Welcome to Valencia County: 2013-14 Official Visitors Guide

ountyVCalencia

Welcome to

2013-14

News-BulletinVALENCIA COUNTY

Valencia County’s premier guide for newcomers & visitors

Belen, New MexicoReaching for the Stars!Community

Events

History

Memorial

LandmarkCity of Belén

100 Main St, Belen, NM505-864-8221

www.belen-nm.govMayor, Rudy Jaramillo

Councilors, Wayne Gallegos,Mary Aragon, Jerah Cordova,

David CarterCity Manager, Lucy Baca

Greater Belén Chamber of Commerce

& Visitors Center712 Dalies Ave.

Belén, NM 87002505-864-8091

www.belenchamber.org Photos by Lenore G. Peña

878819_08001

8.25x10

4c Financial options for every phase of your life

wellsfargo.com

All loans are subject to application, credit qualification, and income verification.© 2013 Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. All rights reserved. Member FDIC. (878819_08001)

Whether you want to save for the future, secure a personal loan, utilize exclusive online and telephone banking services, or enjoy the convenience of our ATMs and many locations, we are here for you. Call, click, or stop by and talk with a banker.

Belen • 101 S. Main St. • 505-864-5788Bosque Farms • 970 Bosque Farms Blvd. • 505-869-2316Los Lunas • 1027 Main St. • 505-248-9560

878819_08001 8.25x10 4c.indd 1 3/28/13 12:03 PM

4 Welcome to Valencia County News-BulletinVALENCIA COUNTY

It is a publication of theValencia County News-Bulletin.

The News-Bulletin is a publicationof Number Nine Media, Inc.

See the News-Bulletin’s website at

www.news-bulletin.com.Contact us by email at

[email protected].

Mailing address:P.O. Box 25, Belen, N.M., 87002.

Telephone number:(505) 864-4472

The Valencia County News-Bulletinis published weekly on Thursday.

Subscription rates are, in Valencia County, two years, $70;

one year, $42; Elsewhere: two years, $84;

one year, $51

On the cover

Designed by Mario LaraValencia County has many historic and cultural

landmarks, including Tomé Hill, which is pictured on the cover of this year’s

Visitors Guide. Thousands of faithful climb the hill every Good Friday for many different reasons. The three cross atop the hill were erected

nearly 60 years ago.

A magical place to be and visit ............................... 6

A time line of where we’ve been ............................. 8

Belen is proud of its heritage ................................10

Living in and visiting “The Farm” .........................14

Los Lunas holds onto its rural charm ...................16

Peralta is a place of agriculture ............................18

Valencia County is enchanting ..............................20

Calender of Events in Valencia County .................22

Our culture, our language .....................................24

Economic Development in Valencia County ..........26

It’s an artist destination ........................................28

Art galleries in Valencia County ...........................30

The mystifying Mystery Stone ..............................32

History aboard the Doodlebug ..............................34

Transportation in Valencia County .......................36

Historic Harvey House Museum ...........................38

Chile: The food of the peopl ..................................40

Enjoying our Farmers Markets .............................42

Striving for excellence in Belen Schools ...............44

Enthusiasm for education in Los Lunas Schools ..46

School of Dreams Academy is making waves .......48

UNM-VC: Higher education at its best ..................50

Tomé Hill: A place of faith and hope .....................52

Moving in ...............................................................55

Birding is a way of life at Whitfield .......................56

Matanza: Food for the soul ...................................58

BNSF: The pulse of the community ......................60

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You’ve heard the expression — it’s high praise. Folks use it when they want to say something to

epitomize a concept that it literally defines. We think that way, too.

That’s why when we think of words such as “wonderful,” “heritage,” “artistic,” and, perhaps, most of all, “home,” we say that you could look them up in the dictionary and find a picture of Valencia County there.

And what a picture it would be — the lush, green Rio Grande Valley with the purple Manzano Mountains to the east and the sepia tones of the mesas and hills to the west.

We see spectacular sunsets, piñon burn-ing in a kiva fireplace, the gentle curves of adobe homes, churches where centuries of worshippers have gathered, cottonwood trees, fields of sunflowers and sweet-smell-ing alfalfa, red chile ristras hanging from houses to dry.

And we see faces. We see people with smiles, welcoming us, too.

We see them at work and at play, learn-ing at school and sharing golden days at senior centers.

We see the growing community of artists whose work range from the traditional carving of saints for worship to the cre-ation of pottery for everyday use.

We see scientists and teachers, priests and police, homemakers and farmers. We see life.

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 beautiful here.

Spring is a magical time in the middle Rio Grande Valley. The trees blossom quickly here, starting with a haze of green that at first seems almost imaginary.

March winds are intense in most parts of the county, but in New Mexico, they can be fierce, blowing dust across the beautiful mesas and desert landscape.

The 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.

Summer days are long enough to give you time to wander around just looking. While the days are hot, the nights are refreshingly cool, making sleep a pleasant experience by just cracking the window.

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

Winter is the time when the snowbirds arrive. They find the weather pleasant — sometimes you can go out without even wearing a coat. Yes, it does snow, but that’s only a matter of an inch or two, likely clearing off by the afternoon.

The smell of piñon fires perfume the air as people gather around making their tradi-tional Christmas meals, including biscochi-tos, tamales and empanadas.

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

In this Visitors Guide, we will try to present the many faces and places of life in our valley.

A magical place to be and visit

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The history of Valencia County spans centuries, several wars, epi-demics and the lives of our ances-

tors 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.

Local historian and UNM-VC professor Richard Melzer provided much of the information for this history time line.

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, 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 the 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 village 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 Tomé 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: Smallpox epi-demics in the county cursed thousands of people. It was said that millions of Indians nationwide were wiped out by the epidem-ic, more than in battles.

Half of the indigenous 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 estab-lished. 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 sup-plies 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 Tomé 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 tracks and when crews got to Los Lunas they were blocked by a hacienda owned by the Luna family.

The railroad made a deal with the family that if they sold their land, the railroad 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 sidekick, 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 conduc-tor 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 com-mitted.

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

Continued on page 9

A time line of where we’ve been

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 was affected by the epidemic, and the bells in the churches were constantly ringing.

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

Late ’20s-1938: Route 66 passed through Los Lunas.

1929: The Los Lunas Hospital and Training School was constructed. The cen-ter provided care for mentally and physi-cally handicapped residents on 126 acres of land.

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.

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 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 between the east and west when a new county, Cibola, was created by the state 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 Tomé was built in response to need.

21st century2007: Voters in Peralta elected to incor-

porate as a 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 elected 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.

2013: Voters in Rio Communities elect-ed to incorporate as the state’s newest municipality by a vote of 672 in favor to 391 against in a January election.

The first municipal election is slated for May 2013.

Continued from page 8

Trails & Railswww.ArtsAndHeritageNM.com

"This project is made possible in part by New Mexico Arts, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs,

and the National Endowment for the Arts"

Follow Valencia County’sArts & Heritage Trail

Explore Sites for:Historic Places

Fine FoodFine Art

Tomé Art GalleryArt & Fine Craft

Over 50 traditional& contemporary

artists

2930 Hwy 47Los Lunas, NM 87031

near the historic Tomé Plaza(505) 565-0556

[email protected]

open daily 10 am to 5 pm

Trail Site for:New Mexico Fiber Arts,

Trails & Rails Arts & Heritage


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 tradi-tions on which it was established.

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

The small community of about 40 fami-lies first worked the land, but by the 19th century, the ever-growing community expanded into sheepherding.

First known as Nuesta Señora de Belen (Our Lady of Bethlehem), Belen continues to celebrate its bond to the Christ child’s birthplace and the deeply religious tradi-tions that the city was based on. As part of its devotion, the city annually presents “Los Pastores” — the shepherds — a Christmas pageant in folk song whose ori-gins 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, about 160 trains a day pass through the city since the addition of a double track through Abo Canyon that was part of a BNSF track expansion of a five-mile stretch through the area.

With the increase in activity on the rail-road, a Harvey House was opened in 1910, and for 29 years it bustled 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 Girls and railroad memorabilia that tells the story of days gone by.

Becker Avenue, named after the legend-ary John Becker, who arrived in Belen dur-ing 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, and diagonal parking, that signa-ture of the old days, makes it easy to get in and out.

The old town feel that Belen exuberates has caught the attention of movie makers and been captured in a number of movies and television series, including “The Last Stand,” a modern-day Western, starring former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Other films and television

The view from the walking bridge on Reinken Avenue shows the beauty of the Hub City as well as its water tower, a landmark in the community.

GovernmentMayor: Rudy JaramilloCouncil: Wayne Gallegos, Jerah Cordova, Mary Aragon and David CarterCity Manager: Mary Lucy BacaPolice Chief: Dan RobbFire Chief: Manny GarciaMunicipal Judge: Kathy Savilla

Belen is proud of its heritage

Continued on page 11

series shot in the Hub City include “In Plain Sight,” “As Cool As I Am,” “Swing Vote,” “Living Hell,” “West Texas Children’s Story” and “Gas-s-s-s.”

A large arch, with an iron nativity scene 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 entertainment.

Further down Becker Avenue, residents and visitors alike can visit the Belen Art League Gallery, which is filled with cre-ations by local artists.

Next along the street is world-renowned artist Judy Chicago, who has renovated the old Belen Hotel as her home and studio. Across the street is her non-profit Through the Flower educational facility.

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 pic-nicking is a stone’s throw away.

DemographicsPopulation: 7,269 (2010 Census)Employment: About 2,800 persons are

employed in Belen, 25 percent of which are in management, professional and relat-ed occupations, according to the latest census data.

Sales and office occupations make up 24 percent 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 2010

(U.S. Bureau of Census)1960: 5,0311970: 4,8231980: 5,6171990: 6,5472000: 6,9012010: 7,269

UtilitiesWater: City of BelenSource of water: GroundwaterSewer: City of BelenSolid waste: City of BelenElectric: Public Service Co. of New

MexicoNatural gas: New Mexico Gas Co.Telephone: CenturyLink

TransportationAir: A general aviation airport, Belen

Alexander Municipal AirportIntercity bus: TNM&OTrain, Freight: Burlington Northern

Santa Fe; New Mexico Rail Runner Express, a commuter train with multiple daily runs travels from Belen to Albuquerque and Santa Fe, with bus con-nections at train stations.

ServicesPolice: City of BelenFire: City of BelenParks: The city of Belen maintains

parks, athletic fields, recreation facilities and a senior citizen’s center.


LiveWork in Los Lunas Do you have a home based or mobile business?

Do you want to start a home based or mobile business?The Village of Los Lunas LiveWork program helps

home based and mobile businesses.

Los Lunas — A Great Place to Live and Work!For information about the LiveWork program

Contact Ralph L. Mims, MCPVillage of Los Lunas Economic Development Manager

Community Development DepartmentDirect Line: (505) 839-5654

Fax: (505) 352-3593Cell: (505) 604-4156

e-mail: [email protected]

Village of Los Lunas Main Street and Don Pasqual

505 839-3840 www.loslunasnm.gov

MayorRobert Vialpando

Village Administrator Gregory D. Martin

Village CouncilCharles GriegoRichard LovatoAmanda Perea

Gerard Saiz

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The village of Bosque Farms is the northernmost 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 were the sedentary Tiwa Indians, who lived in small pueblos along the Rio Grande from Taos Pueblo to Mexico. Following a period of Spanish exploration and settle-ment, the Bosque Farms area later became part of a land grant.

The Depression years saw much of the grant land repossessed and administered through the federal government. The drains, canals and levees were constructed to improve soils and irrigation for agricul-ture 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 farm-ers were moved onto the land.

It wasn’t until the 1960s that developers 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 enforce-ment 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 suspi-cious activity.

From the citizens’ patrol evolved the idea that Bosque Farms really needed its own police officers and was in need of becom-ing its own town. Instead of counting on the county for all its support, residents started circulating petitions calling 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 others.

