Cibola County, New Mexico

BOB B. BACA

            Chief of police at Grants since 1957, and connected with the Grants Police Department since 1952, Mr. Baca is a member of Lodge No. 5 of the Fraternal Order of Police and is a member of the Sheriffs Association.

            Mr. Baca was born in San Fidel, New Mexico on June 2, 1917, the son of Procopio Baca and of Tomasita Baca. His father was born in Cubero, in 1870, was a rancher and cattleman, and his people were all prominent settlers of New Mexico. He died at Gallup, in 1935. Mr. Baca’s mother was born in New Mexico in 1875, and she died at San Fidel, in 1947. Mr. Baca attended the public schools in Grants, and graduated from Grants High School, where he was active in football, baseball, and basketball. He then entered the employ of the Soil Conservation Service, and then for a time was engaged in the trucking business. He joined the Grants Police Department as a policeman in 1952, and he has been chief of police since 1957. He is a Democrat in politics, and is a communicant of the Roman Catholic Church.

            He was married at Albuquerque, in April 1938, to Mary A. Abeyta, born in Cubero, on July 8, 1917, the daughter of Richard Recardo, who was born in Cubero. Mrs. Baca’s mother is now deceased.

WALLACE ADRIAN BERRYHILL

            In the cattle business since the beginning of his career, Wallace Adrian Berryhill is today one of the largest ranchers of the Grants area. He has also taken an interest in the development of the area’s uranium resources.

            Born at Seminole, Texas on July 16, 1910, he is a son of Wallace Alexander and Annie May (Martin) Berryhill. His father, also a native of Texas, spent most of his life in New Mexico, where he was a cattleman. He was an early homesteader and rancher north of Prewitt, and his death occurred at Albuquerque. His wife, the former Annie May Martin, still lives in that city.

            Wallace A. Berryhill attended the public schools of Tatum, New Mexico and McKinley County. He was brought up in the cattle business in McKinley County, spending his earlier years near Thoreau and Prewitt. For the past score of years, his ranching interest have been in the area of Ambrosia Lake. His holdings extend into three townships, and he also has a forest permit.

            Mr. Berryhill is president of the Ranchers Exploration Uranium Development Corporation at Ambrosia Lake, northwest of Grants. He is a member of the New Mexico Cattle Growers Association. In politics he is a Democrat.

            At Gallup, on December 26, 1939, Wallace Adrian Berryhill married Gladys Tietjen. Born at Prewitt on August 25, 1914, she is a daughter of Joseph and Maude (Hunt) Tietjen. Both of her parents came from Utah, her father being a native of Santaquin and her mother of Payson. Joseph Tietjen, now deceased, was a rancher near Bluewater, and Mrs. Tietjen still lives there. Mrs. Berryhill graduated from high school at Grants, and taught in New Mexico schools for ten years.

GEORGE DANNENBAUM

            Mayor of Grants since 1952, and active in the real estate and land development business in Grants, Mr. Dannenbaum owned and operated the “Uranium City News” from 1955 to 1957, and prior to that operated a grocery store in Grants known as “Your Food Store.”

            Mr. Dannenbaum was born in Grants on May 25, 1915, the son of Bernard Dannenbaum and of Rica (Bibo) Dannenbaum. His father was born in Westphalia, Germany in 1870, came to the United States at the age of twelve, and settled in Bernalillo. He was station agent for the Santa Fe Railroad at Bernalillo and at Grants. Mr. Dannenbaum’s mother was born east of Grants in 1881. Mr. Dannenbaum attended public schools in Grants and also in San Francisco, California, and obtained the degree of Bachelor of Science in social science at the University of Denver in 1937. He did graduate work at the University of New Mexico. During World War II, Mr. Dannenbaum served in the United States Army from 1943 to 1946. Attached to the Army Ordnance, he saw action in the Asiatic and Pacific theaters and received his honorable discharge with the rank of sergeant. A member of the American Legion and of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, he also enjoys social connections as a member of the Lions Club and the Optimists Club, and he attends religious services as a member of the Presbyterian Church.

