Speakers Bureau

The Albuquerque Historical Society provides a Speakers Bureau as a resource for high school history and social studies teachers as well as other organizations. Most topics are appropriate for a high school’s New Mexico history class. The teacher would need to prepare their students prior to the speaker’s presentation by having classroom discussion or student research on the topic.

Volunteer speakers will provide their presentation upon request. Communication and scheduling is directly between the requester and the speaker. The speaker does not receive an honorarium. The speaker will indicate what audio visual equipment is needed.

Teachers and others desiring a presentation should complete the on-line Speaker Request Form and select from the topics currently available as listed below.

Available Speaker Topics

• Native American Railroad Workers, Their History & Legacy – Fred Friedman (Bio)

  Navajo, Laguna, Zuni & other Native steel gangs (railroad jargon for track workers) are legendary as the very best track workers. They worked in teams, often generational and have a reputation similar to the Mohawk skyscraper builders. Their origins include connections with trading post operators, tribal relations with early railroads and transitioning to modern construction techniques.

• What’s Going on with Amtrak? – Fred Friedman (Bio)

  Amtrak, or the National Railroad Passenger Corporation, had been operating through New Mexico on two routes since 1971. Chronically underfunded, it operates over freight company lines and continues to serve as an important transportation option for its passengers. Several of its station stops were once important Fred Harvey depots.

• A History of New Mexico’s Railroads from Territory to Statehood – Fred Friedman (Bio)
  

  It’s been stated that railroads were the space program of the 1880’s and that statement was certainly true in New Mexico. The Iron Steed’s arrival from Colorado in 1878 set the pace for over 100 railroads to be sanctioned for service in the state between that time and the present. Absent the railroad, statehood would have been delayed indefinitely. Establishment of Rail Runner Commuter Express service and the recent purchase of the historic Lamy branch illustrate the continued importance of railroading to the state.

• Dr. Randy Lovelace and the Astronauts – Loretta Hall (Bio)

  In 1959, the staff of the Lovelace Clinic in Albuquerque secretly administered physical examinations that Dr. Randy Lovelace had devised for NASA’s first astronaut candidates. This presentation describes why Dr. Lovelace was selected for that task, how he accomplished it, and what he subsequently challenged NASA to consider.

• New Mexico’s Contributions to Space Travel – Loretta Hall (Bio)

  Enjoy a tour through time as author Loretta Hall describes crucial contributions to space travel made by scientists, engineers, and assorted adventurers in New Mexico, beginning with Robert Goddard’s arrival in Roswell in 1930. In subsequent decades, researchers working in our state refined rocketry and investigated potential impediments to human spaceflight, including cosmic radiation, prolonged weightlessness, acceleration and deceleration forces, confinement and isolation in a space capsule, and the ability to react appropriately to emergencies in space. As New Mexico approaches its centennial of supporting space exploration, its leadership in the commercialization of spaceflight at Spaceport America is a fitting continuation of this historic record.

• Juan de Oñate – Dianne Layden (Bio)

• History of the Rudolfo Anaya – Bless Me, Ultima Landscape Park in Santa Rosa, New Mexico– Dianne Layden (Bio)

• Doña Tules – Donna Pedace (Bio)

  One of the more fascinating and financially successful women in the Southwest during the early-mid 1800s was a woman known by many names, but today she is most commonly known as Doña Tules. She was already a legend in her own time and the most notorious woman in Santa Fe, in fact, of all New Mexico.

• Susan McSween Barber – Donna Pedace (Bio)

  Susan and her husband, Alexander McSween, were at the center of the infamous Lincoln County War in New Mexico and deeply connected to the rise of the Billy the Kid legend. She was a first-hand witness to the violence in the Lincoln County War. In a time when women seldom received much recognition, her name was well known during her lifetime, and she became known as “The Cattle Queen of New Mexico.”

• The Downtown Albuquerque Walking Tour: For People Who Prefer to Sit – Roland Penttila (Bio)
  

  Roland Pentitilia has created a PowerPoint slide show of the walking tour for people who can’t stand for two hours or walk the ¾ mile distance. It is all the knowledge the tour contains without the steps. It is a perfect alternative for those unable to get around. The presentation lasts about 90 minutes. The presentation tells about Albuquerque’s Central Avenue (previously Railroad Avenue) and the changes that occurred when the railroad came to town in 1880 all the way up to the present day. The history is supported with vintage photos of the buildings–many of which no longer exist.

• Albuquerque History: Questions and Answers – Roland Penttila (Bio)
  

  In 2017, the City of Albuquerque Transit Department asked the Albuquerque Historical Society to prepare short questions and answers to various historical facts about Albuquerque. The Society came up with 90 pairs of questions and answers that are a fun walk-through of the City’s historical facts. See how many you can answer in this one hour presentation given by AHS Member Roland Penttila.

• A Submarine Drives Down Central Avenue – Roland Penttila (Bio)

  The story of the Japanese mini sub that participated in the Pearl Harbor attack, was captured and then toured the United States on a trailer to raise War Bonds. This includes the story of Kazuo Sakamaki (Japanese Prisoner of War Number 1), his youth, his capture and imprisonment and eventual release and later history.

• Little Beaver Town – Roland Penttila (Bio)

  A Western-themed park in the Tijeras Canyon from 1961 to 1963 that hoped to be the Knott’s Berry Farm of Albuquerque but failed for any number of reasons.

• The Day an Atomic Bomb Was Dropped on Albuquerque and Other Military Aviation Accidents – Roland Penttila (Bio)

  This presentation tells the details of how a 42 ton atomic bomb was accidentally dropped just south of the Kirtland Air Force Base in 1957 which caused a secret cover-up that lasted until the mid 1980s. In addition, many more military aviation accidents that occurred in Albuquerque and surrounding New Mexico will be covered.

• Christmas Revels: the 1919 New Mexico Mounted Police Raid on Santo Domingo Pueblo – Joe Sabatini (Bio)

  Leo Crane was a Bureau of Indian Affairs official who wrote two books about his experiences in Arizona and New Mexico from 1911 to 1928. His “Christmas Revels” chapter in “Desert Drums” about a little-known incident in 1919 inspired me to seek additional information, leading to the discovery of the remarkable resources in the Institute for Pueblo Indian Studies at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. The attempt by state militiamen to seize cattle rustlers during the Christmas day dance almost resulted in their massacre. The incident was a precursor of the united Pueblos’ struggle to defeat the Bursum Bill and preserve their lands and way of life in the 1920s.

• Erna Fergusson: First Lady of New Mexico Letters – Joe Sabatini (Bio)

  Librarian and local history presenter Joe Sabatini will discuss the life and legacy of Ernestine Mary “Erna” Fergusson (1888-1964). A prominent Albuquerque native, she was the daughter of Territorial and U.S. Congressman H.B. Fergusson and the granddaughter of Santa Fe Trail merchant Franz Huning. Erna was a teacher, reporter, author, Southwestern cultural ambassador, library advocate, a founder of the Albuquerque Historical Society and the first female dude wrangler. Learn how she came to be known as the First Lady of New Mexico Letters, and was commemorated by a city branch library named in her honor.

• J.R. Willis: Postcard Artist and Old Town Arts Entrepreneur – Joe Sabatini (Bio).

  This illustrated presentation will review the life and career of artist John Roy “J.R.” Willis (1876-1960), a once-prominent Old Town Albuquerque artist. Born in rural Georgia, he had an early career as a cartoonist, movie set designer, animator and vaudeville performer. Coming to Gallup in 1917, he operated a camera store and photography gallery and helped start the Intertribal Indian Ceremonial. He published hundreds of beautiful but stereotypical postcards of Native Americans and the Southwest. He was a prolific painter, “New Mexico’s Aspen King” and an enterprising marketer. Moving to Albuquerque in 1931, he did historical murals at the Court Café and W.P.A. projects at Gallup High School and the Alamogordo Women’s Club. He built an adobe home and studio, “La Miradora”, just north of the Albuquerque Country Club, along with an artists’ compound which is still in use as the Casas de Sueños Bed & Breakfast.

