Santa Fe Living Treasures – Elder Stories

“In 1982, when the Community Foundation started, it was a new concept,” she said. “The purpose: to develop large resources of endowed funds with the income invested in a diversity of projects”—education, arts, parks, for example—persuaded her the organization could make a significant contribution to Santa Fe.

Another of her activities was the New Mexico Citizens Bee, and event where senior citizens compete on their knowledge of civics, the Bill of Rights, the Constitution, and other aspects of government. She is the mother of two children.

Gloria’s early and lifelong love of Santa Fe influenced many other decisions in her life. In college, she studied Spanish and Latin American affairs; when she traveled, it was to Spain and Mexico. These and other experiences somehow brought her closer to the City Different.

“One of my early memories is taking a horse trip from Pecos to Santa Fe. We rode our horses down Canyon Road, and the people came out and cheered. It was October. We went to La Fonda, and there was a fire in the big fireplace.”

She cherishes memories of early Fiestas, where the entire community came out, walked in parades carrying candles, and greeted each other on the plaza where there would be a merry-go-round. “The place was so alive!” she recalled.