Calendar
Moving Beyond the Stereotypes: Jewish Women and Men on the Santa Fe Trail
Presented by Dr. Frances Levine
September 8, 2025
7pm via Zoom
The literature of the Santa Fe Trail spans more than two centuries of Western history. Jewish men were early traders in the commerce and were sometimes portrayed as unusual participants on the Trail. When joined by their families, women served as community builders creating the diverse landscape of the American West. Dr. Levine will survey the literature examining the stereotypes and the role of Jewish women, men, and their families on the Santa Fe Trail.
Frances Levine has had a distinguished career as a museum executive leader at both ends of the Santa Fe Trail. She was the Director of the Palace of the Governors/ New Mexico History Museum from 2002 until she moved to St. Louis in 2014. Dr. Levine was the President and CEO of the Missouri Historical Society and Missouri History Museum from spring 2014 until summer 2022. She served as the Interim Director for the opening year of the St. Louis Kaplan Feldman Holocaust Museum in 2022-2023. She now works as an author and museum consultant.
A native of Connecticut, Frances received her B.A. in Anthropology from the University of Colorado, Boulder, and her M.A. and Ph.D. in Anthropology from Southern Methodist University, Dallas.
Dr. Levine is the author, co-editor or contributor to several award-winning books. Crossings will receive the 2025 Gaspar Pérez de Villagrá award from the New Mexico Historical Society recognizing it as an outstanding contribution to the history of the American Southwest and Borderlands.
For more information email admin@nmjhs.org or call 505-348-4471
NM State Historic Preservation Conference
October 3-5, 2025
New Mexico Highlands University
Las Vegas, NM
Go to www.preservenewmexico.com to learn more
Tunes and Tints: 18 Jewish Artists Who Played and Painted Their Way to Fame
Presented by Rabbi Jack Schlachter
January 20, 2026
7pm via Zoom
In this presentation, we’ll investigate the lives and creative works of nine Jewish visual artists and nine Jewish musicians for a total of 18 (=Chai) talented individuals. We’ll also explore the apparent restrictions on these two fields stemming from the Ten Commandments. The talk will provide an opportunity to see some familiar faces, view some remarkable works of art, listen to some wonderful music, and learn about these gifted trailblazers.
Jack Shlachter is a physicist who worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory for over thirty years with briefer stints at Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York, the Atomic Energy Agency, and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization, the latter two based in Vienna, Austria; he led both the Physics Division and Theoretical Division during his LANL career. In parallel, Jack is an ordained rabbi who led the Jewish congregation in Los Alamos for many years, was the rabbi in Center Moriches, NY, during his years at Brookhaven, and now serves as rabbi of HaMakom, a congregation in Santa Fe, NM as well as the Los Alamos Jewish Center. He has also provided itinerant rabbinic support to far-flung Jewish communities including those in Vienna, Beijing, Warsaw, and Bangkok.
For more information email admin@nmjhs.org or call 505-348-4471
Join us for a fascinating story of Hidden Muslim Identities in New Spain with Dr. Karoline Cook, Lecturer, Ibero/Atlantic History, Royal Holloway College, University of London.
Event co-sponsored with the Islamic Center of New Mexico
Pre-Registration via zoom is required.
A Stroll Down American Musical Theatre from the Old Country to the U.S. featuring well-known Jewish song writers, playwriters, and theatre producers.
Dr. Stephen Whitfield
Professor Emeritus
American Studies
Brandeis University
Join us for our Annual Business Meeting including the 2021 Hurst Award Presentation.
A Speaker Program will follow around 2:00 p.m. More information to follow
