What’s Up Your Family Tree?

Make history again by sharing your family photos, diaries, letters, and other historic memorabilia or family ephemera with Friends of the City of Las Vegas Museum.

Just in time for New Mexico’s centennial, the Friends will be publishing a photographic history of the first century of Las Vegas entitled: Las Vegas, NM: Boomtown on the Southwestern Frontier, and would like your family to be a part of it. So, get into the attics and basements of Las Vegas! Call your tias and abuelas to see what’s in their shoeboxes and family Bibles!

In addition, historian and contributing editor, Elmo Baca is seeking to include brief essays and other literary expressions from the general public to help explore the major themes to be included in the book. Submissions will be accepted through Friday, April 1, 2011.

For detailed information and submission guidelines call the Museum at 426.3205.

Nancy Colalillo, member, committee on Las Vegas, NM: Boomtown on the Southwestern Frontier

Coming Home - at the Museum

Coming Home — War, Work, and Wanderings is a series of interviews recorded during the Fiestas. New Mexico Highlands University Media Arts Department interns Ben Jeremiad and Becca Glenn recorded and edited the interviews. They compiled an eight minute video that tells a story of leaving, being gone, and coming home to Las Vegas.

The video premiered for Heritage Week. It can be seen on the new gallery computer. at the Museum. Watch for the Friends of the Museum Newsletter to learn more about this video and the Oral History Project.

Coming Home: Stories of War Work and Wanderings from Lauren Addario on Vimeo.

Heritage Week 2010

There’s something for everyone during Heritage Week 2010, celebrating the history & cultures of Las Vegas, New Mexico:

Las Vegas and New Mexico Highlands History exhibit at Ray Drew Gallery, all week

Meadow City Camera Club Sacred Places exhibit of historic religious sites at CCHP, all week, reception Sat, Aug 14, 1-3 pm

Art on the Santa Fe Trail exhibit at El Zocalo Gallery, all week, receptions Sat, Aug 7 & 14, 2-5 pm

Heritage Quilt exhibit at Threadbear, all week

Exhibit featuring “outsider” artist Martin Montoya at Plaza Antiques

Fridays al Fresco, music in the Plaza, Fri, Aug 6, 5-7 pm and Fri, Aug 13, 5-9 pm

Bambi Doe Blake handmade doll exhibit, Plaza Antiques, , Fri, Aug 6, 5-6 pm

Open house, 50th Class Reunions of Immaculate Conception, West, Robertson High Schools, Fri, Aug 6

Crazy Heart + 2^nd feature at Ft Union Drive-in, $12, Fri, Aug 6 & Sat, Aug 7

Places with a Past: Historic Homes & Buildings Tour, 10-4 pm, Sat, Aug 7, Tickets $20

Dwelling Places: Las Vegas Arts Council Invitational Art Exhibit, reception 5-7 pm + Cipriano Vigil performs,
Sat, Aug 7

Ecumenical service at the Plaza gazebo, 1 pm, Sun, Aug 8

Blessing of the Waters procession begins at the Plaza gazebo, 1:30, Sun, Aug 8

Mayor Ortiz proclaims the 175^th anniversary of Las Vegas at the Plaza gazebo, 2 pm, Sun, Aug 8

Chautauqua: Capitan Rafael Chacon at the Plaza Hotel Ballroom, 3 pm, Sun, Aug 8, free

Red Dawn and Convoy presented by the Rolling Road Show at Ft Union Drive-in, Sun, Aug 8, free

Children’s Literary Camp at Rio Gallinas School, 8:30-noon, $25, Mon, Tues, Weds, Aug 9-11,
Ages 8-11, boys & girls

Adobe Preservation Practices presented by Ft Union National Monument at CCHP, 7 pm, Mon, Aug 9

Traditional Spanish Dinner at Immaculate Conception School, 5-7 pm, $7.50, Tues, Aug 10

Traditional Spanish & Cowboy Music program at Immaculate Conception School Auditorium,
7 pm, $7.50, Tues, Aug 10

