Board of Directors

Of the Álamos History Association

David Warnest, president

David Warnesr became interested in history at a young age and dreamed of tra

José Trinidad Rangel N.

Trini was born in Álamos August 14, 1981, in the barrio Guayparines on the western part of the town. He attended grade and high school in Álamos, went to the University of Sonora at Navojoa, and graduated in 2000 with a degree in accounting. He has never worked in the accounting field, though, choosing instead to return to Álamos as a teacher in the Lázaro Cárdenas del Río and Revolución primary schools. Trini has 210 students in seven groups, teaching English to third through sixth graders.

Trini learned English with special help from the foreign community in Álamos. He credited the late Pember Nuzum for helping his English, and also Robert Bloor as well as Dick andOlive Merrick. He spent six weeks in British Columbia through the generosity of the Merricks, but he largely mastered the English language the old fashioned way—by studying!

Trini has received rewards for his innovative teaching, and is currently working on his master’s degree. For the Álamos History Association he is helping his students interview their elder relatives to document information about past days in this community.

Ellen Price

Ellen first visited Álamos in early 1973 while traveling south from her studio pottery business on the north end of Quadra Island, British Columbia. She resolved to spend her winters someday in Álamos and her summers in Canada. She especially appreciated the architectural beauty of Alamos because to her Master of Fine Arts degree in studio arts and further studies in art history.

Ellen established the art program for North Island College when it first began on Vancouver Island. She later served as the interim head of the art department for Gila Community College in Globe, Arizona before she began her studies for her doctorate at the University of Arizona. After receiving a Ph.D in Higher Education (the study of colleges and universities) with a minor in art (which included studies in Pre-Columbian art, ceramics and art therapy) she became the Program Coordinator for the Composition Program of the English Department at the University of Arizona.

Nine years after her mother, Leila Gillette, purchased a home in Álamos, Ellen followed her example and purchased a home in the same barrio. Ellen has taken an active interest in the history of Álamos since she retired in 2004.

Pam Price

Pamela Price became interested in history at a young age and dreamed of travel. Chance gave her the opportunity to spend seven months at an Indian university in 1964-1965, and she decided then to become an historian of India. After graduating from college Pamela went to Cambridge University on a fellowship. The upheavals of 1968 got her off the academic track, but taught her a lot about politics and culture.

She eventually returned to graduate school at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where she finished her doctorate degree, writing about political culture in colonial India. Several years later she took a position in the History Department of the University of Oslo, Norway. In the Nordic region the overwhelming interest in ‘the third world’ was in development, so Pamela gradually began to focus on post-colonial India in her research and writing. She took part in academic institution-building activities in Norway and other Nordic countries, enjoying getting to know scholars and students from other parts of the region.

Visiting her mother, Leila Gillette, in Alamos in 1999, Pamela decided to buy a house on the same street. She retired from the University of Oslo in 2013 and has begun alternating between living in Alamos and Oslo. Learning about Mexico and the Sonoran environment gives her great pleasure.

Errol Zimmerman

Errol Zimmerman of Phoenix, Arizona, has been deeply involved in Mexico since he began photographing Sonora more than 30 years ago. A retired educator, his passion for international understanding guided him to become a volunteer with the Phoenix Sister Cities Commission in the 1980s, and during the 1990s he served as a board member and later President of the Commission—coordinating cultural and business relationships between Phoenix and its 10 sister cities abroad.

His interest in photography (www.ErrolZimmermanfoto.com) began during his college years, and he has completed editorial and corporate photography assignments since the 1970s. In 1988 he co-founded an organization of professional photographers, Through Each Others Eyes™, which has sponsored more than 50 exchange exhibitions involving photographers in 11 countries around the world (www.teoe.org). Zimmerman serves as a board member and president emeritus of the organization, which this year celebrated its 31st year of helping people understand and appreciate cultures different from their own.

In 2006 Zimmerman, with his wife, Carolyn, purchased a home in Álamos, and since that time he has worked with the Álamos History Association to build a collection of historical and contemporary photographs—and transfer that collection to our website.

Ellen Ryan

After receiving a degree in Anthropology/Sociology and Art History from Rhodes College in Memphis, TN, Ellen spent several years at Arcosanti in central Arizona as a concrete construction crew leader while learning woodworking during the winters. This launched a woodworking career in the Bay Area, CA, which continued in Flagstaff, AZ, after a move there in 1988. Living in the historic district in a home built in 1915 started an appreciation of the value of saving older homes and learning more about the earlier residents of Flagstaff. She and a neighbor (and friend) began recording interviews of residents, which she later transcribed, and she and her friend also created a protected historic district for the Townsite neighborhood of over 200 properties west of Flagstaff’s downtown. Later, she was instrumental in developing the Flagstaff Historic Properties Townsite Community Land Trust to preserve historic homes and make them affordable for Flagstaff residents.

She began her career in conservation education with the City of Flagstaff in 2003. Her final position was as Water Conservation Manager, but she began by developing environmental education programs including the Recycled Art Exhibition and the Compost Bin Distribution.

Ellen and her husband enjoy traveling in Latin America, appreciating its art, architecture, and culture. When they retired, they moved to the Sonoran community of Puerto Lobos, north of Libertad and Bahía Kino, and they first came to Alamos in 2013—which has become their annual winter home.

Joan Powell

Joan grew up in Altadena, California (next to Pasadena). She graduated from Pomona College, and worked in the college library for a while after graduation. Then she went to England for almost two years, and worked in a public library in the suburbs of London. After coming back to California, Joan got her master’s degree in Library Science at the University of Southern California, and then went to work for the County of Los Angeles Public Library (for about 31 years). She worked as a Reference Librarian, Head of Audio-visual Services, and Head of the Automated Circulation System.

After retirement, there was more time to do things for fun – bird watching, photography, and genealogy! She enjoys taking photos of birds and butterflies, and researching in genealogy databases. Joan and Marta Reents divide their time between Álamos and Green Valley, AZ.

Joan’s first trip to Alamos was in May 1976, to visit Hildred Aragon (Marta Reents’ mother), who lived here. Marta and Joan came back a few times in the following years and, after retirement in 2007, they started coming to Alamos regularly in the fall and winter. They always attended the Alamos History Club meetings when in town. Joan’s interest in genealogy led her to explore some of the records available online for Alamos in earlier times, to study the relation of Alamos to the settlement of California, and to a growing involvement with the Alamos History Association. Former Association President Bev Krucek asked for her help in cataloging the books for the AHA Library, and she has enjoyed seeing the variety of books and other materials that have been donated to this collection.

President/Secretary.....................David Warnest

Vice President...............................Trini Rangel

Treasurer.....................................Joan Powell

Member.........................................Ellen Price

Member.........................................Ellen Ryan

Member................................Barbara Kiernan

Member...............................Errol Zimmerman

Officers

Association Consultants

•Samuel Borbón Lara,

Presidente Municipal de Álamos

•Meztli Estrada,

Director del Museo Costumbriste de Sonora

•Juan Carlos Holguín Balderrama,

escritor y historiador

•Juan vidal

profesor, escritor y historiador

Lifetime Members

*Jim Swickard

•Errol Zimmerman

*Bev Krucek

*Leila Gillette

TOP: The Álamos Association published a textbook for fifth grade students in 2025, and in November David Warnest distributed the book to Revolución school students.

BELOW: Jim Swickard of the Hacienda de Los Santos Resort relates the history of the Álamos airport during a January, 2025, presentation at the airport's hangar. Jim has worked to modernize the airport since he came to Álamos in 1989.

Ángel Flores talked about the history and lifestyle of the Guarajío indigenous community during the January 30, 2020, meeting of the Álamos History Association. Ángel has worked nearly 30 years—first as a teacher then as an educational supervisor—with schools in Mesa Colorado and other Guarajío pueblos in the Muncipio of Álamos.

Rafael Arenas Wong gave a presentation in January, 2024, on the John Hilton book "Sonora Sketchbook." Hilton made many trips to Sonora in the 1930s and 1940s, documenting his experiences through essays and pencil sketches, and Rafael's presentation was on the ecology of Sonora as described in Hilton's work.

13th Annual Meeting - March 20, 2025

GUIDE BOOK REPORT - Ellen Price

We have sold 135 books. We have a total of 19,610 pesos and 26 US dollars. Alfredo Ortiz continues to be our sales rep. the books are sold in many places around Alamos, Lorna Acosta has bought books for Kathy’s Korner.

