La Historia del Rio Abajo is a regular column in the Valencia County News-Bulletin about Valencia County history written by members of the Valencia County Historical Society since 1998. 

2024

• A newspaper reporter's view of Los Lunas in 1894 by Richard Melzer, guest columnist | Valencia County News-Bulletin | Feb 20, 2025

• Felipe Chaves’ landmark Mausoleum in Belen Part II | by Richard Melzer, guest columnist | Valencia County News-Bulletin | Dec 19, 2024

• Felipe Chaves’ landmark Mausoleum in Belen Part I | by Richard Melzer, guest columnist | Valencia County News-Bulletin | Dec 12, 2024

• A Renaissance in Public Display of Native Art & Culture (Part II) - Isleta Pueblo by John Taylor | Valencia County News-Bulletin | Nov 21, 2024

• Hidden Heroes: Local Author Honors World War II Women Spies in New Book | by Felina Martinez | Valencia County News-Bulletin | Oct 31, 2024 (Author Donna Pedace is a VCHS board member).

• A Renaissance in Public Display of Native Art & Culture (Part I) - Isleta Pueblo by John Taylor | Valencia County News-Bulletin | Oct 31, 2024

• When Doctors Made House Calls in Valencia County (Part I) by Richard Melzer, guest columnist | Valencia News-Bulletin | Aug 14,2024

• When Doctors Made House Calls in Valencia County (Part II) by Richard Melzer, guest columnist | Valencia News-Bulletin | Aug 22, 2024

• Fr. Jose Alberto Hernandez's Devoted Love & Service to Valencia County & all of New Mexico ( Part I) by Richard Melzer, guest columnist | Valencia News-Bulletin | Jun 20, 2024

• Fr. Jose Alberto Hernandez's Devoted Love & Service to Valencia County & all of New Mexico ( Part II) by Richard Melzer, guest columnist | Valencia News-Bulletin | Jun 27, 2024

• Shoes, Eggs, and a duel in Belen, 1898 by Richard Melzer, guest columnist | Valencia News-Bulletin | Apr 4, 2024. Article on a duel in Belen over someone putting eggs in a gentleman’s shoes.

• “Navajo Frank” Saiz and the Glory Days of Professional Wrestling by Richard Melzer, guest columnist | Valencia News-Bulletin | Mar 21, 2024.

• Jewish Merchants in Valencia County (Part I) by John Taylor, guest columnist | Valencia County News-Bulletin | Jan 17, 2024.

• Jewish Merchants in Valencia County (Part II) by John Taylor, guest columnist | Valencia County News-Bulletin | Jan 25, 2024.

• What would Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. have thought of Blackdom, New Mexico? by Richard Melzer, guest columnist | Valencia County News-Bulletin | Jan 11, 2024. 

2023

• Lynching of 14-year-old Black boy in 1966 had an affect on MLK by Richard Melzer, guest columnist | Jan 12, 2023

• Eleanor Roosevelt: The first First Lady to visit Valencia County by Richard Melzer, guest columnist | Jan 19, 2023

• A girl with great gumption: Pat Gomez's childhood in Los Lunas & Albuquerque (Part I) by Richard Melzer guest columnist | Mar 16, 2023

• A girl with great gumption: Pat Gomez's childhood in Los Lunas & Albuquerque (Part II) by Richard Melzer guest columnist | Mar 16, 2023

• "Si" Porter's life in the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s by Richard Melzer, guest columnist | May 18, 2023

• Mountain Monograms, Part I  by John Taylor, Guest Columnist | Sep 28, 2023

• Mountain Monograms, Part II  by John Taylor, Guest Columnist | Oct 5, 2023

• Celebrating 25 years of La Historia del Rio Abajo by Julia Dendinger, News-Bulletin Assistant Editor| Oct 19, 2023

• Mystery Solved: The Belen Bunker (Part 1) by John Taylor, guest columnist | Nov 16, 2023

• Mystery Solved: The Belen Bunker (Part II) by John Taylor, guest columnist | Nov 30, 2023.

