Vision Magazine, Aug. 16, 2018

isio n V MAGAZINE

AUGUST 16, 2018

SPOTLIGHT: DRAGONFLY FESTIVAL

ALSO ALSO INSIDE: INSIDE: DIANE DIANE MARSH, MARSH, ENMU-R ENMU-R FOUNDATION FOUNDATION FOR FOR THE THE FUTURE FUTURE BANQUET, BANQUET, FROM FROM THE THE VAULT, VAULT, GIGI GIGI — —A A NEW NEW LANDSCAPE LANDSCAPE ARTIST ARTIST IN IN TOWN, TOWN, GOLDEN GOLDEN ASPEN ASPEN MOTORCYCLE MOTORCYCLE RALLY, RALLY, HAGERMAN HAGERMAN BLOWBACK BLOWBACK RALLY, RALLY, HISTORY, HISTORY, PECOS PECOS VALLEY VALLEY QUILT QUILT SHOW, SHOW, ROSWELL ROSWELL X, X, ‘WRONG ‘WRONG TURN TURN TO TO ROSWELL’ ROSWELL’ AND AND LOOKING LOOKING UP UP

Content

Roswell Daily Record’s

Spotlight: Dragonfly Festival

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Art From the Vault

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Art / Book review Diane Marsh ‘Paintings 1986 - 2017’

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Calendar

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Culture 4

ENMU-R Foundation for the Future Banquet

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Gigi — a new landscape artist in town

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Hagerman Blowback Rally

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History Tode Brenneman was Roswell’s resident humorist for most of the 20th Century, part II

Publisher: Barbara Beck Editor: John Dilmore Vision Editor: Christina Stock Copy Editor: Misty Choy Ad Design: Sandra Martinez Columnists: Steve Alvarez, Donald Burleson, Elvis E. Fleming, S.E. Smith, Peter West, Sara Woodbury Get in touch with us online Facebook: PecosVisionMagazine Twitter: twitter.com/PecosVision Pinterest: pinterest.com/VisionMagazine Email: vision@rdrnews.com www: rdrnews.com/vision-magazine For advertising information, call 622-7710

Pecos Valley Quilt Show

Thursday, August 16, 2018 Volume 23, Issue 8

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Music / Event Golden Aspen Motorcycle Rally with Jordan Mathew Young concert

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Roswell X

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Correspondence: Vision Magazine welcomes correspondence, constructive criticism and suggestions for future topics. Mail correspondence to Vision Magazine, P.O. Drawer 1897, Roswell, N.M. 88202-1897 or vision@rdrnews.com Submissions: Call 622-7710, ext. 309, for writers’ guidelines.

Vision Magazine is not responsible for loss or damage to unsolicited materials.

Vision Magazine is published once a month at 2301 N. Main St., Roswell, N.M. The contents of the publication are Copyright 2018 by the Roswell Daily Record and may not be reprinted in whole or part without written permission of the publisher. All rights reserved.

One copy of each edition is provided to 13,000 weekday subscribers to the Roswell Daily Record in the third Thursday newspaper of each month.

An additional 3,000 to 5,000 copies are made available free of charge to county residents and visitors and select site newsstands, and direct mailed to non-subscribers in the retail trade zone.

Subscriptions are available by mail for $2 a month or free through subscription to the Roswell Daily Record. The Roswell Daily Record and Vision Magazine are represented nationally by Paper Companies Inc.

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Christina Stock Photo J. Michelle Watts is working on new quilt pattern designs. Drawing from the rich Native American motifs, she is planning to create thunderbird patterns.

Watts is the featured quilter at this year’s Pecos Valley Quilt Show.

Culture

Not your grandmother’s quilt show The 15th biennial Pecos Valley Quilt Show, “Patchwork Party,” shows the future of quilting

By Christina Stock Vision Editor

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he Pecos Valley Quilters present their 15th biennial quilt show titled “Patchwork Party.” The show takes place Sept.

14 and 15, at the Roswell Mall, 4501 N. Main St. More than 200 quilts will be displayed from quilters all over the Southwest. According to the Quilting in America 2017 survey, it shows that the annual industry value in terms of consumer spending is $3.7 billion. There are an estimated 7 to 10 million quilters in the U.S., that’s a 48 percent increase over the survey in 2014. Data showed that a younger group of quilters under

the age of 45 are a rapidly growing segment of the quilting population.

These younger quilters have a higher participation rate of time spent on quilting-related websites and online video viewing.

In addition to the quilt displays, there will be around 20 vendors for quilts and handcrafted items. There will be door prizes, a silent auction, the quilters boutique, and demonstrations of techniques and tools.

This is a judged show. Serena Vrnak is a National Quilting Association certified judge from Tyler, Texas.

This year’s featured quilter is J. Michelle

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Watts, who is a founding member of PVQ and lives in Roswell. Watts quilts, designs patterns and fabrics, teaches classes and participates in shows across the nation.

Watts took time between traveling to two shows for an interview. Her calendar can easily compare with one of the busiest CEOs. Her home reflects Watts’ personality and taste with warm earth colors in a Southwest style with quilts in all shapes and sizes adorning the wall.

Her studio is behind the house.

“I feel very lucky that I have a separate studio to work in and be creative. I have a wonder-

ful design wall and have some up on it,” she said.

Asked what she will bring to the Pecos Valley Quilt Show, Watts said, “Being a featured artist for the quilt show this year, I am going to bring a variety of my work. I do appliqué work, I do piece work, I do stencil. I also do hand embroidery — I am going to exhibit a variety. Some of them would have been seen in the shows before. I also do wearable art and probably have some pieces of my wearable art that I’ve done.”

Watts grew up in Odessa, Texas, which is 200 miles from Roswell. “I got married and moved here. That was back in 1982. My husband was working here; he was in the oil and gas business.

“I took up quilting. My husband says it was out of boredom,” Watts said and laughed. “Actually it was because I didn’t know anybody. I didn’t have a lot of friends and was very new to the community. I started when I was 22. I have been doing it for 36 years. Not very many people can say that.”

Watts’ grandmother was a quilter and the young Watts watched her working on quilts.

“I remember going to bed whenever we stayed with her, and you would lay down in the bed and you would look up and there would be a quilt hanging on a frame,” Watts said.

Watts started hand quilting for the public and sold these early pieces.

“I probably made 25 or 50 cents an hour,” she said. “Then it just progressed. Hand quilting turned into making commissioned quilts for other people and then

that became a business.

“I married an accountant by trade and whenever I first hand quilted for the public, he suggested that I start logging in and making a notebook of how many hours it took me for a quilt, so I knew how to quote people prices and I knew how much I was making per hour for a project,” Watts said. “I now have spiral notebooks which are for every single project that I have ever done. It is my history as a quilter.

The methodical part of me still wants to know how many hours it took to make it. In case I ever decide to sell it I can go back and say, ‘Oh, well this took me 180 hours and so I got to sell it for more than $180.’”

This roadmap of her life work will also benefit Watts’ grandchildren and descendants she hopes. “I have 36 years of journal papers that are my quilt history and that’s kind of cool,” she said.

Looking for different patterns, Watts’ became unhappy with the selection on the market in the early ‘80s. “I didn’t see the kind of patterns and things that I had an interest in, which was Southwestern or geometrics, not the traditional block-by-block patterns,” she said.

Watts pulled out graph paper and a pencil and started working on the designs that became uniquely hers.

