Huerfano County celebrates early families, regional history

LA VETA, Colo. — Relatives with deep familial connections stood side by side those meeting each other for the first time as hundreds gathered in La Veta and Walsenburg this weekend to celebrate Huerfano County’s unique regional history.

Puentes: Bridges from the Past to the Future was organized by early settlers’ descendants, residents and lovers of local culture. A Colorado map with pins marking where attendees had traveled from showed visitors from up and down the I-25 corridor whose families once lived here.

“The hope I had was to connect family members, and have primos meet primos,” said Sylvia Brandl, whose decade-plus work collecting archival photographs of early settlers was a driver for the event. Looking over images of their ancestors on display, “so many people were like, ‘Oh, you’re related to me!’ That made all the hours worth it,” Brandl said. “That was really the goal.”

This weekend marked the debut of the Early Founding Hispano Families of Huerfano County Project, an ongoing effort to document regional families and history through stories and archival photographs.

On Saturday, historians including those of Native American and early Spanish and Mexican descent lectured at La Veta Public Library while vendors exhibited at the La Veta Community Center. A pictorial archive of 25 founding Hispano families of Huerfano County was debuted, presented by Brandl and Ron Sandoval, two Colorado residents with deep roots in Huerfano County.

Virginia Sanchez, historian and author of Forgotten Cuchareños of the Lower Valley and Pleas and Petitions, presented her National Archives and other research on early residents of the area, and answered questions from the audience.

Resident and historian Norberto Valdez, a retired ethnic studies professor at Colorado State University in Fort Collins, spoke about a deep and spiritual restorative effect of the land and its people. Using his own family lineage as an example, Valdez related an interwoven history of first peoples and concurrent waves of Mexican, Spanish and other European settlers.

On Sunday, volunteers turned the Walsenburg Community Center into a living history exhibit, with presentations, archival photos, storytelling, Fandango dancers, a biscochitos contest and corridos by Michael Rael.

Regional vendors shared osha honey and jewelry, weaving and bead work, wood carvings, paintings, written works, baked goods, photography, and more. A community meal was prepared by Yvette Vialpando.

Molina Speaks introduced performers and special guests, while Huajatolla Heritage Foundation founder and organizer Sandy Dolak thanked supporters throughout the day. “It was so wonderful to be able to gather together,” Dolak acknowledged.

With roots in Cucharas, Gardner and Chama, Brandl said she has been collecting historic photos of Huerfano County and early settlers for over 13 years. “Old photos are something I’ve always loved since I was young,” she said.

Sandoval is founder of the Facebook page Early Hispano Families of Huerfano County. “To do a pictorial archive seemed like the best way to start,” he said of sharing the photos and information with the public. The two-sided display took up three eight-foot tables — and the collection only scratches the surface, Sandoval said.

The events were supported by Huajatolla Heritage Foundation, Early Founding Hispano Families of Huerfano County Project, Huerfano County Historical Society, RedLine Arts in Society, Warm Cookies of the Revolution, and Huerfano County Commissioners.