In the Labyrinth

Madrid's Illiad: The List of Miners' Names: Part III

Getting Ready to Enter the Mine, Madrid, NM circa 1925

Among the many wonderful pieces of information in Jerry Dimas' memoirs is a list of the names of the coal miners in Madrid, NM, compiled from Jerry's elderly parents' memories as well as his own. I am going to include that list here in the hopes that other family members of any of these men might read it and contact me with their stories as well. Jerry has been very hopeful that we might hear from others -- and that after the diaspora of families after WWII, the once tight community, might find itself again in shared memories.

• Celestino Dimas (Jerry's father)
• Manuel Dimas (Jerry's Godfather)
• Primitovo Morales ("Our hero")
• Manuel Ochoa
• Harry Storrs
• Juan Gonzales
• Andrew Gonzales
• John Gonzales
• Herman Sanchez
• Estanislaus Pena
• Fernando Pena
• Ernesto Garduno
• Louie Garcia
• Ysidro Terrazas
• Max Narvaiz
• Lencho Morales
• Daniel Martinez
• Lalo Barreras
• Cleto Gonzales
• George Gonzales
• Joe Comiskey
• Joe Vergolio
• Gene Montoya
• Juan Sanchez
• Mr. Steel (1st name unknown)
• Fidel Lucero
• Joe Longacre
• David Longacre
• Jimmy Longacre
• Juan Mares
• Juan Ramirez
• George Archibeque
• Elias Garcia
• Refugio Sandoval
• Pablo Pena
• Willie Morales
• Felipe Sandoval
• Delfino Montoya
• Librado Montoya
• Mike Halea
• Martin Kangas
• Bill Lemon
• Johnny Garcia
• Felipe Mares
• Tomas Gomez
• Henry Barreras
• Amarante Sandoval
• Arturo Gonzales
• Alcario Jaramillo
• Bruno Peinado
• Joe Valdez
• Arthur Castro Sr.
• Charlie Franks
• Paul Griego
• Chester Smith Sr.
• Placido Urban
• Jose Rael
• Luis Dimas
• Griff Grantham Sr.
• Juan Baca
• Dennis D. Funderburk
• Toby Valdez
• Lalo C. De Baca
• Omogon Sandoval
• Romula Corral
• Luis Corral
• John Tabor

And here is another list -- this one more tragic for it is the names of fourteen miners who lost their lives in the horrific mine explosions of 1932.

• Bony Gabldon, 37.
• Augustine Padilla, 38.
• Angel Ortiz, 34.
• Guadelupe Morales, 23.
• Pablo Escarino, 32.
• Julien Ynostraza, 34.
• ManuelL Cabera, 24.
• Telesfor Macias, 30.
• Damacio Perez, 44.
• Julien Garcia, 45.
• Juan AcostaA, 40.
• Francisco Torejo, 25.
• Barzar Oaxaca, 40.
• Euseblo Ramos, 21.

It is worth noting how many of the last names are the same. Madrid was overwhelming Catholic and these were large familes. Jerry was one of 14 children.

The Miners of Madrid, NM: Part II

I want to share more of Jerry Dimas' memoirs of growing up in Madrid, NM, surrounded by the mines, the company town, and the incredible toughness of the mining families to endure  adversities such as the Depression, the floods, the fires, and the dangers of the mines themselves. Here is Jerry's recounting of a coal mine blast that occurred when he was in grade school:

Entrance to the Morgan Jones Number four Mine, Madrid, NM circa 1925

"When I was in the third or fourth grade, the Morgan Jones Mine had an explosion. The mine office had an emergency whistle to inform the towns-people that a coal mine blast had happened. The whistle or horn stayed on until the towns people ran to the mine to see if the miners were okay. Our mom and dad told us about some of the men who did not survive the explosion. A member of my father's family was one of the miners killed in the explosion. The father of one of the miners was there looking for his son, but could not find him. The mine was still belching out coal dust and men were coughing and wheezing. As they were coming out, some of the miners were barely alive, some were burned and could not be recognized. One father looking for his son only recognized him by his wedding ring, as the son had just been married a few weeks earlier. He was burned beyond recognition.

Miners at Foreman's Cabin, Madrid, NM circa 1925

"Two of my school mates also lost their father. The principal from Madrid Elementary School went to our classroom and asked these two girls to come to the office, that there was an emergency and they were needed at home. It was only then we that we knew that their father worked at the Morgan Jones Mine and that something had happened to their father.

"The only way the mine office knew that Morgan Jones had blow up was that a Mexican man who was the rope rider.** He advised the mine office by some kind of system they had -- like a morse code or teletype system. And he said in the only words he knew  'Morgan Jones Boom-Boom.'

The Breaker at Morgan Jones Mine, Madrid, NM circa 1925

"For a while the Morgan Jones was shut down till some of the natural gas was removed so the men could go back down again and dig for coal. There were two types of coal -- one was anthracite and the other was bituminous. One was soft coal and the other was hard coal. The coal was used for the war effort. When WWII ended, that was the end of Madrid. Natural gas was the fuel of the future, not coal. Madrid died after that. Families slowly moved out and Madrid became a ghost town. A few families stayed on and eventually they left the town too. Our family left in 1956 when we migrated to California to look for a better future for all of us.

The Tipple, Morgan Jones Mine, Madrid, NM circa 1925

"But I remember the breaker, the tipple, the power house, the locomotive, the mine office, the company store, the town boss Oscar Huber and his son Joe, and other families who lived there. I also remember the locomotive that used to go to Waldo and bring up the water for the town. Us kids would sit along the tracks and watch that locomotive struggle up the hill to haul that large black tanker full of water."

Women Waiting for the Water Train, Madrid NM circa 1925

**Tail Rope Rider: In bituminous coal mining, one who works on trains of cars hauled by
tail-rope haulage system at mine, coupling and uncoupling cars, and hooking and unhooking cable to and from trains. Also called tail-rope man.

Many more photos taken of Madrid, NM between 1920-1950 can be found in the albums on the right hand side bar.

The Miners of Madrid, New Mexico 1937

For most people stopping by the blog to read about the Madrid Miners, they are looking for photographs of the Baseball team of the small mining town of Madrid, N.M. However, last fall I received a series of fabulous letters, photographs, and a memoir from Jerry Dimas, who was born in Madrid in 1937, the son of a miner and who grew up in Madrid during the 30s, 40s and 50s. Jerry also sent me the photograph above -- which was so wide that I have it separated into two photos-- left and right. (Please click it on to see a larger version.) A copy of the photo was given to Jerry years ago by a widow whose husband had died of consumption. These are miners of the Jones Mine, Madrid N.M. November 23, 1935. The only name I know for sure on here is Ivan Casey -- down in front who is identified as the foreman. I find this group photo really moving.

Here are some of Jerry's recollections about growing up as a miner's son in Madrid in the 40's.

"I was born in 1937, but I still remember Madrid from yesteryear. I, along with my brothers and sisters, was raised in Madrid and Cerrillos. There were 14 of us kids, plus Mom and Dad. In those days families were large, not like today. My father Celestino Dimas was a coal miner and a night watchman. He was also a “rope rider.” A rope rider is a person who brings up and down the little cars full of coal from the mines. How all these men worked in those dreadful pits, I will never know. Through the years some of our Dimas family returns to Madrid and we still remember the old times. If you go to those little old homes, and you put your ear to those houses, you can still hear the roar of the breaker, the power house, the tipple, the locomotive bringing up the water from Waldo which was a few miles from Madrid. When Tennessee Ernie Ford made the song “16 Tons,” all of us thought it was all about Madrid.

