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1939: Colorful Tales Of Faded Past Lure Tourists To Oro Grande

Nov 6, 1939

Visitors Find Substantial Cattle Town Interesting Place for a Stop

In the vast desert near Oro Grande, N.M., a visitor gets the impression that nature, after lavishing her color everywhere-on the towering pines and firs of the Sacramento's-suddenly found her brush worn, the paint of her palette practically gone.

And, fatigued, she listlessly smeared across the canvas blobs of brown for the sun-seared hills; streaks of green for the puffs of greasewood; and decided to let the sun dry it.

Yet below the earth she has been riotously lavish, residents of Oro Grande tell you. The boisterous jangle of boom mining town life once swept through Oro Grande and brought 5000 prospectors, merchants and fortune seekers to the area. That was between 1900-06, when the town was a roaring mining camp and placers were averaging one ounce of gold an hour during running time.

 Tells Of Past

 And the running time was 24 hours a day.

Tom Bell, who has been a leading citizen of Oro Grande more than 14 years, has talked with many of the old-timers who worked placers in the vicinity during the "boom days."

"There were nine saloons in Oro Grande at one time and a shooting every night," Mr. Bell said. "It was a real boom mining town."

Water for the town was hauled from Wildie Well, north of Oro Grande, previous to an including part of the boom days.

A mining company was organized in 1906 and a six-inch water line was laid from the grapevine Horse Camp, now a part of the Oliver Lee Ranch, into town.

Prospectors were roaming the Javilla Mountains near Oro Grande then for deposits of gold, copper, iron and silver. Daily "strikes" of gold were made.

 Things Were Popping

"Things were popping," Mr. Bell said, "Then a smelter was constructed. It looked like the area was a sure-fire mineral producer."

The foundation of the old smelter is still standing in Oro Grande

Law enforcement was a major item in Oro Grande during the blood days. The job was turned over to Lon Danley, who was appointed marshal.

Then the firm operating the mill and smelter at Oro Grande found that the high cost of production was cutting their profits. The ore became lower in grade and more expensive to take from the ground, mill and smelt. The smelter and mill were closed.

 Cattle Town Now

Oro Grande gradually drifted from a boom mining town into a substantial cattle raising community. Today the town is the center of some of the most prosperous ranches in the area.

Douglas McGregor operates 365 sections in the Oro Grande vicinity. Mr. Bell operates about 42 sections. Other outfits are the Oliver Lee Jr. and Oliver Lee Sr. Ranches and the Bill McNew Ranch.

Mr. McNew owns land on which the Oro Grande Placer Syndicate, headed by James O'Hara of Denver, once stood. The area was last worked about two years ago.

 Plenty Of Gold

"There's still plenty of gold in this region," Mr. Bell said. "But there's lots of dirt mixed with it."

Mr. Bell started working in the Otero county area in 1918 when he was employed as a cowboy for the Circle Cross Cattle Co.

Cattle ranges in the Oro Grande region are in fair condition. Several thousand cattle will be shipped from the area this season. Most of the calves in the vicinity have been contracted for by buyers for 7 and 8 cents a pound.

Business has been good because of the steady flow of tourist travel in and out of El Paso. Tourist attractions in the area include White Sands and points beyond in the Gila National Forest.

1889: Mentions Around Town

Dec. 3, 1889

The Herald has become idiotic again. The editor is absent.

Judge Alfonso Taft and wife of Cincinnati, are at the Grand Central hotel.

There was not anything of interest going on in the courts yesterday.

Dr. Harrington and Editor Rule are in New Mexico. They left her Sunday for Eddy.

Assistant City Attorney Burgess, makes it warm for offenders of the city ordinances.

There will be an entertainment at St. Joseph's Convent, San Elizario, Thursday evening next, and the Times acknowledges the receipt of an invitation to attend.

The game of ball Sunday afternoon resulted in the defeat of the Jonses by a score of 8 to 2.

Colonel Baylor, United States court deputy clerk at this point has received a complete set (131 volumes) of United States reports.

F.M. Pixley, of the San Francisco Argonaut, is autographed at the Grand Central.

The city certainly looked deserted last night. Everybody was over in Juarez.

The Wigwam closed its doors last night. The proprietors say they cannot stand the expense.

The fiesta festivities commence in Juarez next Sunday, and will of course be enjoyed by a large number from this side.

J.F. Satterthwaite returned yesterday from the east looking as happy and healthy as his friends could possible wish.

Ben Dunkle, Si Ryan, Butterworth and Wilder were having a great time with a one-in-hand last night. They dashed through the principal streets in great style.

Recorder Davis did a lively business yesterday morning. He find Judge Loomis $25 for offending the health ordinance and fined Mr. W.M. James for not being present to act as a juror.

The I.O.O.F.'s of El Paso Lodge No. 284 held their regular annual election last night with the following result: H.L. Copell, representative; A.A. Ellis, N.G.; T.S. Kerr, V.G.; W.E. Sharp, R.S.; Jacob Oppenheim, P.S.; C.W. Fassett, treasurer. This a splendid set of officers.

Hon. Thomas Ryan, United States minister to Mexico, passed through the city Sunday on his return from washington to the City of Mexico. He expressed himself as an enthusiastic supporter of reciprocity with Mexico and said he was glad to see the Times was in line with him on that question.

An organ from El Paso went to Eddy, New Mexico, yesterday. Mr. Walz made the sale and got under eastern prices to do it. Sabe.

El Paso street names

Richard Bussell, of the El Paso County Historical Society, has been compiling a list of El Paso street names and who they were named for, here is what he has found:

Ange	Most likely named for wife of Dr. J.A. Mckinney. Doctor and school board member – a prominent citizen of the 1880s.
Bassett	Named by and for O.T. Bassett, developer of Bassett Addition.
Blacker	For pioneer jurist Judge Allen Blacker.
Boone	J.H Boone. Policeman, deputy sheriff, chief customs inspector and Sheriff. Former operator of Washington Park. Also large land owner.
Broaddus	H.W. Broaddus, real estate developer.
Burges	The street and school are named for W.H. Burges, one of the most prominent attorneys in EP history.
Campbell	Named for Robert Campbell, St. Louis banker, and owner of Campbell Real Estate Co (Campbell Addition.) This property was owned by the Gillett brothers and was picked up by Campbell at a foreclosure sale in Austin.
Cotton	Named by and for Frank B. Cotton, Boston banker who bought the property from Joseph Magoffin and started the Cotton Addition.
Crosby	For J.F. Crosby pioneer lawyer. One of our most prominent early (1854) citizens and a major land holder.
Dyer	Most certainly named for John L. Dyer, a lawyer, City Attorney, and Secretary for the Grandview Realty Co., owners of the Grandview Addition.
El Paso	Named by Anson Mills on original town plat – it was the street that led to El Paso del Norte (Juarez).
Eubank	J.W. Eubank. Engineer (Civil) with T&P Railroad. Came here in 1882. County Surveyor for14 years.  Plotted East El Paso & Highland Park. Owned farm near Clint. Married Central School teacher, their daughter married Ballard Coldwell.
Florence	Named for daughter of W.S. Hills, manager of Campbell Real Estate Co.
Flory	Named for George Flory, Cashier of State National Bank.
Fred Wilson	County Engineer. Built the road named for him. Also built the County road to the border with New Mexico, known as the “Newman Road.”
Grant	Judge Walter B. Grant came here in 1907 to complete development of the Cotton Addition as executor of the Cotton Estate following the death of Frank Cotton that same year.
Hague	Named for pioneer attorney James P. Hague.
Hammett	B.F. Hammett replaced W.S. Hills as manager of the Campbell Real Estate Co. Active in business, civic and social life later became Mayor. Also built the D.R. Francis Hotel, a portion of which still exists, known as the Cathcart Building.
Hawkins	Named for Hawkins family – owners of Hawkins Dairy. The Hawkins brothers were also real estate developers.
Hills	Named for W.S. Hills, manager of the Campbell Real Estate Co.
Howze	For General Robert L. Howze, former commander of Ft. Bliss
Idalia	Named for Ida Morehead, daughter of C.R.
Joyce Circle	Named for Kenyon Joyce, former commander of Ft. Bliss
Kansas	Named by Anson Mills on original town plat.
La Taste	Named for the city staff member who approved street names, Mrs. Ashley La Taste (later Mrs. Wagnon,)
Lee	Named for son of W.S. Hills, manager of Campbell Real Estate Co.
Lowenstein	Moritz Lowenstein settled in Ysleta in 1871. Farmer and large land owner. Married Juana Buchanan, daughter of valley pioneer James Buchanan.
Magoffin	By and for pioneer Joseph Magoffin.
Main	On Anson Mills map.
Marr	James L. Marr. Pioneer businessman, real estate and insurance.
Martinez	Felix Martinez, already a prominent citizen of Las Vegas, New Mexico, came here in 1899 and became involved in some of El Paso’s biggest building and land development projects.
McRae	Began in the Scottish themed Scotsdale Addition. The McRae family came into possession of Eilean Donan castle in Loch Durich Northwest Scotland. Mostly destroyed by the British in 1719, a descendent bought the property in 1911 and rebuilt it. It became one of Scotland’s most visited tourist attractions.
Mesa	Originally named Utah on Anson Mills map. South Utah became notorious for its dives and bordellos, so, in 1897 the citizens of North Utah got the name changed to Mesa. South Utah, below Texas, was later changed to Broadway, then to Mesa.
Mills	Originally named St. Louis. Name changed in 1910 to honor Anson Mills.
Morehead	Pioneer Charles R. Morehead established State National Bank in 1881.
Myrtle	Named by O.T. Bassett for his wife who died in 1882.
Nations	J.H. Nations. Arriving circa 1885, was from a pioneer family in Gonzales, Texas where he was born. Owned several extensive ranches, including a large part of Northeast El Paso. Opened J.H. Nations Packing Co. and Nations Meat Market .
Newman	H.L. Newman. Came to El Paso in 1885. Pioneer banker and rancher who owned vast acreage in Northeast EP at La Noria.
Ochoa	Inocente Ochoa was one of the most prominent citizens of El Paso del Norte (Juarez) in the 1800s.
Octavia	For Octavia Magoffin, wife of Joseph.
Pollard	Named for pioneer (1882) druggist J.H Pollard. He and C.E. Kelly partnered to form Kelly and Pollard Wholesale Drug Co. His sister became second wife of W.H. Burges.
Russell	J.H. Russell. Assistant Cashier of State National Bank (and relative of the Morehead family.) Large property owner.
ST. Vrain	For Vincent St. Vrain. A son of the famous French explorer/trapper, and an early pioneer of New Mexico and El Paso. His name is on several pieces of property on the Mills map of 1859, including the Ponce ranch house, later known as the Central Hotel.
Stanton	Most probably named by Anson Mills on original town plat for Edwin M. Stanton, a prominent lawyer in Washington by 1856. By 1858 Stanton was a special counsel for cases involving Mexican land grants. A northern Democrat, Stanton was a staunch Unionist. He later would become Secretary of War.
Stevens	Horace B. Stevens, real estate developer.
Threadgill	W.W. Threadgill. Rancher, owned 160 acres in Northeast El Paso near the old tin mines which the Army bought from him in 1941.
Timberwolf	Named for General Terry Allen’s 104th Division.
Wainwright	For General “Skinny” Wainwright hero of WWII’s defense of Corregidor.
Wickham	In the Logan Heights area. Named for Major Thomas H. Logan’s son-in-law.
Yandell	West Yandell was originally called Boulevard by J.F. Satterthwaite, developer of Satterthwaite Addition, now called Sunset Heights. East Yandell was originally called Idaho. Idaho was changed to Boulevard, and in 1920 the name was changed to Yandell in honor of Dr. William Yandell. Dr. Yandell, who was an uncle (by marriage) to the Burges brothers, William, Richard and Rust, came here in 1887.

