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…