Columns

In the first years of his freighting business, Miguel Romero and his five sons, and other family members, made the long  journeys themselves, but soon Don Miguel was able to hire and provide for the many teamsters who would drive his  wagons along the Santa Fe Trail.  

Imagine receiving a letter so eye-catching that it makes you want to send a copy to 100 friends. But wait! With postage costing $44, not to mention the price of paper, envelopes and ink, well that starts to run into money.

The only time I succumbed to such expenditures was in 1972, when an acquaintance whom I met at a workshop in Charlottesville, Va., sent me a letter with the notation “This one really works!” with the urging that I send copies of the letter to 25 friends.

For almost seven decades beginning in the 1860s, one family would dominate the social, financial and political landscape of Las Vegas and San Miguel County.  Their influence would be felt throughout  New Mexico, and would not end until the late 1920s.

The sons of this Las Vegas dynasty would represent territorial New Mexico in Congress, and help ensure that New Mexico was admitted to the Union.  

The Associated Press

The New York Times, March 29, on President Obama’s explanation for military involvement in Libya:

President Barack Obama made the right, albeit belated, decision to join with allies and try to stop Moammar Gadhafi from slaughtering thousands of Libyans. But he has been far too slow to explain that decision, or his long-term strategy, to Congress and the American people.