Merry Christmas 2010

I hope you will forgive me if I brag for just a moment.  These are my five special angels - those five kids that I keep talking about when we are working!  But I am so blessed by these GRAND kids and I just wanted to share their Christmas picture with you too.  Standing (left) is Eric, Laurel, Luke; kneeling on left is Gregory, Jacob (on right).  These five are my daily blessing.

"And lo, the angel of the Lord came on them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them.  And they were grievously afraid.  And the angel said to them, "Do not fear.  For behold, I give to you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people."  Luke 2:9-10

Through fears and anxieties that surround us, may we recognize that, just as the angel came from outside the world to those shepherds 2000 years ago, these words speak from eternity to all of us.  May God's blessings be upon you all.  Merry Christmas to all Tombstoners!

Warmth and work

We are back at the Special Collections library (currently at the Main library) again since it is getting cold.  Some mornings are in the low 40's and that is too cold to be out writing.  But we were finished with San Jose de Armijo and had not started on Gate of Heaven so it is a great time to return to the library.

We pick right back up where we were 3 months ago, each with our own county and book.  We enjoy all being around the table, sharing stories, a few jokes and our common goal.  We even share a little candy, but don't tell the library that - it is strictly NO FOOD.

I am glad to see Wink back with us as working outside has been difficult for him.  Always a joy to have him at the table.  Gloria and Betty have lots to share with each other.  I am especially happy when Sharon, Diane and Barb join us as they have to drive long distances to the library.  And our world traveller, Lee, will join us again soon.

We will probably be working here until March but the weather could fool us and get warm in February.  We are in a warm La Nina weather pattern so we may get outside sooner rather than later.  But all of us enjoy being at the library for a change.

A Challenge?!

Yes, a challenge to say the least.  This is another of the Atrisco Land Grant cemeteries that we have been asked to record.  This is the Santa Clara Cemetery to the west of Foothill in southwest Albuquerque.  The three land grant cemeteries are:
San Jose de Armijo
Santa Clara Cemetery
El Evangelico Cemetery

This one will take some strong legs!!  Most of the graves are at the TOP of the hill.

San Jose de Armijo, Albuquerque

Sweet success!  We have finished this interesting cemetery.  The Atrisco Land Grant cemetery has burials from the early 1920's all the way to this week.  Relatives are very dedicated in caring for graves and there are almost always visitors at grave sites.  And this cemetery is unique, different from all the other ones we have recorded through the years.

This cemetery has a heart and soul, not just burials or graves.  So many of the graves are cared for.  Not by groundkeepers, gardeners, office staff or burial personnel.  Many of these graves are cared for almost daily by FAMILY.  Yes - the family of the person who died cares.  They come and visit, keep the weeds and tumbleweeds off the headstones, sweep and clean the headstones and if necessary, re-write the inscription on the headstone as it fades in our harsh sun.  So many graves here tell stories, and many are decorated for every holiday or celebration day.

On the other hand, many graves are also abandoned.  I wonder when we see graves of small children, just where their parents are.  There are three different sets of twins in this cemetery.  Each set died between age 1 and 5.  Their last names are unique.  Each set died around 1950-1955.  There is not another soul in this cemetery with their last names.  Where are their relatives?  In a few cases, there is a grave of a child and right next to it is one (or both) parents.  I think it is the graves of children that grieve me the most.  I always briefly stop and say a prayer for the child as well as the parents who cried over this child, wherever they are.

There is a beautiful fenced area in this cemetery that has 13 graves of members of one family!  How blessed they are to be together.  The fenced area has been cared for and kept clear of debris.  You can tell someone respects their ancestors because they honor them in death.  We all can learn a lesson from this.

And then are the many graves that have no identification other than a cross, a brick, a metal plate, a piece of wood with part of a name.  God knows who each of these people are thankfully.

This lady has.......glue?

