Chloride, New Mexico

by Bob Hazlett

The store began serving the Chloride mining community in 1880. In 1923, it closed and was boarded up with everything inside. In 1988, when the boards came off, they found a building filled with bats and rats, 75 years of excrement, and underneath it all, the makings of the Pioneer Store Museum.

Chloride, NM was a silver mining town. Silver Chloride was the form of silver ore being mined, hence the town name.

James Dalglish, a Canadian, came to Chloride seeking a better climate for his ill health, arriving just as the Silver Boom was starting. He erected a building that was to be the Pioneer Store.

The building was constructed of hand-hewn Ponderosa Pine logs harvested from the mountains west of Chloride. The timber area is about eight miles west of present day Chloride and was the stronghold of Victorio, Chief of the Warm Springs Apaches. Dalglish probably had guards ready to fight Indians if they appeared. Several skirmishes had been fought there in preceding years.

His building was approximately 60 feet long and filled the entire lot width of 25 feet.

In 1880, the store opened. It stocked everything miners and their families needed. Merchandise included mining tools and equipment, ranch supplies, clothes for the entire family, and all manner of foodstuff. Records suggest the store also served as both a bank and a pawn shop.

In 1881, the Postal Service installed a Post Office in the front of the store and Dalglish became Postmaster.

By 1882, Chloride had a weekly newspaper. “Black Range” was published from the second floor of the Pioneer Store until the late 1890s.

About this time, a deep recession gripped the nation. It started with the economic panic of 1893 and persisted into 1896, a presidential election year. Free silver versus the gold standard was the central economic issue in that election. “Gold Standard” candidate, William McKinley defeated “Free Silver” candidate William Jennings Bryan for the presidency.

The nation quickly adopted the gold standard. Silver prices plummeted, silver mines closed, and silver mining towns died. So went Chloride.

Dalglish leased the store out for several years, and in 1908 sold it to the James Family who owned the U.S. Treasury Mining Company. They used the store as a commissary for their ranch and timber workers.

In 1923, they closed the store and sealed all the windows and doors with roofing tin and lumber with all furnishings, and merchandise still inside … and so it remained until 1988.

Enter Don and Dona (correctly spelled with one n) Edmund. Don worked for IBM installing computer systems for the military and the FAA. At this time, he was working at White Sands Missile Range. The Edmunds lived in Las Cruces and spent weekends in Chloride restoring a derelict house they had purchased.

One weekend, in the summer of 1978, they met Mr. Edward James, who had come from California to visit a relative in Chloride. Mr. James asked the Edmunds to join him in exploring the old store building. They entered through the back door by removing roofing tin and lumber and then taking out a bottom door panel. In his book, Don describes the sight they beheld inside this way:

“All the furnishings and merchandise were just as they were when they closed the building in 1923, except that everything was covered with bat guano. It was about two inches deep on everything. There were thousands of bats in the building. Many were flying about as we had disturbed them, but many more still clung in clusters on every exposed ceiling joist.”

Don asked to buy the building to turn into a museum. He waited ten years for an answer. In summer of 1988, Edward James sold him the store building, all it’s contents, and the Monte Cristo Saloon building next door.

Bats left on their own as soon as the windows and doors were uncovered and daylight penetrated the building, but the rats had to be evicted. Traps and neighbor’s cats accomplished that task.

After three more years finishing up existing projects and wondering how to do it, the Edmunds began restoring the Pioneer Store.

Then another treasure, another opportunity, another task:

“When the building was closed in 1923, the town folks had gathered up what there was of the town records from 1880 to 1923 and stored them in boxes stacked near the front of the building. Over the years, the boxes weakened and tipped over scattering documents the full length of the center aisle. Those had to be picked up first. We found that the bat guano could be brushed off, and the papers could be saved, but where the rats had nested, the papers were so soiled that they had to be trashed. We wound up with around 35 boxes of old town records.”

First came a photography marathon – taking pictures of all the inside shelves and storage bins so that items could be returned to their proper place after cleaning. Then everything was removed, cleaned, and stored. Next, shelving, counters, and bins were taken out so the interior could be cleaned.

Nearly all the glass in the large front windows had been broken, and the building had acquired a decided lean to the right. They pushed the logs back into shape, rebuilt the window frames, and installed new glass.

