Vision Magazine, July 26, 2018

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JULY 26, 2018

SPOTLIGHT: 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE ROSWELL COMMUNITY LITTLE THEATRE ALSO INSIDE: A NEW LIFE WITH ART, FROM THE VAULT, HERITAGE DINNER, HISTORY, MILKWEED AND MONARCHS, OLD LINCOLN DAYS, RED DIRT BLACK GOLD, ‘WRONG TURN TO ROSWELL’ AND LOOKING UP

Content

Roswell Daily Record’s

Spotlight: Roswell Community Little Theater’s 60th anniversary 5 Art A new life with art

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From the Vault Calendar

14 7 and 10

Culture

Heritage Dinner

3

Old Lincoln Days

9

History Tode Brenneman, part I

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Music Red Dirt Black Gold Nature

The importance of milkweed and monarchs

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Thursday, July 26, 2018 Volume 23, Issue 7 Publisher: Barbara Beck Editor: John Dilmore Vision Editor: Christina Stock Copy Editor: Misty Choy Ad Design: Sandra Martinez Columnists: Taylor Bennett Donald Burleson, Elvis E. Fleming, Timothy Howsare, S.E. Smith, 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 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.

On The Cover Roswell Community Little Theatre

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Story S.E. Smith’s ‘Wrong Turn to Roswell’

UFOlogy Looking Up

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Sixty times the logo of RCLT for its diamond anniversary season 2018/19

Danielle González Photo A recent photo of the González family during a family reunion. Many from the family ran in the Alien Chase 5K held on July 7.

Culture

Heritage Dinner

Merced, Francisca González family to be honored at Heritage Dinner

By Timothy P. Howsare Roswell Daily Record

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rom their humble roots as Mexican immigrants working in the fields around Roswell, in 65 years the González family has grown to around 60 or 70 folks working in professions ranging from to geology, to law, to graphic design, to audiology.

If you attended public schools in Roswell, there’s a pretty good chance you’ve had a González as a teacher, because so many of them have gone into that profession.

“Almost half of us have been teachers over two generations,” Melinda González said.

This year, the Merced and Francisca González family will be honored at the 37th annual Heritage Dinner sponsored by the Historical Society for Southeast New Mexico board of directors.

The event will be held Aug. 7 at the Eastern New Mexico State Fairgrounds. The cocktail hour with live music provided by Hot Club on the Pecos begins at 6 p.m. The silent auction also starts at 6 p.m. and the dinner starts at 7 p.m.

Peppers Grill & Bar will cater the dinner.

The Roswell Daily Record recently interviewed four members of the family, Melinda, Danielle, Isidro and David, who all indicated they were a bit surprised they were picked as this

year’s honoree family.

But according to Amy McVay-Davis, it was actually a no-brainer because not only has the González clan established such a huge legacy in Roswell and beyond, but several members are big supporters of the Historical Society.

“We are looking forward to this wonderful event and so excited to have the González family not only be the honorees, but showcased throughout the evening,” she said.

“They will be featuring their many talents and treasures and helping from ushering, to the MC, to singing the national anthem, doing the invocation and presentation, designing all the artwork from the printers to amazing pictures of them over the years since being in Roswell.”

Board President John LeMay agreed.

“We try to make the Heritage Dinner different each year,” he said. “For instance, a few years ago we focused on artists by honoring Kim Wiggins and Dorothy Peterson. Last year we honored a historic business in the form of SPS. This year we wanted to honor a single family rather than a business or profession. The Gonzálezes are a huge family that have likewise made a huge impact on the community. They are also great supporters of the museum. David narrated our historical video, and Isidro and

Melinda González do a wonderful job of helping with our school tours, to name just a few of the ways they help out.”

But it’s not just the adults in the family who are involved with the Historical Society. Prudence, who’s only 7 years old, gives public tours of the museum.

Danielle, who is a graphic designer, produced a hardcover book about the family’s history called “Never Forget Where You Came From.”

The interviews were conducted by Isidro, a retired teacher, who translated all of the recordings from Spanish to English.

Born in Mexico, Isidro said the first family members came to New Mexico in 1953 and ‘54 through the Bracero Program (from the Spanish term bracero, meaning “manual laborer” or “one who works using his arms”), which was a series of laws and diplomatic agreements beginning in 1942 between the U.S. and Mexican governments to bring farm workers to the U.S. “Their were five kids with their mother, one of the sisters stayed behind,” he said.

The interview with Merced was taken in 2001 in Roswell.

“When I started my life, it was a difficult life, as my mother would say,” Merced said. “She (my mother) was abandoned. Her life was very difficult and we had to lament that suffering.”

Francisca said this in 2001: “(about the Mexican Revolution) ... my grandmother would tell us that when he came (Pancho Villa), everyone would start saying, ‘Here comes Pancho Villa.’ All would hide them in rooms and lock them up, so that the Villistas wouldn’t find out that there were girls there in the house.”

“It is important to know your background and where you have come from to fully appreciate the life you have now,” the 20-something Danielle wrote in the beginning of the book.

Though she is an accomplished artist and designer, Danielle said her minor in college was history.

“We have a lot of roots here,” said David, who was the first González to be born in America. “We were raised to love where we are and call Roswell home.”

