The Chronicles Of Grant County

A view of Silver City View from Boston Hill. (The photograph was provided courtesy of Steve Douglas, October 3, 2012.)

During 2021, The Chronicles Of Grant County has included information on a variety of subjects.

A series of news columns detailed unclaimed funds due to local governmental entities. Among those entities were the Town of Silver City, Grant County, Silver Consolidated School District, and Fort Bayard Medical Center. Follow-ups to these news columns will be published in early 2022.

Details on restaurants that received funds through the Restaurant Revitalization Program were published. Some businesses that received support through this program explained how the funds were used to keep people employed and their businesses in operation during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Other restaurants – including one that received more than $440,000 of public monies through this program plus additional public funds through another Federal governmental program – declined to answer any questions about their participation.

News columns provided background information on a number of communities in Grant County, including such locales as Arenas Valley, Buckhorn, Cliff, Faywood, Hachita, Lake Roberts, Pinos Altos, and San Lorenzo.

Other news columns focused on the origins of names of streets such as Georgia and Virginia; Fawn, Lynx, and Wildcat; Bob White, Chukar, Partridge, and Pheasant; and Little Walnut.

Historical information was included in news columns about the Keystone Hotel, Tremont Hotel, and the Silver City Post office as well as the initial town site plan for Silver City.

A phrase originally used to offend the Apache people was detailed in one news column, job opportunities with the government were highlighted in another news column, and holiday activities for Saint Patrick's Day and Presidents' Day were included in still other news columns.

The role of New Mexicans fighting at Bataan in the Philippines during World War II was highlighted. A number of New Mexicans were among the Americans and Allies that were killed during the Bataan Death March. The Bataan Memorial Park in Grant County was detailed.

The role of railroads in the late 1800s and early 1900s was explained. In particular, a railroad line near the Mexican border is the likely reason that Grant County boundaries were set so far south – almost touching the International Border with Mexico.

Readers learned that the lands that now comprise Grant County were once part of the Arizona Territory of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. That the official policy of that local governmental entity – in the early 1860s – was to enforce slavery and to exterminate all Native Americans.

Several news columns focused on health-related issues, including the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic today as well as efforts more than one hundred years ago when people were dealing with the Pandemic of 1918-1919 and smallpox. The impacts of these diseases on New Mexicans – including Native Americans living in New Mexico – were explained in several news columns.

Young people and their parents (and grandparents) were provided with detailed information on scholarships available in a series of news columns.

Several news columns detailed the reintroduction of wolves into southwestern New Mexico, explaining how activities in Catron County directly impact the people of Grant County.

The results of the 2020 Census were included in several news columns. Some communities saw population decreases from 2010, while others saw an increase in the number of residents.

Consumer information was provided to local folks about health insurance options as well as the formal changeover to 10-digit dialing for local telephone calls.

News on how the Federal government planned to resettle 94,198 immigrants in Grant County and convert the Ground Hog Mine into living quarters for the new Americans was published on April 1st.

And last – but certainly not least – exclusive reports were published about Santa Claus and his 9 reindeer using the Grant County Airport as the starting point for the global Christmas trip to bring joy and love to children throughout the world.

Happy New Year.

Do you have questions about communities in Grant County?

A street name? A building?

Your questions may be used in a future news column.

Contact Richard McDonough at chroniclesofgrantcounty@mail.com.

If your email does not go through, please contact editor@grantcountybeat.com.

© 2021 Richard McDonough