To draft his fact-based novel, Years of Fear (2002), Fred Grove relied on his haunting childhood memories as an “ear” witness to the bombing murders of Bill and Rita Smith and their housekeeper Nettie Brookshire.
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Special Collections added the following 16 titles to ASC’s holdings during the third quarter of 2021.
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Archivists Jennifer Olguin and Dylan McDonald will talk about their exhibit, “Place and Re-Place: Las Cruces Urban Renewal, 1960-1975” on Tuesday, November 9th at 8:00 a.m. MT on KTAL 101.5 FM as guests on Cafe Con Leche with Nan Rubin, and on Wednesday, November 17th at 5:30 p.m. MT [Zoom link forthcoming]. Produced in partnership with the City of Las Cruces’ Branigan Cultural Center (BCC), the photographic exhibition runs from October 23, 2021 – January 15, 2022 at the BCC (501 N Main St, Las Cruces) and features images and archival material from NMSU Library Archives and Special Collections. The exhibit is free and the viewing hours can be found here.
The corner of Main Street at Griggs Avenue looking east with the demolished ruins of the Las Cruces Rexall Drugs (103 Main Street) in the foreground, and the U.S. Post Office and the Masonic Temple in the background, c.1971. NMSU Library Archives & Special Collections, Ms0478 Las Cruces Urban Renewal Agency
Urban renewal efforts in Las Cruces during the 1960s and 1970s saw civic officials and business leaders dramatically change the nature of the city’s downtown. Like many U.S. cities of the time, Las Cruces attempted to turn around the fading economic prominence and the deteriorating built environment of its urban core, particularly Main Street. However, this redevelopment effort forced businesses and families out of downtown and came at the cost of the city’s culture and cherished historic landmarks.
As the city’s population grew after World War II and its physical boundaries pushed outward, the central business district began to show its limitations. Although home to a diversity of businesses and government services, downtown faced stiff competition from the emerging modern and convenient shopping complexes at the city’s growing edges. Numerous buildings in the heart of the city, several of historic significance, needed considerable repairs. The surrounding streets and parking areas proved substandard, as did other basic city infrastructure. The economic success of the new, trendy shopping centers, which played off the growing car-centric American culture, soon had businesses relocating away from downtown.
To lure shoppers and businesses back downtown, city leaders proposed a radical plan to “renew” the area in the name of the public good. Financed by federal funds and backed by new building and zoning codes, the area bounded by Lohman, Campo, Picacho, and Water streets would be redeveloped to meet the needs of shoppers who favored the new and convenient. If a building could not be repurposed or rehabilitated to meet this economic goal, it faced demolition regardless of its significance. As the urban renewal experiment progressed and the new pedestrian mall neared completion, many Las Crucens questioned the program’s stated benefits and overall economic return.
Jennifer Olguin is the Rio Grande Historical Collections Archivist at New Mexico State University Library Archives and Special Collections. Jennifer was born and raised in New Mexico and enjoys working with archival material which allows her the opportunity to make the rich and unique history of New Mexico and the Spanish Borderlands accessible to researchers. She obtained her undergraduate degrees at New Mexico State University and MLS from the University of North Texas.
Dylan McDonald has served as the Political Collections Archivist and Special Collections Librarian at New Mexico State University since February 2019. Prior to his appointment at NMSU, he worked for fourteen years as the Deputy City Historian and Manuscripts Archivist at the Center for Sacramento History where he curated several exhibitions. McDonald earned his MA in History at Boise State University and is a Certified Archivist.
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Join discussions about archives, history, and cultural heritage with a focus on the New Mexico-Texas-Chihuahua borderlands region, take virtual tours of local repositories, and ask questions of archival experts. The event will be held virtually through Zoom.
Date: Thursday, October 14th
Time: Noon – 4:00 p.m. (Mountain Daylight Time)
Register via Zoom: https://nmsu.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJwof-CuqzIiE9AJG8wqr0fOHsyS3Wki0GFJ
Follow: https://www.facebook.com/BRarchives
Schedule
Noon-12:10 – Welcome and introduction, Border Regional Archives Group members
12:10-12:25 – Update on the New Archival Research Center at WSMR, Jenn Jett, White Sands Missile Range Museum
12:25-1:10 – Philanthropic Works in Women’s Clubs
- Regina Bouley Sweeten, Eastern New Mexico University Golden Library
- Jennifer Olguin and Salena Valdez, New Mexico State University Library Archives & Special Collections
- Claudia Ramirez, El Paso Public Library Border Heritage Center
- Claudia Rivers, University of Texas at El Paso Library Special Collections
- Sue Taylor, New Mexico Museum of Space History
1:10-1:15 – Break
1:15-1:30 – A Tour of Collections at the Centennial Museum, Samantha Winer, The Centennial Museum at University of Texas at El Paso
1:30-1:45 – When Your Public Archive Contains Classified Documents – What do you do?, Sue Taylor, New Mexico Museum of Space History
1:45-2:00 – Making it Reel – Digitizing Audio for Access and Preservation, David Flores, University of Texas at El Paso Library Special Collections
2:00-2:05 – Break
2:05-2:20 – Some Archives Concerning the Relocation of Mexican American U.S. Citizens Following the Chamizal Treaty of 1963, Mark A. Calamia, Chamizal National Memorial (National Park Service)
2:20-2:35 – Ghost of Mt. Cristo Rey, Javier Segovia, University of Texas at El Paso/Tom Lea Institute
2:35-2:50 – The Slater Collections of UTEP: New uses for the botany archives of Elsie Slater, Vicky Zhuang, UTEP Biodiversity Collections
2:50-2:55 – Break
2:55-3:10 – Oral History Collections, Donna Wojcik, New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum
3:10-3:25 – The El Paso Women’s History Coloring Book: Community Engagement through Art and Archives, Abbie Weiser, University of Texas at El Paso Library Special Collections
3:25-3:40 – Collaboration and Creation of the “Place and Replace” Photographic Exhibition, Dylan McDonald & Jennifer Olguin, New Mexico State University Library Archives & Special Collections
3:40- 4:00 – Wrap-Up Discussion and Q&A, Border Regional Archives Group members
Please contact Abbie Weiser (ahweiser@utep.edu) or Dennis Daily (ddaily@nmsu.edu) with any questions.
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The bracero program assisted the farming industry. The Thorpe papers, in the Rio Grande Historical Collections (RGHC) highlight the diverse holdings relating to the Hispanic heritage of the region.
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