07may.pdf

May 2007

The Burden Basket

Issue 11

St. Joseph Apache Mission Restoration Project

Funding Progress

Since fundraising be-

gan in February 1998 we have

raised $1,118,624. Of that

amount 36% came from pri-

vate Foundation grants, 11%

from nonprofit organizations,

30 % from our generous do-

nors, 7% through our steward-

ship program and the remain-

ing 16% from the hard work

of raffles, food sales and con-

certs; plus interest earned.

The work continues as fund-

ing permits: Expenses to date

have been $1,000,326.

N EW I NTERIOR E NTRYWAY F INISHED !

After much con-

sideration and planning

the dream for a new inte-

rior entryway has become

a reality. The funds for

this beautiful entryway

were contributed in mem-

ory of Donaciano and Ca-

tarina Davalos Ortega.

Katherine Ortega wrote,

“My parents, my siblings

and I knew and admired

Father Albert Braun,

OFM. We are grateful to

be able to make this con-

tribution in memory of our

parents.”

Everyone here is delighted with

this new entryway. We cannot thank the

Ortega family enough for taking on the

financial burden of this important part

of the restoration project.

Preservation Architect Dale

Zinn designed the entryway, which was

reviewed and approved by the Restora-

tion Committee. Bar-M Construction

of La Luz, NM was hired to construct

Revenue & Expenses

11/1/06—4/16/07

Revenue

Foundation Grants $58,000

Steward Program $26,820

Donations $14,209

Fundraisers & Interest

$ 1,495

Total $100,524

Expenses

Payroll Expenses $41,645

Equipment & Supplies $ 3,572

Professional Fees $10,180

Office Expense $ 3,717

Administration &Fundraising

$ 657

Total

the new entryway. Ernest Martinez,

owner of Bar-M Construction , and his

crew took great pride and care in doing

a first-class job. The custom made oak

framed leaded glass doors and surround

components were crafted in Mexico.

Solidly constructed and installed, this

work provides a noble welcome to all

those entering this majestic church and

veterans’ memorial.

( Story continues on page 2 )

A VISIT WITH C LARENCE B ROWN

$59,771

To celebrate his 85 th birthday, Clarence Brown

(nephew of the late Fr. Albert Braun, builder of St. Joseph

Apache Mission) came for a visit to check on our progress

and to present a generous donation. Clarence has been a

great supporter of this restoration project from the begin-

ning. Clarence was accompanied by two of his sons and

their wives: Wayne & Lynnette Brown from New Mexico

and Eddie & Trish Brown from Wyoming. We were hon-

ored by their visit, and happy to be able to show them the

work that will ensure that “Uncle Al’s church” will con-

tinue to serve the community for years to come.

Funds on hand: $120,183

In-Kind Donations from Volun-

teers, Staff and equipment

$42,538

Page 2

The Burden Basket

N EW I NTERIOR E NTRYWAY :

IN MEMORY OF D ONACIANO & C ATARINA O RTEGA

(continuation of the story from page 1)

Donaciano and Catarina Ortega

A big Thank You goes to Daniel Ortega, Albert Ortega,

Ethel Olson, David Ortega, Cecilia Harding, Katherine Ortega and

their families for their thoughtfulness and generosity in providing this

stunning new entryway in memory of their parents.

Donaciano Ortega was born in Bent, NM on May 24, 1887.

He attended the Indian School in Santa Fe, NM and then the Carlisle

Indian School in Carlisle, PA. He served as the Justice of the Peace in

Bent and owned a blacksmith shop, a restaurant and dance hall in Tu-

larosa. In the early 1940s he moved the restaurant to Alamogordo and

the whole family worked there. Donaciano was an excellent carpenter

and made custom furniture. After World War II with the help of his

older sons they started a furniture store in Alamogordo. The store was

operated by the oldest son, Daniel, until he retired a few years ago.

Donaciano encouraged his children to obtain an education and

be self sufficient; to be involved in the community and politics.

Catarina Davalos Ortega was the daughter of Augustin Da-

valos and Catarina Fields. She was born on July 31, 1892 at Canon

del Nogal. Her grandfather, Luciano Davalos was one of the original

settlers of Tularosa in 1862 and helped establish the St. Francis de

Paula Catholic Church. Catarina’s brother, Augustine Davalos, lived

on the Mescalero Apache Reservation and was an active member of

St. Joseph Apache Mission parish.

F UNDRAISING E FFORTS

Fundraising is always a challenge. As an operating church St. Joseph

Apache Mission does not qualify for funding that historic properties are ordinarily

eligible to receive. Another challenge is the fact that because our community is

located in an impoverished area we must attract the majority of our funds from

foundations and donors located throughout the country. At the outset of this pro-

ject we were told that it would be difficult to keep people enthused about this res-

toration effort over the estimated fourteen year duration of the work. We are

happy to report that support for this project remains steady, thanks to the generos-

ity of many good people and the hard work of Mary Serna our Restoration Project

Administrator. Special thanks goes to those Restoration Heroes that contribute

on a regular basis in our stewardship program!

