Past Events at the Center -- Historic Forts Day
Our Special Speakers . . .
Dr. Enrique Lamadrid portrayed Captain Rafael Chacon.
Lamadrid's performance left little doubt
you were actually witnessing Capitán Rafael Chacón himself. Chacón was witness to the most significant events in the formation
of modern New Mexico, from the US invasion of 1846 to statehood in 1912. During the Civil War, his company fired the first and
last shots at the Texan invaders at the battles of Valverde and Glorieta. Chacón served with honor in the campaigns for peace with
the Navajos and Apaches, and was the first commander of Fort Stanton.
Larry Marken portrayed "Old Bill" Williams
William
S. “Old Bill” Williams was one of the most colorful, adventuresome, and proficiently literate of the 19th Century western mountain
men. During his 62 years, he preached, trapped, traded, scouted for military expeditions, guided wagon trains, served as an interpreter
of Native American languages and wrote an Osage-English dictionary. Marken did an excellent job entertaining the audience with stories
and tall yarns as an 1800s frontiersman in Colorado and New Mexico.
Other activities throughout the day . . .
Click on photos to enlarge
David Harkness, Ranger at Fort Selden, fired up the Center's horno to demonstrate traditional cooking
Campfire beans, using a traditional soldier's recipe, were mighty tasty and didn't last long
Eight loaves of bread, baked in the horno, lasted as long as the beans - not long
Those in attendance enjoyed a lunch of horno baked bread and campfire cooked beans and coffee
Once again, Richard Rumpf demonstrated traditional blacksmith skills to attendees
To 2007
Historic Forts Day
Historic Forts Day is an annual event held at El Camino Real International Heritage Center each February
