Welcome to Valencia County: 2010 Official Visitors Guide

Belen, New MexicoReaching for the Stars!

History

Progress

Community

Events

Memorial City of Belén505-864-8221

www.belen-nm.govMayor, Rudy Jaramillo

Councilors, Wayne Gallegos,Mary Aragon, Jerah Cordova,

Lorenzo Carillo

Interim City Manager, Lucy Baca

Greater Belén Chamber ofCommerce & Visitors Center

712 Dalies Ave.Belén, NM 87002

505-864-8091www.belenchamber.org

Photos by Lenore G. Peña

Andrew DiCamillo(505) 966-2745

www.belen.nm.gov/edc

Greater Belen EconomicDevelopment Corporation

Belen Main Street Partnership

When people come together to celebrate shared beliefs, they create an instant community of the spirit. And before you know it, everyone is participating.

Serving Valencia County from three locations:

Belen • 101 S. Main St. • 505-864-5742Los Lunas • 1027 Main St. • 505-248-9572Bosque Farms • 907 Bosque Farms Blvd. • 505-869-2316

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valencia county, nm2010-11

Welcome! Table of Contents

welcome to valencia countyvalencia county news-bulletin 5

welcomeThis is the 15th edition of the

Welcome to Valencia CountyVisitor’s Guide.

It is a publication of the Valencia County News-Bulletin. The News-Bulletin is a publi-

cation of Number Nine Media Group Inc.

See the News-Bulletin’s web site atwww.news-bulletin.com.Contact us by e-mail at [email protected].

Mailing addressP.O. Box 25, Belen, N.M. 87002.

Telephone number(505) 864-4472.

The Valencia County News-Bulletin is published semi-weekly on

Wednesdays and Saturdays. Subscription rates are, in Valencia County,

two years, $60; one year, $36; six months, $24; three months, $15.

Elsewhere: two years, $72; one year, $44; six months, $33; three months, $17.

On the cover:

Designed by Mario Lara

On the cover are photographs of special events, people and sights that can be

seen throughout Valencia County.

A Wonderful Place To Be ........................................................................... 6Fun, Food and Fiestas ............................................................................... 8Doing Business in Valencia County .......................................................... 14For the Love of History — Our Timeline .................................................. 18Our Communities .................................................................................... 21Agriculture — That’s What We Do .......................................................... 22Experimental Expertise ........................................................................... 24A Family Event at the Farmers Markets ................................................... 26Pecans are a Way of Life ......................................................................... 28Belen — The Hub City ............................................................................ 30Beautiful Bosque Farms .......................................................................... 32Los Lunas — A Village of History ............................................................ 34Peralta History Goes Back Centuries ....................................................... 36Valencia County — Rio Grande Riches .................................................... 38Tomé Hill — A pilgrimage of Faith .......................................................... 40UNM-VC — Reaching for the Stars ......................................................... 42Our Communities .................................................................................... 43Los Lunas Schools — Preparing Students for the World ......................... 44Belen Schools — A Path to Academic Success ....................................... 46SODA — Dreaming of Success ............................................................... 48Belen Art League Gallery — An Inspiration ............................................. 50Tomé Art Gallery — Painting and Pottery ................................................ 52Los Lunas Museum of Heritage and Arts ................................................. 54Harvey House Museum — An Historic Exhibit ......................................... 56Through the Flower with Judy Chicago ................................................... 58Doodle Bug — Chugging Out of the Past ................................................ 60Moving In ................................................................................................ 61Rodeo — A Southwest Experience .......................................................... 62Isleta Pueblo — Old and New Come Together ......................................... 64The Luna Mansion — Fine Dining and History ........................................ 66Belen Model Railroad Club — A Cozy Group of Friends ........................... 68Transportation in Valencia County ........................................................... 69Ham Radio — Another Way to Communicate .......................................... 70Matanza — All You Can Eat .................................................................... 72Valencia Flour Mill — A Family Business ................................................ 74Summerfest — Yesterday on Wheels ..................................................... 76Valencia County Through the Lens .......................................................... 78


welcome to valencia county valencia county news-bulletin6

Pick a month — any month. Life is good here in Valencia County. It’s fun to vacation or live here. But

we must warn you: If you visit once, you’ll want to live here forever.

Many out-of-staters are surprised to learn that central New Mexico enjoys the same four seasons that other parts of the nation do. And they are particularly beauti-ful here.

Start with spring — and it can occur anytime from February to the first of April. The myriad of fruit trees in blossom are the first hints that the new season is beginning.

The Rio Grande Valley cuts a green swath through Valencia County, situated between the Manzano Mountains and the dry plain leading toward them in the east and the intriguing uprise of the mesa to the west.

The trees blossom quickly here, start-ing with a haze of green that at first seems almost imaginary. They bud out fast. With daffodils and irises blooming alongside the foundations of many homes and the gentle clear sunshine, spring is a beautiful time to be here.

March winds are intense in most parts of the country, but in New Mexico they can be fierce, blowing dust in huge fronts across the state. Some might not think March is the best month to vacation here, but others will be awestruck by the power and majesty of it all. Even if you’re from the Windy City.

Summer is a wonderful time to be in Valencia County. The alfalfa fields are in full blossom and the cattle and horses are kicking up their heels in the pastures. Red-wing blackbirds sing from the meadows.

Summer days are long enough to give you time to wander around just looking. The days themselves are hot but the nights are refreshingly cool, making sleep a pleas-ant experience by just cracking a window.

July and August are the area’s rainiest season, but most often that means a shower in the afternoon that clears by evening. Even rain is delightful here — because

the air is so dry, you can actually smell the water, a sweet perfume that tops any flower we’ve ever come across.

Autumn is the queen of seasons in Valencia County. The skies turn a deep royal blue that can be seen nowhere else. You’ve heard artists from Georgia O’Keeffe on down exclaiming about the quality of light here; chances are they were talking about autumn.

The cottonwoods that make up the river bosque — forest in Spanish — turn a bright yellow that stands out against that special azure sky in a way you just won’t believe. Huge V’s of sandhill cranes and other wintering birds wing through the sky, heading south — heading here!

It’s the culmination of the chile harvest, and you’ll see ristras of red chiles hung from the rafters of the houses. And you’ll smell the wonderful aroma of green chile being roasted all up and down the valley. Heaven!

Temperatures are pleasant, there’s little chance of rain and each day is more perfect than the last.

Bring plenty of film — and you’ll still have to buy more. (An insider’s tip: Nothing is more beautiful than New Mexico in October. Nothing.)

Winter is the time when the snowbirds from Minnesota and Illinois arrive. They find the winters pleasant — sometimes you can still go out without a coat on Thanksgiving — and there is absolutely no snow shoveling.

Yes, it does snow, but that’s only a matter of an inch or two and it clears off by afternoon. Because snow occurs only two or three times most years, the entire population is in a holiday mood. The smell of piñon fires perfumes the air as people gather around their kiva fireplaces.

If you’re lucky enough to come at Christmas, you’re in for a treat. New Mexico has the most awe-inspiring Yuletide celebrations you’re ever likely to witness, with luminarias made from paper bags lining the walls and rooftops.

Come any time. Bienvenidos — wel-come. Nuestra casa es su casa — our house is your house.

A Wonderful Place to Be

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People in Valencia County enjoy having a party — and there’s plenty to do every year, no matter

what your interests.

January• Dr. Martin Luther King Candlelight

Vigil, Anna Becker Park in Belen.• Valencia County Hispano Chamber

of Commerce Matanza, a day long event with a pig roasting contest, horseshoe pitching contest, tortilla rolling contest, red chile cook-off and children’s activities at the Valencia County Fair Grounds in Belen.

February• Casper Baca Rough Stock Rodeo

Series at the Valencia County Fairgrounds in Belen.

March• Loyal American Tour and NMRA

Rodeo at the Sheriff’s Posse Grounds in Belen.

• St. Patrick’s Day Balloon Rallye, on the weekend closest to St. Patrick’s Day, at Eagle Park, in Belen.

April• Annual Easter Egg Hunt for chil-

dren 1 -5 years old at the Carson Drive Neighborhood Park in Los Lunas; and for children 6-11 years old at Daniel Fernandez Park in Los Lunas.

• Annual Easter Egg Hunt for children ages 1-3 years old at Eagle Park in Belen. Another Easter egg hunt is scheduled on the Saturday prior to Easter for children 4-12 years old at Eagle Park.

• Belen Chamber Golf Tournament, April 23, at Tierra del Sol in Rio Communities.

• El Dia de Los Ninos (Day of the Child), youth organizers share their infor-mation, giveaways, free kites, games enter-

tainment and refreshments at Eagle Park in Belen.

May• Hub City Music Fest, New Mexico

style music at the Heart of Belen Plaza on the corner of Becker and Dalies Avenue.

• Art Along the Railway. Displays at art galleries in Valencia County.

June• Twelfth Anniversary American

Cancer Society Relay for Life, June 4-5, at Belen High School.

• Summerfest, June 11-12, car show, outdoor movie and art show a Heritage Park on Lambros Loop in Los Lunas.

• Hub City Music Fest, June 12, Karaoke sing off, at the Heart of Belen

Plaza on the corner of Becker and Dalies Avenue.

All American Independence Day and Music Fest, arts, crafts, vendor booths, balloon bounce, contests and fireworks at dusk, at the Heart of Belen Plaza on the corner of Becker and Dalies Avenue.

July• Fourth of July parade down

Main Street to N.M. 314 in Los Lunas. Entertainment and fireworks display at dusk at Daniel Fernandez Park in Los Lunas

• Oldies Night on Main Street Music Fest with local vendors at the Heart of Belen Plaza on the corner of Becker and Dalies Avenue.

Fun, Food and Fiestas

Continued on page 9

• Third annual Sturgis Bound Motorcycle Rally at the Valencia County Fair Grounds in Belen.

• American Cancer Society Relay for Life, July 23-24, at Los Lunas High School Baseball fields.

August• Bosque Farms Community Fair,

Aug. 6-8, at the Bosque Farms Rodeo Association Arena, food, games, parade, greased-pole climb competition, toad rac-ing contest, indoor exhibits, rolling-pin throwing contest, car show and vendors.

• Our Lady of Belen Fiestas, Aug. 13-15, celebrating the 216th annual fies-tas, parade, entertainment, carnival, food, dancing under the tent at Our Lady of Belen Catholic Church.

• Valencia County Fair, Aug. 21-28, at the Valencia County Fair Grounds.

Valencia County Community Expo, Aug. 14-21, in Los Lunas.

• Valencia County Sheriff’s Posse Rodeo, Aug. 20-22, at the Valencia County

Continued on page 10

Continued from page 8

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Sheriff’s Posse Grounds.

September• Fun Day Geocashing event in Belen

at the Willie Chavez Park. Event will begin at 10 a.m.

• Southwestern National Tomahawk and Knife Competitions, in Belen. Demonstrations and competition throwing knives and tomahawks. Cash and prizes for professional, amateur, and youth divi-sions. Pre-1840’s dress required.

• Rio Abajo Days, Sept. 26-28, in Belen celebrating farming and ranching heritage, bareback broncs, saddle broncs and bull riding, barrel racing, family and stick horse rodeo, arts and crafts show, petting zoo, dance, arm wrestling contest and music all weekend.

October • Fall Festival, Oct. 9, at Anna Becker

Park in Belen. Music, food, entertainment, games and hayrides.

• Captain Tamara Long-Archuleta Memorial Open Karate Championships, Oct. 16, at Belen High School gymnasium.

• Halloween Festival, Oct. 30, fun and activities for children at the Belen Recreation Center.

• Haunted House, Oct. 30, at 660 Main Street at the Village Administration Office in Los Lunas.

November• Annual Christmas Festival, Nov.

27, arts and crafts, food, Snow Queen contest, light display at Anna Becker Park in Belen, Miracle on Main Street Electric Light Parade.

December• La Gran Pastorela de Belen, Dec.

4-5, traditional folk play sung in Spanish at Harvey House in Belen at 6 p.m.

• Los Lunas Christmas Electric Light Parade on Dec. 4.

• Annual Children’s Christmas Party on Dec. 13 in at Belen Recreation Center.

• Annual Children’s Christmas Party on Dec. 12 at Daniel Fernandez Park in Los Lunas.



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Greater Belen Economic Development Corp.

100 South Main Street, Belen, N.M. 87002, (505) 864-8221

The Greater Belen Economic Development Corporation is a private, nonprofit membership organization whose mission is to increase economic opportu-nity by generating more employment and to increase the tax base and tax revenues in the greater Belen area.

Belen EDC works to retain and recruit economic-based jobs in southern Valencia County by fostering the economic assets of the region through its flexible busi-ness development system that helps current businesses thrive while attracting inno-vative new companies to Belen and the surrounding area. Belen EDC also works to capitalize and market the assets of the region by taking a leadership role in advo-cating economic development tools and communicating the activities and impor-tance of the work of the EDC.

The EDC is supported by its members, a coalition of business, government, edu-cation, environment, trade and industry social organizations and chambers of com-merce.

Bosque Farms Economic Development Team

Chairman, Economic Development Committee

Councilor Bob [email protected] Economic Development email:[email protected] Address:Economic Development CommitteeBosque Farms Village Offices Phone: 505-869-2357P.O. Box 660Peralta, N.M. 87042The Village governing body created

the Bosque Farms Economic Development Team to foster business development and to work with companies considering relocat-

ing to Bosque Farms. The core of the team is the Economic Development Committee, which includes professionals with an array of specialties and interests in the economic development arena.

Committee members have economic development training and are active in economic development at the state level,

including working with the New Mexico Economic Development Department, the New Mexico Partnership, the Small Business Development Center, and region-al economic development organizations.

The Bosque Farms Business Retention

Doing Business in Valencia County


and Expansion Program is a community-based economic development strategy with a focus on nurturing and support-ing businesses already in the community. The goal of the program is to sustain the viability of the local business community, improve the competitiveness of local busi-nesses by identifying and addressing their needs and concerns, and actively pursuing business development opportunities.

The committee’s activities include “shop local” marketing programs, new-business outreach, educational programs on available incentives and tax credit opportunities, and beautification pro-grams to upgrade the business district.

Los Lunas Community Development Program

Christina Ainsworth, Community Development Director, 352-7659

Los Lunas Municipal Building, 660 Main St. NW, Los Lunas 87031

The village is working on a retail man-agement strategy plan. It also has a con-tract with Jim Covell to work on industrial prospects. The program can help with any-

one looking for a place to start a business or a satellite site for its main headquarters.

Los Lunas has one industrial park, Los Morros, that sits on 500 acres with good access to Interstate 25. Currently, a Walmart Distribution Center and several other businesses are located on the site. The village recently annexed 1,000 acres west of Los Morros for marketing to industrial prospects.

With large growth in population in recent years, Los Lunas offers many small shopping centers with easy access from Main Street and N.M. 314. It offers a development process manual with infor-mation about subdivision and sign ordi-nances, business licenses, water and sewer services and other necessary facts. It con-tains contact numbers for environmental regulators and other agencies necessary for business

Valencia County Chamber of Commerce

3447 Lambros, Los Lunas, N.M., 87031 505-352-3596 The goal of the Valencia County

Chamber of Commerce is to improve the economic environment of Valencia County, thereby benefiting all established businesses and encouraging the devel-opment of new business. The chamber provides networking and educational opportunities with general membership luncheons, monthly newsletters, and other social events.

Summerfest is a two-day event that has been hosted by the Valencia County Chamber of Commerce for 14 years. It is a family fun-filled weekend with one of the most impressive car shows in the state of New Mexico.

There will be a barbecue cook-off and outdoor movie. The event is held June 11-12, 2010. A portion of the proceeds will go toward the “Cops & Kids” program.

2009-2010 Board of DirectorsBruce Prater, president; Peter

Fernandez, past president; Andy Gomez, treasurer/president-elect; and mem-bers Fred Carabajal, Rita Garcia, Patty Roberts, Maria Elena Jaramillo, Ann Mary MacLeod, Dan Padilla and Marty Callahan.