 

1914: An Appreciation of El Paso from General John J. Pershing

October 14, 1914

To the Editor, El Paso Times,

El Paso, Texas

 

Dear Sir-I trust you will kindly permit me to use the columns of your paper to convey a word of thanks to the people of El Paso for their very generous assistance and encouragement in connection with the military tournament held last week. The liberal cash contribution from the Chamber of Commerce for prizes, and the cups donated by enterprising business firms of El Paso, stimulated competition among officers and men to a high degree. It is extremely gratifying to have the work of the army meet with such appreciation as has been shown by the citizens of El Paso, both in material aid and in applause. The crowds in attendance during the three days' exhibition largely exceeded all expectation. As representing the people, the army feels that it should acquit itself with credit under all circumstances, and considering the lack of opportunity for preparation the border troops have had, we may perhaps be pardoned for the pride that we take in the results. The meet, as such, has been very beneficial to the command, but, best of all, the occasion has served still further to endear the people of El Paso as a whole to the portion of the army at present stationed along this part of the border. Very respectfully,

JOH J. PERSHING

Brigadier General, U.S Army, Commanding

2004: 50 years of integration

May 17, 2004

By Darren Meritz

El Paso's Texas Western College was a pioneer in the desegregation of the state's higher education system.

The school, now known as the University of Texas at El Paso, was the first University of Texas undergraduate school to accept black students, hire black faculty and allow black athletes to compete.

But as Thelma White's family can attest, change didn't come without struggle. White was the valedictorian of Douglass High School's class of 1954 and was denied admission to Texas Western because she was black.

"My mother wasn't really a rebel, if you will," said White's daughter, Chantre Camack, who now lives in Washington. "It was similar to Rosa Parks," who sparked the Montgomery, Ala., bus boycott after being arrested for refusing to give up her seat. "Her feet were hurting and she just wanted to sit down."

White had a powerful weapon to challenge Texas' policy of segregating undergraduate education in colleges. The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v. the Topeka (Kan.) Board of Education, issued 50 years ago today and just before her graduation from all-black Douglass, said laws mandating segregated public schools were unconstitutional.

Joseph Whitaker was Texas Western's registrar and director of admissions when White applied for admission. He denied the application because she was black.

"UT lawyers said the law says you can't admit into Anglo schools blacks," said Whitaker, now 89 and living in an East Side retirement center. "We can't admit you. It's nothing personal."

Whitaker said he received intense pressure from UT System officials who steadfastly opposed integration.

"One of the regents came to me and said, 'Whitaker, there's got to be a way you can keep these damn (expletive) out,' " he said.

White, aided by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, filed suit in March 1955 to seek admission to Texas Western. Her family says she received some legal assistance from Thurgood Marshall, the NAACP lawyer who was the moving force behind the Brown case.

Whitaker said U.S. District Judge R.E. Thomason used a private meeting in chambers to warn UT lawyers and Texas Western administrators that little could be done to stop White from entering the college. White and her lawyer weren't present at the meeting, he said.

"It was all part of a plan, obviously," Whitaker said. "She was a pawn in the lawyer's hand really."

UT System officials decided to admit blacks to Texas Western before the suit went to trial. However, Thomason issued a judgment July 18, 1955, enjoining Texas Western from denying admission to White or any other black student based on race.

Twelve black students enrolled in the fall of 1955, the first integration of a UT undergraduate college.

White was not among them. She had already enrolled at New Mexico A&M, now New Mexico State University, in Las Cruces.

She spent two years at New Mexico A&M, then left school and married Maj. Curtis Camack. She had four children and worked at White Sands Missile Range before health problems forced her to retire. She died in 1985.

Her daughter said Texas Western's attempts to deny White admission based on race was part of a segregationist attitude that permeated El Paso.

"I remember her telling me about how they had to have in El Paso white-only water fountains," Camack said. "She had a lot of different atrocities in her family life in El Paso, so this isn't something different from that."

