Our Back Pages
A LOOK INSIDE THE ARCHIVES AT ONE OF OUR CLASSIC ISSUES FROM NINE DECADES OF NEW MEXICO MAGAZINE.
March 1957
La Joya is one of those places of the past. An early day ranchero place. A place of Indian raids and saints’ fiestas and ancient Penitente rituals. James A. Bennett, a soldier of the First Dragoons, writes of seeing men whipping themselves during a Lenten procession here. He also tells of a Penitente standing buried in a hole in the ground for two days and nights with nothing but the top of his head protruding. The Penitente order disappeared years ago— and the ruin of the old morada on the west side of town is today’s only reminder that this was once the Penintente headquarters of New Mexico.
Elephant Butte Lake. Photo by Len Sprouse
Where dynamite blasting and gunfire once reverberated through the town of Nogal, now the chimes of a small church enchant the visitor with melodious spiritual messages. ... Little remains in the one-store village to remind a visitor it was once a boom town boasting three stores, seven saloons, and a fine hotel. In the late 1870s, the rocky mountainsides were invaded by adventurers, gold-crazy explorers, riffraff, and drifters. ... Mrs. Maggie Espy was a child during Nogal boom days. She says, “You think you have problems of juvenile delinquency today. Well, you should have seen the troubles my mother had. School was held for only three months of the year. The town was full of nogoods who spent every gold nugget in the saloons. The younger boys saw gambling, drinking, and fighting night and day, and a girl hardly dared walk down the street.”
Ralph Edwards and his entire “Truth or Consequences” cast will come to New Mexico’s “City of Health” to join the Fiesta fun, and broadcast their program on a nation-wide hookup. With Ralph will come famous movie stars. VOLUME 93, ISSUE 3 New Mexico Magazine (ISSN 0028-6249) is published monthly by the New Mexico Tourism Department at 495 Old Santa Fe Trail, Santa Fe, NM 87501-2750. SUBSCRIPTION PRICE: $25.95 per year, $45.95 outside the United States. Periodicals postage paid at Santa Fe, NM, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to New Mexico Magazine, PO Box 433148, Palm Coast, FL 32143-9881. Copyright © 2015 by New Mexico Magazine. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. The magazine is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs, or artwork.
72 NEW MEXICO | MARCH 2015