Vistas editor Timothy P. Howsare can be reached at 575-622-7710, ext.

311, or vistas@rdrnews.com.

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Vision Magazine |

Thursday, July 26, 2018

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Art

A new life with art

The story of Gregg Burch and his rediscovery of painting

First

United Methodist Church

200 N. Pennsylvania Roswell, NM

fumc-roswell.org (575) 622-1881

Fall Kick-Off

Sunday, August 12, 2018 10:30 am Student & Teacher Blessing Backpack Blessing Bibles for 3rd Graders

Wednesday, August 15, 2018 Dinner- 5:00 PM Adults $6 Children Free Classes & Activities for all ages following dinner

By Christina Stock Vision Editor

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or every known artist whose work is in a museum today, there are thousands who stayed unknown, others died in poverty or gave up their art to raise a family.

Gregg Burch is the latter one.

According to Burch, he had lived 34 years in Roswell, only leaving Roswell to study art in Colorado.

“I moved back and got married to my wife, Jennifer,” Burch said. “I had kids and life pretty much dictated the path that I was going to be going on.”

Once an artist, always an artist. Burch’s creativity and ideas went into his work. “I worked at George’s Carpet in town,” he said. “It is artistic because they do tiles and my head boss there, Gary Gingrich, he loved it because of the artistic ability that I had. I could do layouts and things that others couldn’t.

“They (tile designs) are basically three-dimensional. When you walk into a room, you can see a different divisional spacing and that’s what’s cool,” Burch said.

Burch would have stayed in the family-owned business, but — later than in the rest of the U.S. — the housing market crash reached Roswell.

“Everything went down hill, so they had to lay me off at George’s Carpet,” he said. (Early

2000s.)

“My brother-in-law — he is an owner at Grimm’s Farm and Auto (a repair shop in Dexter) — asked me if I would come and work with them,” Burch said.

“I started servicing all the dairies with his brother Jared Grimm.

And I started getting into my paintings again.

It had been well over 15 years since I picked up a paint brush.

“I sat down one evening and told my wife it’s time. I just told her out of the blue that I needed to get back in because I’d seen a bunch of work that is branded New Mexico and — I am not putting any artist down — I feel that the art has just lost that one composing thing, whatever it may be. It had been put in a box and I wanted it back, getting artist juices flowing again,” Burch said.

He started joining social media groups of like-minded artists from Taos and Santa Fe and found encouragement.

“There are groups that are nothing but artists, but to get another artist to approve your level of work — that is the door of doors,” Burch said. “I found that to be so hard and easy. Because you do have to have work that is different and unique.”

Having a new start is not easy, but Burch has a positive attitude.

“I am making a push,

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but some of the artists I have been talking to are going small; but me, I am putting all the chips on the table right now. I am making such a big push that people that you should connect with later on, are the people I am connecting with right now,” he said.

Burch’s ultimate goal is to be known as the painter of New Mexico, next to Georgia O’Keefe who he greatly admires for her blending technique.

All of Burch’s artwork are original oil paintings — a medium he said to be challenging and rewarding. His paintings depict landscapes, animals and Navajo-inspired paintings.

One of his fans asked why he didn’t just do one style. He said, “I felt, when you flood the market with one (style) your creativity gets lost because you are just focused on one thing.

I am the type, I can have five paintings down right there. And I can be working on all five paintings at once. But they are not at the same sequence and they will not be dropped out to the public until two or three weekends after I finished one. I don’t want to flood that one perspective after another because it gets old.”

Burch recently returned with his family from a vacation to Montana that inspired him.

“I was looking at the grains of wood on the side of the old buildings there. And I already have six scenes I want to do. It is crazy, but right now I am at peace with it,” he said.

“My publisher said, ‘Breaking (into the art scene) where you live is just as hard as getting another artist to like your work. It is so hard because people know you. You need to find a way to break (into the art scene of) your home town.’

“I am trying to get a spot here in town (to show his art), my challenge is that I have to work,” Burch said. “I can’t allow my family to go hungry. These are the doors that are blocking me. I need a gallery.”

For more information, visit facebook. com/gregg.burch.58 or email jeb_myrtle@ yahoo.com.

Submitted Paintings by Gregg Burch

Submitted newspaper clipping Frank Schlatter and Carole Schlatter, Roswell Community Little Theatre, season 83-84

Theater

RCLT celebrates diamond anniversary The historic Roswell Community Little Theatre invites the public to celebrate its past and future seasons

By Christina Stock Vision Editor hat better to celebrate a big anniversary, such as the 60th season of The Roswell Community Little Theatre, than to invite the public to a dinner with murder and diamonds.

On Aug. 18, RCLT opens the doors to the Roswell Country Club, 2601 Urton Road, to the scene of “The Curse of the Hopeless Diamond” at 5:30 p.m. There will be a cash bar and a prime rib dinner will be served at 6 p.m.

Evening-wear attire is requested.

The murder mystery, “The Curse of the Hopeless Diamond,” is written by Eileen Moushey out of Texas and directed by Louise Montague. The world’s best detectives must protect Reggie Potter (and his bimbo wife) from

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the curse of the Potter diamond. The cast was not fully completed by press time. Lead as Reggie was cast with Hugh Taylor, who joined RCLT in 1969 and recently played the male lead in RCLT’s musical “Hello, Dolly!” Also cast are Gina Montague, Donna Paul and Velloy Millett.

