THE MISSING BELL AND THE HOLE IN THE ESTUFA

The Missing Bell and the Hole in the Estufa
by Richard Drake, guest writer

In college young men were always doing crazy and fun things. One of the men, in particular, comes to mind. Charles "Swede" Carlson was a friend of Robert Stebbins and mine. He was my team mate, fraternity brother, work mate, fellow Marine  and personal friend for sixty years. Swede was known for his ready mischievous smile.  When you met him he became your friend. He passed away this past January in Las Cruces, New Mexico. I wrote two mini stories after I learned of his passing and recently pulled them  out of my files. I have merged the two into this story..  

During one spring, a geology student was doing field work in the wilds of Northern New Mexico. He came back to school with a tale of a bell he had discovered in the steeple of an old decaying church.  The building had been abandoned and was nearing collapse.  After his fraternity brothers  heard the story, it was soon discussed that their frat house had a place for a bell but they had never been able to afford the purchase of one.  It would be fitting if the bell could be moved to a proper place on their house. 

An excursion was soon organized. One a Saturday morning several vehicles were filled with the young men, plenty of sandwiches and, of course, lots of iced Coors beer. Off they went on an adventure.

The church was found and the bell was retrieved, which was no easy task, considering the condition of the building.  After loading the bell in the back of a pickup and several minutes of quenching their thirsts, they noticed a cowboy on horseback approaching.  The man told them that they were trespassing and had no business being on the property.  Everyone quickly left with the bell still secure in the back of the truck.

Halfway  back to Albuquerque they ran into a State Police roadblock.  Yes, they were looking for the group. The police made everyone wait and after about an hour in the hot sun, two pickups loaded with Indians drove up.  It turned out that the church was on an Indian Reservation.  The Police knew several of the young men since they played football for the Lobos.  They were not worried about getting into trouble but did hide the beer.

To make a long story short a "Pow Wow" was held in the middle of the state highway. Swede was appointed as the leader and he sat with crossed legs facing one of the older Indians. A bottle of bourbon was found in the one of the boys cars and the two took turns sipping from the bottle. They just sat and talked and talked. It was reminiscent  of a scene from a John Wayne movie. One of the college young men, who was observing the negotiations, had the presence of mind to offer a cold beer to each of the Indians standing in a semicircle around the two negotiators.  After the second  round of beer everyone started to become friends.  The police were having a difficult time keeping straight faces while listening to the two negotiators.

The Indians did not want the bell but did not like people coming on their land and taking things without permission.  At long last an agreement was reached. For five dollars and the rest of the bottle the fraternity had a bell for their house.

The second story began after one holiday when the bell was stolen from the fraternity house. The fraternity brothers formed an investigation team.  Everyone was asked to have their girlfriends ask their friends if they knew anything.  It was hoped that one of the culprits would brag to his girlfriend. As predicted they soon they had a good idea of who was guilty. 

The mysterious Estufa sitting on the western edge of campus was often mentioned.  Those who attended the University and long term residents of Albuquerque know the Estufa.  It is located on University Boulevard at the intersection of what was then Grand Avenue, now Martin Luther King Boulevard. It was constructed in the 1906 - 1908 period  and it was modeled after a Kiva of the Santa Domingo Pueblo Indians.  It was the first building of the Pueblo style which became UNM's signature architectural style.  Initially,  it was used by a local service fraternity, but later the Kappa Phi Alpha fraternity  took charge of the building as a meeting place. For years it was the topic of  conversations on campus. No one knew what went on in the secret meetings.  Anything secret was the subject of gossip.

It was rumored that no female has ever been allowed inside. There were always hints of some secret  items it held. One Friday night a group of students gathered at Okie Joes on Central Boulevard just off campus to cast off the tensions of another week of classes. Swede, being the leader that he was,  proposed a plan to get inside the Estufa to take a look. 

The building had a sturdy lock on the door so the group made a small hole in one end of the building in order to crawl inside. It was a chore, since the adobe walls were about 18 inches thick. What they found was just about everything that had been reported missing around campus for a couple of decades, including the lost bell. Everything was loaded into cars and taken to the Phi Delta Theta fraternity house.

After securing all of the items, the group returned to Okie Joes for a victory celebration where it was always 10 cent beer night. The group slowly broke up until only Swede was left.  He knew that he should not drive since he had exceeded his limit so he started walking back to his fraternity house.  The Estufa was on his route and, as he passed, he decided to take one last look to see if any evidence had been left behind.  

After a quick check, and as  he was making his exit he was met by a group of angry Kappa Phi's.  They would not let him out and they called the police. Soon the Campus Police arrived.  Swede  insisted that he had just been walking back to the fraternity house when he saw the hole and was curious for a look. The KPA's wanted Swede charged with larceny but they would not tell the police what was taken . No charges could be filed so a stalemate was declared.  

On Monday morning Dean Mathany took charge and questioned everyone.  Finally he threatened Swede with expulsion if he did not tell the true story. He was only a couple of months form graduation. When threatened with this drastic action, in his words, he "sang like a canary". When all of the contraband had been brought to the Dean's office, he lined the members of both fraternities along the walls of his office.  There were so many they spilled out into the hallway.  A stern lecture was delivered and discipline was handed out to both fraternities.  I don't recall what the discipline action.

The story grew as it made its way around campus and soon Swede was considered a hero.  The next year, following his graduation,  glass jars started showing up on counters all over campus and at each of the off campus watering places.  Each had a small sign was with the brief message "Bring the Swede back for Fiesta".  The jars were soon filled to capacity.  The next spring Swede was flown, first class,  back to Albuquerque for a celebration.. Even the Kappa Phi's played a big role in his return.

Those of us who were at the University at that time will always remember the man who solved the mystery of the Estufa. 

---30---
For Mil's
by Richard Drake, CHS, '53
June 10, 2014