Books Available by Author Gary Tietjen
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| Books available from the Author: |
Encounter With the Frontier Ernst Albert Tietjen, Missionary and Colonizer History of the Ramah Pioneers |
| Pricing: |
$15.00 each $3.00 postage (each) |
| To Order your copy: |
Please write to: Books c/o Gary Tietjen 10200 Coronado Ave NE Albuquerque, NM, 87122-3308 |
Encounter With The Frontier.Encounter With The Frontier is a brief history of McKinley and Cibola Counties, first published in April, 1969. It is an 8.5x11 (109 pages) softback with many pictures of scenery and people in the county. It was said to be the most popular book in the Gallup Library, but has been out of print since 1969. This second edition is slightly enlarged. The author grew up in this locality and lived in Ramah, Bluewater, Thoreau, Prewitt, Ambrosia Lake, Rinconada, McGaffey, Grants and Datil. Much of this material was passed down to him by the Tietjen and Berryhill families, who were cattle ranchers. It includes histories of Zuni, Acoma, Cebolleta, San Rafael, Ft. Wingate, Cubero, Adam's Diggings, Ramah, the Railroad, Coolidge, Thoreau, Grallup, Bluewater, Grants, Prewitt, Ambrosia Lake, Chaco Canyon, Rehoboth and Fence Lake. It contains a lot of Tietjen and Berryhill history and many stories of the Old West. |
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Ernst Albert Tietjen, Missionary and Colonizer.Ernst Albert Tietjen, Missionary and Colonizer is an 8.5x11 softback (245 pages), a reprint of the hardback edition that went out of print in 1992. This history begins when Ernst Albert, as a nine year old boy in a small town in Sweden, is excited by a commotion on a street corner. He and his father, driving a wagon, come upon a mob stoning two young Americans. They rescue the pair, take them home, discover they are Mormons and become converted to the Mormon faith. They are caught up in the "Gathering of Israel", a great flood of immigrants to Salt Lake City, the American Zion. As a young man, Ernst subsequently makes seven trips across the Great Plains to assist other converts to Utah. He is called by Brigham Young to be a missionary to the Navajos and is sent to far away New Mexico, a call that lasts a lifetime. Ernest is a leader in establishing three Mormon colonies: Savoya, Ramah, and Bluewater, and in building two large irrigation projects. He and a few other Mormon colonists construct over 100 miles of the Atlantic and Pacific Railroad through New Mexico and Arizona. He becomes the first Mormon Bishop in New Mexico. The settlements of Savoya and Ramah are among the first white settlements in Western New Mexico. They pre-date the Railroad towns of Gallup, Grants, and Holbrook. They are carved out of territory claimed by the Cattle Barons of the 1880s. Their existence is threatened by sheepmen, cattlemen, Apaches and Navajos. Bluewater is a joint irrigation venture with the Railroad, but its existence is severely challenged by cattlemen and big interests. This story provides an intimate glimpse into the workings of a Mormon family and a Mormon colony 100 years ago. Ernst lived in a violent era. He sought no station in life; he was only a tiller of the soil. He spent only what time was absolutely necessary in laboring on his own behalf; every spare moment went into teaching the gospel to others. The only reward for this simple way of life was a lasting place in the hearts of those around him. It is the story of the Indians Ernest met and loved and feared and respected. There are many pictures of the Tietjen family. |
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From the Preface of History of the Ramah Pioneers.Mormon colonization was the predominant single force in the settlement of the West, resulting in 500 Latter Day Saint communities with nearly 400 established by Brigham alone. These colonies differed sharply from the usual hap-hazard settlement in this respect: they were organized in advance with a leader appointed by Church authorities. The leader frequently led the way to the colony. The settlers had been prepared with a list of what they would need. They felt that they were on a mission, that they had been called of God to come there and conquer the desert and “build up the Kingdom.” Many of them had been uprooted from more comfortable surroundings. Their religion was a strongly unifying force; they would live together and worship together. When defense from Indians was a consideration, a fort was built first. As soon as the threat was over, a townsite was mapped out according to a standard plan. Blocks were laid out with a town square for a church; streets were wide and aligned with the cardinal directions. Each family was given a lot in town and one outside in “the big field.” The colonists were farmers, using irrigation extensively. They cooperated in building a reservoir and in helping each other with building, fencing, etc. They kept the outside world at arm’s length in order to preserve their culture.Ramah is a small Mormon community in western New Mexico located between El Morro National Monument (Inscription Rock) and Zuni Pueblo. It used to be said that it consisted of 13 families living on one street. It sits in a beautiful valley two miles long and one mile wide and 6900 feet in elevation. At one corner of the valley great red and white cliffs frame a serene mountain lake (see cover). It was founded by Mormon missionaries to the Indians in 1876 before Grants or Gallup existed. It is sandwiched between the Zuni and Navajo Reservations. This book includes a lot of Ramah History but it is not a history of Ramah. It is a history of Ramah's pioneers. Their experiences before coming to Ramah ranged far and wide. Thus the geography of this book wanders from the North Atlantic across Nebraska and Wyoming, into Utah, then crisscrosses Arizona, New Mexico and plunges into Mexico. Ramah’s history summarizes the entire Mormon pioneering experience. The Mexican colonies became a language training mission for an incredible number of mission presidents, stake presidents and General Authorities. |
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Other books by the Author: |
Mormon Pioneers in New Mexico A Topical Dictionary of Statistics |