The guests can choose if they want to be part of the interactive play.

“What we usually do is to put some indicator on the table in front of your place,” organizer Edie Stevens said. “I think last time we used playing cards. If the playing card on your table at your place was face down, we didn’t bother you and if it was face up, we knew you were willing to be part of it — if we interact with you, it would be OK. “We will hopefully be

announcing all the upcoming season plays, opening with the musical ‘Willy Wonka,’” Stevens said.

During the evening, the guests can look through scrapbooks and memorabilia from the rich past of the theater and talk to the actors, directors and board members.

“We have no idea how to display all of it,” Stevens said and laughed. “Some of the scrapbooks that Frank Schlatter put together we’ll have for people to leaf through. It’s just hard because there is so much. It is 60 years and five shows a year. It is a lot to look through, even at a minute each.

We want people to see that we have been here a long time, but it is also challenging.”

Most of the items and

scrapbooks will be retrieved from the Wilson-Cobb History and Genealogy Library. In 2017, the Roswell Community Little Theatre entrusted its vast historical archive to the Wilson-Cobb History and Genealogy Library.

Pat Balok, president of the Genealogy Society, accepted the material.

“We have special drawers for fragile documents,” she said at the time.

RCLT’s story goes back to 1939, when Zelma and Paul McEvoy formed a touring company called The Roswell Players, producing musical variety shows and melodramas and performing at rural schools.

World War II closed down The Roswell Players but, in 1947, members of the players who returned to Roswell produced “You Can’t Take It With You.” It wasn’t until Walker Air Force Base personnel increased, that interest in theater grew, and the small group of actors grew with it.

KBIM-TV aired live theater programs each Sunday shortly after World War II. In 1958, RCLT took on its current name for the first time.

In 1962, the group formally organized and the city provided an old building at 1101 N. Virginia Ave. for productions.

In 2001, the city officially sold the property to the RCLT, which it had been leasing up until that year. Unfortunately the old pink adobe building was going downhill fast. The flat roof was in danger of caving in. In 2007, the RCLT purchased the old Park Twin movie theater, previously owned

by Allen Theatres. The building stood vacant until July 2011 because funds were needed to turn the movie theater into a live theater.

Taylor remembers many stories since he joined RCLT in 1969.

“I have done roughly between 60 and 70 shows in the theater. We had our ups and downs throughout the years,” he said in a phone interview. “Our theater used to be at the very end of town, long before we ever owned it. We started paying the city a dollar a year to lease the theater that is at 1101 N. Virginia Ave. It used to be a show ring for the Eastern New Mexico Fairgrounds. That was the edge of town.

That’s why the building sticks out into the street. We went up buying the building from the city and then we sold it to have the place we have now, the old Plains Theatre. We did many fund drives, bake sales and picture sales and sold theater seats to raise the funds to have our own building. Of course, once we bought the building, we had to get the money to renovate it — make it usable as a live theater versus a movie theater. That is still a work in progress.

We have quite a few things we need to get done, for example, LED lighting, because that is such an expensive item.”

Between the dates and the facts, lives were lived, children raised, stories told and some stories were more interesting off stage than on stage.

Asked about some of the wildest stories he witnessed, Taylor said, “I have a strange one, where one of our members was directing the

Vision Magazine |

musical ‘I Do, I Do.’ The two actors fell in love with each other or whatever you want to call it.

She was 36 and he was 19. They decided to put a contract out on the gal’s husband.” Names of the actor Taylor wanted to keep private, though it was reported in the newspaper. “This was in the early ‘70s, in 1972 — they (the two actors) paid a person a lump sum of money, $1,000, and it didn’t go well because it wasn’t enough money,” Taylor said and laughed. “They had to go to counseling for several months to stay out of jail. Both actually. After that we called the play ‘I Did, I Did.’ They didn’t stay together and all parties left the area. It was pretty bizarre.

“My daughter was born at that time; she was Miss Roswell in 1988. Six years later, in 1994 she and a very good singer that worked at the medical center redid that musical and did a very good job without any incidences,” Taylor said.

A more humorous story is about what can go wrong during a performance.

“The other one that see life on page 6

Thursday, July 26, 2018

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Life

Continued from Page 5 comes to mind was when we had a judge’s wife in the musical ‘Auntie Mame.’ We did that back in the ‘80s and one of the leads was doing a great job, but the local authorities found that she had a 10-foot marijuana plant out in Midway and she was arrested. That was a touch-and-go thing to get that show off the ground.

The judge got her out of jail so she could finish the show. Both have passed on,” Taylor said.

“We had another show that comes to mind that was probably one of the worst shows we’ve done and that was at the old theater,” Taylor said. “A traverse rod on the curtain got stuck and so we had a local jeweler who owned a shop acting. He was doing alright on stage, but the curtain rod got stuck and so, when they were trying to make the scene on the stage come together with the curtain, it covered him up. He tried to push it open and the curtain-puller saw that it didn’t line up so he decided to try again. That happened three or four times; the curtain-puller covered him up and he pushed it open again and again.