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Greater BelenChamber of Commerce

712 Dalies Ave., Belen, N.M. 87002, (505) 864-8091, fax: 505-864-7461

Web site: www.belenchamber.comFormed more than 50 years ago, the

chamber’s aim is to improve quality of life and build a strong community. Companies and individuals often become members of the chamber to demonstrate a commit-ment to the local economy and to develop their business and community contacts.

The Belen Chamber also is the loca-tion of the City of Belen’s Vistor Center, which is run by the Belen chamber staff. The visitor center offers information on area sights and activities, lodging and restaurants.

The two major fund raising events are the Eagle Pride Golf Tournament the third Friday in April and the annual Rio Abajo Days, a three-day event the last weekend in September.

2009-2010 Board of DirectorsTerri Young, president; David Renteria,

first vice president; Teressa Witthoff-Second, vice president; Rick Gallegos, treasurer; Michael Vallejos, past presi-dent; members Vicky Baldonado, David Blacher, Anna Duran, Rhona Espinoza, Tom Greer, Jennifer Hisen and Aaron Silval; ex-officio members or representa-tives Cyndi Ankiewicz, UNM-VC, Rudy Jaramillo, City of Belen, David Medina, Valencia County commissioner; honorary board members Robert Auge, Luz Chavez and Tim Lardner.

Valencia County Hispano Chamber of Commerce

Jarod Colbert, presidentP.O. Box 539, Belen, N.M., 87002; tele-

phone (505) 702-9468The chamber promotes business and

community cohesiveness. It annually hosts the county’s single largest event, a matanza (traditional New Mexican pig roast) that draws thousands of people from throughout the nation. Proceeds from the day-long January event go to fund schol-arships for local students and other chari-table activities.

The chamber also holds a 9/11 Memorial

Lunch every year, serving a mid-day meal to law enforcement and fire department personnel.

2009-2010 Board of DirectorsJarod Colbert, president; Arie Gallegos,

president-elect; Yvonne Sanchez, vice

president; Georgia Otero-Kirkham, treasurer; Ruth Kelly, secretary; Martin Sisneros, past-president; directors Maria Marez, Shireen McDonald, Toby M. Jaramillo, Dana Sanders, Pedro Rael, Ron Tabet, Yvonne Tabet, Jaime Diaz and Ronni Goforth.



Sandhill cranes are typically seen in Valencia County on their migration route to the Bosque Del Apache, where the world’s largest con-centration of the majestic and ancient birds forms seas of blue along the Rio Grande. The Bosque Del Apache Wildlife Refuge is in Socorro County, about 45 miles south of Belen.

Tax and financial solutions■ Accurate and affordable service year-round

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Bosque Farms Office795 Bosque Farms Blvd

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Belen Office600 C West Reinken

505-864-6166

Los Lunas Office1400 Main Street Suite G

505-865-2944

The history of Valencia County spans centuries, several wars, epidemics and the lives of our

ancestors and family memories. Many of the events that riddled our past have made Valencia County what it is today.

From the days of colonization – to the era of the Indian revolts – up to the land grants of various communities in the area, New Mexico and Valencia County have seen its share of wars, settlements and ill-ness.

As the state and county prospered with the coming of the railroad, municipalities grew not only financially but by popula-tion.

Historian Richard Melzer provided much of the information for this history timeline.

16th Century1540-1542: Francisco Vasquez de

Coronado led the first exploration into the region. He and his troops only stayed for two years.

1598: Conqueror Don Juan de Onate, who colonized and established the “Kingdom of New Mexico.” This is the period when recorded history starts.

17th Century1598-1680: First Colonial Period.

During this time the missions were first established in the Rio Abajo, including Isleta in 1929.

1680: The Pueblos revolted to expel of Spanish from New Mexico. There were about 2,500 Spaniards in the colony and about 400 were killed by the Pueblo Indian rebels, which included some from Isleta.

1692: Don Diego de Vargas came to New Mexico on a reconnaissance expedi-tion seeking to reconquer the area from the Pueblo Indians.

18th Century1710: The mission at Isleta was rebuilt

and renamed.

1716: One of the first private land grants given was the San Clemente (in Los Lentes). Los Lentes is older than the Town of Los Lunas as a community settlement. Shortly after that the Luna family made claim to the grant and took possession of it.

1739: The town of Tome was settled when grants were given to Juan Varela and other families by Gov. Gaspar Dominguez de Mendoza.

Nicolas Duran y Chavez, said to be the founder of Los Chavez, was given a grant from Mendoza for land in the area.

1740: The town of Belen was settled when the governor granted the area to Capt. Diego de Torres and 32 other fami-lies. The Belen settlers came mostly from the Albuquerque area. Belen was referred to by numerous names including Belem, Bethel and Nuestra Senora de Belen.

Late 1700s to early 1800s: Small pox epidemics in the county cursed thousands of people. It was said that millions of Indians were wiped out by the epidemic,



For the Love of History — Our Timeline

Valencia County is part of the Rio Abajo, an area of the Middle Rio Grande Valley of New Mexico that stretches from the Espanola Valley in the North to Sabinal in the South. The Spaniards settled this area as early as 1598 after the first colony was founded by Gov. Juan De Onate in the Indian village of Ohke on the upper East Bank of the Rio Grande.


Valencia County History

more than in battles. Half of the Indian population was gone by the end of the 19th century because of small pox.

19th Century1821: New Mexico becomes part of

Mexico after Mexican residents rebelled against the mother country, Spain.

1823: The Casa Colorada Grant was given to Jose Maria Perea and others by Gov. Bartolome Baca.

1846: US/ Mexican War; United States troops invaded Mexico and took it over. Troops were sent into New Mexico, including Valencia County. New Mexico then became a territory of the United States.

1852: The county of Valencia was established. Valencia County stretched from the New Mexico-Texas border to the New Mexico-Arizona border.

1862: Civil War and Confederate inva-sion into New Mexico. Troops came into

Valencia County and sought loans and supplies from local merchants. Troops went through the county going north and were defeated in a major battle at Glorieta Pass. On their way back, the troops were once again defeated at the last battle of the civil war in New Mexico, in Peralta.

1876: The county seat was moved from Tome to Los Lunas.

1880: The railroad was built and ran tracks north and south through New Mexico, including through Los Lunas and Belen.

The railroad needed land to lay their tracks and when they got to Los Lunas they were blocked off by a hacienda owned by the Luna family. The railroad made a deal with the family that if they sold their land to the railroad they would build the family a new home. The new home is now known as the Luna Mansion.

1898: Most famous train robbery in Belen done by Bronco Bill Walters and his side kick Kid Johnson. The two are said to have tied their horses miles down from the train depot in Belen and walked north

to catch the train. Walters and Johnson forced the conductor to stop the train where they had left their horses and blew up the safe where the money was kept.

20th Century1903: First bank opened in Belen and

soon after the first bank robbery was committed.

1907: The railroad built the Belen cut-off, linking Amarillo and Belen.

1912: New Mexico became the 48th state in the union.

1918: Belen was incorporated as a vil-lage. Belen’s first mayor was Bernard Jacobson.

1918: Towards the end of the year the worst flu epidemic in the state’s history hit New Mexico. During the two months of the epidemic thousands of people died. It’s said people would contract the flu in the morning and by that same night they would be dead.

Almost every family in the county Continued on page 20


Bill Campbell III, CCIM [email protected]: 450-4883

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were affected by the epidemic, and the bells in the churches were constantly ring-ing.

1928: The village of Los Lunas was incorporated with Antonio Archuleta serving as its first mayor.

Late ’20’s – ’38: Route 66 passed through Los Lunas.

1935: The U.S. government offered 42 tracts of land in Bosque Farms in a reloca-tion settlement lottery. The plots ranged from 40 to 80 acres each. A lot of the houses are still in existence.

1929: The Los Lunas Hospital and Training School was constructed. The center provided care for mentally and physically handicapped residents on 126 acres of land.

1941-45: WWIIPost war period: There was tremendous

growth in the population, and with the war people were leaving to California seeking jobs in the defense area. A lot of people were moving to San Diego and Barstow, Calif.

1960s: Rio Communities was estab-lished and remains unincorporated. The population in the late 60s equaled or exceeded Bosque Farms and Los Lunas.

1974: Bosque Farms was incorporated and its first mayor was Robert Fisher.

1978: The University of New Mexico began serving Valencia County residents with the new Eastern Valencia County Satellite Center.

1981: Valencia County was almost split in half in between the east and west when a new county, Cibola, was created by the Legislature. The population of Valencia County remained at 32,000.

1986: The college satellite center in Valencia County was accepted as a formal branch of UNM.

1986: A new UNM-VC campus in

Tome was built in response to need.

2007: Voters in Peralta elected to incorporate the newest municipality in Valencia County by a 682 to 250 vote. A few months after the incorporation was passed, Edward Archuleta was elected the first mayor of Peralta. Michael Leon Otero Joseph K. Romero, Nancy (Pug Burge) Kinchen and Christian Garcia were elect-ed to the council while Louis A. Burkhard was elected Peralta’s first municipal judge.

2008: Construction of a new Valencia

County courthouse, located at Morris Road and N.M. 314, was completed. The new state-of-the-art 55,000-square-foot, three-story building cost taxpayers a total of $12 million.

2009: Los Lunas Mayor Louis Huning retired after serving 27 years in office. Huning, who was first elected mayor in 1982, was not the first in his family to serve in public office.

His grandfather, Fred B. Huning Sr., served as mayor for 16 years from 1936 to 1952— the longest until his grandson.



Our CommunitiesBosque: (Valencia; settlement; on NM 304, seven miles south of Belen; 1934-present.) This small, inhabited agricultural community was named for its location in the bosque of the Rio Grande. Its first residents were genizaros, Hispanicezed, detribalized Indians. In 1750, the Bacas, Montaños, Abeytas, Pinos, Cháveses, and Azmoras began farming here.Casa Colorada: (Valencia; settle-ment; on the east bank of the Rio Grande, on N,N, 304, six miles southeast of Belen). Spanish, “red house.” During the 18th century, the stage line between Albuquer-que and Socorro ran east of the river, following the route of the Camino Real, and Casa Colorada was a stage stop on the line.El Cerro: (Valencia; in the Rio Grande Valley, 3 miles northeast of Tomé). This large volcanic formation, rising abruptly from surrounding Rio Grande floodplain, is a natural lookout and reference point; petroglyphs are evidence of early Indian presence here. Following the Spanish conquest, Tomé Domínguez de Mendoza built his hacienda near here, and the hill once was commonly referred to as El Cerro de Tomé Dominguez. Today it sometimes is called simply Tomé Hill. Los Chavez: (Valencia; settle-ment; on N.M. 314, four miles north of Belen). In 1738, Don Nicolás Durán y Chávez applied to the Spanish crown for a land grant in the area now known as Los Chavez, saying in his petition that he was a descendant of the original Chávez family and son of Fernando Durán y Chávez, who was a captain with de Vargas during the reconquest in 1692. A year later, his request was granted. This inhabited community still bears his family’s name.



Valencia County is agriculturally diverse with farms that raise cattle, dairy, sheep, hogs, hors-

es, goats, chickens, emu, and crops includ-ing forages, chile, wheat, peanuts, corn silage, wine grapes, berries, apples, honey, market and kitchen garden produce.

New Mexico State University Extension Agriculture Agent Kyle V. Tator said of the 900 farms in the area, 90 percent are less than 50 acres.

A farm is defined as making at least $1,000 in agricultural production annu-ally, Tator said.

The county receives an annual rainfall of 9.93 inches, and is ranked eighth in the state for hay production, with alfalfa as the top crop.

The county has 14,400 acres in hay production with a yield of 4.10 tons per acre.

There are 28,000 head of cattle with 9,000 in beef cattle.

Blue grama is the state grass, and the flower is the yucca flower.

Valencia County is at an elevation of 4,840 feet, and has a last spring freeze on May 3, and first fall freeze on Oct. 13, according to New Mexico 2008 agricultur-al statistics compiled by the Department of Agriculture.

Alternative crops that are being researched in the county include pears, plums, cherries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, table grapes and jujube fruit (Chinese date).

The first commercial pecan production in the county was initiated about three years ago with a full harvest expected in four years. Pecan trees require seven years of growth and maturation before a prime yield can be expected.

“The soil here is basic with a pH (potentiometric hydrogen ion concentra-tion) greater than seven, and tends to increase salinity and sodicity,” said Tator.

“A lot of the river bottom soil is heavy clay. On the mesas, it’s a more sandy soil type, but either way, adding organic mat-

ter is important to amending the soil for farming or gardening. We live in a des-ert, and water is a premium, so it is also important to select plants that are adaptive to this area.”

Adding organic matter such as com-post, mulch, green manure or aged animal manure helps build the soil, leach out salts and hold moisture.

Green manure is living plants that are tilled into the soil before the plants come in seed. Animal manure must be aged before adding it to the soil, and drip irriga-tion conserves water.

The extension office has a Master Gardeners program to help residents find

the most adaptive plants to develop the type of gardens they hope to achieve.

Locally grown produce is sold begin-ning in June at the Belen Farmers Market every Friday from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Anna Becker Park.

The Los Lunas Farmers Market is held every Tuesday from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the River Park.

The Los Lunas office of the NMSU Cooperative Extension Service offer assis-tance and educational programs to anyone in the county.

For information, call Kyle Tator at 565-3002 or visit the Web site at www.valenci-aextension.nmsu.edu.

There are more than 28,000 head of cattle in Valencia County, with 9,000 in beef cattle.

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The New Mexico State University Agricultural Center is in Los Lunas. They partner with area farmers to give educational talks on pest management, water use and other agricultural concerns.

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New Mexico State University’s Agricultural Center south of Los Lunas is a pretty big place

where a lot is done not only for the research, but also for farmers in Valencia County.

“We do a lot of work here,” said Tom Place, head supervisor of the center, as he pulled up to a pair of fields being worked by Dr. Ron Walser.

Walser is at the center working on “micro-irrigation,” several techniques meant to help farmers in urban areas who have very small acreage.

“We have a lot of different types of fruit growing here to see which ones will make a difference in the area as far as ability to produce high income on small acreage,” he said, pointing to a batch of sunflowers, then to a grove of fruit trees.

“This type growing here like drip irri-gation,” he said, pointing to the flowers. “The trees are on sprinklers. We’re trying to use water conservation and efficient systems.”

Walser is one of half a dozen or so researchers at the center running experi-ments on behalf of NMSU’s College of Agriculture and Home Economics.

The university runs other Agricultural Centers on campus and in Artesia, Clovis, Tucumcari, Farmington and Mora, as a cattle feed lot in Clayton and ranches in Jornado and Corona.

Place said the 200-acre Los Lunas cen-ter stands apart from the others because of the school’s partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Resources Conservation Service.

“We are unique here because the NRCS is here operating the Plant Material Center there on the farm with us,” said Place. “They share office and farm space equally. It’s kind of a cooperative effort here.”

Both organizations have occupied the Los Lunas center since 1957, when they both moved from pueblo land north of Albuquerque to Los Lunas.

Place said the main mission of the cen-ter, which covers the Middle Rio Grande

Valley from Cochiti Pueblo to south of Socorro, is to support researchers at NMSU.

“Basically, we support the researchers on campus,” he said. “We do a lot of vari-ety trial testing, 4-H variety trials — that would be the corn. We do grain variety trial tests, grape variety trial tests, alfalfa trials.”

Place said seed companies pay a fee to enter specific varieties they want tested at the center.

“We grow them and gather the data and submit a report,” he said. “We work with the Wine Society of New Mexico — we’ve got a demo vineyard here as well.”

Another experiment at the center involves using green beans to study plant diseases.

Dr. Dave Dresen, the director of the NRCS’s Plant Materials Center, said the center is one of 278 in the country and rep-resents a southwest region including New Mexico, most of northern Arizona, south-eastern Utah and southwestern Colorado.

