Taking A Stand

Left: Gertrude Zachary's new house, under construction.


I was a bit mystified, yet heartened, by this phenomenon. Gertrude Zachary, a long-time Indian jewelry and antiques entrepreneur, and also one of New Mexico's most-successful and best-recognized business women, is building a new home (in what appears to my uneducated eye to be the 19th-Century Huning Mansion style) near Lead and First Streets, SW, in Albuquerque, adjacent to one of her shops. By itself, this would not be such a big deal, but that entire neighborhood is ground-zero for Albuquerque's homeless problem, a pernicious blight since the early 70's. It takes a far-sighted, steely energy to make that kind of commitment to the area when the faint-of-heart took flight decades ago. She must know something we don't!

The very best to Gertrude Zachary!