History is the focus of this gang

RIO RANCHO — Imagine that: Don Bullis, a guy who always wears a cowboy hat, is a gang member.

Not in the traditional sense, mind you, rather as a member of the unique “Gang of Five Plus One,” four men and a woman in love with talking, researching and writing about New Mexico history. The “Plus One” is the late B.G. Burr, another guy who shared their Land of Enchantment passion, often with one or more of them.

They’ve all done considerable research in their decades of life in New Mexico, of which just two are natives.

Bullis, who lives in Rio Rancho, is from the Midwest and because of his love for writing — and staying busy — has been busy compiling a bibliography of books written about New Mexico, fact and fiction, of which he’s written about 15.

“The last (bibliography) was written in 1947,” Bullis said, noting his “list” is at 2,000 and growing.

Writing is what he’s all about, and a lot of his subject matter comes from his gang meetings. The group meets monthly, either in Albuquerque or Los Lunas, someplace all can agree upon.

Their “meetings” last up to two hours, and time flies by.

Richard Melzer, one of the gang members, has written, edited or co-edited more than 30 historical books about New Mexican subjects, and told the Observer the meetings usually start with one of his bad jokes.

And like the myriad Land of Enchantment history topics, he has myriad bad jokes.

Maggie (Espinosa) McDonald is the lone female. Her father, the late Antonio Gilberto Espinosa (1897-1983), was a descendant of Marcelo Espinosa, one of Spanish colonial New Mexico’s first settlers, who accompanied Juan de Onate in 1598.

“Maggie’s a real addition to the group,” Bullis said.

John Taylor is also a gang member; he’s a knowledgeable historian in Valencia County, often pairing with Melzer on projects.

Robert Torrez, the state historian from 1987-2000, was a great pick to be a gang member. He has published close to 200 scholarly and popular articles about historical topics and continued to write more than a dozen books. An expert on Territorial New Mexico, he knows all about the hangings — legal and not-so-legal — of that era; he was also the president of the New Mexico Historical Society, of which all five are members, from 1996-99.

The annual convention was in late April at Embassy Suites in Albuquerque.

One doesn’t even have to buy their books to learn about the great history of the 47th state.

Melzer and Taylor contribute on a monthly basis “La Historia del Rio Abajo” to the Valencia County News-Bulletin. There was a time when Bullis supplied the Observer with historical articles, titled, “Ellos Pasaron Por Aqui,” (They passed by here).

“John and Richard started out to do a trilogy of books on Valencia County; they’re working on the seventh of the trilogy right now,” Bullis quipped.

How the gang began

“Melzer and I used to get together and have lunch every month,” Bullis said, recalling the two were first acquainted from their membership on the New Mexico Historical Society.

“One month, he brought John Taylor along; we had lunch a few times. Then, I also used to have lunch with Robert Torrez from time to time,” he said. “So, I asked him if he’d like to join us for lunch, and it became the ‘Gang of 4.’

“Then Maggie — Maggie and Richard are close friends — mentioned to Richard that she’d like to sit in, so he asked if we minded, and we said no. So, she became the fifth member. … Melzer’s the one that named it.

“Then, we were having a conversation one day and B.G. Burr’s name came up in the conversation — and of course B.G. died — somebody said, probably Melzer, we ought to make him part of the name of five? … I said, why don’t we make it the ‘Gang of 5 plus 1?’”

Naturally, they’re all members of historical society, and most have held or still hold board positions.

At one time, Melzer was planning to write the biography of infamous New Mexican Gus Raney, only to decide the truth story was pretty dark, and was OK with Bullis taking the reins.

“In many ways, (Raney) was an amazing person,” Bullis, who made a presentation about Raney at the April convention, said. To get away with what he did in his lifetime, and then being able to stand around and brag about it: ‘Yeah, I’ve killed a bunch of guys. I’m not sorry I carried any of them.’ He only spent 22 months and 22 days in prison. We know that he killed five people; odds are good he killed his own sons, to bring the total up to seven. And then, based on the many stories that he told and others told about him, you could get up to about 16 or 17 that he may or may not have killed.”

Raney’s earliest killing may have occurred when he was just 7 years of age and he killed an AWOL soldier — “took his gun away from him and killed him, shot him in the head. Seven years old! But none of these stories ever got to print.”

Like we heard at the end of the movie, “The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance,” when the legend becomes fact, print the legend.

Gang members have own expertise

“It’s a good group; it’s a good balance,” Melzer said.

“John Taylor wasn’t (at the recent meeting). We missed that balance; there was some chemistry loss there, because we all contribute something different. … It’s really amazing.

“Torrez is colonial and Mexican; Bullis is late 19th century; I’m a 20th century guy, mostly, and there’s no overlap for competition,” he said. “In fact, whenever I have a question, I know exactly who to go to.”

“It’s like a history seminar — one thing leads to the next, in terms of discussions. … It’s just a joy,” Melzer continued. “I must say, it’s the highlight of my month, and I think that’s true for all of us. … We usually meet for an hour and a half, two hours, and it goes so fast you don’t even realize it.”

“We’re all historians; we’ve all published books,” Bullis said. “Everybody does their own thing.”

The topics they choose to write about aren’t always earth-shattering historical events: Taylor’s working on private chapels; Melzer is researching bicycles; McDonald is looking into cowboy hats, having learned a bit about that topic from Bullis.

“I really enjoy this group,” said McDonald. “I learn something every time we meet, and I think that’s what I enjoy most, always amazed at what I learn — it might be just a tiny, little thing, but it’s something that strikes me. That’s all I can say. It’s a fascinating group. … Collectively, we end up bringing all kinds of information to each other.

“I think Robert Torrez knows the most, and he’s hilarious,” she said. “(He) was the state historian for 16 years, and whenever he had free time, he would go across to the archives and go through the archives. So, when you talk to him and ask about something, he sits there and looks at you, and the next thing, he’s expounding.”

Melzer said his next book will be “a strange one: a history of New Mexico in 100 objects.

“We’ve got the hundred. The first draft is at UNM Press,” he said. UNM Press also did his most recent book, a biography about former Lobo and Dallas Cowboys running back Don Perkins.

Among the 100 “objects” is one in Bernalillo, “Los Matachines.”