.... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... .... ....
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. Editor’s note: The Journal continues “What’s in a Name?,” a twice a month column in which staff writer Elaine Briseño will give a short history of how places in New Mexico got their names.
The main gate at Los Alamos National Laboratory during the atomic bomb era. (Courtesy of Los Alamos National Laboratory)
Los Alamos Ranch School emerged atop the Pajarito plateau in 1917, fulfilling the dream of Ashley Pond, a free-spirited businessman from Detroit.
He could have never imagined that the campus, an outdoor sanctuary for burgeoning young men, would become the site of one of the country’s most celebrated, and deadly, scientific achievements – the atomic bomb. The campus also gave rise to Bathtub Row, one of the most prominent and unusually named streets in the area.
New History To See And Explore In Historic Fuller Lodge
HISTORICAL SOCIETY News:
There’s a newly recreated room to explore upstairs in Fuller Lodge and a giveaway to take visitors back in time! The Zia Room is now open for the public to explore as a historic recreation of a Cold War-era hotel room.
Visit before June 11 and people can enter to win a 1950s-themed basket of (new!) fun gifts and items originally from the 1950s. The winner will be announced in a drawing during Chamberfest June 5.
The Zia Room is directly at the top of the stairs to the second floor in Fuller Lodge, next door to the room recreating a 1930s Los Alamos Ranch School master’s bedroom.
Snyder: What’s In A Name, Even For A Goose? - 7:37 pm
Homer and Edna enjoying a sunny day with friends at Ashley Pond. Photo by Sharon Snyder
Homer Pickens and Smokey Bear in the plane that will take them to Washington DC. Courtesy/U.S. Forest Service
By SHARON SNYDER
Los Alamos Historical Society
Two snowy white geese on Ashley Pond have captivated the community in the past months. The male goose, Homer, has lived on the pond for several years, but in January, an elegant companion was seen swimming next to him. She was soon referred to as Homer’s “girlfriend,” his “feathered beauty,” and sometimes “Homer’s Honey.”
Snyder: Fuller Lodge … Centerpiece Of Community
By SHARON SNYDER
Los Alamos Historical Society
On Sept. 17, 1928, the Santa Fe New Mexican ran a headline: “Los Alamos School Opens, Fuller Lodge Is Completed”. The article referred to a beautiful log edifice two and a half stories high, with “its most striking feature being the long and lofty portal on the east front, facing the Jemez Plateau with the Sangre de Cristo range in the far distance.”
The first plans for Fuller Lodge were sketched in 1925 and preliminary drawings were finished in 1927, showing a building that would blend with the first Los Alamos Ranch School building, a two-story log structure called the Big House. The new lodge also would have vertical logs with contrasting horizontal log placements to coordinate with the Big House architecture.
Los Alamos Historical Society Offering Volunteer Training
Los Alamos Historical Society News:
With tourist season in full swing, the Los Alamos Historical Society and Museum are seeking new volunteers for a variety of positions.
A training session focusing on the community’s history and historic district will be offered 4-5 p.m. Thursdays, May 13, May 20, May 27, June 3 and June 10.
Participants will gather in the lobby of Fuller Lodge at 4 p.m. for each Thursday training session.
The training includes engaging discussions on Los Alamos, covering the homestead era on the Pajarito Plateau, the Los Alamos Ranch School, the Manhattan Project, and postwar Los Alamos. There also is an emphasis on visitor engagement and customer service throughout.