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Telling great stories: A look at five artifacts you might have missed at the 'Only in sa国际传媒官网网页入口' exhibit
Editor鈥檚 note: The last Sunday of each month, Journal Arts Editor Adrian Gomez tells the stories behind some of the hidden gems you can see across the state in 鈥淕imme Five.鈥�
New Mexico鈥檚 history is as colorful as the sunsets.
Each piece of history comes together to create the mosaic we see today.
The sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Museum is home to the permanent exhibit, 鈥淥nly in sa国际传媒官网网页入口,鈥� which is told through four galleries 鈥� Spirited, Courageous, Resourceful and Innovative.
Hundreds of the city鈥檚 most beloved artifacts are featured.
Alicia Romero, curator of history at the museum, highlights five pieces within the exhibit.
鈥淓verything I included is on exhibit and we want people to come in and see what we鈥檙e talking about,鈥� Romero says. 鈥淲e鈥檙e working on revamping some of the exhibit to add some new stories. A lot of the items have some really great stories attached to them.鈥�
Telling great stories: A look at five artifacts you might have missed at the 'Only in sa国际传媒官网网页入口' exhibit
1. Petrified Wood Folsom Point, circa 8,500 B.C.E.
The Petrified Wood Folsom Point, dates to about 8,500 B.C.E., Romero says.
It was found in the Folsom region in northern New Mexico.
鈥淲e should all know the story of George McJunkin, who was an African American farmhand,鈥� Romero says. 鈥淗e was also an amateur archaeologist who collected items while he was working on ranches.鈥�
Romero says the Petrified Wood Folsom Point provides evidence of human interaction and hunting at an earlier date.
鈥�(New Mexico) is a huge resource for dinosaur bones,鈥� Romero says. 鈥淏ut to see some of this evidence of human life in northeast New Mexico. George was one of the first people to really start looking around in that area. He wasn鈥檛 there for scientific purposes. He just loved to collect bones and wanted to explore the area where he was living and working. He doesn鈥檛 get a lot of credit for his lasting impact.鈥�
2. Daguerreotype of Padre Antonio Jos茅 Martinez, circa 1847
Padre Antonio Jos茅 Martinez became one of the first 鈥渉ijo del pueblo鈥� or native son who became a priest.
Romero says he was born in Abiqui煤 and later moved to Taos, where his parents built Hacienda Martinez.
鈥淧adre Martinez became a priest later in life,鈥� Romero says. 鈥淗e had been married, had a child and his wife passed away. Then his daughter passed away. He entered the priesthood in Durango, Mexico, which, at that point in time, Mexico had just gotten its independence from Spain.鈥�
After becoming a priest Padre Martinez returned to New Mexico and opened his own kind of school for young men to become priests.
鈥淗e brought the first printing press to New Mexico and printed his own newspaper,鈥� she says. 鈥淗e wanted to educate the people and when Willa Cather wrote 鈥楧eath Comes for the Archbishop,鈥� I think people began to think that the Padre Martinez represented in the book is who he was. It鈥檚 taken a lot of work to correct the narrative because he brought so much to New Mexico.鈥�
3. The Pie Case from the Alvarado Hotel, 1922
Romero says the pie case from the Alvarado Hotel is a reminder of the hotel, which was demolished in the 1970s.
She says it was a victim of the trend of 鈥渙ut with the old and in with the new.鈥�
鈥淭he pie case is refrigerated and designed by Mary Colter,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t was part of the Harvey Hotels that was defining early luxury travel via railroad. When I look at this, we can see that Fred Harvey carted to the clientele that he had. Everything looked exquisite. We have fake pieces of pie in it now. I think that I may put more of a New Mexico flair to it when it gets redone.鈥�
Romero says the pie case is a reminder of the time.
鈥淭he pie case symbolizes a lot because it represents the height of the railroad era in sa国际传媒官网网页入口,鈥� she says.
4. Cochiti Jar, circa 1890
Like the pie case, Romero says the Cochiti jar from around 1890 symbolizes a piece of sa国际传媒官网网页入口 culture.
鈥淥ur notes say it was part of other pottery sold outside of the Alvarado Hotel,鈥� Romero says. 鈥淲hen we think of travelers coming, they were greeted with local culture and representations of what our local cultures were like. This was one of the first examples of companies selling local art. It鈥檚 really unique because Native Americans are being viewed as exotic. They were asked to sit outside and sell, just as we see in Old Town and at the Palace of the Governors in Santa Fe today.鈥�
Romero says there鈥檚 also an important distinction of what was produced for tourists versus what was produced for daily use.
鈥淭hey were protecting some of the things they were holding dear to them,鈥� she says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a look at how we sell culture and who is really making that last buck.鈥�
5. Ernie Pyle鈥檚 Folding Corona 3 Typewriter with Carrying Case, circa 1923
Romero says Ernie Pyle鈥檚 typewriter dates back to 1923 and what makes it significant is its story.
Pyle was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist and war correspondent who is best known for his stories about ordinary American soldiers during World War II.
He is known for the columns he wrote as a roving human-interest reporter from 1935 through 1941 for the Scripps-Howard newspaper syndicate.
鈥淚 think a lot of people know who Ernie Pyle is because he made the war come alive for people through his writing,鈥� Romero says. 鈥淭he typewriter was recovered in France after it was found in a foxhole.鈥�
Pyle and his wife later built a house and lived in sa国际传媒官网网页入口.
鈥淏y itself, it鈥檚 a beautiful object,鈥� Romero says. 鈥淓rnie Pyle used it to communicate quickly. We were sent this typewriter and we see it as a testament to his courage, not only to journalism, but covering a fair story for the world to read.鈥�
