Valencia County Historical Society meeting, awards and officer elections March 1

Historian John Taylor will speak about the Belen Cutoff at the Valencia County Historical Society annual meeting, scheduled for 2 p.m. Sunday, March 1, at the Belen Harvey House Museum, 104 N 1st St., Belen. The event will include an awards presentation and an election of officers, and refreshments will be served.

"The Valencia County Historical Society will be holding its annual meeting at 2 p.m., Sunday, March 1, at the Belen Harvey House. There will be an awards presentation and election of officers. Historian John Taylor will speak about the Belen Cutoff. Refreshments will be served." This wording appears in the News-bulletin announcement and sets the agenda for the public meeting.

The meeting continues a long-running VCHS program of preservation and outreach. "The Valencia County Historical Society (VCHS) was formally organized in 1969, although it had been conceived almost a decade earlier by local residents who were anxious to document and preserve the rich historical legacy and varied cultures of the Rio Abajo." The society's archives note that VCHS "has supported and continues to support a number of documentary projects including the publication of books, papers, video ... tapes, and newspaper articles on various historical topics" and that "As stated in its Bylaws, the Society’s activities, as guided by the Board of Directors and the Society membership, are focused on identifying and preserving the rich history of Valencia County and sharing this history with all."

VCHS has pushed digitization through partnerships with the Belen Public Library and Los Lunas Public Library and the University of New Mexico’s New Mexico Digital Collections. The society reports: "We have a total of 822 items available (323 from Belen and 499 from Los Lunas)." At the same time the archives acknowledge "a wealth of additional materials that need to be added" and that "What has been lacking is a comprehensive archive collection plan," language that points to an ongoing need for processing and long-term preservation capacity.

Past meeting records show a steady schedule of member gatherings across Valencia County. Vchsnm listings include "Feb 16, 2025 2:00PM Annual Meeting - Belen Harvey House Museum 104 N 1st St. Belen, New Mexico Minutes" and multiple 2024 and 2025 meetings at Los Lunas Public Library, Isleta Pueblo Cultural Center and the Belen Harvey House. Other community calendars list a February 9, 2025 meeting at Belen Public Library, 333 Becker St., indicating differing public records for prior annual meetings.

Those differences are worth noting for members and reporters: Archives text states "They hold an Annual Meeting every March," which aligns with the News-bulletin March 1 announcement, but public calendars have shown February listings in prior years. Given the conflicting 2025 entries, organizers should be consulted to confirm final details for awards categories, officer nominees and any member voting rules before the meeting.

Nearby programming tied to local transportation history is also on the calendar. The News-bulletin lists Route 66 Centennial Speaker Series sessions on Saturday, Feb. 28: Aimee Tang presenting "Chinese Merchants of Albuquerque’s Route 66" at the Fred Luna Multi-Generational Center, 197 Don Pasqual, Los Lunas, and Richard Ruddy presenting "An Iconic View: Route 66 in Downtown Albuquerque" at the Isleta Pueblo Cultural Center, 71 Tribal Road 40, Isleta; the bulletin lists both sessions "from 1 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 28," an exact phrasing that should be checked with event hosts because of the unusual time notation.

The March 1 meeting at the Belen Harvey House will be an opportunity both to honor local volunteers and to review VCHS’s archival work, including its 822-item digital collection and ongoing outreach with schools and community partners. "The society’s annual meeting is a community event that recognizes local volunteers and preservation efforts while conductin" appears in one announcement fragment, underscoring the society’s stated emphasis on volunteer recognition and preservation activity.