Willard Clark (1910-1992) Printmaker Captures and Perhaps Defines the Essence of Santa Fe
Contributed by Maria Montez-Skolnik
SPEND ANY TIME IN SANTA FE AND YOU’RE LIKELY TO COME ACROSS THE WORK OF WILLARD CLARK. In fact his images are so ingrained in the culture of the town, his vignettes and scenes seem to be the indigenous graphic style, rather than the work of a single artist. Clark’s influence is seen everywhere in town: The unique woodcuts and etchings that still adorn local menus and advertisements throughout the city feel quintessentially “Santa Fe,” nearly 20 years after his death.
This is related to Mike Lord's post whose great-grandparents lived on E. Palace in the early 1900's. This shows who lived on E. Palace three decades later. Do you recognize any names?
The Tesuque Drive-In Movie Theater, Tesuque, NM
It was while at Santa Fe Indian School, Quincy Tahoma, Diné-Navajo (1920-1956) developed his unique painting style. After WWII, he established himself as a full-time artist and painted a wide variety of subject matter but was perhaps best known for his dynamic action filled paintings. His signature included a vignette, which depicted what happened after the action in the painting.
Della MacGillivray and her 1910 Buick
Contributed by Allan MacGillivray III
Today, some think of Genoveva Chavez as a state-of-art recreation center. But to many others, Genoveva Chavez is an adored Santa Fé girl. For several decades, the Santa Fé Fiesta was not official until Genoveva took the microphone and, with great joy, serenaded the crowd with her heart-felt canciones. ¡Que Viva la Fiesta!
To share your memories, join in, click on an article and make your comments.
The automobile arrives in Santa Fe.
From The Santa Fe New Mexican
July 14, 1908:
Attorney A.B. Renehan has joined the ranks of the automobile
enthusiasts by investing in a handsome four-cylinder Ford Model S
roadster. The machine arrived this week from Denver and Mr. Renehan is
now getting next to its intricate workings under the tutelage of Earl
Mayes, a professional chauffeur and local agent for the Ford. Mr.
Renehan will now be able to travel to and from his
beautiful suburban home, "The Willows," much more conveniently.
Here's a 1908 Ford Model S Roadster. Imagine it chugging up East Palace Avenue.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNrxiSzw348
From The Santa Fe New Mexican
April 18, 1910
While attempting to scale one of the 'peaks' a half mile or more
behind the home of A.B. Renehan, to show off the climbing powers of his
automobile, Frank Owen had a narrow escape from serious if not fatal
injuries yesterday afternoon. His car turned turtle and he saved
himself by a magnificent vault just in the nick of time. With him but
several minutes before Mr. Owen took the leap were Dr. J.M. Diaz, who
is one of the greatest auto enthusiasts in the territory, A.J. Griffin
and J.H. Walker. They made a rapid descent from the car before it
turned turtle and in order to save it if possible from attempting the
feat.
Since I've been talking about my Great-grandmother and step Great-grandfather, I'd like to introduce them to you.
Alois and Marietta Renehan's home, the Willows, was built on the site of the Fischer Brewery. The brewery was established in the 1880s (it appears on the Birds-Eye View of Santa Fe in 1882) and was closed in the late 1890s. Alois bought the property and the 1902 Sanborn map lists it as "Dilapidated, used as a residence." In its heyday, it boasted a performance stage, a beer garden and a bowling alley.
In 1894, Rudolph Eickmeyer wrote in his book "Letters From The South-West" about the brewery.
"Palace Street is the Fifth Avenue of Santa Fé. Most of the stylish residences line its sides; but a little distance from these I made a discovery. To see the city, you generally go over to the west side of the Santa Fé River, drive up the valley through the Mexican town, and return by Palace Street, after crossing to the east side of the river on a bridge. Well, one day we made this trip, and when within a half mile of the stylish part of the street we discovered on our right a sign with the legend "Santa Fé Beer Garden." We stopped, of course, and found ourselves in the Fatherland. Tables under the trees and a jolly fellow-countryman of mine ready to serve his customers with pure Santa Fé lager and real St. Louis pretzels. When he brought the lager, however, I was both astonished and amazed. You have, no doubt, seen in Yonkers, in front of the establishments where the juice of King Gambrinus is flowing, a sign with the picture of a tumbler of huge size, saying, "Schooners, five cents." But even the schooners there offered to the thirsty are not to be compared with those of Santa Fé. I could account for it in but one way, namely, the climate here is exceedingly dry, and to moisten the throat it takes a large quantity of fluid. In all my travels I have never met as good measure, except in the Hofbräu, in Munich, Bavaria, where his Royal Highness the King furnishes his thirsty subjects with lager at so much a "stein."
Charles N. Lord Report to the Territorial Governor of New Mexico - 1906
Contributed by Mike Lord
My Great-grandfather, Charles N. Lord, was the Secretary of The Board of Dental Examiners for the Territory. Here's his report to the Governor, shortly before his divorce from my Great-grandmother.
729½ East Palace Avenue today. The only thing remaining of Alois and Marrieta Renehan's Willows is the wall by the sidewalk.
More...
729½ East Palace Avenue. Built on the site of the Fischer Brewery in 1908. The Willows was where my Great-grandmother Marietta and Alois Renehan took up residence after they were married in 1909.
Photo by Jesse Nusbaum, 1911
Decades-Old Tomb Bears Mystery of the Black Kiss
COPYRIGHT 2000 Albuquerque Journal
Byline: Joseph Ditzler Of the Journal
It may be the quietest pair of lips ever, those imprinted indelibly on the tomb of Alois Renehan.
A distant descendant, Edward Renehan, 44, of Newport, R.I., said it has been there as long as he can remember a life-sized kiss, in black, on Alois's mausoleum in Fairview Cemetery on Cerrillos Road. If you know where to look, you can see it from the street a black spot on the right side of the doorway into Alois Renehan's tomb.
Unlike the lips of a corpse, these lips have never spoken. And who may have left this peculiar bit of graffiti, and for what reason, are unknown.
Alois Renehan, however, is not.
The Santa Fe That Was And The Santa Fe That Is
Contributed by Arthur Scott
The Santa Fe That Was and the Santa Fe That Is
By
Arthur Scott
In order to put this into context, I have to write a bit about my family ties to Santa Fe. I was born, a third-generation Santa Fean on my father’s side, at St. Vincent’s Hospital located on East Palace Avenue in 1938. My Father, Otis Seligman, was born there in 1898, and my grandfather, Arthur Seligman, was also born in Santa Fe in 1871. My grandfather grew up to become Mayor of Santa Fe from 1910-1912. He became Governor of New Mexico in 1930 and died in office in 1933. My great-grandfather, Bernard, was a Jewish immigrant from Germany who along with two brothers established a mercantile business around 1850 importing goods from the east over the Santa Fe Trail for sale in Santa Fe.
When I was a child the Plaza was the center of the commercial life of Santa Fe. Located on the Plaza or nearby were grocery stores, clothing stores, the town’s only bank, J. C. Penny, two pharmacies, shoe stores, three movie