The patterns she created were inspired by Native American pottery, weaves and baskets, focusing mostly on the Southwest. Other quilters became interested in her design and Watts knew she found her niche.

“The pattern business see

Quilt

on page

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Quilt

Archive Photo by Bethany Freudenthal Jim Waldrip at the Robert H. Goddard Planetarium in January 2015.

Culture

ENMU-R holds its 17th annual Foundation for the Future Banquet

This year Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell Foundation honors Jim Waldrip and the Roswell Daily Record

By Christina Stock Vision Editor he Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell Foundation’s 17th annual Foundation for the Future Banquet takes place on Sept. 25 at The Hi-Q Venue, 208 N. Virginia Ave., from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

This year Jim Waldrip, foundation board member and former ENMU-R instructor, will receive the President’s Distinguished Service Award.

The first residence of Korean War veteran Jim Waldrip and his wife JoAnne Waldrip was at Scott Air Force Base near Belleville, Illinois, where 2nd Lt. Waldrip was stationed.

After returning to civilian life, the couple lived and taught school in Comanche, Oklahoma, for one year.

They came to Roswell in 1955 in order for Jim Waldrip to play for the

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Roswell Rockets’ professional baseball team.

That same year, they began teaching for the Roswell School system.

For two seasons Waldrip played with legendary home-run king Joe Bauman, whose friendship he cherished until his passing in 2005.

Waldrip and Bauman played at the DeBremond stadium in Roswell. Some of his memories he shared in an article a couple of years ago by Linda Stockley Weiler for the Vision Magazine. He remembered when the teams used the old locker rooms, centipedes would come up out of the river and crawl in.

The teams would have to shake out all their gear before putting it on to make sure none of the creatures had gotten inside.

Waldrip joined in 2003 as new board member of the Roswell

Independent School District at the age of 74. It was his first turn holding a public office.

In an article, Waldrip said during his campaign that he would not be a grenade launcher, but a grenade catcher.

In the following years he proved this, voting against closing of elementary schools, requesting more information about disputed fiscal items and always having the interest of the school system in mind. Very few can say that they served as a teacher, coach, administrator and on the school board during their career. Waldrip also wrote a doctoral dissertation on school consolidation. In a short time he became the Roswell School Board President.

He was one of the lead members reorganizing RISD and kept all decisions as much as possisee Honor on page 14

Continued from Page 4 was the next part,” Watts said. “I’ve designed over 120 patterns, written three books, designed three collections of fabrics for a big major fabric company. It’s Moda Fabrics & United Notions out of Texas. Each collection had between 30 and 42 design fabrics.”

“I love seeing it go from an idea in my head, a sketch on a piece of paper to drafting it on graph paper and then seeing it going to a finished project,” Watts said.

In addition to quilting, Watts incorporated painting to her work using oil-based paint sticks.

“They are super-versatile in the quilting world,” she said. “I apply the paint to a pallet, which is freezer paper and then I apply the paint to a stencil brush and then apply the paint to the fabric, which is then heat sealed and permanent.

“I have designed a line of stencils that are laser cut, made out of freezer paper because you can iron the freezer paper on to the fabric. I did make a quilt that is all stenciled. That won an honorable mention last year in 2017 at the American Quilter Society Quilt Show in Paducah, Kentucky — it’s an international show. To have my stenciled quilt judged and win an honorable mention against appliqué pieces and all those other techniques, it means that it is an accepted new technique. It is very new and there are very few people who are doing it,” Watts said.

Watts is also traveling to teach at quilt guilds throughout the country as well as making her quilt kits that sell nationwide and internationally.

Watts is working today on a large quilt, which she said is the most difficult one she has done so far.

“It is a puzzle and it is again a Native American weaving design. It went from being a picture in a book of a weaving, to graph paper and then me calculating and figuring out how to put it together because I have to work with a scale of some kind in order to be able to assemble it, as opposed to a weaver who works with a single yarn and I picked 1/2 inch. It is going to be a big quilt — it will have about 7,000 pieces in it.

It will be my most difficult that I finished, come five or six months from now,” Watts said and laughed, clearly enjoying the challenge.

Watts has a unique insight in

today’s quilting fan base and marketing, traveling to national and international shows, teaching and working in the industry. She is not worried that the art of quilting will go extinct.

“I don’t think that the general public realizes that it is such a huge mass market and that there are so many people in this business,” she said.

“Many years ago somebody said to me, ‘Well, you’ll be probably able to go and lecture and teach for a couple of years on that book (her first book) and then you will have exhausted the masses and nobody will be interested in hearing it.’ What they didn’t realize I think is, that there is a new quilter every day. There is somebody else that got interested or there are new quilters born every day. I am still doing it,” Watts said.

“I feel very blessed that as a pattern designer, I have a successful small business that allows me the opportunity to travel, meet quilters from all over and it puts a smile on my face whenever I get a website order and one of my patterns is made by a quilter in Scotland or Germany,” Watts said. “It is a great feeling that you’ve created something that has sparked somebody else’s interest.

“I can’t imagine what I would be doing if I wouldn’t be doing this. I probably would be pretty bored,” Watts said.

For more information, visit jmichellewatts.com.

The PVQ show’s highlighted quilter is Jennie Kaammeraad. Kaameraad’s display will showcase the variety of ways that one block can be used to create a multitude of effects by changing size, color and perspective.

PVQ members are selling tickets for an opportunity quilt. The quilt was made by members of the quilt show committee. Proceeds will benefit the Loaves and Fishes and Good Samaritan food banks.

On Thursday, PVQ will host a trunk show featuring Marian Ann J. Montgomery, the curator of the Clothing and Textiles Exhibit at the Texas Tech University Museum. Montgomery will present a slide show of the museum’s antique quilts and the stories behind them. Tickets are $15 and available from members or online.

For more information, visit pecosvalleyquilters.org.

Vision Magazine |

Thursday, August 16, 2018

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Christina Stock Photo Gigi Lopez-Contreras looks back on a rich past as columnist and landscape artist. She was the face and heart of the Venezuelan magazine named after her. She is looking forward to a new life in Roswell.

Culture

A new landscape artist in town Venezuelan-born artist finds a home in Roswell

By Christina Stock Vision Editor

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t is always interesting to find out how people find Roswell and why they choose to stay, in this case artist Gigi Lopez-Contreras puts it very straight-forward. “God brought me here,” she said.

Lopez-Contreras still has her Venezuelan

accent. “I’m so glad to be in Roswell. I say that all is well in Roswell — all that is required is to respond to love; love from the beautiful people and the enchanted land of New Mexico, which inspired me to start putting my art inclination into sculp-

tures. I create pots that will look like pieces of this blessed desert land.”

Lopez-Contreras bought a historic house that she is planning to renovate and put her landscape atelier in.

Her miniature desert landscapes are filled

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with local plants and c ac ti an d p l ac e d o n her patio. Her pots are made out of a secret compound that she developed. They look and feel like colorful flowing lava frozen in time.

Lopez-Contreras has a fascinating past, full of travel, glamour and art.

Her career started in Caracas, Venezuela. “I was a model,” she said.

“I had a charm school in the ‘90s.” Her modeling was a stepping stone into a new career — she became a columnist and at one time had one of the fashion magazines in the cultural and industrial metropolis.

