History Notes - Dr. Jo Tice Bloom “Maude McFie Bloom” April 14, 2011

Las Cruces, NM –The Branigan Cultural Center will host a lecture on April 14 about Maude McFie Bloom, an accomplished early twentieth-century historian and educator who wrote the first definitive history of the Mesilla Valley as her New Mexico State University (NMSU) undergraduate thesis in 1903. The lecture will be delivered by Dr. Jo Tice Bloom.

McFie Bloom’s thesis – which later became a popular reference book titled A History of the Mesilla Valley – will be the basis for discussion as Dr. Bloom recalls historic moments and time periods from Mesilla Valley’s past. Dr. Bloom, a retired NMSU professor, currently teaches classes about the history of the Mesilla Valley at the New Mexico Farm & Ranch Heritage Museum.

The April 14 lecture is part of the Branigan’s ongoing “History Notes” lecture series. "History Notes” are informal discussions focusing on local and regional history on the second Thursday of each month from 1 to 2 p.m. at the Cultural Center. Lectures are free and open to the public; no registration is required.

The Branigan Cultural Center is located at the north end of the Downtown Mall in Las Cruces at 501 N. Main Street. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. For more information, contact the Branigan Cultural Center at (575) 541-2154 or visit www.las-cruces.org/museums.