• History of the Albuquerque Indian School – Joe Sabatini (Bio)

  Joe Sabatini, volunteer at the Library/Archives of the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, will discuss the origins of the Albuquerque Indian school and changing federal Indian education policies over the century the school was active. He will describe the many interactions between the school and the Albuquerque community, including cultural, athletic, religious and economic relationships. He will also discuss, from a political and neighborhood perspective, the history of the AIS property following the school’s closing in 1981. This part includes the deterioration of the campus, the creation of the Indian Pueblos Federal Development Corporation (IPFDC), the reaction of the neighborhood, and development agreements with the City of Albuquerque. He will conclude with the effort to save and repurpose the last remaining building on the historic campus.

• North Fourth Street; a Drive through Time – Joe Sabatini (Bio)

  North Fourth Street is the main street in Albuquerque’s North Valley. Joe Sabatini will describe the century of Fourth Street’s evolution as a city street, a federal highway, a suburban commercial strip and a redeveloping urban transit corridor. This illustrated talk will present maps, postcards, photographs and Albuquerque Progress magazine issues to celebrate “the most beautiful ugly street in the world.”

• Olla Bearers and Indian Detours: New Mexico Indians as Tourist Attractions – Joe Sabatini (Bio)

  We will explore how promoters created romantic and stereotyped images of Native American communities “little changed since Coronado first viewed them” to draw tourists to New Mexico. Through books, postcards, pamphlets, maps, pageants, and brochures, entrepreneurs like Charles Lummis, the Santa Fe Railway, the Fred Harvey Company, Erna Fergusson, J.R. Willis, Ward Hicks, and the State Tourist Bureau successfully promoted a growing industry, with mixed consequences for the “colorful” natives.

• The Motel in Albuquerque – Joe Sabatini (Bio)

  The emergence and development of automobile-oriented lodging in Albuquerque follows national trends, but with our own special local flavor. Starting out as primitive campgrounds at the edge of town on newly-established national highway routes, these businesses re-invent themselves by adding services and amenities to attract increasing numbers of travelers. Over time, they call themselves camps, cabins, courts, motels, motor hotels and lodges. They flourish and decline as highway routes are realigned. Advertising postcards provide us with a wonderful portrait of Albuquerque’s motel businesses from 1920 to the present.

• Albuquerque and the Yazoo – Roger Zimmerman (Bio)

  With the introduction of the railroad in 1880, downtown Albuquerque, or New Town Albuquerque, was located in what is called a “yazoo.” In geological terms, a yazoo means a depression that cannot drain properly because the adjacent river lies above it. The presence of the yazoo presented two problems: high ground water table and the threat of flooding. This presentation will describe: (1) the physical setting of downtown Albuquerque, and (2) what the citizens did to mitigate the problems. With the high ground water table, surface flow collected in thin ponds, which the Spaniards called “esteros.” The Esteros de Mejia covered much of the district from present Central Avenue south to the Barelas Bridge. While the yazoo presented problems to the settlers after the railroad came, the yazoo provided the early Spanish settlers with a valuable resource: water for cultivation of crops and economic development. New Town was in constant danger of a major flood because it was 50 ft below the river level at Alameda, where the Rio Grande makes its turn to the west. New Town planners also knew that there were eight major arroyos that were headquartered in the nearby Sandia Mountains, and that drainage from these could threaten the tracks and town site. In 1925, the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District was instituted to help with ground water lowering and to greatly reduce potential flood threats to the middle valley. Major drainage ditches, laterals, and levees were constructed and the impacts of these and other mitigation solutions are discussed. Read More.