Another issue for incorporation was zon-ing.

“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.”

The village of Bosque Farms was finally incorporated on Saturday, June 1, 1974. The incorporation was ratified by 75 per-cent of the voters in a special election.

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.

The Bosque Farms Public Library underwent a long-awaited and a much needed expansion this year, to include a meeting room and much more.

GovernmentMayor: Robert KnowltonCouncil: William Kennedy, Wayne Ake, Russell Walkup and Dolly WallaceClerk/administrator: Gayle JonesPolice Chief: Greg JonesFire Chief: Spencer WoodMunicipal Judge: R. Lar Thomas


Living in and visiting ‘The Farm’

Continued from page 14Bob Fisher was elected

mayor, winning 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.

DemographicsPopulation: 3,904 (2010

Census)Population trends, 1970 to

2010(U.S. Bureau of Census)1970: 1,6991980: 3,3531990: 3,7912000: 3,9312010: 3,904

UtilitiesWater: Village of Bosque

FarmsSource of water:

Groundwater

Sewer: Village of Bosque Farms

Solid waste: TBAElectric: Public Service Co.

of New MexicoNatural gas: New Mexico

Gas Co.Telephone: CenturyLink

TransportationAir: Albuquerque

International Airport is 15 min-utes away.

ServicesPolice: Village of Bosque

FarmsFire: Bosque Farms

Volunteer Fire DepartmentParks: The village of Bosque

Farms maintains a park, base-ball fields, tennis courts, and a community/senior center. There is also a privately-owned rodeo arena.

From the Past looking forward into the future. Supporting our Students and Community. Los Lunas Schools • www.llschools.net

MissionThe mission of Los Lunas is to provide an engaging, high quality education where learning focuses on the

whole child and it is the responsibility of each and every one of us to install the belief that all students can succeed.

VisionThe Los Lunas Schools are committed to being first in New Mexico in all key measures of student achievement.

Los Lunas High School ca. 1926 The New Los Lunas High School Valencia High School

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Los Lunas is the second fastest growing city in the state, yet it retains its rural character and

offers residents a slower pace. With a population of 14,835 people,

Los Lunas is a unique combination of city and solitude.

It is buffered from Albuquerque’s urban sprawl on the north by the Isleta Indian Reservation, but has plenty of room to grow on the west side of Interstate 25. To the south of the village lay small, bucolic towns.

Residents can venture about 20 minutes north to New Mexico’s largest city to enjoy the many shops, restaurants and businesses Albuquerque offers, or contin-ue driving for another hour to Santa Fe, the state capital and a city rich in culture and art.

Many residents take advantage of com-muting by train to work or to play in the cities to the north, on the Rail Runner Express, located on N.M. 314 and Courthouse Road.

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 with-out losing its small-town charm or friend-ly neighborhood values.

“The people are great,” said Peter Fernandez, former village administrator and lifetime resident of Los Lunas. “It is a well-managed community where peo-ple take a very special interest in making the community better.

“Every action the governmental entity takes is with the idea of bettering the community as a whole.”

Los Lunas, which translates to “where the Lunas live,” was named after the prominent and politically influential Luna family.

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 south-ern colonial style typically unseen in New Mexico. However, its basic con-struction 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

The Daniel Fernandez Youth Center in Los Lunas was named after a local soldier, who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery in the Vietnam war.

GovernmentMayor: Robert VialpandoCouncil: Charles Griego, Gerard Saiz, Richard Lovato and Amanda PereaClerk/Administrator: Gregory MartinPolice Chief: Roy MelnickFire Chief: Lito ChavezMunicipal Judge: Henry Perea


Los Lunas holds onto its rural charm

Continued from page 16experienced, when will it become a city?’ My philosophy has always been, we like the name of village because it has a connotation of a caring community and a community as a whole,” Fernandez said.

The village of Los Lunas, the county seat of Valencia County, lies primarily on the west bank of the Rio Grande.

The land was originally part of the San Clemente Grant, granted to Don Felix Candelaria in 1716. Historically, this area had been a farming community, 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 direc-tion.

Interstate 25 passes along the west side of the village and provides excellent north and south access to the state.

The Los Lunas area began growing rapidly in the 1980s with the expansion of the Albuquerque metropolitan area.

The 1990 Census found that about half of the Los Lunas labor force worked in the Albuquerque area.

DemographicsPopulation: 14,835 (estimated 2010)Employment: There are about 5,000 per-

sons 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 Supercenter, Walmart Distribution Center, Valencia County and the Village of Los Lunas

Population trends, 1960 to 2000(U.S. Bureau of Census)1960: 1,1861970: 7731980: 5,5251990: 6,0132000: 10,0342010: 14,385

UtilitiesWater: Village of Los LunasSource of water: GroundwaterSewer: Village of Los LunasSolid waste: Village of Los LunasElectric: Public Service Company of

New MexicoNatural gas: New Mexico Gas CompanyTelephone: CenturyLink

TransportationAir: A general aviation airport, Mid

Valley AirparkIntercity bus: Rio Metro (505) 352-3595Train, Freight: Burlington Northern

Santa Fe, N.M. Rail Runner Express

ServicesPolice: Village of Los LunasFire: Village of Los LunasParks: The village of Los Lunas main-

tains several parks, one with a baseball field and picnic facilities, one with soccer fields and skate park.

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Peralta was only incorporated as a town in 2007, but its history stretches back hundreds of years.

The town was named for Andres and Manuel de Peralta sometime before 1680, says Mayor Bryan 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 descen-dants 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 fea-tured in the Sergio Leone film “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.”

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 agricul-

tural, the major industry being sheep shear-

ing. “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.

DemographicsPopulation: 3,660 (2010 Census)

The Peralta Town Hall was established several years after the town incorporated in 2007.

GovernmentMayor: Bryan OlguinCouncil: Tracy Aragon, Leon Otero, Joseph Romero and Ginger ShoemakerTown Clerk: Julie PluemerPolice Chief: Bosque Farms Chief Greg JonesFire Chief: John DearMunicipal Judge: David Young


Peralta is a place of agriculture

Continued from page 18Population trends, 1990 to 2010(U.S. Bureau of Census)1990: 3.182*2000: 3,750*2010: 3,660*Population for Peralta Census Designated Place, prior to for-

mal incorporation.

UtilitiesWater: Well water Source of water: GroundwaterSewer: SepticElectric: Public Service Co. of New MexicoNatural gas: New Mexico Gas Co.Telephone: CenturyLink

TransportationAir: Albuquerque International Airport is 20 minutes away

ServicesPolice: Village of Bosque FarmsFire: Peralta Volunteer Fire Department

AreaTotal: 4.4 square miles

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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 Española Valley in northern New Mexico, to Sabinal in the south.

The Spaniards settled this area as early as 1598 after the first colony was founded by Gov. Juan De Oñate in the Native American village of Ohke on the upper East Bank of the Rio Grande.

The Española 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 people were friendly and insisted that the new colonists build their homes near the Rio Grande.

The river had a lot to offer to both the indigenous peoples 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 commu-nity 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.

DemographicsPopulation: 76,569 (2010 Census)Employment: Valencia County, tradition-

ally 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 alterna-tives to city living spurred population growth of 16 percent between 2000 and 2010 in the county, and fairly rapid growth is expected to continue in the future.

Valencia County has been a magnet for industries needing room to expand. The attractions are low-cost industrial sites, easy transportation access, available work-force, affordable housing and a positive business climate.

The vast landscape of Valencia County’s agricultural community can be seen from atop Tomé Hill, one of the most sacred venues in the state.


Valencia County is enchanting

County Manager: Bruce SwingleCounty Commissioners: Mary Ander-sen, District 1; Alicia Aguilar, District 2; Lawrence Romero, District 3; Chairman Charles Eaton, District. 4County Clerk: Peggy CarabajalCounty Sheriff: Louis BurkhardCounty Treasurer: Dorothy LovatoCounty Assessor: Viola S. Garcia-Vallejos

Government


DemographicsPopulation trends, 1960 to 2010*(U.S. Bureau of Census)1960: 15,1461970: 20,4511980: 30,7691990: 45,2352000: 66,1522010: 76,569*Valencia County was split in 1981 to form two counties,

Valencia and Cibola. Populations for 1960 to 1980 are computed from census data only for the Los Lunas and Belen Census Divisions.

ServicesThe Conejo Waste Transfer Station, 1100 Manzano

Expressway, is open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day. It’s closed at times of high wind. Call 565-2256 for current status.

Valencia County Animal Shelter, 1209, N.M. 314, in Los Lunas; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday; 505-866-2479.

Community centersCasa Colorada, Don Jose y Dolores Cordova Cultural Center in

Jarales, El Cerro Community Center and Meadow Lake Community Center.

Senior Centers: Belen Senior Center, Fred Luna Senior Center, Meadow Lake Senior Center and Del Rio Senior Center.

505•865•8813

3216 Hwy 47 South

Los Lunas, NM 87031

Greenhouse Bistro & Bakery

Garden Gate Day Spa & Salon

Assisted & Personal Living

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Officers Board Members Martin Callahan - President

Dave Carlberg - Treasurer

Darleen Aragon - Secretary

Claire Cieremans Ralph L. Mims Robert NoblinTim Marlin Michael Ogas Bruce PraterAndrew M. Barnes

S erving Northern Valencia County for over 20 years

751 Juan Perea Rd. (Transportation Center 2nd Floor)Los Lunas, NM • 505-352-3596 • www.loslunaschamber.com


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

your interests.

May• The annual San Clemente Day will be

held on Saturday, May 4, at 430 West N.M. 6, west of Los Lunas. There will be free barbecue, live music, a presentation on the rangeland restoration project, children’s horse rides and various demonstrations.

• The Tim Lardner Memorial Scholarship Golf Tournament, presented by the Greater Belen Chamber of Commerce, will be held on Friday, May 10, at Tierra del Sol Country Club in Rio Communities.

June• The Belen American Cancer Society

Relay for Life will be held at the Belen High School baseball fields.

• The annual Summerfest will be held on Friday and Saturday, June 7-8. Activities will include a car show, backyard barbecue cook-off, carnival, outdoor movie, live band and local vendors at Heritage Park on Lambros Loop in Los Lunas.

• The Los Lunas American Cancer Society Relay for Life will be held at the Los Lunas High School baseball fields.

• The Belen All American Independence Day and Music Fest will be held all day on Saturday, June 30. The event will feature 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• The annual Fourth of July parade down

Main Street to N.M. 314 will be held at 9 a.m., Thursday, July 4, in Los Lunas. There will be entertainment beginning at 4 p.m. at Daniel Fernandez Park and a fireworks display at dusk.

August• A Greater Belen Chamber of

Commerce Educators Luncheon will be held at the Tierra del Sol Country Club in Belen. The luncheon celebrates the new hires for Belen Consolidated Schools, Calvary Academy and St. Marys Catholic School.

• The Bosque Farms Community Fair will be held Friday through Sunday, Aug. 2-4, at the Bosque Farms Rodeo Association Arena. There will be food, games, a parade, a greased-pole climb competition, toad racing, indoor exhibits, a rolling-pin throwing contest, a car show and vendors.

• A National Night Out will be hosted by the Los Lunas and Belen police depart-ments and the Valencia County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday, Aug. 6. The events will include free barbecues, children’s events and a chance to meet and talk with local law enforcement.

• The Valencia County Community Expo will be held Wednesday, Aug. 7, through Saturday, Aug. 10, in Los Lunas.

• Our Lady of Belen Fiestas, celebrating the 218th annual fiestas, will be held Friday through Sunday, Aug. 16-18. There will be a parade down Main Street on Saturday, ending at Our Lady of Belen Catholic Church, followed by entertain-ment, a carnival, food and dancing under the tent at the church.

