Sawmill Sunset

Evangeline Chavez 2012

Bernalillo, New Mexico

Bernalillo Sawmill -1924

The sawmill at Bernalillo had been expanded into a two-band and resaw mill with additional processing facilities in the form of a lath mill, planning mill, and box factory. An interesting feature of the plant was its contract to sell mill refuse — sawdust, chips, and slabs — to the Albuquerque Gas & Electric Company for use as fuel in their power plant. Reported at the time as a “unique situation,” the arrangement relieved WPL from bearing the expense of operating a waste burner while at the same time providing a significant source of revenue. Prominent features of the plant included a 12-acre mill pond (Figure 25) and a tall spindly water tank which towered over the plant. It is still an outstanding landmark of Bernalillo (American Lumberman 1926 [June 12]).

The log pond and a string of log cars waiting to be unloaded at the Bernalillo sawmill, circa 1927. (Photo by A. L. “Red” Gleason. Gene Harty family collection)

The sawmill at Bernalillo soon after its completion in 1924. Milling had not started as evidenced by the absence of smoke from the boilers and the lack of activity in the scene. (Photo by M. E. Hanna. Albuquerque Public Library collection)

A link to read more on the history of Bernalillo, New Mexico Sawmill

Evangeline Chavez 2012

Bishop Lam’sy private chapel, Tesuque, New Mexico

Bishop Lamy worked on his little ranch, the Villa Pintoresca, which he had begun to acquire, in bits and pieces, in the Little Tesuque Canyon in 1853. His lodge, on a little hill with a splendid view of the distant Jemez Mountains, consisted of a small dwelling attached to his tiny, private chapel. Now many visitor’s stay at the lodge for its tranquility and beautiful views.

Evangeline Chavez 2012

Christmas  in Chimayo, New Mexico

The Santuario Church is located in Chimayó New Mexico.You enter the church through a walled courtyard,  built of adobe with a bell tower on each side of the church The bell tower is 60 feet long and 24 feet  wide with walls more than 3 feet  thick. The towers have pointed caps  and a metal pitched roof (blocking the clerestory ) which were added  in the 1920′s. The “elegant” doors were carved in the 19th-century by  carpenter Pedro Domínguez. An unusual feature is two side-by-side rooms at the entrance forming a vestibule ornarthex ,the rooms were  once used for storage.  The nave contains a crucifix by the santero ”Molleno”  representinga a 6 ft Christ like figure. Other notable folk-art decorations include five reredoses  and a small sculpture of  St. James the Great. A small room called el pocito  (the little well) contains a round pit, the source of “holy dirt” (tierra bendita) that is believed to have healing powers. An adjacent Prayer Room displays  many  photographs, discarded crutches, and other testimonials of those purportedly healed. Each year some 30,000 people from all over the world make pilgrimages to the Santuario de Chimayó during Holy Week,  some seeking blessings and some in fulfillment of a vow.

Next to the Santuario is the church of Santo Niño de Atocha . During World War II, many New Mexicans suffered through the siege of Corregidor, the Bataan Death March, and internment in Japanese prison camps. They prayed to the Santo Niño, and upon their return, some 2,000 made a pilgrimage to the Santuario—some walking barefoot—to give thanks for their lives.

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Evangeline Chavez 2011

Truchas, New Mexico

The village of Truchas is backed by the snow-touched Truchas Peaks.  The colony of Truchas was established by a royal land grant in 1754 with settlers from Chimayó and Santa Cruz (near Española). It purpose was to create a buffer between other Spanish settlements and the nomadic Apache and Comanche bands who often raided both Spanish villages and Indian pueblos. Hence, it was built as a walled compound around a plaza.

The courageous and hardy settlers of Truchas hand-dug miles of acequias (irrigation ditches) to bring water from the trout-filled river that gave the town its name (Río de las Truchas means “river of trout”). Although today’s residents still work their farms, many also commute to jobs in Santa Fe or Los Alamos. A few still make their living as traditional craftspeople alongside the many newcomer artists and galleries drawn to Truchas and its magnificent mountain views.

SNOW COVERED HORNO

Evangeline Chavez

Horno (Spanish, or, no) is a mud adobe-built outdoor oven used by Native Americans and early settlers of North America. Adobe oven bread is  skillfully baked in these ovens.

Photographed at Coronado State Monument, Bernalillo, New Mexico

Light of Hope

Evangeline Chavez 2011 

Evangeline Chavez 2011

Kuaua Pueblo

Evangeline Chavez 2010

Just minutes north of Albuquerque (off of I-25, exit 242) in Bernalillo, is Coronado State Monument ; ( Kuaua Pueblo, a Tiwa word for “evergreen). The Pueblo was first settled around AD 1300 by American Indians where Francisco Vásquez de Coronado—with 300 soldiers and 800 Indian allies from New Spain—entered the valley while looking for the fabled Seven Cities of Gold. Instead he found villages inhabited by prosperous native people.

Every year  the first weekend of  December the grounds and ruins of Coronado State Monument are decorated with hundreds of flickering luminaries and thousands of Christmas lights.

Sky Divided

Evangeline Chavez

Corrales, New Mexico