February 2012
History Lessons
Racking Up History column by Bill Rakocy
See also: At the Museum
Menu of this month's listings, stories and columns
Barrio Tour — El Paso Chicano(a) History Preservation Project and San Juan Neighborhood Association hosts an hour-long tour of one of El Paso’s oldest Mexican American neighborhoods at 9 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 4, starting in plaza next to the San Juan Recreation Center, 701 N. Glenwood. Suggested donation: $5. Information/RSVP: 258-0989 or rayerojas@gmail.com.
Tour will include talks on dairies, San Juan Catholic Church, Hawkins School, coming of I-10, famous sanjuaneros and more. A roundtable with senior San Juan residents will take place after the tour.
Concordia ghost tour — Concordia Heritage Association and Paso Del Norte Paranormal Society hosts its monthly ghost tour of the historic Concordia Cemetery 9 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 4. Visit the haunted sites where people have reported seeing a Lady in White, and other ghostly apparitions. Tours start under the big tree near the Yandell Street entrance. Ages 13 and older welcome. Cost: $10 per person donation. Reservations required as space is limited. Information: 373-1513 or help@ghosts915.com.
Bring recording equipment, cameras, extra batteries, flashlight, comfortable (closed toe) walking shoes and jacket in cooler months.
Casas de Antaño (Houses of Yesteryear) — Mesilla Valley Preservation, Inc.’s 2012 “Houses of Yesteryear” Tour of Historic Homes is 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 11, with tours of seven buildings in the historic center of Las Cruces with focus on homes standing at the time of New Mexico statehood in 1912. Cost: $15 (includes map and informational booklet); available the day or the tour ate any of the featured homes. Information/addresses of featured homes: (575) 644-0599 or mvpres.org.
Two of the sites, the Armijo House and Amador Hotel, are currently undergoing restoration, providing visitors with opportunities to see ongoing preservation efforts. Two other properties, the Sam Bean House (brother of Judge Roy Bean) and the Charles W. Turner House will also be featured.
Downtown Walking Railroad Tour — The Railroad and Transportation Museum of El Paso will host the walking tour of sites related to railroad history at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 18, starting at Cleveland Square, near the Museum of History and Downtown library branch. Learn about two stage station sites, the Transcontinental rail line built by Chinese workers in 1881 for the Southern Pacific, El Paso & Southwestern Depot in the 1881 train yard, 1880s buildings and a Victorian neighborhood, Mule Car and Streetcar lines and more. The tour consists for two hour-long walks with lunch break in between.
Registration begins at 10:15 a.m. Cost: $5 (discount for students, teachers and military; free for children). Information: 422-3420, 256-4409 or elpasorails.org.
El Paso Archaeological Society — The society’s monthly meeting is 2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 19, at El Paso Museum of Archaeology, 4301 Transmountain. El Paso archaeologist Javi Vasquez will report on the first season of investigations at Sierra Diablo Cave in Hudspeth County. Vasquez’s work at Sierra Diablo Cave is part of his master’s program in anthropology at UTEP. Admission is free. Information: 755-4332, 433-4130 or epas.com.
Chamizal galleries — Chamizal National Memorial, 800 S. San Marcial. Hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday for Abrazos Gallery, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday for Paisanos Gallery, weekends by request. Admission is free. Information: 532-7273.
Showing Jan. 26-Feb. 20 in Los Paisanos Gallery: “Charreria” photographic exhibition presented by the Mexican Consulate in El Paso The exhibition documents the historical and cultural themes of Mexican Charreria, which is similar to American rodeo.
Opening Feb. 23 in the Abrazos Gallery: “Voices of the Chamizal” The exhibit introduces visitors to the human story of the long-standing Chamizal dispute by showcasing personal stories of individuals beginning in 1848 and ending in present day.
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.
El Paso-Juarez Historical Museum — Curator and founder is historian Fred Morales, who hosts historic exhibits at various locations and walking tours. Information: 771-6727, fredmorales7@yahoo.com, or elpasowalkingtours.com.
Walking tours are at 1 p.m. the last Saturday of the month. Cost is $5.
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. Wednesday through Saturday. Admission is free. Information: 532-7273.
Ranger talks are 2 p.m. every Saturday in the Visitor Center (at the boundary marker between the flags).
Free ranger guided tours and interpretive programs 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 park rangers are 10 to 11:30 a.m. the third Thursday of the month.
Saturday Morning Crafts arts and crafts program for ages 5 to 11 and their chaperones are planned one Saturday of the month.
Admission is free to both storytime and crafts, but space is limited: call for reservations.
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 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.
Old Fort Bliss — Building 5054, 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: 568-4518.
San Elizario Veterans Museum and Memorial Walk — The museum, operated and managed by the non-profit San Elizario Veterans Committee of the San Elizario Genealogy and Historical Society, is at 1501-B Main Street in San Elizario. Hours are 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. Admission is free. Information: Ann Lara, 345-3741 or Ray Borrego, 383-8529.
The Museum and Memorial Walk is dedicated those who served in the Armed Forces during wars of the past century.
Fort Bayard Tours — Fort Bayard Historic Preservation Society hosts guided tours of the historic fort at 9:30 a.m. the second and fourth Saturday of the month through April, 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. Most tours include entrance to the Commanding Officer’s home and 1939 New Deal Theater included. Tours last around two hours. All ages and leashed dogs welcome. Wear walking shoes. Cost: $3 suggested donation; gift shop available. Information: (307) 640-3012 or (575) 388-4477 or fortbayard.org.