The walls, originally whitewashed, were cleaned and painted with one thin coat of cheap paint to let the stains come through.

Once the floor was cleaned, they found several black stains at various places. Mr. James reminded them that the Black Range newspaper had been printed upstairs, and he believed that ink pots spilled upstairs had seeped through cracks to the downstairs. Checking the black stains on the second floor confirmed that, so they left the stains downstairs.

With the walls straightened up, cleaned, painted, windows replaced, and items of merchandise cleaned and refurbished, it was time to put everything back in place. As the pieces went back on the shelves, they recognized what a treasure this truly was, a real ‘old time Mercantile’ right there in Chloride.

Returning the tools to the shelves, quickly showed the tools would not display well laying flat, so they left the rear shelving out, and hung the tools on the walls for a better view.

In 1997, the pioneer store opened to the public as the Pioneer Store Museum.

The museum is an accurate recollection of the store as it was at the turn of the 20th century, except that the tools are on walls instead of shelves and a small section has been set aside as a memorial to Cassie Hobbs and Raymond Schmidt. Cassie and Raymond were citizens of Chloride who … well, that’s another story.

Author’s Note: Everything I know about the Pioneer Store Museum I learned from Don Edmund – some from interviews, some from his unpublished book “THE STORIES THEY TOLD US: As told by the ‘Old Timers’ of Chloride.” With his permission, I quoted him, and I paraphrased many of his words, but the story is his and I thank him for it.

Albuquerque Hot Air Balloon Ride at Sunset

If You Go:

Location:
– N33o20’19.17″, W107o40’52.12″; elevation 6,186 feet

Distances:
– From the north: Albuquerque to Truth or Consequences – 143 miles
– From the south: Las Cruces to Truth or Consequences – 84 miles
– Truth or Consequences to Chloride – 43 miles

Directions:
– Leave I-25 at Exit 83 in Truth or Consequences, NM
– Travel north on Rt 181, then west on Rt 52 for 39 miles to Winston
– Turn left on Republic Rd and follow 4 miles to Chloride. Road ends in Chloride.

Time commitment:
– Allow 45 minutes for the trip from/to Truth or Consequences.
– Allow two hours for your guided visit to the Pioneer Store Museum and the Monte Cristo Saloon & Dance Hall Gift Shop & Gallery.
– Ask Don for a history tour of the town. That takes about an hour.
– Enjoy a meal or snack at the Chloride Bank Cafe.
– Outdoor enthusiasts can enjoy hiking trails in the adjacent Gila National Forest.

Accommodations:
Traveling in an RV:
– Apache Kid RV Park in Chloride is a small (5 sites) but very adequate facility with full hookups. Rate is very reasonable. Call 575-743-2736 for reservations.
Need a room:
– Several rental cabins are available in Chloride. Call 575-743-2736 for information and reservations.

Food Service:
– Lunch and dinner is available in the Chloride Bank Cafe. (Thu – Sun)
– Many restaurants in Truth or Consequences.

About the author:
Bob Hazlett roams the US full-time in his RV, capturing his experiences and places in words and pictures. He maintains a travel blog and publishes articles in RV and Workamping related magazines and e-zines.

All photos by Bob Hazlett:
View of present day Chloride from the hill above town
Post Office occupied the front of the store
Store Display Case with original glass
Many of these brand names we still recognize today
A heaven for bottle collectors
Tools hung on the wall for better display
A local artisan created this piece of metal art work for Don Edmund
Schmidt & Hobbs Memorials hold a place of honor in the museum

Arizona and New Mexico

by Sharron Calvin

Imagine…..

Indians singing and dancing around a roaring camp fire or planting seeds by the light of a full moon. These visions and more were felt during my visit to Chaco Canyon National Historical Park, Canyon De Chelly (pronounced shay) National Monument and Casa Malpais Archaeological Park.

These established landmarks form a 700 mile triangle from northeastern Arizona into northwestern New Mexico and may have been part of a migration that has fascinated modern archaeologists for years. Presently, Canyon De Chelly is the only region where Native Americans still live and farm. Although, there are plenty of ruins still standing and a legacy of trails worth exploring in Chaco Canyon and Casa Malpais.

