Valencia County Historical Society Publications

Edited by Richard Melzer and John Taylor 

Published May 2, 2023

Editors Richard Melzer and John Taylor began their series of anthologies about Rio Abajo history with the publication of Murder, Mystery, and Mayhem in 2013, never thinking that a second volume was on the horizon anytime soon. Instead, encouraged by receiving the New Mexico/Arizona Book Award for the best anthology published that year, Melzer and Taylor edited a second volume (A River Runs Through Us), a third (Tragic Trails and Enchanted Journeys), a fourth (Mountains, Mesas, and Memories), a fifth (Years Gone By), and now this volume, the sixth (History Surrounds Us). Appearing every two years, these popular volumes became a trilogy and then a hexalogy, winning more book awards and documenting the history of a single region of New Mexico like few if any series have done before. Readers can only hope that Melzer and Taylor never plan to slow down in their production of valuable anthologies in what is now known as the Rio Abajo History Series, published by the Valencia County Historical Society. 

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Written by Richard Melzer, Cynthia J. Shetter and John Taylor 

Published Mar 23, 2023

Daniel D. Fernandez received three Purple Heart citations and was awarded the Air Medal for valorous service as a helicopter “Shot Gun Rider” during his first tour of Vietnam in 1965. He returned to Vietnam in January of 1966 and courageously smothered a grenade with his body, saving the lives of four of his comrades. His selfless sacrifice was distinguished by the posthumous award of the Congressional Medal of Honor in 1967 by President Lyndon B. Johnson.

As the closest living relatives of Daniel Fernandez, we have always tried to use the example of his supreme self-sacrifice as an opportunity to teach and share the lessons of heroism that his service to our nation so perfectly embody. This book by Richard Melzer, Cynthia J. Shetter, and John Taylor superbly documents Daniel’s entire life and legacy and will be a standard for people who wish to understand the patriotism and sacrifices of America’s military heroes. It should be in people’s homes, on library shelves, and in classrooms in New Mexico and across the nation.

- Peter and Priscilla “Lollie" Fernández 

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Edited by Richard Melzer and John Taylor 

Published February 10, 2021

Welcome to Volume 5 of what began as a trilogy of stories of the Rio Abajo! The series began with Murder, Mystery and Mayhem in 2013, and has continued every second year with the publication of A River Runs Through Us (2015), Tragic Trails and Enchanted Journeys (2017), and Mountains, Mesas, and Memories (2019). Including the 31 stories in Years Gone By in the Rio Abajo, our newest book, we will have provided 161 stories about the people, places, events, and traditions that have shaped the history of our segment of the Rio Grande Valley. After years of neglect by historians, the Rio Abajo has become one of the most thoroughly researched regions of New Mexico.So, we invite our readers to join us once again as we delve into the rich history that has made the Rio Abajo such a marvelous place in which to live, strive, and grow. 

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Written by Eloisa Bergere Brown 

Edited by Patricia Burke Guggino

Published Mar 21, 2021

Eloisa Bergere Thornburg (nee) Brown’s memories are fascinating, her insights revealing. What was life really like for her wealthy and sophisticated Spanish-American New Mexican familia? Beginning with her earliest recorded ancestors, Eloisa has created a colorful tapestry from the many different, yet similar, threads spun by her amazingly varied predecessors; saints and scoundrels who were Spanish, Catholic, American, Jewish, British, Protestant, Dutch, Italian, and Native American. Notable persons all who helped create an authentic New Mexico tale. 

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Written by Baldwin G. Burr, Richard Melzer, and John Taylor

Published 2019, Techknowledge Press Books 

This book is about more than one hundred individuals or groups who have made a significant impact on Valencia County and beyond. Some individuals and groups have made an impact on the local area, while some have made an impact on New Mexico and the national stage. They are in the deserving subjects of this book, Notable and Notorious Neighbors in Valencia County History.

Available at the Los Lunas Museum of Heritage & Arts. Call 505-839-3850 for information on purchasing. 

