So many to find; So little time!

We were off on another cemetery hunt - actually multiple cemeteries hunt!

We headed north up on NM 4 to NM 290 a few miles to Ponderosa.  There is a small cemetery next to the Ponderosa Fire Station called aptly, Pondrosa Cemetery.  Perhaps 200 burials here, many very old.

Ponderosa Cemetery, Sandoval County, NM

Back to NM 4 and headed north to Jemez Springs.  There are two cemeteries behind the Our Lady of Assumption Catholic church right on NM 4.  I think there are Catholic burials behind the church and then in the back part of the cemetery is the Jemez Springs Presbyterian burials.

Our Lady of Assumption Jemez Springs, Sandoval Co., NM

Jemez Springs Presbyterian, Sandoval Co., NM

Next was Los Alamos where there is surprisingly only one cemetery in a fair sized city.  It is tucked into the north part of the city and is the only cemetery in the entire Los Alamos county.  It is a beautiful cool and green cemetery with gentle hills and pretty benches.

Guaje Pine, Los Alamos, NM

 

We got lost trying to find San Ildefonso so just had to continue on to Santa Clara Pueblo. 

Santa Clara Pueblo, Rio Arriba Co., NM

 

The Black Mesa Cemetery is beautiful set against a pretty mesa.  But it is behind locked gates and about 1/2 mile is the closest we could get.

                                          Black Mesa Cemetery, Rio Arriba Co., NM

In Espanola there is only one cemetery, fairly large, known as Sacred Heart.  It is on the west side of town behind the Sacred Heart Catholic church.  It too was locked but we could get through a skinny little gate.  There are many cats wandering around this cemetery and they scare you when they jump off a tombstone!

                                           Sacred Heart Catholic Cemetery, Espanola, NM

After spending the night, we started early the next morning just north of NM 68 on US 285 is the Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo aka San Juan Pueblo.  Just 1/2 mile from the turn off NM 68 (on US 285) is the Saint John the Baptist large cemetery.

                                          At Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo, Rio Arriba Co., NM

Continuing north, we went east on NM 582 to the tiny village of Guique.  There is a small village cemetery here with about 100 burials.

                                          San Raphael del Guique, Rio Arriba Co., NM

On to the equally small village of Chamita.  The main cemetery is on CR 56, just south of US 285.

                                         Capilla de San Pedro, Chamita, Rio Arriba Co., NM

Next we needed to find a second cemetery in Chamita.  This tiny area has only tiny, tiny alleyways off the main road.  It was just like driving in someones driveway in order to get anywhere.  Driving a large white Audi Q7 vehicle, being 'white' and not speaking Spanish set us WAY apart from the villagers.  It seemed every yard had someone watching us.  But in order to find this second cemetery, we had to ask someone.  We stopped a man walking down the road looking for his lost clutch parts.  When we asked him if he knew of another cemetery, he said no one knows about that one!  It was our lucky day because this cemetery was actually on his property and his grandparents had owned it!  He took us right to the hidden cemetery on his property and told us the history.  He registered it with the church and named it Camino Angelito.  Sometimes it pays to not speak Spanish!

                                                       Camino Angelito, Chamita, NM

                                         Graves of 5 little children the cemetery is named after

Now we are are on the High Road to Taos and checking out the confusing community of Cordova.  You have to go south of NM 76 down CR80 and once again on tiny dirt roads.  There are two cemeteries here, surprisingly, across the street from each other, both with lots of room.  There was no indication of a name for either, so we are just calling them Cordova East (on east side of road) and Cordova West (side of road).

Cordova East

Cordova West

 

We have also been confused by cemetery listings for Truchas so we had to go there too!  There is one large cemetery coming into Truchas from the West on NM 76.

Los Llanitos Cemetery, W of Truchas, Rio Arriba, NM

 

In the village of Truchas, right where NM 76 makes a sharp left turn and NM 578 goes east, there is a plot that has 3 cemeteries combined.  Only one had a name visible.  We are guessing (until we can prove otherwise) that one of these is the Camposanto Truchas.

 

Truchas North site

Truchas West site

Martinez Cemetery, Truchas, NM

The Martinez Cemetery was the only one with a name, which is on the large cross.

 

Our last stop was south of Santa Fe in the rain.  From I-25 take the Las Golondrinas exit west to Camino San Jose and follow it to the little church.  This is the San Jose Camposanto or La Cienega Cemetery.

 

 

This was the end of this survey trip but there will be another one next month.  Stay tuned!

Trip was 176 miles.