Salsa Dancing in the Plaza, 4pm, Wed, Aug 11

Footlights in the Foothills: A Glimpse of Las Vegas’ Theatrical Past at Plaza Hotel, Cocktails, 6 pm, Dinner 7 pm, Performance 8 pm, Tickets $21 includes dinner and performance, Wed, Aug 11

Las Vegas Movie Location Festival at Ilfeld Auditorium, 7:30 pm, Wed, Aug 11 & 8 pm, Fri, Aug 13

Noontime land grant discussion with local historian Hilario Rubio at City Museum, Thurs, Aug 12

1^st New Mexico Volunteers living history group presentation of military drills in Spanish presented by Ft Union National Monument at CCHP, 7 pm, Thurs, Aug 12

Walking & Bus Tour of Old & New Las Vegas, lunch at Masonic Temple, lecture on Rapp & Rapp Architects, 9 am-1 pm, Fri, Aug 13, Tickets $20

Opening reception of Beisman Collection at Donnelly Library, NMHU, 2-4 pm, Fri, Aug 13

Over the Edge 3 by Nat Gold Players at Sala de Madrid, NMHU, 7 pm, Fri, Aug 13 & Sat, Aug 14, 3 pm, Sun, Aug 15, Tickets $10

Easy Rider + 2^nd feature at Ft Union Drive-in, Fri, Aug 13 & Sat, Aug 14, $12

Peoples Faire at Carnegie Park, 10-5, Sat, Aug 14 & Sun, Aug 15 Arts Crafts Music Food Entertainment

Walking Tour of Bridge Street & Old Town Plaza, meet at CCHP, 11 am, Sat, Aug 14

Second Saturday Art Walk, Wine Tasting, Gallery Openings, merchants’ specials, Sat, Aug 14

Preserving Memories

Photographs capture and, with care, can preserve precious memories. But over time, too much light, the chemicals and acids in some papers, and oils from too much handling, can destroy photographs. In addition, although the moment may be visually preserved, the names of people, places, and events may be forgotten.

Here are a few tips for preserving memories captured in snapshots.
Storage: Individual photographs, like snapshots, are best stored unmounted in clear polypropylene sleeves. If you want handy access to the photos, make your own album by using sleeves with pre-punched holes and storing them in chemically stable binders. For old albums, from which photographs cannot be removed, interweave sheets of acid-free archival tissue paper between photographs that face each other. Store albums in alkaline/buffered boxes to protect them from dust, light, and pollutants.

Identification: Keep a record of the people, places, and dates for each photo, but not on the back. Write a note on archival paper and store it in the sleeve behind the photo. It is best to use pencil. Writing on the back of the photo is not recommended because the chemicals in inks and some pencils will damage the photographic emulsion. If you use standard paper for your notes, store them outside the photo sleeve.

Pat Romero
Research Specialist

The best laid plans…

Starting around the turn of the 20th century, plenty of people in the area thought the future of Las Vegas lay in the agricultural fields surrounding town, put under the plow by means of irrigation. The Las Vegas Irrigation Project, proposed and explored in 1912, included dammed reservoirs and canals from five miles north of town to just south of Romeroville. James Hand, owner of the Placita Ranch near Los Alamitos began the Ten Lakes Project. He proposed to divide his 75,000 acre property into parcels of 5,000 acres each, available to homesteaders. Lake Isabel and Lake David are remnants of the project. The Van Houten Plan, 26 miles north of town, would divert Mora River water to the Cherry Valley reservoir, then out to farm fields. The Camfield Project, abandoned in 1912 would irrigate fields close to Las Vegas, through Gallinas water stored in the Sanguijuela Reservoir. Revived and revised in 1916 as the Storrie Project, the association incorporated in 1922, but was out of business by 1926. Farmers left after failures due to devastating effects, other than lack of water, in this semi-arid climate — wind, hail, and late freezes. Since 1926, the Storrie Project has reinvented itself several times. The current allocation of land and water is a far cry from the original concept, but, it’s one with staying power.

