Tales from the Morgue

2004: Haunted Neighborhoods

By Michael D. Hernandez

El Paso Times

unset Heights resident Rachel Monje is curious about the strange noises that originate beneath the floorboards of her home, but she'll never allow her inquiring mind to get the best of her.

"I don't go down there, especially when it's dark," she said, peering down stairs that lead to a dank and cavernous basement. "I'll hear pots and pans down there like people are cooking, just different things."

Built in 1913, the basement at 516 Corto Way and several other homes in what was then the city's swankiest neighborhood houses a century-old tunnel that smugglers used. Though the passageway is now bricked-up, Monje and others believe different traffic runs through the dark underground corridor -- ghosts.

It's one of many tales of neighborhood hauntings that have developed and trickled down through generations of city residents.

"This neighborhood is so old and there are many things that have happened here," Sunset Heights resident Soledad "Chole" Galvan said. "But I'm not scared of the dead; I'm more afraid of the living," she said with a chuckle as she strolled down her street lined with Victorian-era style homes. "If I ever see a ghost, I'll just say, 'hey, you want to have a drink?'"

Though Downtown hauntings at such sites as the El Paso Public Library's Main Branch, the Cortez Building and at the Camino Real Hotel may have captured the limelight of ghost enthusiasts, there are plenty of lesser-known spirits throughout the region, residents believe.

At least three long-deceased inhabitants of the Magoffin Home, now a state historic site in Central El Paso, are thought to still roam the halls of the residence built in 1875 by pioneer Joseph Magoffin.

The home will have a spirit tour Saturday where visitors can listen to stories about the extended tenure of Magoffin, his wife Octavia and a brother-in-law named Uncle Charlie, who still enjoys his favorite seat in the house, said Mary Kay Shannon, site manager of the Magoffin Home.

"He died sitting in his rocking chair in 1911 and every once in a while it will start rocking in this long easy rhythm," Shannon said. "That's when you'll get those goosebumps and the hair will stand up on the back of your neck."

Shannon said it was nearby residents who informed her staff of the presence of the home's third ghost, Octavia.

"They were the ones who first spotted her walking around outdoors wearing blue," she said. "We know that Octavia loved gardening, so we believe that to be her."

Though believing in a spirit may make for a good yarn, Edward Weissbard thinks at least 90 percent of such stories can be explained. The other 10 percent are worth investigating, which he has done in the past as a parapsychologist.

In 1999, Weissbard and several others set up video cameras, audio cassette recorders and other detection devices inside El Paso High to look into reports about a possible haunting.

He and his crew didn't find any conclusive evidence of a haunting, but Weissbard found there were several student deaths in the 1930s that may have prompted such a belief in spirits at the school.

"There are always various rumors that get twisted around all of the time," he said. "The whole point is to get to the truth and that comes from research."

Juan Anaya and his men don't care much for research. They'd rather believe what they've felt and seen while working on the reconstruction of Seamon Hall at the University of Texas at El Paso.

Unaware of its tradition of ghost stories, Anaya said he and his men began to witness a few unexplained incidents this past October and university officials confirmed his suspicions. Both the university and El Paso High do not allow people onto their property to search for ghosts.

After locking up the building site, Anaya looked up to the third floor and spotted one of his men. When he re-entered the building, he found no one there and learned the man he thought he'd spied left work much earlier.

Another day, a worker felt a hard slap on his back but found he was alone in the room.

"Now, it's like a joke for us," he said. "We tell each other to be careful or the ghost is going to get you today."

But Raul Carrasco has come to believe that not every spirit is harmful or bent on playing tricks on the living.

From a man who has disappeared into walls, to a baby who floats in the air, several employees at the bar and store he owns at 10300 Socorro Road have sighted various spirits at the structure he estimates is 150 years old.

"You always have the sense that you're not alone here," he said. "And it's usually the same gentleman. We think it's Martin Holguin, who owned this in the 1930s and 40s, but we've learned to live with him. I guess he's still taking care of it."

2000: The haunts of El Paso

October 31, 2000

Victor R. Martinez
El Paso Times

El Paso reportedly has its fill of ghosts

At the turn of the century, El Paso was a rowdy city with rough-and-tough characters. The ghosts who roam the halls and basements of our oldest homes and buildings can attest to that.

Although there have been no ghostly sightings of John Wesley Hardin, Dallas Stoudenmire or other gunfighters, El Paso is filled with buildings and houses inhabited by spirits, according to legend, folklore and, some researchers insist, historical fact.

