Feb 25New Mexico House fails to act on bid to preserve Dawson birthplace of Dolores HuertaBy Nick Pappas A New Mexico study of ways to preserve the Dawson birthplace of American labor icon Dolores Huerta will have to wait. The state Legislature wrapped up its 30-day session last week without taking action on House Memorial 5, which called for two state agencies to develop recommendations…New Mexico3 min read
Jan 26Lawmaker wants to preserve New Mexico birthplace of Dolores HuertaBy Nick Pappas A New Mexico lawmaker has introduced legislation designed to preserve the Dawson birthplace of celebrated labor leader Dolores Huerta. House Memorial 5 asks the General Services Department and the Historic Preservation Division of the Cultural Affairs Department to develop recommendations for “memorializing and preserving” the birthplace of…New Mexico2 min read
Jun 1, 2021New Mexico rescue mission went south fast for two Dawson minersThomas Brown and David Murphy were injured — one fatally — after responding to the Government Mine fire in Carthage, New Mexico, in 1918. The news item couldn’t have been more innocuous. Thomas Brown and David Murphy of Dawson, N.M., …New Mexico5 min read
May 3, 2021The day ‘Polly’ made her final run on that old New Mexico rail lineA group of first-graders, a veteran engineer, and a retired newspaper editor all shared a piece of history on Halloween 1962. For first-graders from the Forrester Elementary School in Springer, New Mexico, this was no ordinary field trip. Teachers Genevieve Hoskins and Zella Young had something more imaginative in mind…New Mexico4 min read
Apr 5, 2021For some, Dawson a ghost town in more ways than oneDo the ghosts of miners killed in two explosions in an old New Mexico mining town roam historic Dawson Cemetery? Ghost town or a town of ghosts? When I began my research for an upcoming book about Dawson, New Mexico, my sole focus was on the former. After all, the…New Mexico3 min read
Mar 1, 2021New Mexico forever linked to landmark discovery in mine safetyControlled blast at Pennsylvania testing site in 1911 proved that coal mines could explode without the presence of dangerous gases. Industrial history was made yesterday at Bruceton. So began a front-page story in The Pittsburgh Post on Oct. 31, 1911, describing in painstaking detail the first public demonstration inside the…New Mexico4 min read
Jan 31, 2021The story behind New Mexico’s deadly train derailment of 1922Dawson Railway engineer’s call for help ended up costing him his life Poor Frank Hinds never saw it coming. A longtime engineer for the El Paso & Southwestern Railroad, Hinds had no reason to suspect anything but a routine run when he pulled out of Dawson with carloads of coal…New Mexico4 min read
Dec 21, 2020How a simple trespassing arrest reached the New Mexico Supreme Court — twiceAll Celestino Vincioni wanted to do was sell grapes to Dawson coal miners during Prohibition For Celestino Vincioni, selling grapes to mining camps during the early years of Prohibition must have felt like taking candy from a baby. Solicit orders for grapes. Deliver grapes. Collect payment for grapes. Repeat. What…New Mexico4 min read
Nov 18, 2020Dawson’s 1920 mine disaster the most preventable of allThe New Mexico company’s shot firers did everything by the book that night until … For Dawson’s shot firers, nothing seemed amiss the night of April 14, 1920. The men entered mines №1, 2, 3, and 6. They set their explosives. …New Mexico5 min read
Oct 19, 2020Remember when ‘a canary in a coal mine’ meant exactly that?Count the rescue men who responded to the devastating 1913 mine explosion in Dawson, New Mexico, among the grateful Who hasn’t heard the expression “a canary in a coal mine”? Today, the phrase generally refers to a person or object equipped to detect danger at the earliest possible moment. But…New Mexico4 min read
