Tales from the Morgue

2012: A look back at the old Providence Hospital

05/13/2012

By Trish Long
El Paso Times

Ms. Long,

I work for Providence Hospital and have met patients who recall Providence Hospital before the existing structure, which was built in1952. The old Providence was located somewhere Downtown. Do you have any info on the original Providence Hospital and also the Hotel Dieu and any other early hospitals in El Paso.

Thank you,

Donald Goulette

Thanks for the email, Donald.

Bob Chapman was author of this Jan 10, 1952, Times article.

"Progress, spurred on by the clamor for things that represent the latest wrinkle in modernity, has swept way another El Paso landmark.

"This time, it was the old Providence Hospital, Santa Fe Street and Upson Avenue, set up almost a half century ago by real pioneer citizens, who also played an important part in the building of this city.

"The new Providence Memorial Hospital, 2000 N. Oregon St., costing more than $3,000,000 and boasting the very last word in equipment and facilities, is the institution that has supplanted the old hospital, leaving it a sentimental relic in the memory of the comparatively few old-timers left.

"Back in those early days, as now, there was urgent need for hospital beds. So, when Dr. Michael Philip Schuster, graduate of the University of Vienna Medical School, conceived the plan of giving El Paso another hospital, citizens thought this was providential. Hence, the name Providence for the hospital.

"El Paso history and pioneers are wrapped up in this old hospital. Dr. Schuster was brought here from Vienna by the Guggenheim interests to be the El Paso Smelter doctor. Associated with him then was Dr. H.T. Safford, another pioneer physician.

"Dr. Schuster, accompanied by Mrs. Schuster, arrived here on Sept. 5, 1896. On that same day, he filed his declaration of intention to become an American citizen with George Parker, then county clerk. That was the procedure at that time. The final hearing on this was Sept. 8, 1898. Chris Aranda, chief deputy county clerk, acknowledged the certificate of citizenship for Park Pitman, then county clerk.

"A Congregational two-story church school on the present hospital site, later improved and a third story added, was the first unit of the old Providence, opened in 1902, 'away from the noises of the city and where patients could enjoy clean, fresh air.' That was about all there was here, clean, fresh air some 40 years ago.

"The Providence Hospital Association was formed to buy that first building. Dr. Schuster, principal stockholder, was president. Of the following list of other stockholders so far as could be learned, Dr. E.H. Irvin is the only person still living: Drs. G. Wehrle, Alward H. White, J. Shelton Horsley, later president of the American Medical Association; M.O. Wright, Howard Thompson, H.T. Safford, W.W. Vilas, and George H. Higgins; Albert Wilkinson, A.P. Coles, D.M. Payne, G.L. Hoyt, A. Pogue, Felix Martinez, E.M. Bray, Floyd Payne, State National Bank, H.C. Myles, British vice-council; T.H. Springer, H.P. Noake, W.W. Turney, W.H. Burges, First National Bank, H.R. Wood, Richard Keays, Fred Schaefer & Co., Frank Powers, A. Courchesne, A.B. Perkey. O.C. Irvin, Miss A. Louise Dietrich, now prominent figure in the Texas State Nurses' Association, was superintendent of the hospital.

"From 1902 until April 1, 1946, there was never a break in the Schuster operation of the hospital. When Dr. Schuster died in 1918, Mrs. Schuster took over full management. She was assisted by her daughters, Mrs. Margaret Schuster Meyer and Mrs. Regina Schuster Rabb. When their mother died in August 1946, they carried on. The doctor brothers are Frank and Stephen Schuster.

" 'I want to go back to my hospital,' Mrs. Schuster said when she was ill. Her wish was granted. She died in the hospital.

"Additions to the hospital were made in 1903, 1905 and 1910. It was developed into a 40-bed standardized hospital approved by the American College of Surgeons and American Hospital Association. The hospital was the first here to graduate Mexican nurses."

When the hospital moved to its present location, "memorial" was added to the name. The original building was condemned by the city and razed in January 1953.

The new Providence Memorial Hospital was dedicated Jan. 10, 1952.

The hospital opened 272 beds with an expansion capacity up to 350 beds. The floor plan is the shape of a St. Andrew's cross. The building is fireproof with fire doors in each corridor. The facility "is completely air conditioned. It has oxygen and telephone outlets in every room, and a radio for every pillow."

Trish Long is the El Paso Times' archivist and spends her time in the morgue, where the newspaper keeps its old clippings and photos. She shares some of this history in her blog, Tales From The Morgue.
Photo Caption: The original Providence Hospital, seen here in 1905, was at the intersection of Santa Fe Street and Upson Avenue. The new Providence Memorial Hospital, at its current location at 2000 N. Oregon, was dedicated Jan. 10, 1952. The old building was condemned and razed in January 1953.

2003: Historic buildings of Central El Paso

09/08/2003

By Zahira Torres

El Paso Times

From homes that housed officials with the Mexican Revolution to a former cemetery that was converted into a library, Central El Paso provides a rich history that spans more than a century.

"Every building represents a story about the people who built it, but there are also thousands of stories about people who went to work every day, who frequented the place..." said Gary Williams, coordinator for the Pass of the North Heritage project. "Downtown buildings are the fabric of El Paso from 1880's forward to today. As the city has expanded to different landscapes Downtown has remained intact in many ways."

During the Mexican Revolution the Sheldon Hotel, which was later renamed the Plaza Hotel, served as the unofficial headquarters for many of the participants and the Caples Building housed the offices of notable revolutionary leaders like Francisco Villa and Abraham Gonzàlez.

Sitting on a bench and eating chicharrones at San Jacinto Plaza with her family, Melissa Garcia, 31, had a full view of many key historical buildings.

"I love coming here every time I come in to town," said Garcia, who moved to Austin two years ago. "I love just sitting here and looking at the old buildings and remembering when I would come shopping with my mom during Christmas. Everything seemed so big."

