PRICE -LOWENSTEIN BLDG-- FAIR STORE

Looking West from East Manzanares Street near the Val Verde location (not yet built)
on the right is Loewensteins store On the left is the Knights of Pythias Lodge, you can see a part of the Bull Durham sign at the top of the building, you can see a better view in the section South Side of Manzanares Street. In any event this was in the 1880s so it gives one thought to the long lasting paint of that period that it held up so well..that was in the late 1880's.

The building up on Manzanares on the left was where Frank Bernal first had his restaurant, then it was Gambles and Smelser had part of it and then the fine jeweler and watch maker, Joe Herrera. Descriptions for parking lots vary from cultured, that is with plants, or shrubs, or paintings, to the more depressing on this you may take your choice, it was such a beautiful bldg...torn down...progress I guess?

CITY HALL

VAL VERDE CIRCA 1914-1920

PICTURE PROPORTED TO HAVE BEEN TAKEN 1914, HOWEVER VAL VERDE WAS NOT BUILT AND NOT OPEN TILL 1919

OLD GRADE AND HIGH SCHOOL

SOCORRO GRADE SCHOOL CIRCA 1889. NOTICE THE TOWER, THERE WAS A WATCH POST AN IDEAL PLACE FOR OBSERVATIONS BECAUSE OF THE THE HEIGHT. ALSO APPEARS TO HAVE A CLOCK. (NOT VERIFIED.)REPORTEDLY THERE WERE A FEW STUDENT WHO WOULD SNEAK UP TO THE TOWER AND RING THE BELL THERE IN.


SOCORRO GRADE SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL CIRCA 1916

SOCORRO ELECTRIC COOP.

DROP BOX LOCATED ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE OFFICE.


EAST ENTRANCE


SOUTH WEST CORNER


NORTH EAST CORNER


FRONT OF THE OFFICE OF SOCORRO ELECTRIC COOPERATIVE.

GARCIA OPERA HOUSE

GARCIA OPERA HOUSE IN A SLIGHT NEED OF REPAIR CIRCA 1940




RENOVATED AND RESTORED GARCIA OPERA HOUSE


HISTORICAL RECOGNITION SIGN

CHOO CHOO DEPOT

LONG SHOT OF THE ATSF DEPOT AND SMALL WARE HOUSE


THE BAY WINDOW WAS THE AREA WHERE THE STATION MASTER SAT TO RECEIVE AND SENT TELEGRAMS AND TO VIEW UP AND DOWN THE RAILROAD. SAM ZIMMERLY WAS THE STATION AGENT, HIS BROTHER CHARLIE ZIMMERLY WAS THE SWING AGENT AND WADE FUNK BROUGHT UP THE GRAVE.
THESE WERE THE CHIEF PEOPLE ON DEC 7 1941 AND WOULD REMAIN SO FOR MANY YEARS. OUT OF THIS TELEGRAPH OFFICE DAVE ANDERSON WAS ONE OF THE BAD NEWS BOYS AS THEY WERE CALLED TO DELIVER TELEGRAMS TO THE LOCALS. WHEN SAM COULD NOT DELIVER THE DEATH OR POW NOTICE IT WOULD FALL TO THE TELEGRAM BOY. FORTUNATELY FOR DAVE AND SADNESS FOR SAM AS HE DELIVERED TO HIS MOTHER AND FATHER THE DEATH OF HIS BROTHER IN GERMANY. BLESS THIS AND ALL THAT LOST SONS IN THAT FRIGHTFUL WAR.



THIS IS THE NORTH END OF THE DEPOT. IT WAS THE WAITING AREA AND WAS ALWAYS KEPT WARM.
THE ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL AND THE EL PASO POST BOTH CAME BY TRAIN AND THE PAPER BOYS
WOULD USE THE WAITING AREA TO WRAP OR FOLD THE PAPERS FOR THROWING. THE TWO BOYS I KNOW OF COVERED THE JOURNAL DELIVERY FOR OVER 5 YEARS, BILL CALDWELL AND DAVE ANDERSON.



North, and east side, door to lobby for passengers to wait, later converted to work area for agents, and telegraphers, complete with potbelly stove, most welcome to paperboys at 3:00 am while preparing newspapers for delivery, the agents were really kind to paperboys.