The fashion magazine had her name “Gigi” and her portrait in each edition — she was a Venezuelan “Oprah,” appearing in TV shows and big events.

“I used to write for a newspaper,” Lopez-Contreras said.

“It was ‘La Gente de Gigi,’ ‘Gigi’s People.’

I would take somebody that I knew well, that would be doing something interesting.

I loved that, I came to know so many wonderful people. One was a very famous musician, Aldemaro Romero. He is very well known in the Spanish public.”

Lopez-Contreras’ connection to the United States was strong even then. “We were traveling back and forth,” she said. “That is how it was then — those who had the means to do it.

We would study one year here another year there. It was a mixed culture with the United States. We were very pro-America. For shopping you went to New York or Florida and you would do the shopping for the year. We were very much involved

with the U.S. After getting married, the couple went overseas. “I lived in Europe for many years. One of the countries where I lived most was the Netherlands, in Den Haag.

My ex-husband was a merchant marine and was representing the Venezuelan, Columbian and Ecuadorian merchant marine fleet, so we had to be there,” Lopez-Contreras said.

“I lived for the past 20 years in Washington D.C. Mostly in Georgetown where I had a little plant and arrangement shop, Expertise Landscape Design Corporation, serving the greater D.C. area. I worked doing gardens and hardscape in private homes,” Lopez-Contreras said. “Working in Georgetown was such a joy. I ended up becoming close friends with my clients. The Ritz Carlton Hotel extensive penthouse terraces were a challenge because it required specific soil amounts, which were hard to compile when you and your client want heavy full-grown plants — but we did it. There were 16 feet high waterfalls and small ponds. It was a delight to put those in a garden and oh, I loved doing it.”

At this stage in life, Lopez-Contreras followed her faith. “The greatest joy of all I have done in my entire life was the year and a half I spent in Colorado Springs, in Andrew Wommack’s ministry and his Bible College where God had me do the greatest job any human being can do, to pray with the ones that have need and join them in prayer. I did that untill I had to come back to D.C. for

a dream come true, the birth of my beloved John-John, whom I adore,” she said.

“Today my son works for the state department of Venezuela. He is at the moment stationed in Frankfurt, Germany.”

With Venezuela in chaos and in a downward spiral that resembles Germany’s hyperinflation in the early 20th Century, Lopez-Contreras could not return to Caracas.

“I prayed for a place I could afford to live while doing also what I know and like to do and God brought me here,” Lopez-Contreras said.

Her plan is to continue her work as a landscape artist, using local plants for low-maintenance gardens that are water-conservative, but beautiful.

“I hope to contribute something to that because if the people knew how easy it is to make a New Mexico garden, everybody would like to do it,” she said. “There is a lot to do here in Roswell in the plant world.

Because these will become a botanical attraction if you give it an artistic touch. For that, you really have to know what plants you can use here.”

Contreras-Lopez is also thinking of having classes to combine botanics and art. She has joined the Historical Society for Southeast New Mexico and is planning to join other groups to become a member of the community and get involved in the local organizations.

For more information, email lopezcontrerasgigi@gmail.com or call 202-713-6555.

Submitted Photo From left to right: Brian Erickson, representing Hagerman EMS ambulance, Hagerman Police Chief Rachelle Bateman and Liliana Marquez, representing the Hagerman Fire Department.

Children will have plates will be sold startAt 8 a.m., a sand voldestruction in its way. ulture Fortunately, nobody l e y b a l l t o u r n a m e n t fun during the day in ing at 4:30 p.m. was injured, but two takes place. Four versus the bounce house, with There will also be an families lost everything four with six to a team. face paint and the kids’ indoor bingo from 6 to they had, including their To register or for more spray down station.

8 p.m. information about the Cowpie bingo gives homes.

The schedule is subT h e f i r s t r e s p o n d - tournament, call 575- every player a chance ject to change at this First responder and community fundraiser event to win $5,000 cash and time. ers of Hagerman and 840-4864. will help two families who were storm victims At 11 a.m., teams com- $1,000 cash at 2 and 5 surrounding areas are The organizers are

By Christina Stock i n v i t i n g e v e r y b o d y pete throwing horse- p.m. For tickets, call still looking for donaVision Editor to come out and meet shoes. To register in 575-626-8813. Tickets tions to help funding. he first respond- their homes in the June them. The public can advance, call 575-626- can be purchased at For updates, donations ers and commu- windstorm. check out the police 8813. Registration of the Hagerman Police or to volunteer, visit nity of Hagerman teams and payment can Department as well. the Hagerman Police As reported in the cars and fire trucks. invite the public for its Roswell Daily Record There will also be a Department’s Facebook Showing their sense also be done that mornBlowback Rally on Aug. edition on June 6, the of humor, there will be ing. photo booth, donut-eat- page or call 575-6262 5 a t t h e H a g e r m a n storm that went through a dunk-a-cop or -fireThe Runyan Petting ing contest and a pop- 8813.

Police Department, 501 Hagerman hit the small fighter station. A friend- Zoo is bringing their with-a-cop station.

E. Argyle St. The event community with 60 to 80 ly competition of Shield animals. They will be Hamburgers and hot is a fundraiser for the mph straight-line winds versus Hose takes place staying from 11 a.m. to dogs will be available two families that lost leaving damage and at 3:30 p.m.

3 p.m. at noon and enchilada

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A rally to help

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Vision Magazine |

Thursday, August 16, 2018

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Submitted Photo

Jordan Matthew Young to perform in Ruidoso.

Music /

event

Get your motors running

Ruidoso holds 49th annual Golden Aspen Motorcycle Rally

By Christina Stock Vision Editor he 49th annual Golden Aspen Motorcycle Rally takes place from Sept.

19 to 23, Wednesday and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on

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Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will be five days of riding, food, live music and entertainment.

This year the rally returns to Ruidoso Downs Race Track and Casino on the paved

parking lot. While it is a motorcycle rally, the public is invited to join in. The Golden Aspen Motorcycle Rally Association members suggest to get tickets and accommodations early.

There have been changes to the Golden Aspen Motorcycle Rally Association, new owners stepped up to take over the event.

The father-son team of Humberto Maldonado and Blayne Maldonado have taken ownership of the rally this year from its previous owners, Ron Andrews and Jill Andrews.

Humberto Maldonado and Blayne Maldonado are long-time Ruidoso residents and Golden Aspen Rally participants and supporters; they said that they are excit-

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ed to continue the great tradition of the Golden Aspen and AspenCash Rallies — AspenCash is in May. The biggest change that father and son Maldonado are making is to bring the rallies back to their roots by moving them back to Lincoln County and Ruidoso. Also, live music and entertainment will be part of the Golden Aspen Motorcycle Rally days.

Details for the popular parade on Saturday were not released at press time, but the route will be on Sudderth Drive through midtown and conclude at the Ruidoso Downs Race Track.

On Friday and Saturday, the Brigade FMX Stunt Team will perform non-stop action and amazing stunts.

Freestyle Motorcross is the extreme sport for motorcycle fans — nothing can compare to watching a rider jumping a 250 pound motorcycle 75 feet through the air while hanging off the back of it with one hand.

There will be daily bike shows and live music. On Friday night, ticket holders can watch and listen to the Flying J Wranglers during a chuckwagon dinner at the Flying J Ranch, located on 1028 NM-49 in Alto, up the hill from Ruidoso.

Headliner for Saturday night is the blues and rock singer and songwriter Jordan Matthew Young. He will be performing with Candy’s River House Band.