Edited by Richard Melzer & John Taylor

Published 2019, Techknowledge Press Books 

From mothers protecting their families to soldiers protecting their brothers in arms, what makes someone a hero is their bravery in times of uncertainty. Billed as a history book for young people, “Heroes of the Rio Abajo,” edited by Richard Melzer and John Taylor, contains 24 true tails of the bravery and kindness of the men and women of the lower Rio Grande Valley, centered here in Valencia County. Heroes of the Rio Abajo received the Historical Society of New Mexico’s 2020 Pablita Velarde Award for an outstanding children’s publication related to New Mexico or Southwest borderlands history.

Available at the Los Lunas Museum of Heritage & Arts. Call 505-839-3850 for information on purchasing. 

Edited by Richard Melzer & John Taylor

Published Aug 21, 2018, Rio Grande Publishing

Mountains, Mesa & Memories continues in the tradition of its three award-winning predecessors: Murder, Mystery & Mayhem in the Rio Abajo (2013); A River Runs Through Us (2015); and Tragic Trails and Enchanted Journeys (2017). This latest collection adds 25 interesting new stories of the Rio Abajo. Our six authors describe individuals as varied as John Cremony, who rode 90 miles down the Jornado del Muerto chased by 40 Apaches, and Gus Raney, a Wild West character who supposedly killed his last victim at age 100. A chapter on the Tome Land Grant describes the grant's history in detail never heard outside a courtroom. Exciting stories from World War II, including a first-person account of a kamikaze attack, are also shared. Richly illustrated with over 170 maps, photographs, and diagrams, Mountains, Mesa & Memories provides intriguing new insights into the people, places, and events that have helped shape the Rio Abajo. 

Available on Amazon

Edited by Richard Melzer & John Taylor

Published Jul 5, 2017, Rio Grande Publishing

In this, the third anthology of stories from the Rio Abajo, Richard Melzer and John Taylor have collected another twenty-four tales of people, places, and events that have shaped New Mexico history. Inside these covers you will find priests and scoundrels, merchants and politicians, faith healers and soldiers, buffalo and chupacabras, and lots of ghosts. You will travel down the Santa Fe Trail with a physician turned trader; you will ride in reverse in a Model T up La Bajada on old Route 66; you will ride in a B-29 dropping bombs in the desert; and you will ride the Doodlebug as it carries commuters from Belen to Albuquerque. You will watch as the mighty Rio Grande dries to a trickle then returns with a fury to wipe out farms and villages alike and you will stand beside a doctor as he amputates the leg of an injured man by the light of a kerosene lantern. You will meet Native Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Anglo Americans, each of whom played a role in making the Rio Abajo what it is today. Please come with us and enjoy these Tragic Trails & Enchanted Journeys. 

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Edited by Richard Melzer & John Taylor

Published Apr 15, 2015, Rio Grande Publishing

The Rio Grande Valley south of Albuquerque, commonly referred to as the Rio Abajo, is a treasure trove of legends, stories, and characters. In "Murder, Mystery and Mayhem," the first volume of this series, the readers were introduced to characters such as Bronco Bill Walters, Solomon Luna, and Jose Francisco Chavez. Readers joined in the chase for the Abo Canyon Gang, recoiled at the stories of airplane crashes, and anguished over the unsolved kidnapping of Tara Calico. This volume, the second in the series, takes the reader on another 33 adventures in the Rio Abajo. You will meet a priest who served the same parish for 55 years, a movie star who never forgot her Valencia County roots, and a boxer known as "The Golden Boy." You will learn about the crosses atop Tome Hill and will meet the "muerto" of the notorious "Jornado del Muerto." You will experience the terror of the Pueblo Revolt, experience captivity at the hands of Hezbollah terrorist, and understand why Daniel Fernandez was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor. So, come and join us as we follow the Rio Grande through lives and events in another journey through the Rio Abajo. 

Available on Amazon

Edited by Richard Melzer & John Taylor

Published Mar 2, 2013, Rio Grande Publishing

The 2013 New Mexico-Arizona Book Award winner. In this book you will find incidents of murder, mystery, and mayhem that make the Rio Abajo such a treasure trove of intriguing stories for anyone interested in New Mexico history. These stories all share one thing: They are fascinating. 

Available on Amazon