East side, main rail line came by this side, all aboard" El Paso, or Albuquerque, etc. Bump-out was originally where agent sat, where he could watch the oncoming trains from the windows, and keep in contact with the trains. The larger doors to the south were for express, and the push cars for baggage were kept inside at night unless the trains were near, and there was express, or luggage on them, they were rolled to the appropriate rail can and loaded aboard, or unloaded from the train car to the cart. These carts were small hand pulled wagons with iron wheels, and used around every train depot. Sep07_4


THE PARKING AREA AS IT IS NOW. AT ONE TIME IT WAS A BRICKED PARKING AREA LIKE MOST DEPOTS OF THE TIME.



View of AT&SF depot south end looking north, the 4 foot high loading dock on the s w side has been removed. Lots of heavy articles were unloaded on this dock, scooted or rolled over portable steel plates between rail cars, and the dock, ie machinery, automobiles, and trucks, etc. " lets see a little more steam, easy don't want to back the flat car past the dock, ok, just right, now brakes, & unhitch, come back later for the empty car."

OLD SOCORRO COUNTY COURTHOUSE

OLD SOCORRO COUNTY COURTHOUSE CIRCA 1885 AS IT LOOKED DURING THAT TIME.


SIDE VIEW OF THE COUNTY COURTHOUSE SHOWING THE JAIL.


A POPULAR BOOK COVER THAT WAS A DEPICTION OF THE SOCORRO COUNTY COURTHOUSE
ABOUT 1885 PER DATES ON PAINTING.

AFTER A BIT OF RESEARCH WE FOUND THE ANSWER TO THE POSTED COMMENT. THIS VICTORIAN STYLE COURTHOUSE WAS TAKEN DOWN AROUND 1939/40 TO MAKE ROOM FOR THE PUEBLO STYLE NEW COURTHOUSE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENT.

SOCORRO COUNTY MAP SIGN

THIS METAL SIGN WAS A CURRENT MAP OF THE COUNTY AT THAT TIME GUESSED AT ABOUT 2002/?

LIBRARY

THIS IS THE LIBRARY I REMEMBER. MRS ANNA K. BROWN THE LIBRARIAN AND FOUNDER OF THE LIBRARY WAS ALWAYS SAVING SOME "MUST READ" BOOK FOR ME. IN LATER YEARS I WOULD APPRECIATE IT.







THE PUBLIC LIBRARY HAS A LONG AND DISTINGUISHED HISTORY. THE WRITER CANNOT SWEAR TO THE VERACITY OF THE STORY HOWEVER IT DESERVES NOTICE. IN EARLY SOCORRO THE LADIES OF THE TOWN CAME TOGETHER AND FORMED A LIBRARY BUILDING COMMITTEE WHOSE SOLE PURPOSE WAS TO SQUEEZE A FEW DOLLARS FROM HUSBANDS, FRIENDS, AND EVEN STRANGERS WERE APPROACHED FOR EITHER A DONATION OR A BOOK, AND THUS WITH THE MIGHTY EFFORTS OF THESE LADIES WE HAVE A LIBRARY. THE LIBRARY NOW HAS A FINE COLLECTION OF OVER 40,000 BOOKS.

MRS. ANNA K. BROWN WAS THE NAME OF THE SHORT, WHITE HAIRED, ELDERLY LADY THE LIBRARIAN AND A CLOSE WATCHER OF THE BOOKS. SHE WAS ESPECIALLY WATCHFUL IN SELECTING THE KIND OF LITERATURE THAT WOULD AFFORD ME A HEAD START IN READING LATER IN HIGH SCHOOL AND MUCH LATER IN WHAT I HAVE LEARNED OF STORY TELLING. I STILL REMEMBER WHEN A PARTICULAR WAR NOVEL WAS PUBLISHED AND ONLY ONE COPY CAME TO THE LIBRARY, MY GRANDMOTHER RECEIVED A CALL FROM THIS BEAUTIFUL LADY ASKING FOR ME TO COME CHECK IT OUT, SO I READ THE HEROIC STORY OF JOHN F. KENNEDY "P T 109", AND THUS MY LASTING RESPECT FOR THE MILITARY. IT SHOULD BE NOTED THAT MRS. BROWN WAS THE WIFE OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE NEW MEXICO SCHOOL OF MINES AND IT IS FOR MR. BROWN THAT BROWN HALL IS NAMED.

THE DEAR LADY THAT TOOK SUCH A GREAT INTEREST IN MY READING HABITS. MRS. BROWN WAS MOTHER OF THOMAS C. BROWN FOR WHOM MY MOTHER AT ONE TIME WORKED FOR AND FOR WHOM IN LATER YEARS I WOULD ALSO WORK FOR ON THE FARMS. YES THE FARMS.