PHOTO ARCHIVE COMMITTEE 2024-2025

Committee chair: Errol Zimmerman

Members: Humberto Enríques, Stephanie Meyer

The primary mission of the Photo Archive committee is to collect and gather information related to historical photographs of Álamos and Sonora. In our digital archives, we now have more than 150 images taken prior to the 1950s. We do not have the facilities to store archival prints, but we are working with the Cultural Institute of Sonora in Hermosillo to archive any historic prints of buildings, landscapes, and Álamos families that we can find..

From 2020-2022, our committee partnered with Álamos City Hall to recopy, restore, and reframe 65 photographs of former Álamos “presidentes” for the new Gallería de Presidentes on the second floor of City Hall. We are quite proud of that accomplishment, and we continue to work with the city to add photos of the new presidentes.

To collect old photographswe are assisted by Álamos Cronista Juan Carlos Holguín Balderrama, Álamos Director of Archives José Armando Riojas, and alamenses who provide photographs to scan or digital historical images for our files. We are working with the Bours Center to reach out to local families for portraits of weddings, baptisms, and family events, but this is a slow process.

We have many digital copies of Álamos photographs taken in the past 20 years by members of this committee, as well as friends of the History Association.

PROGRAM COMMITTEE 2024-2025

Committee chair: Errol Zimmerman

Members: Barbara Kiernan, Pam Price, David Warnest

The Álamos History Association program committee made several changes from previous years. Rather than weekly meetings at 10:30 AM in the Hacienda auditorium, our schedule has included monthly “movie nights” and we have switched the meeting time to Thursday at 1 PM. This seems to work better for our membership, as our morning meetings regularly conflicted with other activities.

Our monthly movie nights have been very successful. In November we showed the 1950 movie “Marcario,” and in November, we presented another, classic Mexican movie, “Aventurera.” Our movies this year included “Enamorado” with Pedro Infante (1952), the contemporary prize winning film “Roma” (2018), and “El Norte,” released in 1983. For each movie night, we meet at 5 PM for a social hour before showing the 6 PM movie.

We had two short field trips this year. On January 23, we visited the Álamos airport where Jim Swickard showed us the hanger and discussed the airport’s importance in the development of our “pueblo Mágico.” On March 13 we went by car to Sabinito. Visited the community center, and learned the history of that village. Difficulties arose with a planned overnight visit to El Fuerte in January, but we hope it is possible to reschedule that trip in the coming year.

Our presentations in the Hacienda auditorium have been carried by Zoom and posted on our History Association Youtube channel. This year's presentations included a report on the “ghosts” of Álamos, new information on our project to document the Norbert flood of 2008, Trini’s report on December festivals in Sonora, a presentation on the Álamos history children’s book we are preparing, and Rafael Arenas’ presentation on the ecology of Álamos.

Our committee is constantly looking for new ideas on presentations, field trips, and movies. We will appreciate your ideas!

CHILDREN;S BOOK PROJECT, 2024–2025

Committee chairs: Errol and Carolyn Zimmerman

The concept of the project was originally to publish a 44-page 7-inch by 8.5-inch bilingual textbook on Álamos history for fourth grade elementary school students, to be used in the classroom and then given to the students at the end of the year. The book has now been expanded to 65 pages, and will be iready by September of this year.

Carolyn and I, both retired teachers, identified 20 topics to be included in the history book. It is illustrated by historic and contemporary photos, and each chapter has a study guide to help students remember the basic facts of the lessons. We are working with Elena Amaya and Lorna Acosta, who have formed a committee of teachers to review the work as it progresses. The book will be printed by Centro Grafico of Navojoa, and funding is being sought to make this an annual publication.

The inspiration for the book came from our History Association publication, “Guía para visitar el Álamos Histórico,” and we are essentially adapting this book for use in elementary school classrooms. We have learned that many who live here in Álamos are unaware of our community’s rich history, and we hope that this book Will increase student knowledge and help young people preserve the past as our community moves forward.

12th Annual Meeting - March 22, 2024

Treasurer's report - Joan Powell

Ending balances in the Alamos History Assn accounts:

Wells Fargo Bank $2552.59 USD

Petty Cash 6100.00 Pesos

Income from Fall 2023 – March 2024

Memberships (45) $ 115 USD

7800 Pesos

Donations $ 300 USD

4600 Pesos

Expenses Fall 2023 – March 2024

24 Jan 2024 AZ Corp Commission Filing $ 10 USD

8 Feb 2024 Purchase microphone & spkr 1200 Pesos

20 Feb 2024 Intern stipend (Norbert project) 1700 Pesos

Internship Committee

Barbara Kiernan & David Warnest

The year 2023-2024 marked the 3rd year of involving ITESCA students in AHA internship opportunities in Alamos. Thanks to Lorna Acosta and the Amigos de la Educacithe AHA was able to identify a second-year student majoring in marketing, Itza Castro, to do an internship with mentor, Donna McGee, in our ongoing Project Norbert. Both Itza and the university were very enthusiastic about this mentored service-learning experience. Thirty-five (35) hours of work in this internship will be involved; none of which will interfere with classes at ITESCA. Charitable funds donated during this year’s Annual Campaign will be used to underwrite the intern’s stipend of $100 USD.

The goal of this internship is to video tape and transcribe oral interviews with residents of Alamos who a) lost their homes during Hurricane Norbert and b) were offered by the municipality a new parcel of land and a starter house in Barrio Norbert. This barrio is a neighborhood created after the Hurricane in 2008 for relocation purpose. Interviews with two families are being done in March of 2024 by Donna and Itza with transcription of interviews to be completed in April and May. Transcriptions will be done in ITESCA’s Computer Lab with software installed there by Ellen Ryan, Chair of the Interview Committee.

In addition, we are trying to arrange for a bilingual Intern Coordinator from the Alamos community to assist AHA interns and mentors periodically (approximately every two weeks) throughout each intern experience. This coordinator will help ensure that the student has a local person to contact is his/her own language with questions as well as address any problems that arise. This year, our intern has a high level of English proficiency, but our efforts now will hopefully serve as a pilot for the future. Coordinators will also provide a local interface with students if the mentor is away from Alamos. Funds from the Annual Campaign will also be used to reimburse this coordinator for time spent in these activities.

Indigenous Committee Traditions Report

Trini Rangel

The paskola tradition is important, sharing aspects of the culture and traditions of this territory’s history. However more is to be learned, exposed, lived, promoted, and I highly believe AHA can have a big part on this by having a presentation of paskola’s traditions by hosting a paskola at the local Mayo family’s home..

As part of getting involved and making good history as AHA, perhaps a sign at the entrance of their home with a message on mayo (Maybe something the family likes) I can discuss this in the next zoom meeting.

Oficios needed for the paskola fiesta:

*Four or five paskola dancers

*One or two deer dancers

*Three musicians two violin and one harp players

*Three deer singers

*One alaguasim

This could be a great start of promoting a traditional paskola. People can go anytime they want and stay as long as they want. Wakavaqui soup is served, which is beef and vegetables soup.

Having said that. I'd like to mention that I have the formal part signed of ITESCA’s parternship. Let me know to whom I delivered this or where this paper should be.

Also, I know AHA should have a seal stamp because some of the formats that students are asked to complete for college need it when doing service is for papers to come with signatures and a seal stamp. So perhaps having one would be great.

Also a symbol or logo and perhaps design and present recognition papers of participation to speakers at meetings.

Also a T-shirt to use when going on excursions, perhaps.

AHA Interview Committee 2024 Report - Ellen Ryan

The following interviews and transcriptions were added to the computer at Kathy’s Korner:

December 8, 2011 AHA Meeting led by Bev Krucek from an audio only recording.

March 12, 2009 Presentation to AHA by Leorna Solido about life in Bacobampo in 1938.

November 12, 2009 AHA Meeting led by Bev Krucek interviewing Clay and Barbara LaForce.

I am still transcribing the March 18, 2010 Presentation to AHA about Pro Natura by Elena Chavarria.

I am waiting for Rosa Emma Ruiz’s daughter to transcribe her interview from November 3, 2010 about her life in Huatabampo. If she does not produce it this year, I will transcribe it.

I will verify if Joan Winderman and Jim Swickard’s interviews are on the computer.

Trini might be working with his students to continue conducting interviews of their older family members and providing Spanish and English transcriptions.

Donna McGee and Barbara Kiernan have been interviewing Alamos residents who experienced the Norbert storm flooding in Alamos. They are working with an intern from ITESCA and have made use of the tripod and transcription foot pedal. I placed a free version of ExpressScribe, a transcription program, on Donna McGee’s computer, and the tech person at ITESCA will also add it to a computer at the school for student use. Students can borrow the foot pedal to transcribe. I taught Donna how to use the ExpressScribe program and foot pedal.

