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