Fascinating history

El Paso Public Library (Main Branch), 501 N. Oregon. The Downtown public library was built on land that was once a graveyard that included the old Fort Bliss Cemetery. In 1904 the library was built and the bodies were transferred to Concordia Cemetery. There is still controversy over whether all the bodies were removed from the area. Some claim the library is haunted.

Mills Building, 303 N. Oregon: The 1911 creation of Gen. Anson Mills was built by Trost in stages, from 1911 to 1915. The building stands on the original site of the 1832 Ponce de León ranch. It was the largest reinforced monolithic concrete structure in the world at that time. Erected when El Paso was a city of 15,000, the 12-story building dominated the Downtown landscape.

International Museum of Art, 1211 Montana. The building was built as a home between 1908 and 1910 for W.W. Turney. It was designed by the noted architect Henry C. Trost. In 1910, the building became El Paso's first museum.

Cortez Hotel, 310 N. Mesa Street: It was designed as a hotel and built in Spanish revival style with faces of conquistadors on the exterior. John F. Kennedy stayed at the hotel June 5, 1963. The hotel, which closed in 1970, has been renovated for office space.

Camino Real Hotel (formerly the Paso Del Norte hotel), 101 S. El Paso: The brick steel and terra-cotta building was built in 1912 by Trost. The rooftop ballroom was a favorite place to gather and watch the progress of the Mexican Revolution across the river. The hotel became the headquarters for cattlemen and ranchers and claimed that more head of cattle were bought and sold in its lobby than at any other single location in the world.

Caples Building: Richard Caples, El Paso mayor from 1889 to 1893, commissioned Trost to design what El Paso's first reinforced concrete building. It was built in 1909 at 300 E. San Antonio, and two additional floors were added between 1915 and 1916. It housed the offices of notable revolutionary leaders like Francisco Villa and Abraham Gonzàlez.

Plaza Theatre, 125 Pioneer Plaza: With its Spanish Colonial Architectural style, the theater on Pioneer Plaza across from the Camino Real Hotel once hosted performers such as Rita Moreno, John Wayne and the Barrymore family. The Plaza started as a vaudeville house in 1930 and later featured movies. The theater is currently being restored.

Plaza Hotel: The first high-rise grand hotel by Conrad Hilton, at Oregon and Mills, was built in 1929 at a cost of $1.75 million. Made to last, the building was constructed of steel, concrete and brick.

Kress Building: The building, at Oregon and Mills, was built in 1938 for $450,000 with an art deco style and some Southwestern flavor. The company operated a five-and-ten-cent store at this location could only be compared to New York's Fifth Avenue store, according to the architect. It's made of terra cotta.

Downtown Post Office, 219 Mills Ave.: Designed by a government architect, it was built in 1917 at 219 E. Mills in Roman style with Ionic columns. An interesting mosaic floor was put in during the 1950s.

Bassett Tower, 303 Texas: The 15-story building was one of the first key skyscrapers built in the city in the 1930s. There is a building that matches the art deco style in Phoenix. The entrance is an elaborate display of Art Deco design elements. The face over the main entrance is reputed to be that of Henry C. Trost himself.

Popular Department Store, One Union Fashion Center: Adolf Schwartz founded the Popular Dry Goods Co. in 1902. The store, built by Henry C. Trost in the Chicago style, served the region for 93 years.

Old Lerner Store (Acme Saloon), 227 E. San Antonio: The original building was wood and adobe and had a doorway opening to the bar. On Aug. 19, 1985, gunslinger John Wesley Hardin was at the bar rolling dice for the drinks, then turned and said, "Brown, you have four sixes to beat." At that instant, John Selman shot Hardin in the head, killing him instantly.

White House, 123 Pioneer Plaza: Designed by Henry C. Trost, the building was erected for a department store and the McCoy Hotel in the early 1900s on El Paso Street across from the Plaza Hotel. The two connected buildings that made up the structure were later renovated and became known as The Centre.

False Front (Dave's Pawn Shop), 216-218 South El Paso Street: El Paso's last false-front structure. The one-part commercial building is a simple box with a decorated wood facade and cornice.

Source: Morris Brown, Gary L. Williams and El Paso Times Library archives.

1983: President Reagan speaks at GI Forum

Aug. 13, 1983

President Reagan, seeking to break the Democratic grip on the Hispanic vote, plans to offer a relief program today to aid border-state businessmen hard hit by the devaluation of the peso aides say.

Reagan arrived in El Paso Friday, prepared to deliver his regular Saturday radio address here and to speak to the American GI Forum, founded after World War II by Mexican-American veterans.

Spokesman Larry Speakes told reporters Reagan will announce formation of "an inter-agency action group" made up of eight Cabinet officials who will implement the recommendations Reagan has approved to ease the financial pain suffered in the border states because of the Mexico's monetary pinch.

Tecas Gov. Mark White, who denounced Reagan and his "limousine and caviar crowd" in a speech to the GI forum Thursday, will deliver he Democratic rebuttal to the president's radio remarks.

White warned the forum that Republicans, in their effort to win Hispanic voters, are conducting a "cynical public relations blitz."

The duel between Reagan and White appeared to symbolize the battle for crucial Hispanic votes that is shaping up in the 1984 presidential race.

Reagan flew to Texas from Tampa, Fla., on the first leg of a three-week journey to be highlighted by several speeches pitched to Hispanics and a trip across the California border to meet Mexican President Miguel de la Madrid. He also plans some time out for a vacation at his Santa Barbara, Calif. ranch.

On his arrival in El Paso, he met with the leaders of several Hispanic organizations and touched base with local Republican leaders.

Outside his hotel, where he will spend two nights before going to La Paz, Mexico, on Sunday, demonstrators held up a smattering of dissident signs that read,"Four years is enough." "Create jobs. Not War" and "We want jobs, not bombs."