Errol and Ellen worked put together a video to teach interviewers how to use the tripod we have at Kathy’s Korner, and how to attach their own smart phones or video cameras to the tripod. Newer phones do not have a port for the microphones, so the pair we have are unusable, but newer phones have better built in microphones. If necessary, a Bluetooth speaker can be purchased for under $100.

Unfortunately, I did not interview anyone this season. I will continue to transcribe interviews as they are completed.

ALAMOS HISTORY ASSOCIATION – 2023-2024 HISTORY LIBRARY REPORT - Joan Powel

During the 2023-2024 season, cataloging continued on newly-received books, magazine articles, and the newspaper articles in the collection.

A new set of catalog pages was printed and is in the new white binder (usually on the main table in the Library).

A few books were added this year. Most of the activity was adding information to the catalog about the many magazine articles in the collection, as well as continuing to catalog the newspaper article reprints. Over 90 magazines and magazine articles are now included in the catalog. And approaching 60 newspaper articles are cataloged. Many more remain to be cataloged.

The newspaper article reprints are in tall black binders, and cover articles about Alamos in mostly US newspapers, from the late 1800s to more current times. If you are interested in these, you can always browse the binders.

The book collection is shelved in broad categories: books about Alamos, Sonora, Anza, Art and Antiquities, Indigenous Groups, Mining, Missions and Churches, Natural History, and books by Alamos Authors. Magazines and magazine articles are shelved in black boxes.

Photo Archive committee,

2023–2024

PHOTO ARCHIVE COMMITTEE

Committee chair: Errol Zimmerman

Members: Humberto Enríques, Stephany Meyer

The primary mission of the Photo Archive committee is to collect and gather information related to historical photographs of Álamos and Sonora. In our digital archives, we now have more than 150 images taken during the 19th Century and prior to 1950 in the 20th Century. we do not have the facilities to store archival prints, but we are working with the Cultural Institute of Sonora in Hermosillo to archive historic prints of buildings, landscapes, and family portraits of Álamos.

From 2020-2022, our committee partnered with Álamos City Hall to recopy, restore, and reframe 65 photographs of former Álamos “presidentes” for the new Gallería de Presidentes on the second floor of City Hall. The $2,500 US expense of photographs and frames was funded by friends of the History Association, and the inauguration of the gallery was held in September, 2022. Our Photo Archive committee will continue to work with City Hall to provide photographs of additional Presidentes.

Members of the Photo Archive committee constantly search for old images of Álamos. They are assisted by Álamos Cronista Juan Carlos Holguín Balderrama, Álamos Director of Archives José Armando Riojas, and many alamenses who provide photographs to scan or digital historical images for our files. Our goal is to reach out to families in all the barrios of Álamos and make high resolution scans of family pictures: baptisms, birthdays, and portraits of family members. In addition to these digital scans, we will collect information on the people in the picture and the event, that was photographed.

In a January presentation this year, the Photo Archive committee displayed numerous historical photographs of Álamos scenes and people, and an exhibit and possible publication of historic photographs is currently being planned.

Álamos History Association program committee,

PROGRAM COMMITTEE 2023-2024

Committee chair: Errol Zimmerman

Members: Barbara Kiernan, Pam Price, David Warnest

The Álamos history association program committee made several changes from previous years. In the past few years, 17 or 18 meetings have been held on Thursdays during the season (late October to late March), with presentations at 10:30 AM in the Hacienda De Los Santos auditorium. These presentations centered on historical figures and events in Álamos, Sonora, and Mexico.

Following our annual meeting last year, we sent a questionnaire to our friends and members asking their opinions regarding possible changes. Through these responses, we decided to reduce the number of morning meetings and add a monthly schedule of movies related to Mexican history and culture. The “movie nights” in the Hacienda Auditorium were well attended and greatly appreciated, with the María Félix film “Enamorada” being the most popular. We will continue these movie nights during the 2024–2025 season, and our committee will research multiple sources to find entertaining and historical movies.

Each season AHA wishes to have two or three bus trips to places of interest in Sonora, but this year we had only one. We visited the Leonardo Valdez museum in Etchojoa and the General Obregón family home in Huatabampo, and the group of 22 also enjoyed a delicious lunch at the Mirador restaurant in Huatabampito. Our goal is to have more than one trip in next year's schedule.

Since 2023 was the 15th anniversary of the Norbert storm, which caused great damage and several deaths in our community, Barbara Kiernan and Donna McGee directed two presentations with information on the storm itself and interviews with local residents affected by Norbert. Our association is continuing to collect video interviews and photographs related to the Norbert tragedy, and Donna is working on a publication about Norbert for the community and our History Association archives.

During the year AHA had five movie nights, a field trip, and six morning presentations on subjects of historical interest.

Álamos History Association Special Project 2023–2024: Bilingual Álamos History book for elementary students

Committee chairs: Errol and Carolyn Zimmerman

The concept of the project is to publish a 44-page 7-inch by 8.5-inch bilingual textbook on Álamos history for elementary school students in the fourth (or fifth) grade. When completed, this book will be an instructional aid for every teacher in Álamos at that grade level. Twenty subjects have been identified, and the basic design of the book will be to have information in both English and Spanish on the left-hand page of the book with an illustration of the subject on the right.

Each subject will be covered in approximately 250 words––first in Spanish, and then in English. The material covered will be similar to the topic areas in our History Association guidebook, with short essays on pre-colonial history, the arrival of the Spanish, mining, architecture, education, and etc. The English draft for these topics has been completed, and our Association is searching now for a local teacher to write the Spanish version. When the Spanish text is finished, the English text will be revised to match the Spanish “word-for-word” as much as possible. We want the students to not only learn about the history of Álamos, but also to see the differences and similarities of Spanish and English.

The illustrations on the right hand pages of the book will primarily be photographs, but some arts illustrations will be included. The original idea was to provide a book for each student to take home, but it might be easier and more effective to give a classroom set to each school. A workshop for teachers and an instructional guide will be provided to help teachers use this book as a tool for both language and history instruction.

When the project began, the goal was to have it finished for the fall semester of 2024. Since the funding for this project has not yet been estimated, it will likely not be ready that soon. The book will be printed by Centro Gráfico in Navojoa, and will be an important outreach by the History Association to the youth of Alamos.

11th Annual Meeting – 23 March 2023 at 10:30 am

At the auditorium of the Hacienda de Los Santos and on zoom. The zoom link will be sent out the day before.

Talk by Tony Estrada, former head of Museo Costumbrista del Estado de Sonora

Tony will talk about the people and circumstances around the founding of the museum and his experiences.

Business Meeting

The minutes from the business meeting from the Annual Meeting of 2022 (Appended)

Treasure’s report

Reports from the standing committees: Programs, Library and Archive, Interviews, Guidebook, Panteón, Internship, Historic Photographs, Indigenous People.

Meeting the needs and interests of a changing Alamos: introducing the questionnaire that the AHA board will be sending to members and friends of the organization.

Other business

Appendix

Alamos History Association Annual Meeting 24th March 2022 – Minutes

The meeting was held on zoom.

The number of AHA members present was 17, with 7 proxy allocations, for a total of 24. Since the number of paid-up members was 38, we had a quorum.

The minutes from the Annual Meeting in 2021 were accepted.

New AHA board member David Warnest was introduced and greeted the meeting.

Treasurer’s Report – Joan Powell.

In December 2021, I took over as the AHA Treasurer. I have opened a temporary bank account for our general funds, to be used until the Association completes the process of becoming an Arizona non-profit corporation, secures an Employee ID number from the IRS, and secures tax deductible status from the IRS. At that time, a separate bank account, under the name of the Alamos History Association, will be established.

As of March 23, the balance in the bank account is $1,731.82.

There are also $2,559 MX pesos in a petty cash fund in Alamos. Expenses from that fund included the purchase of a new microphone cord for our public address system.

In December, a General Fund balance of $2194.70 was deposited in the bank account. Income for December through March was $570.12, from memberships. Expenses during that time period totaled $1,043.00. There were 2 expenses: the purchase of a new computer for the library, and the loss from renting the van for the field trip (there weren’t enough paid participants to cover the cost of the van/driver rental).

We have 38 paid memberships this year.

Report from the Program Committee – Errol Zimmerman

Program Director’s Report

Errol Zimmerman

From our first meeting on October 28 (2021) to our final meeting today, March 24 (2022), we have had 17 presentations for members and friends of the Álamos History Association. Our plan this year was to make as many meetings as possible both “live” in the theater of the Hacienda de los Santo and also carried by Zoom to our many friends and members who are outside of Álamos. With the assistance of Hacienda technician Humberto Enríquez our meetings of Nov, 4, Nov, 11, November 18, December 9, January 6, January 20, and February 10 were in the Hacienda theater and also carried by Zoom, and 10 additional meetings were “Zoom only” presentations.

Our meeting of January 13, a field trip guided by Fr. Charles Carpenter to the Purísima Concepción church in Álamos, the chapel in La Capilla, and the Balvanera Church in La Aduana was taped with a video posted later on our Youtube channel. It was impractical if not impossible to make a “Zoom” field trip! Because it was not carried by Zoom, we had nearly 50 views on Youtube channel in addition to our field trip participants. This was the largest number of hits this year, with No.#2 being Ramón Alcantar’s presentation of January 20 on the music of Mexico.

As (we hope) Covid diminishes this coming winter, we need to re-evaluate our presentation plan. In past years meetings of the History Association have been social events with friends arriving early, drinking coffee, and possibly staying for lunch. Do we want to return to this concept? Our meetings next year could be videoed, but not carried by Zoom. Under this plan, our friends and members in the U.S. and abroad could see the presentations posted on-line after the meeting’s end, and our local alamenses could meet in the social atmosphere of the Hacienda.

If we wish next year to have both “live” and Zoom meetings, we need to improve the light, sound, and photo quality of these presentations. Jim Swickard is willing to work with us regarding light and microphones, and Humberto will continue to provide his expertise.

Historical Photographs Committee- Errol

The “presidentes” Project

The Álamos History Association is in the process of completing the following steps to preserve the portraits of previous Álamos presidentes and publish a book for our research library and for the archives of Álamos city hall. The following steps are being undertaken:

STEP 1 - recopying the historic portraits of previous Álamos “presidentes”

STEP 2 - preserving the historic photo copies once displayed in city hall,

STEP 3 - placing a display of the newly scanned portraits in city hall,

STEP 4 researching historical information for a book, which will include a portrait of each presidente and information, such as

*a basic biography of the office holder,

*events occurring in Álamos during the time of service,

*events occurring in Sonora and Mexico during the time of service

Interview Committee Report – Ellen Ryan

The Interview Committee has been interviewing residents of Alamos in the expat community for many years. These video editions are transcribed, and both are now on the AHA computer in the AHA library at the back of Kathy’s Korner.

Ellen Ryan transcribed a talk by C. M Mayo. She presented to the AHA in February 2010, talking mainly about her book, The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire. Ellen also transcribed a December 2009 talk by Father Carpenter about the Virgin of Guadalupe and church history. Trini Rangel contributed an interview of Lilia Cinco Miranda from 2013 or 2014 that was recovered from Bev Krucek’s computer. Additionally, text of interviews contributed by Emily Preece and Joan Winderman of Herbierto Maximiano Carrazco Figueroa and Irmine Steltzner have been added to the computer. Clay and Barbara La Force and Leonora Salido interviews are being transcribed by Pam Price and Barbara Kiernan, respectively. With Covid-19 in the community, no interviews were conducted in 2021/2022. Hopefully in 2022/2023 with more volunteer assistance, the work can continue in the community of expats as well as those residents who grew up in Alamos.

A new Dell computer was purchased with much greater capacity as it will hold all interviews, videos, and copies of AHA website materials which Errol Zimmerman will add in 2022. A backup drive and a DVD writer were also purchased to enable duplication and transfer of information. The total cost for all was $918. Various cases, a lock, and thumb drives were donated for a total of $90.

Internship Report – Barbara Kiernan

The internship program began in November of 2021. Lorna Acosta contacted the director of ITESCA, Metzly Carrazco, in October 2021 and asked her to identify candidates for this year-long internship. She responded with four candidates. These candidates were interviewed individually in November at Kathy’s Korner by Lorna Acosta, Errol Zimmerman, and Barbara Kiernan. At the end of the interviews, Lorna, Errol, and Barbara reviewed the candidates and chose two: Daniela (Dany) Balvanera Fierro Díaz and Luis Daniel Neyoy García (Daniel). Their internship projects follow:

Dany’s project was to help Linda Adams map the Panteón, locating all the foreign graves, and placing their names on a computerized grid. The goal was to identify which graves were available to be “adopted” and which graves were already taken care of. Dany spent 35 hours on this mapping project, much of it in the Panteón itself. In December, she received $1,000 pesos as a stipend for this effort. Her spring project will be determined when Barbara and Errol are in Alamos during April of 2022.

Daniel’s project was to help Errol with the Presidente project of reframing photographs of Alamos’ Presidentes since 1857 and gathering biographical information about them. He has spent time at the Palacio Municipal making an inventory of frames already available and noting their condition. He has also been trying to contact the past 10 Presidentes (or their families) to ascertain information pertinent to their lives and times of service. Daniel also received $1,000 pesos for the first 35 hours of effort in January. Once again, Daniel’s spring project will be determined when Barbara and Errol are in Alamos during April of 2022.

So far, the projects have gone well, but have been made more difficult because of Covid, and times when on-site mentors were not present – even though Barbara convened Zoom meetings with Linda and Dany, and with Daniel and Errol during their absences. Challenges also occurred because the candidates were identified relatively late (November) followed by holidays in both the US and Mexico. Continuous contact has been difficult. To address this issue, Barbara and Errol will invite members of AHA who live in Alamos most of the year to form an Intern Support group to help interns when necessary, provide materials, and make payments to them if local mentors are not on site when such assistance is needed. It is hoped that this group will be able to meet with Barbara and Errol in April of 2022 to determine a preliminary plan of action.

Another addition to this program has been to respond to a request by Trini and ITESCA to enter into a “convenio” that would allow student interns to receive university credit for their work with AHA and provide for a wider involvement of both organizations (ITESCA and AHA) in fostering interest in and knowledge of the history of Alamos, including its municipio and Sonora as a state.

Overall, the plan at the end of Year 1 is to assess the possibilities of these internship in April and strategize to increase their continuity in Year 2 when new interns will be chosen. Barbara funded these internships in Year 1 and will again fund the stipends in Year 2 after which AHA will decide the future of this effort. This year, funds for the interns were held by Lorna Acosta and given to each intern upon a written authorization by Barbara (after consulting with on-site mentors Linda and Errol). An updated report to reflect April meetings will be sent to the AHA BOD this summer.

Guide to Historic Alamos Committee – Ellen Price

Books have been sold at Casa Maria Felix, Martinelli’s, Teresitas, Hotel La Bonita Resort in Alamos, Torquesa Azul, and by other vendors. We have averaged about 3 books per month. There aren’t many left so I have instructed our sales representative, Alfredo Ortiz, to transfer the remaining books to Casa Maria Felix, as that is where the most books have been sold.

Preparation for a second edition of the guide to historic Alamos has taken place. Juan Carlos Holguín Balderrama supplied us with a list of notable people from Alamos and Pam Price, mainly using the internet, identified almost all of them. Pam wrote another new section, "The Alamos Mining District, 1683-1915". Ivette Marian Arnold, who translated the first edition into Spanish, translated these two new sections as well. Copy-editing of the first edition was carried out, taking into consideration changes which have taken place in Alamos since 2018, when the first edition was published. Errol, who did a terrific job with illustrations and layout on the first edition, has agreed to do the layout and illustrations for the new sections in the second edition.

After transferring 24,000 pesos to the association budget, we now have $ 34,740.00 pesos on hand. This should cover the costs of printing the second edition.

New Business

Diane Carpenter reported that publisher Patricia Hamilton is working on the production of a book on the Norbert catastrophe and wants first-person experiences from townspeople. It was suggested that the AHA Interview Committee could play a role here.

Electing the AHA board for 2022-2025.

The current slate up for election: Barbara Kiernan, Joan Powell, Ellen Price, Ellen Ryan, Trini Rangel, David Warnest, Errol Zimmerman.

The following question was out to a voice vote: Are you in favor of electing the current slate for the board of the Alamos History Association? Yes or No. The yes vote was unanimous.

It was decided that Errol Zimmerman should give his presentation on Joaquin Murrieta next week for the last meeting of the AHA for the 2021-2022 winter season.

Pam Price

President and Secretary

10th Annual Meeting

The meeting was held on zoom March 24, 2022.