"Texas is a very haunted state," said Lisa Farwell, the author of "Haunted Texas Vacations: The Complete Ghostly Guide" (Westcliffe Publishers, $19.95). "Rowdy cities tend to have more of the ingredients for a haunting. I rated El Paso the most haunted city in West Texas and the Panhandle. It is a very active city."

Which means more work for El Paso ghost hunter Edward Weissbard and his assistants.

"I was always interested in the paranormal," Weissbard said. "I was reading a lot of books, but I never heard of people going out to check out some of the places that are supposed to be haunted, and writing about the experience."

Weissbard, 26, who works at a manufacturing company on the East Side, started investigating ghost sightings about a year ago.

He and his gang of spirit-seekers conduct about two investigations a month during the fall and one a month in the summer. The investigations consist of an interview with the owners and three to five hours of waiting.

These sojourns are like indoor camping trips, with equipment that includes a 35-millimeter camera, infrared film, video cameras, audio cassette recorders, a detector that measures electromagnetic activity in the area and compasses.

"I'm still not 100 percent convinced that there is life after death," Weissbard said. "That is my main purpose, to try to find out as much as possible if there is survival after someone dies."

Last year, Weissbard and his assistant, Heidi Crabtree, interviewed an El Paso High teacher who heard screams near windows of her fourth-floor classroom. It is speculated that a young woman jumped to her death in the 1930s.

Weissbard said his investigation was inconclusive.

One site not listed in Farwell's book but investigated by Weissbard is Building Four at Fort Bliss, an abandoned building that was used as a hospital in the 1930s.

"It was used as an isolation ward and as an infirmary for soldiers who were sick with tuberculosis," Weissbard said. "There were a lot of stories in the '70s and '80s of workers hearing a lot of strange noises in the building. People actually reported seeing figures coming down the hall."

His team decided to spend last Halloween in the building. They set up cameras and an electromagnetic detector in the area.

"The only thing we experienced was what sounded like footsteps with somebody with heavy boots on coming down the steps," he said. "We know for sure there was no one upstairs because we were the only ones in the building. We had the keys, so it was pretty much controlled on who can come in and out."

Weissbard acknowledges his work is not scientific.

"Working with the paranormal, you can't place it in a testing facility," he said. "In science, you have to have a control area. And with this, if it happens, it happens. That is why it is harder to determine whether the stories are true or not because people tend to make things up a lot. It is very hard to prove it."

Farwell, who contacted Weissbard for her research, began her own studies on the Internet.

"Ghosts are trapped and confused," she said. "They are that part of us that survives the death of a physical body.

"They may not understand that they have died and no longer have a physical body. It's a lot of negative emotion that confines a ghost."

Farwell, whose research included only public places, found the basement of the Camino Real Hotel to be haunted by a woman in a white gown who roamed the halls with a melancholy expression.

"I have heard stories, but I have never seen her, so I remain skeptical," said Michelle Kait, director of sales and marketing for Camino Real. "Whenever you work at a historical place, you are going to hear stories like that. You have to believe ghosts exist, and I have heard stories from very credible people."

Other places listed are the auditorium and a fourth-floor classroom at El Paso High School. Farwell said some school staff members and students have heard the sounds of a large group of people talking and laughing when no one was in the building. Some of the staff working at night have heard rustling feet and seen shadowy figures walking the dim hallways.

"My sister used to tell me about all those ghost stories, but I never believed her," said Jennifer Sanchez, a graduate of El Paso High. "I thought she was just trying to scare me. I really didn't want to believe her until I heard someone call my name. I was the only one in the classroom, and there was nobody in the halls."

That's the spirit

·Most ghosts appear for 15 seconds or less.

·Researchers have documented increased supernatural activity during new and full moons.

·More than 10 percent of the U.S. population claim to have seen a ghost.

·One-fourth of ghost sightings occur immediately upon waking.

·Witnesses of paranormal phenomena report experiencing physical sensations such as not being able to equalize the pressure in their eyes, uncontrollable watering of the eyes, and feeling energy coursing through their bodies in addition to the more common standards of goose bumps and hair standing on end.

·Many paranormal researchers theorize that approaching storms can increase the chances of seeing a ghost, giving new meaning to the phrase, "Once upon a midnight dreary ..." (first line of Edgar Allen Poe's "The Raven").

·The most common disturbances in a haunted house are: electrical malfunctions; glimpses of dark objects moving out of the corner of your eye; doors that open and close on their own; and unexplained breezes.

