Casa Grande is believed to have been constructed around 1350 by ancestral Hohokam people. Built entirely of puddled earth, it is a remarkable multi story great house that has survived into the 21st century, representing the only one of its kind remaining in North America. It has been sheltered since 1899 but for hundreds of years stood exposed to the elements yet retained much of its integrity. In 1892 President Harrison established Casa Grande Ruins as a prehistoric and cultural reserve. Between 1937 and 1940, the Civilian Conservation Corps constructed several adobe buildings to support park operations. All these structures are in use today and are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. From February 10 through March 7, Cornerstones’ Alexandra Ward Fellow, Angela Francis, led a team of interns and volunteers in training workshops reconstructing a section of a CCC adobe wall at the Monument. Adobe making, wall building, and repair and plastering were part of the curriculum.
Top row: Isaac Logsdon and Cindy Calbimonte Perez, Cindy repairing a wall
Bottom row: Finished wall, Allison Arnold and Dominic Henry, park preservationist.
Solar Round Table
Cornerstones and Remy’s Good Day Fund sponsored a one-day Solar Round Table at the Drury Plaza Hotel on February 14, 2020. The goal of the meeting was to introduce our Solar grantees to one another and create a synergistic environment where experiences would be shared, and new ideas developed. There were 34 individuals at the Round Table, representing 16 organizations, 11 of which have received funding from Cornerstones. Several non-funded entities and individuals also participated in the day’s program, to explore future collaborative possibilities with Cornerstones and current grantees and to get an update on the status of the Solar Initiative. Attendees enthusiastically agreed that the Round Table served as a basis for continuing solar talks and the creation of a Solar Congress.
Photo by Barb Odell.
Women’s History Month
March is Women’s History Month and Cornerstones salutes the vital role women have played in the history of the United States!
We recently received a message from a New Mexico pueblo woman, in which she shared her early memories of re-plastering the pueblo church, including women’s vital role in the process. Because of our deep involvement in adobe preservation, we thought it would be fitting to share this memory with you in recognition and in honor of women.
“Back in early 80s we were still re-plastering the church as a community, yearly, before our feast on August 15th. We thought it was fun as young adults and when we were children. What was scary was the long ladders we stood on to send the mud up to the person who was plastering or hanging down as far as we could from the top to plaster. The woman did all the plastering. Now days the man could do some of the plastering and we could probably use scaffolding which would give us more area to plaster at one time. Anyway, some quick history. Many of us still plaster our hornos by hand and use rocks to build them. One trade that we are slowly losing, plastering and building with adobes and rocks.”
Cornerstones' volunteer, Cindy Calbimonte Perez, demonstrates the mudding technique.
Workshops, Projects and Events Updates
Cornerstones, like so many other organizations, will be updating scheduled workshops, projects and events due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Updates will be posted on our website, https://www.cstones.org/workshops so please feel free to check periodically. Also, you are welcome to call or email us at any time with questions at 505-982-9521 or kkuranz@cstones.org.
We urge everyone to follow government guidelines on how to protect ourselves and loved ones. Stay safe.