2011: President Obama sees tight security, a smart dog at border bridge

May 11, 2011

By Cindy Ramirez
EL PASO TIMES

President Barack Obama stood with his hands at his waist, sleeves rolled up, at the end of a loading dock at the Bridge of the Americas cargo facility Tuesday afternoon.

Looking toward Mexico just a ball toss away, the president toured the facility during his stop in El Paso. He chose this border city to talk about immigration reform, which he later called an "economic imperative."

And from where he stood, the president had a firsthand look at the international crossing that sees an average of 1,200 to 1,600 trucks daily at a time when trade with Mexico is booming. The majority of commerce along the Southwest border flows between El Paso and Juárez.

The president was given a 15-minute tour of the cargo area by Ana Hinojosa, Customs and Border Protection director of field operations at the bridge. He was accompanied by Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and CBP Commissioner Alan Bersin.

The quick stop at the facility included an overview of a mobile truck X-ray and other technology designed to detect against radiological threats. He also saw displays of items that have been confiscated, including alfalfa seeds, and asked whether it's illegal to transport, or "smuggle," alfalfa seeds. It's not illegal to bring the seeds into the U.S., but they must be declared at ports of entry.

Obama also met Jazz, a Customs and Border Protection dog whose job is to search cargo off-loaded from tractor-trailers coming into the United States from Mexico, and his handler, CBP officer Brenda Mendez.

The president asked Hinojosa whether Mexico has the same stringent system for people entering that country. She informed him that while Mexico has some inspections, they are not as thorough as the system in the U.S.

CBP conducts southbound inspections to ensure people traveling from the United States to Mexico are not taking weapons or other illegal items to Mexico.

With that, the president thanked the CBP agents for their work and headed to the Chamizal National Memorial, just minutes away, to deliver his policy speech.

2005: President Bush lauds border plan

Nov. 30, 2005

By Louie Gilot
El Paso Times

PRESIDENT'S VISIT | SCOPING OUT EL PASO

A guest-worker program in the United States would "take pressure off our borders," President Bush said Tuesday after a short tour of the border in El Paso.

"When you match willing worker with willing employer on a job Americans won't do, with a tamper-proof card that says, 'I'm here legally for a temporary basis,' it means our Border Patrol agents won't have to chase people coming here illegally to work. They'll be able to chase criminals and drug traffickers and crooks," Bush said.

The president -- accompanied by U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff -- landed at the El Paso International Airport at 8:45 a.m. and was greeted by Texas Gov. Rick Perry. The visit, which lasted an hour and a half and closed traffic on several roads, centered on border security and immigration reform, after a similar event Monday in Tucson.

Bush's motorcade drove along Paisano Drive, on the dirt road that follows the Rio Grande, passing Border Patrol agents in trucks, in all-terrain vehicles and on horseback.

Paul Beeson, deputy chief patrol agent in El Paso, pointed out surveillance cameras and lights.

"I had the opportunity to tell him about the El Paso sector and our technology," Beeson said. "He is well-briefed. He's got a good sense of what we're trying to do."

Bush, who had put on a green jacket embroidered with USBP for the U.S. Border Patrol, stopped under an overpass to speak to the press.

The president reiterated his support for increased funding for the Border Patrol and his desire to end the "catch and release" practice of giving immigrants who are not from Mexico a court date and letting them go free. Bush also said he wanted to see a "work-site enforcement program" that would give employers the tools to recognize falsified immigration papers and penalize employers who choose to hire undocumented immigrants.

Perhaps the most controversial part of Bush's border security vision is a guest-worker program. Since he introduced the idea last year, U.S. Sens. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, have drafted a bill that is close to the president's wishes. Undocumented workers would have to leave the United States to apply for the program, they would be allowed to work for up to six years and would have to return to their countries, they would not be allowed to apply to stay legally in the United States, and their families could not come with them.

Critics find Bush's approach to immigration reform lacking.

U.S. Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, said after Bush's immigration speech Monday in Tucson that the president fell short of a fair guest-worker program.

Ouisa Davis, the executive director of the Diocesan Migrant and Refugee Services, said the Cornyn-Kyl bill discriminated against low-skilled workers.

"It's unjust. They are treating low-skilled workers as disposable. The visa category for high-skilled workers has a provision to apply to stay as permanent residents," Davis said.

A competing bill, by Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., proposes a temporary guest-worker program, which would put undocumented immigrants on a path toward U.S. citizenship.

A survey by the Pew Hispanic Center found that by a ratio of 4-to-1, immigrants interviewed said they would sign up for a temporary-worker program. An estimated 8 million to 10 million undocumented immigrants are living in the United States.

Tuesday, Bush took a stand against amnesty.

"Amnesty would be a mistake. Granting amnesty to the people who have come to our country illegally would invite others to come to our country illegally," he said.

Josiah Heyman, a University of Texas at El Paso anthropology professor who has studied border and immigration issues since 1982, said any country that has guest-worker programs will need some kind of legalization program.

"Amnesty sort of puts the emphasis on the fact that one used to break the law," he said. "Legalization puts the emphasis on changing that from outlaw status to open legal."

Heyman said Bush used the word "amnesty" because "he knows it would scare people."

The president also answered a few questions from reporters about current events. He reiterated his commitment to stay in Iraq.

"See, we want to win. The whole objective is to achieve a victory against the terrorists. The terrorists have made it very clear that Iraq is a central front on the war on terror. See, they want us to leave before we've achieved our mission. You know why? Because they want a safe haven. They want to be able to plot and plan attacks. This country must never forget the lessons of September the 11th, 2001. And a victory in Iraq will deny the terrorists their stated goal," he said.

Bush was asked for his opinion on the resignation of U.S. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif., who acknowledged Monday taking $2.4 million in bribes.

