March 2010 Newsletter

Doña Ana County Historical Society talking abouttheBattleat RoundMountain. Las Cruces.Ourspeaker will beKarlLaumbach VidaCircle, Buena 3011 Samaritan Auditorium, Thursday,at the Good March18,2010at7:00pm vince qualifiedpeopletocomeforth. tors andcontinuetouseyourinfluencecon- contact meoranymemberoftheboarddirec- know ofsomeonethatyouthinkcoulddoso assume theresponsibilitiesofoffice or ifyou plea tothemembership,ifyoufeelthatcan with outa Vice President. And sowemakethis Society requiresthatwecannotlongfunction that alliswell. to maintaincontactwiththespeakersinsure for thisyear, havebeenarranged,itremains only exception ofonedate.Somosttheprograms ments for2010programsarecompletewiththe and isstillpersonallytakingcareof. The arrange- that theformerPresidentGeorge Helfrichwas am overwhelmedasIfindmoreandthings for thiselevation.Ihadayeartogetreadyand dents term. There needstobesomepreparation to thePresidentsoffice attheend ofthePresi- dent. Mostimportanthoweveristhesuccession are thenormalduties,likefillinginforpresi- are thehighlightofourmeetings.Ofcoursethere monthly membershipmeetings. The programs arranging andschedulingtheprogramsforour of ProgramChairman,i.e.findingprogramsand The mainongoingdutiesoftheoffice arethose Our monthlymeeting for Marchwillbe The futurewellbeingandcontinuanceofthe The office of Vice Presidentremainsvacant. President’s Comments By: GeorgeHackler March Program NEWSLETTER March 2010 Mountain inthebackground Archaeologist Karl W. Laumbach,withRound and SierraCounties. change intheRio Alamosa drainageofSocorro years ofhumanoccupation andenvironmental research effort thatisexploringthelast2000 the tenthyearofCañada Alamosa Project,a several archaeologicalsites.Heiscurrentlyin owners hasbeenintegralinthepreservationof last 30years.Hisinteractionwithprivateland- and collectinglocalhistoryinthatareaforthe in 1971,Karlhasbeeninvolvedrecordingsites the SierraCountyareasinceaweekendfieldtrip and archaeologyofthe Apache. Fascinatedwith ogy ofsouthernNewMexico,andthehistory northeastern NewMexico,thepuebloarchaeol- ied, includinglandgrantresearchinhisnative Director forHSR.Hisresearchinterestsarevar- nization for10years,heisnowan Associate After servingasExecutiveDirectoroftheorga- Human SystemsResearch,Inc.(HSR)in1983. contract archaeologyprogrambeforejoining spent nineyearsdirectingprojectsfortheNMSU graduate ofNewMexicoState University, he career insouthernNewMexicosince1974. A Karl Laumbachhaspursuedanarchaeological Raised onanortheasternNewMexicoranch, 2010 Award Series Calendar - 2010 At the Annual Banquet held the 30th of January, Thursday, March 18, 2010 @ 7:00pm Karl Laumbach – Battle at Round Mountain the Society’s Awards Committee presented several awards. With this issue, we continue featuring some Thursday, April 15, 2010 @ 7:00pm photos and the award story for various people and/or Lynda Sanchez – Eve Ball places honored with awards. Thursday, May 20, 2010 @ 7:00pm Enrique Lamadrid – Chautaqua - Rafael Chacon? Uncertain at deadline June thru August - No Meeting Thursday, September 16, 2010 @ 7:00pm Mary Salopek - History of Salopek family Thursday, October 21, 2010 @ 7:00pm Martha Shipman Andrews – Letters Thursday, November 18, 2010 @ 7:00pm Ed Sweeny – Apache Warfare December, 2010 @ 7:00pm No Program Jim Eckles, left presents the 2010 Heritage Award to All meetings of the Society are normally at 7:00pm Col. (Ret.) Gerald P. Shurtz on January 30, 2010 on the third Thursday of the months of Feb. - May and Sept - Nov. in the Good Samaritan Auditorium at 3011 Buena Vida Circle. THE HERITAGE AWARD 2010

