CCHP Spring 2010

CITIZENS’ COMMITTEE FORHISTORIC PRESERVATION

Spring 2010 Preservation News Volume 25, Issue 1

Published in Las Vegas, NMby the Las Vegas Citizens’ Committeefor Historic PreservationPO Box 728 / 116 Bridge StreetLas Vegas, NM 87701Phone 505 425-8803Fax 505 425-7202E-Mail [email protected] www.lasvegasnmcchp.com

Board of DirectorsRudy Laumbach, ChairDeborah Barrera, SecretaryDoyle Daves, TreasurerVictoria ApodacaLoretta BacaBarbara FeldmanTasha MartinezMartha McCaffreyTony Roybal

Mission StatementTo promote the historic, economic, ar-chitectural, aesthetic and cultural val-ues of Las Vegas; and to celebratethe significant roles of the area duringthe historic Santa Fe Trail period andthe railroad era, which followed.

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LAS VEGASLVCCHP

CCHP PHOTO

This past fall se-mester MeaganJacobs’ media

class at New MexicoHighlands University tookon a wonderful project in-corporating oral historyinto video and multimediaproduction. The result:Unforgotten, Voices of LasVegas, a DVD.

The students who pro-duced the video are BeccaGlenn, Anthony Irions,Benjamin Jeremiah, KirpalKhalsa, Jonathan Lujan,Melissa Marquez, CabriniMartinez and Carlos Men-divil. It was a collabora-tive project with the Cityof Las Vegas Museum,Citizens’ Committee forHistoric Preservation andNew Mexico HighlandsUniversity Media Arts De-partment.

Unforgotten is an oral history projectcomprised of recordings of citizens fromLas Vegas and the greater San MiguelCounty. Residents share their personal andcollective knowledge of local history. In-cluded in the video are Antonia Apodaca,Editha Bartley, Elba C de Baca, GraceBetty Detterick, Alvin Korte, P.R. (Ray-mond) Laumbach, Rudy Laumbach,Gilbert Martinez, Trinidad Martinez,Robert Mishler, Leo Montoya, Clara Perezand Elton Wallace.

The participants share a common threadthat places value on family and communityas they talk about growing up in Las Vegas.The stories range from collecting bottlesduring the depression to working in a para-chute factory during WWII. Woventhroughout the narratives are historicalphotographs from CCHP archives and anarration by Elmo Baca. It is a beautifultribute to Las Vegas history! Copies of theDVD are available for $10 through CCHPand the City Museum.

Unforgotten: Voices of Las VegasDVD featuring voices of long time Las Vegans explores the past

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People and Places Past • Spring 2010 • LVCCHP

When Mickey and Linda Holleymoved into the 1899 George Moneyhouse over ten years ago, Mickey, afurniture restorer, saw his major lifeproject within its walls. Over theyears he has carefully attended to theoriginal woodwork as well as the Vic-torian interior and exterior details.The home has been on both CCHP’sHoliday Home Tour and the summerPlaces with a Past Tour.

Residential Rehabilitation Award:2503 Hot Springs Blvd. Victorian Brick 1892

Lisa and Lucas Griego receivedtheir second CCHP Rehabilitationaward for returning this dilapidatedhouse to it’s former grandeur. TheGriegos select endangered historichomes with great character, and makethem structurally sound again. Thisproperty on Hot Springs Boulevardtook 16 months of careful attention,mostly by their son Lucas. He first

shored up the stone foundation that was in disrepair, then re-pointed thestone and brickwork. The entire porch was rebuilt. The Griegos managed topreserve the historic details of the home. The interior features a new kitchenand bathrooms. This is the sixth project of Griegos Properties

Commercial RehabilitationAward:Plaza Hotel Addition: Charles Ilfeld Building

Constuction Manager/Partner LouisPlague received the Award on behalf ofthe Plaza-Ilfeld Group. The Charles IlfeldBuilding once housed the widest varietyof merchandise for sale throughout thesouthwest, ranging from cradles tocoffins, cotton calico to crates of gin. The building sat vacant for many yearsuntil a group of investors decided to rehabilitate the structure, connect it tothe Plaza Hotel and expand the Hotel offerings. After years of work thePlaza-Ilfeld Building opened this past year to rave reviews.