The number of AHA members present was 17, with 7 proxy allocations, for a total of 24. Since the number of paid-up members was 38, we had a quorum.

The minutes from the Annual Meeting in 2021 were accepted.

New AHA board member David Warnest was introduced and greeted the meeting.

Treasurer’s Report – Joan Powell.

As of March 23, the balance in the bank account is $1,731.82.

There are also $2,559 MX pesos in a petty cash fund in Alamos. Expenses from that fund included the purchase of a new microphone cord for our public address system.

We have 38 paid memberships this year.

Report from the Program Committee – Errol Zimmerman

Program Director’s Report

Errol Zimmerman

Historical Photographs Committee- Errol

The “presidentes” Project

STEP 1 - recopying the historic portraits of previous Álamos “presidentes”

STEP 2 - preserving the historic photo copies once displayed in city hall,

STEP 3 - placing a display of the newly scanned portraits in city hall,

STEP 4 researching historical information for a book, which will include a portrait of each presidente and information, such as

*a basic biography of the office holder,

*events occurring in Álamos during the time of service,

*events occurring in Sonora and Mexico during the time of service

Interview Committee Report – Ellen Ryan

Internship Report – Barbara Kiernan

Guide to Historic Alamos Committee – Ellen Price

After transferring 24,000 pesos to the association budget, we now have $ 34,740.00 pesos on hand. This should cover the costs of printing the second edition.

New Business

Electing the AHA board for 2022-2025.

The current slate up for election: Barbara Kiernan, Joan Powell, Ellen Price, Ellen Ryan, Trini Rangel, David Warnest, Errol Zimmerman.

The following question was out to a voice vote: Are you in favor of electing the current slate for the board of the Alamos History Association? Yes or No. The yes vote was unanimous.

It was decided that Errol Zimmerman should give his presentation on Joaquin Murrieta next week for the last meeting of the AHA for the 2021-2022 winter season.

Ninth Annual Meeting

March 18, 2021

The ninth annual meeting of the Álamos History Association was held by Zoom on Thursday, March 18, 2021, at 10 a.m. President Pam Price called the meeting to order and pronounced that a quorum was present to approve or reject any items nominated and seconded from the membership. The only action item was the approval of Barbara Kiernan to her first three-year term on the History Association Board of Directors. Committee reports are as follows:

President’s report - Pam Price

The pandemic presented the AHA with new challenges. Last year’s Annual Meeting had to be cancelled because we did not know about the possibilities with zoom. Encouraged by Errol, however, we charged on ahead and this season had 16 zoom meeting, including the one held in the new chapel at Los Santos. Good news is that the AHA has been invited back to use the auditorium at Los Santos, once in-person meetings can take place again.

The board decided on some changes as to responsibilities. Joan Powell will be taking over as treasurer, as she and Ellen Price work out the details. Errol will relieve Ellen Price of the main responsibility of working out the schedules of programs. The board will continue to come with suggestions for programs and, as usual, we look forward to suggestions from our membership.

The board is grateful to Ellen for her excellent work over the years as Treasurer and Program Chairperson. We look forward to benefiting from her experience in the years to come.

The board also decided to expand the number of members and we were very happy that Barbara Kiernan expressed an interest in joining. We will take this issue up toward the end of the meeting.

Because of the pandemic, work in most of the standing committees was halted or slowed down, but we look forward to picking up again as vaccination proceeds.

Pantéon Adopt-a-Grave committee - Pam Price

The Adopt-a-Grave committee has had as its aim the annual cleaning of the graves of expatriates whose families no longer visit Alamos regularly. In January this year there was a zoom meeting presentation with Linda Adams and Errol regarding the fact that a number of these graves are in need of repair. Linda and Bill Adams have been working on the grave of Warren Potts. Linda reported that the tree stumps have been removed, by pick axe, rebar installed, and forms constructed and concrete poured. The small “placas” that surround the grave have been poured. The search is on to find a substance that can destroy the roots of the tree stumps that grow around some of the graves. This work on the Potts grave is being carried out so that the AHA, which delegated 5000 pesos for the effort, can learn what is involved in cosmetic restoration of the graves in need.

The AHA board agrees with Linda that a subcommittee of this standing committee should be formed that is particularly concerned with the upkeep and repair of expatriate graves. Linda advises completion of the work on the Potts grave before going any further on that. When the times comes, we will get back to you with plans; one example, “coffee and doughnuts” group gatherings in the Pantéon to deal with expat graves.

Guide to Historic Alamos committee - Pam Price

The AHA published 500 copies of a bi-lingual guide to historic Alamos in the fall of 2018. Most of these copies have now been sold. Last season the committee decided, with the approval of the board to do a second edition, rather than just a reprinting. Not only is it necessary to update the guide, but we feel the need to expand the section on silver mining in area and to add a list of notable people associated with the municipality. I have written a draft of the mining section and Errol is working on the list of notables with the assistance of Juan Carlos Holguín. The costs of the new edition should be covered adequately by the income from the sale of the first edition. Ellen Price, working with Alfredo Ortiz, has been handling the sale of the book at sites in Alamos.

Indigenous peoples standing committee - Pam Price

Those of you who enjoyed board member Trini Rangel’s presentation on the Mayos this winter will easily understand that the board wants him to establish a new standing committee, on indigenous peoples. The Mayos are also known as the Yoreme and Trini’s main goals are to promote and develop YOREME traditions because, as he writes, “we are in YOREME's territory. Alamos is in the head of the Rìo Mayo. I want for AHA to have a pascola fiesta on Diane`s ( Carpenter) terrace if it works, with traditional food and of course the dancers.” If you want to join Trini in his endeavor, send us an email and we will forward your message.

AHA Interview Committee Report 2020 - 2021 - Ellen Ryan

•Pam Price began to transcribe the interview of Clay and Barbara La Force.

•Ellen Ryan transcribed three interviews: Richard Schneider, Ron Perry, and Lorna Acosta’s talk to the AHA last year on February 12. All three should be on the AHA library computer.

•Ellen Ryan will have a transcription of a talk to the AHA by Father Carpenter about Our Lady of Guadalupe completed in March. Next on the list are Lenora Solido, C.M. Mayo, Rosa Emma Ruiz of Huatabampo, and Pro Natura (Elisa).

•Pam Price and Ellen Ryan interviewed Lynda Berondes. We have her on video which is not on the AHA library computer yet.

•Jose R Nevarez (Trini) interviewed Lilia Cinco Miranda in 2013 or 2014, and the transcription was recovered from Bev Krucek’s computer this year. I will put it on the AHA computer in 2022 with a photograph of her.

•Bengta Wolsing declined to be interviewed. Doug Reynolds declined to be interviewed, but has promised to provide a written account of his family history in Alamos.

•Pam Price mentioned that Stephanie Meyers knew of three local ranching men who speak English and would be willing to be interviewed.

•As a reminder we added Joan Winderman, Phyllis Florek and Diane Carpenter interviews and transcriptions to the computer in 2020 in February.

Additionally Pam Price reported: In Jan – March 2020, Ellen paid Dan Clancy for cleaning of the HP donated by Don and Mel Steele, reducing the size of the 4 new interviews/talk, installing them on the HP, installing new Windows version, making it so no password was needed to open. 3/27/19 paid $300P and 3/28/19 paid $500P plus a $200P tip above what he asked for initially. He performed the work quickly and said it took him 7 hours. Total = $1000P or $50.

Historic Photo Committee Report, 2020-2021 - Errol Zimmerman

The purpose of our Historic Photo Committee is to build a digital library of high resolution historic images of Álamos and the Municipio. We rely on many sources to find these images from the past, including Álamos families as well as current and previous members of the foreign community.

In March, 2020, we began the process of rephotographing the 60 portraits of previous Álamos “presidentes” on display in city hall. With the assistance of Álamos Cronista Juan Carlos Holguín Balderrama, we unframed the portraits and made digital copies, which are now in the process of being reprinted and placed in new frames. Juan Carlos and the committee are also searching for photos of missing “presidentes,” and the History Association will work with Álamos City Hall to find funding for new frames, glass, and mats.

For the past three years we have reached out to the Cultural Institute of Sonora for permission to rephotograh images on display and in storage at the Álamos museum. High resolution copies of these images, and all other historic images, will kept on external hard drives in our research library, and in the future will be used to create books and exhibitions of historic photographs. To help prepare for future exhibitions, the History Association received a donation of 38 16x20-inch metal frames from the non-profit Through Each Others Eyes™ for use by our Association and the Álamos museum.