“They were all started during the Dust Bowl era of 1930 when they had terrible soil erosion problems in the high plains,” he said. “At that point, looking at any plant that could help control soil erosion, wheth-er it was wind-blown dust from fields or

The annual Field Day at the New Mexico State University Agricultural Center south of Los Lunas brings out the community for a fun-filled, educational event.

Experimental Expertise


stream erosion, helped. We studied grasses, also trees and shrubs to help stabilize arroyos.”

Dresen said the center’s mission is to develop plant materials.“What that means is looking at native species for solving par-

ticular conservation problems, stabilizing streams and reclaiming range land,” he said.

One example Dressen cites is the “little blue stem,” a common plant used for grazing in eastern New Mexico.

“Fifteen years ago, we brought in seed from 100 different populations in New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Colorado and grew individual plants and set in evaluation plots and let it grow for a long time,” he said, explaining that these experiments are driven by the state’s dairy industry, which recently surpassed the livestock industry in size and activity.

“We’re looking for qualities such as its use as a forage food — how good a feed it is for cattle — the fiber protein in the plant, how vigorous is the plant, does it come back quickly?

“That’s the process we go through.”Place said the Ag Center has become “more of an experiment

station” for the university in recent years.“Instead of support, we’re just like the rest of the experiment

stations around the state,” he said. “(Most of the experiments are) about yield production per acre because, in reality, more and more acres are being lost to development. So we’re always trying to produce more with fewer inputs on land that we have.”

Place said the Field Day is a good place for the general public to see what is done at the center.

Among the presentations of interest are a Master Gardener’s Plant Clinic by Dr. Curtis Smith, presentations on small veg-etable pest management by Dr. Jon Boren and production of wine grapes by NMSU viticulturist Bernhard Maier.

Dr. Paul Gutierrez, the associate dean and director of the Cooperative Extension Service and vice provost for Outreach Services for NMSU, will be on hand.

“We’ll have riding tours touring the farm and making certain stops,” Place said. “We’ll have people talking about specific proj-ects and some walking tours.”

For more information on Field Day or the Agricultural Center, call (505) 865-4684.


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On a typical weekday afternoon, Anna Becker Park in Belen is fairly quiet, aside from the

sounds of the occasional pickup game of basketball or children on the playground.

But come 5 p.m. Friday afternoon, the Belen Grower’s Market is in full swing and the park is transformed into a maze of bustling crowds, delicious smells and tables, truck beds and baskets filled with fresh produce.

The Belen Grower’s Market, which is sponsored by the New Mexico Department of Agriculture, is still growing. The market runs from the first Friday after the 4th of July until October.

Mary Lou Chavez, the former manager of the market and who wrote grants apply-ing for Department of Agriculture funds to start the market, said she never expected the market to be as successful as it has been.

The rules of the market are written by vendors, who gather each year in March to discuss changes for the upcoming season. The vendors have used this power to make the market more accessible to women who come to redeem food coupons from the Women, Infants and Children program. One result is that the only bakery allowed to sell at the market has WIC credentials, according to Chavez.

“We do it because there was no place for the WIC recipients to redeem their cou-pons,” Chavez said. “The Belen Grower’s Market was the third highest in the state last year for WIC redemption.”

Vendor Louella Costanza of Costanza Orchards said she thinks the homegrown, festive atmosphere of the market brings customers back.

“Just being able to get something fresh is wonderful,” she said. “We’re in such an artificial world now, and when they come here, they get to meet their growers and they get to see their neighbors and find out who is growing what in the community, and it’s a lot of fun.”

Los Lunas Farmers MarketBringing the sweetest honey around,

vegetables of every color plus warm-from-the-oven baked goods, the Los Lunas Farmers Market brings color and flavor to the community.

Opening day of the Los Lunas Farmers Market is in mid-June at River Park on the south side of Main Street at the river. It operates each Tuesday.

The selection of fresh local foods is diverse, but it’s important to remember that not everything is in season.

July sees the first wave of warm-season production, as well as some of the tail end of cool-season crops. In addition to fruits and vegetables, ornamental flowers, plants, honey, and arts and crafts are available.

The majority of vendors are from Valencia County with a few from Albuquerque. Some people might find

Tuesday an odd day to have a Farmers Market, but operators said that they didn’t want Los Lunas’ market to interfere with others in the area.

The permanent location of the Farmers Market at River Park has plenty of shade and is visible from Main Street, possibly attracting people on their way home from work.

There is also live music at the park during the market. The market is always looking for vendors. The cost for selling at the Farmers Market for 16 weeks is $128, or vendors can purchase a single-day space for $8.

Interested vendors can download an application from www.valenciaextension.nmsu.edu, and click on Valencia County Area Farmers Market on the left side of the page. Questions can be directed to 565-3002.

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Mike Mechenbier is a tall, rangy man who walks like his knees have seen better days. When

the subject of his hundreds of acres of pecan trees south of Belen is brought up, he is a bit hesitant to speak.

He and his wife, Kathy, don’t like to revisit the last several years — the battles over water rights, court dates and appoint-ments with state officials.

Now, with 300 acres under trees and another 100 coming soon, Mechenbier is looking to the future of his property and the valley as a whole. The couple has lived in Valencia County 25 years, and raised four daughters here.

They have 900 acres total south of Belen, the site of the pecan farm that they are hoping will someday be the gateway to Belen and the county for people traveling north up I-25.

The couple also has a ranch west of Belen, two cattle feed lots and a pig farm in the valley. Mike was born and raised in the South Valley of Albuquerque.

“I grew up on a small farm there,” Mechenbier said. “I’ve always been involved in agriculture. My family has farmed and ranched in the Estancia Valley.”

After saying she was born and raised in Albuquerque, Kathy hesitates.

“Well, we had a garden in the back yard and a guinea pig,” she laughs.

When the couple moved here, they came with nearly 400 show pigs. That part of their operations has diminished over the years, but Kathy still takes care of them.

In addition to the pigs, the Mechenbiers have grown green chile, ranched and grown alfalfa in the county. In 1992, Mike saw a request for proposals from General Mills looking for what amounted to “gar-bage men” to take away extra and unused products.

“I saw this as a good opportunity to finish off my own cattle,” Mike said. “That same year I got the contract with the prison to supply beef. So between those two, the operation expanded.”

As their ranching operations grew, Mike said the choice had to be made to either buy additional forage or provide their own, so they expanded the farming operations.

“You know, we have never bought an improved piece of property,” he said. “Everything we have bought was fixed and improved.”

The property where the pecan groves sit was no exception, they say.

“It was nothing but a dumping ground. There were appliances in every color you could imagine,” Mike says pointing out over fields of young trees. “They uncov-ered several working meth labs, and I believe they even found a body out here.”

It was a job getting the 15,000 pecan trees started. Beginning as nothing more than saplings barely a foot tall, after plant-ing each one was girdled, the bark stripped and then grafted and coaxed into the desired shape. Each one done by hand.

The oldest trees are about three-and-a-half years old. Somewhere around year

five, Mike says, they can begin light com-mercial harvesting.

“Next year, we can beat the trees with a PVC pipe to harvest, and the year after that we should be able to use machines,” he said. “Right now we have enough to make about two pies.”

And just to make sure they live up to the conjecture that they are “nuts,” the Mechenbiers have included nearly 100 pistachio trees on a small plot adjacent to the pecans.

When looking to his future in agricul-ture, Mike says he realized he had to be innovative if he was going to continue.

“We really saw the water demands of continued urbanization. We could continue growing alfalfa, just like we have been for the past 25 years, and be getting the same price we did 25 years ago,” he said. “We have to change to survive. I’m not saying these pecans are going to be the savior of the valley, but if we don’t start thinking outside the box, we’re going to lose agri-culture.”

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Nestled on the western bank of the Rio Grande, the city of Belen is rich in history and

culture, and although progressing, the city strives to maintain its charm and celebrate the traditions on which it was established.

Founded in 1740 by Don Diego Torres and Antonio Salazar, the quiet community was named Belen, Spanish for Bethlehem, and today still holds tight to traditions from hundreds of years ago.

The small community of approximately 40 families first worked the land, but by the 19th century, the ever growing com-munity expanded into sheepherding.

First known as Nuesta Señora de Belen (Our Lady of Bethlehem), Belen continues to celebrate its bond to the Christchild’s birthplace and the deeply religious tra-ditions that the city was based on and annually presents “Los Pastores” – the shepherds – that is a Christmas pageant in folk song whose origins are lost to the ages.

Belen was incorporated in 1918 and passed the first village ordinance on July 1, 1919. That was the foundation for imple-menting fire and police protection as well as official government positions and taxes. Belen officially became a town in 1940 and a city in 1966.

Located near the center of the state, Belen was nicknamed the Hub City, partly because it was the hub of the old Santa Fe Railway system that arrived in 1880. Today, more than 110 trains a day pass through the city, and an expected 160 trains a day will soon grace the rails once the third line of the BNSF rail system is built.

With the increase in activity on the railroad, a Harvey House was opened in 1910, and for 29 years, it was bustling with business from railroaders. Although it was reopened for a short time during World War II, today the Harvey House Museum stands as it was, filled with Harvey Girl and railroad memorabilia that tells the story of days gone by.

Becker Avenue, named after the leg-

endary John Becker who arrived in Belen during the second half of the 19th century, runs through the heart of Belen, and its renovation is near completion. The avenue has a quiet charm to it where pedestrians

can stroll. Diagonal parking, that signature of the old days, makes it easy to get in and out.

A large arch, with an iron nativity scene

Belen — The Hub City


in front of it, is the gateway to this quaint part of town. Summer and fall festivals are held beneath the pavilion, with the streets closed off for the community to celebrate, dance and enjoy live entertain-ment.

Further down Becker Avenue, resi-dents and visitors alike can visit the Belen Art League Gallery, which is filled with creations of local artists. Further down the street, world-renown artist Judy Chicago has renovated the old Belen Hotel as her home and studio. Across the street is her non-profit Through the Flower gallery.

While the traditions and small town feel remain, the progressive works of the city council and chamber of commerce are moving the city forward and readying it for the expected growth that’s coming.

A newly annexed 6,000 acres west of the city’s borders could double the size of Belen over the next 15 years and bring more industry, stores and restaurants to the community.

With the Manzano Mountain Wilderness lying to the east of Belen, hiking and picnicking is a stone’s throw away.

welcomeGovernmentMayor: Rudy JaramilloCouncil: Wayne Gallegos, Jarah Cordova, Mary Aragon and Lorenzo CarrilloActing City Manager: Mary Lucy BacaPolice chief: Mike ChavezFire Chief: Manny GarciaMunicipal Judge: Kathy Savilla


Population: 7,325 (estimated 2008)Employment: About 2,800 persons are employed in Belen, 25 percent of which are in management, professional and related oc-cupations, according to the latest census data. Sales and office occupations make up 24 per-cent of Belen’s workforce while jobs in service fall in at a 19 percent clip, the data says. The major employers in Belen include: Belen Consolidated Schools, Walmart Supercenter, Ambercare Health Services and the BNSF Railroad. Population trends, 1960 to 2000(U.S. Bureau of Census)1960: 5,031

Demographics

1970: 4,8231980: 5,6171990: 6,5472000: 6,901

UtilitiesWater: City of BelenSource of Water: Ground waterSewer: City of BelenSolid Waste: City of BelenElectric: Public Service Company of New MexicoNatural Gas: New Mexico Gas CompanyTelephone: Qwest

TransportationAir: A general aviation airportIntercity bus: TNM&OTrain, Freight: Burlington Northern Santa Fe

ServicesPolice: City of BelenFire: City of BelenParks: The City of Belen maintains parks, athletic fields, recreation facilities and a senior citizen’s center



Bosque Farms is the northern-most municipality in Valencia County. Nestled on the east bank

of the Rio Grande, Bosque Farms is a well known dairy and farming community.

The first known inhabitants of the area which is now Bosque Farms were the sed-entary Tiwa Indians who lived in small pueblos along the Rio Grande from Taos Pueblo to Mexico. Following a period of Spanish exploration and settlement, the Bosque Farms area later became part of a land grant.

The Depression years saw much of the grant land repossessed and adminis-tered through the federal government. The drains, canals and levees were constructed to improve soils and irrigation for agri-culture and also to help prevent flooding from the river. This land was divided into 44 farms ranging in size from 40 to 80 acres each by the federal government and farmers were moved onto the land.

It wasn’t until the 1960s that devel-opers began to subdivide the land in Bosque Farms into lots of one acre or less. Residents were able to enjoy a rural atmo-sphere and keep horses and other livestock on their property.

In the early ’70s, several residents began to complain about the lack of law enforcement in the village. As a response to their dilemma, a citizens’ patrol was formed. Night after night, the residents patrolled the roads and ditches looking for suspicious activity.

From the citizens’ patrol evolved the idea that Bosque Farms really needed its own police officers and was in need of becoming its own town. Instead of counting on the county for all its support, residents started circulating petitions call-ing for a special election to become an incorporated village.

Residents realized that the advantages of that, of course, were that they would get the gross receipts from the businesses along N.M. 47 to purchase their own police cars instead of depending on oth-

ers. Another issue for incorporation was zoning.

“People were starting to come to Valencia County in droves from the city. The zoning, or the lack of it, in Valencia County wasn’t good and people who owned land in Bosque Farms didn’t want it to look like that,” said former Mayor Sharon Eastman. “We thought if we incor-porated and had proper zoning, we could protect our property values and guide development.”

Although Eastman said she wasn’t a key figure in developing the incorpora-tion effort, she did take petitions around Bosque Farms asking for support and went to numerous planning meetings.

The Village of Bosque Farms was

finally incorporated on Saturday, June 1, 1974. The incorporation was ratified by 75 percent of the voters in a special elec-tion. Of the 632 accepted ballots, 475 were in favor of incorporation and 157 were against it.

An unexpectedly high 86 percent of the 752 eligible voters living in the village turned out to vote in the single-issue elec-tion. Two months later, Bosque Farms had its election and selected its first mayor, council and municipal judge.

Bob Fisher was elected mayor, win-ning 35 percent of the total 648 votes cast. Charles Roberts, Ronald Koch, Robert Baughman and Thomas Hunter were elected to the council, and Kirk Gilcrease was voted in as municipal judge.

Beautiful Bosque Farms

welcomeGovernment Mayor: Wayne AkeCouncil: William Kennedy, Robert Knowlton, Russell Walkup and Dolly WallaceClerk/Administrator: Gayle JonesPolice chief: Joe StidhamFire Chief: Spencer WoodMunicipal Judge: Robert Knoblough

Population trends(U.S. Bureau of Census)1970: 1,6991980: 3,3531990: 3,7912000: 3,931

UtilitiesWater: Village of Bosque FarmsSource of Water: Ground waterSewer: Village of Bosque FarmsSolid Waste: Waste Manage-mentElectric: Public Service Company of New MexicoNatural Gas: New Mexico Gas

CompanyTelephone: Qwest

TransportationAir: Albuquerque International Airport is 15 minutes away

ServicesPolice: Village of Bosque FarmsFire: Bosque Farms Volunteer Fire DepartmentParks: The Village of Bosque Farms maintains a park, baseball fields, tennis courts, and a com-munity and senior center. There is also a privately-owned rodeo arena.

Demographics

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If Los Angeles or New York City is a Red Bull — high energy and a jolt to your system — then Los Lunas is a glass of sweet honey tea on a hot summer’s day: refreshing, satisfying and sweet.

Located just 20 miles south of Albuquerque with a population of 13,000, Los Lunas is a unique combination of city and solitude.

Residents can venture about a half hour north to the largest city in New Mexico to enjoy the many shops, restaurants and businesses Albuquerque offers or continue driving for another hour to Santa Fe, the state capital and a city rich in culture and art.

What began as a small rural farming and ranching community has blossomed into an area that has taken in rapid growth in population and business without los-ing its small-town charm or neighborhood friendly values.

“The people are great,” said Peter Fernandez, village administrator and life-time resident of Los Lunas. “It is a well managed community where people take a very special interest in making the com-munity better. Every action the govern-mental entity takes is with the idea of bet-tering the community as a whole.”

