El Rinconcito español

Bendita sea el agua, por sana y por barata.
Blessed is water, for being healthy and cheap.

A panza llena, corazón contento.
Full tummy, contented heart.

Al agradecido, más de lo pedido.
To the grateful one, more of what he requested.

Submitted by www.sospanyol.com, Placitas—Spanish instruction that focuses on oral communication skills.

Friends of Coronado State Monument host Fiesta of Cultures

The Friends of Coronado State Monument and staff invite the public to enjoy a “Fiesta of Cultures,” a unique event on the portal of the Coronado State Monument, October 27 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Native American, Hispanic, and Anglo traditional skills have been handed down through the centuries, and the Fiesta will feature numerous demonstrations of these skills by expert craft artists, weavers, spinners, quilters, a tin worker, a blacksmith, flint knappers and potters. This is not only a festive occasion, but a true learning experience and will include Kuaua’s history (1300 to 1600 AD), Coronado’s visit (1540-1542 AD), and the Anglo arrival to the Rio Grande Valley (late 1800s via the Santa Fe Trail).

Coronado State Monument is located on Route 550 about one mile west of I-25 (Exit 242). There is no admission charge for the Fiesta. If you wish to visit the Kuaua Pueblo ruins or examine the original Kiva Murals, usual Monument admission fees apply ($3 for adults; free for ages seventeen and under). For more information, contact Scott Smith, Coronado’s manager at 867-5351.

Corrales Historical Society Tour

The docents of the Corrales Historical Society are sponsoring a bus trip to Taos on October 2, 2007, which will include visits to the Martinez Hacienda, the Mabel Dodge Luhan House, Kit Carson Museum, and the Fechin House and Museum. The cost is $48 per person and includes the bus fee, lunch, and entrance fees to the four houses/museums.

The tour leaves from the Old San Ysidro Church off Old Church Road in Corrales at 8:00 a.m. and will return at 6:00 p.m. Call Hope Grey at 897-3942 for information and reservations.

Folk music at the library

The Rio Rancho Public Library is pleased to announce a free folk music concert performed by the duo that calls itself “Charmed.” The concert will take place on Thursday, October 11 at 6:30 p.m. in the Loma Colorado Main Library auditorium, located at 755 Loma Colorado Drive NE in Rio Rancho.

There is no admission fee for the performance; however, free tickets are required and are available at the adult information desk at the library.

The Charmed duo is comprised of Alicia Ultan and Bambi Jackson. They call their music “twisted folk,” and it features violin, keyboard, and haunting vocals. Charmed has played at many area venues, including the Corrales Growers Market, and they have a new CD available, entitled Beautifully Twisted.

For more information and free tickets, contact the adult reference desk at the library or call 891-5013, extension 3030. You may also email questions to rnankin@ci.rio-rancho.nm.us.

Rio R offers enrichment classes

The City of Rio Rancho’s Cultural Enrichment Department has countless programs and recreational opportunities available for individuals of any age. Classes include: Art Academy (ages seven to nine), Belly Dancing (ages eighteen and up), Kids in the Kitchen (ages eight to twelve), Basic Cake Decorating (ages ten to fifteen), and Candy Making (ages twelve to sixteen).

Also, there is vendor space available for the Holiday Arts and Crafts Festival on November 18.

For more information, contact the Cultural Enrichment Department at (505) 891-5015 or visit www.ci.rio-rancho.nm.us and click on the Cultural Enrichment link under the Services tab located on the home page.

An American Kestrel

Meet wild birds at the Placitas Community Library

—NANCY GUIST
On Saturday, October 20 at 10:00 a.m., the Placitas Community Library will be sponsoring a presentation by Wildlife Rescue of New Mexico. The program will be especially geared toward children, but will be of interest to all ages.

Wildlife Rescue of New Mexico is an all-volunteer, nonprofit organization whose aim is to rehabilitate and release to the wild injured and orphaned animals which are found by the public. They also educate New Mexicans about wildlife and the importance of wildlife habitat preservation. To learn more about wildlife rescue, go to www.WRINM.org.

Peggy McCormick, a resident of Placitas and a volunteer with Wildlife Rescue, will be bringing various wild birds, including an American Kestrel. Peggy has a degree in elementary education, currently serves on the board of Wildlife Rescue, is a clinic manager, and is the volunteer coordinator.