Fort Selden State Monument — 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.
Fort Selden was a 19th-century adobe fort established to protect early settlers from Indian raids. The monument seeks to preserve the remaining ruins and has a visitors center with exhibits of military life at the post. From Las Cruces, take I-25 north to Exit 19.
Mimbres Culture Heritage Site — The Mattocks Ruin, a world famous archeological site in Mimbres, N.M. is now open 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily, and is the only Mimbres site open to the public. Owned and managed by the Imogene F. Wilson Education Foundation, the site has an interpretative sign walking path around the ruin. The site includes the Gooch and Wood houses, two historic Mimbres Valley territorial adobe houses dating from the 1880s. Information: (575) 536-9337.
About 1,000 years ago, a Mimbres pueblo was built at this site on top of an earlier pithouse village. During the pueblo period, the Mimbres people produced beautiful black-and-white painted pottery that art historians and archaeologist consider the most distinctive prehistoric pottery tradition in North America.
The site is at 14 Sage Rd., Mimbres, N.M. off NM 35, about 3 miles from the intersection of NM 152 and NM 35.
Shakespeare Ghost Town — The small pioneer settlement and mining town on the trail to California is just south of Lordsburg, N.M. Site is open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Information: (575) 542-9034 or shakespeareghostown.com.
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 RakocyTitanic disaster still news 100 years later
The recent Costa Concordia cruise liner disaster recalled one of the greatest shipwrecks of all time, the sinking of the Titanic 100 years ago.
• Sailing from Southampton, England to New York on its maiden voyage, the RMS Titanic struck an iceberg on the night of April 14, 1912, sinking within three hours in the frigid waters of the North Atlantic. Of more than 2,200 aboard, only about 700 survived.
• The Titanic carried some of the world’s leading and wealthiest citizens, such as John Jacob Astor IV, so the news of the calamity dominated the press for days, weeks and months. Here are a few of the headlines and other bits of news stories from the disaster carried in newspapers following the disaster. My sources for this monumental ship sinking were compiled by Eric Caren and Steve Goldman from their collections, Old News , Inc.
• Her bottom right side ripped open by a giant “iceberg can opener,” so said national newspapers of the day.
• A towering gigantic iceberg tore a great flap in her front and starboard bottom area below the water line.
• The band played to the end … “Nearer My God to Thee.”
• She sped westward at a 21-knot clip … in order to smash a world record for Atlantic crossings.
• 1,492 souls go down with the wounded Titanic (later reports increased the total to 1,517).
• J.J. Astor and other principals were lost.
• Six or seven international vessels had heard the distress call.
• Carpathia came to assist Titanic.
• April 14, 1912 indeed was a day of infamy as the new liner made way to New York City.
• She was hellbent to break a marine world speed record.
• She broke records but not of her captain’s choosing.
• A newspaper sketch on view in one of the daily papers showed the Titanic containing ten decks and large boiler room areas. The huge hull was divided into 30 water- tight areas. She had much in terms of safety and comfort and speed but lacked profound and ultimate safety factors. Her lifeboats, for example, were inadequate and poorly manned.
• She had triple screws (propellers) that drove her engines of 50,000 horsepower. Cruising speed was set at 21 knots … the speed attained when she collided with the iceberg.
• Noted engineers felt that the impact of the iceberg was so great that a part of the bottom of the ship and hull was ripped off and destroyed, thus letting the seas inundate much of the hull and hold. The ship, despite having other watertight compartments working, began to founder and sink.
• The iceberg that sank the Titanic was said to extend seven or eight decks below sea level, which could easily gut the bottom of a great vessel – as it did in the Titanic’s case. Another vessel in the area had warned of iceberg sightings.
• Mrs. Guggenheim was hysterical over the loss of her mate.
• Whispers and calls of farewell as Titanic sinks in farewell plunge.
• Tidings of terror and death are told in word on wireless.
• Death made no distinction in class for people “called to death”.
• Great fields of ice surround the grave of Titanic.
• Titanic disaster tops all horrors of losses at sea.
• Billions of dollars in holdings and cash of men on Titanic’s list.
• The Carpathia picked up lost vessel lifeboats.
• Complete passenger list of Titanic shows that the doomed vessel carried some of the most prominent citizen of the U.S. and Europe.
• Women and children were saved first.
• Captain Smith believed the Titanic was unsinkable.
• Weeping crowds seek news of friends and relatives in disaster.
• The Titanic struck the iceberg with an impact of 13,500,000 tons — equal to the power of 37 express trains.
• The Titanic had sent out messages that they knew they were in the area of dangerous icebergs … yet sped on to break a world record.
• Scarcity of lifeboats and mechanics were blamed for many deaths.
• Insurances losses ranged from $20,000,000 to $35,000,000.
• Throngs of grief-stricken stormed the steamship offices
• The Brooklyn Daily Eagle on April 17, 1912 said Bruce Ismay (the owner of the Titanic ) was the Benedict Arnold of the sea.
• Ismay, fearing further censure, sneaks back to Europe.
• The rescue ship Carpathia had many fascinating stories to tell about the lucky souls who had been plucked from a deadly ship and sea. Many great, humanistic acts prevailed when men gave up their seats and space on a lifeboat to save a woman or child. Major Archibald Butt died like a soldier and gentleman as many other men did.
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
Better ParentingCopyright 2012 by Cristo Rey Communications.