Los Lunas, which translates to “where the Lunas live,” was named after the prom-inent and politically influential Luna fam-ily. The first Luna to set foot in Valencia County was Domingo de Luna from Spain in 1692.

The beautiful and historical Luna Mansion, built in 1880, still stands today and is listed on the New Mexico Historical roster.

The Luna Mansion is architecturally unique because it is designed in a southern colonial style typically unseen in New Mexico. However, its basic construction material is adobe, a traditional material used for making houses in the state.

“People always come up and ask me, ‘with all the growth that the village has experienced, when will it become a city?’

“My philosophy has always been: we like the name of village because it has a con-

notation of a caring community and a com-munity as a whole,” Fernandez said.

Los Lunas — A Village of History

welcomeGovernmentMayor: Robert VialpandoCouncil: Cecilia “CC” Castillo, Charles Griego, Gerard Saiz and Richard LovatoClerk/Administrator: Peter FernandezPolice chief: Roy MelnickFire Chief: Lito ChavezMunicipal Judge: Jeff Aragon

Population: 10,034 (estimated 2000)Employment: There are about 5,000 persons employed in Los Lunas. About 30 percent of the jobs are in the government sector. Nearly 25 percent of the local jobs are in the retail sector. Services account for slightly less than 20 percent of the employment. In addition, just south of Los Lunas are two New Mexico Correction Department facilities that provides an additional 400 to 450 jobs.Major employers are Los Lunas School District, Walmart Distribution Center, Valencia County and the Village of Los Lunas Population trends, 1960 to 2000(U.S. Bureau of Census)

Demographics

1960: 1,1861970: 7731980: 5,5251990: 6,0132000: 10,034

UtilitiesWater: Village of Los LunasSource of Water: Ground waterSewer: Village of Los LunasSolid Waste: Village of Los LunasElectric: Public Service Company of New MexicoNatural Gas: New Mexico Gas CompanyTelephone: Qwest

TransportationAir: A general aviation airportIntercity bus: TNM&OTrain, Freight: Burlington Northern Santa Fe

ServicesPolice: Village of Los LunasFire: Village of Los LunasParks: The Village of Los Lunas maintains several parks, one with a baseball field and picnic facilities, one with soccer fields and skate park

The Village of Los Lunas, the county seat of Valencia County, lies primarily on the west bank of the Rio Grande, 30 minutes south of downtown Albuquerque. The land was originally part of the San Clem-ente Grant, granted to Don Felix Candelaria in 1716. Historically, this area had been a farming com-munity, but since the 1960s, the village has become a growing business center. Los Lunas has annexed land on the east side of the Rio Grande, but most of the growth has been in the western direction.The village is bound to the north by the Isleta Indian Reservation. Interstate 25 passes along the west side of the village and provides excel-lent access to the Albuquerque area. The Los Lunas area began growing rapidly in the 1970s with the expansion of the Albuquer-que metropolitan area. The 1990 Census found that about half of the Los Lunas labor force worked in the Albuquerque area.

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Peralta incorporated as a town in 2007, but it’s history stretches back hundreds of years.

The town was named for Andres and Manuel de Peralta sometime before 1680, says Mayor Brian Olguin, .

“It’s much older than that, but that is the first records they had,” Olguin said.

He said El Camino Real runs through the area.

According to historian Robert Julyan, the town is also named for Pedro de Peralta, a native of Valladolid in New Spain, who was among those returning to New Mexico after the reconquest in 1692. His descendants still live in the area.

Locally, the community has been known as Los Placeres, “the placers,” for reasons unknown.

“All of Peralta was basically the Lo de

Padilla land grant,” Olguin said. “Many of the heirs of the Spanish land grant owners still live here.”

Julyan wrote that in 1862, Confederate and Union troops battled near the town. A battle with similar characteristics is featured in the Sergio Leone film “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly,” according to Wikipedia. It ended in a Union victory and the Confederate army retreated through Los Lunas.

“The confederates basically got spanked here and driven back to Texas,” Olguin said.

In 1863, Col. Kit Carson mobilized his forces in Peralta prior to the campaign against the Navajos, according to Julyan.

Olguin said the first post office was established in 1861. Julyan writes that in 1865, the post office’s name was changed

to Los Pinos, “the pines,” or perhaps a family name, but in 1866 it reverted to Peralta.

He said Peralta is the site of an early Methodist church, and the Catholic church in the town, Our Lady of Guadalupe, is well over 150-years old. It recently went through a major renovation.

The town is full of historical buildings. Olguin said the town was largely agri-

cultural, the major industry being sheep shearing.

“There are still some farmers around here,” he said.

N.M. 47 has been expanded from a dirt road to a two-lane highway and then to the four-lane highway it is now.

In 2007, the town incorporated. It has been through four city councils and two mayors.

Peralta History Goes Back Centuries

welcomeGovernment Mayor: Brian OlguinCouncil: Christian Garcia, Leon Otero, Joseph Romero and Pug BurgeClerk: Arturo SaizPolice chief: Joe StidhamFire Chief: John DearMunicipal Judge: David Young

Population trends(U.S. Bureau of Census)Male: 1,750Female: 1,914Median Age: 36.4Under 5: 24618 and over: 2,66565 and over: 411Average household size: 2.85Average family size: 3.19Total housing units: 1,413

UtilitiesWater: Well water Source of Water: Ground waterSewer: Septic

Electric: Public Service Company of New MexicoNatural Gas: New Mexico Gas CompanyTelephone: Qwest

TransportationAir: Albuquerque International Airport is 20 minutes away

ServicesPolice: Village of Bosque FarmsFire: Peralta Volunteer Fire Department

AreaTotal: 4.4 square miles

Demographics

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Valencia County is part of the Rio Abajo, an area of the Middle Rio Grande Valley of New Mexico

that stretches from the Espanola Valley in the North to Sabinal in the South.

The Spaniards settled this area as early as 1598 after the first colony was founded by Gov. Juan De Onate in the Indian vil-lage of Ohke on the upper East Bank of the Rio Grande. The Espanola Valley was called the “Río Arriba” (the Upper River) while the area just below “La Bajada Hill” was called the “Río Abajo” (the Lower

River) valley.New settlements were always found

near Indian Pueblos. The Pueblo Indians were friendly and insisted that the new colonists build their homes near the Rio Grande.

The river had a lot to offer both the Natives and the Colonists in the way of sustenance to both man and beasts.

The county comprises 1,458 square miles in central New Mexico, bordering on Socorro County directly to the south, Cibola County to the west, Bernalillo

County to the north and Torrance County to the east.

The county seat is in the Village of Los Lunas, 20 miles south of the state’s largest city, Albuquerque.

The quality of life in the county can be characterized by a strong sense of com-munity that is enhanced by a rural lifestyle.

Residents of the area have identified peace and quiet, friendliness of the people, and terrific weather as benefits that has made this rural setting a wonderful place to visit and live.

Valencia County — Rio Grande Riches

welcomeGovernment County Commission: Pedro Rael, Georgia-Otero Kirkham, David Medina, Ron Gentry and Donald Holiday

Manager: Eric ZamoraSheriff: Rene RiveraCounty Clerk: Sally PereaAssessor: Viola Garcia-VallejosTreasurer: Dorothy Lovato

DemographicsPopulation: 66,152 (2000)Employment: Valencia County, traditionally an agricultural area, has become increasingly diversified. Residents still cherish a quality of life that’s both country and cool – access to big-city amenities but rural in character. A steady influx of new residents from Albuquerque in search of pleasant alternatives to city living has spurred population growth of 12 percent between 2000 and 2006 in the county, and fairly rapid growth is expected to continue in the future. Valencia County has been a magnet for industries need-ing room to expand. The attractions are low-cost industrial sites, easy

transportation access, available work force, affordable housing and a positive business climate. Population trends, 1960 to 2000(U.S. Bureau of Census)1960: 15,1461970: 20,4511980: 30,7691990: 45,2352000: 66,152

Valencia County was split into two counties in 1981. Populations for 1960 to 1980 are computed from Census data for the Los Lunas and Belen Census Divisions.

33



The pilgrimage began long before the sun rose, while wisps of fog still floated over the river valley.

Hues of rose and periwinkle hung in the air before the sun burst over rain clouds cling-ing to the Manzano Mountains and casting a long shadow over the green fields.

At this hour, all sounds seem soft, the cows in the pasture, birds singing to the morning light and the successive clicks of camera shutters from photographers searching for their signature shot of Good Friday on Tomé Hill.

The people arrive slowly, up the gradual incline on the west trail. They kneel before three crosses, a lit prayer candle and a vase of red roses, all left from the night before.

Jane Rael is one of the first to arrive, slipping the white beads of her rosary between her gloved fingers.

“This is the first year that I have walked up alone. I had a friend who needed the time with her son, and we were supposed to come together, but I knew they needed to be alone, so I came alone this year. I have never done that before. I waited until the sun was coming up,” she said.

Rael said the solitude gave her time to find stillness and sacred time in her mind.

Rael says she is finished with today’s obligations as she walks back down, before sunlight slips half-way up the hill. She passes clusters of people murmuring in Spanish, grandmothers with walking sticks and their families in tow and a man starting from the bottom, crawling on his hands and knees.

Ralph and Delia Castillo circle the crosses and look to the north where Olga and Lawrence Sandoval have their little chapel open to the public — not just on holy days, but every day.

“They have a little guest book there, and you can follow this trail down, right past the white fence on their property and into the chapel. It is beautiful, really something. They always let people come in, they never lock it,” said Ralph Castillo.

He said his first trip to the hill was

with his father in 1959, when Edwin Berry would play his drum and look towards the heavens. Berry was the man who reiniti-ated the pilgrimage.

“I must have been about 8-years old. I remember walking all the way up,” he said.

As the pair wind their way down, dis-cussing how blessed by rain the county has been, Dolores Sanchez of Albuquerque completes her first walk, a yellow paper-back prayerbook in hand.

“I will be 71 in June. I have been want-ing to do this for years and years, but I fig-ured I better do it this year. It’s wonderful. It’s really a blessing,” she said. “I did the stations of the cross on the way up.”

To the west, Shirley Atencio, who has

been leaning on a wooden walking stick sits to eat an apple and watch people pray.

“I walk up here four times a week, but today it feels more holy,” she said. “My husband and I moved to Tomé from Albuquerque three years ago to get away from the busy city. I started coming up here and I’ll stay for an hour or two, just sit. Today is special, though, to see all these people huffing and puffing their way up. I am just so thankful to the Lord for bring-ing me to this small piece of paradise.”

Near Atencio, Kenneth Aragon is chatting with his granddaughter, Davery Monica. She comes with her grandfather

Tomé Hill — A Pilgrimage of Faith


each year, but this year she made the climb herself. She tells people who ask that her name is Selena.

“It’s a phase she’s going through,” Aragon said. “She carried a candle in the memory of my brother who passed away, so she had some extra weight to carry with her, too.”

Aragon has been climbing Tomé Hill for many years and says he views the climb as a way to unite his family.

“One of my sons told me to bring some water for the roses, so that was his way of saying he’d been here already. Sometimes, schedules get in the way, but my whole family comes up here every year,” he said. “It’s a tradition, so that my grandchildren, when they drive down these roads and see the hill, they can say ‘I remember walking up with Grandpa.’ It is sentimental, I guess.”

Aragon watches as his youngest granddaughter is carried up the hill by another of his sons. The older man says that, next year, he hopes to take her on her first pilgrimage.

A man plays his guitar and sings in Spanish with his wife and anyone else who wants to join in. Cars line the streets and pilgrims continue to make a path for the hill, some carrying signs, others bearing crosses. Police officers direct traffic and help the walkers make their way.

Clouds begin to cover the sky, but pilgrims such as Richard Montoya of Los Lunas say they are not worried about the rain.

“I would have come even if it was pouring down rain,” he said. “It is nothing to suffer rain compared to what Jesus suffered. It is amazing to think of what he sacrificed. It really makes you wonder.”


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The University of New Mexico began serving the educational needs of Valencia County in

August 1978 with the establishment of the UNM-Eastern Valencia County Satellite Center.

The creation of this Satellite Center ended nearly two decades of work by members of the Los Lunas and Belen School districts to provide a stable source of post-secondary education and voca-tional training in Valencia County. A total of $93,000 in seed money was raised to help open the facility.

In 1979, the state Legislative Finance Committee indicated that expanding sat-ellite centers, such as the one in Belen, should be established as branch campuses to be supported by an ongoing mill levy as well as with student tuition and general fund appropriations.

The local community indicated its continued support by voting overwhelm-ingly in favor of creating a branch cam-pus. Additional assistance came from the Board of Educational Finance, the New Mexico Legislature, and the Eastern Valencia County Higher Education Committee, Inc.

As a result, a formal proposal to estab-lish the branch was accepted by UNM in March 1981. Classes began in August of that year. Technical certificates and Associate degrees could now be com-pleted locally for the first time in Valencia County history.

Continued growth in enrollment and program offerings soon created a pressing need for additional space and new facili-ties. A new campus in Tomé was built in response to this need, opening its doors in the summer of 1986.

A library and learning resource center were added in 1994. The campus under-went extensive renovation in the Spring of 1995 and again in 2000. These reno-vations provided additional classrooms, more office space and a larger cafeteria.

During this time two more buildings

arose, enhancing the picturesque scenery of UNM Valencia’s landscape.

During the Fall of 2000, UNM Valencia held the grand opening ceremony for the brand new Student Community Center. The Student Community Center consists of two new buildings. One contains two

levels providing a Child Daycare Center, UNM Valencia’s Community Education Program, and the Small Business Development Center. Adjacent to it stands a larger bookstore, and the brand-new, modern Physical Fitness Center.

By fall of 2004, two more buildings had been renovated, and a brand new Health Sciences building, had been built.

This building is on the southwest side of campus and consists of a cadaver lab, science labs, classrooms and offices.

In the Fall of 2005 came our new Vocational/Career Technical Center. It consists of classrooms, computer labs, and the TRiO program offices, computer lab and conference rooms. This building is located south of the Health Sciences building.

UNM-VC — Reaching for the Stars

welcomeUNM-Valencia CampusThe University of New Mexico-Valencia Campus is located in Tome, New Mexico, halfway between Belen and Los Lunas, the two main population centers of Valencia County. The campus occupies 150 acres of rural land overlooking the Rio Grande Valley, the Manzano Mountains and Tomé Hill.

welcomeOur CommunitiesJarales: (Valencia; settlement; on the west bank of the Rio Grande, 3 miles south east of Belen, on N.M. 109; 1900-present). The most plausible explanation for this community’s name is that it refers to the willow thickets along the Rio Grande just to the east, especially as the village also has been called Jaralosa. But at least some old-timers say the name comes from a family here named Jarales, and Los Jarales, reported as a variant name, would support this. It was called simply Ranchos when Fray Francisco Dominguez visited here in 1776. The com-munity of Jarales Station was located one mile southwest of Jarales.La Costancia: (Valencia; settlement; on the east side of the Rio Grande, on N.M. 47, three miles south of Adelino). Manuel A. Otero operated a gristmill at the site of this inhabited community and is said to have named the place La Constancia because the mill was running constantly.Los Lentes: (Valencia; settlement; west of the Rio Grande, between Isleta and Los Lunas). When Coronado visited here in 1540-41, he found a

sizable Tiwa village closely allied with Isleta Pueblo, just to the north, and many residents of this com-munity still have close ties with Isleta. The pueblo’s name has been recorded as Piquiratengo, which the Spaniards later renamed San Clemente, prob-ably for a mission here. The community’s present name comes from one Matías el Ente of Isleta marrying a woman from this village and then raising a family here, the name Los Lentes meaning “the Lente folks,” just as Los Lunas means “the Lunas.” Los Lentes was annexed to the village of Los Lunas in the 1970s.Meadow Lake: (Valencia; settlement; east of Los Lunas, just south of the Isleta Indian Res-ervation, near the west foothills of the Manzano Mountains). In 1966 developer D.W. Falls purchased 814 acres from Don Pope and began planning a community. Using new and existing wells, he created a small lake, and in 1967 the first residents arrived, David and Eleanor Ross, at the village named for the lake. By 1981, 109 families were living at Meadow Lake, and the community has continued to grow since.Pueblitos: (Valencia; settlement; between

Belen and Jarales). Tiny inhabited farming com-munity, said to have briefly gone by the name of Pilar, for reasons unknown.San Clemente: (Valencia; settlement; near Los Lunas). The name of this 18th-century rancho honors St. Clement I, Bishop of Rome and Pope in A.D. 92-101. The San Clemente Grant was granted to Don Felix Candelaria in 1716.Tomé: Valencia; settlement; on N.M. 47, five miles northeast of Belen; 1888-present). Around 1650, the aged Thomé Domínguez arrived in the state with his grown family and settled in the Sandia jurisdiction here; his sons later said he was 96 when he died in 1656. One of their three sons was Thomé Dominguez de Mendoza, and around 1661 he established a hacienda near the volcanic hill latter called El Cerro de Tome. Mendoza, who was Gov. Otermín’s maese de campo, lost everything in the Pueblo Revolt and did not return with the 1692 reconquest — he departed for Spain instead — but his name persisted when settlers took possession of the land grant made by Gov. Mendoza in 1739.