This 'stick-to-it' lady is Gloria Henderson and she has been with the Tombstone group since February of 2007.  To date, she has volunteered over 250 hours to this group.  But wait - she also volunteers for lots of other groups too!  Like feeding the homeless at St. Martin's, working the Telephone Museum, Balloon Fiesta and goes wherever she is needed.  I am so lucky that she gives me so  much of her time.  I don't know how she has ANY time!  Regardless of the time of day we meet, or day of the week, I can always count on seeing her smiling face.

Gloria worked for the telephone company for 21 years, left there and then worked at Kirtland AFB for 5 years.  Then nine LONG months at the IRS.  Finally she worked at ATF and loved it for 16 years.  She assisted the agents in criminal investigations and interfaced with other city, state and federal agencies during investigations. 

She was born in San Francisco, California but has lived most of her life in New Mexico.  Her parents are Fernando and Olivama Maestas from Espanola and her mother now lives in Albuquerque.  She has three brothers and two sisters as well as three step-children (Dan, Vicki and Jim).  She has always wanted to visit Italy and her favorite city is Boston.  An avid reader of James Patterson, she would love to see some of his books made into movies.  Her favorite movie now is Terms of Endearment.

When asked why she has stayed with Tombstone, she attributes some of it to her dear friend (and co-vounteer with Tombstone) Betty Lamberti.  She wasn't sure this work would suit her, but decided to try it with Betty.  She got hooked!  HOORAY!  She says, "I feel I am contributing something to the community and for the people who go there to find their loved ones." 

Betty and Gloria, working together, are an awesome force.  I don't have to think twice when they work a section together - it gets done quickly.  Thank you for sticking 'like glue' to Tombstone Transcription.

Happy Days

We are officially back working San Jose de Armijo Cemetery.  Everyone is happy to be back outside, enjoying the cool mornings and clear blue skies.  The mornings are so beautiful and we enjoy the fresh air and crisp temperatures.  It isn't TOO cold yet, so it is still 'fun' to be working.  We'll see how long that lasts when the temperature falls from the 60 degrees this morning to 40 degrees in the future! 

The only problem is the way this cemetery is laid out.  It is absolutely crazy!  There are no definite rows, so writing down the headstones in an orderly manner is almost impossible.  When we started at this cemetery, as always, I mapped out the grounds into sections.  We take each section and work row by row, starting with row one through the end.  But some of the sections in this cemetery are helter skelter, not in a straight line (not even in a semi-straight line) and sometimes you can't even figure out where the next grave is. 

We worked section 20 today - all of us!  We had to just leap frog over each other doing one row at a time.  There was alot of "did you get this grave?", "isn't this one in your row?", "where does this cross belong?"  Heavens knows if we got most of the markers written down, but as crazy as the section is, I'll be grateful if we got 80% of them.  And of course this is the section that holds the oldest burials and was the first section used.  There is history here!

After an hour and a half of trying to read old cement markers, digging out headstones buried in sand, markers covered with ten (or more) plastic flower arrangements, hand painted rocks, and worse, we are all exhausted!  But we feel that we have accomplished our goal - preserving history and writing down things that will soon be lost to weather and time.

This last picture is the entrance to this wonderful Spanish cemetery where traditions are strong and families are proud of the grounds.  Someone(s) did this wall painting and it is beautiful.  I hope it lasts for many years honoring the dead.

Favorites!

Ah, my favorite time of the year.  Nope, it's not that it is Dixon Apple time, after all they were sold out in three days and we didn't get any.  Nor is it the beautiful Balloon Fiesta, even though we rarely go.  Most years many of the balloons come right over our house in Corrales - even land in the corn fields right next to our house.  This year no balloon came even close!  And it isn't even the beautiful Sandhill Cranes and Canadian Geese that fly over our house by the hundreds every morning, squaking and honking before then land to graze in the cornfields.

Nope - it is my favorite time because it is Fall and the hot weather has left the scene.   Wonderfully cool mornings mean one thing - the Tombstone 'bees' will be returning to the cemetery grounds.  HOORAY!!