The History Association also works wigth Juan Casanova of the Cultural Institute of Sonora, who is building an archive in Hermosillo of historic photographs of Sonora. Our committee members are Errol Zimmerman, Stephanie Meyer, and, adding a third member, Álamos photographer Humberto Enríquez.

Alamos History Association Treasurer’s Report - Ellen Price

•We have 18,120 pesos in the Alamos History Association Treasury with 37 paid members.

•We have 63,550 pesos in the guidebook account, and I no longer have any books for sale.

History Association Program Committee Report - Ellen Price and Errol Zimmerman

In a “normal” year the Program Committee meets in the summer and fall to plan a presentation schedule for our season of meetings, with ideas coming from the Board as well as friends and members of the Association. This was not a normal year, however, and all work of the committee was accomplished through Zoom meetings, e-mail, and telephone calls.

After the Board made the decision to share information through Zoom, our committee planned six presentations to be held during November and December, 2020. We decided that, based on the success of this experiment, we would make a decision on how to conduct meetings in the future.

To our surprise and delight, the first six meetings were a great success, and we found that through Zoom we could actually reach more people than through in-person events. Our committee, with advice from the Board, then made a schedule for the 12 additional History Association presentations held in January, February, and March. Our crowning achievement was the February 4 meeting at the Hacienda de los Santos’ newly constructed chapel, where we had a “live” (masked and socially distanced) audience in addition to our outreach by Zoom.

Our presentations for 2021-2022 are being planned right now, and we appreciate ideas from any of our friends and members—and we also encourage new people to join our committee. The new season all meetings will be carried by Zoom in addition (we certainly hope) to in-person gatherings at our new “home,” the auditorium of the Hacienda de los Santos.

Eighth Annual Meeting

March 19, 2020

The Eighth Annual Meeting of the Álamos History Association, scheduled for March 19 in the museum auditorium, was cancelled—as were all public gathering in Álamos due to the COVID 19 pandemic. Below are the reports which would have been given had that meeting been held.

COMMITTEE REPORTS:

Statement for Álamos History Association President

Pam Price, March, 2020

•The History Association began meeting at the Museo de Costumbrista de Sonora in November, 2019, thanks to the generosity of museum director Tony Estrada. The Association purchased a microphone and speakers after the first meeting, and that has solved the problem of members straining to hear the presentations.

•We continued with the policy of making a schedule of presentations in the early fall and posting the schedule on the association website. Our presentations during 2019 - 2020 offered a wide variety of themes: There were presentations on two Álamos natives: the former president of Mexico, Félix María Zuloaga, and and glamorous international movie star María Félix. There was a presentation by Ángel Flores on the history, life, and culture of the Guarijío indigenous community north of Álamos, biographies of famous women in Mexican History presented by Elisa Pallares, and historical presentations relating to the history of Álamos and Sonora.

•While the association continued to meet at historic sites in Alamos, we decided also to organize guided trips to locations in southern Sonora. Stephanie Meyer served as our tour director this year, taking us to San Bernardo and Los Pilares, and also to the Yaqui Museum at Cócorit. We will continue this activity in the future.

•The association board met in November, December, January, and March. Board members who were not in Álamos absent members attended through WhatsApp, so all members of the Board of Directors was included.

•Work has begun on a new edition of the guide to historic Alamos. We plan on two new sections, one on historic mines and one on notable people from Alamos.

Treasurer’s Report

Ellen Price, March, 2020

The Treasury Report is as follows:

•Álamos History Association general treasury: 18,820 pesos MX; guidebook account: 62,980 pesos MX.

Program Report (additional information found at President’s Report)

Ellen Price, March, 2020

•This season the Álamos History Association had Sonora field trips to San Bernardo and Cócorit, and two prrsentations at locations in Álamos: the visit to the cemetery October 31, and the visit to the Álamos print shop (Imprenta Hernández on Comercio Street) on Noember 21. There was also a presentaion by students at the ITESCA campus.

•There were nine speakers, and three cancelations: one due to the health of the presenter, and one due to the Consular visit. The annual meeting was cancelled due to the virus.

Interview Report

Ellen Ryan, March, 2020

•I transcribed three video interviews: Richard Schneider, Ron Perry, and Lorna Acosta’s talk to the AHA February 12, 2019. All three should be on the AHA library computer, and will be included in the “Interview” section of the History Association website.

•I have begun to transcribe an interview with Father Charles Carpenter, who came to Álamos in 1978, and, in addition, Pam Price is transcribing the interview of Clay and Barbara La Force.

•Pam Price and I interviewed Lynda Berondes, an Álamos resident for 30 years, but I don’t think we learned much that was new. At least we have her on video, although it is not yet on the AHA library computer.

•José R Nevarez (Trini) interviewed Lilia Cinco Miranda in 2013 or 2014, and the transcription was recovered from Bev Krucek’s computer this year. It will soon be put on the AHA computer with a photograph of her.

•Bengta Wolsing declined to be interviewed. Doug Reynolds also declined, but he is willing to provide a written account of his family history in Alamos—which goes back to the 1960s. Stephanie Meyer has suggested three area ranchers (who also speak English!) and would consent to an interview, as well as several Spanish-speaking representatives of local families.

•As a reminder, we did add Joan Winderman, Phyllis Florek, and Diane Carpenter interviews to the computer last year in February.

Historic Photo Committee Report

Errol Zimmerman, March, 2020

•The Historic Photographs Committee this year began its task of scanning and re-photographing historic images of Álamos. With the help of Álamos Cronista Juan Carlos Holguín Balderrama and Presidente Victor Balderrama, all the pictures of past mayors previously on display in el palacio have been re-photographed and digitally retouched. These pictures will then be reprinted and reframed, and work is underway by Juan Carlos Holguín to research additional information on each presidente for a future publication.

•With the completion of that task, the committee will begin working on two additional projects: (1) rephotographinc historic pictures currently on display in el Museo Costumbrista de Sonora, and (2) scanning and rephotographing images of family history from Álamos residents. Tony Estrada at the museum and Cronista Juan Carlos have already taken preliminary steps, and work on these projects may begin within the next few months.

The high resolution copies of these images will be stored on external hard drives in the History Association’s research library (with a backup on Errol Zimmerman’s computer drives), and they can then be accessed by the city, the museum, and families to create replacement prints. Plans are underway for the creation of photographic exhibitions of these historic images, and the photo organization “Through Each Others Eyes” has offered the donation of fifty 16 x 20-inch frames for these exhibitions.

As a lesser priority, the History Association is scanning images from the past 50 years of sister city (Scottsdale, Arizona) activities as well as activities of the foreign community here in Álamos since the 1950s.

Seventh Annual Meeting

March 21, 2019

submitted by Pam Price, President of the Álamos History Association

Time and Location: 10:30 a.m. at Café Luz del Sol

Business Meeting

•Tally of members present and presentation of proxy forms.

With sixteen proxy forms presented and the count of paid-up members at the meeting, it was ascertained that there was a quorum.

•The minutes from last year’s meeting were approved.

Treasurer’s report (Ellen Price)

•Ellen reported that the AHA has MXN 22,970 and the guidebook account has MXN 34,410, plus US$282. More than 250 guidebooks have been sold.

Report from the AHA board (Pam Price)

•The bi-lingual guidebook, Guía para visitar El Álamos Histórico, was completed by the guidebook committee in the AHA. It was translated and printed and a book launch was held in November 8, 2018, at the Museo Costumbrista de Sonora.

•Sassy Hardy reorganized the space in the AHA library and archives room at Kathy’s Korner and hired Dan Clancey to to work with DVDs and other sources in the archive to render them more accessible for viewing and listening on computer. When Sassy decided to leave the board, Joan Powell agreed to join.

•The board met formally in December, January, and February. We decided to re-establish a focus on interviewing in the town of Alamos. Ellen Ryan agreed to chair a new standing committee on Interviews.

•During the summer of 2018 the Anza Awareness standing committee left the Association to join a production company. An animated film on Spanish expeditions to colonize what is now the US state of California is under production, a portion of which was shown at the museum during the Tirado festival.

•The work of the Association, particularly with relation to the library and interviews, is in the process of being greatly facilitated through the generous gift by Don and Melinda Steele of a good-as-new HP Notebook laptop computer and an HP printer. In gratitude we are presenting them with a certificate, printed and framed in Alamos.

Report from Program Committee chairman (Ellen Price)

•There were 16 programs this season, mostly organized by Sassy Hardy. Two were held at ITESCA and one at Kathy’s Korner. Next season we plan to make some visits to historic homes and sites in the area.