            Mr. Dannenbaum was married in San Rafael, on December 5, 1946, to Juanita Padilla, born in Gallup on December 7, 1926, the daughter of Manuel Padilla and of Reyes (Mirabel) Padilla of San Rafael. Mrs. Dannenbaum graduated from Grants High School, and is a member of the American Legion Auxiliary, the Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary, and of the Lions Club Auxiliary.

THOMAS LAWRENCE ELKINS

Descendant of a family who pushed out through the Cap Rock onto the plains to found their ranches and locate their herds, Mr. Elkins continued in the family tradition. The Elkins name will always be remembered as one of those in the early days of the cattle business, which helped to make New Mexico great.

He was born September 7, 1896 at Colorado City, Texas, the son of George Kindred and Safronic Graves Elkins. His mother was born on Cap Rock, Las Mesa, Texas. His father was known as Uncle Kin all over West Texas; he was a cattleman and Civil War veteran, and his brand was one of the oldest, being run in Parker County just after the Civil War by Kin Elkins. Later it was moved to Coleman County and then to Kent County. In 1884 he was reputed to have fifty thousand head of cattle on the best ranges. His career covered Indian fighting while he sturdily continued westward through Palo Pinto and Stephens counties. Thomas Lawrence Elkins was educated in the public schools of Colorado City, Texas.

He came to New Mexico in 1916, and settled with his parents in McKinley County, near Prewitt. He serviced as a guard at Fort Wingate during World War I. Later he homesteaded west of Ambrosia Lake, bought a few cows, and kept increasing his herd. Mr. Elkins served on the mounted patrol and as McKinley County Commissioner. He was a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, and a Democrat in his politics. He worshipped at the Methodist Church.

On July 11 1922, in Gallup, Mr. Elkins married Josephine Maude Tietjen, born December 14, 1900. She is the daughter of Joseph “Joe” Tietjen, born in Santaquin, Utah. He came to New Mexico at the age of two, his parents settling near Bluewater. He was a farmer and a stockman. His father, Ernest Tietjen, built the first two dams on Bluewater Lake. Her mother is Maude S. Hunt Tietjen, born in Colorado. Mr. and Mrs. Elkins are parents of ten children. Mr. Elkins died January 3, 1949 in Prewitt. Mrs. Elkins is also deceased.

JOSEPH A. FIDEL

            Entering the insurance business in his own name at Grants, nearly a decade and a half ago, Joseph A. Fidel has successfully operated his agency since that time. He has also established a distributorship in foodstuffs, and has held several local public offices.

            Born October 14, 1923, at Bibo, he is a son of A. H., Sr., and Latife (Hanosh) Fidel. His father was born at Roumie[h], in the Mid-East country of Lebanon. Arriving in the United States in 1903, he settled first in the South, but in 1910 moved to Seboyeta, New Mexico. He remained there until 1917, at which time he opened a mercantile business at San Fidel. This he operated until 1947, when he sold it. His death occurred at Albuquerque on May 28, 1958. He was a member of the lodge of Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks at Gallup, and a charter member of the Knights of Columbus council at Grants. Latife Hanosh, whom he married, was also a native of Roumie[h], Lebanon. She died at Albuquerque on February 20, 1931.

            Attending local public schools, Joseph A. Fidel completed his high school course at St. Michael’s High School in Santa Fe. He began his business career while attending high school, working with his father in merchandising at San Fidel. When he had completed his studies, he moved to Grants and entered the real estate and insurance business there. His firm is known as the Joe Fidel Agency, and has its office at 1012 West High Street. He is a distributor of food products, including Mead’s Fine Bread, Jill’s Pastries, and Zip Potato Chips, and he is also in charge of a division of Frontier Foods. This enterprise, too, has its headquarters in Grants. Mr. Fidel is a stockholder in Grants State Bank.

