. In broad daylight, Councilor Lee Rubinstein and his excavation crew (which consisted of two guys from his neighborhood) began shoveling away under the northeast corner of the monument on the Plaza. Apparently, the digging went on quite a while before someone from the City noticed and put a stop to it. While Rubenstein had produced an impressive hole in the Plaza, he had unearthed no time capsule.</p> <p>Rubenstein told the papers that he thought he was just doing his duty as a councilman by finishing the job left undone by John Gaw Meem. This explanation did not sit well with the public or with his fellow city council members. At a hastily called meeting, an angry City Council learned from the city’s engineers that Rubenstein’s unauthorized excavation posed an imminent danger to the stability of the Soldier’s monument. The prospect of the beloved obelisk toppling over after more than 100 years on the job electrified the Council, which promptly ordered the immediate repair of the monument with a crew directed by John Gaw Meem, all at Rubenstein’s expense. Councilman Rubenstein groused but agreed. A day later, the monument on the Plaza was intact and upright, firmly planted in cement.</p> <p>In all the excitement over Rubenstein's shenanigans, the time capsule was forgotten and the mystery of the 1867 Santa Fe Time Capsule has never been solved.</p> <p>Perhaps, if my application for membership in the International Time Capsule Society is favorably considered, I might be invited to the next regular meeting to address the members on this historical curiosity.</p> <p>I await your decision and until then, I intend to put to good use your valuable "Eight Tips for Organizing a Time Capsule" on my own time capsule project. I'm starting just as soon as I can find some cupalloy.</p> <p>Hoping to Join You Soon!</p>TimeRiderhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00394567617045985809noreply@blogger.com0