Standing Committee reports

•AHA library and archives (Joan Powell)

•The library received donations which are being catalogued and noted in the printed catalog binder, as well as for the AHA website. We have a total of 436 books in the library, as well as magazine articles about Alamos and other materials. Unfortunately a couple of the books went missing during the past year. The books and materials are for use only in the library.

•The new laptop and printer from Don and Mel Steele will make accessing interviews and videos much easier.

Interviews (Ellen Ryan)

•Six interviews were transcribed and transferred to the AHA computer and Ellen will be transcribing more interviews over the summer. 4 interviews or recordings occurred this season. We could use more help with interviewing, so do contact Ellen if you would like to help.

ˆEquipment was purchased to aid in taking interviews: 2 microphones, a tripod, and a device to enable earphones to be worn during an interview. Also purchased was a hard drive to use to backup the computer. We plan future purchases to facilitate the process of transcribing the interviews.

Panteón ‘adopt a grave’ committee (Pam Price)

•Illness prevented progress with the work of mending graves of expatriates in the cemetery.

Historic photographs committee (Errol Zimmerman, read by Pam)

•The Historic Archive Committee made progress in building a digital library of historic photos of Álamos. Some of these photos are displayed on the “Álamos Timeline” section of the History Association website, but more are being collected and will soon be available in tif and jpeg file folders on the computer in the Álamos Research Library.

•Permission has been granted by the Cultural Art Institute of Sonora for the AHA to ‘recopy’and produce high resolution scans of all the historic photos in el Museo Costumbrista de Sonora. Photographer Juan Casanova of Hermosillo, who works with the Cultural Institute, will be giving Errol Zimmerman a number of high resolution scans of Álamos historic images before the fall. After these scans are organized, Errol will meet with Tony Estrada to determine what additional scans can be made of the photos in the museum.

•Errol is working closely with Juan Casanova, Tony Estrada, and Juan Carlos Holguín in the collection of images. In addition to the “Álamos Timelines,” please see the images on the AHA website under “Álamos Historic Photo Exhibit.”

Old Business (none)

New Business (none)

Board of Directors Vote

• The current board was standing for reelection: Gail Morden, Joan Powell, Ellen Price, Pam Price, Ellen Ryan, Trini Rangel, and Errol Zimmerman. It was moved that the board be accepted by acclamation and the motion was seconded and the ayes elected the board.

Meeting Adjourned

•Following the business meeting was a presentation by Jim Swickard on the Álamos mint.

Sixth Annual Meeting

March 15, 2018

•Location - Call to order at Café Luz del Sol at 10:35 a.m.

•Number of members present - 25 present or by proxy, meeting the requirements for quorum. Total number of members is 30.

•Board Members present - Ellen Price, Sassy Hardy, Ellen Ryan, Pam Price (proxy),Trini Rangel (proxy), and Errol Zimmerman (proxy)

I . WELCOME

II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

•Motion to approve appended March 9, 2017 Annual Meeting minutes, Steve McKelvy. Seconded, Elson Miles. Unanimously approved.

III . REPORTS

A. Treasurer - Ellen Price. There are $18,710 pesos in the account. $5000 pesos were moved to the Pantheon Fund to be held in reserve. $282 pesos were paid to Linda Adams for the Day of the Dead Altar. Motion to approve Treasurer’s Report, Ellen Price. Seconded, Elson Miles. No discussion. Unanimously approved.

B. AHA Board, President - Ellen Price reported for Pam Price. In December, 2017, there were five Board members. Gail Morden relocated out of Alamos, and Ellen Price took on Gail Morden’s Treasurer duties. Gerry Blackman and Sassy Hardy joined the Board, but Gerry had to relocate out of Alamos. Ellen Ryan then joined the Board.

C. Program Committee - Ellen Price.

Number of meetings/programs - 15 meetings and programs were held.

Location of meetings - Eleven at Cafe Luz del Sol, one at the Museum, one at the Bours Community Center, one at Sherry Hale’s home, and one at the Itesca School.

D. Standing Committees

i. Anza Awareness - Steve McKelvy. Four years ago the committee began searching for funding for a plaque to be located at the museum, but it wasn’t until Steve met with the supervisor of Tony Estrada that he learned how to submit a proposal for funds from the state. Around one hundred artists receive funds, including FAOT presenters, for cultural and artistic events or programs. Steve suggested applying for these funds, and applications are due in August. He is asking for help to put together a proposal with a budget of around $30,000 pesos which can be submitted online. Mike Foster and Dan Clancy are assisting. Matching funds may be available from the mine. The plan is to create a movable informative banner depicting the Anza route. This Board could be completed in time for display at the Anza Conference in October 2018.

ii. AHA Library, archives and interviews - Sassy Hardy. Sassy will maintain the library and has been busy organizing the room, creating additional storage and signage, and working with Errol Zimmerman on the photograph collection. Sassy provided Joan’s report. Fifty-four books were added. Four books are missing, though, which include The Sudden View, Silvia Bedford, 1953; Conquest of New Spain, Bernal Diaz del Castillo, translated by J. M. Cohen, 1963; History of Mexico, from Prehistoric Times to Present Day, Stella Cicero and Carmen G. Blazquez, 1987; and Twenty Centuries of Mexican Art, Museum of Modern Art (NY), 1940. These books were of more worth to the collection than the 1 previous one that had gone missing three or so years ago.

Cataloging continues on newspaper articles. A list of desired books will be produced. Ellen Ryan is transcribing the oral interviews. The DVD’s are available, but some DVDs are not in a format that can be accessed. Work will be done to make them more available and the transcribed interviews will be available as they are completed. Any donations for the AHA research library should be placed in the box under the desk in order to differentiate them from general books for sale at Kathy’s Korner.

Following is the result of the annual inventory of 347 titles cataloged:

Alamos Authors: 23

Alamos: 34

Art & Antiquities: 46

Art & Antiquities (Oversize): 3

Fiction: 13

Genealogy: 3

Indigenous Groups: 24

Mexican Architecture & Interior Design: 10

Mexico – General: 130

Mexico – General (Oversize): 7

Mining: 5

Missions & Churches: 9

Natural History: 13

Sonora: 27

iii. Panteon Adopt a Grave - Ellen Price for Linda Adams. Linda requested suggestions of names for the altar in honor of a member of the foreign community. Linda Hellman suggested Mary Ayers and Lynne Wiedman suggested Sharon Wickson. Both Mary and Sharon were involved with Las Comadres and the Amigos de Educacion house tours.

iv. Guide to Historic Alamos - Ellen Price for Pam Price. Pam is editing the guide, Tony Estrada will be asked to review, and a translator will complete the Spanish text.

v.Historic Photo archive - Sassy Hardy for Errol Zimmerman. Errol Zimmerman is applying to INAH for approval to scan the Museum’s photographs. Ninety images of Alamos people and families have been collected by Juan Casanova of Hermosillo, who is archiving them for the Cultural Institute of Sonora. Errol continues to maintain our website, and he is working with Juan to place these and other historical images on the site.

IV . OLD BUSINESS: Proposed amendments to Bylaws - Ellen Price. Motion to approve mended Bylaws, Steve McKelvy. Seconded, Lynn Wiedman. Discussion. Joan Powell suggested that the Directors at Large language in Section V read, “At least one (1) or more Directors at Large shall be appointed by the Board. These Directors may also serve as Committee Chairs.” Unanimously approved to amend the Bylaws with the additional change.

V. NEW BUSINESS: (No action can take place on new business.) Sally requested continued AHA programs into the summer. The Board can discuss this at the next meeting.

VI. BUSINESS MEETING: Motion to adjourn the meeting, Steve McKelvy. Seconded, Joan Powell. Meeting adjourned at 11:26 a. m.

VII. PRESENTATION: Jennifer McKay, “The Evolution of Rancho la Colorada into a public green space – Parque la Colorada”

Fifth Annual Meeting

March 9, 2017

•Location: Café Luz del Sol

•There were 12 members present, not enough for a quorum.

The minutes from the last Annual Meeting were approved. The treasurer, Gail Morden, reported that there are 19,780 pesos in the AHA account. She announced that she will henceforth not deal in centavos, but will round off sums. The board has sanctioned 5,000 pesos for the repair of damaged expat graves in the panteón.