All of us love getting back out into the field, so to speak, and completing another cemetery.  It is kind of strange the joy that it brings to all of us to get all those names down.  But we all understand the wonderful history we have created in documenting a particular cemetery.  After it is uploaded to the internet, the information is there forever.  For anyone in the whole world to find their friends and relatives. 

Yes, that is why this is my favorite time of year, why everyone is happy to go back outside, and why we do this job.  Year after year, happily creating history.  Thank you, all you 'bees'.

Eagles Soar

Once or twice a year, I am contacted by Boy Scouts who are looking for a project to complete their work for the Eagle Scout ranking.  Sometimes there are cemeteries to clean, headstones to set or weeds and tumbleweeds to be removed.  This year brought me Logan Pickett, a young man eager to complete his service project and move forward to Eagle Scout.  He wanted to tackle a cemetery because he saw the importance of Tombstone Transcription.  Luckily I had a cemetery in Rio Rancho that needed to be re-walked and it would be perfect for his project.

Logan is a senior at Cibola High School, the son of Glen and Linda Pickett.  He has been a Boy Scout for five years but always wanted to be an Eagle Scout.  This was his final step.

We met several times as I explained and laid out the project.  He organized everyone that would need to work with him and we had a training meeting on Wednesday, August 25.  There were about 25 people who attended and quickly caught on to the process.  We went directly to Vista Verde Cemetery after the training and started work.  Even my grandson, Gregory - also a Boy Scout - came to help.  Logan did an excellent job in pairing people up and getting them into the correct sections.  It was a hot evening but all the scouts, parents and volunteers worked for two plus hours without complaint. 

About 2/3 of the needed re-walk was completed Wednesday night and Logan and a few other scouts returned on Thursday after school and finished.  Then Logan took all the papers and notebooks home to organize the information.  By September 15 he was ready to begin the computer entry part of the project.  After a brief training on databases, he was on his way to finishing up.  On September 28 Logan submitted the final database with all the changes to data and additions with new names and dates.

Logan did an excellent job in completing this project.  It took dedication and perseverance to handle all the data, papers, people and questions.  He had to stay organized and focused, which he did quite well!  Everyone I met in regards to this project was energetic and eager to help.  There were never any complaints or hesitation to jumping in and helping. 

Thank you Logan, your parents and your scout leader, for taking on this project, which ultimately helps everyone around the world searching for a relative.  You have done a terrific job and I am honored to have helped you.

Oh, was I ever wrong!!

Yep, very wrong. All you transcribers are NOT out of a job.  I thought we were getting down to the end of the notebooks that needed to be entered in the computer.  True - we are down to 14 notebooks and not all of them are full.  BUT, I forgot about this little box.

One small innocent box.  One that I totally forgot about.  Until I decided to check what was in that mysterious box on top of my desk.  And suddenly I remembered what was in it.

These are CD's full of death certificates from different counties in New Mexico.  Each CD has between 150 and 400 individual records.  Each record has about 15 pieces of information that will need to be extracted and then entered into the computer. 

So break out the popcorn, sharpen your pencil and get ready to start a new project!  Keep in mind how much I love you all!

Short Timers

Summer is quickly coming to an end.  Most children are back in school now and UNM classes are starting soon.  The days are cooling off (not fast enough for me) and evenings are delightfully cool.  What all this means is that our time at the library is getting short.  We consider ourselves 'short timers' now.  All of us look forward to getting out of the building and back onto cemetery grounds! 

As soon as the weather cools and the mornings are less than 70 degrees, we will return to San Jose de Armijo.  But before we can do that, we have to finish up a few details at the library.  I would like everyone to find a good stopping point in the book they are working in.  Sometimes that works out fine, other times we sort of quit in the middle of a page.  But no fear, it will wait for us when we all too quickly return in December.

And we will miss David and Gail at the library.  We always feel so welcomed!

Weltreisender!!

