Heritage Week in Las Vegas was an outstanding success. Thirty different organ-izations and/or individuals sponsored and held forty events at various venuesacross the city. There was something for everyone.A few of the highlights were

the outdoor concert by the New Mexico Territorial Brass Band, the Nat Gold Players pres-entation ofOver the Edge 4, a play poking fun at Las Vegas life, persons and politics, Placeswith a Past tour which gave visitors an opportunity to visit adobe and Victorian homes,Blessing of theWater (a traditional northern newMexico acequia ceremony) and theAnnualHispanic Folk Art Market. Many other tours, music, art, exhibits and lectures filled the

week. All of these individuals and organiza-tions deserve praise for their presentations andsharing of the historic, cultural and architec-tural heritage of our great city. There is a greatsense of ownership and pride in our communitydemonstrated by these individuals and organi-zations. We have seen an ever-increasing inter-est and participation in Heritage Week and weare looking forward to an even greater HeritageWeek in 2012.

To see a few photographs of the variousevents go to Las Vegas Citizens Committee forHistoric Preservation on Facebook. We wouldlove to have you join us “as a friend.”

Fall 2011 Preservation News Volume 26, Issue 3

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 historic@cybermesa.comWebsite www.lasvegasnmcchp.com

Board of DirectorsRudy Laumbach, ChairDoyle Daves, TreasurerYvonne AragonLoretta BacaKathryn Kretz BenderBarbara FeldmanKenny LujanGeri MadridTasha MartinezMartha McCaffreyTony RoybalAmanda Chavez, Office Manager

Mission StatementTo preserve, protect and promote thehistoric, cultural and architecturalheritage of greater Las Vegas througheducation and advocacy, and to en-courage economic developmentthrough restoration and rehabilitation.

CCHP PHOTO

Heritage Week 2011 in Pictures

TThhee MMaassoonniicc TTeemmppllee wwiillll bbee tthheessiittee ooff tthhee aannnnuuaall CCCCHHPP ddiinnnneerr oonnOOcctt.. 2222.. SSeeee ppaaggee 22 ffoorr ddeettaaiillss..

Blessing of the Water

Chautauqua program, Theodore Roosevelt, Rough Rider President

People and Places Past • Fall 2011 • LVCCHP Page 2

This past summer’s Places with a Past historicalbuilding and home tour was another great tour.Chairperson for the event this year was Tasha

Martinezwho did a great job. A huge thank you to oursponsors, The Bank of Las Vegas,The Las Vegas Board of Realtors,Franken Brothers LLC and AltaVista Regional Hospital.

Our gratitude to those who sogenerously opened up their homesfor the tour: Josef and Robin Jau-reguiberry, Roman Lujan and JohnGordon, Mack and Dolly Crow,Lisa Lawrence and John Martinez.Thanks also to the United WorldCollege for opening the “castle”for the tour. Each of these homesgave a unique view of the historyof Las Vegas.

At each of the Places With a

Past sites, our dedicated volunteer guides, or docents, an-swered questions and told the stories of the homes andbuildings. These wonderful docents included Martha andJoe McCaffrey, Michael and Anne Pitts, Frances Casey,Grace Betty Detterick, Johanna Keenan, Ursel Albers,

Emilia Rivera, Phyllis Ludi,Stella Helvey, Carol Ditmanson,Michael Olivas, Niki Sebastian,Sharon Parcel, Joanna Perlman,Anita Vernon, Meg Fondy, SusanSwan, Tibor and Janet Re-menyik, Rosie Lopez, Em Krall,Cathy Stauber, Katherine Waite,Marci Matlock, Laura Harvey,Rosita Ellis, Adam Juarez, TashaMartinez and Amanda Chavez-Gonzales.

Thanks to you all for makingthe tour so informative and inter-esting for all our visitors!

Places With a Past Event a Great Success

Guest speaker at the CCHP annual dinneer will beFort Union National Monument superintendentMarie Frias Sauter.

Tickets for the dinner set for Saturday, Oct. 22 at the Ma-sonic Temple, are $25 per person and can be purchased at 116

Bridge Street. For moreinformation call 425-8803.

Marie has been su-perintendent at FortUnion since 2006. Shebegan her career withthe National Park Serv-ice in 1987 as a volun-teer at the UplandsScience Lab in theGreat Smoky Moun-tains National Park,Tennessee. Her experi-ence of nearly 24 yearsincludes serving as aLaw EnforcementRanger at ShenandoahNational Park, Virginia

and Rock Mountain NationalPark, Colorado and a natural re-sources manager at PrinceWilliam Forest Park, Virginia andthe C&O Canal National Histori-cal Park, Maryland. She earned anundergraduate degree in geogra-phy from the University of Geor-gia.

