Taos, New Mexico, is not an ordinary American town. In many ways, it is anything but ordinary. A mountain town that is adjacent to one of the oldest continuously inhabited Native communities in the United States, an early site of Spanish settlement in the 1600s, and the home of prominent characters of the Wild West, Taos’ history is staggering. So it comes as no surprise that many interesting things have happened there over the years.
This past summer, as an Editorial Intern with The Taos News, I was tasked with creating a new weekly history column. Sifting through the newspaper’s archives, each week I found a prominent (or more often, weird) event from that week’s stories from 10, 25, and 50 years ago. In this endeavor, I uncovered such varied events as the mysterious “Taos Hum,” some macabre murder cases, archaeological discoveries, Mt. Everest rescues, deadly carnival rides, the arrival of the hippies, and many more. Here, you can take a look at some of the stories I dug up in the ten-article run.
“A thrilling mountain rescue, an investigation into the ‘Taos Hum’ and reactions to the Tijerina raid” June 22, 2017
“A terrifying lightning strike, a French cyclist on a globe-trotting journey and first contact with ‘the hippies’” June 29, 2017
“A juncture in the Cabresto Dam saga, a curious anatomy class and an esteemed visitor from Spain” July 7, 2017
“A snail-inflicted itch, a grisly murder and the return of the hippies” July 13, 2017
“An Amtrak incident, an author’s milestone birthday and an archaeological excavation” July 20, 2017
“A speedy search and rescue, a deadly carnival ride and a fleet of aerial visitors” July 27, 2017
“A chocolate-obsessed bear, op-ed against a missile defense project and a mischievous land dispute” August 3, 2017
“A Gorge Bridge inspection, ancient petroglyphs and Taos High School’s delayed 1967 opening” August 10, 2017
“An Earthship bonanza, a missing girl and a snobby opera review” August 18, 2017
“The legal saga behind a horrifying murder, B-1 bombers and the restoration of San Francisco de Asís Church” August 24, 2017
While that concluded my ten-article run, there’s still more stories I will have coming out of Taos, New Mexico. Stay tuned!
Harrison Blackman 