tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921005.post2562901768313807738..comments2024-03-17T12:07:45.236-05:00Comments on CITY OF DUST: The Way Things Weren’t: Kingston, NMjmhousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07470407787311078380noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921005.post-21724518928915442702014-08-27T16:54:51.535-05:002014-08-27T16:54:51.535-05:00And, of course, when the big switch was made from ...And, of course, when the big switch was made from steam to diesel locomotives, many of those little "jerkwater" towns went under very quickly indeed, including some of my favorites. Like, Yeso, NM for example:<br /><br />http://cityofdust.blogspot.com/2011/12/life-and-death-by-railroad-yeso-new.html<br /><br />As for soda jerks, well, unless the drug store is abandoned such things typically fall outside my purview! JMjmhousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07470407787311078380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921005.post-70000840368126786612014-08-27T16:35:34.276-05:002014-08-27T16:35:34.276-05:00Jarilla Junction is the train station and stop tha...Jarilla Junction is the train station and stop that serviced Oro Grande and Brice, both of which are down the road a piece, but I think the water tank and RR stop was there before the strike in 1905. Consider that steam locomotives generally had to fill up with water about every 30 miles to 50 miles or so if the didn’t have an attached tank car. That meant you had to have a watering station or tank (and generally a potential stop) at certain intervals for the thirsty engines. I think there was a pipe laid to bring water closer to Jarilla Junction from the Sacramento Mountains (if I recall correctly). Clearly water had to be supplied to boomtown Oro Grande and the much longer lived Brice, so running horse drawn water tanks back and forth to the mountains would have not been enough. Doing some research into railroad history would probably uncover where Jarilla Junction got their water. <br /><br />BTW that is the source of the degrading term, “jerkwater town”. You see, you had to pull down the galvanized iron water tank spout to let water into the locomotive boiler and you had to pull hard (jerk) on the provided cord to swing and drop the spout into place. The derisive term indicated the only reason the train even stopped at a small place was to get water. Mail was not a reason stop at a town because the railroads worked out a system of dropping off and picking up mailbags on the fly. <br /><br />Slightly more off track: another variation on “jerk” was the drugstore soda jerk (circa 1900), finally shortened to just “jerk” after the 1920s after it was disassociated with the soda later on. But of course, that is another story and has nothing to do with railroading other than jerk being a derisive term for people and towns. Ain’t etymology great? Hey, don’t be a jerk!CoastConFanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07250561260148656254noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921005.post-21353808255756476852014-08-27T12:29:26.915-05:002014-08-27T12:29:26.915-05:00I think water must've been a big problem! In t...I think water must've been a big problem! In that piece in the El Paso Times, Mike Musgrove says, "...where in the hell did they (3,000 residents) get their water? I've always wanted to know." I wonder if maybe a little population inflation ala Kingston went on.<br /><br />I should definitely get down to Orogrande. I've heard it's also possible to see the small cement monument which marks where Pat Garrett was shot near Organ, NM. For a long time that was a secret, but I think the land was purchased for development and people want to make sure the monument is not destroyed. That would be a good day's trip.<br /><br />http://friendsofpatgarrett.com<br /><br />Thanks for the article! JMjmhousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07470407787311078380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921005.post-420583492979834552014-08-26T07:15:09.838-05:002014-08-26T07:15:09.838-05:00Speaking of Teapot Dome (and digression) and the N...Speaking of Teapot Dome (and digression) and the NM connection, a friend of mine had a lease on a site in Oro Grande (Jarilla Junction was the stop on the El Paso and Northeastern RR), in the 1990s which was supposed to have been owned by one of the defendants of the Teapot Dome scandal. The mine closed when gold plummeted in the Depression. <br /><br />We went down to Oro Grande a few times to his lease site and played around by bringing up some buckets of dirt and then panning them. There was a bit of wire and a flake or two, but hardly worth the effort and it certainly didn’t even pay for gas. Then again gas was about a dollar a gallon and gold was about $350 a pure ounce. The big problem was that with no water available it was a big pain to bring it so you can pan a little bit. I wonder of Bill Ward, who had a rock shop and sometimes café in Oro Grande is still alive, it’s been years. Darn, see how fast I can drift off topic. <br /><br />@ JM, a 1977 El Paso Times article that would be helpful in doing an Oro Grande blog entry. http://elpasotimes.typepad.com/morgue/2012/06/1977-orograndeit-can-be-drygulch-or-bonanza.htmlCoastConFanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07250561260148656254noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921005.post-64693933926698206852014-08-25T20:52:49.103-05:002014-08-25T20:52:49.103-05:00You're absolutely right, Gregory. In the name ...You're absolutely right, Gregory. In the name of a plethora of research, I'd love to find a copy of a Forbes Magazine from 1921 that contains a feature on former Kingston resident (and defendant in the Teapot Dome Scandal, later acquitted) Edward L. Doheny. He might've been one of the first to exaggerate Kingston to a wide audience via that piece.<br /><br />Anyway, I digress! Thanks for your thoughtful comment! JM jmhousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07470407787311078380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921005.post-12850395363313111282014-08-25T18:20:25.433-05:002014-08-25T18:20:25.433-05:00Regardless, the ability to go out there find the c...Regardless, the ability to go out there find the clues, i.e. rusty 1920s Ford pick ups with scraps of wood in the flatbed, is what makes traveling down two-lane highways exciting. <br /><br />As for trying to decipher truths from tales, it takes a plethora of research from as many accounts as possible. Remember, history is written by human beings, so the total truth never reveals itself in its entirety. However, if we can look for more sources and try to come up with clues, we can at least come up with reasonable hypothesis and then let readers and other people add their two sense. Highway Hasmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13989494771486193959noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921005.post-10687147800484722942014-08-24T11:37:04.522-05:002014-08-24T11:37:04.522-05:00As you well know, CoastConFan, a person must spend...As you well know, CoastConFan, a person must spend considerable time trying to sift through the half-truths, rumors, and exaggerations that accumulate over dozens and dozens of years. Then I might still get it wrong. Some things you figure you'll just never be able to verify.<br /><br />The Black Range of New Mexico presents special problems because the main "historical" text has become McKenna's wonderful but not-exactly-true Black Range Tales. I sympathize with Prof. Jones. JMjmhousehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07470407787311078380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7921005.post-54725455709226291302014-08-23T22:17:16.419-05:002014-08-23T22:17:16.419-05:00If I may quote from the film, Raiders of the Lost ...If I may quote from the film, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Prof Jones who says to his college class: “This site also demonstrates one of the great dangers of archeology, not to life and limb, although that does sometimes take place, I'm talking about folklore.” You know the scene. Then again in the same movie, they claimed that Tanis was destroyed in a sand storm circa 950 BCE, (actually it survived another 1,500 years when the canal and lake silted up) but that is another ghost town and another story.<br /><br />Yep, local tall tales, small town boosterism, and looney old coots at the general store all tend to pass out interesting but erroneous information. Then again we have Hollywood and the History Channel.CoastConFanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07250561260148656254noreply@blogger.com