The past 100 years

From The Santa Fe New Mexican: Jan. 14, 1918: “What’s the idea — bird houses?” asked some one on seeing an advertisement in the New Mexican. Well, the idea is that the Santa Fe Boy Scouts are taking up the work of the Audubon societies for bird conservation and protection and are making … bird houses, a sample of which is on exhibition at the Wood-Davis Hardware company, where they are placed on sale. A ready-made one can be bought for 35 cents and one to order according to the amount of lumber used.

Jan. 14, 1968: The Museum of New Mexico, one of our prime tourist attractions and the pride of Santa Fe, faces a financial crisis. Both the quality and continuity of important programs of the museum are threatened by a critical loss of key personnel because of an inability to offer salaries high enough to compete in the brainpower market.

These problems boil down to a question of money [and] both will come before the Legislature in its off-year session opening Tuesday, according to Dr. Delmar D. Kolb, director of the museum.

Jan. 14, 1993: When health care comes up at the 1993 Legislature, lawmakers will be asked to deal with problems such as those faced three years ago by Laura Thompson of Santa Fe.

At the time, Thompson was without health insurance, a common circumstance in New Mexico. About 28 percent of the state’s population — more than 450,000 — is not covered by any health plan.

Thompson was hurt in a traffic accident. Her head and neck injuries, which required surgery and produced a chronic condition, resulted in about $28,000 in medical expenses.