            For two terms, Mr. Fidel has served as Valencia County assessor, and he is currently a member of the city council at Grants. He is a charter member of the lodges of Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and Knights of Columbus there. In religious faith he is a Roman Catholic.

            At Grants, on October 14, 1949, Joseph A. Fidel married Aurora Baca. Born at Albuquerque on Dec

JAMES J. HANOSH

(James Joseph Hanosh 1925-2012)

Since he completed his education, James J. Hanosh has been active in the automobile retailing field. He operates the H. and J. Chevrolet Company at Grants. He also has banking interests, and takes a full part in the affairs of several local organizations.

Born January 9, 1925 at Bibo, New Mexico, he is the son of Joseph B. and Helen (Sessine) Hanosh. Both of his parents are natives of the Middle Eastern nation of Lebanon, and arrived in the country early in life, in the last decade of the last century. Settling in Bibo shortly afterwards, Joseph N. Hanosh was a general merchant until his recent retirement.

James J. Hanosh attended public schools in Seboyeta, St. Mary’s in Albuquerque, and Grants High School, and, on completing his secondary courses, entered the University of New Mexico. There he majored in business administration, and graduated in 1925 with a degree in Business Administration. He has taken graduate courses at New Mexico Agricultural and Mechanical College, and Creighton University in Nebraska.

When he had received his degree at the University of New Mexico, Mr. Hanosh began his business career as owner and operator of the Chevrolet Garage at Grants. This he now operates as the H. and J. Chevrolet Company. In addition to this major business interest, he is a stockholder in the Grants State Bank.

A veteran of military service in World War II, Mr. Hanosh entered the army on September 14, 1943 and spent most of the remainder of the war in the Pacific theater, being assigned to the 75^th Station Hospital. He held the rank of sergeant. He received his honorable discharge on March 14, 1946.

He is a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Chamber of Commerce, and the lodges of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and Knights of Columbus. With his family, he attends the Roman Catholic Church, and he is a Democrat in politics.

PATRICIO MARTINEZ

            It is a heartening event when a descendant of this country’s aboriginal settlers, the American Indians, makes a strike in the nation’s newest and most promising industry, uranium mining. Such an event happened in the early 1950s, when Patricio Martinez located ore in the Grants area, and started the rush of leasing, prospecting, and development which in less than a decade has brought great changes to the region, and promises an expanding prosperity.

            Paddy Martinez, gruff-looking, but of genial nature, now nearing his seventieth year, is not a full-blooded Indian. With keen humor, he analyzes his racial stock as being “one-half Spanish, one-half Irish, and one-half Navajo Indian.” Born at Pinedale, north of Gallup, in 1891, he is a son of Joy Jay, who died at the age of eighty-five, and is buried on the Navajo Reservation, and Jennie Martinez. Her Indian name was Gle-Dez-Bah, meaning “Maid of Warriors Daughter.” She died at ninety years of age. He received his education at the Indian School of Albuquerque. His family had always worked with sheep and horses. In his early twenties, Paddy was a law-enforcement officer on a reservation. On one occasion, he went after a merciless Navajo outlaw, known as Big Boy, single-handed, exchanged shots with him, and brought back his body over his shoulder. After his law-enforcement activities, Mr. Martinez worked at ranching, herding sheep and horses.

            It was in 1937 that he first heard of uranium, and of the prospects of there being deposits of it in the Grants area. He heard a group of men talking in the Yucca Hotel, and remembered their description of the metal—a yellow ore for which the government was offering fabulous prices. In 1930, while he was lambing sheep at Haystack Mountain, he left to get supplies at the Rattlesnake Trade Post at Bluewater, and, near the top of a hill, saw a yellow streak under a rock. The ore matched the description of uranium. Breaking off a piece, and pocketing it, he went back to his sheep-herding. The next day, he was showing the sample to a merchant friend in Grants, and expressed his belief that it was uranium. The friend laughed and told him there was no uranium in the area, but offered him five dollars for the sample. However, he decided to go and pay a visit to another friend, Ed Harmon, at Bluewater, in connection with staking some claims. Mr. Harmon, too, was skeptical, [and] was convinced that there were no uranium deposits in the area, but he helped Mr. Martinez fill out ten mining blanks, which he had obtained in Grants. He then returned to the location where he had found the ore, and piled up some rocks to indicate the site of his claim.

            For a short time, he was laughingly referred to as “the uranium king,” but the laughter was short-lived, for, within a month of the time he had filed his claim, the report had gotten around that there really were uranium deposits in the area. Within that time, there were over a thousand cars swarming over the Haystack Mountain area, bearing uranium prospectors.

            It developed that the property on which Mr. Martinez had found the ore belonged to the Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe Railway. To protect his interests, he sent letters to Washington and to the railroad regarding his claims. Tom Evans came out as representative of the railway. He identified the ore from the claim as uranium, and, to make settlement, offered Mr. Martinez a lifelong monthly income. Today, he is still spending his summer months back on the shores of Bluewater Lake, where he grazes his sheep. Pension or no pension, a lifelong habit of working with livestock is hard to break.

            Mr. Martinez is of the Roman Catholic faith. He married one of the five daughters of Jose Delgarito, whose Indian name was “Ae-Bah,” meaning “Warrior’s Servant.” Their children who were all born in Haystack, are: 1. Martin born January 15, 1911. 2. Raymond Martinez, born May 21, 1913. 3. Mary, born December 17, 1915. 4. Henry, born June 21, 1918. 5. Ethel, born November 8, 1930. 6. Gothlo, born September 31, 1932.

SALVADOR MILAN

            A native of Old Mexico, Salvador Milan has spent most of his life on the States side of the border. He was in business at Gallup, became a rancher in the Grants are, and founded the village of Milan, of which he is the mayor. He has also been active in other public posts, and in the banking, real estate, and investments fields.

            Born at Piedras Negras, in the State of [Coahuila], on September 9, 1909, he is a son of Bartolome and Maria Soriano Milan. Both of his parents were natives of Spain, married there, and came to the New World in 1898, settling first in Mexico. In 1913, they moved to New Mexico, settling in Gallup. At various times in his life, Bartolome Milan was a cotton grower, a coal miner, and a retail merchant. He operated a grocery store at Gallup.

            There, Salvador Milan attended the public schools, and first began working in the store with his father, on a part-time basis, when he was ten years old. After completing his education, he devoted his full time to its management, and in 1935 became sole owner of the business. He also owned Milan’s Tavern in Gallup.

            In 1942, he moved to Grants, where Mrs. Milan had inherited a large sheep and cattle business from her family, who had been prominent in that area. Mr. Milan was also engaged in truck farming at Bluewater Valley for ten years. Deciding that this property could be put to more effective use as residential real estate, he subdivided it and founded the village of Milan in 1956. The village was incorporated the following year, and Mr. Milan became its mayor at that time. He also formed the Milan Water Company, and serves on its board of directors. In addition, he owns real estate there, and has extensive investments.

            In addition to serving as may of the new village, Mr. Milan is chairman of Bluewater Soil District, and president of the Bluewater-Toltec Irrigation District. He is vice president and director of Grants State Bank.

            He is director of Grants and Valencia County Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Lions Club, and a member and trustee of the lodge of Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks. He and his family attend the Roman Catholic Church.

            At Grants, on June 20, 1931, Salvador Milan married Veneranda Mirabal. Born January 10, 1910, at San Rafael, she is daughter of Silvestre and Lorenza (Jaramillo) Mirabal. Her father was of a family of early settlers in the San Rafael region, and was a sheep and cattle rancher. Mrs. Milan attended schools at Albuquerque, Santa Fe, and Grants.

VOLUMES I, II, and III, LEWIS HISTORICAL PUBLISHING COMPANY, INC, NEW YORK, 1961