La Jara, Capulin, and surrounding areas

La Jara

La Jara is another town that figures into my memories. It was the town that was my mailing address for years. I went to school there and a lot of my childhood memories of childhood swirl around it.

It was the rails that or course made it a town. The D&RG Rail Road had built down towards Antonito and ultimately, Santa Fe, New Mexico. The idea was to ship produce and livestock to markets outside the valley. In the course of much of my research, I’ve found records in old Newspapers of how by Great Grandfather, J. Luis Rivera, sent sheep via rails to the markets in Denver and beyond using the La Jara Terminus.

Some of my earliest memories of the town is going to school. This was the old school that was probably built about the time the town was founded. It was a two-story brick structure with a basement that housed classrooms, the furnace room and the cafeteria. The train would go through town about noon, it’s whistle blowing and the wheels rumbling. The lights would sway as the steam engines produced a mini-earthquake from the power of the drivers. Class would come to a screeching halt as we all looked at it came smoking and chugging though town.

When I was in the third grade, they finished the new High School south of town. Formerly, the high school had been right next door to our old school. Once it was vacant, our teacher told us to pick up our chairs and follow her. We did and that simply, the elementary school moved into what had been the high school next door.

The old school and gym were torn down shortly afterwards.

Another fond memory was shopping at Kellouff’s Market in town. They gave out tickets with your purchase. The idea was you wrote your name and phone number on them. About once a month they had a big event in the middle of town. A truck with a big hand cranked drum would park. You’d go up and turn in your tickets along with everyone else’s. The collected tickets were put into the drum. They’d spin the drum, and someone would pull a single ticket out. Whoever was lucky enough to have their ticket pulled won a shopping spree at the store worth several hundred dollars. That doesn’t sound like a lot today. But when you consider the average monthly wage then wasn’t much more than that, then it became a big deal.

The other big deal, at least until I was in about the fifth grade, was the Christmas Show. Max Gumper owned a building that housed the town’s movie theater. It had been closed as long as I could remember, but every Christmas, for one day only, that changed. The heat was turned on. The projectors woke up. And Santa Claus would ride into town on the back of a fire truck. Kids from all over the county would be waiting for him to show up. He’d toss candy and have a good time. it was a big parade with the marching band and the police escorting him in. Once in front of the theater, he’d dismount from the truck, unlock the doors, and welcome us in. While our parents went shopping , we’d be treated to several hours of Disney cartoons, Tarzan movies, and Bugs Bunny. When we left, the local organizations would give each kid a bag full of candy, popcorn balls, and an orange.

Ah, life in the small town.

Capulin

Capulin is another town that holds a lot of memories. Located about 9 miles West of La Jara, it was established in 1867. These settlers came up from Ojo Caliente, New Mexico. Several pieces of my family history crisscross through this small town. The Muniz’s, Rivera’s, and Malouff’s all played a part in it’s history or called it home.

A common misconception is that the Capulin Volcano is nearby. It’s not. The Capulin Volcano is well over a hundred miles away and north of Raton, New Mexico.

Capulin is Spanish for “Chokecherry.” The trees grow in abundance about it. The locals have used them to make jams and wines for decades.

My biggest memories of the town are my aunt’s store, our church, and playing with cousins.

Heading west and when the road turns to head North towards Monte Vista is the town of El Centro. It figures into my stories because someplace up here is Max’s home. Max is an old friend of Will Diaz’s and the subject of the homicide in the Event Horizon.