Around the state - again

We took a trip to northern New Mexico and found some of the more elusive cemeteries.  Our first stop was to Pecos where we thought there were 3 cemeteries.  Nope - only two.

Saint Anthony (new) in Pecos

There is also Saint Anthony (old) a few blocks east of the new cemetery but we could not locate it.

Next we went to Rowe which is a very small village but does have a Catholic church with mass twice a month.  There are two cemeteries here.

Rowe Cemetery

Sagrada Familia, Rowe

To the west of I-25, and south of Las Vegas is Ojitos Frios, another tiny village about 10 miles from anything.

And we even found a lone grave a few miles from Ojitos Frios on CR A20

Travelling further south on I-25 we came to La Manga where the cemetery surrounds a tiny church named Santo Nino de Atocha

Just a few miles further south is Tecolote.  We were looking for fair size site but sure where.  We turned south and west off the freeway and found the cemetery!  But it was the wrong one.  So we found another new one and didn't find the one we were looking for.

Working on the name for this church.  There are only a few older stones in churchyard.

Continuing south, but still before Glorieta, is the tiny village of Bernal.  Another Catholic church and churchyard cemetery with many burials.

We did stop in Raton to verify three cemeteries that are fairly large and documented.

                                                           Mt Calvary on west side of city

                                                         Fairmont on the north side of city

                                         Fairview on east side and the oldest cemetery (also
                                           known as Old Raton Cemetery)

Tombstone Heroes

Webster's Dictionary defines a hero as:     

a.  someone admired for their achievements;

b. the principal character in a dramatic work or event

The people that work in the Tombtsone Transcription group fit all of these characteristics. 

They are admired for their perseverance and dedication to this project.  Not only by myself, but by many others that they may never meet.  There are countless people that have found their relatives on the internet because it was transcribed.  The Albuquerque library system is thankful for our work in transcribing and extraction, and admire us for the countless hours we have put into this project.

These volunteers are the principal characters in this world wide project.  Just 12 people stepping up to take on this huge project with no end in sight.  Without these heroes, this project would not have come together.   It was through a joint effort and strong desire to gather and list burials and deaths in our great state that we were able to continue and succeed.

Let me express my extreme gratitude for these volunteers, my heroes, that are really my friends now and part of my family.  We come together 5-6 times a month eager to hear what each other has been doing and to support each other in many facets of our lives.

Betty Lamberti - who has been with me since day one!  Always a strong supporter!
Wink Winklejohn - also been with since day one!  Wink is my support and sounding board.  Without his map skills, we'd be lost, wandering around the state still searching for many tiny cemeteries.
Gloria Henderson - a lady who came up to us in the cemetery and wanted to join the fun!  She's been here for years too.
Barb Borowy - a true lady and fellow Corraleno.  Her smile lightens my day.
B.J. Minshall - another wonderful lady that wanted to join our happy group.  She is also friends with Betty and Gloria.  Even though she moved away for a time, she returned to Albuquerque and came back to our 'family.
Lee Miller - a proper gentleman!  His precise writing is a pleasure to read. 
Sharon Serrano - she out-works all of us!  She has volunteered to keep working at Sunset this summer even through the heat!  Oh, the work she has saved us!
Diane Bloom - this lady has so many activities that I am blessed the days she can join us.  Always dedicated and ready to go.

Not last is my husband.  When he retired from P.N.M. in late 2007, he grudgingly joined my group.  But over the years he has come to enjoy what we do.  What makes him happiest is when we go out searching for cemeteries.  He is so patient when we search for burial sites;  up and down dirt roads, sometimes going where there is VERY little road, looking high and low for any sign of graves.  Such a feeling of accomplishment when we can verify another burial site with GPS and directions as well as photos.  He almost gets more excited than I do!  Almost.

"Volunteers are the only human beings on the face of the earth who reflect this nations's compassion, unselfish caring, patience and just plain love for one another."  Erma Bombeck

July 4th in 2012

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord"

Psalm 33:12

O God our Creator,

From your provident hand we have received

Our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

You have called us as your people and given us

The right and the duty to worship you, the only true God,

And your Son, Jesus Christ.

Through the power and working of your Holy Spirit,

You call us to live out our faith in the midst of the world,

Bringing the light and the saving truth of the Gospel

To every corner of society.

We ask you to bless us

In our vigilance for the gift of religious liberty.

Give us the strength of mind and heart

To readily defend our freedoms when they are threatened.

Give us courage in making our voices heard

On behalf of the rights of your Church

And the freedom of conscience of all people of faith.

