Article and photos by Mary Alice Murphy

A group of Fort Bayard Historic Preservation Society members and friends gathered on Friday, March 22, 2019 for the ribbon cutting and grand opening of the Fort Bayard Visitor Center in the Santa Clara Armory Building.

Before the ribbon-cutting, Chiricahua Apache Joe Saenz blessed the venue using cattail pollen. He scattered the pollen to the four directions, north, east, south and west. He also blessed Carlos Provencio who gave the prayer asking for blessing the place and creating harmony. Provencio also sang a Lakota song.

Doug Dinwiddie, now president of FBHPS, said it had been 14 months since a contingent of the society had gone to Santa Fe with the idea for a visitor center and gift shop. And it had come to fruition.

Santa Clara Mayor Richard Bauch welcomed everyone to Santa Clara and the armory. "As Doug said, it has taken more than a year, pulling it together. It shows how Santa Clara and Fort Bayard are intertwined. This center will introduce the visitor to the history of the village and Fort Bayard. Santa Clara is very dedicated to taking care of Fort Bayard. We are closer to getting something tangible."

Bauch said that Bruce Ashburn of PNM and Dave Chandler of the Fort Bayard Restoration and Development Coalition had worked together. Chandler wrote a grant application to PNM. "The grant is competitive, but receiving the grant is an admission of the work that the Fort Bayard Historic Preservation Society is doing for Fort Bayard."

Ashburn explained that the PNM Foundation donates back to the communities they serve. "The program started in the 1970s. Over the past several years, it has donated $750,000. The donations have nothing to do with the rates you pay. It is an endowed foundation investing the interest back into communities. We appreciate all the grant writers. We always get really good grant applications. Thank you for using our donations in this fantastic way."

Dinwiddlie said: "It's one thing to have an idea and another thing to implement it."

Scott Terry of the Silver City-Grant County Chamber of Commerce said an economic development study was done on the opportunities at Fort Bayard. "Wouldn't it be great to bring back the Red Paint Powwow? The Buffalo Soldiers want a building for a museum. Aldo Leopold Charter School wants to do agricultural stuff at the fort, such as an apple orchard."

Dinwiddie also complimented the media for getting the word out about the event.

Everyone went outside for the ribbon cutting. When they came back inside, a presentation was made of a print of an old postcard from Fort Bayard, donated by Joseph Bryce of the Silver City Museum. The postcard was postmarked May 1, 1919, almost 100 years ago.

 

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