"The idea of a congressman taking money is outrageous. And Congressman Cunningham is going to realize that he has broken the law and is going to pay a serious price, which he should," Bush said.

Before stepping into Air Force One again, headed to a fund-raiser for Rep. Marilyn Musgrave in Colorado, Bush said goodbye to Natalie Acosta, a Northeast resident who was active in the Amigos de Bush organization.

"I said, 'We're not going to let you go home.' He said, 'I have to -- two more years,' " Acosta said.

1996: President Clinton appeals for ethnic unity

Nov. 2, 1996

By David Sheppard

El Paso Times

President Clinton ended El Paso's 12-year drought without a visit from the commander in chief Friday, touting his record in office and appealing for unity at an overflowing campaign rally.

Squinting into the late afternoon sun, Clinton spoke to about 20,000 people squeezed onto the tarmac at El Paso International Airport.

As he has done since the Democratic convention in August, Clinton expressed regret for the heated rhetoric of the presidential campaign and appealed for less partisanship.

We're all Americans, he cried, his voice booming over loudspeakers, and you know this instinctively because of who you are and where you are and what your experience is.

Thousands of people were turned away as the rally crowd spilled past barricades at the U.S. Customs terminal.

Underestimating Clinton's support in heavily Democratic El Paso, campaign organizers distributed some 45,000 free tickets. But fire marshals, police and the Secret Service closed the gate when fewer than half that squeezed onto the Customs ramp, disappointing ticket-holders who had waited more than an hour to see the president.

After the El Paso rally, the president flew by helicopter to Las Cruces, where 35,000 people showed up to hear him at New Mexico State University.

He returned by helicopter to El Paso, boarded Air Force One and took off for San Antonio at about 9:30 p.m. In all, he spent about six hours in the El Paso-Las Cruces area.

Clinton received a boisterous welcome in both cities.

Treated to more than two hours of Tejano music and folklorico dances, the El Paso airport crowd cheered wildly when Air Force One taxied to within a stone's throw from the stage and delivered the president.

Clinton, amid a 20-state campaign swing leading to Tuesday's election, recited a now-familiar campaign speech that made little notice of his border location, other than a few lines to praise El Paso for its diversity and compassion for immigrants.

Thank you for proving that America could protect its borders and still be an honorable nation of immigrants, Clinton said in a plug for Democratic congressional candidate Silvestre Reyes, El Paso's former Border Patrol chief.

Perhaps befitting the hurried stop and Clinton's frenetic campaign schedule, there was little that was fresh in his 22-minute speech.

In Santa Barbara, Calif., Friday morning, Clinton renewed his support for a campaign finance-reform law that was opposed by Bob Dole and rejected by Congress this summer.

But he mentioned the initiative only as an aside in El Paso.

Today again, I called for a bipartisan approach to reduce the special interest in politics and give more ordinary citizens like (Texas U.S. Senate candidate) Victor Morales a fighting chance, he said.

Morales, waging an uphill campaign against incumbent Phil Gramm, introduced the president at the El Paso rally.

Other speakers included County Judge Chuck Mattox, state Senate candidate Eliot Shapleigh, U.S. Rep. Ron Coleman, former Texas Gov. Dolph Briscoe and Reyes.

Despite his call for less bickering, the president jabbed at Dole and Republicans for criticizing the 1994 Crime Bill and his economic policies.

He credited his administration for creating 10.7 million new jobs, reducing government to its smallest size since President Kennedy's administration, eliminating more regulations that Presidents Bush and Reagan, and cutting the deficit by more than 60 percent.

Let me ask you folks, if a Republican had been president (and had those accomplishments), do you really believe they'd be saying the sky is falling? he asked. The sky is not falling, the sky is the limit for America if we keep going the way we're going.

El Pasoans - deprived of a presidential visit since Reagan spoke to an American GI Forum in the city in 1984 - repeatedly embraced Clinton with shouts of four more years.

Delighting in his final campaign, Clinton cut short his speech and left the stage to press hands and trade one-liners with the crowd.

He was quick to display his knack for putting people at ease.

Secret Service agents warned admirers not to seek an autograph, lest they slow down the president. But Clinton ignored the advice when he spotted Davi Kallman with an autograph book.

I was just holding it out and he came up and asked, `Do you want me to sign that,' the 9-year-old said, grasping the treasured book after the rally. I said yes.

Clinton took the book, walked over to a press aide to get a pen, and scribbled his signature. He then handed it back to Davi.

It was fun, the Zach White Elementary student said. I'm going to show it to my class because my teacher will give me a good grade if I show it to her.

Democrats said such interaction is the ingredient that could increase Tuesday's turnout and swing close races their way.

Certainly it's going to motivate and increase participation, said Otis Hopkins, president of the Black El Paso Democrats. Look and see how energized this crowd is. This is history.

1967: 2 Presidents End Chamizal Dispute / Huge Crowds Line Route In EP, Juarez

Oct. 29, 1967

The rapt attention of two nations and the peoples of two hemispheres centered Saturday on El Paso and its border neighbor, Juarez, as President Lyndon B. Johnson and President Gustavo Diaz Ordaz ended a century-old boundary dispute and ushered in a new era of friendship and international understanding.

It was a never-to-be-forgotten day for the tens of thousands who greeted their arrival from Washington, D.C. and lined the streets along the presidential motorcade to the relocated Paso del Norte Bridge and through Juarez to the Chamizal Memorial Park where the official transfer of sovereign territory was formalized by the two chiefs of state.

A police-estimated crowd of 17,5000 persons gathered at International Airport to greet the Presidents when they touched down in Air Force One. A loud cheer rang out as they appeared at the head of the ramp and descended arm in arm to shake hands with an official welcoming party, accompanied by their wives and President Diaz Ordaz’ daughter.