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From pre-kinder all the way through upperclassman, the Los Lunas School District is consis-

tently providing students with quality edu-cation, an enthusiasm for knowledge and a drive to succeed.

The district is comprised of roughly 8,600 students in 17 schools, including 11 elementary schools, two middle schools, two high schools and one alternative school.

The old and the new mix together with Bosque Farms Elementary as one of the district’s oldest schools, built in 1936, and Sundance Elementary, Los Lunas’ newest school, completed in January 2009.

The intermixing of tradition and inno-vation is visible not only in the school buildings’ architecture but, most impor-tantly, inside the classroom.

Los Lunas High School is just an exam-ple of innovation with its recent implemen-tation of Project Lead the Way. Lead the Way is a four-year sequence of courses that introduces students to the scope, rigor and discipline of engineering prior to entering college. Courses offered include digital electronics and aerospace engineering.

Regardless of which elementary, middle or high school any given student attends, the curriculum standard to which they per-form and academic expectations remain the same.

The district’s newest high school is Valencia High, home of the Jaguars. The school’s mission is to break away from the traditional high school to form a student-centered learning community.

Valencia High School is designed around the concept of Smaller Learning Communities, which focuses on meeting individual needs, beginning with a fresh-man academy.

Between curriculum, innovative pro-grams and a rich history, Los Lunas stu-dents are reaping the benefits of a multi-dimensional school district that prepares them for tomorrow while instilling a sense of community.

High Schools:Los Lunas High School1776 Emilio Lopez Rd.Los Lunas, N.M., 87031Phone: 865-4646 Principal: Dan PadillaStaff: 143, Certified 94Students: 1288

Valencia High School310 Bonita Vista Blvd.Los Lunas, N.M., 87031Phone: 565-8755Principal: Mario ZunigaStaff: 118, Certified 76Students: 997

Century High School320 Bonita Vista Blvd.Los Lunas, N.M., 87031Phone: 866-2153Principal: Wilson HollandStaff: 11, Certified 8Students: 70

Los Lunas Schools — Preparing Students for the World


welcomeLos Lunas SchoolsSuperintendent: Bernard R. SaizSchool board president: Maria M. MarezVice president: Christopher D. MartinezMembers: Ed Hernandez and Dan GrossLos Lunas Schools Administration Of-fice: 119 Luna Ave., Los Lunas, 87031; (505) 865-9636

Middle SchoolsLos Lunas Middle School220 Luna Ave.Los Lunas, N.M., 87031Phone: 865-7273Principal: Julie SmithStaff: 77 Certified 54Students: 727Manzano Vista Middle School22 Marlink RoadLos Lunas, N.M. 87031Phone: 865-1750Principal: MichelleOsowskiStaff: 68, Certified 51Students 644

Elementary SchoolsDaniel FernandezElementary 32 Sun Valley Rd.Los Lunas, N.M., 87031Phone: 865-1044Principal: Angela GriegoStaff: 55, Certified 30Students: 400

Desert View Elementary49 Camino La CanadaLos Lunas, N.M., 87031Phone: 866-2488Principal: Diedra MartinezStaff: 70, Certified 38Students: 499

Raymond GabaldonElementary 454 CoronadoLos Lunas, N.M., 87031Phone: 866-0456Principal: Sonia LawsonStaff: 46, Certified 32Students: 332

Ann Parish Elementary112 Meadow LakeLos Lunas, N.M., 87031Phone: 865-7364Principal: Staff: 69, Certified 40Students: 507

Bosque Farms Elementary1390 W. Bosque LoopBosque Farms, N.M., 87066

Phone: 869-2646Principal: Ron HendricksStaff: 62, Certified 34Students: 427

Katherine Gallegos Elementary236 Don Pasqual RoadLos Lunas, N.M., 87031Phone: 865-6223Principal: Samial MorerodStaff: 62, Certified 34Students: 525

Los Lunas Elementary800 Coronado RoadLos Lunas, N.M., 87031Phone: 865-9313Principal: Valerie OteroStaff: 78, Certified 33Students: 533

Peralta Elementary3645 N.M. 47Peralta, N.M., 87042Phone: 869-2679Principal: Dawn ApodacaStaff: 48, Certified 25Students: 290

Tome Elementary46 Chacon RoadTome, N.M., 87066Phone: 865-1102Principal: Felipe ArmijoStaff: 74, Certified 47Students: 544

Valencia Elementary111 Monica RoadLos Lunas, N.M., 87031Phone: 865-3017Principal: Julie CrumStaff: 61, Certified 40Students: 386

Charter SchoolSchool of DreamsAcademy (SODA)1800 Main St. NE, Suite250Los Lunas, N.M., 87031Phone: 866-7632, 866-SODAPrincipal: Juliette CastilloStaff: 20 Certified: 10Students: 120


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The Belen Consolidated School District is destined to continue the path toward academic suc-

cess with its driven students and innovative programs.

About 4,150 students attend Belen’s seven elementary schools, one middle school, one high school and alternative school in a district that wants to excel past its competition.

The Belen district uses programs like the career academy and academic decath-lon as benchmarks to encourage students to be the best they can be.

Belen High School has made several additions to its career academy, including a pre-engineering program and a health-technology-based program. The academy includes nursing and emergency medi-cal technician training. The academy has career pathways in agriculture, digital media, health technology, family and con-sumer science, business and culinary arts.

Currently, there are 19 courses in the program that have dual credit with the University of New Mexico-Valencia Campus and Central New Mexico Community College in Albuquerque.

Last year, the Academic Decathlon team won the state competition and went on to compete for the national title, while last year’s team took home second place at state.

The district, the 16th largest in the state, has more than 700 employees and about 30 administrators and has implemented programs from bilingual education to com-puter-aided drafting.

Projects such as Infinity High School and the football and baseball field houses have kept Belen up to par with the other school districts in the state. The district is also completing a state-of-the-art tennis complex with eight courts

Technology is also at a premium in the Belen Consolidated School District.

The district has installed microwave towers at each of its schools to improve bandwidth speeds for students and teachers to effortlessly stream the internet. By fall,

about 1,000 new computers also will be installed at Belen’s campuses.

The high school’s Student Based Health Center provides health care and counseling services to students with the services of a full-time nurse practitioner.

High SchoolsBelen High School1619 DelgadoBelen, N.M., 87002Phone: 966-1300 Principal Jim DannerStudents: 1,270

Infinity High School221 S. Fourth St.Belen, N.M., 87002Phone: 861-3720Principal: Beverly TurleyStudents: 73

Middle SchoolBelen Middle School 314 South Fourth St,

Belen Schools — A Path to Academic Success

welcomeBelen Consolidated SchoolsSuperintendent: Dr. Patricia RaelSchool Board President: Jamie GoldbergSchool Board Members: Sam Chavez, Julian Luna, Adrian Pino, Dolores Lola QuintanaBelen Schools Administration Office: 520, N. Main St., Belen, 87002; (505) 966-1000


Belen, N.M., 87002Phone: 966-1600Principal: Buddy DillowStudents: 700

Elementary schools

Central ElementarySchool600 Picard Ave, Belen, N.M., 87002Phone: 966-1200Principal: Cheri EmbresStudents: 280

Dennis ChavezElementary School19670 N.M. 314Los Chavez, N.M., 87002Phone: 966-1800Principal: Joann CarterStudents: 430

Gil Sanchez Elementary School 362 Jarales RoadJarales, N.M., 87023

Phone: 966-1900Principal: Jennifer BrownStudents: 350 s

H.T. JaramilloCommunity School 900 Esperanza DriveBelen, N.M., 87002Phone: 966-2000Principal: Julie BenavidezStudents: 454 students

La Merced Elementary School 301 Alame LoopRio Communities, N.M.,87002Phone: 966-2100Principal: Armando ReyesStudents: 552

La Promesa Elementary School898 N.M. 304Las Nutrias, N.M., 87062Phone: 966-2400Principal: Diane VallejosStudents: 294

Rio Grande Elementary 15 East Side School RoadBelen, N.M., 87002Phone: 966-2200

Principal: DoloresGabaldonStudents: 280


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As the only charter school in Valencia County, School of Dreams Academy opened its

doors in August 2009, starting the school year at the University of New Mexico-Valencia Campus while waiting for the completion of its school building.

A few months later, the charter school moved into its new building at 1800 Main St. SE, in Los Lunas. Recently, the govern-ing board decided to expand the school with renovations to be completed in the near future

SODA is a state-funded charter school. The school began with grades seven through nine. Next year, they’ll add 10th grade, the following year 11th grade and then 12th grade.

With it’s small environment, students at SODA are known intimately, and it gives a safety and security you don’t get in the large schools.

The students say they like the new building and enjoy the benefits of the smaller classes.

“The school is creative and new. There’s more equality among students in the smaller classrooms,” says Student Council President Kailee Bryant.

She also likes the freedom to go at her own pace and learn in her own style.

Kaleb Brown, a seventh-grade student, says he enjoys the Education 2020 online classroom.

“I like the E-2020 computer learning program,” Brown said.

There are four core areas of curriculum: math, social studies, science and language arts, that are taught online. Students wear headphones to listen to instruction, keep-ing the classroom quiet for concentration. If students don’t understand a concept being taught, they can replay the sequence. Teachers are available during every class.

“The online content is more compre-hensive and thorough,” said Jennifer Noble, who teaches science to seventh-, eighth- and ninth-graders. “They’re learning how to take ownership of their education. We’re

moving toward a technology future, why not start the kids on computer?”

Tests, quizzes and homework are all online. Parents especially appreciate the

online accessibility of their children’s per-formance.

“I like that I can monitor what my son is doing,” said parent Sabrina Brown. “I can log on from home and see what he’s doing. Homework can’t get lost, either.”

Roy Goforth, the father of eighth-grader Roy Jr., said, “Parents can get online and go to their kid’s site to see their work, how they’re doing in their grades. And the smaller classes make for more one-on-one with the kids. It’s more like a family. Everybody knows everybody.”

Scheduling revolves around the E-2020 core-curriculum computer-based classes,

SODA — Dreaming of Success

welcomeSchool of Dreams AcademyGoverning council: Kenneth Griego, principal; Teresa A. Ogas, vice principal; Dorothy Y. Griego, secretary; members Janice F. Leach; Michael S. Ogas, founder; Kathy Chavez, co-founderSODA Administration Office: 1800 Main St. NE, Los Lunas, 87031; (505) 866-7632


with electives every other period, and two 40-minute electives at the end of the day. There are six electives including choir, book club, running club, open lab in any E-2020 course, math and reading tutorials, and a new digital-art program.

“If the students master this (E-2020) program, they will be well prepared for a technological future,” says Noble.

Since the school encourages students to go at their own pace, some students will graduate early, others will have concurrent college enrollment.

“It actually gives you college skills, and I want to go to college. I think you can graduate early if you can,” says seventh-grader Kyle Wheeler.

There is a community service compo-nent to the school, with an environmental focus. It involves a lot of environmental clean up, learning ecology and offers out-door learning.

Application for accreditation has been submitted.

The first year is really a self-assess-ment, and next year, the charter school will have an actual visit by an accredita-tion team.

welcomeSODA PledgeAs a student at the School

of Dreams Academy and as a global citizen, I promise I will strive to act with honesty and integrity.

I will strive to create sus-tainable prosperity worldwide. I will respect the rights and dignity of all people.

I will oppose all forms of corruption and exploitation.

And I will take responsibility for my actions.

As I hold true these prin-ciples, it is my hope that I may enjoy an honorable reputation and peace of conscience.

Continued from page 48 School of Dreams Academy Administration and Staff

Principal: Juliette CastilloGerri Bennet, Business ManagerFrances Conroy, CounselorPatricia Holm, Program AdministratorCarol Shadron, NurseMary Ann Silva, Security

FacultyRobyn Darling-Greenly, Language Arts and Social StudiesJuana Hernandez, Special EducationJenny Noble, ScienceMartin Romero, Math and SpanishMargaret Vanderheyden, Arts

Officers of the School of Dreams Academy Parent-Teacher Council

Kerra Howe, PresidentDawn Keesling, Vice-PresidentBecky Sanchez, SecretaryJanell Thomas, Treasurer

Moving forward... Proud to be one of

Valencia County’sLargest Employers



A museum for Valencia County and Belen’s historic involvement as one of the main stops on the

El Camino Real is the inspiration for the expansion of the Belen Art League Gallery and Gift shop at 509 Becker St.

El Camino Real is the trail that American Indians, traders and Spanish colonizers rou-tinely traversed from Mexico City through New Mexico to Santa Fe in the early his-tory of the state. El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro (Spanish for “The Royal Road of the Interior Land”) came through Valencia County, jumping from one side of the Rio Grande river to the other for commerce in Belen, Jarales, Tomé, Veguita, Las Nutrias, Casa Colorada and Los Chavez. All these were little villages, said Belen resident and historian Ken Gibson.

“We want to tell the story of how it affected this part of the valley,” said Gibson, who has worked with the Harvey House since 1994 on a variety of exhibits. “Belen is one of the oldest towns in the state.”

The Camino Real exhibit will include wagon wheels, buggy wheels, maps, old pictures of Valencia County residents, and stories from and about the local people dur-ing the heyday of the trail.

“Ken had been working to find space for the Camino Real Museum for some time,” said Cecilia Aragon, treasurer of the art league. “And we wanted to expand the art gallery for a summer art camp for local students.”

Collaboration between the two entities was struck.

“It’s all volunteer work down there,” said Gibson. “We have a lot of big ideas.”

“We have the people to do the work, and Ken has the ideas,” Aragon said.

At an ice cream social in the garden of the gallery last summer, Aragon, Gibson and then-Mayor Ronnie Torres discussed a gallery expansion to house the Camino Real Museum.

The gallery was enlarged by joining the building next to it, which used to house

the Camino Real exhibit until a roof leak damaged some photos, and Gibson had to remove the artifacts from the old building.

Thanks to Torres and the City Council the building is being remodeled, said Sally Nittler, president of the gallery’s board of directors.

“We were running out of room (at the art gallery). Membership was growing, and (so was) interest in our art classes,” Nittler said.

City employees did all the remodeling work to connect the two buildings, which the gallery leases from the city.

A colorful array of landscapes, people, animals, ranch scenes and modern paint-ings treats your visual appetite as you enter the Belen Art League Gallery and Gift shop.

A maze of rooms containing pottery, sculptures, weaving, rugs, jewelry, folk art, gourd art, fiber art and clothing, tin art,

gift cards, photography, oils, water colors, acrylic paintings and prints dazzle the senses. And what’s even better, most of it is for sale and can grace your home décor or person.

The Belen Art League was founded in 1956, and the gallery on Becker Avenue first opened its doors in 2003.