·Pets have been known to come back into families as ghosts after they die.

·The most common psychic experience is a heightened feeling of not being alone - even when you know you are.

Source: Lisa Farwell, author of "Haunted Texas Vacations: The Complete Ghostly Guide."

Who you gonna call?

Think your house is haunted?

·Call El Paso Ghost Research investigator Edward Weissbard at 751-8420.

·Check out the Web site at www.epgr.50megs.com

Did you know?

·According to a recent Gallup Poll, 90 million Americans believe in the existence of ghosts.

1919: Milkmaid College For This District Capitalists’ Plan

August 22, 1919

New Zealanders Bring Novel Proposition for Milking Cows by Machinery

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Ever hear of a college for milkmaids?

Well, that is just what two New Zealand capitalists are planning to establish near El Paso if they can find a location for a model farm for the demonstration of a new milking system that has made a success.

The two men are U.M. O’Conner, president and manger of the Gane Milking Machine Company of America, and David B. Russell, organizing manager, both of Auckland. They arrived yesterday and are registered at the Paso del Norte.

To Inspect Farm

This morning they will inspect a farm which has been recommended to them as a suitable location for their model farm, and will also visit several El Paso dairies which have won a reputation over the country for their sanitary and up-to-date methods.

“The system is so arranged that the milk is not released into buckets, but goes through pipes to a releaser, from whence it can be transferred to a vat, bottles or piped away,” said Mr. Russell.

“The milk is not touched by the hand at any time. No pressure is used, but simply a vacuum. The system was originated in New Zealand and has proved a great success there.”

See Attractive Field

The intention to establish a factory on some point along the border is due to the high freight from the other manufactory at Spokane, Wash. And the attractive territory offered by Texas, Louisiana and Old Mexico.

Mr. Russell was formerly a farmer near Guadalajara, Mexico, but left about eight years ago from New Zealand.

1911: Growing Canteloupes Down In Guerrero

August 28, 1911

Can be Marketed Two Months Earlier Than From Elsewhere

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EXPERIMENT WAS A SUCCESS

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Men Who Understand Business Can Clear 400 Pesos Per Acre Without Difficulty

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There are opportunities in the state of Guerrero, Mex., for a few American truck farmers who understand the scientific culture of cantaloupes and certain garden and field vegetables to make some quick money next winter, according to J.M. Gonzalez, assistant superintendent of the Mexican Express company, who was here a day or two ago. Mr. Gonzalez is the head of the promotion department of his company, which is controlled by the Mexican government, and it is a part of his work to search out the most favorable places in Mexico for successful horticulture and agriculture, instruct land owners furnish the seed of improved varieties of fruit and vegetables.

Mr. Gonzalez decided last year, after considerable investigation, that the Amacuzac river valley in the state of Guerrero, is the locality where high grade cantaloupes can be produced plentifully for the market two months before they can be ripened in the states or in any other district of Mexico. He arranged with Indian planters to use a small tract of land, gave them the seed, saw that they prepared the ground properly in November and subsequently cultivated it well. As a reward for the experiment a bumper crop of cantaloupes was turned off in February, the price of $2.50 gold per crate of 50 melons, or at the rate of 5 cents gold per melon. Nearly all of the little fruit was shipped to United States buyers.

Mr. Gonzalez says that American melon growers who know their business could make 400 pesos per acre in five months in the Amacuzac valley. The valley is under irrigation and will also produce early cucumbers, egg plant, okra, beans, sweet corn and other market specialties. The lands could be secured under lease and are close to the station of Puente de Ixtia and Jojutla on the National railway. Scientific instruction has been given to the Indians of the valley by Stanley F. Morse, agricultural expert for the government railroads, also by Mr. Gonzalez, the latter having made a dozen visits to the district while last winter’s crop was growing.

After the early melons and vegetables are taken off the land is planted to rice and flooded until September. Then, after the rice harvest is finished, the ground is plowed and pulverized for the other crop. The kinds of cantaloupes that seem to thrive best in the valley are the green flesh variety and the Rocky Fords. Efficient Indian laborers can be secured for 75 cents Mexican silver, per day.

There have been no disturbances in the Amacuzac river country during the period of revolution that Mexican is passing through. The Indians of that section are a peace loving fold, occupied with their planting in preference to warlike undertakings

1916: Roswell, N.Mex., Only 12 Hours Away

May 11, 1916

Morning Times Reaches Pearl of Pecos Day of Publication; Quick Trip Possible.