A Mexican and American,born in Mexico City, Marie saidshe has enjoyed living and work-ing in northern New Mexico. Asthe chief caretaker at Fort Unionand an ambassador for the Na-tional Park Service, Marie finds ita privilege to serve the public and to care for such an extraor-dinary historic site. We are delighted to welcome her as thisyear’s speaker.

At the dinner there will be a terrific Silent Auction andAwards will be given for preservation efforts in the commu-nity.

The event will be catered by El Burro. Please join us forthis delicious, fun and informative evening!

TThhee aannnnuuaall ddiinnnneeeerr wwiillll bbee hheellddaatt tthhee MMaassoonniicc TTeemmppllee oonn DDoouu--ggllaass AAvveennuuee.

TThhee MMoonntteezzuummaa CCaassttllee aatt tthhee UUnniitteedd WWoorrllddCCoolllleeggee iiss aallwwaayyss aa ppooppuullaarr ppllaaccee ttoo vviissiitt oonntthhee aannnnuuaall CCCCHHPP PPllaacceess WWiitthh aa PPaasstt ttoouurr.

TThhiiss iiss oonnee ooff tthhee ddeecc--oorraattiivvee ccaarrvviinnggss oonntthhee MMaassoonniicc TTeemmpplleeBBuuiillddiinngg.

CCHP Annual Dinner Set for Saturday, October 22, 2011

You know the oldsaying that every-one should be a

tourist in his or her own home-town. This is certainly true ofLas Vegas.

CCHP is proud to be the location of the Santa Fe Trail Inter-pretive Center in Las Vegas. Visitors come from all over thecountry to learn about the trail and Las Vegas. During the pastsummer we have had visitors from all parts of the United States,Germany, France and South Africa. All leave with an appreciationof the history of Las Vegas and surrounding area.

If you have not had a chanceto visit, we are located at 116Bridge Street. We have historicaldisplays, books, brochures andoriginal photos that are of inter-est. Also available are copies of

booklets written by Doyle Daves recounting the stories of fami-lies from the area—James Bonney, Andreas Detlef Laumbach,Maria Viviana Martín(ez), Josefa Ortiz and Sylvester Davis,Trinidad Lopez, Richard Conway, Bernard Higgins and ThomasMcGarth, May Hays, Milnor Rudolph and Henry Goke.

In the fall, a booklet about George and Louis Gold will bepublished.

People and Places Past • Fall 2011 • LVCCHP Page 3

Looking for New Docents and CCHP Office Volunteers

Call CCHP at 425-8803 to get your name on the list for this year!

CCHP is also looking forvolunteers to give walking toursof the Old Town Plaza/BridgeStreet Historic Districts as wellas to greet visitors from aroundthe world in our office. Officevolunteers sign up for two orthree hours a week to assiststaff with greeting visitors, an-swering questions and givinggeneral introduction to the LasVegas history. Las Vegas hasmany “cultural tourists”throughout the year from allover the United States, Europe,Canada and Asia. Those look-ing for the authentic old westfind it here in Las Vegas! Helpus make their visit an informa-tive and fun one. Call us orcome by to see what works bestfor your schedule!

Call CCHP at 425-8803 tovolunteer or send us and emailat historic@cybermesa.com Al-ready signed up to be a volun-teer? Please update your contactinformation by calling or send-ing us an email.

People From All Over Visit CCHP to Learn About the SF Trail and Las Vegas

We have collected and produceda great variety of items relat-ing to Las Vegas heritage.

Here is a sampling of our offerings:

• Historical Monograph booklets $8each. Researched and written by CCHPboard member Doyle Daves. Our current col-lection includes the following subjects:

James Bonney: Santa Fe Trail PioneerNew Mexico Settler (Was He the Grandfatherof Billy the Kid?)

