The annual remembrance ceremony was held yesterday in downtown Columbus under the auspices of the Columbus Historical Society (CHS) and within their dedicated memorial park behind their well-known “Depot Museum.”
CHS President, Shirley Garber lead the ceremony which featured Professor Brandon Morgan, whose presentation was entitled: “Protector and Aggressor: Pancho Villa’s Complicated Relationship with the Lower Mimbres Valley.“
Visitors came from as far as Kansas, Washington (state), and several from El Paso, Texas, as well.
The CHS always holds its service on the exact date of the tragic raid, regardless of which day of the week on which that date falls, whereas Columbus itself, holds their Raid Day events over the closest weekend to that date of March 9, 1916, assuring working families can make the occasion. Next year, in 2024, the date of the actual raid will fall on a Saturday, which will mean the attendees will number in at least the hundreds.
Yesterday’s turnout was estimated to be just short of 60 people. This weekend the renowned “Cabalgata Binacional,” traditionally witnesses a large group of Horsemen and women coming up from Mexico to meet with hundreds of horsemen and women from the states. It’s an across-the-border celebration less of the raid, and more about the kinship and closeness of the sister nations. As in recent years past, the large public event is directed by its principal organizer and promoter, Norma Gomez, who is the landlord for the FASF headquarters Office in Columbus. The celebratory occasion is usually attended by several thousand celebrants.
The following photos are of yesterday’s Memorial Service:
Richard and Elizabeth Pendleton in the foreground speaking with John Tyo
L to R: Allen Rosenberg (an ex-Marine!), in a 1916 Army uniform, joking with Corby Burns, and Patricia Kiddney
CHS Officers and distinguished guests on the Gazebo for the Ceremony – with Professor Brandon Morgan at Podium
Audience gathering in readiness to hear the program
After the ceremony concluded, Steven Zobeck (L) and Dr. Kathleen Martin (R) look on as Dr. Morgan shakes hands with Pancho Villa look-alike re-enactor, Rafael Celestino
L to R: Rafael Celestino, Patricia Kiddney, Head Columbus Librarian, Maria Constantine, and Columbus C of C Director, Norma Gomez pose with Darrel Nash (R), Historian for the famed Buffalo Soldiers of the Punitive Expedition – Norma had just presented the Environmental Book Chihuahua to the Library, courtesy of the Mexican Government.
L to R: Maria Constantine and Norma Gomez discuss the Buffalo Soldiers museum and the soldiers’ organization with Darrel Nash