Chaco Canyon Holds Many Secrets to the Anasazi Culture

Chaco Canyon National Historical Park sits in Northwestern New Mexico and was designated as a World Heritage Site in 1987. According to archeological studies, 4,000 to 6,000 Hopi, Pueblo, Navajo and other Indian tribes passed through this canyon. From 850 A.D. to 1150 A.D., the Anasazi lived within great houses often oriented to solar, lunar and cardinal directions. There seems to be an unending fascination about the Anasazi’s and their use of sophisticated astronomical markers, water control devices and Chacon “roads.” At the Chaco Canyon visitor center a video program is shown hourly about these ancient inhabitants as well as a small museum displaying artifacts, maps and a small outdoor observatory.

Self-guided tours are also available to the grand Pueblo Bonito, (Spanish for Beautiful Town) the largest Anasazi ruin, Casa Rinconado (Great Kiva) and Una Vida (another great house). For longer treks, there are at least a dozen trails leading to the top of the mesa for views of the entire Chaco Canyon network of ruins. Most are fairly easy with little elevation gain, the longest trail is a little over six miles. We chose the Pueblo Bonito Rim Overlook trail. After a steep one and a half mile climb the ruins of Pueblo Alto greeted us as a setting sun shadow danced across the canyon walls.

Canyon De Chelly National Monument

Shadows weren’t dancing across the canyon walls as my girlfriend and I hiked down the easy 1.5 mile trail to White House Ruin on the floor of Canyon de Chelly. This canyon remains green and fertile year round, which explains why it is one of the longest continuously inhabited landscapes in North America. Today, White House Ruin sits behind a chain link fence on the valley floor adjacent to the canyon walls. The valley floor was warm that day and cottonwood trees were just beginning to leaf out giving us a little reprieve from the sun. Indian vendors jumped back and forth across the narrow muddy river in hopes of selling their wares to incoming tourists.

Canyon De Chelly National Monument resides in Northeast Arizona and is west of Chaco Canyon. Numerous overlooks of the canyon are accessible by driving a two-lane road that meanders along the rim. My favorite overlook was Spider Rock. Today, only two tall spires of red sandstone stand alone in the middle of the valley floor depicting Spider Woman’s home where she helped her People move into the fourth world by hiding them in the reeds and then floating them down to dry land.

According to Hopi legends, many generations may have migrated through these areas in a succession of underworlds. This succession of underworlds according to Frank Waters, author of “The Hopi Way” lasted five worlds. The First World called “Endless Space” started out as a pure and happy time. Unfortunately, conflict surfaced because the People forgot who they were. Ultimately this world was destroyed by fire. The faithful were protected underground in kivas with the ant people. The kivas of today represent those anthills and were often located within the great plazas of the great houses of all these canyons. Kivas accommodated hundreds of people and served as ritual settings for entire communities. Often times while retreating in the kivas, communication between other worlds opened up for the People, according to Greg Braden, author of “Walking Between the Worlds.”

The Second World according to Waters was called “Dark Midnight” and was destroyed by cold and ice. Again, the kivas kept them warm and dry. Once the destruction stopped, they climbed up a ladder into another world. This was the Third World. Dissension broke out quickly among the People and this world was destroyed by flooding. However, this time an appointed caretaker named Spider Woman saved the ancients by hiding them in reeds and floating them to dry land into the Fourth World. The Fourth World, according to Waters, was called “World Complete.” This world was unlike the previous three, where the ancestors were provided for. The Fourth World had harsh deserts, never ending marshes and mountains of violent weather. This World was to be a time of awakening, realizing how we affect each other and that we are all one. Sounds like what might be happening now, doesn’t it? The Hopi say we are now living in the Fourth world which is ending and that the Fifth World is beginning.

Casa Malpais Archaeological Park

Further south of Canyon De Chelly lies Casa Malpais Archaeological Park. This National Historic Landmark also has evidence of underworld activity within the ruins. Intact pottery was discovered here as well as a 8 X 4 foot panel depicting human like figures with tails which may have represented ancestral beings before they emerged above ground to the fourth world. These petroglyphs offer an inkling about the Zuni and Hopi clans that lived and held ceremonies here six hundred years ago. Archeologists propose these drawings came from the Parrot Clans because there is a parrot spitting rainwater onto a corn plant. According to Hopi legends, this indicates that the Corn Clan and Parrot Clan went their separate ways.