“The show was called ‘Pygmalion,’ the drama version of ‘My Fair Lady.’

I watched out of the corner of my eye the audience doubling over laughing.

It turned out to become a comedy,” Taylor said and laughed. “That particular show was covered by a critic and she was very honest about it — the review was published in the newspaper — and the director was very unhappy about that kind of write-up.

That was one of the funniest incidences we ever had on stage that I can recall.

“There were others that were put together wonderfully,” Taylor said. “The most successful presentation we have ever had is ‘Always, Patsy Cline,’ recently done by Maryl McNally. I am going to see her tomorrow night with my wife at The Liberty. (McNally had her farewell shows on July 20 and 21.) She’s got a wonderful opportunity ahead going to the Columbia University,” Taylor said.

“Then, Boyd Barret joined the Roswell Little Theatre for a number of years.

He is a professional, but the best show we have ever, ever had was his presentation in ‘Fiddler On The Roof.’

I have seen a lot of people doing it, and I have watched many on YouTube and there is nobody that comes close

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Submitted newspaper clipping by Carol Bignell, date unknown. to Boyd Barret in his presentation of Tevye.

“We had some really interesting times at the Roswell Community Little Theatre. We used to have a Mummy Award every year. We would have the audience participate in judging who was a good actor and who was a good leading and supportive actor.

It became a popularity contest and then we couldn’t get judges. I still think it would be having an audience participation in making comments about the performers. I think it would be helpful. Even if we wouldn’t have the Mummy Awards banquet. It would be good for the audience to be allowed to make comments about,” Taylor said. “I have been on and off the board since the ‘70s. I served as treasurer and vice president.”

Betty Lou Cheney has been with RCLT since the mid-‘80s. In a phone interview, she shared some of her memories.

“My very first play was ‘Gift Of Murder’ in 1986, which was coincidentally the first play for Jim Bignell to direct,” she said. “If you ever ask him to borrow his ballpoint pen that he carries in his pocket, he will tell you to read the inscription because it is the title of the play,” Cheney said and laughed.

“He never lost it in all those years. It was his director’s gift.”

Carol Bignell played next to Betty Lou Cheney. “I was a nurse and I played a nurse. That worked well for me. My role had me as the killer — Betty Lou Cheney was the person I murdered,” Bignell said.

“The Curious Savage” was the most challenging role, Cheney said.

“I played Mrs. Savage and she’s late coming on in the first act and from then on she is on the stage for the rest of the play. I did that one three times.

I understudied it in college in about 1952 or 1953 and then I did it once in see Savage on page 11

Calendar Carlsbad July 25 and 26 Free creative writing program The Hochberg Summer Creative Writing Program is a free two-day workshop for students entering 6th to 9th grades.

Writers will engage with flash fiction and poetry.

It takes place at Creative Carlsbad, 102 S. Canyon St., on Wednesday and Thursday at 10:30 a.m. and on Thursday additionally at 6 p.m. and is hosted by the New Mexico school for the Arts. Each workshop will culminate with a public reading so writers can share their new work with family and friends.

For more information, visit nmschoolforthearts.org.

Albuquerque July 26 Fiftieth anniversary of the Vietnam War Veterans who served during the Vietnam War era will be honored at a special 50th anniversary of the Vietnam War commemoration ceremony in at the New Mexico Veterans Memorial Amphitheater, 1100 W. Louisiana Blvd. SE. All veterans who served during the Vietnam War era, as well as family members of deceased Vietnam War-era veterans, are invited to attend—and will be pre-

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sented with a 50th Anniversary Commemorative Pin and a Certificate of Appreciation for their service and sacrifice. For more information, contact Department of Veterans Services public information officer Ray Seva at ray.seva@state.nm.us or call 505-827-6352.

Roswell July 27 Last Friday Fun Kids Crafts of the summer The last Friday Fun Kids Crafts of the summer takes place at the Roswell Public Library, 301 N. Pennsylvania Ave., from 10 to 11 a.m. This Friday the children (ages 3 and up) will be making monster castanets. For more information, call 575-6227101.

Ruidoso July 27 to 29 Ruidoso Wine and Art Festival The annual Ruidoso Wine and Art Festival kicks off on Friday at noon at the Ruidoso Convention Center, 111 Sierra Blanca Dr. Doors open until 6 p.m. On Saturday doors are open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m. More than 100 talented artists are showcasing a broad spectrum of mediums including sculpture, photography, glass, paintings, ceramics, jewelry and mixed media. This year

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there are a variety of new artists participating in the show. The event features New Mexico wineries who offer tastings (for adults) during the festival. For more information, visit ruidosonow or call 575-2577495.

Roswell Ongoing until July 28 ‘Jeremy Howe: works on paper’ exhibition “Jeremy Howe: works on paper” exhibition continues at Bone Springs Art Space, 212 E. Walnut St., Thursday to Saturday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

From colored smoke and food coloring to ball point pen and spray paint, the artworks of Jeremy Howe highlight a modern sensibility with an experimental approach. For more information, visit Bone Springs Art Space’s Facebook page.

