New Mexico Chapter President Lynda Grasty Dies

We are saddened to report the death of Lynda Grasty in April 2012. She was the president of the New Mexico Chapter of NNDPA and Associate Director of the national NNDPA. She worked for many other organizations, and as her obituary says, "Her eternal optimist approach to life provided her with many friends who will miss her greatly." You can read the full obituary here.

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Future Events

Antique and Rare Books Sale in Santa Fe Features New Deal Era Books
On Saturday, May 12, 2012, New Deal era books will be on sale from 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. at Sanbusco Center in Santa Fe. The organizers are promising a bigger and better sale than previous years, with over 20 vendors offering their selections. There will also be book signings by authors of books related to New Mexico, and bargain used books for sale. 

Come support New Mexico's NNDPA!

 

NNDPA Photo Exhibits in Albuquerque
Currently we have a photo exhibit in the Bernalillo County Commissioners Office area on the tenth floor, and another will be opening on Sunday, May 20, 2012 at the City of Albuquerque's Open Space Visitor Center on North Coors near Paseo del Norte. More details will be posted later.

 

New Mexico Historical Society Conference in Santa Fe
The New Mexico Historical Society will hold its annual conference May 3–5 at the Santa Fe Convention Center. The theme will be “From Pig Roasts to Butch Cassidy, Territorial Spies and More.” For details, visit the society's conference Web page. The New Mexico Chapter of NNDPA will have a display there, and some of our board members are also on this valuable organization's board and therefore will be directly involved in this conference.

 

NNDPA Presenting at NM Heritage Preservation Alliance Annual Conference
The New Mexico Heritage Preservation Alliance annual conference will run concurrently with the New Mexico Historical Society annual conference, May 3–5, 2012. The alliance conference will also be in Santa Fe, at the La Posada Hotel. The theme will be “New Mexico's Centennial: The Role of Preservation, Now and For the Next One Hundred Years.” Some of these programs will be held with the Historical Society conference.

The New Mexico Chapter of NNDPA will give a presentation from 10:45 a.m.–12:15 p.m. May 4 about preservation of public art. The president of the alliance is one of our chapter board members, Vicky Jacobson, a National Park Service architect. For more information, contact Tom Chavez at Chavez.22@comcast.net. A program will be out soon for this conference.

 

Open House, Dinner, Presentations To Be Held in Tularosa New Deal Buildings
The Tularosa Basin Conference will be held May 11–12, 2012, at the Tularosa Community Center. The center is located at US 70 and Bookout Road in Tularosa.

There will be an open house from 3–5 p.m. May 11 at the Tularosa Village Historical Museum, a WPA building that was recently provided for the museum and has been going through a transformation for its new function. Evening events will be held at the Tularosa Community Center on Bookout Road, which include dinner (advance tickets must be purchased to attend). The Tularosa Womens Club is to receive the Eugene Manlove Rhodes award in Historic Preservation. This building is also a New Deal building that has served the women of the community for years. They are planning to use the award money to do some preservation work on the building. Other activities will include an auction, commentary by G.L. Tucker on anecdotes of his experiences, and a keynote presentation by Deni Seymour, Ph.D. on her research on Otero Mesa Apache sites. Tickets for the dinner are $25.00.

The formal presentations will begin at 8 a.m. May 12. Papers are scheduled all day. Conference registration is $30.00, $10 for seniors.

Tours are being planned for May 13.

 

New Deal Presentation at Rough Rider Museum
NNDPA Executive Director Kathy Flynn will give a presentation on the New Deal from 10:15–noon May 26, 2012, at the Rough Rider Museum and Memorial Collection in Las Vegas. A walking tour may be included.

 

Kathy Flynn Speaking on New Deal and State Parks in Bernalillo
NNDPA Executive Director Kathy Flynn will give a lecture titled “The New Deal's Contribution to New Mexico State Monuments and Parks.” at 7 pm. June 8, 2012, at Coronado Monument in Bernalillo. She will be speaking out on the portal at this New Deal site.

