Local group is collecting oral histories in historic Mesquite district

Las Cruces’ original townsite lies within the Mesquite Historic District just east of downtown, where residents know many stories about their neighborhood and about the nearly 175-year history of the city.

Las Esperanzas neighborhood association has begun a new project to collect those stories.

“Mis Memorias: Oral Histories of the Mesquite Street Historic District” is a major undertaking “that we hope will be an ongoing project,” said Las Esperanzas treasurer Paul Mach.

For the project, La Esperanzas is teaming with the New Mexico State University History Department and NMSU Archives and Special Collections, which will be the repository of the oral histories and related documents that are collected, Mach said.

“At one time, NMSU professor Jon Hunner and his students interviewed and recorded around 10

 residents of the Mesquite District, but then the project ended,” Mach said. “Las Esperanzas wants to revive collecting the stories of others who are connected to the district.”

“What are your stories?” Las Esperanzas President Martha Rodriguez asked in an open letter to “those with connections to the Mesquite Historic District. Did you grow up in the district? Did you move here from someplace near or far? Tell us your memories, we’d like to hear them. Our stories today will be the history for those that come after us.”

“Everyone should take ownership,” Rodriguez told the Las Cruces Bulletin, including people who live in the Mesquite District and anyone with information about it or about someone who lived there.”

“Everyone has a story,” Mach said,” whether you have had family here for generations or you moved in a year ago.”

“It’s a very exciting project,” said NMSU graduate history student Honor Beeson, one of the Mis Memorias volunteers.

“We’re excited for what the younger generation will bring to the project,” Rodriguez said. “NMSU Archives “is very open and excited about collecting stories,” she said.

It’s not just the neighborhood story, Rodriguez said. “It’s Las Cruces’ story.”

Lamberto “Bindy” Trujillo, 96, is a perfect example of a recent “Mis Memorias” interview that is important to the history of Las Cruces, she said.

Trujillo grew up in the neighborhood and enlisted in the U.S. military at age 17, Rodriguez said.

Trujillo came back to Las Cruces to finish high school.

“When asked when his family first came to Las Cruces, Bindy simply responded, ‘My family has always lived here,’” Rodriguez said. “Bindy’s family are members of the Piro tribe and his ancestors were here even before the City of Las Cruces was established.”

One of the things Trujillo told Rodriguez was his idea “to build a veteran wall for his fellow veterans and those who never returned home,” she said. “He was actively involved in bringing his dream to life and when the wall was erected, it was one of his proudest moments.”

It is important that Memorias volunteers talk to as many people like Trujillo as possible for the project, Rodriguez said.

“My sister remembers things I don’t remember,” she said. “That’s how the blanks are filled in.”

To participate in “Mis Memorias,” visit www.las-esperanzas.com/contact-us.html.

From Las Esperanzas’ “Mis Memorias” oral history project abstract

“In 1849, (Las Cruces’) original townsite included a variety of nationalities, including Native Americans, Mexicans, Europeans, African Americans, people of Jewish descent, as well as a variety of religious faiths, such as Catholic, Methodist and Jewish.

“Additionally, the district has been home to Native Americans since ancient times (including) Piro-Manso-Tiwa and Apache and Comanche people whose descendants still live in the neighborhood.

“The collection of oral histories will include long-time residents of the neighborhood, many of whom are descendants of the first residents of the original townsite, as well as newcomers who have embraced the history and culture and are preserving the historic value of their homes and properties.”

Questionnaires and release forms are available in English and Spanish.

Las Esperanzas

Las Esperanzas, Inc. was founded in 1999 by Consuelo “Connie” Lerma. It was created to help revitalize the neighborhood and protect its history and culture and preserve its architecture.

In addition to “Mis Memorias,” Las Esperanzas is sponsoring its ninth annual enchilada fundraiser to benefit students in the A. Fielder Memorial Safe Haven Weed and Seed Program. In partnership with La Nueva Casita Café, the fundraiser will be 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11, at El Calvario United Methodist Church, 316 N. Campo St. Red enchilada plates are $10.

Las Esperanzas also is involved in projects: 1) to redesign parts of Lohman and Amador avenues to make them safer for pedestrians and bikers; 2) to improve lighting in the south portion of the Mesquite Historic District and, working with the Downtown Las Cruces Partnership, to bring additional lighting to other parts of the district; 3) getting state capital outlay funds to make improvements to Klein Park, 155 N. Mesquite St.; 4) to build community, possibly including a neighborhood yard sale; and 5) revitalizing a Neighborhood Watch program in the district.

Since 2013, Las Esperanzas has been awarding blue plaques to owners of properties in the district, including private homes, businesses and churches, to help “preserve the history of the property,” Mach said. About 60 plaques have been awarded, he said, and there are about a dozen left from the collection of plaques Las Esperanzas purchased from the City of Las Cruces.

“When they’re gone, they’re gone,” Mach said.