Greetings. Welcome to my blog. I started it to talk about the work I’ve been doing since retiring as a newspaper editor. Mostly I’ve been researching and writing about history. My most recent project is titled Citizen Carl: The editor who cracked Teapot Dome, shot a judge and invented the parking meter.
I was inspired to tell the story of Carl Magee by my 14 years at The Albuquerque Tribune, a paper he founded as Magee’s Independent in 1922. Working at the Trib, I had heard snatches of this man’s amazing tale and was struck by the way his life had shaped my own decades after his death. I wanted to learn more. When I realized that his complete story never had been told, I decided to tackle a full biography. The University of New Mexico Press accepted it for publication, and it was released on April 1, 2024.
Earlier, I pursued a dream my daughter and I had shared. While she was working on her history major in college, she wrote a paper about African American nurses of the Civil War, and we talked about the lack of role models for Black girls studying that seminal event. Once I had time, we co-authored a book for middle-grade students and teachers about seven of those remarkable women. I published Forgotten Angels on Amazon.com (and we’ve been thrilled by its five-star rating and great reviews)
Also, right after I retired, my friend Deborah Fisher at Middle Tennessee State University hired me to produce a white paper for the John Seigenthaler Chair of Excellence in First Amendment Studies. I wrote a report called Uncovering the Police, which tracked trends that threaten public accountability of local and state law enforcement across the United States. The project, which included delivering lectures at the university, was a great way to transition out of daily newspapering and into longer-form research and writing.
Now, on with the journey.
Jack McElroy Books 
Jack! Thank you for writing my grandfather’s bio! I just received it and will dive in soon.
I was hoping to write the book after retiring – but so far I’m a failure at retirement. I’m 75, living in Taos. Two days ago was the 75th anniversary of my father’s death, which left gaping holes in my life, including that of family lore. My Aunt Gertrude died some 20 years ago, my half-sister Marianne is very remote. I have wanted to research the book, and in so doing fill in the gaps – now you have done it for me. Thank you!
When I moved to Taos there were still old-timers who knew my grandfather. A carpenter reported demolishing a wall and finding an inner wall papered with Magee’s Independent! And I have the Colt 25 stashed in my safe deposit box.
The penchant for journalism is alive here: I have written a lot for Casa design magazine in Albuquerque, and for The Taos News as a columnist. And there is a different book still to bewritten: How Nonviolence Works, presenting insights from a lifetime of practice that began marching with MLK, continued at a Gandhi ashram in India, and deepened in ten years of community work in Taos.
I will read the book…follow the blog…and hope to stay in touch. I’m sure I’ll have questions!
Gracias,
Vishu
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Vishu,
Thank you for your note. I’m sorry I didn’t respond sooner. I’m not as attentive to my website as I should be. I’m delighted to hear from you. While I was doing the research, I tried to reach out to Carl’s descendants, but I only found one or two names and wasn’t able to connect. I probably should have tried harder. I would have loved to add to the already remarkable family side of his story. But I’m thrilled to hear from you now. I hope you enjoy the book. As I was working on it, I kept fearing that I would uncover something unsavory about your grandfather. I never did. He was a thoroughly honorable man with a fine family. It was a joy and honor to compile and share his story.
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