The Battle of Round Mountain (Ret.) Col. Gerald P. Schurtz On April 17, 1868, five soldiers and twenty-six men The Heritage Award honors a person or persons whose from Tularosa, NM, participated in a six hour fight actions or deeds have contributed to the historical or with the Mescalero Apaches. The Battle of Round cultural heritage of Dona Ana County. Mountain, as it became known, is a celebrated event and a vital link to the past for the community of The Bataan Death March, a brutal forced march of Tularosa, NM. Memories of the battle were also pre- thousands of Filipino and American prisoners of war served in Mescalero oral traditions. Actual knowledge in April 1942, is the most memorialized historical event of the fort and the exact location of the battle were in New Mexico. More than three-dozen memorials, apparently forgotten with the passing of time. from statues to public schools, are named in honor of Information concerning the Battle of Round Moun- the 1,800 New Mexicans who were POWs of the Japa- tain was summarized by Joe Ben Sanders. Army re- nese. ports, written days after the battle, were examined for Helping to secure this legacy is retired U.S. Army details of the battle. Newspaper articles concerning Col. Gerald P. Schurtz, whose dad Paul W. Schurtz, a the battle by Meadows and Blazer were especially use- ful as were Mescalero accounts compiled by Robinson. father of three from Deming, New Mexico, survived All of these accounts mention a “fort” or earthworks the death march but died as a prisoner of the Japanese that the soldiers and citizens retreated to and defended in December 1944. His uncle, Gerald Greeman, also against five separate attacks from Indians. Blazer re- survived Bataan and returned home in 1945. fers to the fort as “earthworks” that soldiers had built During his last years in the Army at White Sands years before the fight. Mescalero traditions relate to “trenches” that were used for the defense. See Awards on Page 3 Page 2 Awards from Page 2 Dona Ana County History 280 million years ago Missile Range in the mid-1980s, Schurtz secured long overdue Bronze Star medals for more than 300 New A student at New Mexico State University, Jerry Mexican ex-POWs of Bataan. Since the mid-1990s, MacDonald, began to discern a pattern in his fossil col- he’s helped organize the annual Bataan Memorial lection from around the Robledo Mountains. He could March at White Sands Missile Raange, which now see the pattern forming in the fossil collections of others draws more than 4,000 participants from all around also. It was not so much a pattern as it was an idea that the world. Schurtz instituted the seminars held the day there might be more to the fossilized tracks than was evi- before the march that offer sessions on the history of dent in the eroded scrabble in washes. What if these fos- Bataan. sil tracks were just broken pieces of larger, longer track In 2002, he served on a committee that named ways? In June,1987 Jerry MacDonald’s trying and at times discouraging search came to a justified and rewarding Deming’s newest elementary school in honor of the end. He discovered and uncovered what would become local Bataan veterans. With his wife Bonnie, Schurtz one of the most significant trackway finds in the world. traveled the state taking casts of Bataan survivors’ feet Scientific research has verified that animals left these for use in the Bataan monument located at Veterans tracks in the mud shoreline of an ancient sea 280 million Park in Las Cruces. He has supported the new Bataan years ago. This was 60 million years before the dinosaurs Descendents Organization, and in 1985 he donated his appeared. mother’s Bataan related material, including a letter of This discovery was so important that The Prehistoric condolence from Gen. Douglas MacArthur, to the New Trackways National Monument was established by Con- Mexico State University Library and Special Collec- gress in 2009. The Monument covers 5,280 acres of the tions. Robledo Mountains and was established to conserve, pro- A graduate of Deming High School in 1953 and tect and enhance the unique and nationally important West Point in 1958, Schurtz served as an armor of- paleontological, scientific, educational, scenic, and rec- ficer in Korea, Vietnam, and Germany before retiring reational resources and values. at White Sands Missile Range in May 1986. He cur- The Bureau of Land Management(BLM) has been rently farms pecans. He and his wife of 46 years have given the task of developing a comprehensive plan for the management of the Monument. This task is now un- three sons and four grandchildren. der way at the Las Cruces District office of the BLM. ------Cut along dotted line------Doña Ana County Historical Society, P. O. Box 16045, Las Cruces, NM 88004-6045 DACHS Membership Form Please renew/enroll my/our membership in the Doña Ana County Historical Society. Memberships are active for the calendar year of enrollment and are deductible within legal limits for Federal and State income tax purposes. If you are unsure of your status or have questions regarding membership, please contact the Trea- surer, Xandy Church, at 526-9774 (May-Sept. 575-536-9728) or the President, George Hackler, at 521-4458. Annual Membership/Sponsorship Rates Individual $20 Family $25 Student $8 Contributor $40 Benefactor $150 Life $300 Southern New Mexico Historical Review Sponsorship $50 This is a change of information Yes No A check for $ ______is enclosed. Date ______Check #______Name(s) ______Phone #______Address______E-mail address ______Newsletter via E-mail Yes No How would you like to receive your copy of the Southern New Mexico Historical Review (SNMHR)? Printed Version Society Website Version PDF on CD Version No Preference Page 3 which began with his birth in Ma- We wish to thank our son County, Kentucky about 1825. Corporate Sponsors At age 15 he left home to follow two older brothers west seeking ad- venture. Double Eagle Restaurant After several years of travel and Insta-Copy excitement/troubles, Roy came to New Mexico where his brother Sam had became Sheriff and also owned We Welcome These a saloon in Mesilla where Roy be- New Members came a bartender. Oddino & Stan Chiocchio This eventually would lead him to establish his own Jersey Lilly sa- loon in the small Texas town of Langtry. He was first appointed and Judge Roy Bean’s Visit then elected as Judge. Judge Roy Bean remained in At our February 18, 2010 meet- Langtry until March 1903 when Judge Roy Bean (Randy Milligan) ing, Judge Roy Bean (Randy Roy went on a drinking binge in Del with his bartender’s apron Milligan) gave us a very lively, in- Rio and simply died peacefully in despensing Bear, Whisky, and Jus- formative glimpse into his life, his bed. tice from his saloon, the Jersey Lilly.

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www.donaanacountyhistsoc.org

Education Chair: Frankie Miller Frankie Chair: Education

BCC Liaison: Garland Courts Garland Liaison: BCC

Andrews

SNMHR Co-chair: Martha Shipman Martha Co-chair: SNMHR

SNMHR Co-chair: Rick Hendricks Rick Co-chair: SNMHR

Newsletter Editor: Doyle Piland Doyle Editor: Newsletter

Website: Mary Lou Pendergrass Lou Mary Website:

Publicity: Jim Eckles Jim Publicity:

Jim Eckles Jim

Mary Lou Pendergrass Lou Mary

Martha Shipman Andrews Shipman Martha

C.W. “Buddy” Ritter “Buddy” C.W.

Marcie Palmer Marcie

Donna Eichstaedt Donna

At-Large Board Members: Board At-Large

Historian:

Treasurer: Xandy Church Xandy Treasurer:

Secretary: Judy Vaughan Judy Secretary:

Vice President: Vice

Past President: George Helfrich George President: Past

President: George Hackler George President:

2009 Board Members Board 2009

Las Cruces, NM 88004-6045 NM Cruces, Las

P.O. Box 16045 Box P.O. Doña Ana County Historical Society Historical County Ana Doña