-
Preface
- University of New Mexico Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
xi he first publication to document the origins and early history of La Sociedad was a book by José Timoteo López titled La Historia de La Sociedad Protección Mutua de Trabajadoes Unidos. José Timoteo López was born in the small farming community of Ortiz, Colorado, in 1899, and became a member of Council No. 5 in Ortiz at the age of eighteen; he later transferred to Council No. 2 in Capulín, Colorado, where he was a merchant and postmaster . He started the book project in 1951 with modest objectives: to preserve the memory and motives of the founders, inspire the youth, and compile notes about the history and accomplishments of the society, calling his manuscript , “Los Datos Históricos de la SPMDTU.” A few years later he realized the importance of preserving the information he had collected and took steps in 1958 to publish the manuscript largely with his own resources. By this time, he was residing with his wife and nine children in Ogden, Utah, where he was an active member of Council No. 61, serving as the council secretary in the 1950s and early 1960s. La Historia covers La Sociedad’s history for the first half of the twentieth century and remains significant for preserving the early steps taken by the founders to organize the society in 1900. As López details, the book describes the chronology and sequence of when local councils were established in the tristate area of Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. Most important, it shares what little we know about the life of the honorable Celedonio Mondragón, founder of the society. The book has been out of print for more than a generation , but current members appreciate its significance. They hold it in high regard for the recognition it has brought the society, and members who own copies of La Historia treasure them as much as the Código Ritualístico and other society documents. PREFACE T xii Preface In the year 2000, the members commemorated the society’s centennial anniversary. This event spurred the officers of the Concilio Superior to once again document its history, as inspired by Hermano José Timoteo López. At the time, I served as the superior president of “La Mutua,” as we often call our society to show our respect and recognize the bonds we have to each other. A sense of urgency that had always been present on the periphery now engulfed us, for we knew that it was imperative that we “dust off” the idea of accomplishing a documentary because earlier attempts at a film project had not come to fruition in the 1980s. The median age of society members in the year 2000 was about sixty years or older. Many of the officers and members had joined as young adults, following in the footsteps of their padres, tíos, and abuelos, and once initiated into the society, most of them had retained their memberships for life. The leaders who had championed La Mutua all these decades were “pasando a mejor vida” (passing on to a better life), as surviving members often say in tribute to deceased brothers and sisters. We sensed that if we did not act immediately, we would lose the human and physical resources that have made La Sociedad so unique. Many hermanos who had been instrumental in moving the organization to the twenty-first century were gone but not forgotten for their loyalty and significant contributions. Memorable individuals include: Frank López Sr. from Nambé, New Mexico, who, along with other executive officers, was responsible for ensuring that the organization remained financially solvent while it was governed by the regulations of the Colorado Insurance Commission; Vianes Trujillo from Ojo Caliente, New Mexico, who served for many terms on the Superior Council until he was unable to drive to Antonito for the meetings; Manuel Fernández from Salt Lake City, Utah, who was a member of many prominent national Hispanic organizations but nonetheless regarded La Sociedad as the most important of his affiliations; and Juan López from Denver , who willed himself to remain an active member of the Superior Council despite the distances he had to travel to attend the meetings at the home office in Antonito, Colorado. Samuel Mascareñas from Salt Lake City served as a Superior Council officer even though he, too, had to travel to the meetings in Antonito, mostly at his own expense. Elías Rascón, a member of Council No...