Membership in the Belen Art League is an annual $25 per person, or $40 for couples. Membership is for Valencia County resident artists and art support-ers. Membership includes gallery space to showcase or sell your art and a place to meet and learn from fellow artists, said Aragon.

Volunteers open the gallery from noon to 4 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. Annual art shows are held in the spring and fall. For more information call the gallery at 861-0217.

Belen Art League Gallery — An Inspiration

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Jan Pacifico’s dream of having an art gallery in Tome has evolved from a four-partner proposition into an art-

ist cooperative.“I had been thinking about opening

a studio when one day while having a hamburger at Joe and Josey Aragon’s café I asked them if they would sell the build-ing,” Pacifico recalls of the beginning of Tome Gallery. “They thought about it and decided it was time to retire.”

The building at the corner of N.M. 47 and Patricio Road had been in the Aragon family for generations. During its life it had been a grocery story with the family’s living quarters in the back, the Tome Beer Hall and finally the restaurant.

“Recently while remodeling a part of the building we found August 1928 carved in the cement,” Pacifico said. “We’re not

sure how old the original part of this build-ing is.”

Made from terrone adobe bricks, which were cut from the calishe clay of the area, the building is part of the uniqueness of the gallery.

“This building has spirit,” Pacifico said. “I love old buildings. They respond when you treat time with loving care and appre-ciate what they have given to the commu-nity through the years. My house, up the road, was a stagecoach stop at one time.”

It is appropriate that Pacifico loves the adobe buildings for she is a potter. Her first venture in the buildings was Tome Clay, which was opened in 1996. But after two years the partnership went out of business.

The building housed a coffee shop and gallery owned by Toni Edwards briefly before Pacifico decided in 2000 to make an

artist cooperative gallery out of the space.“The whole idea is to have a place that

is viable as long as we can pay our bills,” Pacifico said of the coop.

The coop members share in the every-day running of the gallery by working at the gallery, serving on committees and helping maintain the facility. Many people think the group is only potters. This is not true. There are 40 artists displaying their work in the gallery, each with an exclusive for their style and medium.

“All of our artists are juried by the member managers before displaying,” said Patricia Gallegos, one of the member man-agers.

“Many of our artists are also shown in galleries in Santa Fe, Albuquerque’s Old Town or Corrales. But, because our

Tomé Art Gallery — Painting and Pottery


overhead is less, we are able to give our patrons the quality work at a lower price,” said Pacifico.

Many people who finally stop at the gallery are amazed at the items they find, from pottery that ranges from raku to crystalline, and functional or not, to fiber weaving, traditional Hispanic straw art, punch tin, baskets, stained glass, water colors, crosses, photographs, to sterling silver jewelry, fused glass, bead work, to even bottle cap jewelry.

“Many people tell us they bring out-of-town guests here because of the diversity of work at a good value,” said Gallegos.

Each month the gallery features either an artist or a group of artists with a show. During Easter week, Santeros of the Rio Abajo have their religious art-work on display. And Tome Gallery has sponsored a gallery and studio tour each December.

“The growth of the art scene in Valencia County over the past few years has been a most welcome phenomenon,” said Pacifico. “Galleries, art organiza-tions, framing and art supply shops, antique and collectibles stores, private

studios, workshops and art classes are spring up all over our county.”

This year the members of the art scene are coming together for a week of activities entitled “Gifts from the Heart.” The event will be the first full week of December.

“We are encouraging every art-related location to have its own event during the week that will be linked together through advertisement,” Pacifico said. “We hope the community will get involved and discover the wonderful artists we have living in Valencia County.”


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It may be small in size, but what it lacks in square feet it greatly makes up for with an abundance of knowl-

edge in local art, heritage and culture. The Museum of Heritage and Arts, at

251 Main St. in Los Lunas, is a unique blend of art, history, local heritage and culture and research.

It is unlike any other museum in Valencia County in its showcase and dem-onstration of work and exhibits.

“We are striving to make the museum a repository and archive of the heritage of Valencia County in conjunction with the artistic component,” said former museum historian Patty Guggino.

The museum, which opened in March 2008, takes a very special interest in pre-serving the rich history of New Mexico and Valencia County with a genealogy center and access to records and record-ings of oral histories from community members.

“We try to collect oral histories from the elders of the area. The people whose sense of heritage and sense of place would go back the furthest,” Guggino said, add-ing that anyone who would like their story documented and recorded is always welcome and encouraged to come to the museum.

Some museums display only a perma-nent collection. The Museum of Heritage and Arts rotates exhibits a few times a year.

Since their opening, the museum has had several exhibits, including the Luna-Otero Dynasty and Civil War in New Mexico, the work of Maria Rodriguez Pope, Men and Women of Valor, Saints and Sacred Places and Through the Eyes of a Cowboy.

All of the exhibitions have a link to what is going on in Valencia County and the wider world.

“It’s really an interwoven tapestry of past, present and future events as evi-denced through material, culture, artistic endeavors, personal histories and recollec-

tions to make up all the fabric,” Guggino said.

Guggino said that the tagline “habia una vez,” meaning “once upon a time” in Spanish, encompasses what the museum is all about. She said that the museum is like an interactive, growing, living organism that has a different story to tell with each new exhibition.

“It kind of encapsulates the mystique of the very tale which is a growing and evolv-ing story. As times and conditions change, so do we, and we want to capture it all and bring it into today and tomorrow,” she said.

The Museum of Heritage and Arts is open Tuesday-Friday 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The number is (505) 352-7720

Below is the list of past exhibitions: The Luna-Otero Dynasty and Civil

War in New Mexico: emphasized the con-nection of the Lunas’ and the Oteros’ polit-ical presence in N.M. and their importance in the Constitutional Convention.

Maria Rodriguez Pope: Art from a woman’s archeological perspective.

Men and Women of Valor: Recognized contributions and military service of vet-erans from the Civil War to current day.

Saints and Sacred Places: featured local santeros who worked in a variety of medi-ums. Highlighted sacred places for people of the community.

Through the Eyes of a Cowboy: Current exhibit. Featuring the ranching heritage in N.M. through one of the best western art-ists of the state.

Seeds of Change: 500 years of Encounter and Exchange, a Smithsonian traveling exhibit.

Los Lunas Museum of Heritage and Arts

This rug is part of the Smithsonian exhibit, Seeds of Change: 500 years of Encounter and Exchange, which is featured at the Los Lunas Museum of Heritage and Arts in Los Lunas

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All Abooooooaaaaard!That might have been the

call that echoed for years toward the Harvey House, a railroad hotel and res-taurant in Belen that was part of a nation-wide chain.

Fred Harvey, owner and builder of the restaurants, entered a partnership with the railroads in 1878 to construct dining houses and lunch stands along railways throughout the western U.S.

In 1910, the Harvey House in Belen was built, one of the last of the houses to be constructed. Fred Harvey had already passed away, and the business was being run by a second generation of Harveys.

The Belen house stayed in operation until 1939. It was briefly re-opened to serve traveling soldiers during World War II, and the house served railroad employ-ees as a reading room and boarding house for railroad employees through 1972.

It’s still located along a working rail-yard, one of the busiest in the BNSF line, and the sounds of freight trains chugging past add to the ambience. A large gift shop with plenty of railroad memorabilia, his-torical books, cookbooks and other items is part of the fun.

The famous Harvey Girls, known for impeccable manners and hotel and restau-rant service, lived upstairs at the Belen stop and served as waitresses in the restaurant on the first floor.

The 1946 Judy Garland film “The Harvey Girls” is based on a woman run-ning into a group of such girls on a train trip, and the film is set in New Mexico.

The artifacts in the building now are from both the Harvey House and railroad-boarding eras, but not all of those are directly tied to either. In fact, the museum has far more historical items in stock than can be displayed due to limited funding and personnel resources.

It is the hope of docents and others involved that young people will take an interest in continuing the Harvey House projects.

The museum, operated by the Valencia County Historical Society, expanded its hours last summer to include two hours on Sundays.

The Belen Model Railroad Club, which shares the building, can currently only be accessed through a separate entrance, but the hope is to have the building one day become one continuous museum.

The railroad club currently has two rooms filled with running trains and accompanying landscape, and a third large room is where a scale model of the Belen railyards is being constructed. That project is to be completed within the next year or so.

Today, the main museum mostly uses only the front half of the first floor, which used to be the main dining room. The front area, known in the Harvey days as

the lunchroom, now serves as a rotating exhibit area used by the historical society for a different show each month.

The Harvey House is located at 104 N. First Street in downtown Belen, less than two blocks south of Reinken Avenue, and a short walk from the New Mexico Rail Runner Express commuter station.

The City of Belen owns the building and the land, and allows the historical society and the model railroad club to operate it.

The museum and model railroad exhibit are both open from 12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. from Tuesday to Saturday and from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday. The museum can be reached at (505) 861-0581.

There’s no charge to tour either side, but donations are appreciated.

Harvey House Museum — An Historic Exhibit

VALENCIA COUNTY

Lots of Restaurants • Shops • Entertainment

to choose from includingThe Museum of Heritage and Arts • 352-7720

(under the Water Tower) Main Street & Luna Avenue

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505-839-3840

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With the New Mexico Rail Runner Express in full opera-tion, opportunities for travel-

ers and commuters will be a little easier and more interesting if they choose to experience a train ride from Belen to Santa Fe.

While the first stages of the commuter train are complete, running from Belen to Santa Fe, eventually it will make its way to Taos, a Northern New Mexico pueblo.

One of the many interesting experi-ences on this route is the Women’s Cultural Corridor, a concept created by Through the Flower that depicts the works of artists such as Judy Chicago, Georgia O’Keefe, Maria Martinez and Agnes Martin.

Through the Flower is a non-profit art and educational organization that was founded in 1978 and celebrates the achieve-ments of women through art. It offers visitors a look into art, publications, films, DVD’s and videos about Judy Chicago, as well as the many volunteers who helped make her visions a reality.

Once based out of the home of Chicago and her husband, photographer Donald Woodman, in the old Belen Hotel, Through the Flower’s new building is one of the landmarks along the Women’s Cultural Corridor.

In addition to displaying the works of Chicago, Through the Flower also offers a series of programs that give the communi-ties an inside look into the world of art.

One of Chicago’s most well known pieces is “The Dinner Party,” which tells the story of 1,038 women artists and schol-ars who, until recently, were not included in the history books.

The Dinner Party was permanently housed at the Brooklyn Museum in New York on March 23, as part of the Elizabeth Sackler Center for Feminist Art.

“Everyone was happy it (The Dinner Party) was permanently housed,” said Executive Director of Through the Flower Susannah Rodee. “We’re pleased it finally has its place in art history and Judy’s vision

can be seen.”Rodee went on to say that seeing the

piece literally gave her goose bumps. “So many people had a strong emotional response to the piece.”

Now that The Dinner Party will be on permanent display, Through the Flower is launching The Dinner Party Curriculum Project that will allow students the oppor-tunity to study about the untold history of women’s contributions. Through the Flower will lead the development of the project and the art curriculum will be based on The Dinner Party.

The project will give them the chance to expand education across the country, giv-ing both teachers and students invaluable educational resources. Through the Flower will be providing materials that will help students learn about what women have accomplished, as well as educate them on

current and future women in the world. “This is something we always wanted to

do – go into education,” Rodee explained. Furthermore, Chicago’s work has been

included in the H.W. Janson’s “History of Art” textbook, which is one of the most well-known art history book in the United States.

Imelda Sisneros, of La Mirada Enterprises LLC, wrote that Chicago’s work has created such an impact in the world of feminist art. “She is an icon, and we are truly missing the boat if we don’t show proper support and pride for having Ms. Chicago in our local community.”

In addition to her art pieces, Chicago is also an author whose books have been published in domestic and foreign editions, bringing her art and her philosophy to thousands of people worldwide. She is an

Through the Flower with Judy Chicago


welcomeHarvey House Museum104 N. First St., Belen, N.M.

505-861-0581Monday-Saturday

12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Belen Art League Gallery509 Becker Ave., PO Box 432

Belen, N.M., 87002505-861-0217

Casa de Abo620 E. River Rd., Belen, N.M.

505-861-5940Tuesday-Saturday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Los Lunas Museum of Heritage and Arts

251 Main St., Los Lunas

505-352-7720Tuesday - Friday 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Tome Gallery2930 N.M. 47, Los Lunas

505-565-0556Tuesday through Sunday

10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Through the Flower107 Becker Ave., Belen, N.M.

505-864-4080Monday through Thursday

9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

UNM Valencia Art Gallery280 La Entrada, Los Lunas

505-925-8702

educator as well and spends time at uni-versities, working with students, faculty and local artists to create projects.

Chicago just released two new books: a biography – “Becoming Judy Chicago” by Gail Levin, and an updated book, “The Dinner Party.”

“This is the definitive book on The Dinner Party,” Rodee said.

Chicago’s goal of helping counter the erasure of women’s achievements through-out history is being realized, and she is a respected artist whose work defines women’s rights to freedom of expression.

The Women’s Cultural Corridor includes sites that are important to the development of women’s art starting at the Millicent Rogers Museum in Taos and including sites in Abiquiu, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Tomé and Through the Flower in Belen. Chicago said she hopes Through the Flower’s presence and plans for future expansion will have the added benefit of helping to put Belen on the map in the world of art.

For more information on Judy Chicago and Through the Flower, visit www.throughtheflower.org on the Internet.


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The historic commuter train fond-ly known as the “Doodlebug” made its way back to Belen from

Albuquerque to take up permanent resi-dence a few blocks from the Harvey House Museum.

Although a little work will need to be done to refurbish the train, legislative appropriations were awarded to move and help restore the icon so well remembered by residents in Belen.

Some of the work would have to be done by professionals to remove lead paint and asbestos from the train car before locals can work on preserving it.

Only parts of the Doodlebug have come back to New Mexico — the engine and the mail car, but not the passenger car that so many local residents recall fondly.

With stops in Los Lunas and Isleta, pas-sengers throughout the county were able to utilize this mode of transportation to get to larger cities as early as 1934.

Before coming back to New Mexico, the Doodlebug — also known as La Marranita or “little pig” — was stored in the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento.

After being in service since the 1930s, the Doodlebug was officially retired in 1968. Because other modes of transpor-tation, such as cars, were becoming the choice, train ticket sales declined and the cost of operating the passenger train rose, making it unable to compete.

What was so different about the Doodlebug compared to other passenger trains was its size.

Dr. Richard Melzer, a history professor at the University of New Mexico-Valencia Campus, the vice president of the Valencia County Historical Society and the current president of the Historical Society of New Mexico, wrote about the history of the Doodlebug for the News-Bulletin in early 2004, saying the train measured 70 feet in length, contained 22 seats and could carry as many as 44 passengers.

Melzer said residents remember riding

the Doodlebug to Albuquerque for many reasons such as to shop, dine out, attend events, for doctor visits or to attend school at the University of New Mexico, to name a few.

Belen Mayor Rudy Jaramillo remem-bers being allowed to catch the train as a young boy to go to the Duke City to see a movie and eat out with his friends.

When the Doodlebug was in its prime, the trip from Belen to Albuquerque took approximately 45 minutes and the train was scheduled for four round trips daily.

At one time, there were about 48 Doodlebugs in service in various locations in the United States. These small com-muter trains ran from Clovis to Carlsbad, Amarillo to Lubbock, Texas, and Kansas

City to Emporia, Kan., as well as between Albuquerque and Belen, Melzer wrote.

While they may have varied some in style and color, their function was the same — connecting communities. Many families of railroaders got to ride the Doodlebug at free or reduced costs, mak-ing it an easy way to get to the big city at a time when many Belenites didn’t make the trip very often.

Although the Doodlebug will never be seen running the rails, New Mexicans who remember the good old days and visitors alike will soon get the chance to relive a piece of rail car history.

Everybody has a story about the Doodlebug – like it was their own personal train.

Doodle Bug — Chugging Out of the Past

welcomeMoving InAll phone numbers are area code 505, unless otherwise shown

ElectricityPNM: Customer Service: (888) 342-5766, no Valencia County office locations.Nearest office: 414 Silver Ave. SW, AlbuquerqueOffice Hours: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. To 5 p.m.