MAKES ADDRESS

With hardly a pause the presidents entered the bullet-proof bubble top limousine flown in Thursday for the occasion. Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Ordaz rode together in an open limousine, followed by other carloads of dignitaries in the President’s party, Secret Service men and bus loads of photographers and newsmen.

In a last minute change of schedule the presidential party stopped at the Hilton Inn for a 45-minute meeting with Vicente T. Ximenes and delegates to the Cabinet hearings on Mexican-American affairs.

Here President Johnson made a 15-minute address, saying his visit served a dual purpose of celebrating the Chamizal settlement and concentrating attention on the achievements and accomplishments of the Mexican-American citizens.

He said for too many years the government had paid too little heed to the status and hopes of the Mexican-American community but the 1960s decided that the era of neglect must come to an end and wrote into law new measures to heal, educated and house more Americans than ever before.

“We did all this amidst a sea of controversy and opposition. But I had rather be controversial than complacent … or just critical. So far as I can determine, no President has ever done anything worthwhile without controversy,” President Johnson said.

To the standing cheers of several hundred delegates crowded into the Skyrider Club, the President pledged to “do all I can to make the promise of these years multiply among the Mexican-American people. You can all be sure of that.”

He next introduced Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Ordaz and then introduced Sen. Ralph Yarborough, who had accompanied the President from Washington, and waved toward the center of the auditorium. The TV searchlights and all eyes turned to search out the senator but he was not present. He had inadvertently remained outside, and later told reporters he and the other passengers on his bus were told to remain seated.

Although the crowd of delegates were unable to spot the missing Sen. Yarborough, a champion of their cause, they cheered lustily.

The President next turned to the speakers table and introduced Gov. Connally, bringing loud boos and calls of “throw him out.”

Without pause or change of facial expression, the President then introduced President Diaz Ordaz as the “friendly, cordial and able statesman,” bringing forth a standing ovation.

President Diaz Ordaz spoke in Spanish for 10 minutes, praising the purpose and accomplishments of the conference and the improved relations between the two nations and their peoples.

With the delayed schedule due to the conference visit, the Presidential cavalcade sped without stop and at a rapid pace down Interstate 10 to Five Points and along Montana to Mesa and through the Downtown business district.

Large crowds lined the streets in increasing concentration along the route to the international bridge on Santa Fe. The crowds waved Mexican and U.S. flags and carried large posters bearing the portraits of the two presidents. High school bands played “Hail to the Chief” and other rousing military tunes at nearly every major intersection. Confetti showered from Downtown buildings, and the containers tied to the roof as a security measure. Hundreds of City police, Sheriff’s deputies, Border Patrolmen, federal marshals and the Texas and New Mexico State Police were on hand to hold back the crowds, some holding sings such as “LBJ You’re the Most,” and “LBJ All the Way.”

Occasional anti-Vietnam signs were spotted. One read “Peace in Vietnam,” another “Napalm Can be Hazardous to Your Health.”

At the new multi-million dollar Paso del Norte Bridge the two chiefs of state paused briefly to unveil a stainless steel monolith marking the relocated border and to change cars before entering Mexico.

With President Ordaz sitting on the right, they rode the rest of the distance to the Chamizal Memorial Park in President Ordaz’ open limousine at a slower peace. Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Ordaz rode in the bubble top presidential car.

Crowds jammed the sidewalks and overflowed past soldiers stationed at 10-foot intervals with rifles and attached bayonets, surging into the streets and running alongside the motorcade, often darting between the official vehicles.

The motorcade moved in Juarez through a constant shower of brightly colored confetti that covered the pavement inches deep. Horns and locomotive whistles kept up an incessant din and the streets, balconies and rooftops were filled with brightly costumed spectators. All shops were closed in an unrivaled celebration.

21-GUN SALUTE

At the newly completed Chamizal Memorial park on Cordova Island a 21-gun salute was given each president as the two national anthems were played by a military band.

Standing before a marble monument, each president gave a prepared speech, with translation, before signing a joint declaration stating that the boundary between the U.S. and Mexico officially changed at 12:01 a.m. Saturday and that the area known as El Chamizal had been returned to the jurisdiction of Mexico.

“We thus lay to rest a century-old dispute. Reason, understating and goodwill have achieved a settlement of which both our peoples can be proud. The monument which the people of Mexico have already erected on this site will stand forever as a symbol of goodwill between our two nations and as a sign to the world of what men can accomplish when they approach their differences in a spirit of compromise and mutual respect,” the declaration read.

It also designated the new bridge on Santa Fe and Juarez Avenue as the “Paso del Norte Bridge,” the bridge on Stanton as “Good Neighbor Bridge,” and the one on Cordova Island as the “Bridge of the Americas.” The relocated river channel marking the new international boundary was designated as the “President Adolfo Lopez Mateos Channel.”

“May these links between our two countries, like the Chamizal itself, stand as testimony to the world of how good neighbors conduct their affairs,” the declaration concluded.

BOTH SIGNED

The declaration was presented to the two chiefs of state for signing by U.S. International Boundary Commissioner Joseph Friedkin, with President Diaz Ordaz signing first and President Johnson next. Each signed with a separate pen. The specially made table was to be shipped to the White House.

The official documents concluding the Chamizal treaty itself, was officially signed Friday in Washington, D.C., by Sec. Of State Dean Rusk and Mexico’s Foreign Minister Antonio Carrillo Flores. It ceded 630 acres to Mexico in return for 193 acres of Mexican territory.

In his preceding statement, President Johnson said, “It is important to the peace of the world that both our friend and our enemies believe that we in the U.S. mean what we say. Here in El Chamizal we have honored our pledge word and we will continue to honor all our commitments.”

He said Benito Juarez had laid down the principal that “respect for the rights of others is peace” as the foundation of our hemispheric relations.

