General News
by Amanda Mather This month we talk about one of those things that, although we use constantly, it’s easy to forget what a revolution they must have been. Think of the world without scissors! Invented in Mesopotamia around 4,000 years ago, the scissors of yesteryear are often not the type we think of or see…
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by Amanda Mather The sewing machine was invented in 1755 by a German, but was not really a thing that got off the ground until the mid-1850’s in America. The sewing machine has an oddly tumultuous history. It looks like Singer, as in Isaac Merritt Singer, ripped the thing off from a gent named Elias…
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As many of you know, at the beginning of the season, two of our long time volunteers, Tom Witson and Julia Gomez, collaborated on an absolutely gorgeous mirror. The tin frame was made by our master tinsmith Tom, and the gorgeous colcha embroidered barn swallows were hand done by Julia. The pair decided to hold…
Read More2019 is going to be another stellar year! Our festival line-up is set! So, get out your brand new 2019 calendar and mark down the following dates. You won’t want to miss even one of these events! We kick off the season on June 1–2 with the Spring and Fiber Fest. June 15–16 will be…
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This month’s volunteer profile features Beth Barreras. “I have lived in various places in my life: Long Island, New York; Seattle, Washington; Kensington, California; Chicago, Illinois; Reno, Nevada; and France — but I consider Santa Fe my ‘real’ home, at least for the last fifty years. My father was a U.S. History teacher and my…
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By Amanda Mather Throughout the course of human history, one thing we needed to figure out, and quick, was how to preserve food. With the advent of agriculture, that need became even more intense, to put it mildly. Here in the desert, this is shocking I know — people came up with drying. Crazy right? In the…
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by Donald Coleman Pumpkins…and peppers…and squash! Oh, my! (No, this isn’t the Land of Oz, but the familiar terrain of Las Golondrinas). These and other products of the Ranch’s gardens and orchards garnered a host of blue, red, and white ribbons at this year’s New Mexico State Fair in Albuquerque, which ran from September 6…
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After many years of service on the Board of Directors for El Rancho de las Golondrinas, three members recently rotated off the Board. Each was honored for their service and presented with a beautiful, inscribed Nambé platter. Tey Marianna Nunn, Ph.D., left, is currently the Director and Chief Curator of the Art Museum and Visual…
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By Amanda Mather Another month, another newsletter and another Object of the Month. This month we’ll look at shoes, namely tewas, or teguas, or tecoas. In 1582, expedition leader, Antonio de Espejo, wrote about New Mexican footwear stating: “Everyone, man or woman, wears shoes or boots with soles of buffalo hide and uppers of dressed…
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This month’s volunteer profile features Linda Dunning. In 2007, Linda’s husband, Napoleón Garcia, told her about El Rancho de las Golondrinas. He knew that she was interested in local history and he had participated occasionally with the Penitentes from Abiquiu during the Spring and Fall Festivals since the Morada at the Ranch was a replica…
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