Natural gasNew Mexico Gas CompanyCustomer Service: (888) NM-GAS-CO (888-664-2726), Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., or customerservice(at)nmgco.com.Los Lunas office: 2431 Main St. SE, near First Community Bank in Albertson’s shopping center, hours Monday-Thurs-day, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Fridays 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Telephone serviceQwestNew service: (800) 475-7526. Billing and general customer service: (800) 491-0118. Tech support/24-hour repair: (877) 348-9007.

WaterBelen: City Hall, 100 S. Main, 864-8221.Los Lunas: 660 Main St. SW, 839-3841. Rio Communities, Meadow Lake, Pasitos del Cielo, Las Maravillas, Cypress Gardens: New Mexico Water Service, 401 Horner, Rio Com-munities, 864-2118.

Cable TVComcast: 344-0690, 330 Main St. NW, Los Lunas.

Put on your hiking boots, grab your binoculars, and enjoy nature at the

Whitf eld Wildlife Conservation Area

• Watch the birds, over 160 species identified • Keep an eye open for coyotes, raccoons, skunks, prairie dogs, frogs, turtles, and other wildlife• Identify native wildflowers, shrubs, and trees• Volunteer indoors or outdoors• Bring the kids• Bring the camera• Leave no footprints

Valencia Soil and Water Conservation District and Friends of the Whitfield Wildlife Conservation Area

welcome you2424 Highway 47, Belen, NM

Contact 505-864-8914 for hourswww.whitfieldwildlife.org



Rodeo is the official state sport of Wyoming and Texas. A strong case could be made for rodeo

being the state sport of New Mexico as well, as cowgirls and cowboys all through Valencia County, and throughout the state, maintain a craft that dates back hundreds of years.

Cattle ranching has deep roots in the Southwest, especially in Valencia County, and though many of today’s rodeo athletes don’t make a living herding livestock, it still takes a special kind of individual to have the grit and persistence to excel at rodeo events.

Including team roping, barrel racing and mutton busting, the county has dozens of regular and special events each year. They range in size from informal gatherings on private land to large statewide events, but the competitive nature of Valencia County can always be found in an arena.

The Valencia County Fairgrounds has a two-arena complex in Belen where the County Fair is held each year, and the Rio Abajo Days celebration in the early fall.

Competitive rodeos are held at these events and throughout the year, ranging from high school and youth events to team roping competitions. The two arenas are part of a complex that includes pavilions, the Sheriff’s Posse Hall, a 4-H building and a large grandstand alongside the main arena.

The Bosque Farms Rodeo Association, a non-profit organization that formed in the mid-1960s, is one of the larger family-oriented rodeo organizations in the county, and it operates an arena in the Village of Bosque Farms.

The all-volunteer association helps wel-come several annual and regular events to the arena, and many residents of the equine-friendly community practice regu-larly at the facility before heading off to state and national competitions.

Rick Babcock, chairman of the BFRA, said money is definitely a factor in how rodeo participants make choices.

“Rodeo associations in the Southwest might have a lot of members, but not ones with a lot of discretionary income,” said Babcock. “This isn’t high-end Long Island polo here. There are some dressage compe-titions, and rodeo can cost a lot, but these are working people who do the sport here.”

The facility defrays costs through vig-orous support from local businesses and individuals, and through renting out the arena and the adjacent Cowboy Hall facil-ity for events.

The Bosque Farms arena hosts weekly barrel racing and frequently hosts state-wide competitions for youth and adults. The arena and Cowboy Hall are also host to non-rodeo events that include the Bosque Farms Community Fair, one of the oldest in the nation of its type, and to other

types of 4-H and dressage and competitive animal shows.

There are also numerous facilities throughout the county that have rodeo arenas. Many of these spots are great ven-ues for small local competitions such as team roping events. These gatherings bond neighbors and help local athletes hone their rodeo tactics, and many Valencia County residents have as high a skill level as oth-ers with far more involvement in the sport.

Some of the youth who competed local-ly in rodeo have gone on to qualify for, and compete, in state and national competi-tions. A few have even earned rodeo schol-arships to colleges such as New Mexico State University, helping put the county on the map in the rodeo community in a high-visibility way.

Rodeo — A Southwest Experience



As one of the oldest communi-ties in Valencia County, Isleta Pueblo has made the transition

into the 21st century while still protecting and nurturing its traditions. Originally established around the 1300s, the name Isleta comes from the Spanish language and means “Little Island.”

Hotel and Convention CenterWhether you are here for business or

pleasure, the Isleta Hotel and Convention Center offers everything a guest could ask for—breathtaking rooms with top-of-the-line amenities, convenient onsite services and shops.

The business traveler will find a state-of-the art convention center, business ser-vices center and in-room wireless Internet access. The professional staff will help ensure that your stay runs smoothly and professionally.

Each guest room contains luxury lin-ens, a large flat-screen television, an iPod docking station, alarm clock and wireless Internet access.

From a corporate board meeting to a dream wedding, the Isleta Hotel and Convention Center offers luxurious accom-modations and all the amenities.

With over 30,000 square feet of superb meetings facilities and seven individual meeting rooms configurable to accommo-date groups of any size, the resort offers services such as catering, event manage-ment, transportation and technology man-agement for your next important event.

GamingRight next door to the luxury hotel,

Vegas-style gaming can be found at Isleta’s 300,000 square-foot plus casino offering slots, table games, bingo and poker.

If you are looking for a more intimate gaming space, the Palace West Casino is worth checking out. Open daily from 8 a.m.-12 p.m. the non-smoking facility features your favorite slot and video games with a self-serve drink and snack station.

The Palace West Casino is only minutes away from Isleta Casino and Resort at the Y intersection of Old Coors and Isleta Rd.

Both casinos honor the free Isleta Rewards Card so you can earn valuable rewards based on slot and table games play, such as cash back, complimentary rooms, show tickets and invitations to promotions and special events.

Relax and enjoyThe resort offers much more than just

the thrill of gaming. The Spa at Isleta offers luxurious hydration-based treat-ments that include rejuvenating facials, energizing body treatments and soothing massages that employ both classic and modern techniques.

You can also receive a wide range of

beauty treatments, from hair to nails to permanent cosmetics and waxing.

The Spa also features luxurious treat-ment rooms, an outdoor therapeutic hot tub, private cabanas, amenity-filled locker rooms and a juice bar and is open 9 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m.- 6 p.m. on Sunday.

After all that relaxation, feel free to visit one of the resort’s many restaurants. From prime rib and lobster at the TIWA Steakhouse to a green chile cheeseburger at the Chili Ristra Deli, Isleta has some-thing for all appetites.

St. Augustine Church Under the original name of St. Anthony,

Isleta Pueblo — Old and New Come Together


this church was established in 1613. It is one of the oldest mission churches in the United States. In 1692, De Vargas found its ruins except for the nave of the church, 12 years after the Pueblo Indian Revolt. The walls are original, upon which the church was rebuilt in 1716 and renamed St. Augustine.

One of the oldest Spanish missions in New Mexico, St. Augustine is located in the center of the town and fronting upon a large public plaza. The church itself is of adobe, 110 feet by 25 feet in the inside, with walls four feet in thickness.

St. Augustine is open daily, and the people of Isleta are still active in their community, holding regular worship services and parish events.

Fun featuresThere are two gorgeous year-round lakes that are stocked with

fish — channel catfish in the spring and summer, and rainbow trout in the fall and winter.

More conveniences include a fish cleaning station, restroom facilities at both lakes, 44 shelters, a volleyball court and a con-venience store where you can pick up groceries, drinks, baits, tackle, fishing accessories and fishing licenses and permits.

Isleta Eagle is one of the Southwest’s premiere, award-win-ning golf destinations, featuring a beautifully manicured 27-hole course with three 9-hole tracts designed around and named after their primary topographic feature — The Lakes Nine, Arroyo Nine, and Mesa Nine.




It’s an hour before opening at the Luna Mansion, and it is a hive of activity upstairs and down. Servers

in crisp white shirts and neat black ties and bow ties make the final preparations before the restaurant opens for business.

The slightly annoying whine of a mod-ern vacuum cleaner is sharply at odds with the period decor of the house. Plaster walls rise from hardwood floors, crystal chan-deliers are lit with flickering faux candles, velvet upholstered divans offer a comfort-able spot to recline and drink in the view of the cottonwoods that surround the historic building.

As the clock ticks down to the arrival of the first customer, the staff seems to get more relaxed with just a hint of excitement. There is little if any tension, and the atmo-sphere is drama free. The house seems to take a slight breath in and then flings itself open, welcoming in the community like a long-lost family member.

And that is just what the Torres family hoped for. “This really is for the communi-ty,” Johnnah Torres said. In January, 2009, the Torres family made the decision to purchase the historic home cum restaurant and restore it to its former glory.

Owned by Earl Whittemore for 32 years, the Southern style home of the Otero-Luna family was a premier steak house in its day as well as the site of the penning of the New Mexico Constitution.

Just a month after Whittemore announced the property was for sale, Hortencia and Pete Teofilo Torres, along with daughters Johnnah Torres and Joell Torres and son Peter Japhen Torres, pur-chased the mansion.

After six months of intense work, the Luna Mansion quietly opened for business in July 2009, with a top to bottom, inside and out restoration and rehabilitation.

Between January and July, the family took on the big details of renovating the house.

“We basically started with the roof,” Hortencia said. “Pete spent two days in the

crawl space under the house working on the duct work.”

While under there, Pete said he found duct work that wasn’t attached to anything anymore and registers full of dirt.

With the duct work back in place, a brand new heating system and refrigerated air unit was installed.

And there was new plumbing work and

a complete redo on the kitchen.As work progressed on the infrastruc-

ture of the approximately 10,000-square-foot house, the family also worked on the interior. The wall coverings were com-pletely redone, as well as the curtains, rugs and tile.

The Luna Mansion — Fine Dining and History


Local painter Ronnie Baker and his crew spent 12 weeks in the house redoing just about every room.

“He hand-painted the stripes in the entry hall,” Pete says, pointing to subtle tone-on-tone work that looks machine precise.

Many meetings were held, picking out wallpaper patterns and paint colors to special order, Johnnah said. And one at a time, every upholstered antique in the house was redone by Veguita upholstery expert Floyd Chavez.

“He knew what to do,” Hortencia said. “He has done them over and over during the years.”

In the intimate space next to the swing-ing doors that lead into the inner sanc-tum of the kitchen is the Alvarado bar, named so because the bar stools were rescued from the old Alvarado Hotel in Albuquerque.

The tangy scent of freshly sliced lem-ons bites the nose as guests approach the bar, which is backed by an enormous ice box that was once in the Casa Colorada store.

“It’s actually a working piece,”

Hortencia said. “We took all the hardware off and stripped it back to the original wood.”

Much of the work accomplished was done with the help of family and close friends, she said.

And some of the decisions had to be put to a vote. If there was dissension in the ranks, the five would take a vote.

“If you lost, it was over. Then you had to start politicking for the next time,” Pete said.

Featured throughout the home are framed pictures of the Otero and Luna families and their prestigious visitors, including Theodore Roosevelt himself. The Valentino room, named for the red marble fireplace that was part of Rudolph Valentino’s estate, features large paintings done by Josephita Manderfield-Otero, the matriarch of one of Los Lunas’ founding families.

And at the top of the gently curving staircase that leads to the second floor is Pepe’s rocker. Said to still carry the spirit of Josephita and rock from time to time, the rocker spent the last several years out of the mansion at the request of the prior tenants.

Now it, along with a portrait of Josephita, holds a place of pride at the top of the stairs, welcoming guests into the appropriately named Spirit Lounge. The second floor bar features two small din-ing rooms, filled with comfortably stuffed chairs and sofas as well as an array of small dining tables.

Another thing the family has kept “in house” are their employees. The 35 to 40 people working in the restaurant are all county locals.

“We didn’t do any advertising in the Albuquerque Journal,” Johnnah said. “We have people from Belen, Los Lunas, even as far away as Bosque working with us.”

Included in that group is head chef Thomas Shook. With 14 years in the busi-ness, Shook says he is doing what he loves to do and puts his heart into the profession.

The Luna Mansion, located at 110 Main Street in Los Lunas, is open from 5 to 9 p.m., Tuesday through Sunday. The Spirit Lounge is open from 3:30 to 9:30 p.m.

Parties of eight or more are asked to call and make reservations. For informa-tion, or to make a reservation, call 865-7333 or go to www.lunamansion.com.

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The Belen rail yard is alive with sounds — the chuff of engines slowing, the bray of the horns

and the clash of box cars. Directly next door to the hustle and bustle of the freight trains is the Harvey House Museum, a building that is used to the sounds of the trains both inside and out.

As the thunder of a freight train heading north fades, a quieter clickety-clack drifts out out the museum’s open windows.

Sprawled over 20 feet by 39 feet in the main display space of the former rail-road boarding house is the Belen Model Railroad Club’s annual fall exhibit. There is a roundhouse, sidings with boxcars of coal, spare parts, fueling tanks and enough teeny, tiny people to populate a village. The exhibit features modules from most of the 28 members of the club. They connect to form a continuous loop around the room as freight trains and the Rail Runner sweep past farm houses, hotels and hayrides.

The club, which began in 1995, was given a permanent room in the museum in 1998 to display and run their trains, said member Gary Oudkirk. Since then, the museum provided a second room to expand the layout.

The trains in the exhibit, and the ones most of the club members prefer, are HO scale. Model trains come in O, which is the largest, HO (or half of O) and N scale, the smallest.

Oudkirk became interested in model trains in 1968 while living in Reno, Nev., when his roommate’s father gave him a set of N-scale trains.

“I went down to the local hobby shop and got to talking to the guys there,” he said. “They talked me into doing HO, since it was more prevalent.”

He has been in Belen for five years, and this month will mark his fifth anniversary with the club. In addition to the models, he said the members make all their own backgrounds.

For anyone interested in putting togeth-er a model train set of their own, Oudkirk

said the best way to begin is to get a full sheet of plywood.

“Then go to Trains West or Wig-Wag Trains in Albuquerque, and buy a book on getting started on HO scale trains,” he said. Locally, model train items can be purchased at the bicycle shop at the Mid Valley Air Park.

There are also books on track layouts. Oudkirk recommends starting with a circle and adding complexities like switching, sidings and buildings later.

“If you have a 7- or 8-year old who is just in love with trains, start out with some track planning books,” Oudkirk said. “They will help you figure out what to buy and how to set up.”

Things have changed since Oudkirk got his first trains.

“They just keep making them better,” he said. “Better motors and better electri-cal. The first electric trains you had to plug into the wall and wire in the tracks.”

Now tracks come pre-wired and ready to snap together.

Oudkirk said the best part of being

in the club is the camaraderie with other members.

“I have met so many people here I’ve become good friends with,” he said. “I wouldn’t know five people if I hadn’t joined.”

Rich Smith joined the club last spring after retiring and moving to Belen from Michigan.

“My wife said I needed a retirement hobby,” he said. “We were traveling to Texas and going through Oklahoma we saw the mile-long trains.”

With his interest piqued once again, Smith decided to give model trains another try.

But the biggest reason to take up the hobby, according to Jim Mustakas, is for the fun of it.

“Everybody has a talent — electrical, track layout, scenery. This all comes from imagination,” he said. “You will never see the same thing.”

Anyone interested in the club can call president George Winters at 379-7243 or secretary Jim McKelvey at 881-9795.

Belen Model Railroad Club — A Cozy Group of Friends


Transportation in Valencia CountyBelen Alexander Municipal Airport

The Alexander Municipal Airport is located on the mesa west of Belen, about 30 miles from Albuquerque and two miles from Interstate 25.

A new one-mile long crosswind run-way is planned within the next few years, and the project will be in the design phase within the next year.

The airport is home to over 50 aircraft, a skydive club, a propeller overhaul facil-ity, aerial photographer and other small aviation businesses.