• Features of the Long Walk to the Bosque Redondo – Roger Zimmerman (Bio)

  The U.S. Government tried to pacify the Navajo Tribe after the Mexican-American War by entering into treaties with representatives of the tribe. The Navajos were an expansive collection of small bands that had a common religion and culture without a central governmental structure. The U.S. Government entered into 7 unsuccessful treaties with various headmen of the tribe between 1846-61. Finally, in desperation, the U.S. Army person responsible for pacifying the Navajos decided to resettle them in a “Navajo Pueblo” on the Rio Pecos some 400 miles away. In the words of. Historian L. R. Bailey, Navajo Indians of New Mexico were hopelessly and relentlessly pursued, rounded up and driven to a wretched disease-ridden reservation on the banks of the Rio Pecos, in east-central New Mexico, the infamous “Bosque Redondo.“ This presentation is modular in form and sub-topics include: Conditions leading to the Bosque Redondo, Decision Making, Decisions Made, Long Walk to Ft. Sumner, Functioning in Resettlement, Rejecting the Bosque Redondo, U.S. Government Investigations on Resettlement, and the Long Walk home. Some aftermath stories are provided. Sub-topics can be selected for shorter presentations.

• Opera House in Gallup, NM Without Opera Being Sung – Roger Zimmerman (Bio)

  This still-standing, two-story facility was constructed in 1895. The bottom floor contained a saloon and a café, and the second floor was a large hall with a high ceiling and an elevated stage. The facility became known as Kitchen’s Opera House. The hall was used for meetings, dances, theater, and boxing and wrestling events for nearly 60 years. Opera was never performed there. Meetings included high school commencements, church services, political events like the location of the speech of New Mexico’s first Governor, and Communist inspired union meetings that led to a major coal strike and eventual martial law in the 1930s. The saloon started as a nice facility and degenerated into a rough bar where there were many fights and shootings. It was open for over 70 years. The café was opened in the late 1890s and is still open to this day. The café was the headquarters for the Japanese-born community in Gallup during WWII, and its owner played a prominent role in helping keep those citizens out of internment camps.

• Son of an Indian Trader/Growing up on the Navajo Reservation – Roger Zimmerman (Bio)

  I was born the year my parents took over the Mariano Lake Trading Post in McKinley County. They moved to the post not knowing the Navajo culture or language. Dad had been a trader at Zuni, but knew nothing about the Navajos. The post was located 9 miles from the nearest non-Indian neighbor. Drinking water had to be hauled 17 miles from Crownpoint, NM over a rough road that required a climb over a major pass. As an adult, I reflected on my 8 years at the post and realized that my parents had to earn the trust of the Indians, where communications were difficult and most of the people were uneducated in our culture. My parents learned to deal with isolation and I found that this experience had an impact on my life. I learned how traders provided necessary service to the surrounding community and stimulated the economy for the betterment of all. Finally, I learned how people survive in remote locations with harsh weather and where automobile travel was at best difficult and often prohibited. After WWII, I spent 8 years in Gallup where I worked at my Dad’s dry goods store that catered to trade with Navajo and Zuni Indians. I needed to speak passable Navajo to work at the store, and I learned about trading with the Navajos in a city environment.

• Rerouting Route 66 Through Tijeras Canyon – Roger Zimmerman (Bio)

  Route 66 was the Mother Road of Flight for many travelers. It was the Main Street of America. It became part of the Federal Highway System in 1926 as an unpaved road going through Tucumcari, Santa Rosa, Santa Fe, Bernalillo, Albuquerque, Los Lunas, Grants, and Gallup. The total distance was 506 miles. Late in 1926, Governor A. T. Hannett authorized the construction of the Santa-Rosa Short-cut in the last days of his administration. In the 1930s, a Laguna Short-cut was completed. The short-cuts, which were formally instituted as being part of Route 66 in 1937, eliminated Santa Fe, Bernalillo, and Los Lunas from being on the route, much to the consternation of tourist oriented businesses in those communities. The short-cuts saved 107 miles of travel over dirt, then gravel, and finally paved roads. The presentation discusses the political and social factors leading to the decision to create the Santa Rosa Short-cut, the actions leading to officially realigning Route 66 through Tijeras Canyon and towards Laguna, and the aftermath of what these decisions produced.

