ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – A group of Albuquerque historians is working with the city to shine a light on the city’s and state’s history.
Roger Zimmerman of the Albuquerque Historical Society, Diane Schaller, president of Historic Albuquerque Inc., and Roland Penttila, a member of both groups, created more than 100 question-and-answer slides that they plan to display on monitors at Albuquerque Rapid Transit (ART) stations across the city.
“Our town [City of Albuquerque] and our state have a lot of unique history and it’s, you know, anything to pique people’s interest in history and preserving history and seeing the value of it,” said Schaller when asked about the goal of the project.
The project began in 2017 and features questions about transit, Albuquerque and New Mexico history, significant events, important figures such as the Navajo Code Talkers, and some less-known individuals who Schaller said are worth knowing about.
“All this history of outstanding people, great accomplishments, which very few people know about. So, I guess you’d say that’s another thing for me, is to get these people known,” Schaller explained.
The questions are also paired with historical images from the organization’s own collection, the Albuquerque Museum’s archives, and people’s personal photos.
The City of Albuquerque confirmed that it is working with Historic Albuquerque Inc. on the project. KRQE News 13 asked if the city has a timeline for the project to be implemented.
The city provided the following statement:
“Since work began on the project, the department’s IT division has been experiencing technical issues with many of the monitors at the ART platforms which has delayed implementation. Now that the hardware and software have been upgraded, we are hopeful the history project will be added to the rotation by the end of the calendar year. ABQ RIDE is thankful for the opportunity to work with Historic Albuquerque and the Albuquerque Museum on this unique and insightful project and we look forward to the day the public can see it displayed during their daily commute.”
In the meantime, on Saturday, the Wheels Museum in Albuquerque and Penttila held a “Jeopardy” event with prizes using the questions created by Schaller, Penttila and Zimmerman.