White paved the way for other changes at Texas Western. In 1956, a year after Texas Western admitted its first 12 black students, basketball player Charles Brown became the first black to integrate major college athletics in Texas.

In 1966, a Texas Western team with five black starters beat an all-white University of Kentucky team for the NCAA national basketball championship. It was the first time a team started five black players in the title game.

A few months later, Marjorie Lawson began teaching freshman and sophomore English at Texas Western, the first black faculty member in the UT System.

Marjorie Lawson died several years ago. Her husband, Juan O. Lawson, remembered his wife's hiring as one that involved the support of Anglo faculty friends, as well as some measure of cunning to urge the regents to consider her credentials rather than her race.

"At first, they did not want to hire her at (Texas Western) because she had let them know she was black," Lawson said.

Eventually, though, officials at Texas Western were able to find a way to diverge from practices that at the time could be used to deny her application based on race.

"They finagled around and were able to hire her without a picture," Lawson said.

Lawson, who also taught at UTEP, said that though he encountered some resistance from segregationists and some curiosity among academics who had never seen or known of a black physicist, he was able to focus on teaching and research.

"A number of them had not seen a black physicist per se, but the scientists were willing to give me the benefit of the doubt," Lawson said. As for the segregationists, "They just stood back and looked, and instead they didn't want to threaten themselves by getting involved."

Lawson, now a bishop in the Church of God in Christ, went on to have a prestigious career in the College of Science at UTEP, moving up the academic ranks and becoming from 1975 until 1980 the first black dean at a UT System school, then chairman of the physics department before his retirement in 1992.

As of fall 2003, UTEP's 21 black instructors made up about 2.5 percent of the faculty, while 33 percent of the faculty is considered minority -- either black, Hispanic, Asian or Pacific Islander, or American Indian.

Among UTEP students, 75 percent are from those minority groups, far higher than the statewide figure of 38 percent.

"Certainly in the area of students, the university enrollment very much reflects the demographics of the county that it serves," said Dennis Bixler-Márquez, director of Chicano Studies and a professor of multiculturalism at UTEP. "In faculty, it's a different story because you have almost a funneling effect with different choke points. I think we're still way out of proportion in terms of minority faculty."

Prospector, Sept. 30, 1950: KVOF-FM Hits The Airways

Radio Station KVOF-FM joined the air waves at noon Monday, mak­ing the first pre-scheduled broad­ cast with the new FM equipment installed late last spring. KVOF-FM now broadcasts on an eight hour per day schedule, from noon un­til 8 p. m. every Monday through Friday.

 

KVOF-FM will also carry all football games at Kidd Field and some dances, pep rallies, and other

special functions at Texas Western.

 

Some of the new equipment in­stalled for the college FM radio station includes a tape recorder, a

General Electric FM transmitter, a complete Standard transcription li­brary donated by KEPO, and an ABC Network line, also donated and installed by KEPO.

 

KVOF-FM will have an official opening in the near future. The exact date has not yet been set. Invitations will be sent to radio offi­cials in Austin and the Southwest and to El Paso City officials. Local radio stations will carry the broad­cast of the grand opening

Prospector, Jan. 12, 1957: Vet Villagers Study And Raise Families

By Mary T. Post

If you follow College Avenue west past the last dormitory, where the pavement ends, you will find yourself at the top of a hill. On your right is a warning sign in the form of a blue-coated, smiling officer. His right hand is raised to call your attention to the sign he holds in his left hand. The sign reads: "Slow-10 MPH"

Vet Village became a part of this campus in 1946 when the college joined with other schools across the nation in adding a new area to higher learning by providing housing facilities for veterans.

On down the hill a little way and to your left is Vet Village. Now you understand about the "10-MPHS" sign, for there are children playing here, most of them under four years of age.

18 UNITES

Eighteen barrack units, each consisting of four apartments, are "home" for 72 veterans and their families.

There are no streets in the village. Wide, unpaved spaces between the groups of units could be called driveways. Here the vets' cars are parked. Here many of the children play.

