THE PAST 100 YEARS

From The Santa Fe New Mexican:

Aug. 5, 1948: Attorney General C.C. McCulloh said today it would be two or three days before he reaches a decision as to action by his office in the recent Indian vote suit ruling.

A federal court Tuesday ruled invalid and void a section of the state constitution which bars Indians “not taxed” from voting.

The state’s legal chief, meanwhile, said he was not advising any county clerk or district attorney as to what actions they should take toward applications for registration. He added that if the state does not ask an appeal from the U.S. Supreme Court, then his office probably will advise acceptance of registrations.

Aug. 5, 1973: An intense, behind-the-scenes struggle for controlling ownership of Santa Fe Downs Race Track has developed between principal stockholders in Santa Fe and a Toledo, Ohio, group.

The battle to gain control of the 3-year-old track has been simmering for the past three months, but broke in the open this weekend with an offer to purchase 100,000 shares of outstanding stock.

Aug. 5, 1998: The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has claimed in a document filed in state District Court that it not only has the legal right to buy Georgia O’Keeffe’s house and acreage at Ghost Ranch, but that the deal should include items that were recently donated to The Georgia O’Keeffe Museum and Study Center by O’Keeffe heir Juan Hamilton.

The claim was made in a request for a temporary injunction to prevent Hamilton from selling the O’Keeffe house and property to any party other than the church. The document said church officials believe Hamilton was planning to go ahead and sell the property — presumably to Anne Marion, whose offer to buy it has prompted a tense triangular struggle.