"My father worked at the “Morgan Jones, the 7-Deep, and the #4 Mine. Dad also worked at the “Cash’entry” mine in Cerrillos. Myself and my twin sometimes would go with our father when we were on summer vacation and be with him when he was a night watchman at the power house. It was warm and nice and inside the power house at night. We always promised him that would not fall asleep during the night, but lo & behold, before you knew it, both of us were fast asleep. Most of these men at some time or another got “anthracites” or coal dust in the lungs. They called it “Black Lung.” Dad got it too. In those times during the Depression, the only work available for these men was working in the mines. There were Anglos, American Indians, Slavs, Italians, Greeks, Jews, Spaniards, Welsh, and Mexicans."

Over the new few days I plan on posting more of Jerry's memoirs (he has very kindly given me permission) so stay tuned for more. Once again, I have to give thanks to the people of Madrid who have reached out to the blog and provided me with such a wealth of oral histories and photos of that time. I wll continue to add new photos to the Madrid photo albums on the side bar.

Madrid, NM Christmas Festival of Lights: The Tree, The Church, and The School

Of the over 41,000 lights that decorated Madrid, about 1,500 of them went on a huge christmas tree that graced the center of the Ball Park (check out the photos of Madrid's baseball teams to see what a great space that field was and how versatile -- during the summer July 4th parades were held, along horse races,bronco busting and Taos dancers).

 

In addition, here are two of my favorite other photos: Madrid's church, fully outlined like some star constellation; and the grade school -- which had a terrific Santa with sleigh and reindeers on the roof.

You can see these photos and others like them here. Do note, there are now two pages of Madrid Christmas photos. And more to come...

Madrid, NM Christmas Festival of Lights: IV Nativity Scenes

 
I have just added a handful of more photos -- including a few close ups of the building of the large dioramas of Jeruselem and Bethlehem, along with a close up of the fabulous Sphinx, and a few more whimiscal house decorations. But what would a Christmas celebration be without a Nativity scene? And Madrid did not disappoint here either -- for it was a display of the Holy Family complete with a live donkey contentedly chomping on hay. (Please note that the photo album now spans two pages -- so click your way to the second page to see all the nativity photos.)

  
 

Madrid, NM Christmas Festival of Lights on Christmas Eve: III

I have only a few moments before heading out to attend Christmas Eve celebrations and midnight mass at the Cathedral, but I wanted to share two photos of the gorgeous Peace  and Goodwill sign that glowed along with the other illuminated scenes high on the hill.

And a special shout out to those in the military serving far from the security of a post, out there in the starlight dark. I pray that all of you come home safe soon.

 

And here is a program from Madrid's Festival of Lights. The photo above is mentioned below as "the Huge  ChristmasTree" with its 1,500 lights in the center of town.

Madrid, NM Christmas Festival of Lights: II

 

There have been a number of wonderful articles written about Madrid's Christmas light show. Here's a bit from Collier's Magazine, 1940 written by Jim Marshall :

"In a grim canyon in northern New Mexico there is a blaze of light. On the steep hillsides are illuminated scenes from the Nativity of Jesus. The Star of Bethlehem shines down and high on a peak stands the tall figure of the Christus bringing peace and goodwill. This is the setting of one of American's most unusual Christmas festivals -- a month long celebration of the coal miners working in the pits around the little town of Madrid, high in the Ortiz Range.

 

 

"In the village, where the four hundred miners and their families live, every home is outlined by lights. The baseball park has been converted into Toyland for the kids, with a miniature train, a Ferris wheel and other amusement devices -- all homemade -- operating. There are hundreds of lighted Christmas trees and on the mountain tops twinkle little cedar fires to El Santo Nino, as they did in the days of Spanish rule.

  

"On the hillsides above the village are built twelve Biblical scenes telling the story of Jesus' birth. There is a tiny village of Bethlehem; the Virgin and Joseph with Child; the Shepherds and the Star; the Flight into Egypt.

  

Although some of the miners tinker around all year with the mechanized displays, most of the work is done just before opening day. The last Sunday before this day is a sort of homecoming, and miners who once worked in Madrid drive up to the little own from far and near, help put up the decorations and wind up in the annual party. Workers are divided into crews and there is great rivalry among them.