• The 79th annual Valencia County Fair will be held from Saturday, Aug. 17 to Sunday, Aug. 25, at the Valencia County Fairgrounds. The Valencia County Sheriff’s Posse Rodeo is on the last weekend of the fair.

• The Valencia County Fair Parade will be held on Saturday, Aug. 24 down Main Street in Belen, ending at the fairgrounds.

September• The annual 9/11 Memorial Ceremony

is held at the 9/11 Memorial Park on Church and Main streets in Belen on Sept. 11.

• The Rio Abajo Becker Street Festival will be held on Saturday, Sept. 28, in Belen. The event this year will include a new children’s carnival, arm wrestling tournament, a tough-man contest, balloon glow, six live bands, green chile cook-off, car show, poker bike run, blacksmithing contest, food, crafts and community ven-dors all day long.

October • The Valencia County Cooperative

Extension Office will hold its annual Fall Fest at the New Mexico State University Science Center in Los Lunas. The event includes a huge pumpkin patch, pumpkin decorating, hay rides, horse rides, milk cow demonstrations, games, activities and much more.

• The seventh annual Capt. Tamara Long-Archuleta Memorial Open Karate Championships will be held on Saturday, Oct. 19, at Belen High School gymnasi-


Calendar of Events in Valencia County

Continued from page 22um.• The city of Belen will be hosting a fall festival on Saturday, Oct. 26, at Anna Becker Park in Belen. There will be fun and activities for children.

• A Halloween haunted house will be held from 5 to 8 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 31, at the Daniel Fernandez Youth Center in Los Lunas.

November• The Belen annual Christmas Festival

will be held Saturday, Nov. 30. Arts and crafts, food, Snow Queen contest, light display, the Miracle on Main Street Electric Light Parade and a hot air balloon glow will be held. All the events will take place in the Heart of Belen.

• The annual Art Along the Railway event will consist of displays in art galler-ies throughout Valencia County.

December• The traditional folk play sung in

Spanish, La Gran Pastorela de Belen, will be performed at the Harvey House Museum in Belen and throughout the county multiple times during the season.

• The Los Lunas Christmas Electric Light Parade will be held at 6:30 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 7, down Main Street.

• The annual Santa in the Park will be held at 6 p.m, Saturday, Dec. 14, at Daniel Fernandez Park in Los Lunas.

2013January

• The 20th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Candlelight Vigil will be held on Monday, Jan. 20, at Anna Becker Park in Belen.

• The 13th annual Valencia County Hispano Chamber of Commerce Matanza will be held on Saturday, Jan. 25, at the Valencia County Sheriff Posse Grounds in Belen. The day-long event includes a matanza competition, tortilla, biscochitos and red chile contest, children’s activities, an art center and live bands throughout the day.

February• The 38th annual Casper Baca Rough

Stock Rodeo Series will be held at the

Valencia County Fairgrounds every week-end in February and the first weekend in March in Belen.

March• The 30th annual St. Patrick’s Day

Balloon Rallye will be held on Friday through Sunday, March 14-16, at Eagle Park in Belen. The annual rally features dozens of hot air balloons taking off at dawn to fly the county skies.

• The annual Good Friday pilgrimage to Tomé Hill will be held on Friday, March 28. The traditional walk begins at sunrise and continues throughout the day to the three crosses placed on the sacred hill by the late Edwin Berry.

• The Los Lunas Police Department will hold its 10th annual Cops for Kids Fun Run/Walk beginning at the Los Lunas High School football stadium. The exact date is yet to be determined.

April• The village of Los Lunas will sponsor

Easter egg hunts for area children. The events usually happen at local parks.

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District Mission StatementTo help students acquire the knowledge, skills and character to become productive adults, deal effectively with change, and have a positive impact on their community.


Here are some basic Spanish terms that might come in handy when you’re talking to folks in

Valencia County:• Acequias: Irrigation ditches.• Biscochitos: A traditional sugar cookie

baked with anise, most often served at Christmas time. If you don’t think New Mexicans take food seriously, then remem-ber that the State Legislature debated the word’s spelling for hours when making it the official state cookie.

• Bosque: Forest. It’s most often used to describe the cottonwood stand along the Rio Grande. (Pronounced: bos-kay.)

• Bueno: Good.• Cerro: Hill. We have Cerro Tomé —

Tomé Hill — and the community called El Cerro.

• Cerveza: Beer.• Chicharones: Fried pork skin.

Southerners called them chitlins. They’re cooked fresh at a matanza.

• Chile: This is the correct Spanish spell-ing of the state’s official fruit. Chili comes from Texas or out of a can con carne.

• El Camino Real: The royal road that stretched from deep inside Mexico all the way to Santa Fe through the heart of Valencia County. It was the main route along which trade was moved in colonial days.

• El Rio Abajo: The lower river, the area surrounding the Rio Grande down to the Las Cruces area.

• Feliz Navidad: Merry Christmas!• Fiesta: A party; more commonly used

to designate the days-long celebrations held by Catholic churches in New Mexico to mark their saint days.

• Frijoles: Pinto beans, the state’s offi-cial vegetable.

• La Llarona: The Weeping Woman. A classic Southwestern and Mexican ghost story about a woman who murdered her children. She’s also called the Ditch Witch and is used to frighten children (and make them stay away from the fast-running irri-gation water.)

• Ladron: A mountain to the southwest. The word means thief and it reportedly was a hiding place for bandits.

• Luminarias: A Christmas decoration

Our culture in the Middle Rio Grande Valley is comprised of many things, including our language. Chile is the correct Spanish spelling of the state’s official fruit.


Our culture, our language

Continued from page 24created by placing a candle in sand at the bottom of a small paper bag. They’re set along sidewalks and the roofs of houses. In northern New Mexico, they’re called farolitos; luminarias there are small bonfires. It’s all very confusing. Just go with the flow and enjoy.

• Manzanos: The mountains at the eastern edge of the county, named for the apples whose rosy color they glow with at some times of the day.

• Matanza: A barbecue at which a pig or goat is butchered and prepared outside. Very good eating.

• Mesa: The flat-topped hills seen throughout the Southwest. A perfect example can be seen at the western edge of Belen.

• Mijito or mijita: The shortened version of Mi hijito (little son) or Mi hijita (little daughter); usually used fondly by a parent when addressing or talking about their child.

• No más: No more!• Piñon: Pine nut; often sold by the pound along roads by ven-

dors who picked the new crop themselves. Plural is piñones.• Sopaipillas: A sort of puffy fried bread served with meals,

often eaten with honey. Stuffed sopaipillas are topped with lots of goodies such as beans, meat, lettuce, tomatoes and cheese and served with chile sauce.

• Vamanós: Let’s go!• Viejitos: Little old ladies and gentlemen. The old folks,

thought of endearingly.

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Los Lunas Chamber of Commerce

751 Juan Perea Road; Transportation/Rail Runner Center

P.O. Box 13, Los Lunas, N.M., 87031505-352-3596Web site: loslunaschamber.comEmail: [email protected] goal of the Los Lunas Chamber of

Commerce is to improve the economic environment of Los Lunas, thereby bene-fiting all established businesses and encouraging the development of new business. The chamber provides network-ing and educational opportunities with general membership luncheons, monthly newsletters and other social events.

Summerfest is a two-day event held in June that has been hosted by the Los Lunas 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. A portion of the proceeds will go toward the “Cops & Kids” pro-gram.

Board of Directors:Martin Callahan, president; Michael

Ogas, president-elect; Dave Carlberg, treasurer; Darleen Aragon, secretary; Andy Gomez, past president; members, Tim Marlin, Bruce Prater, Claire Cieremans, Robert Noblin and Ralph Mims; Stephanie Flynn, executive direc-tor

Greater Belen Chamber of Commerce

712 Dalies Ave., Belen, N.M.. 87002505-864-8091Web site: www.belenchamber.comEmail: belenchamber@belenchamber.

orgFormed 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 commitment to the local economy and to develop their business and community contacts.

The Belen Chamber also is the location of the city of Belen’s Visitor Center, which is run by the Belen chamber staff. The visitor center offers information on area sights and activities, lodging and res-taurants.

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

Board of Directors:Jennifer Hise, president; Anna Duran,

first vice president; Tom Greer, second vice president; Carmie Carrejo, treasurer; members Kelly Fajardo, Carl Gallegos, Jay Gastelum, Dave Puddu, David Renteria, Terri Young, Michael Vallejos, Luz Chavez, Wayne Abraham, Mary T. Aragon and Cynthia Swanson; Rhona Espinoza, executive director.

Valencia County Hispano Chamber of Commerce

P.O. Box 539Belen, N.M. 87002505-702-9468The 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 scholarships for local students and other charitable activities.

The chamber also holds a 9/11 Memorial Lunch every year, serving a mid-day meal to law enforcement and fire department personnel.

Board of Directors:Toby Jaramillo, president; Fernando

Sisneros, president elect; Shireen

McDonald, vice-president; Yvonne Sanchez, past president; Lorraine Spradling, secretary; Edward Archuleta, treasurer; members Jerah Cordova, Ronni Goforth, Georgia Otero-Kirkham, Noe Lara, Ron Marquez, Mike Mendoza, Dana Sanders and Ron Tabet.

Greater Belen Economic Development Corp.

100 S. Main St.Belen, N.M. 87002505-864-8221The 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 business development system that helps current businesses thrive while attracting innova-tive new companies to Belen and the sur-rounding area.

Belen EDC also works to capitalize and market the assets of the region by taking a leadership role in advocating economic development tools and communicating the activities and importance 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 commerce.

Bosque Farms Economic Development Team

Economic Development email:[email protected]


Economic Development in Valencia County

Mailing Address:Economic Development CommitteeBosque Farms Village Offices P.O. Box 660Peralta, N.M. 87042505-869-2357The village governing body created the

Bosque Farms Economic Development Team to foster business development and to work with companies considering relo-cating 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 develop-ment 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 regional economic development organi-zations.

The Bosque Farms Business Retention and Expansion Program is a community-based economic development strategy

with a focus on nurturing and supporting businesses already in the community.

The goal of the program is to sustain the viability of the local business com-munity, improve the competitiveness of local businesses 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, [email protected] Lunas Municipal Building660 Main St. NWLos Lunas 87031The village is working on a retail man-

agement strategy plan. It also has a con-tract to work on industrial prospects. The

program can help with anyone looking for a place to start a business or a satel-lite site for its main headquarters.

Los Lunas has one industrial park, Los Morros, that sits on 500 acres with good access to Interstate 25.

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 mar-keting 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 information about subdivision and sign ordinances, business licenses, water and sewer services and other necessary facts.

It contains contact numbers for envi-ronmental regulators and other agencies necessary for business.

The village is also actively encouraging and developing a support structure for home-based businesses




Since Susan Brooke spends many of her waking hours working on her art, she’s not what one would call a

hobbyist. “Art is my obsession — what I dearly

love,” said Brooke. “I’d rather be sur-rounded by beautiful things than have a brand new car.”

While the love of art is what keeps many artists hard at work in the studio, there are many aspects to getting art sold, and a lot of work on that side as well.

For artists who are investing enough time and money to produce sellable work, especially full-time artists, an entire realm of tasks must be completed in order to get products to consumers.

“The main three questions I ask are: ‘Is it good,’ ‘Where is it going to go (mantle, hallway, lobby, etc.),’ and, ‘Will it sell’,” said Brooke.

The Rio Communities resident is one of several Valencia County artists who derive much or most of their income by selling their own art. The business of art has become a complex one in the Internet age, with tons of new co-ops and one-man operations now on the playing field.

“The supply far exceeds the demand, and mass reproductions can be made cheaply,” said Jim Anderson, an El Cerro painter. “There are hundreds of thousands of oil paintings available on eBay, and many are made in China.”

Despite the explosion in the number of ways customers can find the art they like, painting local subjects and getting known in local galleries are still valuable ingredi-ents in getting work sold.