White Oaks July 28 White Oaks BBQ Cook Off White Oaks BBQ Cook Off takes place from 10 a.m. to midnight at the No Scum Allowed Saloon, 933 White Oaks Rd. BBQ entries with details will be available on site and can be mailed. Food will be served after the judging at 7 pm. The Graham Brothers band will play from 8 p.m. to midnight.

For more information, visit noscumallowedsaloon.

DAVID

org, its Facebook page or call 575-648-5583.

Roswell July 31 Paint Party for the DA Dogs The DA Dogs Foundation hosts the Paint Party for the DA Dogs at The Liberty, 312 N. Virginia Ave. at 6 p.m. For more information, visit its Facebook event page, 5thdadogs. org or call 575-626-2422.

Roswell Aug. 3 YPAC Quarterly Social The Youth & Professionals for the Arts Collective is holding its quarterly social meeting at Sol Juice & Supplements, 305 N. Main St. from 6 to 8 p.m. The meeting is open for the public to meet YPAC members, find out about local art events, how to support local artists and volunteer for kid’s art events. Guest speaker Zack Anderson will discuss Roswell Community Little Theatre and his upcoming show, featuring a special performance by the cast of “Willy Wonka.”

For more information, visit its event page on Facebook.

Roswell Aug. 3 to 5 Alien Open The 13th annual Alien Open dart tournament takes place this year at the Fraternal Order of Ea-

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gles, 3201 S. Sunset Ave. Registration begins at 11 a.m. and the regional playoff begins at noon. For more information and the schedule, visit roswelldarts.com.

Brent’s

Aug. 3 to 13 Kim Douglas Wiggins exhibition Join the opening reception of painter Kim Douglas Wiggins on Aug. 3 at 5 p.m. at the Manitou Galleries, 123 W. Palace Ave. Wiggins grew up on a ranch in southern New Mexico. At the age of 12, an art dealer visiting his parent’s ranch discovered his budding talent and began marketing his work in Scottsdale, Arizona. By the mid-1970s, he was paint-

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Music

Red Dirt Black Gold Festival A family-friendly festival promises a day of fun in Artesia

By Christina Stock Vision Editor his year’s Red Dirt Black Gold Festival takes place on Aug. 25, starting at Artesia’s Eagle Draw with the fourth annual Oilfield Olympics and continuing at the Heritage Plaza with vendors, live music and the Red Dirt Black Gold cook-off competition.

This year, the event is going to be even bigger than last year with four live bands.

In the early morning hours, a public favorite is the Oilfield Olympics, where teams can test if they have what it takes to work in the oilfields.

The event was included to incorporate the oilfield and have them be recognized. Last year’s Oilfield Olympics ended with a surprise. A latecomer, the Buffalo team, surprised the crowd and the judges. They claimed the first prize for the Oilfield Olympics 2017, beating the reigning champions of two years — Fat Fit — by only 15 seconds.

There are several stations where agility, strength and speed is required. A favorite for the teams is the cast-iron drill bit toss where each team member has to cover a certain distance as fast as possible.

There is still time to sign up for this year’s competition.

In the afternoon, the events continue at the Heritage Plaza with the judg-

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ing of the Red Dirt Black Gold Oilfield Cook-Off. The best of the best oilfield cooks offer ribs and sausages, while others compete with southwest dishes and it’s not only for the judges. The public can vote to give the best dish the People’s Choice Award.

But what would be a fest without music?

Headliners this year are William Clark Green, who will perform from 7:45 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. at the stage near Heritage Plaza.

Green had been to Roswell several times, but it is his first time performing in Artesia.

His new album “Hebert Island” is going to be released on Aug. 10 and he is planning to perform a mix between his new songs and fan favorites.

“I think every album is a chapter in my life,” Green said. “We work very hard at following our hearts through music and trying to advance our style.

This album is no different. I think I figured out on this album that love trumps everything.”

Asked how Green finds his inspiration and style, he said, “It is my upbringing in music. My dad was listening to everything. I think that’s why my records are so scattered across the board because I grew up listening to different genres. It was

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Submitted Photo William Clark Green is one of the headliners at Red Dirt Black Gold. never just one. I like playing rock ‘n’ roll, folk and country. ‘Wings’ is my favorite song on the new record.

“It was never a first career (for me), it just happened and started,” Green said. “I started writing in eighth grade playing guitar and it just morphed into a career eventually.

It just was a very natural process. I hadn’t any dream, I just was doing it.

I thought it would be something that I could pursue professionally and I felt that I could do it and here we are. It was like little leaps of faith.”

Green never had a classic education. “I never learned to play guitar to become a musician,” he said. “I play guitar because I wanted to learn how to play guitar. I just started writing songs. It is kind of weird how it happened. Maybe it is a natural calling, maybe it’s not. I feel like I am better in song writing than I am in anything else in my life.

“The ultimate for me is just continuing the music and having a tour scheduled. That’s all I ask for and that’s all we are expecting. Hopefully this record will continue our career for a few more years until the next record. That’s the goal for me,” Green said.

