Today is the first day of our centennial year. There will be many celebrations during the next 12 months, the first of which will take place Friday, Jan. 6. (also Dia de los Tres Reyes or Day of the Three Kings). The Grand Centennial Ball, themed "Step Back in Time for the Future of New Mexico," will be held at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center. Proceeds from the ball will go to the newly established Centennial Children's Legacy Fund, which is being created to service the needs of children in our state with the help of several business partners.

Herewith, we highlight six Santa Fe flagship companies that have been in operation for over 100 years. Like our community elders, these establishments have weathered the good times and bad, have grown old gracefully and continue to add vibrance to our community.

u According to historical records, the La Fonda (at its current landmark location on the Plaza) was originally called the Exchange Hotel, and was named so in 1821, soon after Capt. William Becknell completed the first successful trading expedition from Missouri to Santa Fe, officially opening the Santa Fe Trail.

u The first Anglo American woman to travel along the Santa Fe Trail was Mary Donoho who, in 1833, left Missouri with her husband, William, settled in Santa Fe and operated the (now La Fonda) hotel for seven years. During the 19th century, the hotel changed names several times, starting out as the Exchange Hotel, then the Santa Fe House, followed by the U.S. Hotel and finally La Fonda at the End of the Trail. The fonda (inn) by any name was the preferred lodging for trappers, soldiers, gold miners, gamblers and politicians.

u First National Bank of Santa Fe, the oldest bank in the Southwest, was founded in 1870 by Lucien B. Maxwell, 45 years before New Mexico became a state. During its early history, the independently owned commercial bank and trust company served primarily the ranching and mining communities. During World War II, the bank was the repository for the government's Los Alamos wartime operations fund.

u Reynolds Insurance was founded by Paul Wunchman in 1882 and sold to Carl Bishop in 1929. Later, the agency joined forces with Le Roy Manual and William Hunker to form Bishop, Manual & Hunker Inc., which operated under the same ownership in Santa Fe until 1973. Ransom Reynolds joined the agency in 1970 and purchased the business in 1973, the same year he renamed the agency Reynolds Insurance Inc. Upon Reynolds' death in 2007, Jack Rodar, vice president of operations, purchased the company.

u Century Bank opened in Santa Fe in 1887 as the Mutual Building and Loan Association. According to historical records, a group of 80 people met on Aug. 27, 1887, in Catron Hall to organize the Mutual Building and Loan Association, taking advantage of the law enacted that year by the Territorial Legislature and approved by Gov. Edmund Gibson Ross. The first president of the association was William W. Griffin, who was born in Clarksburg, Va., in 1830. Griffin worked as a U.S. surveyor before moving west to Santa Fe in 1860. Legend indicates he walked most of the distance, traveling through Arkansas and Texas.

u The hospital now known as Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center was founded in 1865. At the bequest of Archbishop Lamy, four Sisters of Charity came to Santa Fe from Cincinnati, traveling by boat, train and stagecoach to open St. Vincent Hospital. A year later Sisters of Charity from France arrived at Galveston Island, Texas, and founded the first Christus Hospital. In 1883, St. Vincent Sanatorium opened but was destroyed by fire 13 years later. In 1920, a second sanatorium, complete with electricity, steam heat and a laboratory, was opened and in 1950 a new hospital was built next door. By 1977, the hospital was relocated permanently to St. Michael's Drive.

u Last but not least, the Santa Fe New Mexican began printing in 1849. Independently owned by the McKinney family since 1949, it's the oldest newspaper in the West. In its 163-year history, the paper has had several publishers and has undergone many successful transformations — the most recent being the inclusion of digital media. Today, The New Mexican continues to provide the most in-depth local news coverage in Santa Fe.

Ana Pacheco's weekly tribute to our community elders appears every Sunday she can be reached at 505-474-2800.