A Saturday visit

A Saturday visit

I have been looking forward to visiting the Hammel museum all summer. I managed to miss the Saturdays in June, July and August. I finally was able to make it this weekend, and I am so glad I did. What a wealth of history in that building. The building itself was previously a bottling plant; it also had a sophisticated refrigeration system, which meant it was the only ice plant in the county. I was fortunate enough to have Chuck Zimmerly, the President of the Socorro Historical Society, give us a personal tour and explain some of the history behind the items. I am always in awe of how much the Historical Society cares about keeping the history of the county updated and available for the public.

One of the most interesting tie-ins to my previous column was information about Mt. Carmel School. They have a small diagram of the school inside one room, where you can see how it used to look. This school was behind the San Miguel Catholic Church. The school was built by Conrad N. Hilton as a memorial to his parents for the Sisters of Loretto. Conrad Hilton of the Hiltons, like one of Paris Hilton’s ancestors. That is not even the only important family that made their way through Socorro County.

And speaking of the Hammel building, there’s a remarkable family story tucked into its foundation. Clarence Hammel’s grandfather, Jacob Hammel, made his way to the United States from Munich, Bavaria in 1848. He wasn’t alone, he traveled with his friend Eberhard Anheuser, who hoped Jacob would help him build a brewery in St. Louis. But Jacob had other plans. He crossed the Mississippi and set up his own brewery in Lebanon, Illinois, just outside East St. Louis. As for the plant on the Missouri side? That became Anheuser-Busch. Yes, that Anheuser-Busch. Hammel ended up moving to Socorro for his son's health and started the Hammel Bottling Company. During prohibition, instead of beer, they bottled Grapette and Orange Crush for Pepsi. You can even see boxes of bottle caps and their old signage in the upstairs of the Hammel museum.

Another thing that is upstairs is a gigantic model train track. This was seriously so fun to watch. The details on the train sets are amazing, and I could have sat up there for hours watching the trains go around. There is a whole club that meets up to work on the trains. I made sure to slip a donation in the box to keep them going.

It was a great way to spend a Saturday morning, and I will probably be back next month, because I am sure there is much more to see. I appreciate the Socorro Historical Society for keeping it going, and Chuck for taking the time to explain some of the stories to me.