100 years ago in Gallup

Copyright © 2008
Gallup Independent
By Bill Donovan
Staff writer

GALLUP — It was a glorious Christmas in 1908.

The weather was a balmy 50 degrees and most of the 2,500 or so residents enjoyed a day of socializing and sporting events.

The big news, of course, was the annual football game between Fort Wingate and Gallup, sponsored by the Gallup Athletic Club. It must have been a good defensive battle because Gallup won 2-1 (different rules, different ways to score).

In the evening, the Kitchen’s Opera House hosted a piano duet by Missus Pearl DeShon and Mary Vicker. There was also a vocal solo by Frand Beddow and a comic boxing bout. There was also a boxing exhibition by R.C. Beddow and Charles Christman.

After the program was over, a basketball game was held with Gallup taking on Fort Wingate again and winning by the lopsided score of 24-6.

There was some controversy going on in Gallup during the days before Christmas as city leaders decided to hold the last City Council session of 1908 by lantern instead of electrical lights. The consensus of the council was that the lanterns “beat the electric lights for all practical purposes.”

This would be a debate that would continue into 1909 and 1910 as the City Electric Company tried, with limited success, to provide electrical lightning to Gallup businesses and local houses. Many of the houses and businesses that had electricity installed found it to be so unreliable that they were compelled to find some other source of light supply.

“One thing is certain,” said an article in The Elk, “Gallup needs street lights whether they be electric, gasoline or gas.”

More and more Gallupians were traveling on the streets downtown and were complaining about the darkness that hit the downtown area and many residential streets after dark.

“Nobody cares who furnishes the lights just so they are furnished satisfactory,” the Elk stated in a column. “Let the people have light. Let the merchants have light.”