The Life of William Becknell on the Santa Fe Trail A Brainpower & Brownbags Lecture

Join New Mexico Humanities Council Chautauqua re-enactor Allan Wheeler as he delivers the first 2013 Brainpower & Brownbags lecture, "The Life of William Becknell on the Santa Fe Trail," at noon on Wednesday, Jan. 16, in the Meem Community Room. Enter for free through the History Museum's Washington Avenue doors.

Upon retiring from the business world in 1993, Wheeler began pursuing his real interest, the history of the Southwest. Living in Santa Fe has allowed him to have diverse experiences many which support the day-to-day learning, writing and teaching of history. He has performed as an “extra” in a number of movies and TV commercials made at the two major movie ranches south of Santa Fe. He has also worked on a cattle ranch and become a proficient rider in order to experience that essential part of the western culture.

He serves as a guide for the local “Historic Walks of Santa Fe” also became a volunteer teacher of history at both public and private schools and colleges as well as at historical organizations throughout New Mexico. Wheeler has been accredited by the New Mexico Humanities Council to perform Chautauqua-type, first-person portrayals of the life of William Becknell, the founder of the Santa Fe Trail. He makes authentic costumes using materials and designs typical of those times. He is also a national director of the Santa Fe Trail Association, a member- based group that works with the National Park Service to preserve, protect and publicize the 1,600 miles of the old commercial trail and its many alternative routes from Missouri to New Mexico.

This annual lecture series is organized by Tomas Jaehn of the museum’s Fray Angélico Chávez History Library (and, yes, you can bring a lunch). The full schedule:

Wednesday, Jan. 16: Allan Wheeler on “The Life of William Becknell, Founder of the Santa Fe Trail: A First-Person Presentation.” Wheeler, of Santa Fe, is Chautauqua performer for the New Mexico Humanities Council and a national director of the Santa Fe Trail Association, a group that works with the National Park Service to preserve, protect and publicize the trail.

Wednesday, Feb. 20: VanAnn Moore on “Westward Ho! The Lives and Diaries of the Women Going West.” Moore, of Los Lunas, is a singer and actress who recreates historical characters ranging from Jenny Lind to Baby Doe Tabor, Lillie Langtree, Sara Bernhardt, and Doña Tules.

Wednesday, March 13: Joy Sperling on “Women’s Visual Narratives of New Mexico between the World Wars.” Sperling, an art history professor at Denison University in Granville, Ohio, had a 2012 writer’s residency at the Mabel Dodge Luhan House in Taos.

Wednesday, April 17: Lucinda Sachs on “Clyde Tingley’s New Deal for New Mexico.” Sachs, an Albuquerque writer and historian, is finishing a 2013 Sunstone Press book about Tingley. She has also written a novel, Believe in the Wind, plus two award-winning short stories.

Wednesday, May 15: Anna Cabrera on “Becoming St. Kate: St. Catherine Indian School and St. Katharine Drexel.” Cabrera is a doctoral student in anthropology at the University of New Mexico.

Wednesday, June 19: Toni Gibson and Sharon Snyder on “The Manhattan Project in Los Alamos: An Eyewitness Perspective.” Gibson, of Grosse Pointe, Mich., is the author of Los Alamos: 1944-1947 (Arcadia Publishing, 2005), and, with Snyder, co-author of Los Alamos and the Pajarito Plateau (Arcadia Publishing, 2011). Snyder, of Rio Rancho, also wrote At Home on the Slopes of Mountains: The Story of Peggy Pond Church (Los Alamos Historical Society, 2011).  

The Brainpower & Brownbags Lecture Series is generously supported by the Herzstein Family Endowment Fund and the Plaza Café.