To help defray the cost of the program to Wildlife Rescue, attendees may bring an item that is on the organization’s wish list, such as wild bird seed, uncooked rice, corn meal, toilet paper, garbage bags, and bandage material. To see a complete wish list, go to www.WRINM.org, click on “Donations,” and then click “Wish List” in the body of the text. Monetary contributions are also welcome.

Rebecca Watson-Boone

Librarian writes about librarianship

—PETER WATSON-BOONE
Placitas resident and library volunteer Rebecca Watson-Boone has recently had a book published by the American Library Association (ALA). Entitled A Good Match, the book investigates the relationship between a liberal arts education and a career in librarianship, drawing on her survey of 431 librarians who graduated from eight liberal arts colleges between 1962 and 2000. The findings cover such topics as:

• how schools and families influence career choice;

• how librarians assess their undergraduate education in relation to their careers; and

• how librarians’ roles and work have changed over the past four decades.

Rebecca Watson-Boone has a Master’s degree in Library Science from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and a PhD from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. She is the author of Constancy and Change in the Work Life of Research University Librarians, as well as numerous papers and conference presentations. Dr. Watson-Boone has taught graduate-level management courses in Wisconsin and Iowa, and has served as a reference librarian (Princeton University), head of the Central Reference Department (University of Arizona Libraries), and Associate Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences (University of Arizona). She was formerly a divisional president in the ALA and a public library trustee of Mequon-Thiensville (Wisconsin.) She is currently a board member and co-director of the all-volunteer Placitas Community Library.

Watson-Boone states, “I’m particularly pleased that the ALA has chosen my study to launch its new series of research publications in librarianship. I hope the work contributes to our understanding of one of the oldest, and most crucial, of the information professions.”

Builders’ house to be sold to benefit nonprofits

Tres Amigos Builders, Ltd. is building a $1.15 million, 3,574-square-foot home on prime property in Corrales as part of the 2007 Parade of Homes and is donating proceeds from its sale to four local nonprofit organizations.

Tres Amigos is a partnership created by three Albuquerque custom home builders: Betty Blea of Homes By Marie, Bill Reynolds of New Haven Homes, and Norm Schreifels of Sun Mountain Construction. The trio is designing this showplace home, called the “Corrales Home for Hope,” to eventually benefit the New Mexico Cancer Center Foundation, Citizens for Casa San Ysidro, Corrales Mainstreet, and Friends of Corrales Community Library.

“We are very excited to come together to build this home and to be able to make donations to such worthy local organizations as these,” said Blea. “Many of our subcontractors and suppliers have chosen to be involved in this project as well. It’s been a wonderful team process.”

Located at 109 Mesa Vista Road in the Mesa Vista de Corrales subdivision, this stunning home will feature the best of each of the three builders’ styles. Outdoor living will be emphasized through a fully-appointed outdoor kitchen featuring a cooking area visible from the inside of the home, a large curved courtyard patio, an adjacent veranda with a ten-foot ceiling, and an integrated masonry fireplace.

Reynolds explained that the home will conform to the Build Green NM program by incorporating numerous energy-efficient features such as awnings, double-paned casement windows, and radiant heating throughout.

The Corrales Home for Hope will be the Featured Home in the 2007 Homes of Enchantment Parade, which runs three weekends in October, beginning October 13. The home will be offered for sale at the end of October.

The New Mexico Cancer Center Foundation is dedicated to supporting the New Mexico Cancer Center patients’ non-medical needs during their battle against cancer. The Foundation has established assistance and educational programs to meet the financial, emotional, and psychological needs of patients.

Citizens for Casa San Ysidro is an organization dedicated to preserving this historic home built in the 1870s by the Gutiérrez family and restored by Ward Alan and Shirley Jolly Minge in the early 1950s.

Corrales Mainstreet is dedicated to preserving the village of Corrales by encouraging the enhancement and diversification of the economy so that families are proud, comfortable, and safe in Corrales. MainStreet strives to include in this preservation the village’s traditions, way of life, history, and agricultural roots.

The Friends of the Corrales Library (FOCL) is the library’s fundraising group, made up of local residents and supporters of the library. Individuals interested in more information about the Corrales Home for Hope may call (505) 342-1532.