Below the corn plant is another human like figure which represents a female because of the hair spools on each side of the head. According to legends, this means she is single and still waiting for her man. At the time of this drawing, 20,000 Hopi, Zuni, Navajo and Mogollon (pronounced muggy-own) traveled through this settlement. I hope she found her man! Even though large number of travelers passed through, the migration seems to have ended here. The Anasazi people appeared to be so in tune with their environment, yet they completely vanished. About a mile away in the town of Springerville, AZ, a small museum now houses many of the intact relics of pottery for display.

Perhaps answers can be found within the stars. In the early evening at Chaco Canyon, the park rangers open up the observatory. Summer evenings are pleasant here as a warm gentle breeze sweeps the desert floor with the fragrance of sweet pinion and sage. A waning moon allows the Big Dipper, Little Dipper, Cassiopeia and Milky Way to shine more brightly.

My girlfriend remarks quietly, “Looking up into the night sky of more than a thousand stars, it’s as if we are looking back in time.” I have to agree and wonder how it must have been for our ancestors. I have a feeling that even though it is many years later, some of the same questions may elude us. How to listen better with our hearts, balance our lives while still lending an ear to the sounds of ancient drumming or the distant howl of a coyote.

If You Go:

Chaco Canyon National Historical Park- The best time to go is in the spring or fall unless you can tolerate temperature above 100 F in July and August. Chaco Canyon is located at the end of long unpaved bumpy dirt road in Northwestern New Mexico. Accessibility is best by car coming in from the north at the town of Nageezi, New Mexico via County Road 7900. From the south, you can also take County Road 7900, (turn north at the town of Pueblo Pintado). In either direction, you will come to the junction of County Road 7950, which will take you west into the canyon. Be aware that these roads can be inaccessible in inclement weather. For more info, call (505) 786-7014 or visit www.nps.gov/chcu/index.htm.

Canyon De Chelly National Monument – Located not far from the town of Chinle, Arizona. Camp sites are free and available on a first come first serve basis and the historic Thunderbird Lodge is also close by that offers a gift shop, restaurant and rug room. For more info call (928) 674-5500 or visit www.desertusa.com.

Casa Malpais Archaeological Park- Open year round. Tours of the site leave from the museum located in Springerville, Arizona at 318 E. Main Street. For more info call (928) 333-5375 or visit

About the author:
Sharron Calvin grew up in Tucson, Arizona surrounded by mountain ranges which kindled and inspired her love for the outdoors. She claims the “West is the Best” and is always on the lookout for off-the- beaten-path excursions to explore and write about. You can read more of her adventures on www.fourcornering.com

All photos by Sharron Calvin.

by Darlene Foster 

I am greeted by a chilly, high-desert wind as I enter the Taos Pueblo. I find it astonishing that this ancient site has been lived in continuously for over 1000 years. Currently approximately 150 people live within the Pueblo full time. The buildings are made entirely out of traditional adobe, with no electricity or running water in many homes. The russet sand coloured buildings blend in with the landscape; the bright blue doors creating a contrast and ladders to the roofs adding effect. I learn that originally the only way into the home was through the roof. Doors were added later.

We are invited into one of the homes to warm ourselves in front of the fire. Wood stoves and fireplaces heat the houses and are used for cooking. Bread and pastries are baked in hornos, outdoor adobe ovens scattered around the site. We purchase delicious cookies and pies made in a horno, which warm us from the inside out. We also sample fry bread in another home, made in front of us and drizzled with honey. So tasty.

The Pueblo is situated on both sides of the Red Willow Creek, the source of drinking water for the inhabitants. One resident explains that a legend tells of an eagle that dropped two feathers, one on each side of the river which was a sign for the ancient people to build the Pueblo at that spot.

Many of the homes are inhabited by native artists who welcome visitors to enter, view their art work, chat and make purchases. We buy a number of handmade items to take home as gifts, and a couple of pieces for ourselves. At a shop called “Morning Talk”, I buy a fabulous piece of pottery for my potter daughter, knowing she will appreciate the work put into it. Everyone is so hospitable and willing to take time to talk to us. We soon forget about being cold.