At 9:30 p.m., award-winning country singer Roger Creager takes the stage. Creager is hard to catch for an interview because — next to being a musician — he spends his time as an adventurer. He does not like to sit still while the world passes by. Whether it’s climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in

Africa, jumping off his boat to snorkel with wild dolphins, snow skiing in the Rockies, catching tuna 100 miles from shore, piloting his airplane to far-off concerts, spear-fishing around oil rigs, SCUBA diving coral reefs, surfing in Costa Rica, or playing music through the Italian countryside, he tries to get the most out of what the world has to offer. His new EP “Gulf Coast Time” is certainly a slice out of Creager’s life and his love for the ocean.

Also performing are JD and the Badlands Band and The Yarbrough Band The schedule was not set at time of publication. For more information and updates, visit artesiaacd.com/reddirt-black-gold or call 575-746-1117.

Archive Photo An old west panhandler is forced to dance by a gang of outlaws during a staged gunfight at Old Lincoln Days.

The

Culture

Old Lincoln Days pageant The annual festivities around the re-enactment of Billy the Kid’s last escape return

By Christina Stock Vision Editor

W

as Billy the Kid a bad and ruthless young cow-rustler? Was he a hero? Did he really get killed by his friend Pat Garret? The legends around one of the most colorful characters of the Lincoln County War are as countless as the stars over the New Mexico skies at night.

True however, is thatBilly’s last breakout from jail happened in the little town of Lincoln in 1881.

Today, residents of Lincoln County, including the descendants of ranchers and locals who were witnesses or participants of this bloody part of history when New Mexico was just a territory, come together annually for a pageant,

which is staged every day during the weekend from Aug. 3 to 5.

The first pageant took place in 1940 and none other than the famous painter Peter Hurd performed as the infamous Billy the Kid. Hurd and his wife Henriette Wyeth lived nearby in San Patricio where they had their studio and ranch.

There will be gun fighters walking the historic streets and saloon ladies looking for mischief. Arts and crafts, live music, food and soft drink vendors will be there as well.

The Marrow Bone Springs Gunfighters will have their performance at the Lincoln Court House, The Wortley and

Dolan House.

On Friday, the popular local music group Jones and Miles will perform. The pageant performance on Saturday includes a concert by nationally top-rated George Strait impersonator Brent Brunson and on Sunday the Mescalero Apache Spirit Dancers perform.

Brent was born in Baytown, Texas, where he continues to reside today. Through his early years, he loved all types of music and even in a rock band in junior high and high school. It all began when his parents bought him an electric guitar and amp for Christmas in the sixth grade.

Brent has been performing and singing professionally since 2008. He was encouraged by having friends compare both his voice and appearance to George Strait.

Recently, while at the Lubbock, Texas, airport after going through security, Brent was paged and a request was made for him to report to a different departure gate where some Southwest Airline flight attendants and ticket agents asked to see identification, thinking he was George Strait traveling under an alias. They were insistent on getting autographs because one of them had attended the George Strait concert at Texas Tech University the night before and was certain this was him and that she was not mistaken. Although flattered, Brent said, “Don’t they know George Strait travels in his own private jet?”

Brent’s musical highlight is when he performs with members of the Ace in the Hole Band. The first time Brent performed with them, Benny McArthur commented, “Brent, you really surprised us.”

Brent had a great time and said that it was one of the coolest things he had ever done. He said, “not only are those guys great musicians, but they are just really nice people.”

One of the newer highlights is the second annual Chile and Salsa Cook-off on Saturday, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. To participate, call 575-653-4204. The rules, contest entry forms and details are available at the Friends of Historic Lincoln - Lincoln, NM Facebook page.

For information and

Submitted Photo Brent Brunson as George Strait is performing at Old Lincoln Days. details about the pageant, including tickets, visit billythekidpageant. com.

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>>7

Calendar

ing in oil and working as a graphic artist for a national equine magazine.

During the 1980s he experimented with various forms of impressionism and modernism eventually leading to his distinctive style. Today, Wiggins is recognized as one of the creative forerunners behind the current Modern West Movement. His uniquely modern vision of the West often places his work alongside celebrated icons of Western Realism as a powerfully, contrasting voice of creative vision. For more information, visit manitougalleries.com.

Roswell Aug. 4 Magical & Real Lecture Series: “An Enduring Record: Peter Hurd’s World War II Art for Life Magazine” The free Magical & Real Lecture Series continues at 2 p.m. at the Roswell Museum and Art Center, 100 W 11th St., with Melissa Renn, art historian and curator. During the war, Life magazine sent artists worldwide to record in paint all aspects of war, from preparations on the home front to battles abroad. This talk explores Peter Hurd’s work for Life as an artist-correspon-

dent during World War II, from his coverage of the Eighth U.S. Army Air Force in 1942 to his reporting on the activities of the Air Transport Command in 1944. As an artist correspondent, Hurd traveled around the world, from England to Ascension Island, depicting a range of subjects, from modern aircraft flying over medieval ruins and equatorial island airstrips to U.S. Airmen in England and civilians shopping in markets in Khartoum. This lecture will also place Hurd’s work in the context of art by other artist-correspondents for Life, and will explore at the motivations behind the magazine’s wartime art commissions. For more information, visit roswell-nm.gov/308/Roswell-Museum-Art-Center or call 575-624-6744.