 

Kathy Flynn Speaking in Southwest Seminar
NNDPA Executive Director Kathy Flynn will speak in the Southwest Seminars series June 25 at Hotel Santa Fe in Santa Fe. Her topic will be “Treasures We Don't See or Take For Granted.” These sessions are held in the evening and are always well attended.

 

Chapter Gearing Up for Regional Conference
Watch for news about our upcoming 2012 New Deal Fireside Chat programs and possibly one "Fireside Face-Off." Hmm—this could really be interesting!

Also, plans are developing for the New Mexico Chapter of the NNDPA to host a first-ever Southwest Regional Conference on the New Deal Oct. 18–20, 2012, with speakers from Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Utah, California, Colorado and possibly Oklahoma. Anyone interested in helping to put on this conference will get a high place in "New Deal Heaven," if one does exist out there. Let us hear from you.

 

Southwest Art History Conference in Taos
The Southwest Art History Annual Conference will be held Oct. 31–Nov. 2 at the Mabel Dodge Lujan Conference Center in Taos. For more info, contact Betsy Fahlman, School of Art, Arizona State University, af fahlman@asu.edu. Betsy is an art historian and member of NNDPA.

 

Thanks to New Mexico Humanities Council
Many of the 2012 programs going on around New Mexico are co-sponsored by the New Mexico Humanities Council and we have been most fortunate to work with them over the years. Most recently they have provided the funding for the NM New Deal Maps that we will be handing out at all these presentations as one of our Centennial Offerings.

 

“Fireside Chat” on Henry Wallace
David Douglas will present a “Fireside Chat” in Santa Fe about his grandfather, Henry Wallace. Wallace was President Roosevelt's Secretary of Agriculture and later Vice President. Date, time, and exact location to be determined.

 

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Past Events

Call for Papers for Southwest Art History Conference
A call for papers is out from Betsy Fahlman, School of Art, Arizona State University, for the Southwest Art History Annual Conference at the Mabel Dodge Lujan Conference Center in Taos. The conference will run Oct. 31–Nov. 2, 2012.

Betsy is an art historian and member of NNDPA. This is a most valuable art history conference and most professional, including papers from practicing art historians, graduate students and others. The abstract for the presentations must be in Betsy's hands by April 5, 2012.

Her address is P.O. Box 871505, Tempe, AZ 85287-1505; phone: 480-965-2610; fax: 480-965-8338; email: fahlman@asu.edu.

 

Renesan Institute Offers New Deal Class and WPA Art Tour
NNDPA Executive Director Kathy Flynn will give a class and lead a field trip in Santa Fe for the Renesan Institute for Lifelong Learning.

Kathy will teach a two-session class on “The New Deal and the Humanities” from 1–3 p.m. April 9 and 16, 2012. The class will meet at St. John's United Methodist Church in Santa Fe.

Kathy will lead a walking tour of WPA art sites in downtown Santa Fe 1–3 p.m. Friday, April 13, 2012. The tour will start at the east entrance of the Roundhouse, facing Old Santa Fe Trail. Kathy will talk about the artists who created the works and tell how they contributed to the uniqueness of Santa Fe through the WPA. The charge for the tour is $9, and there is a limit of 30 participants.

For more information, call the institute at 505-982-9274.

 

Oral History Association Conference in Albuquerque
The theme of the 2012 conference of the Southwest Oral History Association (SOHA) will be “Celebration, Remembrance, and Commemoration: Who Tells the Story?” The conference will be held April 12–14 at Hotel Albuquerque in Albuquerque's Old Town.

The New Deal's WPA Federal Writers' Project was a most active component for capturing oral histories with NM folks and how life was back in the 1930-40's. This organization is a part of a national oral history organization that recognizes all the work of the Federal Writers' Projects nationwide.

For the conference schedule and registration, please visit the conference website or email sohaconference@yahoo.com. For a local contact, email Rose Diaz, Program Chair, at rosediaz013@gmail.com.

