September 2010
History Lessons
Racking Up History column by Bill Rakocy
See also: At the Museum
Menu of this month's listings, stories and columns
History Notes — The monthly program is 1 to 2 p.m. the second Thursday of each month at the Branigan Cultural Center, 501 N. Main, north end of the Downtown Mall in Las Cruces. Admission is free. Information: (575) 541-2154 or las-cruces.org/museums
The programs are informal discussions on local and regional history led by staff and volunteers. The 1 to 2 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 9 topic is “Local Architectural Styles.”
Fort Selden Frontier Day — The annual celebration at Fort Selden State Monument, 13 miles north of Las Cruces, is 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 11. The event includes living history demonstrations, a special presentation on the Buffalo Soldiers stationed at the fort after the Civil War, reenactments of frontier living history, entertainment and more.
Fort Selden also will host a special 100th anniversary event that day with stagecoach rides to the fort from Old Mesilla Plaza in Mesilla, N.M. throughout the event.
The 19th-century adobe fort was established to protect early settlers from Indian raids. The state monument seeks to preserve the remaining ruins, and has a visitors center with exhibits of military life at the post.
The monument, in Radium Springs 13 miles north of Las Cruces, is open 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Monday (closed Tuesday). Admission is $3; (ages 16 and under free). Sunday admission for New Mexico residents is $1. Information: (575) 526-8911 or nmmonuments.org.
El Paso Corral of the Westerners — The monthly dinner program is at 6 p.m. Friday, Sept. 17, in the Staff and Faculty Lounge, second floor, UTEP Student Union. Deen and Hamilton Underwood present “A Walk Through Concordia.” Cost: $20. Dinner served at 6:40 p.m. Information or reservations (before 5 p.m. Sept. 15): Marilyn Gross, 755-7329.
Fort Bayard Days — The annual two-day living history festival is Sept. 17-18 at Fort Bayard, N.M., six miles east of Silver City, offering games, reenactments and other activities for the entire family. Visitors may bring their own picnic. Admission is free both days, unless listed otherwise. Information: (575) 388-4477, (575) 956-3294 or fortbayard.org.
Fort Bayard was established as a US Army post in 1866. Many of the 1900 built buildings are still in use.
Friday’s events begin at 9 a.m. with a flag ceremony followed by learning and living history centers around the parade grounds until 3 p.m., including old-fashioned games, crafts and dances, and reenactments.
Saturday’s events begin at 9 a.m. with tours of the Commanding Officer’s Home, gift shop and museum, guest speakers and presentations in the New Deal Theater.
The annual Buckles and Bustles Military Ball is 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 18, in the historic theater, featuring dance lessons with Cel Potter, including the Grand March and Virginia Reel. Civilian or military costume circa 1866-1920 encouraged, not required. All ages welcome. Cost: $2.50; refreshments available for a nominal fee.
El Paso Archaeological Society Awards Banquet — The annual Award of Distinction banquet is 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 18, at Holiday Inn at Sunland Park, 900 Sunland Park. Registration begins at 6 p.m. Guest speaker David Legare, District Archaeologist for the Las Cruces District of the Bureau of Land Management, will talk about the BLM’s recent work on the Camino Real and the new walking trails that will be opening to the public in October. Reservations (by Sept. 15) payable to Bettye Barnhart, 2200 Febrero 79935. Cost: $23. Information: 755-4332 or epas.com.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro Trail Association (CARTA), and Human Systems Research, Inc. undertook a data collection program along El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro (El Camino) to collect artifacts that were in danger of being lost to looters. This project resulted in new information about portions of El Camino that was either unknown or reported but never verified. These portions of El Camino will soon be formally opened for heritage recreation.
Fort Bayard Weekly Tours — Fort Bayard Historic Preservation Society hosts free guided tours of the historic fort 9:30 a.m. to noon Saturdays through September at Fort Bayard National Historic Landmark, 6 miles east of Silver City, N.M. Society members will tell about the beginnings of Fort Bayard in 1866, the Buffalo Soldiers, and history including famous and non-famous residents its medical history. Entrance to the Commanding Officer’s home and 1939 New Deal Theater included. All ages and leashed dogs welcome. Wear walking shoes. Donations welcome; gift shop available. Information: fortbayard.org or fortbayardhistoricpreservationsociety.org
Trinity Site Tour — White Sands Missile Range. The semi-annual tour to the site of the first atom bomb explosion is Saturday, Oct. 2. Admission is free. Information: (575) 678-1134.
Two options are available for visitors: caravan from Alamogordo through the south end of the range (Tularosa Gate), or enter off U.S. 380 on the north end of the range (Stallion Gate entrance).