Tiny fenced-in yards are in front of each apartment. Even this time of year you can see that each enclosure has a lawn. In the summer there are flowers.

In each unit two of the apartments have two bedrooms, and two have one bedroom each. Only those couples having children rate a two bedroom apartment. However, because approximately 75 per cent of the couples have children, many families with children live in one bedroom apartments.

KINDRED SPIRIT

A kindred spirit prevails in this group of families. They have the same goals: higher education, a firmer grip on life, and more advantages for thier children. Most of them have sacrificed in order to attain these goals. All of them praise Texas Western College for Vet Village.

They also have a kindred fear. The safety of their children has become a real problem, for many cars go through the village and do not observe the "10-MPH" sign. The villagers have all the desires and responsibilities of families without some of the civil protections afforded by more formal neighborhoods.

LOW RENT

The village rent is low. Water, gas, and lights are furnished. Only a small charge is made for using an electric refrigerator and for running an air conditioner.

Each apartment is furnished with a kitchen stove, a circulating heater for the living room, and a hot water heater.

TWC maintenance men are to be commended, according to many of the village house wives. They answer calls promptly and efficiently.

Last summer new window sashes were put in all the apartments. New sinks and new cabinet doors have replaced the old. Wall to wall linoleum was laid in each room a few years ago. Although the vets must do their own redecorating, the college furnishes paint for this purpose.

According to R.C. Fisk, assistant business manager of the college, there is a waiting list of people whow ant to live in the village.

Most of the families admit the quarters could be better, but they all express gratitude for this community where they may live and rear their children and get an education.

Prospector, Jan. 16, 1942: President's Talk Opens Mines Radio Studio

College To Broadcast Four Programs Weekly From Campus

KTSM Install  Remote Control Facilities In Museum Room

The College of Mines opened a radio room in the Texas Centennial Museum this week and plans were made for broadcast four times a week from the college campus.

The studio, which will have a remote control wire room from radio station KTSM, is located in the music room in the museum.

Dr. D.M. Wiggins, president of the college, opened the studio Monday with the first of a series of talks on "Education in Wartime."

This radio studio is for the benefit of any department which feels it would like to broadcast a program about its particular courses. There are four program times-Monday from 7:45-8 p.m., when Dr. Wiggins will talk, another on Tuesday from 7-7:30 p.m., to be taken over by the music department, and two other to be scheduled later.

The college is planning to continue these programs in years to come and is hoping to improve and add to the radio studio.

Station KTSM paid for the line and furnished the remote control box. They have given the College of Mines unlimited time in which to conduct broadcast.

Every Tuesday from 7 to 7:30 p.m., the music department will give a program composed of a vocal ensemble, numbering 45 people. Students will plan, time, help research and direct, write continuity and act as copyist for the manuscripts.

The writing, and wherever possible, the arranging will also be done by students. It is an all-student show and will give practical experience in radio, technique.

There will be a guest artist appearing on every performance. A considerable portion of the program will be given over to folk songs of the southwest and Mexico.

In addition to these folk songs and patriotic numbers, the ensemble will also play music that has stood the test of performances from classical down to contemporary composers.

1939: Mines To Ask Two Additions

June 24, 1939

WPA Structures Will Be Sought; Plant Given To Institution

College of Mines officials will ask Federal approval of WPA projects for construction of large additions to two buildings.

Plans for an addition to the metallurgy building that will be approximately two and one-half times as large as the present building are completed and WPA officials have given assurance that they will be approved.

The new addition will be three stories high. It will have space for all classes and laboratories in the metallurgy department.

The second addition will be made to the chemistry building. It will double the size off the present building and will be used for chemistry laboratories.

A section of the addition to the metallurgy building will be used to house a working model of a cyanide plant which has been presented to the college by the American Smelting and Refining Co.

The plant is a model of a standard cyanide plant for extracting gold and other metallic ores from masses of rock material. It will occupy a space 17 feet by 8 feet and is an identical model of the plant of A.S.&R. Co. in Parral, Chih., Mexico.

The cost of the new construction has not been estimated.