Linda Gegick
Museum Adminstrator

Highway Eighty Five revisited

Prior to 1952, Grand Avenue was a 2 lane road, barely paved, with wide planting strips dense with trees, separating sidewalks from traffic. The Las Vegas Urban Highway project of that year transformed Highway 85 from a small town throughway to a modern highway. The improvements included new mercury vapor lights, wider lanes that eliminated the tree lined strips and added a median divider.

The latest project to enhance Grand Avenue has begun. Over the next six months, the orange barrels will be out between National and Tilden Avenues. At times the Museum may be a challenge to access, but we are not anticipating any reduction in public visiting hours. Parking will continue to be available along National Avenue and Fourth Street. On the positive side, the building will benefit directly from some of the intended improvements. The sidewalks along Grand Avenue will be widened, putting more distance between our historic building and traffic. Transitions between sidewalks, paths, and landings will be eased and repaired. Renovated storm inlets will make those rivers of runoff along the curb after a summer thunderstorm a thing of the past. The Museum will be easier to find with the proposed signage along Grand. And that middle median will be back.

Meta L. Christy

The Museum receives an average of three to six enquiries per week from individuals, scholars, and even Public Broadcasting System’s show “The History Detectives.” The most recent enquiry came from the New Mexico State Preservation Division (NMSPD) for information on Meta L. Christy, D. O., believed to be the first Black female osteopathic surgeon in the United States and perhaps the world.

Meta Christy (1895-1968) moved to Las Vegas, New Mexico, in the early 1930s and set up a practice in her home on Sulzbacher Street. Born in Kokomo, Indiana, Christy graduated from Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1921. She was the first minority student to graduate from that college. She was practicing medicine at the same address in 1967, a year before she died. She is buried in the Masonic Cemetery.

The NMSPD, under the Historic Women Marker Initiative, is considering placing a roadside marker in Las Vegas near Christy’s home and office.

Pat Romero
Museum Assistant/Research Specialist

They’ll be back!

Says Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger of our collection items that left for the California State Capitol Museum today. Okay, he probably didn’t, but he could. Museums often loan articles from collections to other institutions, usually for display purposes. The Director of the California State Capitol Museum, Bruce Stiny, contacted us several months ago. He and his staff are developing an exhibit about Californians in the Spanish American War. Some of our Rough Rider collection would help illustrate part of that story.

There’s a lot to do to send some of our collection away. First, the Museum Board must review and approve the request. We require the borrower to obtain insurance on our items for the length of the loan and pay crating and shipping costs. Staff assembles the pieces and examines them carefully. The condition of each item must be recorded and photographed. The items are packed for shipping, taking particular care to guard against abrasion, bumps, and moisture. A few companies specialize in hauling fragile and high value items between museums.

Representatives of such a company arrived today to pick up the boxes. The deed was done. The exhibit “This means War” opens at the Capitol Building in Sacramento in June 2010 and will be one display until May 2011.

Raffle Winners

2009-2010 Raffle Ticket Winners
February 3, 2010
Friends of the City of Las Vegas Museum and Rough Rider Memorial Collection
Endowment Fund

Congratulations to the winners:

1st Prize: Sue Young, Greeley, C0 - $1,000 5year CD @ 5%, Bank of Las Vegas
2nd Prize: Elmer J. Martinez, Las Vegas, NM - $750 Cash, Friends of the Museum
3rd Prize: Vanessa Padilla, Las Vegas, NM - $250 Cash, Rosemarie Montoya, State Farm
4th Prize: Vanessa Padilla, Las Vegas, NM – $200 Suite for Two – Las Vegas Plaza Hotel
5th Prize: Hal & Joanne Olafson, Rociada, NM - $100 Gift Certificate, Charlie’s Bakery/Café
6th Prize: Vincent Howell, Las Vegas, NM - $100 Gift Certificate, Charlie’s Bakery/Café
7th Prize: Bernadette Almanzar, Las Vegas, NM - $50 Jewelry, Tito’s Gallery
8th Prize: Gilbert Rivera, Las Vegas, NM - $50 Gift Certificate, El Rialto Restaurant
9th Prize: Jean Marie Crockett, Las Vegas, NM - $50 Gift Certificate, El Rialto Restaurant
10th Prize: Hilario Rubio, Las Vegas, NM - $50 Gift Certificate, Advanced Skin/Hair/Body
11th Prize: Linda Smith, Las Vegas, NM - $75 Cash, Friends of the Museum

Thank you to everyone who bought a ticket, your support is greatly appreciated! Details of the re-scheduled Annual Meeting, and Silent Film viewing will be posted soon.