“A few generations ago, fascism threatened that principal. Today it is another doctrine. We see it at work in the subversion and concealed aggression in Bolivia, Venezuela and other countries. The challenge has confronted the American States with a hard choice. And we know that the American States must stand together if we are to assure that the weak are protected, that might does not make right, that our peoples are to have the privilege of democratic choice,” President Johnson declared.

REAL MESSAGE

He said the real message of the Chamizal was that it was a fulfillment possible only to those who respect the rights of others and so insure their own.

“We think we have no better friends than the Mexican people and hope we can be their friend. Long live the friendship of Mexico and the United States,” President Johnson concluded.

In his reply, President Diaz Ordaz reviewed the long history of the Chamizal and gave praise to President Johnson, President Lopez Mateos and the late President John F. Kennedy for obtaining an equitable and amicable settlement.

“What we are going here today is an example of what can be achieved when reason, good-will and a sincere desire to maintain friendship between two peoples prevail. This is not an isolated case of understanding. A long process of joint efforts has allowed us to keep improving our relations.” President Ordaz said.

He said the U.S. and Mexico know they can discuss their problems openly and calmly, to find their solution within a framework of equity, truth and justice.

“I am not certain that it will not reach universal significance,” he said.

He expressed gratitude for U.S. aid to Mexico victims of the recent hurricane along the Lower Rio Grande and, turning to President Johnson, said, “Mr. President, in giving back to us this Mexican territory, I receive it in the name of my people, present here today in spirit as one man and with open arms to joyously receive this small strip of soil returning to the fatherland after more than one century of separation.”

CUT RIBBON

The presidential party then proceeded to the new Bridge of the Americas built by Mexico across the new river channel where Mrs. Johnson and Mrs. Ordaz together cut a ribbon opening the new border.

The ribbon was held by two El Paso girls, Misses Kimberly Friedkin, daughter of Commissioner Friedkin, and Kimberly Kaster, daughter of Postmaster J.J. Kaster. Two Juarez girls dressed in the Mexican national costume, China Poblana, also held the silk ribbon. They were Maria Dolores Palacios Pina and Maria Granados Garcia.

The two presidents raised their national flags on either side of he border monument while a military band played the Mexican national hymn and the Star Spangle Banner. Another 42-gun salute sounded as the flags were raised.

President Johnson bid goodbye to President and Mrs. Ordaz and to members of the official presidential party at the bridge, where as a U.S. senator he had dedicated, a short distance away, the first free bridge across the border between El Paso and Juarez.

With Mrs. Johnson and Gov. Connally he sped to the airport and rushed to a waiting Lockheed Jetstar jet that officially became Air Force one for his return to the Johnson ranch near Austin.

The President, who had looked strong and well during most of his four-hour visit, seemed tired and stern as he boarded his departure plane at 2:45 p.m.

The crowd, estimated at 17,500 and the largest ever assembled at International Airport, that had been on hand for his arrival still numbered several thousand when he left.

The town that was so gaily alive in a holiday mood during his visit seemed strangely quiet and deserted with his departure, a city wrung out with emotion and some disappointment that he had made his journey so swiftly.

1948: President Truman Hits G.O.P. Reclamation Policy During El Paso Visit

Sep. 26, 1948

President Truman Saturday carried his slashing attack on the 80th Congress to El Paso when he accused the “good-for-nothing, do-nothing” Republican majority of being hijackers using underhanded methods.

Showing his famous campaign grin, Mr. Truman stepped briskly from the 17-car Presidential special train in the Union Depot at 11 a.m. A crowd, estimated at 12,000 was waiting when the President mounted the speaker’s stand before the Union Depot to receive the first of several ovations.

Speaking with a simple sincerity, he wasted little time before ripping into the Republicans for having fought the reclamation program that “the Democratic Party took out of moth balls and put into practice.”

“The records show that the Republican leaders in the House of Representatives cut the reclamation program for the West by more than 50 per cent in 1948.” Mr. Truman said, “You people here in the West rose up in anger at this slaughter, and what do you suppose the Republican chairman of the Appropriations committee thought about your protest? Well – he said “the West is squalling like a stuck pig!” That’s what the Republican leaders thought about you, and the Republican chairman squeals every time he has to make an appropriation that is helpful to this part of the world.

Turning to the problem of public power, Mr. Truman waved a utility journal to ridicule rep. John J. Dondero (Rep. Mich.) of trying to scuttle the Federal power project. Reaching a climax in his short talk, he shouted:

“The public utility fellows, and the public utility lobby, who will have control of the Public Works Committee if you elect a Republican Congress, want to turn this electric power over to the hi-jackers so they can stick you with high prices. That’s what it means!”

He charged Dondero with having sabotaged the program by cutting off the money to build lines, and quoted him as having said that laws, which let the Government build transmission lines to get power from public dams to the users at the lowest possible rates,” can and should be changed by the next Congress.”

R.L. Holliday, who with County Attorney Ernest Guinn has shaped the local Democratic arrangements for the president’s visit to El Paso presided and introduced Mr. Truman and the official party. Joining the President on the platform were Mrs. Truman and daughter Margaret, Judge R.E. Thomason, former Speaker Sam Rayburn, Mayor Dan Ponder, Raymond L. Telles, Jr., Gov. Beauford Jester, Attorney-General Tom Clark, Mrs. Dan Ponder, U.S. Rep. Ken Regan, County democratic Chairman Stanley Caufield, and Mayor Carols Villarreal of Juarez.

Gov. Thomas J. Mabry and Clinton P. Anderson, senatorial candidate in New Mexico, preceded the President as he descended from the train, his face wreathed in smiles and wearing his familiar creased hat.