Local arts and crafts shows are venues where beginning artists can display and/or sell small samples, and galleries seem to be excellent contacts. Art shows allow many artists to combine resources and be seen by collectors and the general public under one roof.

There are two kinds of art shows: gener-al ones, where any artist who completes the entry process is admitted; and juried

shows, where only selected, judged, quality work is accepted.

Judy Chicago, the internationally known feminist artist, writer and Belen resident, said not much has changed in terms of the importance of local galleries — which may be a wake-up call to some young artists.

“Having a website allows an artist to promote their work more widely,” said Chicago. “Which is a good thing, as long as they don’t fantasize that they will make lots of money via Internet sales. Most art still gets sold through galleries.”

Fiber artist Cheri Reckers, of Jarales, creates many wearable and fiber-art items, and recently came across an opportunity to show her work in Japan.

While she insists quality photographs and Internet social networking are impor-tant components of becoming known, those are merely tools to arrange for in-person meetings and events.

“I’m very tactile — I’d rather be in the studio than at a computer,” said Reckers. “The Internet makes it easier to do things, like research shows and figure out which ones to apply for. But you need to know your market, too. Competitions and awards can really validate the work.”

Reckers said artists, especially young ones and beginners, can’t take negative feedback personally.

“You have to have a thick skin,” she

Cheri Reckers is one of many artists who creates, works and lives in Valencia County. This fiber artist has shown her work in Japan.


It’s an artist destination

Continued from page 28said. “Don’t expect everyone to like your work.”

Reckers recommends artists enlist the help of places such as the Small Business Development Center at the University of New Mexico-Valencia Campus in composing a business plan.

Anderson said customers of handmade art will buy sight-unseen, having never laid eyes on the artwork. He purchased an expensive laser printer and does his own framing to reduce the outsourcing costs on his paintings, but he still values the impor-tance of networking across the Southwest.

“Selling art in New Mexico is tough,” he said. “That’s why I try to paint things that are local, like dancers, rodeo scenes, or cottonwoods or the Sandias.”

Brooke said it’s important for an artist to establish themselves with a particular reputation, both for quality work and for unique patterns, style and type of art.

“You can’t go from abstract to impressionist and keep jumping around,” said Brooke. “People want to know your work. Your name is associated with a particular style.”

Pricing is another component of getting art sold, as galleries and Internet sales both will take a cut. Chicago points out that local galleries are still trying to turn a profit as well.

“Many young artists don’t realize that galleries take 50 to 60 percent of the sale price in exchange for offering artists’ work to their client base,” she said.

Reckers values the local gallery route.“There are a lot more ways to market art than there used to

be,” said Reckers. “But one of my best bets has been local gal-leries. I still believe in that.”

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Tomé Art Gallery2930 N.M. 47 (Tomé)Los Lunas, N.M. 87031505-565-0556Monday to Friday10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Harvey House Museum104 N. First St.Belen, N.M. 87002505-861-0581Tuesday-Saturday12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.Sunday1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Belen Art League Gallery509 Becker Ave., P.O. Box 432

Belen, N.M. 87002505-861-0217Wednesday to Saturday12 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Los Lunas Museum of Heritage and Arts

251 Main St. SE,Los Lunas, N.M. 87031505-352-7720Tuesday to Saturday10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

UNM Valencia Art Gallery280 La Entrada (Tomé)Los Lunas, N.M. 87031505-925-8702

Monday to Friday9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

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02 Zamora LanePeralta, N.M. 87042505-869-9119Tuesday to Saturday9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Mansion Players1065 Mesa CruzadaLos Lunas, N.M., 87031505-306-1929

Art galleries in Valencia County


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The IBC oversees the pueblo’s corporate operations, which includes two convenience stores that are located on the north end of the pueblo, and the Comanche Ranch, which is located in Valencia and Socorro counties.

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It’s been called the Bible Stone, the Mystery Rock, the Los Lunas Decalogue Stone.

Despite its various names, the giant basalt boulder has not disclosed one thing in the 50 years of it’s known existence.

Weighing 80 to 100 tons, the stone is about six feet long and three feet wide.

Its flat surface is engraved with 216 characters in 65 character groupings.

So what do those 216 characters say? What is the message?

That is what no one knows.Sitting at a 40 degree angle in a small

hollow on the southeast side of Hidden Mountain, the stone’s location overlooks the Rio Puerco Valley, 16 miles west of the village of Los Lunas on N.M. 6.

Local historian John Taylor points out that Hidden Mountain and the stone aren’t actually terribly hidden.

“You have to get a permit to go out there,” Taylor said. “But it’s right there.”

The stone and the mountain are on New Mexico state trust land and those wishing to hike to the site need to file for a recre-ational access permit.

Visit www.nmstatelands.org for a per-mit packet, or call 827-5760 for more information.

The first person to describe and docu-ment the stone was Dr. Frank C. Hibben, professor of archeology at the University of New Mexico, in 1936.

Hibben reported that he was made aware of the stone and its inscription three years prior to that by a Valencia County local. The man, who Hibben never named or identified in any way, claimed his ancestors had known about the stone as early as 1800.

Taylor said there are anecdotal reports that landowner Franz Huning knew about the site as early as 1871.

Hibben’s first reports describe the stone as lichen-covered and partially buried in sand.

In order to determine if the stone was a genuine archeological find, Taylor said

there needs to be consideration to “arche-ological context.” Are there other objects and artifacts in the vicinity or does the stone, with its mysterious inscription, sit alone and unique in the desert?

There actually are additional inscrip-tions, some ruins and petroglyphs at the site, Taylor said. Some of the petroglyphs on the top of Hidden Mountain are believed by some to depict star positions during a partial solar eclipse in 107 B.C.

The ruins on the top of Hidden

Mountain have been cataloged by the Department of the New Mexico State Archeologist as Ancestral Piro dating to between 1300 and 1540.

Taylor said it has been suggested that Hidden Mountain may be an outlier relat-ed to the nearby Pottery Mound, about four miles to the southeast, a larger Ancestral Piro site, which is dated circa 1325.

Courtesy of Thornton Schwenk

The inscription on the Los Lunas Mystery Stone is said to be a Paleo-Hebraic script with some Greek and Phoenician letters included. It is read right to left, top to bot-tom


The mystifying Mystery Stone

Continued from page 32For decades, the other question sur-

rounding the stone has been, “Is it real or a brilliant fake?”

If it is indeed a legitimate artifact, its origins have been explained in a number of different ways.

Most modern scholars believe that the inscription is an abbreviated version of the Decalogue or Ten Commandments from Exodus 20, Taylor said.

The inscription is a Paleo-Hebraic script with some Greek and Phoenician letters included, and using an astronomi-cal interpretation of nearby petroglyphs, some believe the stone was carved around 107 B.C.

“Possible ‘authors’ include one of the lost tribes of Israel, exiled Samaritans, pre-Columbian inhabitants of North America or traders dispatched by King Solomon,” Taylor said.

But the theory that the writings are Biblical in nature are called into ques-tion, Taylor said. Among scholars, there is controversy over the use of some let-ters, and punctuation and style have been disputed.

There are apparent errors in the text

and scholars have been unable to date the inscription using conventional methods.

Well-intentioned attempts to clean the Stone over the years have resulted in an inability to date the object using patina.

But if it isn’t genuine, who came up with such an elaborate fake?

Taylor says one theory suggests that Andres Muñiz, a disgruntled translator-linguist who traveled through the area in the late 1700s on the Dominguez-Escalante expedition to find a route from Santa Fe to California, may have made the inscription.

On the flip side, Taylor says some of the letters used in the inscription may not have been known to modern epigraphers until the early 20th century.

The two most popular theories about the stone being a hoax center around the man who “discovered” it — Dr. Hibben.

Hibben was not well-liked or respected by many archeologists in the early 20th century because of allegations that he “seeded” sites and fabricated data.

Taylor says there is the possibility that a student of ancient languages or a pro-fessional rival may have carved the

inscription as a prank to further discredit Hibben.

And of course, Hibben could have pro-duced the inscription himself, Taylor said.

After accusations of seeding the Sandia Man Cave site and fabricating his find-ings of pre-Clovis arrowheads, Hibben did not enjoy the greatest of reputations amongst his peers.

“He had the requisite knowledge to produce the inscription,” Taylor said. “And because he never named his guide, he could have fabricated the story of being led to the site.

“Major archeological/anthropological discoveries are infrequent, but can make the reputation of a professor. And just think if Hibben had made such a discov-ery not once, but twice.”

With many theories abounding, Taylor called the Mystery Stone “one of the most inquired about objects in the Rio Abajo. Is it evidence of ancient visitors to the Rio Abajo or a very clever 20th century forgery? Let the debate contin-ue!”

Belen · Rio Communities · Los Lunas · Mountainair · Albuquerque


Once boarded up and rusted, the Santa Fe M-190, known as the Doodlebug, sits at Belen’s

Doodlebug Park, glistening once again.The commuter train has been restored to

its original colors, but that wasn’t the only improvements the area saw.

Weeds and trash were removed from the park, located at Second Street and Castillo Avenue, to make way for xeriscaping.

Now, two railroad enthusiasts have plans to repair the train to either glide out of the park on nearby railroad tracks or become an educational facility about trains for area school children.

More than $15,000 of restorations for the historic train and a portion of the landscap-ing were funded by the production crew of “The Last Stand,” a modern-day western starring former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, which finished filming in December 2011.

The crew that filmed in the Hub City for three months offered to complete the work themselves, since they had the expertise to do so, as a way to thank the city for allow-ing them to film the movie in Belen, but couldn’t.

At that time, the Doodlebug was owned by the New Mexico History Museum, and transferring ownership to the city of Belen took longer than expected.

“De-accessioning, removing or selling an item from a museum’s collection, isn’t simply a transfer of title, but needs to involve a careful consideration of the trans-fer of obligation to preserve and protect the object in perpetuity,” said Frances Levine, the museum’s director.

The matter was voted on by the muse-um’s collections committee and their board of regents after the two groups outlined Belen’s long-term obligations with the rail car. The transfer of ownership was com-pleted on Jan. 31, 2012.

“The Doodlebug means so much to Belen; it is an appropriate home,” Levine wrote in a letter to the city. “We wish the city and the dedicated volunteers the very

best as you start the next phase in the Doodlebug’s history: restoration of this historic piece of railroad history in New Mexico.”

The Doodlebug was transferred to the New Mexico museum in May 2007 from the state of California, where the commuter train spent several years under the care of Sacramento’s California Railroad Museum.

Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and Schwarzenegger worked together to get the Doodlebug back home to New Mexico.

During the 2007 legislative session, $40,000 in capital outlay funds were appropriated to relocate and restore the Doodlebug train.

At the time, former Belen Mayor Ronnie Torres said, “It’s like bringing home an old friend. Everybody has a story about the Doodlebug — like it was their own person-al train. It’s great that we’re bringing this piece of Belen history home.”

Railroad enthusiasts Gene Green, of

Belen, and Roger Ward, of Marshalltown, Iowa, began the path to their goals of restoring the rail car in December 2012 by securing and cleaning the train, while tak-ing a full inventory of supplies and materi-als needed to get the locomotive up and running.

While the Doodlebug was in California, some parts were stolen from the engine, generator and radiator, said Green, presi-dent of The Belen Railway Historical Society that maintains and restores “the old heifer.”

Although finding replacement parts isn’t impossible, the two need to know what to search for from similar trains that are being retired. The majority of Doodlebugs are no longer in existence, with many shredded into pieces after they were used from about 1925 to 1959, Green said.

The Doodlebug contains a V-12 diesel engine designed for submarines, Green


History aboard the Doodlebug

Continued from page 34said. These engines were narrowed down and placed into locomo-tives after World War II when the U.S. Postal Service required locomotives transporting mail to use diesel instead of gasoline engines.

“It’s the only one this powerful and in two parts, so it’s unique but you don’t see them at all … There’s not that many left in many small communities,” Green said.

