October 2013 Calendar

New Exhibit:
The Color of Pie Town
Oct. 4, 2013 through Oct. 19, 2014

Thirty-seven of Russell Lee’s iconic color photographs of Pie Town, N.M. will be on display for about a year in the Museum’s North Hallway beginning Oct. 4. Lee captured life in this small Catron County town in 1940. At the time Lee was a 36-year-old photographer for the Historical Section of the U. S. Farm Security Administration (FSA). Lee photographed every facet of life in Pie Town, which reminded him of an old frontier town – a place where homesteaders still proved up their land, where many lived in rough log homes, where a daily stage kept contact with the outside world, and where a tight-knit community pulled together to socialize and survive.  Lee’s photographs were published in October 1941 in a U.S. Camera article entitled “Life on the American Frontier – 1941 Style”. They attracted a lot of attention, and helped establish Lee’s career as a documentary photographer. Neither Lee nor Pie Town would ever be the same.
Culture Series: Women Marked for History
Oct. 10, 7 p.m.
Authors Phil Archuletta and Rosanne Roberts Archuletta will present their book, “Women Marked for History,” which celebrates New Mexico’s history-making women. This book is a culmination of four years of exploration into the lives of women who contributed to the people and communities of New Mexico. They excelled in many fields, including community and government, education, military, business, healing arts and medicine, entertainment, cultural preservation and the arts. The husband-and-wife team will sign copies of their book after their presentation. Admission is a suggested donation of $2.
 

Ghosts of the Past
Oct. 25-26, 6-8 p.m.
This unique living history experience transports visitors of all ages to a variety of eras in New Mexico history. Over a dozen historical characters interact with visitors on indoor and outdoor evening tours.
 
Outdoor tours: You’ll be transported to such events as the 1878 shootout at Blazer’s Mill, where you’ll have to duck for cover with Buckshot Roberts. And you might have to scramble for cover during a 1934 Dust Bowl storm. Plus much more. Tour times are 6:25, 6:45, 7:05, 7:25, 7:45 and 8:05 p.m.
 
Indoor tours: On the indoor “Lost Ghosts from Lost Buildings of New Mexico” tour, you will encounter the spirit of a former member of the Altar Society at St. Genevieve’s church which once towered above downtown Las Cruces. Among many others, you’ll meet ghosts who once inhabited the lost structures of Pie Town and a lively apparition recently displaced from the J.O. Miller “Pink House,” which formerly stood on the NMSU campus. Tour times are: 6:00, 6:15, 6:35, 6:55, 7:15 and 7:35 p.m.
 
Admission: Advance tickets are $4 for adults and $1 for children. Tickets on the day of the tours are $5 for adults and $2 for children.