Angelo. Beniamino. Carlo. Dom. Egisto. Geriomine. Luigi. Petro. Pit Della. Raymondo. All emigrants from the same village in Italy. All coal miners. All among the 263 killed in the horrific Oct. 22, 1913, mine explosion in Dawson, New Mexico. All with the same family name: Santi. Ten in all. Of the 146 Italian miners to…

The unpaved roadway leading from State Road 505 to Dawson Cemetery, to be kind, is pretty remote. No businesses. No homes. No people. Not that I was surprised. I had read enough stories, seen enough photographs, and watched enough videos to prepare myself for my first visit to the historic cemetery, Or so I thought.…

I thought I was ready for pretty much anything when I began my research into Dawson’s history. But I never expected to run smack-dab into a “breaking news” story while writing about a coal town that hasn’t existed for 70 years. That’s what happened earlier this month when a Google News search led me to…

One of the first questions I’m asked when people hear I’m working on a book about Dawson is why? Why devote years of your life to researching and writing about an old New Mexico coal town that hasn’t been around for more than half a century? Fair enough. Here’s the back story: When my wife…