Nostalgia for Christmas in Madrid, NM

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Michelle Worley, L&LNM. We were planning to get out and blog Abq's Central Avenue but it's super windy out and it ain't happening. So I decided to blog about Madrid, NM, the quirky little town we all know about but do we really? 

I found out there is a lot I didn't know. This is what I learned:

1. The derelict house there on the main street, the only one that has not been maintained, seems to be occupied. I think there should be such a house in every little town. They make for great scary stories among the kids. 

2. Madrid had the first lighted ballpark west of the Mississippi (thanks to Paul for that info). The photo on this post is one Paul found of a baseball game in Madrid in the 1930s.

3. The "sign" of the trumpeter that is located in the ballpark is not a sign but an old Christmas decoration.

This information from Caroline led me to look into it further. According to http://www.visitmadridnm.com/history/ --

"Beginning in the early 1920's, Madrid miners lit up the winter sky with 150,000 Christmas lights powered by 500,000 kilowatt hours of electricity. The power was provided by the company's own coal fed generators. The displays were the product of both Madrid and Northern New Mexico artisans and laborers. Madrid's Christmas celebrations ended with W.W.II and the mines closed in the 1950's. Today, Christmas in Madrid has been revived, with main street all lit up, Christmas carolers, Santa and parades."

I think that since this tradition is being revived, perhaps the trumpeter decoration, if it hasn't already been, could be revived as well. I drove through Madrid yesterday and they were putting Christmas decorations up along main street. I should have stopped and asked if they had plans for the trumpeter...

That's it for today. Last year at this time, we had snow. Today, it's all blue skies. Go New Mexico!

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