This wunderbar gentleman is Marion Miller, better known to us as Lee.  He came to us last year sort of out of the blue.  He saw one of my 'pleas' for help in the Albuquerque Journal and decided to jump in!  He has added so much to our little group.

Lee was a German professor at Miami University of Ohio for 30 years.  Miami University is in a small town about 35 miles NW of Cincinnati almost on the border between Ohio and Indiana.  But not too small - on 11/22/2009 the UNM Lobo Basketball team played Miami U. [we beat them].  Lee taught courses in German language and literature.  And he retired in 1992.

He has lived in Albuquerque 16 years, at least while he isn't travelling.  He and his wife Jan travel ALL OVER THE WORLD!  I wish I had asked him to list all the places he has been, but he says they have been to over 100 countries and been on all seven continents.  Just since joining Tombstone last year he has been to Morocco, Africa, Iceland, Glacier National Park and Vancouver.  And I'm sure other places in-between.  His favorite travel spot has been Kenya in Tanzania where he took fantastic pictures of animals so close you could touch them.  He and his wife visited several tribes in the area and I was amazed at the beautiful colors of cloth the natives wear.  One place Lee and Jan would like to go (there is someplace they haven't been??) is Papua, New Guinea.

He loves to read and his favorite book is "Come Spring" and, like others in our group, his favorite movie is "Gone With the Wind".  His food of choice is Chinese.  His parents were Margaret Brant Miller (1900-1960) and Harvey Franklin Miller (1898-1967).  They are both buried in Lebanon Ohio.  He has three brothers.  His mother's brother, Marion for whom he is named, will be 104 years old this November!!

Lee is a great at extracting the data we need.  His penmanship is impeccable and he is very accurate.  He says he enjoys the people who are in the group as well as the cataloging of names.  Lucky for us!  So, Lee, I am so glad you 'registriert' and 'sie trat glucklich'.

(My apologies to Lee and anyone else if the German is not exactly correct - Ich entschuldige mich!)

Lightning fingers from Heaven

Yes, these fingers came down to grace our books with wonderful FAST FAST typing.  This is Jackie Rhodes who answered my desperate plea last September 2009 for help.  She didn't know what she was getting in to!  She learned the system very quickly and has done an awesome job in working through notebooks.  Not only has she done cemetery transcription, but she has tackled obituary logging, mortuary transcription, death records, and census records.  All of these require a different template and looking at records differently.  She never complains but just jumps in where needed.  And did I say FAST?  She has completed 197 different records in less than a year.  That translates into about 20 notebooks varying in length from 40 pages to over 150 pages. 

Jackie has been married to Bob for 42 years.  Her father is Frank Vrba who died in 1992 and is buried in the small community of Tours, TX (St. Martin's Cemetery).  Her mother, Marie Vrba, lives in Waco, TX.  She has three sisters:  Darlene, Sherry and Carla all living in Waco, TX.  She has one brother, Jeff who died unexpectedly in 2005. 

Her favorite book is Gone With the Wind and she enjoys reading Jane Austen.  Her favorite movie is Twelve Angry Men.  She and her husband have travelled to 48 of the 50 states only missing Michigan and Alaska.  She and her sister toured Europe and it was one of her best experiences.  She would like to take a WALKING(!) tour of Switzerland in the future.

Jackie has photographed the St. Martin Cemetery in Tours, TX and in doing so she learned the importance and value of having accurate and accessible records relating to families.  When she heard of the Tombstone Transcription Project, was very interested in helping.  She says, "the records developed and placed on the internet as a result of our volunteer efforts will help people for years iinto the future who are doing ancestral research."  She also finds it fascinating to learn a little bit of New Mexico history when inputting the death information.  For example, a group of men died in a mining accident in the late 1800's; families lost many children due to a diptheria outbreak; and many mothers and babies died during childbirth long ago.  She feels she owes it to the past lives by inputting accurate information for future generations.