Aug. 7 Roswell Author visit: Sara Triana Mitchell Sara Triana Mitchell will be at the Roswell Public Library, 301 N. Pennsylvania Ave., from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Mitchell is going to read out of her book “Love Love Bakery” and will sign her books. This is a children- and adult-friendly event. There will be also coffee, sourdough bread and jam and coloring sheets. For more information, call 575-622-7101.

Artesia Aug. 12 Membership Brunch The Artesia Arts Council is holding its 74th annual membership brunch and artist reception at 510 Gallery, 510 W. Main St., from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m.

There will be a breakfast burrito bar and mimosa bar. All are welcome. For information and reservation, call 575-746-4212.

Roswell Aug. 15 Brown Bag Lunch Talk — Parallax: A RAiR Connection Exhibition with Maja Ruznic The free Brown Bag Lunch Talk continues from noon to 1 p.m. at the Roswell Museum and Art Center, 100 W 11th St., with Parallax: A RAiR Connection Exhibition with Maja Ruznic. Ruznic, who will discuss her recent work as part of the exhibition, Parallax: A RAiR Connection Exhibition. Ruznic, who is originally from Bosnia and lives in Los Angeles, creates paintings that explore trauma and its untold traces. For more information, visit roswell-nm.gov/308/Roswell-Museum-Art-Center or call 575-624-6744.

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, 100 W 11th St., 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. In paintings, watercolors, drawings and even decorative arts, Hurd used windmills to demonstrate his love of landscape and the critical importance of water in New Mexico and its environs. 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. 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.

Carlsbad Aug. 25 Second annual Amazing Race — Carlsbad Registration for the second annual Amazing Race — Carlsbad, have to be made by Aug. 20th to guarantee a spot. It kicks of at 8 a.m. and there will be cash prizes for first, second and third place winners. For more information and registration, visit SENMCAC.com, its Facebook event page or call 575-200-3929.

Roswell Sept. 3 Free Labor Day Concert The Roswell Symphony Orchestra invites the public to the free Labor Day Concert featuring The Don Turner Dixieland Jazz Band at 5:30 p.m. at

Spring River Park & Zoo, 1306 E. College Blvd. For more information, visit roswellsymphony.org or call 575-623-5882.

Roswell Sept. 8 to 9 Dragonfly Festival The 17th annual Dragonfly Festival takes place at the Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge. Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge and Friends of Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge host this unique, fun-forall festival. All events are free and accommodate the entire family. For more information call 575625-4011. Advanced tour reservations are recommended.

Albuquerque/Rio Rancho March 31, 2019 MercyMe — I Can Only Imagine Tour Christian superstars MercyMe have announced they will be playing the Santa Ana Star Center.

Joining MercyMe on their tour will be special guest Crowder. Tickets are now on sale. For more information, visit santaanastarcenter.com.

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Continued from Page 6 the old building and in the new building.

“We did some demanding work and did really good. We had a really loyal following.

Unfortunately a lot of our loyal patrons have died off, so we are having to rebuild our audience,” Cheney said and laughed. “We are still up to do it.”

One of Cheney’s favorite plays was a challenge for the backstage workers. “I fully enjoyed doing the play ‘Supporting Cast.’ There were four women and one man. Some of the backstage work was a lot of fun. There was a lot of humor. In one scene — according to the plot — was fire, a landslide — it took place in California — and an earthquake. We actually figured out a way with the help of the stage manager to make it look as if we were having a real earthquake on that stage,” Cheney said and chuckled. “We had props and all they (the backstage crew) had to do is push a button and all would fall to the ground. Us

sitting there on stage would wiggle the chairs and the tables.”

Cheney became a director after being an assistant director oneand-a-half times. The second time as assistant director, the director had to quit because of private reasons, she said. With the help of the RCLT board, she continued as a director.

As a director you need to see the big picture in a play.

“Costumes and looks are very important for the setting,” Cheney said. “I made sure that in an elegant setting, that the ties of the men were tight, the shirts were right, the coats and buttons, everything and the shoes are polished. If they don’t pay attention what their shoes look like, people will notice that. Little details polish up a performance. Speaking properly, learning your lines properly, learning your cues when to go on or off stage. That is important. Some people coming to work don’t recognize how important those oddball details are.”

Talking to Cheney, you can tell her love for

Submitted Photo Ribbon cutting at the new Roswell Community Little Theatre, Jan. 20, 2012.

theater and how creative she is in choosing actors.

“In one play a rather unorthodox teacher had to be cast,” Cheney said. “She would fry eggs on the sidewalk and it was about the dog days of summer.

We even had a dress for her with dogs. One of the ladies who tried out was absolutely stunned.

I told them, ‘You got to be able to convince me that you are right for the part. You got to get from that desk and I want you to howl like a dog.’ The person who did it the best got the part and she really threw herself into it. There was a lot of humor. Those actors really worked their butts off. It was a great play. It had comedy, pathos and slapstick.

It was my favorite to direct.”

“I appreciate all the people I met and worked with and I enjoyed knowing some of the early people,” Cheney said.

Cheney said she hopes the theater continues to bring humor to stage and not smutty shows. “Back in the ‘30s, when the Depression happened, people went to the comedies because they wanted to forget about how bad life was. There is so much stuff that is happening in our world today — a whole different world, but it’s a parallel. We like to give them comedies and musicals to let them totally forget and thoroughly enjoy themselves and not be embarrassed to bring their children,” she said.

