Pete Sahd

S. Peter “Pete” Sahd was a top athlete, teacher, merchant, journalist, publisher and New Mexico political figure. He was one of UNM’s most loyal fans, driving 225 miles riund trip from Penasco to Albuquerque for most every home Lobo football and basketball game until his death at the age of 79.

Sahd came to New Mexico from Lebanon at age 9. He graduated from St. Michael’s High in Santa Fe in 1929. He worked his way through the University of New Mexico, earning letters in football and track and field and a journalism degree in 1937.

His teaching started in a one-room classroom in Golden to teacher, coach and principal at Stanley High School. One of his students was Bruce King, New Mexico’s future governor.

Sahd joined the Navy in World War II, and in 1943, he was a radar technician in Jacksonville, Fla., where he instructed a tech by the name of George Bush.

Sahd moved back to Penasco, opened a general store and founded the town’s monthly newspaper, the Penasquero. He was very active in the Republican Party and was a candidate for the U.S. Congress in 1968.

Sahd was president and director of the Taos Chamber of Commerce, a member of the National Boy Scouts of America Council and a member of the Veteran’s Service Commission.