• Theoretical Texas Boundary in New Mexico – Roger Zimmerman (Bio)

  The Republic of Texas claimed a western boundary in 1836 that included land east of the Rio Grande in what was considered the Territory of New Mexico by the Mexican government. Texas claims were without agreement of the government of Mexico or support of citizens living in the affected region. The Texas claims for boundaries were included in petitions for annexation with the US starting in 1836. President Andrew Jackson and the US Congress stalled the annexation petition and this continued until 1838, when the US and the Republic broke off annexation discussions. Finally in 1845, the US saw need to annex Texas and the Republic of Texas became the State of Texas. New Mexico residents did not get US citizenship rights when the State of Texas was formed because the boundaries were subject to the acceptance of these boundaries by adjoining governments, which did not happen with Mexico. Boundary issues were drivers of the war between the US and Mexico, starting in 1846 and being concluded with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848. General Kearny proclaimed New Mexico as part of the US in 1846. The region of New Mexico east of the Rio Grande was not formally accepted as part of the New Mexico Territory until the US Congress Compromise of 1850.

• A History Lover’s Guide to Albuquerque – Roger Zimmerman (Bio)

  A History Lover’s Guide to Albuquerque is a book (2019) from The History Press, which is part of Arcadia Publishing. The History Press’s History Lover’s Guide series is a collection of uniquely comprehensive volumes that help readers become intimately acquainted with new regions on multiple levels. Practical information combines with fascinating tidbits for a unique learning experience. A History Lover’s Guide to Albuquerque goes beyond the traditional guidebook to offer a historical journal through an area rich with diverse cultures and their fascinating past. The journey through time starts with the settlement of Native Americans in Pueblos along the Rio Grande and then initiatives by Spain to settle and convert the region. Visit Old Town Plaza, where trade from the El Camino Real and Santa Fe Trails flourished. Lesser-known sites, including railroad depot facilities, major military landmarks, nostalgic Route 66, museums, libraries, ethnic centers, and historic treasures are included. Many images are presented to highlight the historical significance of the events and places. The photo rich presentation provides insights to many of these historical events that occurred up through the 1960s.

• Lighter Moments in Roger Max Zimmerman Memoirs – Roger Zimmerman (Bio)
  

  This presentation is designed to bring out humorous and entertaining stories that emerged in pursuing a technical career. The stories are based on chapters that include depicting various phases of my life as a child at a Trading Post, going to NMMI, enjoying a 52 year marriage (Vol. 1); participating in college level studies, teaching, and administration at CU and NMSU (Vol. 2); working at Sandia National Laboratories on underground mining and above ground aircraft and spacecraft projects (Vol. 3 and Vol. 4); and participating in volunteer activities associated with engineering societies and the Albuquerque Historical Society (Vol. 5). Lighter moments are extracted from the 5 volumes. Examples are:
  · Father using psychology in getting a truck unstuck in a muddy road
  · Recognizing generation differences in skiing activities
  · Things one shouldn’t do with a gun
  · Teenage aspirations at NMMI that ran into reality
  · Unexpected results of involvement of new wife in college skit at CU
  · Experiences of two families living in a Quonset hut with thin walls and me receiving “The look”
  · Unsatisfactory performance in Aggie/Lobo competition at NMSU
  · Being shamed into using a hand calculator in an engineering classroom
  · Underground miner’s experience in a brothel
  · Encounter with Honolulu policeman
  · Race to become president of AHS

Request a Speaker/Topic

To request a presentation complete the on-line Speaker Request Form. You will be contacted by the speaker.

Volunteer to be a Speaker

If you are knowledgeable on a topic related to the history of Albuquerque and are willing to volunteer your time, please complete our Speaker Volunteer Application Form.