The president of the board, Pam Price, reported that the AHA board had held five meetings, including one last March after the election of the new board. Holding meetings at Luchy’s café and once a month at a historic building have proved successful. Three new standing committees were established this winter: one for 1) the AHA library, archives, and interviews, 2) Adopt-a-grave, 3) History association photo archives. The next election for the board will be in the spring of 2019.

The chairman of the Program Committee, Ellen Price, reported that the AHA visited five historic buildings this season, and that people are encouraged to make presentations on topics of interest to them.

Committee Reports

AHA library, archives, and interviews committee, report by Joan Powell - Joan updated the group on her organization of the library and the additions made during the year. The library now has, in addition to nearly 300 books, prints of newspaper articles on Álamos going back to the 19th Century

Adopt-a-grave committee - report by Linda Adams - It was agreed that Linda would make an altar for the Day of the Dead to honor Twyla Harkness, and that at the first AHA meeting in the fall the adopt-a-grave program would be explained and discussed.

Guide to historic Alamos committee, report by Pam Price - Analilia Reina has been asked to translate the English textof the new Álamos guidebook being prepared by the History Association, which the committee hopes will be ready next winter.

History association photo archives committee - report by Pam Price for chair Errol Zimmerman. With the cooperation of Tony Estrada the pictures in the museum will be scanned and ‘rephotographed, ’and the committee will also work with Juan Casanova of the Cultural Institute of Sonora in archiving portraits and snapshots from Alamos families. Photographer Anders Tomlinson also left a set of his photos and videos for the AHA archives.

Anza awareness committee, report by Steve McKelvy - Jim Toevs is attending the annual Anza association conference and will ask the association if it would like to meet again in Alamos next year.

The business meeting was adjourned and followed by a presentation by Diane Carpenter, ‘Indigenous Peoples of the Americas’.

Fourth Annual Meeting

March 17, 2016

A report on the recently concluded Anza Society Conference and an outline of the proposed new guidebook to Álamos were two important subjects discussed at the Third Annual Meeting, held Thursday, March 17, at Luz del Sol Cafe in central Álamos.

Álamos History Association President Jim Toevs outlined the program of the 21st annual Anza Society event, which include presentations by Álamos History Association members Steve McKelvy, Joan Powell, and Katherine Callingham on different aspects of Álamos’ history. The Anza conference brought a bus-load of visitors to our community March 3 - 6, and included a presentations by Naomi Torres, National Park Service Superintendent of the Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail. Álamos historian Juan Carlos Holguín Balderrama gave two presentations during the two-day event.

Work is underway to provide a wall map of the Anza trail in the Museo Costumbriste de Álamos, and a standing committee has been established for related Anza projects relationg to the importance of Álamos in the 18th Century California expeditions of Anza and Rivera. Association member Joan Powell has research which shows that at least 89 people of Álamos descent were residing in California in 1790.

The proposed guidebook, expanding upon information provided in the most recent Álamos guides, will be a 120-page 8.5 x 7-inch publication with a plastic spiral binding. In addition to information on what to see and do in Álamos, it will have information on the geological history and environment of Álamos, the social environmental history to include indigenous communities, European explorers, and the area’s mining history, and information on the 18th and 19th Century structures still remaining in Álamos. A Navojoa printing company has given an estimate for the printing of 500 copies, and partial funding through a grant is currently being sought. A standing committee will oversee this proposal.

In other presentations during the annual meeting, Diane Carpenter spoke on the interview project, invited members to do interviews of interesting people and get them scheduled for programs during the 2016-2017 year. Trini Rangel will continue to organize student interviews of their oldest living family members.

Geri Lea reminded the History Association that caring for the graves of foreigners in the Álamos panteon is a year-long commitment. While most foreign graves have sponsors to clean them during the year and decorate them for the November 1 -2 celebration of the Day of the Dead, Geri noted that any member of the association interested in this project should contact her as some graves have no sponsor.

A new five-member board of directors for 2016 - 2017 was elected by acclimation. The new board will consist of current members Ellen Price, Pam Price, Trini Rangel, and Gail Morden with Errol Zimmerman joining as a new member of the board. Errol had previously served a term as a board member.

Third Annual Meeting

March 15, 2015

The upcoming 2016 Anza Society conference was the focal point of discussions during the Third Annual Meeting, held Thursday, March 15, at the Agave Cafe at the Hacienda de los Santos in Álamos.

Steve McKelvy, a member of the steering committee for the Anza Conference, talked about a preliminary, portable display to be set up in the museum in time for the March, 2016, conference here in Álamos, marking the routes of the Anza and Rivera expeditions. Proposals were sent to local artists and it was hoped that the History Association could pay for a two or three panel display. Jim Toevs, President of the History Association, said that the long-term goal for the conference was to substantiate the role of Mexico—specifically, Álamos—in the founding of one of the largest states in the U.S. Among the suggestions for the upcoming conference was the possibility of using the Bours Center for conference meetings and having a commemorative AHA t-shirt for conference members.

A placque to be placed permanently on the Plaza de Armas with information on the Juan Bautista de Anza expedition and Álamos’ role in it is being considered, and Steve McKelvy said that Álamos city hall was “on board.” Jim Toevs added that he was in contect with Stella Cordoza, the President of the Anza Society, regarding transportation from the U.S. to Mexico for conference attendees. The company South of the Border Tours was expected to give an estimate on taking conference members from Tucson to Álamos.

In other reports at the annual meeting, Pamela Price reported that a proposal for a new Álamos guide book had been sent to the general membership with many comments and suggestions coming back to the committee. Pamela also noted that more local community members were joining the History Association, and that a student membership rate had been discussed as a means of getting youth and college students involved in our projects.

In an effort to build our collection of historical photos, Pamela Price talked to Stephanie Meyers about contacting the Urea family in Navajoa, who have old Urea family photos from the days when the Urea family was prominent in Álamos . Pamela also reported that Beverly Krucek's boxes of History Association materials, which were at her home at the time of her death, have been delivered to Research Library at Cathy's Corner. Unfortunately, the materials have not yet been organized, which will be a large task in need of a volunteer!

Gail Morden said that she has four History Association golf shirts to sell—two extra large and two medium. More shirts in several different colors will be ordered in the future.

The members of the History Association unanimously approved a slate of seven board members for the year: Jim Toevs, Steve McKelvy, Gail Morden, Trini Rangel, Diane Carpenter, Pam Price, and Ellen Price. Officers will be determined by the board at its first meeting.

Second Annual Meeting

March 13, 2014

Annual Meetings

History association Board of Directors members installed at the annual meeting are (standing, from left) Trini Rangel, Ellen Price, Jim Toevs, and Steve McKelvy. Seated from left are Leila Gillette and Gail Morden.

History association members enjoy lunch at the Agave Cafe after the second annual meeting. Unfortunately, no agenda, committee reports, or additional information exists of thisb event

First Annual Meeting

March 14, 2013

Twenty-seven gathered at the Hacienda de los Santos Resort for the first annual meeting of the Álamos History Association (photo©Bob Rink)

Steve McKelvy (right) hands a lifetime membership award to Jim Swickard, owner of the Hacienda de los Santos Resort in Álamos.

Bev Krucek (above) was one of three awarded lifetime memberships to the Álamos History Association during the first annual meeting March 14. In 1994 Bev started the organization because of her desire to learn more about the rich history of the community, and she has worked tirelessly since that time to collect and preserve information on the pueblo and municipio and the families who created its 300-plus year written history. Leila Gillette and Jim Swickard also received lifetime memberships for their dedication to the Association.

Bylaws were adopted and the first official Board of Directors was selected at the first “annual meeting” of the Álamos History Association, held Thursday, March 14, 2013, in the Agave Cafe at the Hacienda de los Santos resort.

Moderator Steve McKelvy also presented lifetime Association membership certificates to association founder and director Bev Krucek, charter member Leila Gillette, and longtime member and active association supporter Jim Swickard.

Although the Álamos History Association was founded in 1994 and has met weekly for the past 18 years under Bev Krucek’s directorship, it lacked approved bylaws and an official board until the March 14 meeting.

Board members selected March 14 for one-year terms were as follows: Jim Toevs, Trini Rangel, Ellen Price, Gail Morden, Leila Gillette, Samme Chittum, and Errol Zimmerman. Trini, Gail, Leila, and Errol were members of the provisional board (on this website) which has governed the association for the past few years, while Jim, Ellen, and Samme are new members to the board.

Following the meeting, the group enjoyed a delicious lunch at the Agave Café and Galería at the Hacienda, where the History Association holds its weekly meetings.

Please enjoy viewing six additional pictures taken at the event, all courtesy of Association member Bob Rink.