Another Time in This Place
Historia, Cultura y Vida en Questa, New Mexico, USA
Tessie Rael de Ortega and Judith Cuddihy
An Introductory Note
…first-person accounts of Rio Colorado [Questa] have been included to give a first-hand view of what life was like here over the years.
Table of Contents
Front Matter From Our Hearts and Minds From the Record The Cycle of Birth, Life & Death Everyday Life in the 1920’s to 1940’s Appendix
The Founders of Questa, by J.P. Rael
J.P. Rael’s poem Los Pobladores de Questa (The Founders of Questa) is probably the first written history of Questa.
Rael family history
“It is very certain, or almost certain, that only one Rael came to the New Continent and that he came as a soldier from Spain and that is how the name Rael originated.”
Women’s Work
Things sold at the store were flour, sugar, salt, kerosene for the lamps, matches, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and vinegar.
Vecinos on the Northern Frontier
Don Francisco Laforet (his last name has many spellings, including La Forett, Laforee, Laforey, and Laport) is said to have come to live in the
Don Diego Vigil
Don Diego Vigil lived in this valley for many years and during his stay he was very active and prosperous in all his enterprises.
Los Hermanos, La Morada y el Calvario
Every year during Lent and Holy Week, newspapers and magazines all over the country contain an article of one kind or another about Los Hermanos
Everyday Life in the 1920s to 1940s
Water was and is the basis of everyday life in this high mountain desert. Acequias were often built even before the houses or church in
The End of the Trail for Horse and Buggy—J.P. Rael
Bad roads were an obstacle to the industry. Every time a Model T went over this road on its way to Taos it made an awful racket.
How We Made Soap
Soap was made from the fat of lambs or pigs. The fat was mixed with lye and crushed rosebuds were added to give it a