Tom Mix’s View of the West

Join us Wednesday, February 3rd, at 7pm to view "Local Color", a Tom Mix silent film made in Las Vegas, New Mexico around 1915-16. This black and white film of 14 minutes is directed by, and stars, Tom Mix. The theme revolves around a young woman writer from the eastern states who wants to write a story about the West. Her father expects her to personally experience “"local color" of the west before she writes her story. Therefore he sends his daughter by train to Las Vegas where she is greeted by ranch foreman Tom Mix. From this moment on, Tom Mix and his ranch sidekicks, demonstrate what the West is “"really" like.

The film showing, with piano accompaniment, is part of another public program by the Friends of the City of Las Vegas Museum and Rough Riders Memorial Collection.

Architect/Historian, Elmo Baca will also present historical context for the film when discussing Las Vegas and the Gilded Years of Statehood. Finally, raffle tickets will be drawn for great prizes, including a $1000 CD and $750 cash. (You can buy Raffle tickets at the Museum or by calling me at 505-425-5929.)

Bob Mishler

President, Friends of the City of Las Vegas Museum and Rough Riders Memorial Collection

**NOTE**

WE HAVE REACHED OUR 500 TICKET LIMIT! NO MORE RAFFLE TICKETS WILL BE SOLD. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT, AND GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE WHO PURCHASED RAFFLE TICKETS.

Museum Archives: From Daily Use To Preservation

The word archive refers to both a collection of historical records and the place where the records are located. Archives contain primary source documents, i.e., letters, diaries, newspapers, important documents, and photographs. Secondary source materials are stored in the Museum’s “scrapbook,” the Vertical File. Archival records are preserved because of their cultural and/or historical value to researchers and Museum staff.

Because these materials are “one-of-a-kind,” they are carefully preserved. When handling this collection, Museum staff wear cotton gloves to avoid transferring dirt and oils. Many paper items contain acids which, over time, deteriorate the documents, so these papers are interleaved with acid-free tissue to draw out some of the acids. Registers, scrapbooks, journals, and pamphlets are preserved in acid-free covers and boxes. Photographs are kept in individual sleeves that do not react with emulsions, and negatives are stored separately.

The Museum archives, available for research, contain documents related to Las Vegas, the surrounding area, and the Rough Riders.

Pat Romero
Research Specialist

Friends of the Museum Raffle — Get Your Tickets Now!

The Friends of the City of Las Vegas Museum are pleased to announce our Second Annual Endowment Fund Raffle. As a result of past generosity, the current endowment fund balance is over $27,000. We need your help to reach our goal of $100,000 by 2012, New Mexico’s Centennial Year. Purchasing a raffle ticket is one way to support the Museum’s collections, exhibits, and educational programs. Recent projects at the Museum include the development of an interpretive plan and an interactive educational game, Las Vegas Alive!; redesign of the Website; Songs of the Cowboys program; and Scrapbooking Las Vegas and Git Fer Vegas, Cowboy! exhibits. Proposed projects include an exhibit about clothing and an interactive oral history program.

The drawing will be held February 3, 2010 at the Friends of the Museum Annual Meeting. You do not need to be present to win.

For more information about the Friends of the Museum, the endowment fund, and where to buy your tickets, go to our website.