 

Northern New Mexico Documentary Premiering in Española
“Land Water People Time,” a documentary film about Northern New Mexico, will have its New Mexico premier Friday, March 23, 2012. The movie was produced by Water in Motion LLC in collaboration with Northern Rio Grande National Heritage Area, Inc. and Northern New Mexico College. The film will show from 6:30–8 p.m., with a receoption from 6–6:30 p.m., in the Nick L. Salazar Center for Performing Arts, 921 Paseo de Onate, NNMC Española Campus.

For more information, visit the movie website.

 

Exhibit of CCC Furniture and Tinwork
The Spanish Colonial Arts Society Museum in Santa Fe will host “New Deal Art: CCC Furniture and Tinwork.” The exhibit opening will be from 5:30–7 p.m. Friday, March 23, 2012. NNDPA has loaned some of the items in the exhibit.

Richard Melzer, a member of the NNDPA New Mexico board, will speak on “The CCC in New Mexico, 1932-1942” Saturday, March 31, 2012. Richard is a history professor at UNM-Valencia County and has written several books, including one about the CCC in New Mexico. His latest book is a state history called “New Mexico: A Celebration of the Land of Enchantment.”

A symposium on “Celebrating the CCC” will be held from 9:30–12:30 Saturday, April 21, 2012. Symposium speakers will include Tey Marianna Nunn, author of a book on Hispana and Hispano Artists of the New Deal and one of our board advisors; Bettina Raphael, a conservator and author of a book on tinware at Bandelier; William Wroth, an independent curator and author of book on Russell Lee's FSA photos in Chamisal and Penasco; Gary Roybal, Bandelier staff; Robin Gavin, Curator at the Museum. Seating is limited, so call 982-2226 to reserve space.

NNDPA Executive Director Kathy Flynn will speak at this exhibit in June. Details will be posted as soon as they are settled.

 

Walk the Elephant Butte Dam
Sierra County will kick off its New Mexico Centennial observance with a walk across Elephant Butte Dam Jan. 7, 2012. The celebration will start at 11:00 a.m. with a flag ceremony, speeches, music, food, video interviews, historic photos, brochures, books, and the walk. Vans will take visitors from the dam site recreation area to the dam overlook and will return visitors to dam site restaurant for a $10 buffet lunch.

The dam itself was completed in 1916, but the buildings and grounds around it were built during the New Deal.

For more information about the event, click here.

 

Talk on New Deal History in New Mexico
NNDPA Executive Director Kathy Flynn will speak on New Mexico's New Deal History at 9:30 a.m. Dec. 6, 2011, in the Meem Room at the New Mexico History Museum. The presentation is primarily aimed at training new museum docents.

 

Annual Fundraiser in Santa Fe
The Annual Antique and Rare Book Sale Nov. 19, 2011, in Santa Fe will benefit the New Mexico chapter of NNDPA. The sale will run from 8:30 a.m.–3 p.m. at Garrett's Desert Inn, 311 Old Santa Fe Trail in downtown Santa Fe.

If you have used books you can donate to the sale, please contact us at 505-690-5845 for pickup of your donations in Santa Fe, or call 505-314-4661 for pickup in Albuquerque.

 

Talk on New Mexico's New Deal Legacy
NNDPA Executive Director Kathy Flynn will give a talk titled "New Deal Treasures in New Mexico" at 3 p.m. Nov. 8, 2011, at the School of Advanced Research in Santa Fe. The school is at 660 Garcia, and the talk will be in the Sparks Board Room. For more information, contact the NNDPA office at 505-473-3985 or the school at 505-954-7200.

 

Celebrating Train Station Opening and History in Tucumcari
On Nov. 4, 2011, Tucumcari will celebrate the grand opening of the restored west end of the old train station. The Union Pacific Company will bring a steam train and there will be many other activities. NNDPA will be there with its FSA Traveling Photo Exhibit. For more information about the festival, click here.