International touring artist Young has shared the stage with the likes of ZZ Top, Tinsley Ellis, Samantha Fish, John Németh, Patrick Sweany, James Harman, Indigenous, Lukas

Nelson, Shooter Jennings, Kyle Gass Band, Shook Twins, Walter Parks, Eric McFadden, and Jared James Nichols. Young is based out of Austin, Texas.

Proud winners of Album of the Year and Best Rock Band in the 2016 Best of Utah Music Awards, Candy’s River House manages a rigorous schedule of 200+ shows a year.

Young has been playing music since he was 12 years old, starting on drums. “I didn’t have any musicians in my family, but when I started playing music it was really obvious for everybody that it was something that I was really drawn to,” Young said in a phone interview. “It grabbed my focus and it was for me very enjoyable to play everyday. I think for some people it’s more work, but to me I always enjoyed playing. I play a lot of different instruments. I basically play three, four hours every day. I just like to play music and it’s always been something that captured my attention.

“After drums, I knew immediately that I wanted to play the guitar in the blues style,” Young said. “I love ZZ Top and AC/DC and I discovered as I got older that it was just blues basically, but with different tempos. It is obviously not like BB King blues.

I knew I would need to learn actually blues guitar if I wanted to play the sounds that I heard in my head. That’s when I moved to Tennessee.

That’s when I really started to play the blues specifically just focusing on blues watching players in Tennessee and going to Memphis and playing there and listening and watching

people. My very first influence was John Lee Hooker and Little Walter, a really famous harmonica guy. I started doing more of the traditional sounds and adding that to what I was already doing as a rock musician.”

Young was always surrounded with music, from country to classic rock. In Tennessee he started to play country. “I just started picking up all these huge influences that I never planned on really,” he said. “It’s taught me so much — playing all these other styles — even if I don’t play them specifically in my band.

Those things only made me a better player, learning all those different styles.”

Young performed in New Mexico before — last year was his first concert in Ruidoso during the rally.

“I love coming there and we are really excited about the run in September,” he said. “Our whole concert is really high energy, we go song for song for song.

Once we start, we don’t stop, we go for it. We have a lot of passion to play.” Young describes his and his band’s style as classic rock, compa rin g it to ZZ T o p, Foghat and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Young stands out in playing slide guitar and performing without synthesizer or other enhancements.

“It’s a real American rock and blues show,” Young said. He also plays the cigar box dobro. “That’s a traditional Delta instrument, like the Mississippi Delta. These old blues players would take any kind of a box or oilcan, anything they could find see

Aspen

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The band members of Roswell X.

Music

Submitted Art

Roswell X

The band Roswell X is coming out with their EP “The Incident”

By Peter West

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he town of Roswell has seen its share of songwriters, performers and musicians, but lately our little New Mexico town has been quiet, a little too quiet. Almost as if something is brewing underground. Something big — a kind of incident that Roswell is known to experience.

Not many people have heard of Roswell’s best kept secret, Roswell X. It’s probably because the band has been qui-

etly crafting their explosive debut EP, “The Incident,” since late 2016, fine tuning every detail.

The EP contains some of the most original rock ‘n’ roll jams this town has seen in a while — and a few covers.

“You never know what you’re gonna have, what’s gonna hit,” the band’s front man Jimmy Mac said. “We got some soft stuff on there and we got some real heavy stuff, so hope-

fully there’s something for everyone on this album.”

Founding members Guitarist Ralph Thornton and Mac are no strangers to sharing the stage. The two grew up in a town just outside of Detroit where they would eventually play in many of the same bands and venues together.

After years of playing the bar scene in Detroit and ultimately Los Angeles, Mac decided to lay low and move to

the town of Roswell. He had enjoyed visiting Roswell throughout the years and convinced longtime friend and writing partner Thornton to come along.

Being used to the Los Angeles scene, Mac figured while he was here, he could at least use this opportunity to find some fill-in musicians to record a few song ideas.

However, once the other members were found, all that changed as the project started to grow into something much more.

Wanting to have a modern meets classic element to the sound, Mac and Thornton had no trouble testing the waters with musicians who didn’t exactly play the same style they were used to. Little Joe (drums) for example was playing Chicano style music when he was asked to join.

“They just made me feel welcome,” Little Joe said. “After we jammed, I saw the looks on their face — they were impressed, and I was impressed that they were impressed.”

With the addition of Little Joe on drums and Former Innerkill members Alan Paschall and Rabid Ivy, the band started writing and self-recording their EP at Ivy’s recording studio “Rabid Music Box.” “We really just wanted to duplicate our live sound” Mac said in regard to the recording process. “Sometimes it’s easy, sometimes it’s hard; it’s almost like catching lightning in a bottle. Sometimes you come up with something spur of the moment and it’s really good.”

Looking at the finished product, there is no doubt that it is going to be a success.

Track after track, the band displays impressive musicianship, tight vocal ranges and soaring melodies. One of the album’s most impressive songs, “Kiss of Fire,” is accompanied by a music video that the band just released on its website and on YouTube. According to the band members, there were enough songs written to put together at least two more albums, meaning that we will be definitely hearing more of this impressive up-and-coming band in the future.

Roswell X’s “The Incident” is available on iTunes, Spotify and as a digital download at rabidmusicbox.com.

Peter West is a new music columnist and has lived in Roswell for almost 10 years. He has been active in the local music community and has been working four years interviewing artists for the podcast “Westward Saenz.” West currently has a YouTube channel, called “Underrated and Underplayed.” He

worked on the DIY Magazine where he wrote about opinions and bands. Today, West is a freelance writer working on a screenplay and various scripts.

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Vision Magazine |

Thursday, August 16, 2018

| 9

Calendar Albuquerque Aug. 18 Bosque Chile Festival Join in the celebration of the chile harvest at the National Hispanic Cultural Center, 1701 Fourth St. SW. Doors open at 10 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. For more information email b o s q u e c h i l e f e s t iva l @ bernco.gov or call 505468-1418.

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Lincoln Aug. 18 Walking Old Lincoln New Mexico History Tours is holding their Walking Old Lincoln tour from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., starting at the Visitor Center in Lincoln. The Walking Old Lincoln tour will include learning about the Apaches who were here first, the first Hispanic settlers and why they came and how they lived and why Fort Stanton was established. The tour also includes visiting historic sites such as the Torreon, San Juan Church, Tunstall Store and Murphy-Dolan’s historic house which later became the Courthouse, along with many other structures that help tell the story of Lincoln. New Mexico History Tours participants will stroll in the footsteps of John Tunstall, Lawrence Murphy, Sheriff William Brady, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. More information and tickets are available at eventbrite. com.

Roswell Aug. 18 Magical & Real Lecture Series: “Windmills, Water, and the Art of Peter Hurd: Lecture and Concert” The free Magical & Real Lecture Series continues at 2 p.m. at the Roswell Museum and Art Center, 1011 N. Richardson Ave., with Leo Mazow, Louise B.

and J. Harwood Cochrane, curator of American art, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. This illustrated lecture explores windmill and related imagery in the art of Peter Hurd. Punctuating the art and cultural history addressed in this illustrated lecture, a concert, performed by The Coverlets, will address the persistence of water, drought, and the vast American Southwest as themes in popular music.

For more information, visit roswell-nm.gov/308/Roswell-Museum-Art-Center or call 575-624-6744.