The two completed this work with the assistance from local businesses who donated materials and supplies, Green said.

Ward, mechanical in charge at Union Pacific Railroad, learned about the Doodlebug in April 2011 while visiting Green.

As soon as Ward laid eyes on the locomotive, Green joked that Ward’s tongue rolled out of his mouth right into the dirt.

Upon Ward’s retirement in September 2013, he plans on spend-ing two to three months at a time, during the winter, restoring the locomotive to once again run on tracks.

Instead of getting the old locomotive up and running, Green would like to focus on turning the baggage claim car into a class-room, where students could learn about the train and the impor-tance of railroads.

He wants young people to understand the importance of rail-roads to this country, he said.

“I want young people to understand that the western part of the United States and the West, which starts in Ohio, but the western part of the United States, was built by railroads,” Green said.

The Doodlebug, also fondly known as La Marranita, was offi-cially retired in 1968. When it was in its prime, the trip from Belen to Albuquerque took about 45 minutes and the train was scheduled for four round-trips daily.


TrainsBelen is a longtime major hub in the

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

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

Amtrak passenger service is available in Albuquerque.

Rail Runner ExpressThe New Mexico Rail Runner Express

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

The commuter train carried its 2 mil-lionth rider in 2012.

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 and adjacent to N.M. 314.

There are 11 other stations along the route to Santa Fe, most with commuter bus connections, and the train offers free WiFi. Details at www.nmrailrunner.com.

Belen Alexander Municipal Airport

The Belen Alexander Municipal Airport, FAA Indentifier E80, is on the mesa west of Belen, about 30 miles from Albuquerque and two miles from Interstate 25.

In addition to the current runway, a new one-mile crosswind runway 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 more than 50 air-craft, a skydive club, a propeller overhaul facility, aerial photographer and other small aviation businesses. The pilot lounge in the office was renovated within the last

two years and a new privately-owned han-gar was added this year.

Fixed-base operator is Alexander Aero, 505-864-4500. Full-service fuel and repair services, hangars and tie-downs available. Airport manager, 505-966-2650.

Mid-Valley Air ParkMid-Valley Air Park, FAA Indentifier

E98, is a resident-owned airport located about three miles south of Los Lunas.

The 4,340-foot asphalt runway is open to the public. There is no fixed-base operator, but there is a full-time manager.

The airpark offers self-service fuel, some repair services, and a few tie-downs. No transportation is available from the airport.

Details are available at www.airnav.com. For information, call 505-610-3776.

Rio MetroThe Rio Metro Regional Transit District

is a regional transit district that provides economical transportation alternatives for the residents of the Albuquerque Metro Area, which includes Belen and Los Lunas.

Route 206, a fixed route in Belen, takes

passengers from the Belen Rail Runner sta-tion to stops along Reinken Ave., 10th Street, Ross Avenue, 11th Street, West Aragon, Mesa Road and Camino del Llano.

A Dial-A-Ride program is also available in Los Lunas and Belen each weekday. The service is a curb-to-curb transportation ser-vices available to anyone traveling in Belen or Los Lunas for $1 each way. Rides must be reserved 24-hours in advance. To make reservations, call 505-352-3595.

Albuquerque SunportAlbuquerque’s international airport is an

easy connection to get anywhere around the world. About 20 miles north of Valencia County just off I-25.

Served by seven carriers: American, U.S. Airways, Delta, Frontier, New Mexico, Southwest and United.

Freight service is provided by DHL Express, Federal Express and United Parcel Service.

General aviation services also available.

FreewaysBelen 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 his-toric 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 businesses on the city’s south side.

There is one Los Lunas exit, onto Main Street in the village. There are two exits to Isleta Pueblo, one on the west side of the Rio Grande and the other east of the river.

Transportation in Valencia County

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All Abooooooaaaaard!That might have been the call

that echoed for years toward the Harvey House, a railroad hotel and restau-rant in Belen that was part of a nationwide chain.

Fred Harvey, owner and builder of the restaurants, entered a partnership with the railroads in 1878 to construct dining hous-es and lunch stands along railways throughout the western United States.

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 employees as a reading room and boarding house for railroad employees through 1972.

It’s still located along a working railyard, 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, historical 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 restau-rant 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.

The museum now has original dishes from the original Fred Harvey dining cars.

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

The Harvey House Museum exhibits artifacts from the historic era, the railroad and other historical items.

Harvey House Museum

104 N. First St. in BelenHours: 12:30 to 3:30 p.m., Tuesday to Saturday, and from 1 to 3 p.m. on SundayPhone: 505-861-0581


Historic Harvey House Museum

Continued from page 38rooms filled with running model trains and accompanying land-scape, and a third large room is where a scale model of the Belen railyards is currently up and running. The club is expanding the tracks and trains will travel through a wall and into another room that will eventually be handicap accessible.

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 St. in downtown Belen, less than two blocks south of Reinken Avenue, and a short walk from the New Mexico Rail Runner Express commuter sta-tion.

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.

The 2013 calendar features the Belen Model Railroad Club Spring Show in April and the Belen Art League Annual Spring Show in May.

In October, the railroad club will host its fall show and in December, the Harvey House will become home to the “La Gran Pastorela” and the “Festival of Trees.”

There’s no charge to tour either side, but donations are appreci-ated.

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Early Spanish settlers cultivated the long chile pod we are famil-

iar with today, said Dr. Stephanie Walker, New Mexico University extension vegetable specialist, though some of the short chile varieties from cen-tral South America are still grown in northern parts of the state, she said.

Native Americans had long been cultivating corn, squash and beans, but alfalfa was brought to the Americas by Spanish colonizers as feed for their horses.

Today, communities up and down the Rio Abajo grow a large variety of crops, including chile, corn, beans, squash, mel-ons, wheat, alfalfa, cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, grapes, apples and many others. The shiny, bright green and red chil-es New Mexico is known for have shaped the culture that grew along side it by gathering communities together at harvest time.

In early fall, the air around local chile farms and markets is heavily scented by the smoky, spicy aroma of roasting chile, and flaming red strings of chile pods, called ristras, hang fes-tively from trees and rafters.

The ristras today are often used as decorations, but in the old days, chile was strung together to dry and be stored much as beans are dried for future meals, said Teresa Chavez, of Chavez Farms.

“It was the whole winter food supply,” said Teresa.

The Chavez Farm is located in Los Lunas, and is known for its tasty chiles that David

Chavez farms in the same man-ner as they did 100 years ago, without any synthetic fertilizers or chemical pesticides.

“Everything I grow here is organic,” said David Chavez. “It’s not certified organic, but it’s organic.”

The alfalfa fields are rotated with chile crops about every six to seven years, providing the chile with richly fertilized soil. The legume’s nitrogen-fixing bacteria live symbiotically on the alfalfa plant root, fixing nitrogen for the plant’s con-sumption.

In turn, Chavez rotates his chile fields to alfalfa, often allowing his cattle to graze the chile stubble in a cycle of natu-ral soil fertilization.

It takes all winter to prepare for the chile season in mid-April, when chile seeds will be sown, then at harvest, the pods have to be picked by hand plant-by-plant.

The sun beats down on the parked cars at the Chavez mar-ket, while shoppers inspect the chile, apples, cucumbers and other produce under the shelter-ing relief of canopies that cover the produce stand.

The scene is just about identi-cal to the market 100 years ago, when Teresa’s grandfather, Ernest Sichler, farmed the land, and his prodigy worked under the canopy.

It was a time when stringing ristras was a social occasion and local farmers and neighbors

gathered to do the work and visit with one another.

The Chavezes work the Los Lentes land that has been farmed for more than 200 years — land that belonged to Silverio and Ernestine Sais.

Sichler and Sais are two his-torical family names in the area, known for their chile and alfalfa crops.

The early communities were close-knit because everybody participated, Chavez said.

“The women did the chile and the cooking, the men usual-ly did the slaughtering, you know, it was a joint effort for everything,” he said. “Alifas (Valenzuela) would sometimes slaughter a pig just to have peo-ple over, and they drank a lot of homemade wine.”

At harvest time, locals are so anxious to try the new crop of chile they will warm a tortilla and put in a peeled, freshly roasted chile, sprinkled with a little garlic salt, add a piece of cheese and roll it up to eat it just like that, said Los Lunas resident Alex Aragon.

Busy markets are filled with the melodic sound of Spanish banter, occasionally muted by the chile roasters that roar like mythic fire-spewing dragons.

The Chavezes grow a variety of chile, including a few plants of Lumbre, which is probably one of the hottest chiles, bark-er’s, which is the next hottest, then Sandia hots, the medium hot Big Jim’s, and the mild New Mexico Heritage chile.

“And that’s really tasty,” Teresa said. “That goes back to

Chile is known for having shaped the culture of New Mexico as members of the community come together for harvest time.


Chile: The food of the people

Continued from page 40the heritage seed.”

Among the old time traditional farmers of the county, new blood is occasionally infused into the area. Clovis friends Blake O’Hare, 22, and Tomas Serna, 20, started farming chile, alfalfa and corn in Peralta three years ago. They sell sweet corn to the local school district.

“We use all New Mexican varieties for our chile,” O’Hare said. “And we’ve done a lot of research on the chile grown here, ver-sus the chile grown in Hatch.”

Valencia County is a perfect place to grow good chile because of its particular elevation, water and soil, they said.

“The soil sediment here is really, really good,” said O’Hare. “That’s what the Middle Rio Grande Valley is kind of known for — the quality of the soil. Also, the alkali in the water isn’t some-thing we have to deal with either, and that’s what makes a chile taste really bitter.”

The chile the new farmers have grown has received positive reviews and recognition, they said.

“Our farm is right there next to the road,” Serna said. “They’ve seen us out there from day one working hard. It’s kind of cool for them to see. It’s a little bit different view on the way they get their food. It’s not just straight supermarket, there’s actually a feeling associated with it now.”

Amid the sounds of rush hour traffic on Main Street in east Los Lunas, the O’Hare Serna Farm produce stand is nestled next to Walgreens at the “Y,” with the vibrant color of the chile ristras hanging from the rafters as sentinel of New Mexican culture.

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Many words come to mind when one thinks of the Rio Grande Valley — lush, verdant, pro-

ductive and caring.All those qualities have culminated in

local growers having the opportunity to share their homegrown produce with the community in different farmers markets across the county.

Los Lunas Farmers MarketThe Los Lunas Farmers Market has

bounced around from location to location in the seven years of its existence due to the fire danger along the bosque area, but it’s found a new place to call home.

The market, formerly located at River Park off Main Street, will now be located under the shady trees at Heritage Park on 3447 Lambros Rd. SE.

The back-and-forth change of locations from the river to Heritage Park has made for a rough couple of years that have hurt business, said Loretta Torres, a board member of the Los Lunas Farmers Market.

“We will be at this park on Tuesdays, 4 to 7 p.m.,” said her husband, George, who manages the Los Lunas Farmers Market. “We are accepting WIC checks, we have EBT and we have debit capabilities here, so you can use any one of those modes of payment.”

The market boasts that it thrives as a no-pesticide market, he said.

Farmers and backyard gardeners are encouraged to bring their surplus produce to the market to add their variety to the venue. Vendor space is available at only $8 per day.

The park, also known as the skate park, contains more than just soccer fields, bas-ketball courts, a playground and sand vol-leyball courts. The Los Lunas Visitor Center and Los Lunas Wellness Center can also be found on the more than 13 acres of land the park sits on.

Torres said up to 25 percent of vendors can bring other products, such as jewelry,

arts and crafts.Lorri Eberlein’s locally made lotions,

creams, and bath products smell sumptu-ous. She handcrafts these products at home with the finest, freshest ingredients, she said.

Torres sells plants as well as produce and has a variety of potted rose bushes and flowers, including geraniums, salvia, dian-thus, dahlias, ganzania and yarrow.