Thank you Jackie for fast fingers, wonderful insight and a willingness to take on almost any task!!

God sent her!

This beautiful lady is Barbara Jean Borowy also known as Barb.  Barb came to this group out of the sky - sent from God I think.  It has been many years and she has stuck with the work despite many obstacles put in her way.  I am so glad she is here!

Barb was born in Kansas City, KS and has lived in New Mexico 36 years (24 in Albuquerque).  Her parents were Velma Clydene Donovan and Willard Okal Bowlin (buried in the Santa Fe National Cemetery).  She worked for the Department of Defense with the Air Force as a Quality Assurance Specialist.  Her favorite 'programs' she worked on were the B-2 Bomber and GPS Satellite.  How appropriate that she worked on GPS, as that is one of our main concerns in locating cemeteries.  We always track the GPS!

She has three children:  Robin and Diane in Albuquerque, and David in Phoenix.  She also has four grandchildren:  Michele, Charlotte, Danielle and Delaney.  Two additional reasons Barb is special to me is that she lives in Corrales (as I do), and we both go to weekly Bible Study Fellowship.  This past year we studied the gospel of John.  For 2010-2011 we are both excited to start the brand new BSF study of the book of Isaiah.  Her favorite book is the Bible, and her favorite movies are Braveheart and Pretty Woman.  Her favorite country is Ireland and she has always wanted to visit Alaska.

Barb says that she has stuck with the Tombstone group because she loves the people associated with it.  She has a fascination for cemeteries.  She says, "Each name I read in the library books and on the headstones was a real person and I always wonder what their lives were like.  I've shed tears over the babies, and feel sadness for those who died too soon."  And she never tires of writing down names, dates or histories.  What a gal!

She is a wonderful lady that adds grace and beauty to our group.  Thank you Barb!!  Please don't ever leave!

A visit around the state

Just a sampling of what everyone is working on this month at Special Collections library.

Rich is extracting from "Vista Memory Gardens Cemetery in Truth or Consequences [Sierra County]" 978.967

Lee is extracting from "Cemeteries of Lea County, NM Births and Deaths 1919" 978.933

Wink is extracting from "Union County NM Burials Outside of Union Co, Volume 4" 978.923 by Lofgren

Diane is extracting from "Union County NM Burials at Grenville and Willow Springs Volume 1B" 978.923

Sharon is extracting from "Fairmont Cemetery, Raton [Colfax County] as of August 2007" 978.922

Betty is extracting from "Cemeteries of San Juan County" 978.982

Gloria is extracting from "Eddy County Genealogical Society Volume 5-8 1985-1988" 978.942

Cheryl is extracting from "Independent Newspaper [Gallup McKinley County] Deaths 1994" 978.983

Barb is extracting from "Colfax County Roots" 978.922

Too many books!

This is what too many books looks like. These are two banker boxes filled with over 160 spiral notebooks that have cemetery information written in them. The information was gathered from New Mexico genealogy books in the library. The Tombstone Transcription group has written in these notebooks since 2005 and until now, the books have sat.....and sat.....and sat. Just waiting for someone to get the information into the computer.

And someone came!! As I wrote before, last September many 'angels' came to volunteer hours and hours of typing information into the computer. They have entered over 100 notebooks full of 'stuff'. And I mean lots of STUFF. Some of the things they have transcribed are:

*1860 death records of Lincoln county (home of the famous Pat Garrett)

*1890 death records of Carrizozo county
*Over 670 different cemeteries in the state covering 26 of the 33 counties
*Bernalillo county death records from 1900-1940 (over 10,000 names)
*Obituary indexes from 1904-1921
*Archdiocesan records 1860-1890
*Histories of families in seven different county (Historical Records)
*Immigration and death records into the state
*Deaths in five different Union forts in the state
And I could go on and on. So many different records.

But these 'angels' are all troopers. They have kept at this for 11 months and the two boxes of 'have to get done someday' has dwindled down to 1/2 of a box of 'I can see the end!' I am so proud of these dedicated ladies. They have actually almost worked themselves out of a job!