Roswell Aug. 20 and 21 “Singin’ In The Rain” auditions Way Way Off-Broadway Theatre invites interested singers, dancers and actors to audition for the iconic musical, “Singin’ In The Rain.” The auditions take place on both days from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell Performing Arts Center, 52 University Blvd. For more information, visit waywayoffbroadway.com, on its Facebook event page or call 575-317-0157.

Roswell Aug. 18 “The Curse of the Hopeless Diamond” dinner theatre The Roswell Community Little Theatre invites the public to its 60th anniversary, which includes “The Curse of the Hopeless Diamond.” It’s a murder mystery dinner theater performance at the Roswell Country Club, 2601 Urton Road. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. The prime rib dinner and cash bar starts at 6 p.m. Evening wear attire. As it is a diamond anniversary a lucky guess can win a diamond necklace (must be present to win). Tickets are now on sale at roswelltheatre.com or call 575-622-1982.

Roswell Aug. 24 Free pARTy After Hours The free pARTy After Hours takes place at Roswell Museum and Art Center, 1011 N. Richardson Ave., from 6 to 9 p.m. August’s pARTy will feature art activities by Bone Springs Art Center; there will be science trivia game and prize drawings, a mad scientist photo booth and the Kids’ Activity Zone. Hors d’Oeuvres are served by Chef Toddzilla. For more information or to get involved, please contact Cydney Fulks at c.fulks@ roswell-nm.gov.

Roswell Aug. 24 Friday Sundowners Bowling League The Friday Sundowners

Bowling League will have a meeting on Aug. 24. The league will start Sept. 10.

32 weeks of bowling fun (no bowling on holidays), prize money guaranteed.

Teams forming all summer. Call 575-626-8178 For info. Ask for Randy.

Ruidoso Aug. 24 to 26 Ruidoso Noon Lions Club Antique Festival The Ruidoso Noon Lions Club Antique Festival takes place at the Ruidoso Convention Center, 111 Sierra Blanca Dr. For more information, visit heritageeventcompany.com.

Artesia Aug. 25 Red Dirt Black Gold Festival The annual Red Dirt Black Gold Festival is the signature event of the Artesia Arts & Cultural Disctrict and takes place at Heritage Plaza. The event features music, food, vendors, artists and entertainment for the entire family.

Headliners are this year Roger Creager and William Clark Green. The other artists are JD and the Badlands Band and The Yarbrough Band. For more information, visit artesiaacd.com/red-dirtblack-gold or call 575736-3264.

Roswell Aug. 25 Go for the Gold Golf Tournament Tobosa’s 13th annual golf tournament profits go this year towards the renovation and furnishing of the new Los Pasitos Early Intervention facility. The three-man scramble begins with an 8 a.m. shotgun start at the Nancy Lopez Golf Course at Spring River, 1612 W. 8th St. The cost includes a luncheon and door prizes. For more information, call 575-6241025 or email trytobosanm@gmail.com.

Roswell Aug. 26 Open mic night Open mic night at Stellar Coffee Co., 315 N. Main St., from 5 to 6:30 p.m. For more information and to sign up, visit its Facebook event page or call 575623-3711.

For more calendar items, look for the community calender on Thursdays and the Go and See Calendar on Fridays in the Roswell Daily Record.

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‘Wrong Turn to Roswell’

Episode 10: How Not to Keep a Secret

By S.E. Smith Continued from the Vision Magazine, July 26.

What happened: Two Roswell boys, Alan and Matt, made contact with a robot family that had to land for repairs on their spaceship. The robots are in danger to be found out and had to kidnap a reporter and one of the instructors from Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell, Herb Lancer, who isn’t breathing. The past episodes are available for free at rdrnews.com/ special-publications. he flashing lights and the fading sound of the ambulance siren in the distance made Alan wince. Well, actually, the pointed looks his mom kept giving him were the real reason behind his grimace.

He looked worriedly over at the spot where he knew the invisible spaceship hovered a few feet above the ground.

So far, things weren’t quite as bad as they could have been. It turned out that Herb Lancer wasn’t dead like they first thought, he only looked it. Christina had called for an ambulance. The primary issue was they were all afraid to move Herb in case it did more damage than good. So, that meant another phone call to the local sheriff.

“I think we need to talk,” Chief Deputy Shane Baker said.

“Would you like to?”

Diamond offered with a gentle smile and a small wave of her hand toward the invisible ship.

T

Shane cleared his throat and shook his head. “I think Jennifer’s house would be better,” he suggested.

Alan shoved his hands into the front pockets of his jeans and bowed his head as he started back toward the house.

Through his eyelashes, he saw that Carbon and Iron were staying very close to their parents.

He shot Carbon a wry grin when he saw her look over at him. She smiled back.

Rover One, happy to be out of the spaceship again and feeling perfectly at home, darted past them and disappeared through the doggy door. Alan looked up when he felt an arm around his shoulders. He gave his mom an apologetic smile.

“I should have told you,” he started to say.

His mom’s eyes slid over the alien family walking quietly beside them. Looking at them, too, he couldn’t help but think they were just like him and his mom – only they were robots. Diamond was holding Carbon’s hand while Copper had his arm around Iron’s shoulders, just like Alan’s mom had her arm around his.

“Yes, you should have,” she gently admonished.

Alan sighed. “They just got here this afternoon while you were working, and then Mr. Friedman arrived and Matt was tagging along and Rover One got loose and then Miss Christina … ,” he breathlessly tried to explain.

His mom stopped, turned him toward her and gently placed her hands on his shoulders.

“Breathe, Alan. I understand. You would have told me when you had a chance. This is just …”

His mom looked at the alien family who had stopped when she did.

“Well, we do live in Roswell,” she finished with a rueful grin.

“Yeah, we do, don’t we?” he replied with a relieved smile.

“I’m loving this! Nothing exciting ever happened to me until I hung out with you, Alan,” Matt exclaimed.

Shane shook his head.

“Why am I not surprised, Matt?” he retorted.

“Let’s get inside. While I told the emergency crew not to say anything, I can pretty much guarantee you that half the town knows that we have unique visitors already.” *.*.* Stan Friedman fol lowed the group back into Jennifer Whitehead’s home. He reached up and stroked his beard, pulling on it just hard enough to let him know that, yes, he was awake. He turned to look at Christina when she chuckled.

“Yes, it is all real,” she murmured under her breath.

Stan grinned at her.

“Remind me to thank you again for insisting I introduce myself to Jennifer.

I can’t believe there was an alien spaceship right here under my nose!” he replied with a shake of his head. “You know, Robert Ballard once said he wished he’d found a flying saucer, so every-

one would know him as the guy who found aliens instead of the Titanic.

I bet he wishes he was in Roswell right about now.”

“I can just see you doing a selfie and messaging him,” Christina laughed.

Stan grinned. “I wouldn’t mind being one of the first to post a picture,” he unashamedly admitted.

Christina released a sigh. “I hope nothing bad happens to them,” she murmured.

“The people of Roswell will come together to protect them,” Stan reassured her. “They love their aliens and they won’t let anyone mess with them.”

“I hope you are right,” Christina responded with a touch less confidence. *.*.* “Do you have any hostile intentions?” Shane asked, looking up from the notepad he was holding.

“Of course not, we have children!” Diamond answered with a fierce scowl. “What kind of parents do you think we are?”