United Way and the Placitas Library

—ANNE FROST, CO-DIRECTOR, PLACITAS COMMUNITY LIBRARY
Did you know that when you make your annual donation to the United Way of Greater Albuquerque, you can designate any nonprofit in New Mexico as the recipient? This year, please designate your contribution (and your employer’s matching funds) to the Placitas Community Library (PCL) Capital Campaign. The United Way will ‘pass the funds through’ to the account for our new building. Your contribution will be a great help in providing for full service library and community meeting room space Placitas needs so much. As you may know, the PCL is entirely volunteer-run. Sandoval County and the State of New Mexico do not provide funds for library operations though they do, through your tax bonds, provide funding for materials and resources. We do all we can to keep our expenses to a minimum as we are totally dependent on your donations for all operating expenses. We will still need your help for operating expenses this year during our annual Friends Fund Drive in November. Thank you in advance for your help.

PCL is developing a program to bring books to those who may be homebound, whether temporarily or permanently. Volunteers will arrange for monthly visits in your home at your convenience, bringing a selection of items specifically requested by you and/or based on an interest profile you create. If you or someone you know needs this service, please call the library at 867-3355 and leave your contact information. Someone will contact you in October or early November.

The library has just received a donation of the ValueLine Investment Survey. ValueLine “is a unique source of financial information designed to help investors make informed investment decisions that fit their individual goals and levels of risk.” A generous patron has offered to bring us each weekly edition one week after it is issued. Given the consistency of the information in each issue we believe this will be a valuable resource for our patrons.

A clear overdue policy has recently been adopted by the library Board of Directors. We will be sending out postcards to remind you when materials are overdue and then giving you a call if the materials have not been returned in another few weeks. While the library does not impose fines, it is important that materials are returned in a timely manner so they are available for use by others in the community.

The raven “Poe” will be visiting our library on October 20 at 10:00 a.m. for a program on Wildlife Rescue with Placitan Peggy McCormick. This program will be of interest to children and adults.

See you at the library!

UPCOMING EVENTS AT THE LIBRARY:
October 4—10:00 a.m. Preschool Story Time (Hot Air Balloons)
October 16—3:00 p.m. Bilingual Story Time for ages two to ten (Day of the Dead)
October 20—10:00 a.m. “Poe” the Raven: Wildlife Rescue with Peggy McCormick.

LIBRARY HOURS:
Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; Thursday from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

Name Game #2

—GREG LEICHNER
In “Name Game #1,” we met real estate agent Iona Newhouse, Nashville art critic Purdy Goode, beer guzzler O. Penn Zabrewski, country singer Aiken Hartt, and many more. Ten years later, a fresh bunch have arrived on the scene:

• TV evangelist Ty Willoughby Dunn
• Gossip columnist Waller N. Mudd
• Restaurateur Lynn “Queenie” Alfredo
• TV garden expert Rhoda Teller
• Transvestite Amanda B. Reckonwith
• Hard luck loser Roy Lee Shattapon
• Phoenix weatherman Vaughn Hunter deGries
• Rude egomaniac Fleming Athol
• Ranch cowboy Lemuel Skinner
• Ambulance chaser Collier A. Tierney
• Circus clown Eunice Eichel
• Warmonger R. McGeddon
• UN relief worker Thurston Unger
• Radio talk show host Lotta White-Noyes
• Former IRA terrorist Farris Ora Guinness
• Israeli rap artist Yehudi Mann
• Sioux pest control expert Anton Roachkiller
• Scott Seed weed expert Dan D. Lyon
• Russian drill sergeant R.U. Gudenov
• Swedish fighter pilot Soren Hawkes
• Dustbowl survivor Barron Fields
• Buick sales rep Isolde Karr
• Presidential advisor Jess Newcomb
• DC lobbyist DePalma Mehan
• “He tried everything but to “Noah Vale
• Cardshark Delta King
• Reagan worshipper Dee Clara Halliday
• Opera maven Barbara F. Seville
• Cuddle freak Ted E. Bair
• Mentally unstable Ima Luce-Cannon
• Somewhat cheaper date Gene Eric Brand
• Squeaky wheel Belle E. Akers
• Wok cook Terry Yockey
• New Age guru Joy Ann Payne
• Aging stripper Alma “Bubbles” Burstyn
• Irish UFO-ologist Flynn Sasser
• Holy-roller Waylon Bellow
• Francophile Francis French
• Repo man V. Hickle
• Song stylist Kerry Oakey Knight
• The enthusiastic Igor Beaver
• Clumsy surgeon Howie Bledsoe
• Clinical psychologist Wyatt Hertz
• The unemployed Doolittle Workman
• The unrepentant Nora Morse
• Stargazer Hunter O’Ryan
• Funeral director Solomon Grimm
• Conspiracy buff Lou Minotti
• Paleontologist Tawana Saris
• Personnel director Hiram N. Canham
• Underachiever Ames Lowe
• Lumberjack Tim Burr
• Chile farmer Hallie Peña
• Excuse-maker Ike N. Spillane
• Angry German boyfriend Hans Offerman
• East German bounty hunter Varya Heiden
• The new baby Wynan Kidd