The line-up for the car caravan begins at 7:15 at the Otero County Fairgrounds parking lot on U.S. 54/70 in Alamogordo; departure is 8 a.m. Arrive at Trinity site at 10 a.m. and depart by caravan at 1 p.m. The Alamogordo Chamber of Commerce offers bus transportation for $35 a seat. A museum docent will be on board to answer questions. Information: (575) 437-6120.
The Stallion Gate entrance off U.S. 380 is open 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Visitors are allowed to enter and exit unescorted.
Visitors are encouraged to have a full tank of gasoline and a spare tire for the trip, which is 85 miles one way. There are no service stations on the route. Department of Defense police will direct traffic. Limited food and drink sales will be available on site. Pets allowed on leash only.
On July 16, 1945, the U.S. government exploded a bomb on the White Sands Missile Range that forever changed the nature of war and peace. Twice a year, on the first Saturday of October and April, the public is allowed to caravan to Trinity Site, home of the first atom bomb detonation.
The tour includes the McDonald House, part of the National Historic Landmark, where the plutonium core of the bomb was assembled. In 1984, the house was restored to its 1945 condition.
The Lodge Halloween ghost tour — Paso Del Norte Paranormal Society will host an overnight ghost tour of New Mexico’s “most haunted” hotel, The Lodge in Cloudcroft, Oct. 30-31. Cost: $165 per couple ($145 per single). Reservation deadline is June 1. Information: 1-877-GHOST-10 or email elpasoghosttours@sbcglobal.net.
El Paso Museum of History — 510 N. Santa Fe. Regular hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 5 p.m. Sunday. Closed Mondays. Admission is free. Information: 351-3588. For exhibit and special event information, see “At the Museum” listing.
Old Fort Bliss — Building 5051, corner of Pershing and Pleasanton Roads, Fort Bliss. The Old West days of the “Soldiers of the Pass” are relived through replicas of the original adobe fort buildings and military artifacts, Magoffinsville Post 1854 to 1868. Admission: free. Hours: Daily 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Information: 568-3137.
Chamizal National Memorial — 800 S. San Marcial. The National Park Service operates the memorial on land once claimed by Mexico as part of a decades-long dispute over the international boundary. A similar park in Juárez lies across the Rio Grande, whose shifting nature in earlier years triggered the dispute. The visitor center has an exhibit on the history of the Chamizal dispute, including a video presentation. Park grounds and picnic area open 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily; visitors center open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; closed Sunday and Monday. Admission is free. Information: 532-7273.
Free ranger guided tours and interpretive programs at are offered at 10 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. The tours last 45 minutes to an hour and consist of walking short distances on the park grounds, as well as visiting various museum exhibits and displays located in the visitor center. Interpretive programs will include U.S./Mexico history and treaties, Cordova Island, the park’s mural Nuestra Herencia by Carlos Flores, the establishment of the Memorial, and a variety of other items related to the borderland community.
Storytime with Georgia Askew is 10 a.m. the third Thursday of the month. Reservations required for both programs.
“Drop In Saturdays’ arts and crafts program for ages 5-11 and their chaperones are 10:30 a.m. the third Saturday of the month. Programs limited to 20 people on a first-come basis. Admission is free.
Los Portales Museum and Visitor Center — 1521 San Elizario Road. The museum is operated by the San Elizario Genealogy and Historical Society, and is housed in an 1850s Territorial-style building across from the San Elizario church. It offers gifts, family trees, historical artifacts and the veterans’ room, as well as information on the “First Thanksgiving” and the Salt War of 1877. Hours are 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free. Information: 851-1682.
Mission Trail — Three historic churches lie within eight miles of each other in El Paso County’s Mission Valley.
• Mission Ysleta — Spanish and Tigua Indian refugees from northern New Mexico founded the community in the 1680s. The first mission was built in 1692 and rebuilt completely in both the 18th and 19th centuries. The current structure was built in 1851. It’s near Zaragoza and Alameda on the Tigua Reservation. Information: 851-9997 (El Paso Mission Trail Association).
• Mission Socorro — The first adobe structure in Socorro was built in 1692, and like nearby Mission Ysleta, was destroyed by floods in later centuries. The current structure dates back to 1843, with additions completed in 1873. It’s off Socorro Road two miles southeast of Ysleta.
• San Elizario Chapel — Established in 1789 as a Spanish presidio, or fort, to protect the Camino Real, San Elizario was the first county seat of El Paso. The church was built in 1877, replacing a church built about 25 years earlier. Technically, San Elizario Chapel is a presidio church, not a mission. It’s on the San Elizario plaza, off Socorro Road, 5.5 miles southeast of Socorro Mission. Nearby is the famous jail that Billy the Kid reportedly broke into to rescue a friend. Group tours are available. For San Elizario tour information, call 851-1682.