Award Winning PropertiesEvery year CCHP reviews Preservation Award nominations for sig-nificant improvement projects to residential and commercial build-

ings completed within the past year. At CCHP’s annual meeting, heldlast November, the following awardees were celebrated.

Explore Historic Las Vegas Celebrating 175 Years

Heritage Week Aug. 7 - 15

Planning for Heritage Week 2010 is under-way with an exciting offering of events,tours and talks to celebrate the culture and

colorful history of beautiful Las Vegas, New Mex-ico. Heritage Week has grown to be one of themajor attractions for visitors and residents alike inthe summer months. Plan now to come and spend ahistoric week with us! Make your own history.Historic Home Tour! Saturday, Aug. 7 The

week begins with the annual Places With a PastTour, which opens doors to many historic resi-dences, buildings and the famous Montezuma Castleup the road at the United World College. Each of thetour sites has their own history and collectively theytell the history of Las Vegas, from Spanish colonialsettlement to the railroad boom.

Places with a Past tour is self-guided, with do-cents at each site from 10am through 4pm. Ticketsfor the tour are $20 per person and can be purchasedin advance or on day of the event at the Citizens’Committee for Historic Preservation office at 116Bridge Street, the Historic Plaza Hotel, or by calling505-425-8803.

Also included in this year’s Heritage Week Aug.7-15 will be:Art Exhibitions!At the Ray Drew Gallery in

Donnelly Library at New Mexico Highland Univer-sity a historical exhibition. At the Santa Fe Trail In-terpretive Center at 116 Bridge Street an exhibitionfeatures the Meadow City Camera Club.Historical talks! The popular Dinner Program at

the historic Plaza Hotel will be offered. Fort Unionwill present a “living history” program at 116Bridge Street on the first New Mexican Volunteers,with uniformed drill practices.Walking tours!Dinner & Theater! The Nat Gold Players will

present a play, Over the Edge, a topical satire onLas Vegas City events and personalities. Shot in Las Vegas Film FestivalFamily Activities!More details on all these events during Heritage

week will be in our next newsletter.

Fort Union TalksJoin a growing audience for the Third Thursday Fort Union National Monument“Glimpses of the Past” lecture series heldat 7pm at 116 Bridge Street.

Residential Restoration Award:1011 8th Street - 1899 Brick Victorian

Nancy Colalillo honored at CCHP Annual Meeting

Las Vegas CitizensCommittee for His-toric Preservation

was proud to present its 2009Chairman’s Award for Serviceto CCHP and its Mission toNancy Colalillo.

Nancy has been a volun-teer for CCHP continuouslyfor fifteen years. She hasserved on CCHP’s Board ofDirectors and has served asMistress of Ceremonies for theCCHP annual dinner for manyyears. She is truly dedicated toCCHP and its preservationmission. Nancy tells us thatshe has been a preservationistsince a trip she took in thirdgrade to see historic Williams-burg in Virginia.

As a business woman in Las Vegas,Nancy has purchased and renovated threebuildings on Bridge Street. The building at116 Bridge Street, CCHP’s present home,was the original site of Nancy’s bookstore,Tome on the Range. Renovation of thisnow beautiful building was extensive, re-quiring removal of everything back to thebare stone walls, replacing wiring andplumbing and restoration of ceiling and allinternal fixtures. More recently, she hasundertaken renovation work on the build-ings at 131 and 158 Bridge Street. Nancyhas also done extensive renovation of thetwo homes she has occupied in Las Vegas.These preservation activities alone areworthy of recognition.

As a volunteer for CCHP in the mid1990s, Nancy made important contribu-tions toward the success of the PlacesWith a Past historic home tour that contin-ues to attract large numbers of visitorseach August. In addition to helping planand organize the home tours, Nancyworked with other volunteers to prepare a“how to” guide that has proved invaluableto later volunteer groups.

