New Mexico to honor dryland farming pioneer

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico is honoring a dryland farming pioneer. The Albuquerque Journal reports (http://bit.ly/2qIFlpk ) that the New Mexico Historic Preservation Division and the Department of Transportation will dedicate a state historic marker to Mollie Klapp. The dedication will be held Wednesday at the intersection of N.M. 41 and Madrid Avenue near Moriarty. Klapp was a widow with seven children who moved to New Mexico in the 1900s. She was a dryland farmer who took advantage of the climate and sandy soils to grow pinto beans in Estancia Valley. Klapp as a homesteader at the time contributed to the 2.5 million pounds of pinto beans that were annually harvested and shipped from central New Mexico. A state historian called her a brave woman whose life illustrated the hardships of a homesteader. ___ Information from: Albuquerque Journal, http://www.abqjournal.com