Adams State Academic Research

: The historic mining community of Summitville during the great depression: a historical archaeological approach; Thirty-Three historic structures in various stages of decay are all that remain of the gold mining community of Summitville. Summitville, which is nestled in the mountains of southern Colorado, was once known as one of the most productive gold mines in all of the state. This community was organized into a Company Town in 1934. There have been no prior archaeological investigations at this site, and, therefore, little is known about how far the company went to control the residents and their everyday lives. Based on the results from survey, readings, and interviews it can be shown that Summitville had a different social dynamic when it came to the company versus employees. What emerges from this research is a picture of a company town that seemed to occupy a more central location somewhere between complete paternalistic control and something that is more akin to benign paternalism. Background research, ethnographic interviews, in addition to comparative research into regional and national company town comparisons aided in the archaeological interpretations of what was a unique version of a Company Town.

: Their Harrowing Experience: A Social History of the Spanish Influenza Among the People of New Mexico, 1918-1919; The Spanish Influenza of 1918-19 affected everyone on the globe. The first known H1N1 virus, it caused unprecedented morbidity and mortality. Unlike other viruses, its potential for developing into bacterial pneumonia made it especially dangerous in an age without the benefit of antibiotics. When the influenza arrived in New Mexico during the fall of 1918, the state lacked a centralized department of health to assist in combating the epidemic by providing medical assistance and logistics. A proto command center was set up in Las Vegas to monitor the disease and provide medical personnel. However, in the fifth largest state of the U.S., the challenges of distance were compounded by poverty and inadequate roads. Meanwhile, the people of New Mexico mustered traditional reactions to illness and death and dying. But this strain of the H1N1 virus had features that quickly overwhelmed traditional practices. Historical analysis of how New Mexicans in pueblos, on reservations, in villages and in towns coped with the flu and its aftermath out of their cultural responses to illness and death reveals some patterns other historians have identified. However, the indigenous cultural enclaves in New Mexico, only partially touched by modernity, yielded some unique and, sometimes, tragic responses.

: Wyoming Coal and its Place in the American West; To define the American West is a daunting task for any scholar. Ideas of the American West permeate around its location, development, continuity and historical reference in time. The purpose of Wyoming Coal and Its Place in the American West is to identify the role assumed by Wyoming coal production concerning the American West. To better understand the contributions of Wyoming coal, three aspects will addressed; 1) Wyoming's territorial and state development, 2) the maturation and comparison of coal and other industries in Wyoming, and 3) defining the degree of impact coal played concerning Wyoming and the American West. Specifically, this examination will survey the early years of Wyoming history (1850-191 0) and inspect the development of Wyoming and to determine what role coal extraction played pertaining to the inception of the territory and later the state, especially in politics and economics. Furthermore, other institutions pertinent to Wyoming including pastoral, agrarian, and the railroad industries are discussed with respect to the development of each within the state and are compared concurrently with the development of coal mining in a chronological fashion. Lastly, the relationship between coal mining and other Wyoming industries is used to determine the levels of conformity, adaptation, and deviation of American West Historiography and the state's relationship with the west.

: Ø; The non-representational sculptures in this body of work, "Ø", are designed using transparency, light, space, and fluidity to inspire viewers to reflect upon their personal relationship with the Divine. The compositions use various media, principals of design, and architectural elements to encourage contemplation.

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