One Great Guy!!

This is Alan Winkeljohn, more fondly known as Wink. He is one dedicated volunteer! Wink joined my group at the very beginning in 2001. Like Betty, he has stuck with this work through thick and thin, cold, snow, heat, up hills and down.


Wink's background is in real estate as he has been a residential broker, a Qualifying broker, and deals in commercial real estate. His son owns a Mixed Arts training center and manages Holly Holmes, the famous female boxer. But most importantly is how Wink approaches any job he takes on. Just as in real estate, he is thoroughly knowledgeable, dedicated and committed to getting a job done. And done the right way!


Since 2006, Wink and I have worked diligently creating a list of all the burial sites in the state of New Mexico. I had been asked by the State of New Mexico to verify the list they had at that time, which only numbered about 300. Since then Wink has sought out and documented over 1200 burial sites. He relentlessly tracks down each cemetery on a topographic map, uses the internet to verify position, logs the GPS as well as directions to each and every cemetery. This has taken hundreds of hours of his precious time. However, due to his diligence, we (and the state) now have a verifiable and accurate list. This never existed before. And he has been known to physically go out somewhere in the state and track down an errant cemetery. Nothing like an 'eyes-on' verification!

Wink is such a blessing to me because I know I can ask him about a cemetery and always get the RIGHT answer, never a guess. And Wink is so kind - he never gets tired of me asking him for help, even if I repeat myself!


Wink has lived in New Mexico about 50 years (born in Ohio) and loves Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas. His parents were Alfred and Mary Winkeljohn (both at Gate of Heaven) and he has four sons: Jeff in Virginia, Mike in Albuquerque, Tim in Colorado, and Andrew in Arizona. He has always wanted to visit North or South Dakota and his favorite state is Idaho. Favorite book is Hunt for Red October and favorite movie is Dirty Dancing. He has five grandchildren which he is very proud of.

He says that he has stayed with the Tombstone group because he likes the challenge as well as the 'live' people in the group! Funny guy! Thank you Wink for years of help, love, support, jokes and your smiles.

We're cool!

As this hot summer progresses, we are thankful for the wonderfully cool and spacious library. Since the Special Collections library moved in early June to the Main library (downtown) we've taken up residence at their tables on the second floor.

We eagerly wait outside, along with lots of other patrons, waiting for the doors to open at 10 (why can't they open earlier!!). Finally we all rush into the cool dim library. We hustle up the elevators to the second floor after all of us get our parking pass validated. David and Gayle (genealogy librarians) always wave, warmly greet us and are glad we are there. Even Mr. Padilla (expert in all things Hispanic and New Mexico) puts up with our conversations. We don't have a special room to meet in here like we did at Special Collections, but the area upstairs is huge and we can spread out. We just can't tell jokes too loud!

Two new ladies have joined us here at Main - Sharon Serrano and Diane Bloom. They have been very faithful and we are glad to have them join our wacky group. I hope they enjoy it and stay for awhile. Our group usually consists of Betty, Gloria, Wink, Lee, Barb, Rich and Cheryl. Sometimes we are blessed with a few 'floaters'.

The only bad part of working at Main is the parking. The library will validate two hours of parking. So if we park in the structure at 9:45, we have to quit by 11:30 in order to get back to our cars and OUT of the structure before 11:45. The parking is $1 for every 30 minute increment over two hours. That means stopping our work at 11:20 in order to put everything away, get downstairs and across the street in time. It feels like we just get started when it's time to stop.

We are all glad and thankful for the nice place we have to work as well as wonderful air conditioning. But in the back of all our minds is the urgency and desire to get back outside as soon as possible.

Special People known as ANGELS

Since I started this group in 2001, there have been about 40 people come into the group. And probably 35 of them over time have left. But the average 'angel' comes into this group and stays about 3 years. Then there are those who have been with me since 2001. Doggedly faithful and very dedicated. Perhaps you would like to meet some of these people who give up several mornings each month to come and honor those who have died.