The Albuquerque SunportAlbuquerque’s international airport

is an easy connection to get anywhere around the world.

Served by eight carriers: American, U.S. Airways, Continental, Delta, Frontier, Great Lakes, New Mexico, Southwest and

United.Freight service is provided by DHL

Express, Federal Express and the United Parcel Service.

Freeways Belen has three convenient freeway

entrances onto Interstate 25, the major north-south route in the state. An easy 30 miles north to Interstate 40, the major east-west roadway in New Mexico.

The northern exit leads to N.M. 314 and Main Street, going past the city’s Walmart Supercenter and Valencia County Fairgrounds.

The middle exit leads motorists onto historic Camino del Llano past Belen Meadows Health Care and Rehabilitation Center and onto Main Street.

The southern exit leads motorists directly onto Main Street and to the busi-nesses on the city’s south side.

TrainsBelen is a longtime major hub in the

BNSF Railroad system. While it’s mainly a fueling facility, Belen serves as the oper-ating division headquarters for the railroad in New Mexico and Arizona.

About 100 trains run through Belen each day in an occupation that employs about 1,500 people statewide.

Rail RunnerThe New Mexico Rail Runner Express

was introduced in 2006 and has recently expanded its service as far north as Santa Fe.

The commuter train recently reached its 2,000,000 rider earlier this year.

The Belen station is located at Reinken Avenue and Wisconsin Street. The Los Lunas station is located at 751 Juan Perea Road, next to the Los Lunas Transportation Center.

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At age 17, Phil Shaw of Tierra Grande already has a sprawling network of contacts around the

world.Shaw isn’t your typical teenager. He’s

one of many amateur radio operators, also known as hams, who participated in the National Field Day for Amateur Radio in June.

As a member of the Valencia County Amateur Radio Association, Shaw, and dozens of other people, participated in the annual event at Willie Chavez State Park in Belen. Amateur radio stations are set up on the last Saturday in June by operators across the world to test their general emer-gency preparedness skills.

Operators spend 24 hours, from Saturday noon to Sunday noon, making contacts and honing their skills in operat-ing an emergency station.

Shaw, who was recently named Young Ham of the Year by the American Radio Relay League, became a member of the local organization when he was only 13.

He was nominated by two members of the local group who recognized his dedication to the field and his willingness to help others learn what amateur radio is all about.

Shaw said he has been promoting the hobby at several events during the year, including the Kids Roundup.

“I’ll help set up stations, which are open for kids to drop in and make contacts, and give them information about ham radio,” he said.

Shaw became interested in amateur radio thanks to his mother, who saw an article in the newspaper about a workshop given by the Valencia County Amateur Radio Association.

“Ralph Clark (a VCARA member) helped me out a lot, and gave me a lot of opportunities to improve my own experi-ence and help others,” he said.

Shaw said the furthest he’s been able to make contact was in northern Japan.

Clark, whose call sign is NM54C, has

been a member of VCARA for 20 years. He said he had always been interested, but it was his daughter, Ginger Eldridge (KC5MTI), who pushed him to finally get involved.

Clark and Eldridge are not the only ham radio operators in the family. Eldridge’s son, 9-year-old Justin (W8JME), has also become involved in the hobby and spent the night with his grandfather at the field day over the weekend.

There are more than 70,000 ham radio operators in the United States and about 5,600 in New Mexico.

While many amateur radio operators work on practicing their emergency skills, others use ham radio as purely entertain-ment. Paul Ridley of Pueblitos has been an operator for 33 years and a member of the VCARA for about 14.

For Ridley, ham radio is a way to make contacts around the world. To date, Ridley has contacted nearly every country in the world — all except one.

“It’s taken me about 22 years,” Ridley

said. “We, the amateur radio operators, use a different criteria to add up countries than the United Nations. We have more countries, and according to our criteria, they may be just a little island out in the Pacific.”

In all, Ridley has contacted 335 coun-tries around the world. He is still waiting, very patiently, for that elusive radio opera-tor in Mount Athos, a monastery in the middle of Rome.

“There’s only one ham radio operator there and his name is Monk Apollo, and he’s very contrary and sometimes he’ll get on the air and sometimes he won’t,” Ridley said. “I’m inclined to call him ‘The mad monk of Mount Athos,’ because he’s so elusive.”

Ridley said he’s been trying to contact Monk Apollo for about two years, but with the time difference, it’s a bit difficult.

“It’s just a lot of fun,” Ridley said. “I’m hoping that none of these guys get him before I do. It would ruin the whole thing for a career guy like me.”

Ham Radio — Another Way to Communicate

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A smoky aroma consumed the air and a steady cracking sound of cooking meat could be heard

all around as Valencia County residents kicked off the 2009 Valencia County Hispano Chamber of Commerce Matanza at the Valencia County Fairgrounds.

The event, in its 10th year, drew about 8,000 people.

About 25 teams strutted their stuff and competed for the best matanza dishes in contests that included serving up chichar-rones, carne adovada and liver plates to garner the attention of judges.

One team, the Valencia County Consulting Group, came up with a cheer to egg their competitors on as the squad cooked fan favorites such as carne ado-vada and green chile stew.

“We came up with ‘Two, four, six, eight, whose pig do you appreciate,’” said Maria Marez, whose son, Paul, came up with the idea of green chile stew for the contest. “The chant makes the team better and better as the day goes on.”

The competition extended beyond rally cries, and some judges said they were impressed with what landed on their table in the matanza’s five contests. One judge said contestants went so far as to decorate the Styrofoam plates to stand out from the other teams.

“It’s really interesting,” said matanza judge Leonard Perea of Tomé. “One team put teriyaki sauce to spice up their liver dish.”

Another judge, Shirley Gallegos, sam-pled tortillas and biscochitos, and said presentation always should take a back seat to good, traditional taste. She said she pays attention to texture, and tastes every item at least three times before making a decision.

“Some people try and pretty up their plates,” Gallegos said. “But taste is always No. 1.”

But taste isn’t something that happens accidently.

Prem Gabaldon arrived at the fair-

grounds in the early morning hours to make the fixings for the Rio Grande Financial team.

“I have been cooking since 5 a.m.,” Gabaldon said. “I had the fire going and

ready to go.”Gabaldon, an Albuquerque resident,

said he built a special grill to tote from matanza to matanza throughout the year,

Hispano Matanza — All You Can Eat


and said friends and neighbors always ask when his next matanza is going to take place.

“I don’t know how many pounds of potatoes I have cooked,” Gabaldon said. “I cook all that stuff before I get the meat. I don’t get a rest.”

But most that attended this matanza appreciated the efforts of Gabaldon and others who cooked for the length of the day.

Victor Zapien, 22, of Albuquerque, said the event was his first, but probably wouldn’t be his last because of the food and the friendly atmosphere.

“It’s good,” Zapien said. “You pay one price and you can eat all day.”

Vince Martinez agreed with Zapien. Martinez said he tried the carnitas and

beans early on, and planned to try much more as the event wound down.

“I came here to try it out,” Martinez said. “My brother, Mike, told me about it. We are making our rounds.”

But for most, this matanza repre-sented a tradition in Valencia County and New Mexico. Matanzas are a time for family and friends to get together and

share laughs and old stories about one another.

“It’s a chance to see family and friends,” Gabaldon said. “I know most

of the people running around here. But I have been doing this since I was a young kid. My father and grandfather did it. Now, I am doing it. It’s part of my roots.”


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Half-page 3-18-10:Layout 1 3/19/10 9:19 AM Page 1



For 90 years, three generations of the Cordova family have operated a flour mill in Jarales.

Jose D. Cordova, rancher and owner of the Jarales Trading Post, built the flour mill in 1914 when he realized his neighbors needed a closer place to take their wheat to be ground into flour.

Prior to the mill being built, farmers had to take their wheat to Belen, Socorro or even all the way to Albuquerque.

Arturo Cordova, son of Jose and Josefita Lopez Cordova, took over operation of the mill in 1933 after it was rebuilt after a fire. He ran the mill until 1980.

Arturo ground wheat and produced flour under the Royal Crust Flour label until the 1970s.

After his death in 1983, the mill stood idle until his son, Jose D. Cordova II, returned to Jarales and restored the build-ing and opened Valencia Flour Mill.

A lot of families in the Middle Rio Grande Valley remember bringing their wheat to the mill. Most remember coming with their fathers when they were children.

Jose D. Cordova II, son of Arturo and Viviana Sanchez Cordova, brought the mill back to life in 1988. Cordova and his wife, Kathy, are among the few micro-millers in New Mexico.

When Jose worked in the mill as a young man, he never imagined he would continue the family business.

But after earning a degree in mill-ing technology from Kansas State University and working for 3M Products in Minnesota, Cordova returned to restore the mill to modern food manufacturing license standards.

“We became interested in old mills while living in Minnesota,” he said. “Mills are a dying business. At the turn of the cen-tury, every little town had a mill. Today, there are only about 200 across the nation.”

It took the Cordovas a year-and-a-half to restore the original equipment for opera-tion. The 20th Century Mill equipment is unique because it is driven by belts turning

ball-bearing drive shafts rather than a gear system.

When Cordova was restoring the equip-ment, he realized that it was strictly an American invention and still better than some modern equipment that relied on gears.

“Just reading the 20th Century Mill catalogue is a stroll through history. The catalogue is a piece of art with its illustra-tions and descriptions,” said Kathy, who has a journalism degree.

Cordova runs the mill himself with the help of high school students in packaging the product. They process 50,000 pounds of wheat each year. The wheat comes from the Clovis area and from the Navajo farm-ing operation in the Four Corners area.

But since the Valencia Flour Mill can not compete with Gold Medal Mills that produces the flour used in most house-

holds, the Cordovas have worked to create a niche market.

“We have developed a sopapilla mix that is as healthy as possible by reducing the salt by using a light salt, and by using a high-quality monounsaturated oil,” said Kathy of the mix that an area medical doctor, who has a diabetic child, helped develop. “We use sunflower oil that is 80 percent monounsaturated compared to 62 percent in canola oil.”

Valencia Flour Mill sells its sopapilla mix retail at the mill, and to restaurants across the state.

“We repackaged our wholesale bags to 25-pound size when we learned the women in the kitchens had trouble lifting the 50-pound bags,” Cordova said.

For more information about the mix, the Cordovas may be reached at 864-0305.

Valencia Flour Mill — A Family Business

Taste-test these local restaurants for a variety of great food.

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owners

221 South Main (F&E Plaza)Belen, NM 87002

864-0217

Mon-Fri 7am-3pmSat-Sun 7am-1pm

Carry Out Available

Frances’restaurantMexican & aMerican Food

908 S. Main StreetBelen, New Mexico

Phone: 864-0425Open 7 days a week

Tuesday-Saturday 6am-6pm

Sunday & Monday 6am-2pm(Serving Menudo all day)

• Pay at the pump! • Drive Thru Car Wash• Fast, Friendly Drive Thru• Dine inside & try a frosty mug of ice cold root beer off the tap!

Baca's

1304 South Main • Belen, NM

(505) 864-4723

HOT DEALS!



It was a field of dreams — classic red-and-white 1957 Chevy dreams, amazing purple glow-neon-in-the-

sunlight dreams. There were dreams of Camaros lost and found, of T-bird convert-ibles with their porthole side windows, of a shiny red 1930 Cadillac with a rumble seat and a valise that serves as a trunk.

You can hear the talk. Dad had a car like this and always regretted trading it in. This muscle car was the same model as someone’s first vehicle.

The folks whose dreams had come true were ensconced in lawn chairs, big umbrellas holding off the sun. They came with chiller cups and plans to buy roasted ears of corn and a burger come noon, if they could wait that long.

The annual Summerfest had brought together two types of dreamers — those who looked longingly and those whose fantasies had come true.

Abie Sanchez of Rio Rancho was look-ing at his dream — a ‘96 Z28 Chevy with a satin red finish that will someday be handed down, a legacy on wheels, to his son, Jonathan, 9.

He’s owned the car for three years because “Z28s run deep in my family. My dad and, I think, his dad, owned them, and I will give this one to my son.”

Down the way a bit, Marvin Wilson of Albuquerque feels the same way about his 1971 X28 Camaro, a car he’s owned for five years. It sparkles.

“My wife says I keep the car cleaner than I keep me,” he says.

“It’s name is The Beast. When I bought the car, my daughter said, ‘Dad, that car’s a sexy beast,’ and it’s been The Beast ever since.”

Alan Skinner and his daughter Brittany, 13, attended Summerfest with other mem-bers of the Land of Enchantment GTO Club.

His vehicle, a 2006 cyclone gray Pontiac GTO, is historic. “It’s the newest one out and the last to be made,” he said. Pontiacs are no more.

No one passes by Lil’ John Harvey’s 1963 Thunderbird. No one. The color is called kandy royal amethyst, but it says glowing neon purple in the very nicest way.

Harvey, a Los Lunas resident who owns Lil John’s Kustom Studio, said the vehicle

was “a decent car but pretty rough when I started messing with it.”

He’d seen the color before and starting mixing paints and came up with exactly what he wanted.

He’s always liked T-birds. When he was a kid in the ‘60s his father worked for a Ford dealership and brought home literature and sales brochures that Harvey would study.

So this car has “kind of fulfilled a child-hood dream,” he said. He also owns a ‘58 Corvette, a ‘36 Ford, a ‘55 Crown Victoria and a ‘57 Lincoln.

Quite a few T-birds showed up for the 2009 event. Bill Verant, who has attended this show every year, brought his ‘55 and ‘56 models. His 1956 Ford Mainline two-

Summerfest — Yesterday on Wheels

welcomeSummerfestWhat: Cars. cars, cars — classic auto-mobiles, Model T Fords, hot rods — you name it, if it’s on wheels.When: June 12-13, 2010Where: Los Lunas Sports Plex, N.M. 314 and Morris Road


door sedan has only 31,000 miles on it and comes with a classic story.

“It was owned by a little old lady — she wasn’t from Pasadena — and stayed in a garage for most of its life. She passed 10 years ago, and the car went to her niece who sold it to me,” Verant says. The Berkshire green vehicle, because it is an unrestored original, is considered a “true survivor.”

Don Pacheco of Bosque Farms knows about dreams, too. The cancer he’s been fighting has been eased by his love of the 1957 matador red Chevy BelAir that he’s driven for five or six years.

“My dad has known this car since he was a young boy,” his daughter,Leah, said. “He remembered it, and he went back to Colorado and asked if it had been sold.”

The 1957 is the classic, the vehicle most people think about when they talk about old cars.

Wife Dolores says Don will “pull out a dust rag and say ‘I found a spot over here,’” but that she knows he just loves to polish it.

After all, it’s his dream, sitting there in mint condition in steel and glass.


Garden Gate Day Spa and Salon gardengatespa.com 505·865·8813

Selected by Day Spa Magazine as the

2010 Top Green Spa

Day-cation, a day at the Spa can change your life

massages, facials, skin care, pedicures, manicures, foot rituals, mineral pool with underwater music, hot tubs,

steam rooms, aromatherapy, sauna, and poolside dining,

Specializing in fresh, herbed, seasoned

rotisserie chickens, garden fresh salads, pot

pies, hand kneaded breads and home made

desserts

Customized meals available to make weekly planning

easy and convenient

take out, picnic-in, catering, or join us in our new café dining area (visit us at the Los Lunas Farmer’s Market on Tuesdays)

Green House Café and Bakery 5 Thomas Road, Los Lunas, NM 505·866·1937 nmagelessliving.com

Chic Chickens for Cool People



Valencia County Through the Lens

Quality Matters Here!Duke City Redi-Mex is proud to be a part of a growing Valencia County by

supplying quality concrete and aggregate to Los Lunas, Belen and beyond.

- Supplying concrete from a state of the art concrete plant convenientlylocated on Highway 6 just west of Los Lunas.

- Locally owned and operated keeping your money in your community.

- A small business ready to grow with Valencia County.

- Providing the best QUALITY products available along with the BEST associated service.

WWW.DUKECITYREDIMIX.COM

877-5777