Concordia Heritage Association — Anyone interested in learning about, preserving and promoting history is invited to join the association, which meets at 7 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month, at Zion Lutheran Church, 2800 Pershing. Information: 581-7920.
The nonprofit group takes care of Concordia Cemetery, home to over 60,000 famous, infamous and other eternal residents. The association also helps people locate ancestors buried there and researches requests related to the historic burial ground that once was the home of rancher Hugh Stephenson and his wife, Doña Juana Ascarate de Stephenson.
The group also sponsors the annual Walk Through History in October at Concordia Cemetery as well as other events involving characters from El Paso’s past, particularly those buried at Concordia.
Shakespeare Ghost Town — The small pioneer settlement and mining town on the trail to California is just south of Lordsburg, N.M. Information: (575) 542-9034 or shakespeareghostown.com.
Guided tours take about 2 hours. Admission is $4 ($3 ages 6-12). Special events, which include live reenactments, are $1 extra.
Tours are offered at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. Sept. 11-12.
To get there: From Lordsburg, take the Main Street exit (Exit 22) from Interstate 10 and turn south. Follow signs to Shakespeare.
Racking Up History column by Bill RakocyRock art at Hueco Tanks
In 1978, the El Paso Archaeological Society compiled an amazing booklet on our prehistoric treasures at Hueco Tanks State Park and Historic Site. This valuable booklet gathered together for all time details, photos and copy telling of our amazing early Southwestern Native Americans — their art and insight into early Native American lifestyle at the Pass.
Hueco Tanks State Park, located some 35 miles east of El Paso, is one of the most important archaeological sites in this area of the Southwest. Its three irregular rock masses cover nearly one-half square mile and offer an oasis-like environment for man, animals and plants in a hostile desert. Its many natural hollows, or huecos, filled with rainwater have attracted man for several millennia.
The archaeological importance of Hueco Tanks lies in its unique use by prehistoric and historic man. Inventory of private and museum collections shows that most, if not all, of the cultures known to have existed in West Texas, Southwestern New Mexico and northern Mexico within the last 10,000 years are represented. Rock shelters within the park have yielded, in addition to artifacts of later prehistoric peoples, well-preserved cordage, fabrics, food items, wood and stone artifacts attributed to the early Desert Culture lifeway. These perishable items more than double the information that can be extracted from the artifact record.
The area also contains numerous pictorial and graphic representations made by its prehistoric and historic inhabitants. When coupled with its other materials, these pictographs provide one of the most outstanding sources of research material in the Southwest. One can find the homes and campsites of prehistoric man in situ with his perishable household items and, in addition, find a picture of him rendered by one of his contemporaries.
Art and symbolism were used to express their times, lifestyles, and man’s relation to self and nature. They used rock walls as paper, pigment born of animal fat as paint, and burned charcoal sticks as pen. Their art was purely an expression of their lifestyle and being … rather than doing art as artists are prone to do today.
In view of the fact that these primitives had little to work with in terms of tools, mechanics, paper, pen and ink, clay or pigments — they did rather well by utilizing rock walls and great stones on which to express their emotion and lifestyle vis-à-vis the hunt, the dance, religious ritual relative to nature, dress and personal adornment, and colored decorations. All these activities became insight and expressions for their art. Art to them was a kind of religious belief, as they felt one’s art is and should be about these aspects of their being.
Their religious beliefs, their wars, their loves, likes and thinking were expressed on a very basic and abstract level.
In their art, as a means of communication and expression, a strong use of line, texture and tone can be found. Their art, therefore, sprang from their primitive minds and basic existence.
The archaeological potential of Hueco Tanks is not always appreciated and respected by all. Recent picnic fires in rock-shelter areas and spray-painted graffiti are still major destructive forces on the pictographs, and a number of private collectors are known to be active in the park. Each artifact destroyed or carried away represents a part of the unwritten story of man that has been lost forever. Hopefully, the protective sanctions of the Texas State Parks system and an awareness of the potential of this precious resource will bring this destruction to an end, and preserve one of the most important archaeological sites in El Paso and the Western United States. We need your help to keep these art treasures available for future generations.
Bill Rakocy is an El Paso artist and
historian. Information: 584-9716.
El Paso Scene MONTHLY
This month's listings, stories and columnsFeature story
Roundup
Music
Dance
Here's the Ticket
Program Notes
On Stage
Sports
Southwest Art Scene
At the Museum
History Lessons
Nature
Film Scene
Keep on Bookin'
Becoming Bicultural
Liner Notes
Stage Talk
Gallery Talk
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