CROWN MILL "JOHN GREENWALD SR."

I think they milled corn, wheat etc. also they sold building material, lumber, nails, bolts cement, plaster, etc. they also had a delivery service, via horse drawn wagon, don't know when this started, but must have been early part of the century, and closed when John Greenwald Sr . passed on, sometime in the 40's, Yes, there was a blond headed girl in the family, a beautiful young lady, her name was Joan,she was John the 3rd's sister, their folks were John 2, and Lelia, the home economics teacher at Socorro High School.....

EL DEFENSOR NEWPAPER

******** ********THE EL DEFENSOR SPANISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER WAS A PRIME ENTITY OF SOCORRO AND SOCORRO
COUNTY. THE DEFENSOR CHIEFTAIN IS THE SUCCESSOR TO EL DEFENSOR AND SOCORRO CHIEFTAIN.
IT REMAINED TO BE PUBLISHED BY THE TORRES FAMILY UNTIL THE FAMILY SOLD THE PAPERS.




ABOVE IS THE DEFENSOR CHIEFTAIN PUBLISHING PLANT AFTER THE MERGER OF THE TWO
PAPERS.

MAIN FIRE HOUSE

Socorro Hose Co on Fisher St. the two story part is the old original, and the rest are new additions. Remember the new La France pumper that we got about 1946?, it was topless, and pure white with gold leaf trim, what a beauty. Remember the Chief, old Percy Miller, he was a side-show at fireS, he would really get into the theatrics. The Siren was in the top story in the tower, and they sounded it for meetings, and fires to call the volunteers. The siren also was sounded for an off then on again curfew for us night wandering juveniles. BC

OLD WATER COMMISSIONER'S OFFICE

WATER COMMISSIONER'S OFFICE

IN THE 1930'S AND 1940'S THE SOCORRO WATER COMMISSIONER'S OFFICE WAS THE POLITICAL FOCAL POINT FOR SOCORRO COUNTY AND THE POLITICAL POWER BASE. THE WATER COMMISSION WAS TRULY NOTHING BUT A RUBBER STAMP PLACED ON THE PETITIONS FOR THE PARTY RUN MOB.

THE WATER DEPARTMENT IN AND OF ITSELF WAS EFFICIENT ENOUGH AS FAR AS DRINKING WATER WAS CONCERNED. IF YOU WANTED WATER CONNECTED TO YOUR PROPERTY IT WOULD HAPPEN, AND THE RATES WERE VERY REASONABLE.

FOR VIRTUALLY EVERY OTHER ASPECT OF LIFE IN SOCORRO WAS A COMPLEX METHOD OF WHAT WAS COMMONLY REFERRED TO AS THE 'VIG' (VIGORISH) OR IN SPANISH 'MORDIDA' MEANING A 'BITE'. AND A 'BITE' IT WAS AND WORKED IN THIS WAY; SHOULD YOU DESIRE CERTAIN THINGS, STREET REPAIRS, TRAFFIC SIGNS, OR THE LIKE, OR YOU WERE IN NEED OF A JOB (THE OPENING WAS THERE) AND IT WAS A CITY, STATE, OR COUNTY POSITION, THEN YOU WOULD AGREE TO PAY THE 'VIG' ON PAYDAY.
THE PAYMENT COLLECTION COUNTER, THE WATER COMMISSIONER'S OFFICE.

THIS PRACTICE WAS PREVALENT UNTIL THE LATE 40'S EARLY 50'S WHEN THE CORRUPT OFFICIALS WERE REPLACED, ALMOST ALL THROUGH THE STATE THE POLITICIANS WERE GONE AND A NEW ERA BEGAN.



THE CONCRETE INLAID SIDEWALK PIECE IS FROM SIDEWALK BETWEEN OLD WATER COMMISSION OFFICE AND OLD EPISCOPAL CHURCH. INDICATES WAS PART OF FDR'S WPA (WORKS PROJECT ADMINISTRATION) ONE OF THE WAYS THAT FDR WAS ABLE TO UNITE THE COUNTRY AND PULL IT OUT OF THE HORRIBLE DEPRESSION. IT ALSO PROVIDED A MEANS BY WHICH CERTAIN POLITICIANS WERE ABLE TO COLLECT THEIR SHARE IN THE FORM OF 'VIG'.