A nice variety of fresh herbs, including thyme, oregano, basil, sage, rosemary, pep-permint, lavender, yarrow and catnip are available.

“Our market is consistently trying to support and promote good, fresh, locally grown produce,” George said.

The market is open from 4 to 7 p.m., every Tuesday, from June 4 until the end of October.

To register for a space at the Los Lunas Farmers Market, call George Torres, mar-ket manager, at 307-1891. And for addi-tional operations hours and locations, call Loretta Torres at 307-1857.

Bosque Farms Farmers MarketThe community of Bosque Farms has

expressed an interest in hosting a market, said George Torres, market manager for the Los Lunas Farmers Market.

And the community came out to support the newest market that began last year.

“We knew people like good, fresh, local produce,” Torres said. “These markets are about engaging the community and coming together.”

Loretta Torres, who helps George orga-nize both markets, said there is always room for more customers and encouraged people to come see what the growers have to offer at all the markets.

The Bosque Farms Growers Market starts at 9 a.m. every Saturday, beginning May 4, at 1090 North Loop, and she urges shoppers to come early to get “the best stuff.”

Like the Los Lunas market, the Bosque Farms location accepts debit and EBT cards. Loretta Torres said they are also accepting WIC checks, as well.

Many of the vendors in Bosque Farms

Some of the best homegrown food can be found at local farmers markets.


Enjoying our Farmers Markets

Continued from page 42use no pesticides on their pro-duce, Loretta said.

“There’s just so many other easy ways to do it,” said Don Draisner with Peralta Gardens.

Under the shade of the elms, growers recommend soil types, tips on safe pest control, sug-gest watering schedules and even offer up simple but mouth-watering recipes for their produce.

The scent of garlic and roast-ing corn waft through the air and colorful flowers bob and nod their heads in the breeze.

Growers and customers alike agreed that having the market was good for the community.

“I love it. There’s a real feel-ing of community and it’s a way to bring people together from the neighborhood to see what’s going on,” said Bosque Farms resident Alice Bris as she picked out gladiolus from Jared Barkemper’s stand.

People are stopping by all

right. Nancy Cole lives in the village and her daughter-in-law-to-be from Albuquerque, Lisa Cordova, was the impetus to get her to the market.

“She saw the sign and stopped by on the way to our house,” Cole said. “She got there with a bag of peaches so we came back to check it out.”

The two women left with bags of squash and red gerani-ums ready for planting.

The Bosque Farms farmers market starts at 9 a.m. on Saturdays and wraps up around noon, and is located on the north side of the bend where the North and West parts of the loop meet.

Public parking is available in the vacant lot east of where the vendors set up.

(As of this publication, it’s still unknown if Belen will resume its farmers market this year.)

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

with its driven students and innovative pro-grams.

About 4,278 students attend Belen’s seven elementary schools, one middle school, one high school and alternative school in a district that is striving to excel.

The Belen district uses programs, such as the career academy, as a benchmark 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-tech-nology-based program. The academy includes nursing and emergency medical technician training.

The academy also has career pathways in agriculture, digital media, health technolo-gy, family and consumer science, business and culinary arts.

There are many courses in the program that have dual credit with the University of New Mexico-Valencia Campus and Central New Mexico Community College in Albuquerque.

The district, the 16th largest in the state, has about 700 employees and 30 adminis-trators and has implemented programs from bilingual education to computer-aided drafting.

Voters recently approved a $23.75 mil-lion bond issue that will bring additional classroom space and a new indoor commu-nity pool to Belen High School and a new building for Belen’s Family School.

The majority of the bond money will go to new buildings for a district that needs additional wings at several of its sites because of expanding class sizes and a need to improve older structures.

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 also recently completed a state-of-the-art tennis complex with eight courts.

The Belen Consolidated School District also puts a premium on technology.

The district has installed microwave tow-ers at each of its schools to improve band-

width speeds for students and teachers to effortlessly stream the Internet.

In 2010, solar panels were installed at the high school’s career academy as part of a statewide $4.5 million grant. The 50-kilo-watt solar photovoltaic system will help offset energy costs and provide students with learning opportunities.

High Schools

Belen High School1619 West Delgado Ave.

Henry T. Jaramillo Community School is named after a well-known educator and for-mer Belen Schools superintendent.

AdministrationSuperintendent: Ron MarquezBoard of Education: Sam Chavez, Adrian Pino, Dolores Lola Quintana, Lor-raine Espinosa and Larry LindbergAdministration location: 530 N. Main. St., Belen, 87002; 505-966-1000


Striving for excellence in Belen Schools

Continued from page 46Belen, N.M., 87002Phone: 505-966-1300Co-Principals: Rodney Wright, Joann

Carter, Manuel LuceroStudents: 1,069

Infinity High School221 S. Fourth St.Belen, N.M., 87002Phone: 505-966-1500Principal: Buddy DillowStudents: 78

Middle School

Belen Middle School314 South Fourth St.Belen, N.M., 87002Phone: 505-966-1600Principal: Sheila ArmijoStudents: 670

Elementary Schools

Central Elementary School600 Picard Ave.

Belen, N.M., 87002Phone: 505-966-1200Principal: Cynthia SwansonStudents: 254

Dennis Chavez Elementary School19670 N.M. 314Los Chavez, N.M., 87002Phone: 505-966-1800Principal: Rita MartinezStudents: 392

Belen Family School376 Rio Communities Blvd.Belen, N.M., 87002Phone: 505-864-0728Principal: Buddy DillowStudents: 80

Gil Sanchez Elementary School362 Jarales RoadJarales, N.M., 87023Phone: 505-966-1900Principal: John CaldareraStudents: 352

H.T. Jaramillo Community School900 Esperanza Drive

Belen, N.M., 87002Phone: 505-966-2000Principal: Andrea MontanoStudents: 390

La Merced Elementary School301 Alame LoopRio Communities, N.M., 87002Phone: 505-966-2100Principal: Isela JáquezStudents: 502

La Promesa Elementary School898 N.M. 304Las Nutrias, N.M., 87062Phone: 505-966-2400Principal: Joanne SilvaStudents: 227

Rio Grande Elementary15 East Side School RoadBelen, N.M., 87002Phone: 505-966-2200Principal: Margaret ManningStudents: 280

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From pre-kindergarten all the way through upperclassman, Los Lunas Schools is consistently

providing students with quality education, an enthusiasm for knowledge and a drive to succeed.

The district is comprised of roughly 8,600 students in 16 schools, including 10 elementary schools, two middle schools, two high schools and one alternative high school.

New this year is the implementation of Common Core State Standards that are being introduced in U.S. classrooms in all but four states.

The CCSS initiative is a state-led effort coordinated by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and the Council of Chief State School Officers, and will make schools compa-rable in educational progress.

“It’s much more rigorous than our cur-rent state standards,” said Julie Smith, director of curriculum.

Each common core grade level in math, science, English and history builds upon the previous level with a focus on depth of knowledge versus breadth, said Ron Williams, assistant superintendent.

For example, young students will learn to read educational books, rather than entertainment books.

Through the language arts curriculum, students will learn about history, science, arts, media, music and other subjects.

Every school in the district has the Jostens Renaissance program. It is the only national program created to recog-nize and reward the academic achieve-ments of students from elementary school through college. The goals are to increase student performance and teacher enthusi-asm, and enhance school community par-ticipation.

Another major project in progress is building the new Los Lunas High School. It is currently under construction in a two-phase plan. Phase one is expected to be

completed in November. The new school will be designed

around the concept of smaller learning communities, and reflect state-of-the-art technology.

Phase I is essentially the construction of four educational academies including

the Freshman Academy, the Flex Academy, which houses the nursing pro-gram and Project Lead the Way, the Fame Academy, and part of the Future Academy, as well as the library, reading room, kitchen, cafeteria, commons area, and classrooms.

Phase II will begin after the school moves into the two-story, phase one build-ing, but some of Phase II infrastructure is already being built, which includes elec-trical and IT wiring, fire alarms and secu-rity systems, as well as storm drains,

They also hope to have the Vocational-Technology area completed in Phase I, said Antonio Sedillo, district supervisor of construction management.

The high school was also the recipient

Sundance Elementary School is one of 16 grade schools in the Los Lunas Schools District.

AdministrationSuperintendent: Bernard R. SaizBoard of Education: Charles Tabet, Robert Archuletta, Shaun Gibson, Georgia Otero-Kirkham and Kelly ChavezAdministration location: 119 Luna Ave., Los Lunas, 87031; 505-865-9636.


Enthusiasm for education in Los Lunas Schools

of a solar energy grant of $600,000 last year, and installed a 50 kW photovoltaic solar power system. Students will moni-tor the system to evaluate daily energy production, giving them hands on techni-cal experience using math, engineering and the computerized monitoring soft-ware.

It was the school’s Project Lead the Way pre-engineering students who brain-stormed the initial architectural design and optimal location site for the new solar energy system, and they were also instrumental in winning the grant for the school.

Project Lead the Way is a four-year sequence of courses that introduces stu-dents to the scope, rigor and discipline of engineering prior to entering college. Courses offered include digital electron-ics and aerospace engineering.

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

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 RoadLos Lunas, N.M., 87031Phone: 505-865-4646 Principal: Dan PadillaStaff: 124, Certified 81Students: 1269

Valencia High School310 Bonita Vista Blvd.Los Lunas, N.M., 87031Phone: 505-565-8755Principal: Andrew SaizStaff: 106, Certified 58Students: 933

Century High School

320 Bonita Vista Blvd.Los Lunas, N.M., 87031Phone: 505-866-2153Principal: Wilson HollandStaff: 11, Certified 7Students: 100

Middle Schools

Los Lunas Middle School220 Luna Ave.Los Lunas, N.M., 87031Phone: 505-865-7273Principal: Victoria BacaStaff: 73 Certified 45Students: 754

Valencia Middle School22 Marlink RoadLos Lunas, N.M., 87031Phone: 505-865-1750Principal: Ron HendrixStaff: 51, Certified 33Students 545



MIKE SUMNER RHONDA DAVIS Great Things Happen!™


The School of Dreams Academy, the only charter school in Valencia County, offers an alternative to the

traditional education format by specializing in digital arts, performing arts and robotics.

SODA also has a community service component working with senior citizens, service with an environmental focus and hands-on ecological education in an out-door setting, as well as other interactive community activities.

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 in E2020 computer classes, and can replay the sequence if they don’t understand a concept being taught. They also have assis-tance from their classroom teacher.

SODA is a state accredited charter school with national and international rec-ognition through AdvancED, an accredita-tion supported by research-based standards that are embraced beyond the state level.

The process helped the school establish a foundational structure to build on that guides the school’s continued growth with quality assurance.

The school opened its doors in August 2009 with grades seven through nine, add-ing a grade level each year. This year, the school has its first graduating class.

Students are encouraged to go at their own pace, and some students will graduate early because the school offers dual and concurrent college enrollment, a rapidly expanding program.

Classes are available on the SODA cam-pus and at the University of New Mexico-Valencia Campus.

“We’ve been doing really good in our dual-enrollment numbers the last couple of years, but for some of our older kids this could begin to look more like a community college setting,” said Principal Mike Ogas.

Enrollment is at about 340 students, and the School of Dreams Education Foundation, a separate entity, is in the pro-cess of purchasing land to build a new

school to accommodate the school’s growth.

The robotics program has been instru-mental in exciting students about math and science, and students in the program have attracted a lot of attention nationally and internationally. This has brought them opportunities for internships and scholar-ships.

The SODA robotics teams have won many trophies, plaques and ribbons in BEST Robotics, Botball, First Robotics,

Advanced Robotics, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Drone robotics, RoboRAVE and others.

Scientists from Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque have been so impressed with the students they have vol-unteered to mentor them, Ogas said.

This year, students undertook a college-level submarine robot competition, and built a submarine about three to four feet long.

The digital arts program has students filming and producing commercials for local businesses, and business owners can use the videos for television or website advertising.