Tools of the Trade

Finish carpenters are fine craftspeople. Not only are their products works of art, their tools are often beautiful, as well. Spokeshaves shape wheel spokes, of course, or any type of long, roundish piece, like a table leg. There are four in the collection: two are a combination of wood with metal blades, two are entirely metal. Draw knives are used to roughly shape a round section. In this area, draw knives are used to clean poles for vigas. The draw knife is also used to approximate a round section to be worked on a lathe. A plow plane has nothing to do with agriculture or flying. It’s used to cut grooves along the grain in a piece of wood. It could also cut a rabbet (an open-sided groove). Ours is made from rosewood with brass fittings. Planes have various shapes and functions. The collection includes moulding planes (to shape the edge of material, like a router bit would do today); a jack plane to make rough passes over surfaces; jointer planes to flatten a surface; and smooth planes for finishing. Chisels, squares, mallets, mortise marking gauges, augers and compasses round out the collection’s woodworking tools.

Linda Gegick
Museum Administrator

JUST A DRESS? Interpreting Historical Artifacts

When researching information to create a label for a new display—a two-piece dress and undergarment—I found myself in the role of detective—digging for clues, following leads, and getting lost in the details.

Digging for clues, I examined the “crime scene”—tailoring, fabric, size, and distinguishing marks. A Bellas Hess label gracing the slip led me to research the company. Then I tried to determine the purpose and historical context of the outfit. The provenance, that is, the source of the items, Miss Bertha Hanson (1882-1907), and their size—adult clothing—established a time frame—the late 1890s. But was it an evening gown, a uniform, a visiting costume?

Next I consulted the Museum collection, fashion books, the family records, and the Internet. I found similar dresses, their purposes, and descriptive language such as fitted bodice, tight sleeves, and flared skirt. I learned that Miss Hanson might have been a Harvey Girl, that the style and fabric indicate daytime use, and that the lace of the undergarment was derived from 18th century France.

Following a lead from a co-worker, I came across young Miss Hanson’s signature in the Harvey Ranch Hotel register. I researched the Hotel. This led me astray, so I returned to the crime scene. What was the dress used for? What kind of lace is that? Come by the Museum to find out.

Pat Romero
Museum Assistant - Research specialist

NMAM Conference: Las Vegas Alive!

Greetings all! Since my last blog, Nellie Price and I attended the NMAM Conference held in Santa Fe, NM. We hosted a round table discussion about Interactivity and Education, discussing the details of Las Vegas Alive!, and even played the game as a group! The overall experience was wonderful! We got to share what we’ve been doing at our museum with others in the field, and got invaluable feedback on Las Vegas Alive! from other educators, researchers, and museum professionals.

Outlined as part of our presentation were the rules of the game, the lesson plan and rubric, and how the game measures up to the state’s standards and benchmarks for education. We talked about the characteristics of the game, the testing experience, and the research experience. As part of a PowerPoint presentation we showed pictures of the various museum visits whereLas Vegas Alive! was played, the timeline that sets up the boundaries for the game, examples of the card deck, and a portion of one of the campaigns.

Every detail of the game was elaborated on. We discussed how we determined our timeline and boundaries according to major events that correlate with U.S. and world history, which events we chose for our campaigns, our goals in relaying the concept of community through the game, what historical information was most essential for our purposes, our efforts to make the characters and occupations accurate and specific to our location, and what artifacts and props best match the characters and occupations. We also brought up our future game plans which include a second time period, more characters and occupations, more campaigns, and the introduction of famous, real-life characters to the card deck, (i.e. Fabiola Cabeza de Baca, Kit Carson, Charles Ilfeld, Jesusita Aragon, and the Duncan family).

The conference was a success! Everyone included in our discussion enjoyed playing the game, and thought it was a great way to make museum visits interactive and educational. Adding to the excitement, next year’s conference will be held here in Las Vegas. And, we look forward to hosting it!

Laura M. Gonzales
Humanities Consultant

Thank you and more

What an exciting couple of weeks! First I want to say thank you to everyone who attended the reception for our new exhibit "Git Fer Vegas, Cowboy!" and the corresponding performance "Songs of the Cowboys" with Mark Gardner and Rex Rideout. Both events were well attended, and extremely successful. A special thank you to our Funders - Friends of the City Museum, New Mexico Humanitites Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities as part of a We the People Project, Los Alamos National Laboratory Foundation, Las Vegas/San Miguel Chamber of Commerce, City of Las Vegas Lodgers tax Advisory Board, and the Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with New Mexico Highlands University Media Arts Department. And thank you to the members of the NMHU Rodeo team who helped with the tickets and seating at the performance!