One friendly resident we chat with is Jeralyn Lujan Lucero. She is a painter, potter, soap maker and entrepreneur; to name a few of her many talents. But she tells us her most important job is that of mom to her three children. Jeralyn and her husband are raising their children in their ancestral home, living a traditional Pueblo life. I consider her children very fortunate indeed. I take the spirit of Taos with me in an art card signed by this talented woman, to hang in my home in Canada.

We explore the modern day San Geronimo Church, built in 1850, a Registered National Historic Landmark and still used by the mostly Catholic inhabitants of Taos Pueblo. The thick adobe walls, keep it cool in summer and warm in winter.

The ruins of the original San Geronimo Church built in 1619 and destroyed in 1847 during an uprising, are now part of the cemetery. All that remains is the bell tower in memory of those whose lives were lost. A feeling of sadness fills me as I look upon the graveyard and think of the lives cut short.

I reflect on the rich history, culture and spirit of this high desert oasis; derived from the past and continuing to this day. I leave with a feeling of peace and tranquillity and much respect for the native people who have lived here for so long and who welcome us with open arms.

The Taos Pueblo, located at the base of the picturesque Sangre de Cristo Mountain Range, is considered to be the oldest continuously inhabited community in the USA and has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site and a National Historic Landmark.

Guided Walking Tour of Taos Pueblo

If You Go:

Taos Pueblo is located about one mile (1.6 km) north of Taos, New Mexico at 120 Veterans Highway
Check the website for seasonal hours and cost of admission www.taospueblo.com
More about Jeralyn Lujan Lucero jeralynlujanlucero.wordpress.com

About the author:
Darlene Foster is a dedicated writer and traveler. She is the author of a series featuring a young girl who loves to travel to interesting places such as the United Arab Emirates, Spain, England and Alberta, where she always has an adventure. Darlene divides her time between the west coast of Canada and the Costa Blanca of Spain. www.darlenefoster.ca

All photos are by Darlene Foster.

White Sands, New Mexico

by Susan K. Smith

In 1939, Albert Einstein sent a letter (written largely by Leó Szilárd) to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The pressing concern was that Nazi Germany might be conducting research to create atomic bombs, and the letter suggested that the United States should begin researching the possibility itself. This was the impetus for the Manhattan project, which culminated in the explosion of the first atomic bomb at the Trinity Site in New Mexico.

Socorro, New Mexico, a little more than an hour’s drive south of Albuquerque, is one of the meeting places for those who plan to visit the Trinity Site. Socorro, from the Spanish word for “help,” has a long history. In late 16th century, the Piro-speaking Pueblo Indians had helped the Spaniards, who had emerged from the desert, giving them food and water. The city is still a help, providing lodging and services to the many personnel supporting the White Sands Missile Range.

Declared a National Historic Landmark in 1975, the Trinity Site is near the north end of the Jornada del Muerto desert. This desert name often translates as “journey of the dead man,” the name the Spanish conquistadors gave to the 1660s northerly route from Mexico. The origin of the code name “Trinity” is uncertain. It is often attributed to Robert Oppenheimer as a reference to a poem of John Donne: “Batter my heart, three person’d God;—.” (Holy Sonnets XIV).

The entrance into White Sands is through the Stallion Gate. The Martin Cruz Smith novel of the same name suggests its origin from the Native Americans, who used to roundup stallions and trade them in the area. A local historian debunks that story. Many of the ranchers had left horses behind when they were forced to leave in 1942 and in 1945. The horses formed small herds and a stallion that was well endowed ran on the north end, hence the origin of the site name “stallion.”

At Stallion Gate, guards record our license plate number and ID. Information on the route and site was given as were instructions of no photos until we got to Ground Zero.

The first leg is a southerly 14 mile drive into the desert, which is studded with scrub brush and yucca plants, many spouting to the size of large bushes. The grasses are greening due to fall rains. The desert is considered ecologically sensitive evident by the caliche clay, which can turn to a fine talcum powder like substance when trodden upon.