Andreas Detlef Laumbach: Proponent ofEducation and Protestantism in TerritorialNew Mexico

Maria Viviana Martin(ez): Wife of ThreeSanta Fe Travelers

Trinidad Lopez: College Boy on theSanta Fe Trail

Josepha Ortiz and Sylvester Davis: HerReal American Husband

Henry Goke: Penniless Immigrant/Wealthy Banker

Milnor Rudolph: Santa Fe TrailTrader/Prominent Crtzen of Territorial NewMexico

Richard Conway, Bernanrd Higgins andThomas McGrath: Irish Soldiers at FortUnion and Their New Mexico Families

May Hays: Mexican War Veteran/NewMexico Settler

• DVD: “Unforgotten: Voices of Las

Vegas” $10. New Mexico Highlands Univer-sity media class project incorporating histori-cal photographs and local oral historypresentations into a video production.

• Photo Notecards featuring Las Vegashistoric homes by Patty Nelson $3.50

• Nuestra Senora de los Delores de LasVegas T-shirts, orange or teal $10; Santa FeTrail Heritage Week T-shirts, tan $10, SantaFe Trail T-Shirts, white $10

• New Mexico Preservation Posters withMontezuma Castle, Hanging Windmill $5

• Stoner Map of Birdseye view of LasVegas 1882 - $20

• Jesus Lopez: Las Vegas history discus-sions: Local attorney and historian JesusLopez has given weekly KFUN radio inter-views on a range of topics encompassingearly Las Vegas cultural, genealogical andpolitical history. Each of these hour long pre-sentations has been made available on a CDdisk due to the generosity of Mr. Lopez andKFUN Radio. $3 each disk

• Le Reunion Booklets: The history ofthe East & West Las Vegas consolidation byLynne Perrigo. $10

• Historic Photographs of Fort Union,matted. $20

• Immaculate Conception Story: a won-derful compilation of photographs and storiesabout Immaculate Conception School. $10

CCHP Gift Shop

TThhee RReemmaarrkkaabblleeRRoommeerrooss ooff LLaassVVeeggaass:: TThhee AAllmmoossttFFoorrggootttteenn SSiisstteerrss55

La Cronica deNuevo Mexico re-cently ran a story ti-tled 6TheRemarkableRomeros of LasVegas: The AlmostForgotten Sisters7.The Romero familywas a prominent LasVegas Family from the founding of Las Vegas throughthe first 25 years of the twentieth century. The family ofMiguel and Josefa Romero and their five sons has beenextensively documented. However, lives of the five sis-ters have largely been ignored. The story chronicles thelives of the five Romero sisters and was written byDoyle Daves, Las Vegas resident and CCHP board mem-ber. Doyle has written several books on prominent andhistorical Las Vegas families. These books are for sale atthe CCHP office at 116 Bridge Street.

People and Places Past • Fall 2011 • LVCCHP Page 4

The descendents ofMiguel Romero y Bacaand Josepha Delgado de

Romero and their five sons and fivedaughters are planning a family re-union to celebrate the 100th an-niversary of New Mexicanstatehood, and the legacy and role ofthe Romero family in the establish-ment of the 47th State in 1912.

The reunion will take placeJune 14-17, 2012, in Las Vegas,N.M. at venues throughout the city.Reunion Headquarters will be thePlaza Hotel founded by BenignoRomero in 1882. Presentations onthe role of the Romeros in writingthe state constitution, the develop-

ment of Las Vegas and the Santa FeTrail, the establishment of mercan-tile businesses in the southwest andother aspects of their contributionsto the state will be highlighted inhistoric presentations. There willalso be visits to historic sites in theLas Vegas area that are associatedwith the family.

Members of the Romero familyare encouraged to contact otherknown descendants including thoseliving out of state.

For information contact Kath-leen Ortiz at 505-858-0802 or emailkortiz@awtravel.com, or EvelynBaca-Kight at 505-843-9153 oremail evelynbaca@aol.com

Romero Family Reunion Planned

For Las Vegas Heritage Week 2011, the Las Vegas Citi-zens Committee for Historic Preservation offered atour following the path of the Santa Fe Trail from Fort

Union to San Miguel del Vado—a fifty-mile portion of the trail ofgreat historic importance. When the trail opened in 1821, SanMiguel del Vado, the crossing of the Pecos River and the west-ernmost point on the tour, was the first settlement encountered bytravelers after almost 800 miles on the trail from Missouri. Overthe next thirty years new settlements along the trail to the east, atLas Vegas, Watrous and Fort Union, appeared which dramaticallyenlarged and changed Santa Fe Trail traffic.

Our bus headed out on Sunday morning for a visit to historicFort Union National Monument, Tiptonville (site of Barclay’sFort) and Watrous where the Mountain and Cimarron Branches ofthe Santa Fe Trail merged before continuing west to Santa Fe. AtFort Union a park ranger told us about the fort and its importantrole in Santa Fe Trail history.