I encourage people to learn more about what Mark and Rex do by visiting here:http://songofthewest.com, and also at cowboypoetry. com. And please support them by buying their CD's and books!

Also, we launched our new website on November 1st. Please take a few minutes to check it out - http://www.lasvegasmuseum.org. The new design was created by Hired Gun Design. Funding for the website was provided in part by Friends of the City Museum, and the City of Las Vegas Lodgers tax fund.

Exhibit Design 101

We’re in the last days of installing our new exhibit, Git fer Vegas , Cowboy! Exhibit development includes ingredients of staging a play and of creating a book. The writer, or curator, establishes a storyline. Inspiration comes from any number of sources — a song, a person, a newspaper article. In this case, our curator found a compelling story in the programs and poetry of the Cowboys’ Reunions. The curator chooses pieces of the Museum’s collection as illustrations. Next, the story and the “illustrations” are turned over to the exhibit designers. This team decides how the objects, images and text will best demonstrate to the visitor the curator’s concepts and how these elements will be arranged in a gallery. Fabricators build casework, platforms and other apparatus to house objects or hang images. Many pieces in museum collections are fragile and require special handling. This is especially true when these artifacts are displayed. Preparators create special mounting devices that hold objects securely without harming the object’s material or form. All of these elements are choreographed in the gallery and come together in a flurry of activity, so I guess exhibits have a little bit of dance in them, too.

Linda Gegick

Museum Administrator

Western Women's Saddlery

In Europe, sidesaddles have been in use since the Middle Ages primarily to provide women the opportunity to ride with modesty. Over the centuries, women adapted sidesaddles to their personal preferences. In 1915, Mrs. Esther Stace, riding “aside,” cleared a 6’6” jump.

In the early days of Western American expansion, “no lady straddled a horse,” but many expert horsewomen rode the prairies, ranched, and performed trick riding in their sidesaddles. After witnessing a severe riding accident, Charles Goodnight (1836-1929), a well-known cattle rancher, approached his friend and expert saddle maker, S. C. Gallup (1834-1904), Pueblo, Colorado, to make a sidesaddle suitable for the Western rider’s needs. By 1870, the Goodnight-Gallup Sidesaddle was born and came into popular use in the American West.

Until this new version appeared, sidesaddles were dangerous, hard on the horses’ backs, and uncomfortable for the riders. The new Goodnight-Gallup sidesaddle was built on a standard man’s saddle tree—higher in front over the horse’s withers. It had double-layered, square skirts, a mohair double cinch, and a downward-facing, adjustable side horn--where the rider secured her left leg. These adaptations, along with the traditional adjustable stirrups, made for a better fit for the horse and a more solid seat for the rider. These saddles were also fancy, with floral tooling on the skirts, embroidered buckskin seats, and white angora side pockets.

The Museum’s new exhibit, Git Fer Vegas, Cowboy!, opening October 23, includes an S. C. Gallup #85 Western Sidesaddle, purported to have been purchased by Ludwig Ilfeld, Las Vegas businessman and supporter of the Cowboys’ Reunions, and offered to one of the Reunion Rodeo trick riders as a courting present. Alas, she spurned him.

Pat Romero
Guest Curator - Git Fer Vegas Cowboy! exhibit

Play Time at the Museum Brings Las Vegas Alive!

Last Thursday we had another group visit, and it might have been the most successful trial of Las Vegas Alive yet! A group of home school children, along with their parents, participated in playing Las Vegas Alive!, and all seemed to enjoy it.

We began in the morning with a tour of the museum, and then separated everyone into three groups for the learning stations. At station one the children learned to wash clothes using a wash board and bucket, at station two they learned how to make butter and had a tasty treat, and at station three the children sewed their own money bags, which they used in Las Vegas Alive later that day. Each station was educational as well as interactive, and the groups rotated so each one participated in all of the hands-on activities. At first, the children didn’t seem too excited about sewing, especially the boys, but once they were doing it they loved it! They grew a real attachment to their money bags because they made them. It was neat to connect the sewing activity with the game Las Vegas Alive!.