“We have some of the best technology available,” Ogas said. “People don’t real-ize, but once they get in here, they begin to understand.”

The school has a wide assortment of dig-ital arts software, a sound-proof music recording room, virtual desktop servers and a state-of-the-art wooden dance floor.

The School of Dreams Academy, the first and only charter school in Valencia County, opened its doors in August 2009.

AdministrationPrincipal: Mike OgasGoverning Council: Kenneth Griego, Gene Garabajal, Junaita Sena, Dr.David Schnieder, and co-founders Kathy Chavez and Teresa A. OgasAdministration location: 1800 Main St. NE, Los Lunas, 87031; 505-866-7632

School of Dreams Academy is making waves

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Like the fountain in the center of campus, students spring forth from academic buildings across

the University of New Mexico-Valencia Campus, hurrying on their way to their next learning experience.

Last year marked the 30th anniversary of the UNM branch campus nestled in Tomé. But the home of higher education in Valencia County actually started two years before that, in August 1978, as a sat-ellite center for UNM.

The University of New Mexico began serving the educational needs of the coun-ty when the Eastern Valencia County Satellite Center opened its doors at the Valley Community Center in Rio Communities. A total of $93,000 in seed money was raised to help open the facili-ty.

A formal proposal to establish the branch was accepted by UNM in March 1981. Classes began in August of that year. Technical certificates and associate degrees could now be completed locally for the first time in Valencia County’s his-tory.

Continued growth in enrollment and program offerings soon created a need for additional space and new facilities. A new campus at the present 150-acre site was built in response to this need.

The four-building campus, consisting of an administration building, two classroom halls and a cafeteria-student center, opened its doors in the summer of 1986. The campus currently utilizes just under 26 acres, so there is plenty of room for expansion.

During the years, additional classrooms and space for services have been added, including a library and learning resource center in 1994, student-community center, wellness center and bookstore in 2000 and health science building in 2004.

The health science building consists of a cadaver lab, science labs, classrooms and offices.

In the fall of 2005, the new Vocational/

Career Technical Center was built, contain-ing classrooms, computer labs, and the TRiO program offices, computer lab and conference rooms.

The Health Sciences building also hous-es UNM-VC’s new nursing program. In 2009, the school received a $1.38 million Department of Labor grant to establish the two-year associate’s degree program. The vision of the program is to develops professional nurses with abilities to pro-mote, restore and maintain health for indi-viduals, families and groups within our rural community.

Each course is designed to prepare stu-

dents for state or national certification.Dr. Alice Letteney, the campus’s execu-

tive director for 17 years, said when the campus opened in 1981, UNM-VC had a head count of 320 students. This fall, it boasted a head county of 2,493.

In her years as executive director of the campus, Letteney said many programs have been implemented that have fur-thered educational opportunities.

Letteney said interest in STEM — sci-ence, technology, engineering and math — programs have exploded.

The University of New Mexico-Valencia Campus is located in Tomé, at 280 La Entrada Road, halfway between the city of Belen and village of 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.

The University of New Mexico-Valencia Campus is more than 31 years old, serving thousands of local students every year.

AdministrationExecutive Director: Dr. Alice LetteneyAdvisory Board: Paul Luna, Eloisa Tabet, Corrine Sedillo, Belinda Martinez and Russell GriegoPhone: 505-925-8500

UNM-VC: Higher education at its best


Elementary Schools

Desert View Elementary49 Camino La CanadaLos Lunas, N.M., 87031Phone: 505-866-2488Principal: Diedra MartinezStaff: 70, Certified 38Students: 499

Raymond Gabaldon Elementary 454 CoronadoLos Lunas, N.M., 87031Phone: 505-866-0456Principal: Barbara CarrilloStaff: 41, Certified 20Students: 335

Ann Parish Elementary112 Meadow Lake RoadLos Lunas, N.M., 87031Phone: 505-865-7364Principal: Elena TroddenStaff: 69, Certified 40Students: 507

Bosque Farms Elementary1390 W. Bosque LoopBosque Farms, N.M., 87066Phone: 505-869-2646Principal: Cindy PhilipsStaff: 62, Certified 34Students: 427

Katherine Gallegos Elementary236 Don Pasqual RoadLos Lunas, N.M., 87031Phone: 505-865-6223Principal: Samial MorerodStaff: 62, Certified 34Students: 525

Los Lunas Elementary800 Coronado RoadLos Lunas, N.M., 87031Phone: 505-865-9313Principal: Valerie OteroStaff: 78, Certified 33Students: 533

Peralta Elementary3645 N.M. 47Peralta, N.M., 87042

Phone: 505-869-2679Principal: Monica ArguelloStaff: 48, Certified 25Students: 290

Sundance Elementary3701 Sundance St. NWLos Lunas, N.M., 87031Phone: 505-866-0185Principal: Mildred ChavezStaff: 42, Certified, 24Students: 536

Tomé Elementary46 Chacon RoadTomé, N.M., 87066Phone: 505-865-1102Principal: Felipe ArmijoStaff: 74, Certified 47Students: 544

Valencia Elementary111 Monica RoadLos Lunas, N.M., 87031Phone: 505-865-3017Principal: Julie CrumStaff: 61, Certified 40Students: 386

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While the Rio Grande may be the lifeblood of the valley, it can be argued that Tomé Hill

is the very foundation of the community. When the Tomé Land Grant was estab-

lished, the Spanish Crown didn’t just award land to people on a whim.

Water, pasture lands and building materi-als were fairly easy to come by, the people needed something solid to literally build their community on.

According to Tomé native and historian Ramon Torres, that’s where the hill comes in.

“To build a house, you need footings,” Torres said. “The only place to get rock was from the hill. Every house and church built in Tomé started with rocks from the hill.”

Ancient leavingsCapped with basalt rock, it’s no surprise

the hill, as one of the highest points in Valencia County, stood against innumera-ble floods from the Rio Grande.

But the Spanish settlers weren’t the first people to use the resources of the hill, to post lookouts for marauders on it, to use it for a guiding beacon home. Etched into those basalt boulders are more than 1,800 ancient petroglyphs.

In the mid-1990s, the Office of Contract Archeology with the University of New Mexico spearheaded the cultural study of the hill that got it placed on the National Register of Historic Places as a traditional cultural property on July 9, 1996.

The petroglyphs appear to date to the Pueblo IV time period, between 1300 to 1450 A.D., or, in some areas, until Spanish contact in 1540.

Tomé Land GrantIn 1598, Spanish settlers led by Juan de

Oñate moved through the lower Rio Grande Valley to begin permanent settle-ments. The original Spanish land grant, including Tomé, was awarded to Thome

Dominguez de Mendoza in 1659.That year, 125,000 acres were granted to

30 families from the town of Tomé by the Spanish Crown and affirmed by the United States in the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848.

In mid-1955, the grant converted to the Tomé Land and Improvement Corporation and land grant members become share-holders.

However, over the next decade, conflict grew between the so called “progressive” and “conservative” members of the corpo-

ration over whether to sell the land.When the “progressives” won a majority

of the seats on the board of directors, that cleared the way for the sale and in 1967, stockholders voted to sell, 175-18.

The following year, the $4.7 million con-tract for sale of the land to Horizon Corporation was approved by the board. The sale of the grant to Horizon was com-pleted on Nov. 4, 1968.

Thousands of faithful pilgrims climb the historic Tomé Hill every Good Friday to pray, give penance or as an annual tradition.


Tomé Hill: A place of faith and hope


El CalvarioTomé native Edwin Berry decided to make his mark on his

community after his return home from World War II. After sur-viving bullets, bombs and malaria, Berry knew he owed his maker something in return.

In a 1996 News-Bulletin interview, Berry said he began feeling depressed, inferior, because he wasn’t on the front lines of the fighting.

“But I kept telling God I wanted to at least show my apprecia-tion, my sympathy for those who were face to face with the enemy,” he said in the article.

As Berry decided how to best honor his fallen comrades, his mind returned to the cross the penitentes put up every year on the top of Tomé Hill until around 1922, when someone burned it.

“They would put the cross up on Ash Wednesday and leave it up 41 days,” Berry told the newspaper. “On Good Friday, the penitentes would sleep on the hill, stay there all day Saturday and on Easter Sunday, take the cross down at dawn while singing. It could be heard across the valley.”

Inspired by the devout men who had come before him, Berry literally drew up a plan for the monument he wanted to erect on the hill.

The plans called for the monument to face west, set upon an alter 8-feet by 4-feet, with an aluminum finish cross rising 16 feet above the alter.


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Richard Brower864-7434, 864-0891Fax

Se Habla Español

Mon-Fri 8:30-6:30Saturday 8:30-3:00

600 Dalies Avenue • Belen, NM 87002

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“This is my plan: I will build a truly Christian monument atop this mount — Cerro de Tomé — I will bear all cost, but I will invite all people to help me with the work — and it will bring happiness, faith, hope and peace to all people of good will. The inscription will also commemorate our fallen heroes — those who gave their lives in the war.”

According to Torres, the center cross faces the Eucharist Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in Tomé.

The total cost of the monument was a mere $383.

Berry started construction in 1947 and completed the monument in 1948.

The current ownerBerry was one man dedicated to the

preservation of the 178 acres that is Tomé Hill. And the company that currently owns it is also dedicated to that same mission.

The hill, along with other common areas, parks and land set aside for public schools, was deeded over to Valley Improvement Association in 1970 by Horizon Corporation, said Paul Baca, VIA’s president and CEO.

“Tomé Hill is very special to the people of the community,” said Baca, a Belen native. “I’m glad VIA was able to help in its preservation and continued access.”

Under VIA’s ownership, Baca said the company has done minimal “work” on the hill. Mostly, it has put up post and cable around the perimeter to keep out motor-ized vehicles and discourage people on horseback, erected signs reminding people to be respectful of the hill and to “pack it in, pack it out.”

Baca says just seeing the hill can make a person reflect on life.

“As things evolve, progress, whether we want them to or not, whether you are from here or new, the hill kind of pulls you back from the hustle and bustle of life,” he said. “We can preserve it as growth comes, and keep it as a focal point, a refuge.”


Edwin Berry, a Tomé native and WWII veteran, erected the crosses on El Cerro de Tomé in honor of his fallen comrades and to ‘bring happiness, faith, hope and peace to all people of good will.’


Moving inElectricity

Public Service Co. of New Mexico (PNM)

Customer Service: 888-342-5766, no Valencia County office locations

Nearest office: 414 Silver Ave. SW, Albuquerque

Office Hours: Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Natural gas

New Mexico Gas Co.Customer Service: 888-664-

2726, Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., or [email protected]

Emergencies: 697-3335.Los Lunas office: 2431 Main

St. SE, near First Community Bank in Albertson’s shopping center. Hours Monday-Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Fridays 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Telephone serviceCenturyLinkNew 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, 864-8221Los Lunas: Village Hall, 660

Main St. SW, 839-3841 Rio Communities, Meadow

Lake, Pasitos del Cielo, Las Maravillas, Cypress Gardens: New Mexico Water Service, 401 Horner, Rio Communities, 864-2218

Cable TVComcast: 330 Main St. NW,

Los Lunas, 344-0690

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Convenience StoreDrive-thru Car WashPay at the Pump

1304 South Main St.Belen, NM

(505) 864-4723

Baca’s

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Bird’s the word for many Valencia County birders, for whom bird watching is more than a hobby —

it’s a passion and a way of life. “For me, as a person, I think (bird watch-

ing) helps me pay attention to the world around me,” says Molly Madden, the edu-cation coordinator for the Friends of Whitfield Wildlife Conservation Area.

Madden is one of many local residents who harbor a fascination with our feath-ered friends, a hobby, she says, that keeps you constantly learning, investigating and researching.

She says being a birder is similar to being a detective or a sleuth in that you are often observing birds you’ve never seen before and have to go home, crack open your field guide and try and find the bird you were watching.