“We were on a vacation,” Copper added, patting his wife’s hand to calm her.

“Vacation? You get in a spaceship to go on a vacation?” Shane inquired with a raised eyebrow.

Diamond’s glowing eyes rolled. “Well, we couldn’t exactly travel through space without one,” she dryly pointed out.

“Where were you going?” Christina asked.

“Oh, just here and there. There is so much to explore. It isn’t often you find a planet with life on it,” Diamond said.

“Iron and I are supposed to write up a report on where we’ve

been and what we saw for school,” Carbon explained.

“Really? Our teachers make us do the same thing. I never get it done see

Wrong

on page

15

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Vision Magazine |

Thursday, August 16, 2018

| 11

Submitted Art This year’s winner of the Dragonfly Festival art contest is Elainena Nanez, age 10.

Spotlight Where dragonflies dance and birds soar The 17th annual Dragonfly Festival invites the public for a weekend of tours, festivities and a Monarch butterfly release event.

By Steve Alvarez Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge

A

s the days begin to shorten and summer comes to an end, noticeable changes come to Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge.

By late August, the endangered Pecos sunflower begins to bloom signaling the season for yet another Dragonfly Festival, which takes place from Sept.

7 to 9.

This year’s popular event will kick-off with a free presentation by Laura McCain, raptor specialist of New Mexico. Her live “Birds of Prey” presentation will begin on Friday at 6:30 p.m. The presentation will be held at the refuge’s Joseph R. Skeen Visitor Center auditorium located at 4200 East Pine Lodge Road. Seating for the presentation is limited and reservations are required by calling 575 625-4011.

Following the bird presentation, the Roswell Astronomy Club will be setting up telescopes for a fun evening of stargazing at the refuge. Away from the city lights of Roswell, the views are often exceptional. The stargazing event is free and open to everyone.

The fun continues with tours and festivities on Saturday at Bitter Lake National Wildlife.

For those interested in birds, the refuge will host

an early bird tour from 6:30 a.m. until 8:30 a.m. Join local bird experts and discover some of the natural treasures of the refuge. With more than 350 species recorded, Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge is a bird watcher’s paradise. Both amateur and experienced birdwatchers are encouraged to take this tour.

Throughout the day, the refuge will also provide the ever-popular dragonfly tours. Join professional dragonfly experts and see some of the more than 100 species of dragonflies and damselflies that inhabit the refuge. The refuge hosts one of the largest dragonfly populations in North America.

Visitors can experience these fascinating insects up close.

To showcase the natural resources of the refuge, a special wildlife tour is offered. A wildlife biologist will take guests behind the scenes to show the management techniques used to protect and conserve the refuge’s unique wildlife. This intriguing tour goes into some of the closed areas of the refuge to see some of our endangered species and fascinating sinkhole formations. All tours are free but require reservations.

During the day, two guest speakers are scheduled to present programs in the Joseph R. Skeen Visitor Center. At 11 a.m., Laura McCain will repeat her Friday presentation “Birds of Prey.” At 1 p.m., Scott Bulgrin from the New Mexico Herpetological Society will present a program on reptiles of New Mexico. Both programs will be held in the visitor center auditorium and are on a first-come firstserved basis.

The festival will also be offering many fun and hands-on opportunities for kids and families, including a kids’ fishing tank loaded with hungry fish, an archery shooting area, arts and crafts and numerous educational displays. For kids seeking adventure, a wildlife scavenger hunt has been planned.

A special event scheduled for this year’s festival is the releasing of 75 captive-raised and tagged Monarch butterflies. The occasion is being held to

Above: Submitted Photo A Monarch butterfly is ready to take off.

Right: Archive Photo by Bill Flynt

12 | V i s i o n M a g a z i n e | Thursday, August 16, 2018

draw public attention to the national effort being done to protect natural pollinators such as bees, moths, butterflies, bats and birds. Recently, the Friends of Bitter Lake have planted plots of milkweed on refuge trails to provide habitat for migrating Monarch butterflies. Joining the effort with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Friends of Bitter Lake and other conservation organizations are educating the public about these important creatures and how they pollinate the vast majority of plants in the world. For kids interested in signing up to release a butterfly, contact Steve Alvarez as soon as possible at 575-625-4009. There are limited spots available for the butterfly release.

Aspen

Continued from Page 8

that was empty and hollow, and they would get a broomstick or a pool stick and run the stick through the box and then when they didn’t have strings, they would take the strings from a screen door or strings from something else like a violin, one or two strings across and use it as a slide instrument.

“We do a lot of stuff on the cigarbox dobro, it’s a lot of fun.

We are excited, it is going to be beautiful and I can’t wait to come back.

The public has a choice to purchase the all-access rally pass, which includes

one rally pin, one rally patch, the 5-day rally pass including all entertainment, or a single-day rally pass, which includes entrance to the trade show on either event day.

There is still space for vendors and for the first time, vendors are able to register for booth space online.

Food vendors cannot register online. They have to contact the promoters directly at 575-973-1167.

For more information, visit motorcyclerally.com or email info@motorcyclerally. com.

Diane Marsh working on her painting, “Elephant Prayer.”

Submitted Photo

Book Review

Emotions on canvas

Former Roswell Artist-in-Residence brings out a book encompassing her art and life from 1986 to 2017

By Christina Stock Vision Editor

T

hose who were at the opening exhibit of Roswell Artist-in-Residence Diane Marsh in November 2002 at the Roswell Museum and Art Center, will no doubt remember the impact Marsh’s work had to the onlooker. A tender yet brutal clarity of her portraits — many were self portraits — showed the human trag-

edy and emotions in all its forms.

Marsh stands out as an artist with her bigger-than-life realistic work that is often unsettling. Her catalogue art book shows these and recent works, balancing between portraits, nature scenes of Southeast New Mexico and floating thoughts put to canvas, which surround

its human center. Ahead of the art are forewords

by Lucy R. Lippard and Diane Armitage who give the reader an insight into the body of work.

Marsh’s art astounds and even in the smaller version of an art book, her paintings speak of silent anguish, serene prayers, regrets and love. It took talent and

courage to create these paintings and it takes courage to look at those — courage because it reflects the human experience and its psyche.

Marsh mastered a technique that is stunning with eyes of paint looking out and blood running in blue veins close under the skin like the emotions she captures. There is a strong contrast between the emotional luminescent human portraits and her accompanying landscapes — one of her favorites she said is of Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge. Just as realistic in its details, the landscapes calm and quiet the mind. This book is a perfect addition for collectors of art books and those who collect material about the artists of the RAiR program.

For more information and to order the book, visit dianemarshstudio.com or go to Paypal dianemarshstudio@ gmail.com.

A look into Diane Marsh’s career: Born in Buffalo, New York, Marsh graduated from the University of Buffalo (1976-78) during a period of dynamic expansion in media arts, film and photography.

In 1979, Marsh received a grant from the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation, moved to New York, and set up a studio in Lower Manhattan. In 1980, The Roswell Residence Program invited her to spend a year in New Mexico, at the end of which, she returned to New York.

In 1984, the gallery’s Chicago branch, Frumkin/Struve Gallery, added Marsh to their

stable, which resulted in her works being exhibited alongside Phillip Pearlstein, Leon Golub, Joan Brown, Roy De Forest and Robert Arneson. She was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts grant in 1985.