Meanwhile, the women have decorated homes and the kids have brought in cedar brush from the mountains and piled wood for the fires on the hilltops. Everything is ready when the first visitor's show up, and from then on it's open house. You may walk into any home and be welcomed. There is a curious combination of old Spanish and Mexican and Yankee customs -- the fandango and the modern dance; the American "party" and the old fiesta. But the spirit behind it all is universal."

 

To see many more of these photos please click on the Madrid Christmas photo album -- I will updating these daily for a while.

Madrid, NM Christmas Festival of Lights: I

 

So I had rashly thought that I would do a single blog post on the fabulous Christmas festival of lights of Madrid, New Mexico during the 1920s to the early 40s. Every year this small mining town with a population of barely 2,000 citizens pulled together and created one of the most spectacular Christmas displays imaginable -- all for free to a public who trooped out to the tiny city (sometimes as many 15,000  day) to enjoy the sight. Every house was decorated, every building in the town had its displays and its lights. On the hillside above, enormous dioramas were constructed of Jerusalem, Bethlehem, the pyramids, the Sphinx, and episodes from Christ's life...all of it lit up with over 41,000 colored lights.

 

So here's my problem as I quickly discovered. I have about 400 photographs of the event-- including photographs of my grandfather Pierre Menager painting and putting on the finishing touches to dioramas intended for the children's Toyland. And since there are so many photographs, I have decided to feature a handful every day over the next week or so and will add them continuously to a Madrid Christmas photo album in the right hand column. A year ago I put out a wish that anyone who might have photos of the events might be willing to share them. Pinky Werner, the granddaughter of Oscar Huber (owner and superintendent of the Madrid coal mine) sent me a disk of almost 700 photographs covering daily life in Madrid and especially photos of the Christmas Light Festival. To her -- and to many of the younger generation of former Madrid citizens who have written to me about the photos -- this has been a great gift. Once again, I must give thanks to her for her generosity in making these photos from her family albums available to the public.

Back to School: Madrid, NM

As many regular visitors to the blog know by now, I am working my way through an incredible treasure trove of photographs of life in Madrid, NM between the 1920s to the late 40s (with thanks to Pinky Werner's generosity for the disk!). The town, for all intent and purposes, died around 1952 when the mine, which was the main source of income for the families that lived there closed. Given that the new school season is about to start, I thought I would share the handful of class photos from Madrid. Madrid's Old School educated children up to 8th grade and after they attended Cerrillos High School. During the Depression the New School was built by the WPA that included a four year accredited high school. You can see all the photos in the new album, (right hand sidebar.). And clicking on the photo above should give a larger view of the New School and its teachers and students.

 
Where ever possible, I have tried to include information that came with the photos. Katheryn Huber, daughter of Oscar Huber who owned the mine (and most if not all of the businesses in Madrid) appears in a few of the photographs. I have been receiving wonderful emails from grandchildren of folks who worked, married, and lived in Madrid and am hoping that they may be able to help me identify more of the faces in these photographs.

Happy Fourth of July: Madrid, NM circa 1924 to 1932

 

As we all prepare for the various holiday festivities, I thought it would be enjoyable to share with you photos of Fourth of July festivities from the small mining town of Madrid, NM between 1924 and 1932. (I am not always sure of the dates on some of the photographs.) I have posted about Madrid, NM before (here and here) and every time I go back and look at the CD disk of 600 photos sent to me by Pinky Werner, the granddaughter of Oscar Huber, owner and superintendent of the mine, I am amazed at the obvious community spirit of the small town. Famous for its Christmas light shows, Madrid certainly didn't stint other holidays that brought the community out together to have fun and enjoy the day.

 

These photos show how Madrid did it up on the Fourth of July -- from parades of cars, decorated carts, floats, and bands. The baseball field was turned into a place for horse races, bronco busting, boxing matches, and Taos dancers. What is perhaps most wonderful about these photos is that they are a far cry from "ghost-town" images we now have of Madrid -- and I think it important to remember the place as it was -- alive, working, and celebrating together.