A big challenge is still hovering over us — the roof. We have tried to

come up with innovative ways to raise the $150,000 to $200,000 needed to hire a

roofing contractor to install the new flashing, underlayment and clay roof tiles for

the main roof. According to our historic preservation architect Dale Zinn, “It is

becoming imperative that main roof of the mission be replaced before the com-

pleted repointing work is jeopardized.”

If you have ideas, or would like to make a contribution specifically for the

re-roofing project, please contact us.

Tickets for our

annual Restoration

Project Raffle

will be coming your way

in August. This year the

raffle drawing will be

held on October 7. Any-

one interested in donat-

ing a prize for the raffle,

or helping to sell tickets,

can call Mary Serna at

the Restoration Project

Office:

(505) 464-4539.

Issue 11

Page 3

R ESTORATION P ROGRESS

Restoration crewmembers Tommy Spottedbird, Arylis Chee

and Nikona Hosetosavit have been working diligently and making great

progress. In early November the southwest alcove stonework restora-

tion work was completed. That means three alcoves completed, three

to go. This alcove served as a good area to instruct new trainees, as well

as an easy place for our occasional volunteers to lend a hand.

Also in November scaffolding was erected on the forward half

of the interior of the north wall. The majority of our restoration efforts

since November have gone into repointing the stonework of this wall.

The crew will come close to

completing this 40 foot wide

by 50 foot tall section of work

before moving back to the out-

side of the north wall once the danger of frost has passed. Restoration

Project Foreman Tommy Spottedbird comments, “We can contribute our

progress on the amount of help trainee Nikona Hosetosavit provided,

along with help from Clay Geronimo during his winter break from college

and from the four community service volunteers we had.” The four com-

munity service volunteers, Frank Gallerito, Jeffrey Palmer, Jonathan

Herrera, and Patrick Mendez all worked at cleaning out deteriorated mor-

tar from the joints between the stones.

This is dusty, dirty work. This freed the restoration crew

to concentrate on reconstructing badly deteriorated stonework and applying the

repointing coats of lime mortar into the joints between the stones.

While the scaffolding is in place we are replacing cracked panes of glass

in the big windows as well as rust-proofing the metal window frames and caulk-

ing the many gaps where cold air blows into the church.

Thanks to your generosity we will be able to hire two new trainees for

the summer, and are grateful for the fact that Nikona Hosetosavit will be able to

stay on fulltime as soon as he completes his GED. Nikona has proven himself to

be a valuable addition to our regular crew; he is a very conscientious and tal-

ented worker.

North wall interior

Back to front: Tommy, Arylis, Nikona

D IRECTOR ’ S R EPORT : P ETER A. B OEGEL , OFM

The question I most often hear from people visiting this inspiring church and veterans’ memorial is the

incredulous, “How did they lift the stones up so high?” At last I can offer more than a guess. We recently discov-

ered a treasure-trove of wonderful old photographs taken in Mescalero between the years 1915 and 1960. Included

among these photos are some great shots showing St. Joseph Apache Mission under construction. I can now point

to a few of these photos and answer that question: They had wooden derricks powered by

a hand-operated winch! These guys were tough. Thanks to the Bureau of Catholic Indian

Missions archives at the Raynor Memorial Libraries at Marquette University these price-

less photos are being preserved and made available. Thanks to archivist Mark G. Thiel,

CA the Restoration Project Office will soon have many of these photos on display. If you

are in the area please stop by the office to look through these windows into our past.

As reported in the article above, we received volunteer help from several local

residents in the past few months. The Mescalero Tribal Court has chosen to send us these

workers not only so they could fulfill an obligation for community service hours, but be-

cause our restoration crewmembers offer support and inspiration for people wanting to

lead a healthier lifestyle. Many Thanks to all of you who support this project; together we

continue to fulfill our project motto, “Restoring the Building and Rebuilding Lives.”

Tommy working on the entryway

St. Joseph Apache Mission

Restoration Project

PO Box 187

Mescalero, NM 88340-0187

Phone: (505) 464-4539

Visit our website

www.stjosephmission.org

Restoring the Building and Rebuilding Lives

What’s inside:

◊ New Interior Entryway Finished!

◊ A visit with Clarence Brown

◊ In memory of Donaciano and Catarina Ortega

◊ Fundraising Efforts

◊ Restoration Progress

◊ Director’s Report

St. Joseph Apache Mission under

construction. Circa 1925?

Photo reproduced with permission of

Department of Special Collections

and University Archives,

Marquette University Libraries.

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