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People in El Paso having business in Roswell can now leave this city at 7:30 a.m. and arrive at their destination in about twelve hours, while the trip from Roswell to the city may now be made in about the same length of time, arriving here at 7:40 p.m. This is made possible by the new schedule last made effective by the Roswell-Carrizozo mail and passenger route. Both going to the Pecos valley and returning, lunch may be had at Carrizozo. While this makes quick business trips in the beautiful New Mexico section possible, it also makes possible the dissemination of the world’s news while it is news throughout all that country lying between Carrizozo and Roswell, including Capitan, Lincoln, Picacho, Hondo and other inland points on the automobile route, as printed in the El Paso Morning Times. This arrangement also gives Roswell a metropolitan newspaper within a few hours after the world-wide report of the news-gathering bodies had been received. The new schedule of the mail and passenger automobile line is decidedly advantageous to El Paso and Roswell and the many intermediate points.

1920: CHATEAU-THIERRY INFANTRY HEROES WEAR ODD COLORS

April 27, 1920

The two husky soldiers who are seen walking the street of El Paso these days,, their shoulders decorated with the bright green and red cord, are men of Chateau-Thierry.

Sgt. Ogder L. Beckman, company G, Ninth infantry, and Sgt. Fred E. Smith, company K, Ninth infantry, wear the French fourragere as the result of four regimental citations in French orders, Chateau-Thierry, Soissons, the Champagne and Argonne forest.

The Ninth regiment of infantry, now stationed at Camp Travis, was part of the famous Second division which made the name of “marine” immortal in American military history. It was a marine, General Lejeune, who commanded at Chateau-Thierry and the other battles of the Second.

The glory of the marines somewhat overshadowed the work of the regular infantry regiments, the Ninth and the Twenty-third, which fought side by side in all the battles with the soldiers of the sea. But France did not forget, even if the marines did receive the more notice over here.

Sergeant Beckman and Sergeant Smith received notice of the authorization to wear the fourragere while in New Orleans several months ago. Sergeant Beckman’s home is in Sacrament, Cal., and Sergeant Smith is a native of New York.

ELEVEN ENLIST IN ARMY AT EL PASO OFFICE

Enlistments Monday at the El Paso army recruiting station were: Alfredo Martinez, Burch Durham and Walter P. Salmon, El Paso, and William G. Ragsdale, Amarillo, Texas, coast defenses, San Francisco, Cal.; Morris Lipson, Las Vegas, N.M., Seventy-sixth field artillery; Telesoro Morales, El Paso, Second engineers, Camp Travis; Elbert S. Black, East Las Vegas, N. M., Fifty-fifth coast artillery corps, San Diego, Cal.; Charles G. Salters, El Paso, machine gun company, Twenty-fourth infantry, Douglas, Ariz.; William E. Miller, Albuquerque, N. M., infantry, Panama; James E. Gibson, Sweetwater, Texas, tank corps; Eddie Baugh, El Paso, supply company, Twenty-fourth infantry, Douglas Ariz.

1987: ABC to air interview with Riverside basketball coach

January 30, 1987

A low point in the life of Jim Forbes, El Paso Riverside high school boys basketball coach, will be shared with a national television audience Sunday during an ABC college basketball telecast.

Forbes played for the 1972 U.S. Olympic basketball team that lost the gold medal when a controversial field goal gave the Soviets a 51-50 victory.

A film crew followed Forbes through the school day Monday. Former women’s college basketball star Cheryl Miller conducted the interview.

The segment will be broadcast on KVIA-Channel 7 at halftime of the Nevada-Las Vegas game against Auburn, which begins at noon.

Viewers will be reminded that the Soviets were given three chances to in-bound the ball in the waning seconds and that on the third try Aleksandr Belov made a layup for the victory. The U.S. team refused to accept the silver medal.

Dick Buffington, an ABC producer and director, said he got the idea for the Forbes segment from a friend.

“My friend asked if I remembered who was under the basket when Belov got the ball,” Buffington said in a telephone interview from New York. “I guessed (Tom) McMillen, but it was Jim Forbes.

“My friend told me how Forbes had two dreams shattered in a month – the gold medal and future in the NBA.”

Forbes, who played UTEP, injured a knee after the Olympics and never was able to pursue a pro career.

“We wanted to get a feeling of how it’s like when something so important is taken away from somebody,” Buffington said.

“And how he put his life and his priorities back in perspective.”