She returned to New Mexico and lived in Santa Fe from 1988 to ‘98. During her Santa Fe years, Marsh had solo exhibitions in Denver, Santa Fe and Los Angeles. Her paintings are found in the Hess Collection in California, The Albuquerque Museum, The State Capitol Art Collection in Santa Fe, The New Mexico State University Gallery in Las Cruces and with the actors Amy Madigan and Ed Harris, to name a few.

In 1998 Marsh moved with her family to Lincoln, Nebraska where she received a Nebraska State Arts Council Grant in 2001.

In 2002 Marsh received her second grant through the RAIR Foundation and moved back to Roswell.

In 2003 Marsh moved to Abiquiu, New Mexico, established a studio, and was awarded a John Anson Kittridge Foundation Grant. She had solo exhibitions at the Museum of Nebraska Art in 2005, and at the Addison Gallery in Santa Fe in 2006. The Sheldon Museum of Art in Lincoln, The Museum of Fine Art in Santa Fe, the Museum of Nebraska Art in Kearney and the Albrecht-Kemper Museum of Art in St. Joseph, Missouri, have all acquired Marsh’s works for their permanent collections.

Returning to Roswell, Marsh enjoyed the task of preserving the RAiR Historic Studios, who found a new purpose

Vision Magazine |

as living and working homes and studios for artists. In 2017, she obtained recognition for the Historic Studios at Berrendo Road who are now listed on the State and National Register of Historic Places.

Also in 2017, Marsh participated in the 50th anniversary of the RAiR program.

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Thursday, August 16, 2018

| 13

Art

From the Vault: ‘Early Proposal For Museum Building’ by Frank Standardt

By Sara Woodbury Former curator of collections and exhibitions Roswell Museum and Art Center

E

arlier in August, we opened a new exhibition in the Hunter Gallery, “Community-Minded: The Roswell Federal Art Center.” This show explores the early history of the Roswell Museum and Art Center as a federal art center. It highlights an array of original furniture designed for the museum; paintings and prints that were exhibited here in the 1930s and several early elevations of the proposed building. Today, we’ll be taking a look at one of those drawings, “Early Proposal for Museum Building” by Frank Standhardt.

As readers may recall from an article I wrote last year for the Regina Cooke painting “Willow Tree in the Taos Valley,” the Roswell museum opened in 1937 as the Roswell Museum Federal Art Center. It belonged to a national initiative known as the Community Art Center Project and was supervised by the Federal Art Project, which in turn was overseen by the Works Progress Administration. Intended for small towns, rural communities and other

Honor

underserved parts of the country, community art centers like the Roswell museum provided the kind of art access available in larger metropolitan areas.

Interested individuals or community groups would submit an application to the FAP and demonstrate sufficient interest and revenue to support the institution.

Approved art centers received staff from the FAP, who would work with the sponsors and community to coordinate exhibits and programs.

The idea of the Roswell museum predated FAP’s involvement. The Chaves County Archaeological and Historical Society, now known as the Historical Society for Southeast New Mexico, had been wanting to construct a museum to house its permanent collection. In November 1935, the Historical Society met with Roswell’s mayor, city manager and the state WPA administrator to discuss collaborating on the construction of a museum building. The WPA provided $12,000 for a new building, while the society agreed to raise an additional $1,800, an

Continued from Page 5 ble in the open for the public to see what was done with their tax money.

In Waldrip’s own words for a Christmas column in 2005, he said, “I really wish for the safety of the members of our armed forces and wish that the school board members, administration, teachers and parents be granted the wisdom and ability to make decisions that will ensure that our young

amount which eventually totaled $2,200 due to the community’s enthusiastic response.

As the building neared completion, it became evident that its construction alone had required nearly all of the money raised for the project, leaving little funding for furnishings or operations. At the suggestion of the WPA State Administrator, the Society offered the building to the FAP for its new federal art center initiative.

In exchange, the FAP would provide funding for furnishings and staff, giving the museum a chance to get its feet off the ground. The museum would eventually part ways with the FAP during the early 1940s and remains a municipal institution today.

“Early Proposal for Museum Building” is currently dated to about 1935 or early 1936, when the Historical Society first proposed its plans for a museum building to city and WPA administrators.

The drawing was done

by Frank Standhardt, who would go on to serve as the museum’s architect. Drawn in pen and ink, the museum

has a naturalistic yet stylized appearance, with extensive, decorative linework delineating the forms of clouds and trees. Overall the proposal is similar appearance to the final building, but its Spanish colonial aesthetic appears more streamlined. The corbels supporting the portal, for instance, have been distilled into simple, cylindrical columns, whereas the final building would have a more overtly historicized appearance.

Equally striking about the drawing is the layout Standhardt added at the bottom. This drawing offers an aerial perspective of the entire building, allowing visitors to see where its different rooms are located in relation to one another. As we can see, the proposed building accommodated a variety of civic functions, including a main gallery, a stage and a council room for meetings.

There is also a dressing room for performers, restrooms and, intriguingly enough, a bedroom and living room area. This is the part of the proposal that I find most puzzling and would like to research

people receive a quality education.”

One outstanding feature of Waldrip is his optimism. When the new school year began in February 2006, he lead a morning rally of the thousand teachers, secretaries, custodians, nurses, administrators and staff, which included an a capella version of “School Days,” complete with hickory stick and a miniature slate.

Throughout his career Waldrip always believed in Roswell as a community and that the community always would support the schools.

14 | V i s i o n M a g a z i n e | Thursday, August 16, 2018

Submitted Art Frank Standhardt, “Early Proposed Roswell Museum Building,” ca. 1935, pen and ink wash on paper, gift of Harry and Kim Curtis in Memory of Courtney P. and Lillie Mae Holstun. further. After all, who would have lived here?

Was it a space for traveling performers, or was this viewed as a more permanent apartment for staff? Without further documentation it is impossible to know, but it’s an interesting idea that I’ll definitely

keep exploring.

“Community-Minded” will be on view through May 26, 2019, so be sure to come and visit it. If you love history, the art of the WPA, the RMAC, or all of the above, this show is for you.

The Roswell Daily Record will be recognized with the Diamond Service Award for its ongoing support and coverage of ENMU-R and the foundation during the banquet.

For reservations and tickets, email Craig Collins, foundation coordinator, by Sept. 21 at craig. collins@roswell.enmu.edu or call 575-624-7304.

History

O

ne of Tode’s interests that required a serious commitment was scouting. In 1923, the Kiwanis Club prevailed upon Tode to organize Boy Scout Troop No. 3.

He continued as the scoutmaster for some 24 years and was the first scoutmaster in the region to receive the Silver Beaver award.

Tode was very interested in rifle shooting, so this was another hobby of his to which he devoted much time and effort. He was a member of the Gallery Rifle Championship Team, which was the New Mexico State Championship Team 1936, according to a photo in the files of the Historical Society.

Tode won more than 400 awards for marksmanship in his lifetime. He also organized the Roswell High School Rifle Club and worked with it for about 13 years.

For some 17 years, mostly in the 1950s, Tode Brenneman was a radio personality in Roswell. Hosting a live show

Wrong

Tode Brenneman was Roswell’s resident humorist for most of the 20th Century — Part II

By Elvis E. Fleming

called “Tode Talks” on KGFL, Roswell’s only radio station at the time, he interviewed local folks on the air. His interviews created a lot of interest and sometimes controversy as well. Of course, he did advertise his Western store on the radio, and he tried to get other downtown businesses to advertise as well. He would talk about them on the air and try to shame them into advertising — all in good fun, of course. One of his trademarks was the way he signed off the air each day. He would say a mystery farewell of which nobody ever knew the meaning: “Adios Casus.”