This wonderful lady is Betty Lamberti. She was born in Albuquerque and has lived almost all of her life here. She joined my group with the very first training session which was September 12, 2001 (what a day to begin!). She has stuck with us through all kinds of weather and has never complained. She is also the consumate 'volunteer' as she helps several different groups. Very unselfish with her time. Her parents were Oreste and Minnie Marteno (buried at Fairview) and she had one sister (just passed away June 2010). Betty has a daughter (Monica) and a son (Robert) that live in Albuquerque. Betty retired from U.S. West (formerly AT&T) after working for them 30 years. Some places she has always wanted to visit are Rome, Egypt and Alaska. And Switzerland is her favorite place to go back and visit!

Her favorite book (and movie) is To Kill a Mockingbird and she loves Mexican and seafood. When asked why she has kept going with the Tombstone group all these years, she said it is always interesting work and she enjoys working with the people in this group. Her favorite time with the group is when we go back outside and walk the cemeteries.

Thank you Betty for all you have added to this group, all your work on San Juan county (you've almost single handedly written that one!) and your support!

Back to work

It has been a very long six weeks with no work being done for or with Tombstone Transcription Project. At the beginning of May I had emergency surgery for a large abdominal tumor. The group was willing to go on without me, but at the same time the temperatures soared. No one was willing to get out in 100 degree weather so no actual cemetery work was done.
We had just started work on the Atrisco land grant cemetery, San Jose de Armijo. This cemetery has never had a census of tombstones done and we were thrilled to be asked to do this historic cemetery. But we only got three visits in before illness or the heat stopped us.
The Special Collections library closed its doors mid-May and it wasn't until this week (June 16) that the New Mexico collection was once again available to the public. Our group will now have to go to the Main library to access the books for our work. At least we have some place to go since it is so hot. And we are all anxious to get back to work.
We are scheduled to return to work next Friday, June 25 on the second floor of Main. The only downside of the move is the parking. There is a 2 hour limit on free parking (of course you can pay for longer at $1 per hour) but that isn't fair to my volunteers. So we will shorten our work time from two hours to 1 1/2 hours.

Out in the cold (or heat)

I just found out that the Special Collections Library WILL close at the end of May. All of us are sad. The library will move some of the New Mexico collection of special books to the Main library, but not all.
My group works within the New Mexican collection of over 300 books (not all death records). They cover almost all the counties in New Mexico (33 counties), but particularly Bernalillo County. Years ago I spent time making a list of all the records and books that needed to be transcribed that pertained to cemeteries, deaths, funerals, mortuaries, etc. The list was originally about 90books. Over the years the library has added to my list with "could your group please extract this book too?" So my list at times was over 100 books or records. We had whittled that list down to about 40 books left to work in.
With the library closing, our work will come to a snails pace based on what books are available when and where. Special Collections is expected to be closed for over one year for complete renovations.
And unfortunately it is happening at this time of year. Typically we walk cemeteries doing updates from April through mid-June. After that it is too warm (unless we start working at 7 a.m. and no one is willing to do that!). We then go to the library and enjoy the cool inside and visiting with each other, catching up with each other, all the while writing furiously and extracting data from our assigned books. So with mid-June rapidly approaching, what shall we do? Continue outside and sweat? Stop for the summer? Don't know yet. So far everyone is willing to do whatever is necessary.

Library concerns

My group works in the Special Collections library about six months out of the year. We head to the cool air conditioned library when it gets too hot or when it is too cold. This averages out to about seven months at the library and five months on cemetery grounds. I wish it was the other way around. However I cannot ask my wonderful volunteers to walk cemeteries when it is 80+ degrees, nor when it gets below 45 degrees. All of them are so gracious and never complain about heat or cold, but it isn't fair to them.