 

Presentation at Museum Association Conference
NNDPA Executive Director Kathy Flynn will give a presentation at the New Mexico Museum Association Annual Conference from 10:45 a.m.–noon Nov. 4, 2011, in Farmington. The title of the talk is “New Deal Collaboration.” The conference will be held Nov. 2–5 at the Best Western Inn & Suites.

 

Talk on Jackson Pollack at Art History Conference in Taos
The Southwest Art History Conference will be held Oct. 26-29, 2011, at the Mabel Dodge Lujan Conference Center in Taos.  One of our New Deal members, Helen Harrison-Nichols, will be speaking Oct. 27 about  the work of Jackson Pollack, a New Deal artist.  She is the director of the Pollack/Krasner Center, which includes the home of  Pollack and his wife.

Another presentation of New Deal interest is planned for Oct. 29. NNDPA National Board Member Bob Leighninger of Arizona will be there for the conference, and a meeting with him and New Mexico members is being developed. More details will be posted when they are settled.

 

Day Tour and “Fireside Chat” in Gallup
On Oct. 20, 2011, a bus will take a group from Albuquerque to Gallup to tour New Deal sites in Gallup and attend a “Fireside Chat” over lunch at El Rancho Hotel. Bruce Gjeltma will provide the program “Indian New Deal Programs and the Political Players—Sen. Dennis Chavez, John Collier, Sr. and Navajo Chief Martin.”

The tour will cost $60, which includes transportation and lunch. It will depart from Dominquez-Baca Senior Center in Albuquerque. Call 505-690-5845 for reservations and/or more details.

 

Presentation on Federal Writers Project in New Mexico
Dr. Tey Diana Rebelledo, a UNM professor, and Shirley Jacobson, a rare book dealer, will speak Oct. 16, 2011, on “New Mexico’s Federal Writers Project Accomplishments.” Their talk will begin at 1 p.m. at the Albuquerque Museum.

 

Presentation at New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum
NNDPA Executive Director Kathy Flynn will be speaking on “The New Deal in Southern New Mexico” at 7 p.m. Oct. 13, 2011, at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum in Las Cruces. The talk will feature info on the Farm Security Administration and Resettlement Towns.

The museum is located at 4100 Dripping Springs Road, Las Cruces, NM 88011. Telephone 575-522-4100.

 

“Fireside Chat” on New Deal Photography
Nancy Wood, photographer and poet, will give a talk titled “My Life with Roy Stryker and the FSA.” Roy Stryker was her former boss and the director of the Farm Security Administration's photography program. Nancy will also share vignettes about some of the photographers who participated in this New Deal project and discuss her later photographic work. Photographs will be shown.

The talk will be from 5:30–7 p.m. Sept. 22, 2011, in the National Park Service building at 1100 Old Santa Fe Trail in Santa Fe.

 

“Fireside Chat” on Santa Fe Artists, Plus Tour Unusual Santa Fe Gardens
Elspeth Bobbs is joining with Pen La Farge to provide a most interesting “Fireside Chat” event sponsored by the New Mexico Chapter of the NNDPA at 5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 25, 2011, in Santa Fe. She will share her unusual and wonderful gardens—all with different themes, some beautiful, some humorous—and Pen will share vignettes about some of the individuals he knew in the artistic worlds of Santa Fe. He will elaborate on some stories from his book, Turn Right at the Sleeping Dog, and he may share some others that didn’t make it into the book. Elspeth may add a few anecdotes of her own about some of folks she remembers when she first came to Santa Fe in 1942. Many of these folks were part of the artists’ and writers’ projects of the New Deal.

The public is invited and the event is free. Suggested directions are to come up Canyon Road to Delgado, turn right and drive just a few blocks and then turn right on to the dirt road portion of East Alameda, which is on the south side of the Santa Fe River. Follow the balloons to her residence at 650 E. Alameda. Remember this is not the paved East Alameda street…another City Different charm. For more information, contact NNDPA Executive Director Kathy Flynn at 505-690-5845 or email newdeal@cybermesa.com.