Nancy was a member of the CCHPBoard of Directors during the early plan-ning stages that led to the acquisition andsaving of the derelict Winternitz Building.This building provided CCHP with a visi-ble presence, a venue for establishing theSanta Fe Trail Interpretive Center and forevents and programs which celebrate Las

Vegas heritage. When CCHP took a lead role

in the establishment of HeritageWeek, Nancy and her staff atTome on the Range contributedby organizing appropriate eventsat the store. For Heritage Week2009, Tome on the Range offeredfive separate events, more thanany other organization in LasVegas. Nancy has been activewith the Old Town CommercialClub and more recently Las VegasFirst, providing leadership towardenhancing economic viability forthe retail establishments in LasVegas. Viable businesses help re-store and maintain our historicbuildings.

Finally, it is important to notethat Nancy has also been among CCHP’smost generous donors. She was especiallygenerous in making it possible for CCHPto acquire our new home at 116 BridgeStreet, which we own free and clear. Hergifts and those of other committed donorsare vital in sustaining CCHP and its workin service to the local community.

In summary, Nancy Colalillo is deeplycommitted to preserving the wonderful ar-chitectural and cultural heritage of LasVegas. She has made impressive personalcontributions to this effort through CCHPand other local organizations. We areproud to recognize her contributions andachievements through this award.


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Looking for New Docents and CCHP Office Volunteers

One of the best and mostenjoyable ways to learnabout Las Vegas History

is to be a volunteer guide at one of thePlaces with a Past buildings orhomes. Volunteers receive an orienta-tion at a fun reception prior to theevent. The date this year for the Touris Saturday, Aug. 7. Once you do it,you’ll return year after year as domany of our wonderful volunteers.

Just call CCHP at 425-8803 to getyour name on the list for this year!

We are also looking for volun-teers to give walking tours of the OldTown Plaza/Bridge Street HistoricDistricts as well as to greet visitorsfrom around the world this summer.Office volunteers sign up for two orthree hours a week to assist staff withgreeting visitors, answering questionsand giving a general introduction to

the Las Vegas history. Las Vegas hasmany “cultural tourists” throughoutthe summer months from all over theUnited States, Europe, Canada andAsia. Those looking for the authenticOld West find it here in Las Vegas!Help us make their visit an informa-tive and memorable one. Call us orcome by to see what works best foryour schedule!

People and Places Past • Spring 2010 •

Hooked on history, Daveslooks at the life and timesof some of Las Vegas’

historic figuresBy Doyle Daves

In 2006, CCHP selected the Im-maculate Conception School forinclusion in its Places With A Past

historic tour. CCHP Chairman, ErnestQuintana, challenged me to write a shorthistory of the school to be available at thetime of the tour. This turned out to be anenjoyable and rewarding project that led toa little booklet “Remembering ImmaculateConception School” which Ernie and Icoauthored. At the time, I felt this was a“once and done” special purpose activityand I did not anticipate taking on addi-tional writing projects.

However in 2008, I was challenged toapply for a small grant offered by theSanta Fe Trail Association. I submitted asuccessful application and received anaward to study Santa Fe Trail travelersfrom the east who met and married localNew Mexico women and stayed here toraise families. I decided to begin by study-ing James Bonney who, I knew, was anancestor of my friend Joe Lopez.

Months of research, involving trips tothe New Mexico State Archives andRecords Center in Santa Fe, the archivesat Fort Union and the records in Carnegieand Donnelly Libraries turned up severaldocuments and books which mentionJames Bonney. For context Ialso studied histories of the earlysettlements east of the Sangre deCristo Mountains including LasVegas, Mora, La Junta (later Wa-trous), Sapello and Rociada. Ialso studied the literature aboutAnglo-Hispanic marriages inearly New Mexico. I visited thesite of James Bonney’s landgrant at the confluence of theMora and Sapello Rivers; landwhich is still inhabited by Bon-ney’s descendants. The resultwas a manuscript, which wassubmitted to the editor of WagonTracks the quarterly publicationof the Santa Fe Trail Associa-

tion. This first article “James Bonney,Santa Fe Trail Pioneer, New Mexico Set-tler (Was he the Grandfather of Billy theKid?)” was published in February, 2009.Following the publication in WagonTracks, the story, reformatted and withadded pictures, was issued by CCHP as abooklet dedicated to Joe Lopez who con-tributed family lore and his vast knowl-edge of local history.

As a second project, I selected thefirst Laumbach to arrive in New Mexico,ancestor of my CCHP Board colleague,Rudy Laumbach. In quick succession,three more articles have been prepared andpublished, first in Wagon Tracks and then,in booklet form, by CCHP. Others are inprogress. I have found this way of preserv-ing and celebration our rich local historyand culture very rewarding.

I am very appreciative of the generoushelp and support that I have received fromJoe Lopez and Leroy Ledoux and otherdescendants of the nineteenth century pio-neers I have studied. Also, I am grateful toMartha McCaffrey, who has taken mymanuscripts, added pictures and reformat-ted them to produce the booklets forCCHP. I have summarized the five articlespresently available:

James Bonney, Santa Fe Trail Pio-neer, New Mexico Settler (Was he theGrandfather of Billy the Kid?) (Dedicatedto Joe Lopez) James Bonney, born in Eng-land of Irish parents came to America,ended up on the Missouri frontier andbegan freighting over the Santa Fe Trail toNew Mexico as early as the mid to late

1820s. By 1835, he had permanently set-tled in the Mora Valley and had obtained aMexican land grant situated at the conflu-ence of the Mora and Sapello Rivers. Hebuilt a home and trading post there alongthe Santa Fe Trail and created an irrigationsystem which is still in use today. He mar-ried first, Juana Maria Mascarenas andlater Maria Viviana Martin(ez) and leftfour children when he was killed by Indi-ans in 1846. His descendants believe thathe had left an earlier family in Missouriincluding a daughter, who became themother of William H. Bonney, Billy theKid.

Andreas Detlef Laumbach, Santa FeTrail Traveler, Proponent of Educationand Protestantism in Territorial NewMexico (Dedicated to Rudy Laumbach)Andreas Laumbach, born in Schleswig onthe border of Denmark and Germany im-migrated with his family and others in the1850s and came to New Mexico in 1859.He married Leonor Ebel, daughter ofDaniel Eberle (founder of the Ebell familyof New Mexico), another immigrant whohad settled in New Mexico. Andreas andLeonor inadvertently became involvedwith early Presbyterian efforts to establishmissions and schools in area communities.Eventually, the Laumbachs became pillarsof the Presbyterian community in territo-rial New Mexico.

Maria Viviana Martin(ez), Wife ofThree Santa Fe Trail Travelers (Dedi-cated to Mary Louise Maestas-Martin andTrisha J. Maestas) Viviana, a daughter ofone of the original recipients of the Mora

Land Grant, became the wife ofJames Bonney and at his death, wasleft a widow at age 18 with an infantson. She became the wife of a sec-ond Santa Fe Trail traveler, DanielEberle, and became the mother ofthree more children. When Danielwas also killed, Viviana, now 28,was again a widow. She took a newhusband, Frank Metzgar, probablythe richest man in Mora County, andhad three more children. She out-lived this husband also. She leftseven children and fifty-five grand-children. Many people of the areadescend from Viviana and are veryproud of her.

Santa Fe Trail Pioneers: Ancestors of Local Citizens

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—More on Page 5—


Partners in PreservationWe appreciate your support.

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Level of Support $_________________________________________Please send your tax deductible contribution to: Las Vegas Citizens’ Committee for Historic Preservation, PO Box 728, 116 Bridge Street, Las Vegas, NM 87701

Please check below all that apply:

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Thank you,Las Vegas Citizens’ Committee for Historic Preservation Board of Directors A non-profit 501(c) 3 organization


LAS VEGASLVCCHP

Josefa Ortiz and Sylvester Davis,Her Real American Husband (Dedi-cated to Victoria Davis de Sanchez andLeveo V. Sanchez) Sylvester Davis, aNew Englander, came to New Mexico,via the gold fields of Colorado where hemet and married Josefa Ortiz.Josefa was a member of one ofNew Mexico’s most prominentand richest families, owners of agold mine, vast herds of sheepand mercantile and freighting es-tablishments. The couple estab-lished their home in Galisteowhere Josefa reigned for genera-tions as the premier hostess, localcurandera, and advisor to arch-bishops and politicians.