So off to the ever-so-gracious library we go when the going gets tough. The staff provides us with a room to work in that has tables, chair, heat and air conditining! Since 2004 we have worked as a group in this room and transcribed roughly 96 notebooks full of old death records. I tried to figure out how many pages we've written but lost count long ago. But it is roughly 470 cemeteries worth of records! That is a lot!



The records at this special library are the history of New Mexico, as well as other states but mainly New Mexico. There are records from about 1735 to about 1980. It is these old death records from mortuaries, Archdiocesan records, church and tribal records that we painstakingly write down. Month after month, year after year, we have transcribed these records which are eventually given back to the library as well as uploaded to the internet.



While Rich and I were on a month-long cruise to South America, I was notified that this special place would be closing down, perhaps for up to a year. It seems it must be renovated - you know, asbestos, lead and other disagreeable things removed from walls. But instead of shutting the library for a month or so, the head honchos have decided to CLOSE! There is a small chance they would move some of the New Mexicana book collection to the main library. My group does not want to go to Main. There is no parking and the homeless sleep in that library!



I wrote a letter along with a petition to sign to send to Mayor Berry. The rumors are that there isn't much that can be done - it is a given that it will close?!

I didn't go away!

It would seem that once I created this blog - with worldly intentions - I couldn't figure out how to get back into it! I tried everything I could think of, but it stubbornly eluded my fingers. It took my daughter awhile to back track and give me - actually WRITE them down - the instructions how to get back into this thing! It better be worth the trouble.

Well, the Tombstone Transcription group continues and is stronger today. There have been some new additions and a few drops. But the most exciting thing since the last post (!) is that I now have a 'transcribing' group too.

I was SO VERY far behind in entering data that I knew I'd never catch up. I would die before those notebooks would get into my computer and uploaded to the internet. When I started this project it was my goal that as many cemeteries as possible would be transcribed, put into a database, entered on the internet and the Special Collections library would have copies. When I am no longer here, these records will stand.

So, I advertised for people that would be willing to work in their home, at their leisure, and enter the data from the notebooks that the Tombstone group had collected. I was overwhelmed by people volunteering! I had two training sessions and initially had 13 people working on them. Now, six months later - told you I didn't know how to access this blog - I have a solid six working almost constantly. The stars are Jackie R., Maggy W., Janice C., Mary K., Teri W., and Barbara B. These wonderful ladies have worked consistently in their homes and have transcribed an amazing 289 cemeteries!! WAY TO GO LADIES! We are down to about 50 notebooks to go and I think these ladies will do just that.

The Tombstone Transcription group continues strong with my core group of Wink, Betty, Gloria, Barbara and Lee as well as my precious husband. He is so game! We all enjoy our time during the winter and summer at Special Collections library. It is almost a 'social' time as well as working. We are comfortable in a room at the library with table and heat or air conditioning. We scribble away, whittling down the books that need to be entered. Even though we enjoy it at the library, we are always looking forward to getting back out on cemetery grounds.

This year (2010) we have been asked to walk and transcribe three Hispanic cemeteries that previously had been off limits to us. They are part of the Atrisco Land Grant and considered privileged property - that is, only heirs to the land grant could access the information. God smiled on us in 2009 when they contacted me and asked if we would consider doing them! Would we? Just wait for warmer weather and we'll be there. Everyone in the group is excited about this as these three have never been written down. No one knows exactly who is buried in them nor how many are buried. Two of the cemeteries are small (less than 200 burials) but one is huge, probably over 5000. It will be challenging.

I worry about what will happen with this project if something happens to me. I think if I was not here/there to drive and guide everyone, everyone would quit. No one is interested in taking a leadership role or interested in how this works. I know Rich wouldn't take it on, and my family has no interest in what I do. So I am sad that this will all come to a screeching halt someday. It will be a tremendous loss of what we have gathered if I don't get it into a format that will last for many years.

I'll be sure to try posting again soon - after all I should know how to get into this thing now!??