Another Time in This Place
Historia, Cultura y Vida en Questa, New Mexico, USA
Tessie Rael de Ortega and Judith Cuddihy
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
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.
The Ortega Family
Ortega Family Juan De Jesus Ortega—great grandfather Jose Dolores Chavez—great grandfather Margarita Trujillo De Ortega—great grandmother Maria Antonia Gonzales DeChavez—great grandmother Agapito Ortega—grandfather Teodorita Chavez
Preface & Acknowledgments
This project started quite appropriately over ditch business—Judy Cuddihy was installing a head gate and Esther Garcia, one of the ditch commissioners, came over to
A New Frontier
By 1840 San Antonio del Rio Colorado was well established and new settlers were continually arriving and more houses were being built all along the
New Mining in and around Questa
Mining would play an increasing role in the life and economy of Rio Colorado/Questa. The first Rio Colorado connection with the copper and gold rush
Our Water
In the 1920s to 1940s, very few people had wells. They drank water from the the Red River, Cabresto Creek, or the ditches, whichever was
Customs for betrothal and marriage
The “Alwasiles” sheriffs were very strict. If they found a girl or a boy talking to each other out in public they would take them
The Indian Threat Ends
For almost a century, settlers in Rio Colorado had been subjected to the raids of Indian tribes. By the end of the 1870s, these raids
Ancient Geological Events Formed Our Landscape
Landscape is an important backdrop to the events of history—the stage upon which it occurs—and sometimes even an actor. This has certainly been true throughout
Additional Reading
Abert, Lieutenant James Willian. Expedition to the Southwest: An 1845 Reconnaissance of Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and Oklahoma. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, 1999 Arny, W.F.M.