One of the animal crossing signs was unusual, which looked like a mule with horns. This sign was for the oryx, an African antelope, which the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish had imported from Kalahari Desert to an experimental range. The resulting oryx offspring were introduced between 1969 and 1977 at White Sands and the animals adapted very well in the desert, especially in the absence of their natural predator, the lion. Hence, this explained the posted signs along our route for designated hunting areas. A guard later explained that to cull the oryx herds there are depredation hunts at White Sands.

At an intersection, we turn toward the Sierra Oscura Mountains for the last three miles to the site. Like any big event, parking attendants guide us to a spot near the chain linked fence about Ground Zero. Non-profit vendors from the base Morale, Recreation, and Welfare group provide services from breakfast and lunch to souvenir items. Extra security, facilities for our comfort, and emergency medical personnel are available. We get our brochures, books, postcards or other items stamped to remember this day.

An information booth is at the entrance of the barbed wire corridor that leads to Ground Zero. We walk a quarter mile from the parking lot to the area secured by a circular chain link fence. A lava stone obelisk marks the center of the 100 foot tower on which the bomb had been placed. A brass plaque on the obelisk reads – “TRINITY SITE WHERE THE WORLD’S FIRST NUCLEAR DEVICE WAS EXPLODED ON JULY 16, 1945.” Near the obelisk, cordoned off by rebar or something like it, is a stub of what remained of one of the tower footings.

The explosion created a crater 10 feet deep and 1,100 feet wide, turning the desert sand beneath into a green radioactive glass called Trinitite. A shelter at Ground Zero now protects a portion of the original crater for future study. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, souvenir hunters and enterprising entrepreneurs scavenged the area for Trinitite. In response, the radioactive substance was banned from collection; the site was scraped and filled in, though some remnants remain. A sign at Ground Zero warns that theft of Trinitite can result in fines and jail time. Watchful guards give warnings, especially for those who are stooping down to pick up anything from the ground. Guides have enclosed displays of Trinitite, which was as close as the public is supposed to get to it.

In front of the obelisk, an older gentleman with a Geiger counter kneels down to take a reading. The chaotic clicks increased in frequency as he puts his counter to the ground. The soil is reportedly ten times more radioactive than similar areas in New Mexico. The information brochure gave assurances that radiation levels of cosmic rays from space at Denver, Colorado over a year were about a hundred times more than one hour of exposure at Ground Zero.

The polyglot of languages indicate many international visitors to the Trinity Site. The mood is somber and subdued. During the morning, more visitors circulate through the area, viewing the obelisk, the shelter protecting the original crater, and the casing of the Fatman bomb, whose type was detonated over Nagasaki, Japan. Historical photos from the set up of the test site, to snapshots of the first atomic explosion, and then news of the end of World War Two are hung on the chain link fence behind the obelisk.

In the parking area, shuttle buses take visitors to the McDonald ranch house, where the first atomic bomb was partially assembled. The master bedroom, aptly renamed the “Plutonium Assembly Room,” was where the two plutonium hemispheres, making up the “pit,” were put together. The final assembly was at the tower at Ground Zero a few days later. The farm house survived the atomic blast, two miles away, though its windows were blown out. The out buildings did not fair as well. Many are deteriorating and danger signs are posted about them.

As we leave White Sands through the Stallion Gate to the main road, a large green sign says “Trinitite for sale 17 miles” with a big arrow pointing right. Actually, the guides at the Trinitite display at Ground Zero – after warning us not to pick it up – had mentioned with a smile that we could always buy the forbidden Trinitite down the road.

We finish our experience at the Owl Café and Bar in San Antonio, New Mexico. As we eat their world famous green chili cheese burgers, we muse that over sixty five years ago this café had also serviced the workers who had prepared the Trinity Site we had just visited.

Area 51 Day Tour from Las Vegas

If You Go:

Located on the White Sands Missile Range, the Trinity Site is a restricted area and off-limits, with few exceptions. Twice a year the site is open to the public, the first Saturday of April and October.

About the author:
Susan K. Smith is a native of Montana, a second generation American, and a graduate of Montana State University and the University of Colorado. Her childhood experiences in rural Montana and work in the aerospace industry throughout the west have provided a rich source of material for her novels and free lance writing. She has recently published a novel as an eBook, “Samantha at the Crossroads” at www.synergebooks.com. Also, you can access her web site: www.smithsk.com for more information.

All photos are by Susan K.Smith.