100 years ago in Gallup

Copyright © 2009
Gallup Independent
By Bill Donovan
Staff writer

GALLUP — Maybe it was the good feeling left over from Valentine’s Day, but 100 years ago Gallupians dipped into their hearts as well as their pocketbooks to help out those less fortunate.

The grand sum of $71 was collected to help out the American Red Cross after pleas went out for money to help families in Italy who have been left homeless because of problems over there.

The city’s Italian Society gave $50, the Foresters of America gave $10 and seven individuals gave a total of $11.

We take a pause for a second to present this word from John Kennedy, a Gallup businessman:

“The world’s great men agree that no man can reform others until he first reforms himself. Let us be honest with ourselves and admit that we all have shortcomings and let us all join hands and work together to make Gallup prosperous. And do not forget that John Kennedy’s stock of Hart Schaffner and Marx all wool clothing, Douglas shoes and Roelof hats are kept up to date and is sold at reasonable prices.”

There’s word that the federal government is considering a major water project on the Navajo Reservation, one that would ultimately cost more than $1 million and would bring water to many areas of the Navajo Reservation.

Indian affairs officials from Washington have been coming to this area for the past several months to look into the feasibility of the government putting in a big irrigation canal to cover several thousand acres of land on the Navajo Reservation.

“The canal would have to come out at Pine River about 30 miles above Blanco on the San Juan River,” said an article in The Elk. “It would cover a fertile territory of level land, a large part of which is not included in the reservation.”

The newspaper said the project looks likely to be funded, in part because the federal government has been spending a lot of money constructing new buildings in the Shiprock area and making improvements to the other buildings already there.

Breaking news:
“A big crowd of Zuni Indians were in town recently with a bunch of pottery which they are selling about town.”