“Tode-isms” Unfortunately for present-day citizens of Roswe ll, mo st o f T o de’ s humor and wisdom was of the situational type, such as, “You had to be there.” A few “Todeisms” have survived.

In his Western store, Tode sold what he called seat covers. According to Gailanne Dill in the

Roswell Daily Record on Feb. 13, 1989, “he said (lady) customers would be sure to see them when a high wind came up. That’s because Brenneman sold hand-painted undergarments he referred to as seat covers.”

While Tode had his store in Lincoln, he stated that Lincoln was the home of “Billy-the-Kid” and “Tode-the-Man.” Tode’s explanation for selling the store in Lincoln and moving back to Roswell was that, “I met Billy the Kid and he outdrew me.”

His version of why the Kiwanis Club called on him to organize a scout troop was that he was the youngest and the best looking.

In preparation for celebrating his 93rd birthday, Tode respectfully requested no gifts, cards or checks be given, “... but $20 gold pieces will be accepted.”

“Ode to Tode”

by Ruthe Bowsher A dear little man, without sight or sound Has gone through the

Continued from Page 11 because my parents never want to go anywhere except to my grandma and grandpa’s house in Florida. They live in a retirement community, so it is full of old people. I can’t even drive their golf cart around,” Matt responded with a glum sigh.

“Thank you, Matt,” Shane dryly commented, peering over his reading glasses. “How long do you plan to stay?”

Copper rubbed his chin. Everyone winced when they heard the sound of metal-on-metal rubbing against each other. Shane decided that today was going to be a very, very long day. While he lived and worked in Roswell, New Mexico, the most famous alien location in the world, there wasn’t really any concrete protocol in place for them to follow if they actually found one.

He had heard Stan’s comment about the people of Roswell being very protective of their aliens. Shane knew that Stan was right. The government was bound to get involved, but …

Shane looked up at the robotic family sitting across from him. If they had flesh instead of metal, he would think he was talking to a typical family anywhere in the world. It was obvious the parents were just as concerned about their kids.

His gaze moved to where their version of a pet lay on the floor near the kids’ feet. Heck, even the Rover One was ordinary if you could count gnawing on a

gates, and is now heaven-bound.

Was it God I heard last night whispering in the wind?

Well done, well done, my son; come on in.

It won’t be quite the same, back here on Earth; Never again hearing his deep laughter and ‘quirky’ mirth.

We shall miss you, our dear little friend; So, go with God, go with the wind.

Near the end of his life, Tode pretty much lost his eyesight, and his general health failed.

Otis “Tode” Brenneman passed from this life on May 13, 1995. Norma, his beloved wife of more than 70 years had died earlier on March 1, 1991.

Both funerals were held at their home church, First United Methodist, and the burials were at South Park. They were survived by their only child, Richard “Dick” Brenneman of Seattle; six grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. Tode is missed not only in Roswell but

Photo courtesy Historical Center for Southeast New Mexico Archives, Photo No. 5719.

Tode’s Western Clothes store, 207 N. Main St., date unknown. in much of New Mexico, several decades of the with his quick wit and wonderful personality of d e e p w i s d o m , a l o n g Tode Brenneman. with his stylish goatee So, we do remember and ‘stache. New Mexi- you, Tode. !Adios Casus! co is doubtlessly a more

fun place to live because we were blessed with

metal wrench instead of a chewy bone as normal.

“What are you going to do, Shane?” Christina asked with a worried frown.

Shane released a long breath. “I think it will be more about what are you going to do, Christina. You’re with the Roswell Daily Record. What do you think Barbara would want you to do?” he asked, referring to the Roswell Daily Record’s publisher, Barbara Beck.

“Definitely call her so she could come and see all this for herself and then rally the residents of Roswell,” she remarked with a laugh.

“Wow, I guess I don’t have to keep this a secret anymore which is cool because I’m not very good at keeping secrets,” Matt gloated with a grin before he turned to Alan. “You have the best sleepovers ever.”

“Wrong Turn to Roswell” continues in September with Episode 11: The Plan.

S.E. Smith is a New York Times, USA TODAY, international award-winning author of science-fiction, fantasy, paranormal and contemporary works for children, young adults and adults. She enjoys writing a wide variety of genres that pull her readers into worlds that take them away. Readers can check out her website at sesmithfl.com and chat with her on Facebook at facebook.com/ se.smith.5.

Vision Magazine |

Thursday, August 16, 2018

| 15

The UFO movie ‘Cutler’ in-joke

O

ne of the most classic UFO movies ever made was the 1951 film “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” which I saw at the age of nine when it first appeared in the theaters. Who could ever forget Michael Rennie with his timeless utterance “Klaatu barada nikto!” It sounds corny to say, but that movie changed my life, making me realize my own 1947 UFO sighting was part of a larger concern.

It has been theorized that such films serve to get the public accustomed to the idea of alien visitation, and there are rumors

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Looking Up

By Donald Burleson

that “The Day the Earth Stood Still” was partly government-funded.

However that may be, not everyone is aware of a remarkable little trick someone played during the making of that film.

I’ll explain.

One of the most striking UFO-related government documents discovered to date is one called the Cutler-Twining Memo, which has been exhaustively authenticated by veteran researcher Stanton Friedman.

Dated July 14, 1954, this single-typed page, discovered in the National Archives in 1985, reads in part: “The President has

decided that the MJ-12 SSP briefing should take place during the already scheduled White House meeting of July 16, rather than following it as previously intended.” MJ-12 was the special Top Secret UFO group assembled by President Truman after Roswell. SSP stands for Special Studies Project.

The memo is addressed to Gen. Nathan Twining — MJ-12 member, later appointed Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — from Robert Cutler, special assistant to President Eisenhower. As a military man, Cutler was promoted from colonel

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16 | V i s i o n M a g a z i n e | Thursday, August 16, 2018

to brigadier general at the end of World War II. Interestingly, the name Cutler occurs three times in the movie “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” where it refers to a general played — though uncredited — by the actor Freeman Lusk.

Gen. Cutler is said to be in charge of this spaceman business. The fact that the Cutler-Twining Memo is about MJ-12 makes it unlikely that the use of the name Cutler in the film was coincidental.

Since Freeman, Lusk as Gen. Cutler is not listed on screen in the credits, it seems probable that the name was

a last-minute addition to the shooting script.

This insertion amounts to an exceedingly curious in-joke, given that the movie is about flying saucers and aliens.

One must note that while the movie was released in mid-September 1951, Eisenhower didn’t come into office or appoint Cutler until 1952. However, according to Cutler’s autobiography, his longtime friend — and MJ-12 member — Gordon Gray, who was director of the CIA’s Psychological Strategy Board, prevailed upon Cutler to accept an appointment as deputy director of that board

in August 1951. Gray was up to his eyebrows in UFO matters, so the association would have been conducive to Cutler’s being involved with the subject too, even before Eisenhower’s presidency.

The intriguing thing is that some unknown person, with whatever motives, knew enough about Cutler’s acquaintance with secret UFO matters — and had the opportunity — to drop the name Cutler into the script.