History Acquisitions

Recent Acquisitions

Two items provide future generations a window into how we live.

TWO RECENT ACQUISITIONS ILLUSTRATE HISTORIC MOMENTS

in New Mexicans’ lives. One represents the struggles of rural women during the 1930s and '40s. The other item shows history in the making in the form of a piñata.

Curator of History Leslie Kim says she was intrigued by the story of a 1940s pressure cooker, donated by Kate Padilla. “We want to collect material that is authentic history and tells a story about the people here. This pressure cooker gives us a window into rural women’s lives in New Mexico.” The Museum also acquired the 1940s-era cookbooks and manuals that came with the pressure cooker, some in Spanish and some in English.

In the 1940s, university extension agents traveled to rural counties to teach women how to preserve food using large pressure cookers. Padilla’s grandparents homesteaded land in Des Montes in northern New Mexico, where they had a farm with fruit trees, pigs, horses, and chickens. She tells how her grandmother and mother drove their horse-drawn wagon from Des Montes to Arroyo Seco to learn to use the pressure cooker. “In the schoolhouse they were taught how to use the cookers. My grandmother and mother had enough money to purchase their own but it was at a great financial sacrifice, which is why she held on to them as if they were currency,” Padilla says. “My grandmother’s cellar was lined with jars of cherries, apples, even meat. The thing that they valued was that they could also preserve meat. It was a miracle for them.” Padilla says her mother saw the pressure cooker as a lifeline in case there was another Depression. “My mother treasured her pot, and so did my grandmother. I was supposed to keep them because, my mother said, ‘you never know when you might need them.’”

Another recent acquisition comes from Casa de Piñata. The 30-year-old business, in its struggle to survive the pandemic, began making coronavirus-shaped piñatas and now has a months-long waiting list. “We are thrilled to have it in the Museum, as it represents both a moment in time and how we celebrate” says Kim.

National Pressure Cooker Company, Pressure Cooker, heavy aluminum cast with brass rods and bakelite handles and thumbnuts, Albuquerque Museum gift of Kate Padilla

Francisco Rodriguez, Small Coronavirus Piñata, papier mache, Albuquerque Museum gift of anonymous donor

DO YOU HAVE ITEMS REPRESENTATIVE OF COVID-19 THAT WILL INFORM FUTURE GENERATIONS? Contact the Museum to inquire about donating.