Socorro Rewind

October 17, 1974

MRS. ROSA SANCHEZ of Magdalena celebrated her 90th birthday with a family get together at her home in Magdalena. Here to help her celebrate were her children and families. Mrs. Sanchez was born in San Acacia in September of 1884. She spent most of her adult life at the ranch in Datil, where she and her late husband Mr. B. E. Sanchez were engaged in sheep and cattle raising. They were one of the first homesteaders in the area, since about 1910. Mrs. Sanchez is the mother of eight children, has 19 grandchildren and 12 great grandchildren.

October 22, 1974

THIS JUST MIGHT be a really swinging year for Mike Martinez. A late evening call came from Father Laurier Labreche saying he was the winner of the San Miguel Fiesta’s top $3000 prize. “I thought he was just horsing around” Martinez commented. At that point the lucky guy, employed by Ace Auto Parts here, realized his caller wasn’t fooling. Asked why he was still hard at work with all those new dollars in his pocked and Martinez replied with a smile, “I used it to pay off my car. Now I’m out of hock. But some days later, winning an additional $100 baseball pool was a different story.

October 24, 1974

A LOCAL SCHOOL TEACHER who has a side hobby of newspaper work took honors over some top-notch photographers at the New Mexico Press Association Awards banquet. Virginia Johnson has become well known locally as a feature writer and stringer for the Albuquerque Journal. She has also done many assignments for Defensor Chieftain. Free lance writing and photography have become more than a hobby. When the Fly-in took place out at Socorro Airport, with its trick pilots, she was right on the spot when one trickster found himself and companions in trouble as he practiced a spot landing. He landed the plane, with all occupants miraculously escaping injury as the aircraft went up in flames. Her picture of the event won her second place in the State Press Association’s annual competition’s Best Spot News Photo.

October 27, 1999

SOCORRO NATIVE Mike Montoya didn’t finish at the top of the pack at Hawaii’s Ironman triathlon, but he did finish, and that’s all he ever wanted to do. Montoya, who lives and teaches in Las Cruces, finished the swim, bike and marathon run with a time of 12:07:58. The time was more than the 11 hours he had hoped for, but his mother, Cecelia Montoya, said he wasn’t upset and “in a darn good mood” when he finished. He wasn’t hurting and not cramped, and that’s all that counted, she said. Two more experienced El Pasoans who have competed against Montoya in several Southwest Challenge Series races finished ahead of the New Mexican.

October 30, 1999

HERLINDA HERNANDEZ, a housekeeper at Econo Lodge, was awarded Housekeeper of the Year for Choice Hotel International. This award places Herlinda No. 1 in her category, representing over 7,000 Choice Hotel properties. She will receive the award, and all-expense paid trip to the Choice Hotel annual convention in San Diego. For her outstanding abilities and exceptional work, Econo Lodge was awarded the “Ruby Award” for outstanding levels of cleanliness. For the convention, Hernandez will be accompanied by her daughter, Anita Morales, the assistant manager. The owner and general manager of the Econo Lodge is Richard Torres.

October 30, 2014

HELEN C. MAJOR, a staff nurse at Socorro General Hospital since 2011, received the Excellence in Rural Nursing Practice Award at the 2014 New Mexico Nursing Excellence Awards. Major began her career eight years ago working as a nurse’s aide in the emergency room, obstetrics and medical-surgical nursing floors. She went on to earn her associate nursing degree from Western New Mexico University before returning to work as a Registered nurse, mastering acute care patient skills and providing post-partum home visits. Majors is credited with beginning a perinatal bereavement training for patients who have suffered the loss of their child and have developed departmental practices to ensure families who suffer this terrible loss have a memento of their baby and are cared for with the “utmost compassion.”