Trinidad Lopez, CollegeBoy on the Santa Fe Trail (Ded-icated to Joe Lopez) TrinidadLopez, grandson of a Spanishgovernment official sent fromSpain to serve in Mexico, wassent by his father to attend schoolat Saint Louis University in 1850.Upon his return to New Mexico,Trinidad enlisted in the NewMexico Volunteers twice. In the

1850s he served as a sergeant during acampaign against marauding Indians andas a lieutenant during the Civil War.

These histories are available atCCHP.

SANTA FE TRAIL PIONEERS Chairman’sLetter

During myshort relationshipwith CCHP, I havecome to appreciatethe tremendousamount of work thathas been done, isbeing done, and re-mains to be done inachieving the orga-nization’s mission.

The Board ofDirectors recently held a retreat, at whichtime we underwent a SWOT analysis;[Strengths, Weaknesses (interior factors),Opportunities and Threats (exterior fac-tors)]. The conclusion being that CCHP is aviable entity!

We have great strength in our peopleresources; staff, volunteers, and docents.We can always use more. I encourage youto consider becoming part of the activegroup.

We have some weaknesses that can beovercome through the help of people withthe right skill sets. We have great opportu-nities to expand programs, network on “so-cial” internet communictions. Again weneed public spirited people to step-up andtake on some of these challenges.

The threats we face are the economictimes. We need to do more networking andwork collaboratively with all sectors of ourcommunity.

We had a great 2009. The purchase ofthe “Old Tome” Building at 116 BridgeStreet has been a wonderful move. Our pro-grams grew and attendance increased.

Much has been done, much remains.Your assistance and suggestions are vital tothe accomplishment of our Mission.

Very soon we will begin planning forHeritage Week. With this year being the175th year since the founding of the City ofLas Vegas, there are a lot of opportunitiesfor involving the entire Community.

Thank you for your support of historicpreservation in our community.

—R.E. Laumbach, Chair Board of Directors, CCHP

Rudy Laumbach

Mary Louise Maestes-Martin with grand-son Jordan M. Guenther, descendents of Maria Viviana Martin, wife of three SantaFe Trail travelers.

LAS VEGAS

POSTAGE PAIDNON-PROFITORGANIZATIONPERMIT 147

LAS VEGAS, NM 87701

PO Box 728116 Bridge StreetLas Vegas, NM 87701

This newsletter is partially funded by the City of Las Vegas with CLG funds, project #35-09-21736.12, from the Historic Preservation Division, State of New Mexico, 228 E.Palace Ave., Santa Fe, NM 87501. This newsletter has been financed in part with federal funds from the National Parks Service, U.S. Dept. of Interior. The contents andopinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Dept. of Interior. Regulations of the U.S. Depart. of the Interior strictly prohibit unlawful dis-crimination in federally assisted programs on the basis of race, color, national origin, age or handicap. Any person who believes he or she has been discriminated against inany program activity or facility operated by a recipient of federal assistance should write to: Director, Equal Opportunity Program, U.S. Dept. of the Interior. National ParkService, P.O. Box 37127, Washington, DC 20013-7127.


LVCCHP

Address Correction Requested

CCHP was awarded a grant from the New Mex-ico Humanities Council to bring a selection of artistand oral historian Keith Humphries painted depic-tions of southwestern New Mexico events to theNew Mexico Highlands University Ray DrewGallery. Historian Karl Laumbach was invited to LasVegas to give two presentations about the artist andthe colorful history of the southern New Mexico ter-ritory. Both lectures provided “nortenos” with agreater appreciation for history of southern NewMexico.

Artist Keith Humphries (1907-2002) createdover 80 oil paintings depicting historical events insouthern New Mexico, based on interviews withpeople who witnessed the notable events of the latterhalf of the 19th century. Humphries carefully re-searched each event, creating a collection of paint-ings, interviews, and archival photographs that aresupported by a well written and often humorous nar-rative. All this would have been lost were it not forKarl Laumbach, an archeologist/historian who en-couraged Keith to donate his work to the GeronimoSprings Museum in Truth or Consequences, N.M.

CCHP was pleased to be able to make this offer-ing available to Las Vegas residents.

Keith Humphries Apache Land Exhibit and Laumbach Talks

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CCHP Spring 2010

Documents

Transcript of CCHP Spring 2010