Photographers swarmed around Mr. Truman, including a delegation that leaped from the train to be on hand when the President stepped down. He posed willingly as dozens of bulbs flashed on all sides of him. Then he stepped aside for Mrs. Truman and daughter Margaret, who were presented with flowers by Mrs. R.E. Thomason and Mrs. Ernest Guinn.

Flanked by Secret Service men, Mr. Truman and Holliday began the two-block march from the train to the decorated platform. At the first glimps of the President the crowd began a cheer that rose to a roar as he jauntily mounted the steps.

Behind him were Charlie Ross, secretary, and others who are helping the President in his determined fight to be returned to the White House in November.

Governor Jester shared the applause with the President as he lifted his hat and waved to the crowd that blanketed the area in front of the depot and extended east on San Francisco Street almost as far as the Chamber of Commerce.

SPEAKS 15 MINUTES

It was 11:20 a.m. when the President stepped to the microphones. Fifteen minutes later he had ended his address, introduced his family to the crowd, and descended to meet members of the reception committee inside the depot. Regular train patrons were roped off in a section away from where Mr. Truman stood.

Back at the train there were more cameras, assurances that the Democrats were safe in Texas, and the party moved aboard 10 minutes before pulling out of the station yard.

At 12:01 p.m. Truman, with his wife and daughter, returned to the rear platform to give the expectant crowd a last look at the Democratic standard-bearer before the special train headed towards its next stop in Alpine, Texas.

Clark Rayburn and Donald S. Dawson, administrative assistant to the President, who had set up temporary headquarters in Hotel Paso del Norte, were among the party boarding the Presidential special when it left the City.

1942: President Roosevelt Went Through El Paso On Secret Tour

Oct. 1, 1942

President Roosevelt, on his nationwide tour passed through El Paso about 10:30 p.m. Saturday, arriving from the west. The train  was at Union Station about 20 minutes. It was heavily guarded.

President Roosevelt did not leae the train during his stop here.

Disclosure of Mr. Roosevelt's trip had been withheld by the press and radio until he returned to Washington.

The White House statement said: "The white House announces the return of the President to Washington after a most successful two weeks inspection tour of the country.

The President left Washington Thursday evening, Sept. 17, and returned shortly afternoon today, completing a trip of 8754 miles, during which he inspected Army bases, shipyards, tank, airplane and shell producing plants, Army, Navy and Marine trainign centers, supply depots and embarkation ports.

"The President traveled from Washington through Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, on west through North Dakota, Montana and Idaho to Washington, down the length of the Pacific Coast and returned through the Southwest, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, and thence to Washington, stopping at Army cantonments in Mississippi and South Carolina.

"Upon his return to the White House, the President announced he would hold a press confernece late today for the purpose of giving the Washington correspondents the story of his trip. He was accompanied on the inspection tour by representatives of the AP, UP and INS."

1901: President McKinley Rested At El Paso

May 6, 1901

PRESIDENTIAL PARTY REACHED THE BORDER CITY AT 8 O’CLOCK, NO PARADES SUNDAY

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GREETING FROM DIAZ

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AND PRESIDENT’S RESPONSE – PRESIDENT ATTNEDED CHURCH IN THE MORNING

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SERENADE BY MEXICAN BAND

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In the Evening – Bull Fight in Juarez Not Attended by Any of the Party – Programme Today

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May 5 – The presidential party reached El Paso, the gateway to Mexico, at 9 o’clock this morning, and will remain here until noon tomorrow. President Diaz of Mexico had hoped to meet the President here, and shake hands with him across the border, but as the Mexican Congress is in session, he could not leave the capital. He sent a personal message to the President, however, and also dispatched General Juan Hernandez, the commander of the Second Military zone of the State of Chihuahua, to present personally his good wishes to the President of the United States. Governor Miguel Amuhada of Chihuahua, the most northerly State of Mexico, also traveled to El Paso to pay his respects, and these distinguished Mexican officials, accompanied by General Hernandez’s staff, in full uniform, were received by the President in his car at the station. After exchanging felicitations, the President requested General Hernandez to convey to President Diaz his personal good wishes for his health and happiness and for a continuation of the cordial relations at present existing between the two countries. President Diaz’ message was as follows:

“City of Mexico, May 5, 1901 – To the President of the United States of America, El Paso: When you arrive this day at the frontier of Mexico, I wish I might shake hands with you, but I send you greetings as corresponds with the cordial relations which exist between the two Republics of North America. I also send General Hernandez to express to you the same feeling. “Profirio Diaz.”

To this the President sent the following response:

“El Paso, Tex., May 5 – To His Excellency, General Porfirio Diaz, President of the Republic of Mexico City of Mexico: It gives me great pleasure to reciprocate the courteous greeting s of your Excellency and to express my most cordial good wishes for your health and happiness and for the continued prosperity of the Mexican Republic, in which we are bound by so many ties of mutual interest and friendship. “William McKinley.”

It being Sunday, the President had requested the local committee here not to arrange any programme for the day. His wishes were respected, and the military parade and official exercises were postponed until tomorrow. The President and Mrs. McKinley and the members of the Cabinet attended the State Street Methodist Church in the morning, and in the afternoon the party went for a drive. After the return the Mexican band, which had been brought from the City of Mexico by General Hernandez serenaded the President and Mrs. McKinley at the trains. No horns or drums were used, but the soft ingenious Spanish ulrs. strummed on guitars and mandolins in the cool of the evening.

While it was a comparatively quiet day in El Paso notwithstanding the large number of strangers in town, it was otherwise in the Mexican City of Juarez, just across the River Rio Grande. May 5 is the anniversary of the defeat of the French invaders at Puebla, and is celebrated as our Fourth of July. The Mexicans are not particular in their observance of the Sabbath. Indeed, Sunday is always a fete day with them. Today the great feature of the celebrations was a Spanish bull fight. A famous matador had come to Juarez from the City of Mexico for the occasion. None of the members of the President’s immediate party attended, but bull fighting is the national sport in Mexico, as in Spain, and General Hernandez and the Governor of Chihuahua occupied a box over the large arena. The fight proved to be more than usually bloody and brutal. There were four bulls disposed of, four horses killed and one torredor severely but not fatally wounded, as he was helped over the fence surrounding the arena, by a maddened bull.

