Page 74 - ACTL Journal Win24
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TENTH CIRCUIT : REGIONAL MEETING
The Hotel La Fonda is so rich in history that it has an official Historian, Ed Pul- sifer, who spoke to the participants. Introduced as “the official Historian of the coolest hotel in the coolest city in the United States of America,” Mr. Pulsifer bril- liantly wove together the history of the hotel with the history of the region – the early twentieth century development of railroad and automobile travel, together with the Native American and Spanish influences. He spoke at length about the importance of women in making La Fonda one of the greatest hotels in the south- west. Lastly, he spoke about the many guests of the hotel who were involved in the development of the atomic weapons in nearby Los Alamos. This, of course, was of special interest to the audience because the film Oppenheimer was still playing in theaters. Mr. Pulsifer fascinated the group with stories of the bar at La Fonda being used in the 1940’s as a “gossip laboratory.” Fake stories about what was happening at Los Alamos were being told in loud voices, and were taken to be true by spies hanging around the hotel.
The Mayor of Santa Fe, Alan Webber, was introduced as “the twice-elected mayor of the coolest city in the United States of America.” He made our guests from several states feel welcome.
President Harriman addressed the group, introduced as “the coolest ACTL Presi- dent to have ever spoken in the coolest city in the United States.”
Former U.S. Senator from Oklahoma, Fred Harris, now teaches and lives in New Mexico. His portion of the program was presented as a conversation with New Mexico Vice-Chair Maureen Sanders. Senator Harris spoke about his fight, on behalf of the Taos Pueblo in New Mexico, to re-gain an area of land known as
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