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Marvelous milestones: A look at 5 NM institutions celebrating anniversaries
100th Burning of Zozobra
Artist William Howard “Will” Shuster, Jr. created the first Zozobra in 1924, as the signature highlight of a private party for Los Cinco Pintores, a group of artists and writers who made their way to New Mexico in the 1920s. He was inspired by Easter Holy Week traditions in the Yaqui Indian communities of Arizona and Mexico, in which an effigy of Judas is led around the village on a donkey and ultimately set alight. Shuster and his friend, E. Dana Johnson, editor of the local newspaper, came up with the name Zozobra, which in Spanish means “anguish, anxiety, or gloom.”
Shuster’s creation first burned in his backyard in 1924 as a 6-foot effigy and, over the years, has grown to a towering 50-foot high marionette. Made of wood, wire, and cotton cloth and stuffed with bushels of shredded paper, which traditionally includes obsolete police reports, paid-off mortgages, and even divorce papers, Zozobra is a dark and eerie character, part ghost and part monster. Since those early days, the people of Santa Fe, families, and friends new and old, have annually made their way to Zozobra Field at Fort Marcy Park, a few blocks from the historic Santa Fe Plaza.
Zozobra — New Mexico’s beloved marionette — is back to get rid of New Mexico’s glooms for the 100th time. The event will cap off a century of celebrations on Aug. 30.
Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument
The Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument was established on May 21, 2104, to protect significant prehistoric, historic, geologic and biologic resources of scientific interest, and includes four areas: the Organ Mountains, Desert Peaks, Potrillo Mountains and Doña Ana Mountains.
The Organ Mountains are a steep, angular mountain range with rocky spires that jut majestically above the Chihuahuan Desert floor to an elevation of 9,000 feet. The area of rocky peaks, narrow canyons, and open woodlands ranges from Chihuahuan Desert habitat to ponderosa pine in the highest elevations. Located adjacent to and on the east side of Las Cruces, this area provides opportunities for photography, hiking, horseback riding, mountain biking, camping and wildlife viewing.
The Desert Peaks include the Robledo Mountains, Sierra de las Uvas and Doña Ana Mountains, characterized by desert mountains rising steeply from flat plains.
Smokey Bear Historical Park
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118 Smokey Bear Blvd. Capitan
On Aug. 9, 1944, the creation of Smokey Bear was authorized by the Forest Service, and the first poster was delivered on Oct. 10 by artist Albert Staehle. The poster depicted a bear pouring a bucket of water on a campfire.
In May of 1950, a young bear cub was recovered from the Capitan Gap fire on the Lincoln National Forest, just north of Capitan. He had been separated from his mother during the fire and was badly burned. There was little chance that he would survive the ordeal until firefighters rescued him and brought him back to fire camp. There he came under the custody of New Mexico Game and Fish warden, Ray Bell, and several other key figures who connected the story of this little orphaned bear cub to the national wildfire prevention campaign.
Smokey Bear became the living symbol of wildfire prevention.
He spent the next 25 years at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., serving as an ambassador for wildfire prevention to the millions of people who visited the zoo every year. When he passed away in 1976, he was brought back to Capitan to be buried in the park that bears his name.
Gila River
When Aldo Leopold convinced the US Forest Service that the headwaters of the Gila should be designated the world’s first primitive area back in 1924, it set the stage for the Wilderness Act of 1964. Deservingly, the Gila became the nation’s first congressionally designated Wilderness and remains the largest Wilderness Area in New Mexico.
Renowned for its high quality bird habitat and populations of unusual species like the endangered Southwestern Willow Flycatcher, threatened Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Common Black-Hawk, Montezuma Quail, and Elf Owl, the upper Gila is a unique recreational attraction. The surrounding wilderness offers fishing for native trout, hunting, backpacking, horseback riding, and camping across hundreds of miles of trails. There’s generally a short boating season in the spring with the bonus of several natural hot springs to soak in along the river.
Fort Union National Monument
3115 State Road 161
Watrous
Exposed to the wind, within a sweeping valley of short grass prairie, and along the eroded Santa Fe Trail, lie the adobe walled ruins of the largest 19th century military fort in the region. From 1851 to 1891, Fort Union functioned as an agent of change, desired or not, in the New Mexico Territory and throughout the Southwest.
It’s been seven decades since Fort Union became a national monument. There will be a celebration from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on June 22. The anniversary celebration is a 60-minute program that includes a black powder weapons demonstration.