 

A Chance to Experience a New Deal Site
This event is not specifically New Deal related, but the location is: the Coronado State Monument began as a WPA project.

Zia Pueblo potter Ulysses Reid will discuss his pottery methods, including knowledge of mineral paints and clays, as well as his use of innovative designs created by his late grandfather, Andres Galvan. Weather permitting, Reid will do a demo pottery firing and open the earthen kiln at the end of the program.

The presentation will be at 2 p.m. Sunday, June 19. The cost is $5 for adults, free to Friends of Coronado State Monument. For more information, call 505-867-5351, or click this event announcement.

 

National Historic Preservation Month
The entire month of May, 2011, is National Historic Preservation Month across the nation. There will be events all over New Mexico featuring preservation activities. The Department of Cultural Affair's State Historic Preservation Division has a calendar of events here.

 

“Fireside Chat” on New Deal Artists
Joe Traugott will give a “Fireside Chat” about the artists Eugenie “Gene” Kloss and Boris J. O. Nordfeldt and their art specialities at 2 p.m., May 22, 2011, at the New Mexico Museum of Art in Santa Fe.

 

Historic Preservation Awards
The State Historic Preservation Awards Ceremony will begin at 5 p.m. May 13, 2011, at the Scottish Rite Temple in Santa Fe.

 

Historical Society of New Mexico Annual Conference
The Historical Society of New Mexico will hold its annual conference May 5–8, 2011, at the Ruidoso Conference Center. Non-members are invited to register. NNDPA Executive Director Kathy Flynn is a board member, and she will be moderating three of the many presentations. For more information and registration, click here.

 

New Deal Public Art and Architecture
NNDPA Executive Director Kathy Flynn will be the guest speaker from 2–4 p.m. April 30, 2011, at the Hubbard Museum in Ruidoso. She will talk about New Mexico's New Deal public art and architecture.

 

Tour Highlands University Murals
We are going to give a tour of the New Deal murals at Highlands University Administration Building and Ilfeld Auditorium from 3:15–4:45 p.m. on April 8, 2011. Let us know if you want to be part of this activity.

 

New Mexico Heritage Preservation Alliance Annual Conference
The New Mexico Heritage Preservation Alliance will hold its annual conference April 6–9, 2011, in Las Vegas. The conference schedule is available at the alliance Web site. NNDPA board member Vicky Jacobson is the president of this group.

 

NNDPA Board Meeting April 2
The full board of the National New Deal Preservation Association will meet from 1-3 p.m. April 2 in the Albuquerque Museum's small auditorium. This will also be the chapter's annual meeting. All members are encouraged to come and the public is invited.

 

“Fireside Chat” on Pablita Velarde
Margarete Bagshaw will give “A Fireside Chat” about artist Pablita Velarde from 5:30–7 p.m. April 1, 2011, at the Golden Dawn Gallery in Santa Fe. Bagshaw is Velarde's granddaughter and the owner of the gallery, which is at 208 Galisteo St.

 

Free Event at New Mexico Museum of Art
The New Mexico Museum of Art in Santa Fe has a significant collection of WPA art. A grant from the New Mexico chapter of NNDPA funded proper matting of some works by B.J.O. Nordfeldt and and Gene Kloss, which are now on exhibit. The museum will hold a Free Friday Evening event from 5–8 pm March 4, 2011, featuring music by Victory Chicken.

 

Centennial Celebration Reception
The New Mexico Humanities Council and the New Mexico Museum of Art are hosting a reception to honor the centennial of statehood. The event will be from 5:30–7 pm Feb. 24, 2011, in Santa Fe. Reservations must be made by Feb. 22. Anyone interested in attending should contact Executive Director Kathy Flynn at 505-473-3985 or by e-mail.

 

 

 

 

 

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