Forbes said Miller “asked me how I felt about refusing the silver medal, about a pro career that fell short, how I liked teaching and coaching.”

“I felt comfortable while I was doing it, but I have no idea how it’s going to come out.”

Forbes and Miller had a videotape of the last minute of the U.S.-Soviet game.

“I looked at the last 53 seconds of that game seven or eight times,” Forbes said. “It just made me start wondering all over again.”

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Timestamp: 12:20:19

Creation-Date: 08/19/2008

1971: EP Landmark Hotel Cortez Sale Told

January 26, 1971

By DORRANCE H. GUY
Times Executive Editor

Sale of the Hotel Cortez, a landmark of El Paso, to Coregis Properties by West Texas Hotel Co. was announced Monday afternoon.

Prime purchaser is Jonathan Rogers, El Paso businessman. Price was not disclosed. Location is Mills and Mesa, overlooking the Plaza.

Joe K. Foster, El Paso Realtor, negotiated the sale and will manage the property. Foster said all leases were assumed and the operation of the facility as a manpower training center will continue without interruption.

West Texas Hotel Co. is operated by the Moody Foundation of Galveston and Houston.

OPERATING FIRM

The name of the new operating corporation was formed by the purchasing firm, St. Regis Airport Properties, a Texas corporation, and the Hotel Cortez names.

Hotel Cortez had been operated as a hostelry by Affiliated National Hotel Co., a hotel chain controlled by the Moody Foundation, from 1936 to March 1, 1970.

At that time, the hotel was closed and remodeling was begun to turn it into the El Paso Residential Manpower Center. Remodeling cost was approximately $250,000.

The center is federally funded by the Department of Labor and provides educational-vocational training for school dropouts between 16 and 21 years.

SOLD IN 1933

The center opened Sept. 28, 1970, and has a capacity of 250 students.

The Cortez is steeped in the tradition of El Paso.

The building originally was designed and built by Mrs. Charles DeGroff, pioneer hotel operator and real estate businesswoman. It was patterned after an old Spanish castle. It was constructed on the site of earlier hotels, picturized by its two level balconies, which ran the full length of the building.

It was fitting that the Orndorff, social center of El Paso should be supplanted by the Cortez.

The present building was opened to the public in 1928 and was named “The Orndorff Hotel.” It was operated by the Orndorff family until 1933, at which time it was purchased by Harry L. Hussmann and renamed “The Hussmann Hotel.”

It was operated by him until 1936 when it was taken over by affiliated National Hotel Co. A contest was held to select a new name and the late Thornton Hardie, prominent El Paso lawyer, was named the winner, having selected the name, “Hotel Cortez.”

The name was deemed fitting as it was over the site of the City of El Paso that one of the most famous of all Spanish conquistadors and explorers, Fernando Cortez, led his men into what is now know as New Mexico.

The site long has been used as a hotel. In approximately 1881, the Parker House was erected on it by Chester Reeves and John Lohner, both railroad engineers. Later the Parker House was renamed the Vendome.

1920: Barrage Of Hail Breaks Up Army Dance In Square

March 11, 1920

The weather god was unkind last night and treated the El Paso army recruiting office roughly, breaking up its street dance in Cleveland Square an hour after the start with a barrage of hail.

The unusual meteorological denouement came after cold winds, rain splashes and chilly temperature had already thinned out the attendance, but the hail, as large as peas, drove not only the last dancer from the street but sent the musicians to cover, breaking off a fox trot in the middle of a very melodious bar.

Colonel Gohn, recreation officer of the southern department, was present with Major King, under whose direction the dance was given, and a number of officers from Fort Bliss and district headquarters.

Although the hail did not last very long it was very effective in permanently ending the festivities, and the musicians of the Seventh and Eight cavalry and the Eighty-second field artillery adjourned to a soft drink emporium and hoped for better luck next time.

It is probable another dance will be arranged for next week.

1918: Cafes Win Fight On Health Exam, Order Of Army

December 15, 1918

Ban Lifted From Sheldon Café and Clark Cafeteria in New Bulletin

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Orders prohibiting officers and enlisted men from patronizing the Sheldon café and Mrs. Clark’s cafeteria, which have been posted at Fort Bliss for some time, were removed yesterday and no restriction placed on these two restaurants. This act on the part of the military authorities is the result of a campaign which has been waged by café keepers of the city against a ruling inaugurated during the early part of November by Lieutenant J.E. Lavery of the sanitation department, requiring all employes of all public service houses to undergo an examination for communicable diseases.