 

Creating a place for our past: the New Mexico History Museum

—FRANCES LEVINE
I am one of those fortunate people to have a job that I love. Each day, I have the opportunity to handle objects, documents, or photographs recording or created by the people and events that commemorate New Mexico’s long and dramatic history. As Director of the Palace of the Governors and the New Mexico History Museum (NMHM), I have extraordinary exposure to the stories and objects of New Mexico history. The Palace collections contain nearly twenty thousand objects, seven-hundred-fifty-thousand historic photographs, and thousands of manuscript pages documenting our recorded history. Our museum is housed in the oldest public building in the United States. The Palace is nearly four hundred years old and it is the most important artifact of our state’s patrimony. Preserving the Palace has been one of the central missions of the Museum of New Mexico since the museum system began in 1909. Within the thick adobe walls of the Palace, important and common people have lived, worked, and convened business and government affairs. The Palace has doubled as both an historic building and as the state’s history museum, a task too great even for this venerable building.

In the summer of 2009, a new chapter of New Mexico history will begin. The NMHM adjacent to the Palace of the Governors will open. The History Museum, the Palace, the Fray Angélico Chávez History Library and Photo Archives, and the Palace Press will become a major cultural attraction and offer the people of New Mexico and our visitors a comprehensive state history museum. I have the privilege to work with a staff of professionals and volunteers dedicated to developing the New Mexico History Museum.

The New Mexico History Museum began more than twenty years ago. In the late 1970s, then Palace Director Dr. Tom Chavez and his staff began the programming studies that were the first steps in planning an addition to the Palace. Tom, the staff, project architects, and the Friends of the Palace, a support group of dedicated volunteers, began planning a facility they referred to as the Palace Annex to provide proper storage and exhibition facilities for the priceless artifacts in the collections. Tom was an effective advocate at the state and federal levels for this project, and raised the initial funds for the building. When I began as Director of the Palace in late summer 2002, archaeological excavations were just about to begin on the site of the NMHM. Ultimately, the excavations yielded more than nine hundred thousand artifacts and a great deal of information about the architectural history of the Palace.

When the New Mexico History Museum opens in 2009, it must inspire us with the stories of those who came before and the stories of those who are making our history today in small and large ways. Learning in museums is different than classroom learning. Museums must offer the opportunity to see and handle real artifacts, to connect with different times and places through the magic of historic photos and film, and to step into immersive environments that transform period rooms into the stages of history.

The New Mexico History Museum must honor our ancestors and inspire our descendants. It must be a partner in the education of our children and for generations to come. And it must be a pillar of our civic life, showing New Mexicans and visitors how we have built on the foundations of our long prehistory and nearly four hundred years of European history. When families enter the Museum, we want them to enjoy each visit and take pride in their history. We want them to find the stories of their communities and their families, and to seek the museum as a partner in their journey of lifelong learning. When they search the web for homework assignments or to satisfy their curiosity, we want them to find their answers in our on-line resources. The New Mexico History Museum must be a place that not only houses our past, but initiates our future. Each day, as the brick and mortar and steel rise higher, brings us closer to our goals.

[This article was distributed by the Historical Society of New Mexico. Frances Levine is the Director of the Palace of the Governors/New Mexico History Museum.]