The afternoon was dedicated to playing Las Vegas Alive!. Some of the parents played too, and those that didn’t remained involved by assisting the younger children. Everyone really got into their characters, parents included, and everyone enjoyed bartering and buying artifacts. (Each player was given play money that they carried in the bags they made earlier.) Almost everyone completed all of their tasks, and commented that they really enjoyed playing. The only shortcoming was that a few of the children were too young for the game. However, the children that were within our target age group completed the game successfully and had a great time!

We are continuing work on Las Vegas Alive! and look forward to the next visit!

Laura Gonzales
Humanities Consultant

Cowboys’ Reunions—The Artists & Writers

The annual Las Vegas Cowboys’ Reunions drew rodeo celebrities like Tex Austin, “Foghorn” O’Malley,” Prairie Rose Henderson, and Jim Shoulders, but the Reunions also attracted many artists and writers who came and produced works for or about the Reunions. Uncovering this information was like being a detective on the trail of a mystery. I’d come across a name or a sketch or a poem in the Museum’s archives then trace it to flesh out the story. Internet sources were helpful but sometimes contradictory, so then I’d hunt for corroboration in newspapers, books, and photographs.

The first, and most exciting writer I came across was N. Howard “Jack” Thorp, who traveled the country collecting cowboy song lyrics. In 1908, he produced his first book: The Songs of the Cowboys. In 1915, Thorp came to Las Vegas and wrote a song, “Las Vegas Reunion,” for the first Cowboys’ Reunion. The 1921 edition of his book, including this song, will be on display in the Cowboys’ Reunion Exhibit, and Mark Gardner and Rex Rideout plan to perform the song in their program, The Songs of the Cowboys, on October 23, 7:00 pm, in the Plaza Ballroom.

Once I learned about Jack Thorp, my sensitivities were heightened and I encountered all sorts of “literati.” Phil LeNoir and S. Omar Barker, Las Vegans participating in the Reunions, wrote and published poetry, short stories, song lyrics, and articles. LeNoir, author of Rymes of the Wild and Woolly, also wrote “Down on the Ol’ Bar G” (Poetry: A Magazine of Verse). A postcard with this poem and a sketch by Will James for the 1924 Reunion will be on display. LeNoir coined the first Reunion slogan, “Git Fer Vegas, Cowboy.” Barker and LeNoir collaborated on a story, “When Texas Annie Rode the Bull,” and published The Reunion News, for the 1922 Reunion.

Visual artists attending the Reunions included Randall Davey, Ruth Monro Augur, Edward Borein, and Will James. Davey and Augur studied with Robert Henri in New York but were drawn to the Southwest for their subjects. Augur’s illustrations appeared in an advertisement for the Reunion in The Albuquerque Herald. A reproduction of Davey’s “Wild Horses – Cowboys’ Reunion, Las Vegas, NM” will grace a section of the exhibit. Will James, author and illustrator, began sketching at the age of four and is best known for his Newberry Medal winning book, Smoky the Cow Horse. Borein began sketching at the age of five and is famous for his accurate depictions of the vanishing Western America. Museum records indicate that Borein attended the 1921 Reunion and sketched Bill Stanton’s final bronc ride—“with reins in teeth.” This drawing was used in several Cowboys’ Reunion posters.

Music played a major role in the Cowboys’ Reunions—from parades to balls. The Las Vegas Cowboys’ Band, formed during the early years, grew to have 32 musicians and became “the most famous organization of its kind in the West,” performing through the USA and in London. Another well-known band, Dick Bills and The Sandia Mountain Boys, often played for the Reunion dances. Bills’ young nephew, Glen Campbell, was performing with the band in 1955 when they played for the Reunion dance at the Castaneda Hotel.

Pat Romero,
Museum Assistant/Research Specialist