Tomorrow Governor Murray of Arizona and staff will participate in the formal greetings. One of the features of the programme tomorrow is to be a Mexican breakfast, with the typical Spanish dishes for the ladies of the party.

May 7, 1901

NO NEED TO BE ALARMED

President McKinley Talks to the People at El Paso About Militarism and Imperialism

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GREETING AT EL PASO

At El Paso, Tex., this morning the American and Mexican flags were intertwined in the decorations of the plaza where the official greeting of President McKinley and his cabinet took place. The presence on the stand of Gen. Hernandez, personal representative of President Diaz, and the Governor of the State of Chihuahua gave an international significance to the event. There were thousands of Mexicans in the vast concourse of people to whom the president spoke, and their enthusiasm was almost as wild as that of the Americans.

Gen. Hernandez addressed the President on behalf of his president, extending the latter’s congratulations. The Governor of Chihuahua also warmly welcomed the President at the border. In responding to the addresses, President McKinley spoke as follows:

PRESIDENT’S SPEECH AT EL PASO

Mr. Mayor, Gen. Hernandez Gov. Ahumada and my Fellow Citizens: For the hospitality of the people of El Paso which has been as delicate and considerate as it has been sumptuous. I beg to return my most sincere thanks. I am glad to be in this cosmopolitan city. I am glad to know that assembled here within your gates are the men of all races, all nationalities and all creeds, but under one flag, the glorious Stars and Stripes. Acknowledging allegiance to no other Government but the United States of America, and giving willing sacrifice at any time, the country may call for the honor of our Nation and the glory of our republic I am glad to know that this city believes in expansion. That it has been doing a great deal of itself in the last four years. That it has more than doubled its population in the last half of the present decade and given promise of still greater advancement and prosperity in the decade now at hand. You have here, my fellow citizens, the true national spirit, the spirit of enterprise, of development of progress, of building the structure of liberty and free Government on the broad and deep foundations of intelligence, virtue, morality and religion.”

THANKS FOR DIAZ

This is the gateway to the Mexican republic, and I want in this connection to express my great satisfaction with the cordial salutations tendered me by that great and distinguished President of our sister republic President Diaz. I thank his representative for the cordial word with which he has presented the feeling of respect and regard of his illustrious President of the Government of the United States and I beg that he will convey to his President the warm regards and the personal esteem which I have for his Chief. Magistrate which is shared by the whole American people, and my wish for still further prosperity and advancement among his people I cannot fail also to recognize the cordial welcome that has been given to me by the Governor of the neighboring State of the Mexican republic. I cannot go there, but he can come over here and we bid them welcome with open hearts. I can look into their country but there is something in the traditions of this republic, something in its precedents that does not permit the President to go outside the United States during his term of office. But as we do not hold office all the time here we will have an opportunity of going there in the future.

ARE A UNITED PEOPLE

My fellow citizens, if there was ever any doubt about ours being a united people, if you could have traveled with me 2800 miles form the capital at Washington to the city of El Paso, that doubt would have been completely dispelled. There was never such unity in the United States as there is at this hour. There was never so much for a Nation of 75,000,000 of people to be proud of as at this hour. We have sent our army and our navy to distant seas and they have only added glory in our flag. They have brought no shame upon the American name. We sent them to China to rescue our beleaguered representatives and they did the work and did it magnificently with the approval of the civilized world.

NOT A WAR-LIKE PEOPLE

But it is not in the art of war that we take our greatest pride. We are not a war-like people. We are not a military people. We never go to war unless we have to make peace. Our pride is in the arts of peace, in material and intellectual development, in the growth of our country, in the advancement of our people in civilization, in the arts, in the sciences and in manufactures. This is the great pride of the American people. Here we are on the border line between the United States and another great republic and on this side of the line we have 35 American soldiers, and on that side of the line there are less than 150 Mexican soldiers. So that we are dwelling in peace and amity and causing “peace on earth and god will to men.”

NO ALARM ABOUT MILITARISM

We want to settle our differences if we ever have any with the powers of the world by arbitration. We want to exhaust every peaceable means for settlement before we go to war, and while we have authority to raise 100,000 troops, the necessity does not exist for that number and we do not propose to raise but 55,000. So don’t be alarmed about militarism or imperialism. We know no imperialism in the United States except the imperialism of a sovereign people.

Having said this much, I only want to again express the pleasure which all of us feel at having been received so cordially and hospitably by this people and to thank you for having given us on Sunday as quiet and reposeful a time as though we had spent it at home.

LOOKED OVER INTO MEXICO

Members of the Cabinet also spoke at the conclusion of the address, the party, including the Mexican officials, went for a drive. The President expressed a desire to take a look over into Mexico and was driven down to the international bridge. There, at the American customs office, he alighted and chatted for some time with those around him. The old church of Guadalupe, over three hundred years old, the Spanish prison and other interesting buildings in Juarez were pointed out to him. From the bridge he could plainly see the Sierra Madre mountains, sixty miles to the southward. President Harrison in 1891 went half way across the bridge, but President McKinley did not so much as set foot upon the structure. On the way back to the city the party stopped and cheered the Mexican Consulate.

BREAKFAST TENDERED LADIES

The exercises in the plaza were preceded by a military parade. The ladies of the Cabinet crossed the Rio Grande into Juarez, where they were tendered a breakfast by Juan Ochoa, a prominent Mexican banker. Mrs. McKinley did not attend the breakfast, but enjoyed a short drive during the morning. At noon the Presidential party resumed its journey westward.