Grant, we pray, O heavenly Father,

A clear and united voice to all your sons and daughters

Gathered in your Church

In this decisive hour in the history of our nation,

So that, with every trial withstood

And every danger overcome --

For the sake of our children, our grandchildren,

And all who come after us --

This great land will always be "one nation under God,

Indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

We ask this through Christ our Lord

Amen

Around the State in 80 days - er, hours!

In May we decided it was time to check out the cemeteries in and around the Taos area.  This is quite a long trip so we spent a few nights in Santa Fe and ventured out from there.

We visited the following cemeteries the first day:

El Potrero at Chimayo

Holy Cross at Santa Cruz

La Puebla at La Puebla

Nuestra Senora de Dolores at Chimayo

Pojoaque Cemetery

Sacred Heart at Nambe

Sanctuario de Chimayo

Santa Cruz de la Canada

Saint Francis of Assisi at Nambe

Holy Cross, Santa Cruz

LaPuebla Cemetery, LaPuebla NM

   The second day we visited:

Camposanto Jesus Nazareno at Rancho de Taos

Canon Brethern at Canon

El Descanso at Rancho de Taos

Elizabethtown

Graham at Taos

Hartt at Rancho de Taos

Llano Quemado

Manuel Miera Family at Taos

Martinez at Rancho de Taos

Nuestra Senora de Dolores de Canon

Pacheco at Taos

Pilar Cemetery

Rael Cemetery

Red River (the prettiest cemetery we found)

Sierra Vista at Taos

Saint Anthony at Questa

Valle Escondido

Plus one more cemetery that we couldn't find a name for.

Red River Cemetery, Red River

                                                                              Elizabethtown Cemetery, Elizabethtown

 

To finish up the trip, we visited Rosario, Fairview and the IOOF cemetery in Santa Fe. 

Quite a trip!  It was a 535 mile trip by the time we got home. 

We took 1095 pictures of graves in 29 cemeteries. 

 

Memorial Day 2012

"The Mansions of the Lord"
Words by Randall Wallace

To fallen soldiers let us sing
where no rockets fly nor bullets wing
Our broken brothers let us bring
to the mansions of the Lord

No more bleeding no more fight
No prayers pleading through the night
just divine embrace, eternal light
in the mansions of the Lord

Where no mothers cry and no children weep
We will stand and guard tho the angels sleep
All through the ages safely keep the mansions of the Lord

This stirring hymn (above) was written by Randall Wallace and performed by the Armed Forces Chorus for President Ronald Reagan’s funeral recessional in 2004. It is a song for soldiers—for brave men and women who give their all to uphold freedom.

Oh, that there can come the day when wars shall cease and peace shall reign on the earth. In the meantime, let us strive to be people of peace, and let us honor those who answer the call of duty to preserve that peace. Let us remember, on this day and always, the men and women who died while serving our country.

Important People 2012

In 2012, the New Mexico Transcription Project enters it's 11th year.  I have never met more dedicated people than those who have joined us over the years.  The above picture was taken January 2012.

From left to right:  (sitting)  Betty Lamberti, Lee Miller; (standing) B.J. Minshall, Rich Harris, Barb Borowy, Wink Winkeljohn, Cheryl Harris and granddaughter Laurel Barry; (sitting) Gloria Henderson, Diane Bloom, Sharon Serrano.

These 10 fantastic workers have accumulated 2,931 hours since they joined.  In 2011 alone they volunteered 484 hours.

Here is a recap of our ten plus years:
4,818 total volunteer hours (all volunteers)
Total cemeteries verified as of 2011:  1833 (in 33 counties)
Names in all cemeteries: 151,874

Cemeteries in Bernalillo county: 49 with 100,983 names
Cemeteries in Sandoval county: 51 with 7,462 names
Cemeteries in Torrance county: 54 with 3,544 names
Cemeteries in Valencia county: 22 with 1,562 names
Cemeteries in Cibola county: 40 with 3,649 names

These are just the immediate counties surrounding Albuquerque and the most accessible to our group.   We still have over 30 notebooks that need to be transcribed which will add another 2,000 to 4,000 names. 

Our goal in 2012 is to finish rewalking Sunset Memorial Park in Albuquerque.  If possible, we will try to get to the Cuba cemeteries in Sandoval county (four of them?!), a few in Torrance county, start a rewalk of Fairview and any other that we may be asked to 'inventory'.

As Bette Davis once said, "Buckle up - it's going to be a rough ride".  This would never have been a success without the above wonderful people!!