2022

• The Huning House: A Los Lunas Treasure by John Taylor guest columnist | Mar 10, 2022

• The Huning House: A Los Lunas Treasure (Part II) by John Taylor guest columnist | Mar 17, 2022

• Proposing Marriage: A Lost Tradition in New Mexico by Richard Melzer guest columnist | May 19, 2022

• La Marcha de los Novios: A Time-Honored Hispanic Wedding Tradition by Richard Melzer and Matt Baca | Jun 16, 2022

• Almost as Valuable as Gold - Lake Estancia and the Saline Pueblos by John Taylor guest columnist | Jun 30, 2022 

• Recognizing Evil: How a Citizen of Belen Helped Capture a Gangster from Illinois. by Richard Melzer, guest columnist | Oct 20,2022

• The Los Lunas Anti-Aircraft Gun by John Taylor | Nov 10, 2022

2021

• The Memory of their Magic: Dance Halls of the Rio Abajo by Richard Melzer and Matt Baca, guest columnists  | Feb 18, 2021

• When Dirt was Cheaper in the Country!: A New Biography of Casey Luna by RichardMelzer, guest Columnist | Mar 18, 2021

• The Free State of Socorro, 1953: Amusing Publicity Stunt or Serious Attempt at Secession? by guest columnist Richard Melzer | Apr 15, 2021

•  The Free State of Socorro, 1953: Amusing Publicity Stunt or Serious Attempt at Secession?  (Part II) by guest columnist Richard Melzer | Apr 22, 2021

• The Tale of Two Eloisas: Los Lunas to Santa Fe & Beyond by Patty Guggino,  guest columnist | Apr 29, 2021

• Cattle and Horse and Dogs, Oh My! Veterinary Care in Valencia County  by John Taylor, guest columnist | Jun 17, 2021

• Cattle and Horse and Dogs, Oh My! Veterinary Care in Valencia County (Part II) by John Taylor, guest columnist | Jun 24, 2021

• Long hours, strange stories and fond memories by Richard Melzer, guest columnist | Oct 28, 2021

• Long hours, strange stories and fond memories (part II) by Richard Melzer, guest columnist | Oct 28, 2021

• La Llorona: The Weeping Woman by Richard Melzer, guest columnist | Oct 28, 2021

• Phil Coudert: The Veteran's Veteran by John Taylor, guest columnist | Nov 11, 2021

• Phil Coudert: The Veteran's Veteran (Part II) by John Taylor, guest columnist | Nov 18, 2021

• The Livers Brothers from Jarales by John Taylor, guest columnist | Dec 2, 2021

2020

• When a barefoot village boy from Abó Viejo attended a Catholic Seminary in Santa Fe: Francisco Sisneros' years at the Immaculate Heart of Mary Seminary, 1962-1966 by Richard Melzer, guest columnist | Jan 16, 2020

• The Dallas Cowboys and racism in America by Richard Melzer, guest columnist | Jan 16, 2020

• The Spanish Flue Epidemic of 1918 in Valencia County by Richard Melzer, guest columnist | Mar 26, 2020

• Fiorello's: How an Italian boy from war-torn Europe created an authentic Italian restaurant in Belen by Richard Melzer, guest columnist | Apr 16, 2020

• Fiorello's: How an Italian boy from war-torn Europe created an authentic Italian restaurant  in Belen (Part II) by Richard Melzer, guest columnist | Apr 16, 2020

• A History of the Census in New Mexico by Richard Melzer, guest columnist | Apr 23, 2020

• Worse Than Cabin Fever: Pest Houses in New Mexico History by Richard Melzer, guest columnist | Jun 4, 2020

• Raising goatheads as a cash crop by John Taylor, guest columnist | Aug 13, 2020

• Learning Great Leadership: John Chavez at the New Mexico Military Institute, 1981-1986 by Valencia County News-Bulletin | Aug 20, 2020

• Wearing Masks: Lessons from the Spanish Flue Epidemic of 1918 by Richard Melzer, guest columnist | Sep 24, 2020

• Wearing Masks: Lessons from the Spanish Flue Epidemic of 1918 (Part II) by Richard Melzer, guest columnist | Oct 29, 2020

• The Kuhn Hotel: An Endangered Historic Property by Richard Melzer and Jim Sloan, guest columnists | Dec 10, 2020

2019

• What do Willie Mays, a foul ball and a kid with family ties to Belen have in Common? by Richard Melzer, guest columnist | Jun 20, 2019

• They call him Coach "Bull" Padilla by Richard Melzer, guest columnist | Aug 15, 2019 

• Many fought for their dreams by Richard Melzer, guest columnist | Oct 17, 2019

• How to be a Coach's Spouse: Sue Henington's Manual for Beginners by Richard Melzer, guest columnist | Oct 24, 2019

2002

• Presidents never acknowledge them by Roy Lemons, guest columnist | Mar 9, 2002

• Golden Boy by Valencia County News-Bulletin | Mar 16,  2002

• When robbers hit a Belen jewelry store, their escape turned deadly by Valencia County News-Bulletin | Apr 20, 2002

• Saga of the Sea by Valencia County News-Bulletin | Jul 20, 2002

• Death of a railroad man by Valencia County News-Bulletin | Aug 17, 2002