Sixty-four years ago today, July 16, 1945, the world’s first atomic bomb was successfully tested in the Southern New Mexico desert, at a site called Trinity. By the time the test results were known, the parts to build a bomb were already on their way to the South Pacific.
Aug. 6, 1945, the B-29 superfortress “Enola Gay’ dropped the bomb nicknamed “Little Boy” on Hiroshima, Japan. When the Japanese refused to surrender, a second bomb, “Fat Man,” carried by the B-29 “Bock’s Car” was dropped Aug. 9 on Nagasaki. The Japanese surrendered unconditionally Aug. 14, 1945 and World War Two was over.
There aren’t many people still around who were at that test site in 1945, but one of them is Jack Aeby, of La Mesilla (sometimes Hawaii). Aeby’s photograph of that test explosion is THE photograph cited and used around the world, and Jack, many years after his photo was first published, has finally been recognized and has received a number of accolades nationally.
He is also featured in a recent book “They Changed the World; People of the Manhattan Project,” published by Sunstone Press in Santa Fe.
—0—
A recent headline in a big city newspaper read “400-Year-Old Española Wants Its Place on Mural.”
It referred, of course, to the mini-controversy created when the New Mexico History Museum’s mural of New Mexico was revealed during grand opening ceremonies recently.
Española Mayor Joseph Maestas said some of his “constituents” were “peeved” that Española was not included on the mural, which museum officials explained was a “cartoon map and not a road map” and the mural “is not about the history of the state.” She adds that the mural was not intended to be taken seriously. If it’s not serious, what is it doing in a history museum?
Well, Mayor Maestas got his history correct in stating the historic Camino Real terminated where the Spanish settled in Ohkay Owingeh (San Juan Pueblo to oldtimers) and just “goes through Espanola.” (Or where Espanola is today). He doesn’t claim that Espanola was established in 1598 when Don Juan de Onate arrived.
Not so the story behind the headline. It reads that “Española was founded in 1598 by the Spanish as New Mexico’s first capital.” Sadly, Española would not be heard from for about 290 years when the first references to it appear in print in about 1880 when the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad tracks ended in a tent city which came to be known as Espanola.
While we are at it could we suggest that the editors look up “monsoon” in their dictionaries? Monsoons in semi-arid New Mexico. Please.
—0—
The museum stirred up another complaint, this expressed by New Mexico author Ruben Salaz.
In an open letter to Gov. Bill Richardson, Salaz asks the Governor to “correct this ‘Black Legend’ presentation on the first Euro pioneers in New Mexico.”
He says the Museum “uses Amerindian groups to denigrate or ignore Hispanic achievements and contributions to the state. The History Museum is distorting the historical record in order to promote ‘Tree of Hate’ propaganda wherein Hispanic pioneers are villainized, especially when addressing issues like the Acoma War and the Pueblo Revolt.”
No response from the Museum or the governor
—0—
Speaking of anniversaries, two years ago The Rio Grande SUN promised its readers a history of Rio Arriba County in book form. We haven’t forgotten.
Book editor Robert Torrez has delivered what amounts to a 400-page manuscript, pending some minor editing, some deletions and a few additions, that should be going to the printer shortly.
Patience, please? Thank you.