With support from the University of Richmond

History News Network

History News Network puts current events into historical perspective. Subscribe to our newsletter for new perspectives on the ways history continues to resonate in the present. Explore our archive of thousands of original op-eds and curated stories from around the web. Join us to learn more about the past, now.

Richard Melzer: UNM-VC historian knows where the bodies are buried

Rio Communities Richard Melzer has spent a lot of time during the last decade in cemeteries throughout New Mexico, but he's not a morbid man.

He's discovered a marker that goads from the grave: "I told you I was sick."

He's stood at the final resting places of author D.H. Lawrence, historian Fray Angelico Chavez and race car driver Jerry Unser Jr.

A little more than a week ago, Melzer's new book depicting famous gravesites in New Mexico hit the bookstores. It's the 10th book published by the Rio Communities resident.

Melzer — a history professor at the University of New Mexico-Valencia Campus, the vice president of the Valencia County Historical Society and current president of the Historical Society of New Mexico — laughs when he says nine of his books started out as articles.

"It's a family joke that I always start (a book) by writing an article," Melzer laughs. "But I've always wanted to be able to do it."

"Buried Treasures, Famous and Unusual Gravesites in New Mexico History" is 10 years in the making, and Melzer said his travels led him to more than 150 cemeteries in New Mexico....
Read entire article at http://www.news-bulletin.com