And when there are thousands of birds flying around the world, this isn’t always an easy task to pin-point a specific one. Spending time with other birders, she says, is where you learn the most.

“Since I’ve been (at Whitfield), I’ve learned tons,” she said. “You learn when you’re with other birders.”

Madden says that any time anyone decides they have an interest in birding, there are always a lot of birders around who are eager to share what they know. She believes that in order to keep vibrant as humans, we must keep learning and keep asking questions, which, she says, is what bird watching gives to her.

Linda Heinze, outreach coordinator for FWWCA, says for her, bird watching is also a great way to meet new people and see new places.

Administration coordinator for FWWCA, Margette Pulis, says birding alone is fine, but that it is the most fun to bird watch with others. She says she enjoys birding with Heinze, who, she says, can hear birds and, unless it’s a mockingbird, identify it just by it’s sound.

“I like seeing birds with other people and having that ‘ah-hah’ moment,” says

Heinze.For both women, birds are full of lessons

and insight.For Pulis, birds teach her about “the

color of life.” “Really, each one has a uniqueness,”

Pulis says, adding that there is a sparrow in her back yard that she’s named Tuffy, who has one little feather that sticks up out of his head, making him different for the rest. “It reminds me of the uniqueness and beauty of people.”

For Heinze, her favorite thing about birds is their “freedom to fly wherever they want and remind us there’s so much life out there.” She says bird watching is more relaxing than anything else because it brings her into the moment.

You have to be tuned in, she says, you can’t be worrying about this and that or you’ll miss the birds.

“Part of the fun of it is you don’t go out with expectations,” says Heinze.

She recalled recently watching what might have been sparrows chase a hawk from their nest, describing it as “drama in the skies.” And another recent incident in which she watched a male humming bird fly in fantastical figure eights while a female sat on a branch watching. She later realized she had been watching their mat-ing ritual.

“The unexpected always unfolds before your eyes — you never know what you’re

Many people enjoy the conservation efforts at Whitfield Wildlife Conservation Area, such as bird watching.


Birding is a way of life at Whitfield

Continued from page 56going to see. I think that’s what lures us in,” she said.

Birding also offers people an excuse to get out in nature. And Pulis says that when you are out birding you discover more than just birds, you get to observe bees, butterflies, flowers and all parts of the natural world.

Birding, says Heinze, helps people find the creatures’ places in the ecosystem. She used swallows as an example, explaining that they eat thousands of mosquitoes and how other birds eat insects that might otherwise decimate farmers’ crops. They help keep nature balanced, she said.

“That’s what we try to get across (at Whitfield), that everything has a place in nature,” Heinze says.

She describes Whitfield as a haven for birds that might not have a place to go otherwise, and that they have recorded more than 200 species in that area alone.

Both women agree that anyone interested in birding should not be intimidated to jump right in with seasoned birders. They also say that it is an inexpensive hobby and the only tools one really needs is a field guide, journal, binoculars, and possibly a good camera to take pictures for later identification.

For those interesting in birding, they recommend the following books: “The Sibley Field Guide to Birds,” by David Allen Sibley, “Birds of North America Western Region,” by Fred J. Alsop III, and “Birding Hot Spots of Central New Mexico,” by Albuquerque author Judy Liddell and Barbara Hussey.

Whitfield Wildlife Conservation Area is located at 2424 N.M. 47, north of Rio Communities. For more information, visit www.whitfieldwildlife.org.

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Early in the morning, men gather to select a well-fed pig.

The jaras and discos are ready, boiling with water, traditionally over a wood fire.

The bottles of wine, sharpened knives and tall tales are ready for the day-long preparation and eating of the pig. It is a shared experience. It is matanza.

A tried and true feastAccording to Maggie McDonald, who

has a doctorate in American Studies and who wrote her dissertation on Belen’s cul-ture and history, the word “matanza” comes from the Spanish word “matar,” meaning to kill.

She notes that the practice developed in Spain in the seventh century did not neces-sarily use pigs. Goats, lambs and other ani-mals would be killed and cooked in a fami-ly or community setting.

It became a politically-charged event as the Moors took over Spain, because there were religious differences involving the consumption of pork for both the Muslims and the Jews.

Matanzas using a pig became a way of identifying those of a faith differing from Spanish Catholicism.

“They could find out if you were a Jew or not by offering you pork,” McDonald said. “If you didn’t eat pork, then you were a Jew or a Muslim. It was a very distin-guishing feature.”

In the early settlements in the Rio Abajo, making it through the winter required a storage of meat.

“The only way to survive was with the help of your neighbors,” said McDonald.

It starts with partsAfter the animal is slaughtered and

drained, the organs are cut from the rest of the meat.

The back fat is cut into long strips, called longas, and hung to cure while the rest of the animal is processed. These are later

used to make chicharrones and rendered for lard to be used throughout the winter.

The heart, liver, kidneys and other organs are chopped up and grilled with onions. It is a reward, called the matanza breakfast, for those gathered to cook.

One of the distinguishing features of the matanza, as compared with other hog roasts, such as the Hawaiian Luau, is that every part of the animal is used.

Morcela is a blood pudding that is made with sweet onions and raisins.

The tail and ears are cut off and cooked directly in the fire.

Several dishes are prepared from the

main part of the pig. Carne asada and car-nitos are usual staples at matanzas.

In the olden days, when the families needed to store meat for the winter, only a small portion was used and the rest was wrapped in lard and stored.

The longas are taken down and cut into cubes to be used in part for the lard and some for the chicharrones.

Chowing on chicharronesSteven Otero has gained a reputation as a

Matanzas are a big part of the culture of the Rio Grande Valley, especially here in Valencia County.


Matanza: Food for the soul

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Picture this: a metal steam-powered machine rumbling across the Rio Grande Valley for the first time

and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway building Harvey Houses across the state to accommodate everyone from passengers to railroaders.

In 1880, the railway completed its first line through Valencia County from Albuquerque. It was the start of Belen becoming part of the transcontinental main line.

By 1907, the Belen cut-off, which linked Amarillo to Belen, was completed. The move propelled Belen into a major railroad center in the state and gave the town the nickname “The Hub City.”

More than 100 years later, the railway is still going strong under the renamed BNSF Railway Company.

BNSF averages more than 100 freight trains a day that come through Belen and travel to places such as New York and Chicago.

The Belen rail yard is one of four major corridors in the state of New Mexico, employing about 450 people.

The locomotives, which could weigh upwards of 250,000 pounds, haul every-thing from grain and automobiles to chem-icals and metals.

According to BNSF, each year the rail-way hauls enough lumber to build 500,000 homes, enough asphalt to lay a single-lane road four times around the equator and enough coiled steel to lay the unrolled coils end-to-end 12 times between New York City and Seattle.

The railway, which has a total payroll of $87 million, moves more than three million carloads of freight in the state each year.

Last year, BNSF added five miles of double-track rail to allow north and south-bound traffic through Abo Canyon, south-east of Belen.

The move helped eliminate a major bot-tleneck, allowing traffic to continuously flow through the area.

The company also announced it would

be the first “user” in what is now called the Rancho Cielo Industrial Hub, a 6,000-acre site in Belen that is expected to house a facility complete with industrial spurs where it would likely serve specific manu-facturers to be able to transport certain products.

Construction dates for the BNSF project have not been announced.

But Joe Faust, a spokesman for BNSF,

said the rail company aims not only to serve big-time companies, but also concen-trate efforts on the municipalities employ-ees work and live in.

BNSF is integrated with the community on a number of levels, including donating time and money to the city and its resi-dents.

BNSF in Belen employs about 450 people. The local rail yard averages traffic of more than 100 freight trains a day.


BNSF: The pulse of the community


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Serving Valencia county since 1910


matanza expert. He can trace his family matanza tradition back several generations in the Rio Abajo.

According to Otero, the chicharrones are everything when it comes to matanzas.

“If you have great chicharrones and everything else was terri-ble, then you had a great matanza,” said Otero. “The chicharrones is the gage of the success of the feast for that day.”

The ‘poor man’s butter’The rendered fat of the pig was an important part of making it

through an old-time New Mexico winter. It had the ability to seal food and keep it fresh before the advent of refrigerators.

“This is what you primarily having the matanza for, is the lard,” said McDonald. “It is used primarily in New Mexican cooking.”

Otero calls the lard “poor man’s butter.”“It is the reason they would get the pig as fat as they could, is

that it would be good for the lard,” said Otero.He described an old tradition of storing the ham and bacon

sealed in lard to make it last through the winter. A family could take out the meat, cut off a portion and the lard would seal and preserve it.

A community matanzaThe Valencia County Hispano Chamber of Commerce holds a

matanza every year in order to preserve the tradition. Matanzas are usually held starting in November to keep the food from spoiling.

According to former Valencia County Hispano Chamber of Commerce President Yvonne Sanchez, the community organiza-tion decided to have a matanza as a way to raise money for a scholarship fund the weekend between the NFL playoffs and the Super Bowl.

“This is also a celebration,” said Sanchez, explaining that the cost for the public has been held steady for the event to encour-age the community gathering.

Celebrating tradition“It has to go back over 400 years in this valley,” Sanchez said

of the tradition. “Still, to this day, it is the men who do the slaughtering and preparing and cooking.”

She did say that the use of the matanza has changed a little from the political protests in Spain in the seventh century to today’s political rallies and fundraisers for all types of causes.

The gathering of friends and family is a celebration, a time for singing and sharing.

“I have been to matanzas where people know that they are dying and their wish is to have a matanza,” she said. “It is the open place where you can walk in and visit with your neighbor and release all of your stresses. You are just there celebrating a meal together and a glass of wine. It is a celebration.”

Continued from page 58“We are very concerned about the community and the citizens

in areas where we operate,” Faust said. “We believe in having employees who are involved in the community where they work and live.”

Faust said BNSF aims to hire people who play active roles in their communities and who are “good corporate citizens,” who have their ears toward the pulse of the community.

David Renteria is one of those employees.Renteria, a Rio Communities resident, retired in 2011 from

BNSF as a mechanical general foreman at the Belen yard and was instrumental in ensuring that trains came and went without a problem.

During recent years with the company, Renteria was a local spokesman for BNSF at local functions and is past president of the Greater Belen Chamber of Commerce. He worked at the rail-road for more than 40 years.

Renteria oversaw a yard that continues to be a major inspection and fueling facility on the transcontinental line between Chicago and Los Angeles. Some say Belen is a major hub because of the good terrain in the area.

As one of the top three employers in Belen, BNSF has with-stood recessions and depressions and is still a strong industrial player in both Valencia County and the state of New Mexico.

Dennis Morgan, a retiree who worked in the mechanical depart-ment at BNSF, echoed the former foreman’s sentiments. He said the tax base is “pretty doggone good” for the area.

“I think the railroad built Belen,” Morgan said. “Some politi-cians don’t want to admit it, but without the railroad, Belen wouldn’t be here.”

Local experts say a single train can haul as much as 300 semi-trucks and is essential for those who need to haul agricultural and industrial products.

Renteria said in 2008, the Belen yard averaged 88 trains a day and used 645,000 gallons of fuel for trains that had to make pit stops at the BNSF station. Those stops weren’t always smooth.

Renteria said problems could range from locomotive engine failure to derailments to a trailer leaning on one side or another. Crews would have to scurry around and switch out certain cars to get the train traffic moving again.

During peak season, companies such as UPS expect to have packages delivered on time.

“We (had) contracts,” Morgan said. “Every hour that we were late, we had to pay them.”

Still, Renteria said the BNSF Railway Company strives to keep its community ties.

Statewide, the company donates $50,000 per year for various causes, according to Renteria.

Renteria, who is currently on the Greater Belen Chamber of Commerce board of directors, said BNSF will continue to be a partner in the community.

“Residents in this community should be proud to be involved with one of the top 10 companies in the country,” says Renteria.


VCNB55278

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