At many places along the way we were able to see ruts andswales marking the route of the Santa Fe Trail. After lunch in LasVegas, the tour headed south to Kearny’s Gap, or Puertico de laPiedra Lumbre, where in 1821, the first Santa Fe Trail trader,William Becknell and five companions, were met by CaptainPedro Ignacio Gallego and 450 Mexican soldiers and escorted toSanta Fe.

The tour then continued on to the villages of Tecolote andSan Miguel del Vado, the earliest Spanish settlement east of theSangre de Cristo Mountains. Here the day-trippers saw the site

where the Santa Fe Trail crossed the Pecos River and visited thebeautiful historic village church.

Throughout the tour, Dennis Ditmanson and Joe Lopez re-lated the history of the Santa Fe Trail, identified the sites visitedand related stories about people and places along the “Corazon delos Caminos” (Heart of the Trails).

Santa Fe Trail Tour – Fort Union to San Miguel del Vado: A Great Adventure

New Mexico Centennial2012 marks the Centen-

nial of New Mexico state-hood. Celebrations andevents are being plannedacross the state. Go towww.nmcentennial.org/ tofind out what is beingplanned for this occasion.This is an excellent opportu-nity for all of us to rememberand learn about the state’sunique history.

People and Places Past • Fall 2011 • LVCCHP Page 5

Partners in PreservationWe appreciate your support.

Name:___________________________________________________

Mailing Address___________________________________________

________________________________________________________

Phone:___________________________ E-Mail______________________________

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:

[ ] I would like to receive the newsletter

[ ] I would like to get an e-mail for up-coming events at CCHP

[ ] I would like to volunteer, please contact me to discuss

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

If you haven’t taken advantage of theinformative series of talks CCHPpresents in partnership with Fort

Union National Monument, come by theSanta Fe Trail Interpretive Center (CCHP) at116 Bridge Street, any third Thursday at 7pm in the evening. Often a standing-room-only audience, topics range from history ofFort Union, the Santa Fe Trail, Civil War sto-ries, turn of the century medicine, archaeol-ogy…a wide range of most interestingspeakers and programs.

Coming up:• Thursday, October 20: Thomas E.

Chavez – “Quest for Quivira” SpanishExplorers on the Great Plains 1540-1821Spanish explorers and traders traveled throughout the Great Plains for nearly three centuries before William Becknell “blazed” the Santa Fe Trail in 1821.

Thomas E. Chávez is the former directorof the National Hispanic Cultural Center, Al-buquerque, and the former curator and direc-tor of the Palace of the Governors Museumof New Mexico, Santa Fe

For more information please call 425-8025 or call the CCHP at 425-8803

Fort Union National Monument Glimpses of the Past Series

Every Third Thursday, 7 pm at 116 Bridge Street

POSTAGE PAIDNON-PROFITORGANIZATIONPERMIT 147

LAS VEGAS, NM 87701PO Box 728116 Bridge StreetLas Vegas, NM 87701

This project was partially funded by the City of Las Vegas with Lodgers Tax funds and also with Certified Local Government Grant Funds under project #35-10-21837 by theHistoric Preservation Division, State of New Mexico, 407 Galisteo Street, Suite 236, Santa Fe, NM 87501. The activity that is the subject of this brochure has been financed inpart with federal funds from the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. However, the contents and opinions do not necessarily reflect the views or policies ofthe Department of the Interior. This program received Federal financial assistance for identification and protection of historic properties. Under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of1964, Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended, the U.S. Department of the Interior prohibits discrimination on thebasis of race, color, national origin, disability or age in its federally assisted programs. If you believe you have been discriminated against in any program, activity, or facility asdescribed above, or if you desire further information, please write to: Office of Equal Opportunity, National Park Service, 1849 C Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20240

Address Correction Requested

Wanted: A Few Great Houses!Our annual Places with a Past Historic Building and

Home Tour has become a tradition during Heritage Week andwe are always looking for homes or buildings that are historicalto Las Vegas and have an interesting “story.” Preferably thehouses should still be fairly true to the original architecturalfloor plan, period and “feel” of its origins.

If you have a house that you think would be appropriate forthe 2012 tour, or if you know of one that should be considered,please contact any of the board members of CCHP or call CCHPat 425-8803. We want to make the summer of 2012 the best touryet and you can help us!