¡Viva la revolución!

We writers love to do research. Give us the excuse for an arcane detail in our work and we'll devote hours crawling down a rabbit hole. How did the Assyrians mine for gold? What was Thomas Jefferson's favorite wine? Why did women stop wearing pantyhose? 

This last week, Duane Evans (an Army buddy) and I spent the week digging through files in the National Archives of Denver (the facility is actually in Longmont). We are co-writing a nonfiction book about an attempted toma (takeover) of government land in New Mexico back in 1967. Though the story is today largely forgotten, it remains a wild saga about Reies López Tijerina, an evangelical preacher turned political activist, the protagonist in an adventure that involves shootouts, kidnappings, murder, bombings, arson, FBI wiretaps, and a gunpoint showdown between the adversaries. While we have gleaned much from other published sources, to get a fresh perspective of the account, we culled through hundreds of pages of court transcripts in the archives. Particularly fascinating was the first-hand testimony recounting what had happened because until then, Duane and I had only read other writers' summaries of the same incidents. We were likewise delighted to find copies of rather bizarre pieces of evidence, such as the photo of a local Hispano reveling in the mayhem while properly decked out in a sequined charro sombrero, and a citizen's arrest warrant for Chief Justice Warren Burger.

 

Viva la revolución!

Plaintiff's Exhibit M, Case 23112 

 

 

Tijerina's arrest warrant for the Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court

Plaintiff's Exhibit 41, Case 23112 

 

Accessing the files was a unique experience. The archivist had selected file boxes based on our research criteria. Duane and I had to take an online certification course instructing us over what was and was not allowed in the research rooms. Pretty much nothing but laptops, cellphones, and our clothes. No notebooks, pens, drinks, food, staplers, knives. They provided pencils and paper. Once in the research room, we were given another short class about how to handle the documents. One page at a time, no folding or creasing the paper, and make sure to insert a place holder into the file box to mark where you had removed a file folder. An archivist remained in the room, watching and admonishing like a stern librarian. Place holder in the file box! No documents near the edge of the table!

 

 

One of the many file boxes.

Fortunately, we had access to a nifty scanner that plugged into Duane's laptop, and we were able to gather lots of material without having to take pages of handwritten notes. The challenge now is processing the material and layering it into what we've already drafted. Despite the trove of historical information, what we learned pointed us in the direction of yet more archives to pour through. For us writers, the paperwork never ends.