Bignell is the public relations person for RCLT and if the Vision editor has questions or needs material, she is

always at hand. Bignell has been performing the same length of time at RCLT as Cheney did.

Acting and public relations isn’t Bignell’s only talent. “I love the behind-the-scenes at RCLT,” she said.

“Advertising, promoting and working on the board of directors. Jim (Jim Bignell, her husband) loves acting and directing and has been involved in it since high school. His first play at RCLT was ‘Everything in the Garden,’ season 78-79.

“Jim played Eumaeus in ‘Home is the Hunter’ in 1980. He had crazy face makeup, building up lumps and bumps and that had to be pealed off every night.

I am in awe of someone willing to become their part so completely that they devote skin to it,” Carol Bignell said.

“He (Jim Bignell) taught drama at Goddard and our entire family was in ‘Brigadoon.’ Perhaps that’s why I love to see families come be a part of live theater.

“I wanted to add Earl Morris to the list of people important to RCLT,” Carol Bignell said. “He never set a foot on stage but he made a huge difference. RCLT leadership had gotten distracted about planning ahead. Earl encouraged us to develop a season brochure again and he encouraged us to seek play sponsorships. He did not call them sponsorships but thawas what they were. The Roswell Daily Record sponsored many of our plays, so does Xcel Energy. RCLT had been saving to purchase a theater space, but we were not gathering enough money to get ahead of inflation, so he became our fundrais-

er. He brought Branson On The Road to Roswell for us and a one-woman-show about Georgia O’Keeffe as fundraisers.

When we signed the contract for our current building it had a ‘mustpay-by’ clause. When the ‘must pay’ came due and we didn’t have enough money to cover it, Earl reached into his deep pockets and covered us. That enabled

us to focus on the remodel, which gave us this wonderful theater.

Mike Bozeman did the contracting and Pattie Stacy was president when we moved in and oversaw the completion of that challenge.”

“All in all, RCLT is indeed a community theater,” Bignell said.

“Many people are lifetime members because see RCLT on page 13

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‘Wrong Turn to Roswell’ Episode 9: Uh-Oh ...

By S.E. Smith Continued from the UFO Festival edition of the Vision Magazine on July 1. Previous episodes are available to read for free at rdrnews. com/vision-magazine.

What happened: Two Roswell boys, Alan and Matt, made contact with a robot family that had to land for repairs on their spaceship. arbon couldn’t help but analyze the two alien boys’ expressions as she guided them through her family’s spaceship. Matt had a grin on his face and was looking around with curiosity and delight while Alan’s expression was much more reserved. He gazed around with fascinated interest as well, but his expression was also tempered with worry.

His observation was more analytical, as if he were mentally documenting everything.

She liked that about him, she thought with an unexpected warm glow.

I wonder if he knows his eye covers make him look really smart, she thought with a sigh.

This family vacation had sure turned out vastly different from what her parents had planned, thanks to her brother. Perhaps Iron had done something right for a change. After all, the whole point of their summer break was to explore, document and write a report for school on what they did.

This adventure would definitely get her an A on her assignment.

Carbon pointed to a

C

couple of doors as they passed them. “This is Iron’s room and that is mine. Mom’s and Dad’s room is further down the corridor. They didn’t like Iron’s music and wanted to be as far away as possible,” she confided with a grin.

“Where are you from?” Alan asked, pushing his glasses up on his nose out of habit.

Carbon paused and turned to look at Alan.

“May I?” she inquired, gesturing to his glasses.

“I … uh, sure,” Alan said, removing his glasses and holding them out to her.

Carbon lifted them up and curiously peered through the lenses.

“We live on Proxima. It is about 12 light-years from here. We don’t have near as much water on our planet as you do, thank goodness,” she said with a shudder. “Why do you wear these?”

Alan blinked and reached for his glasses. “I wear them so that I can see. I’m near-sighted,” he replied, placing them back on his nose.

“Hey, they fit better!”

“They were too loose,” Carbon stated with a grin.

“Uh, my eyes work just fine,” Matt said, pushing Alan a little to the side.

Carbon looked at Matt. “I think his eye covering makes him look cute,” she said, turning away. “Mom and Dad are in the dining room.” *.*.* “Cute?” Matt scowled.

“What’s cute about having four eyes?”

Alan raised an eyebrow at Matt. “You

heard Carbon, it makes me look smarter,” he retorted before following Carbon.

“Smarter ... Who wants to be smart? Besides, she said cute, not smart,” Matt mumbled.

Alan ignored Matt. He was too busy admiring the spaceship and trying not to grin because Carbon thought his glasses made him look cute. As the resident classroom nerd, this was the first time a girl had ever called him cute.

He heard Matt continue to mumble under his breath about the fact that he was smart and cute, too, even if he didn’t wear glasses. Shaking his head, he wondered how long he was going to have to listen to Matt complain about this. Refocusing on where they were going, he frowned when he heard a familiar voice coming from the room up ahead.

“How did you discover Roswell?” Miss Christina was saying.

Alan breathed a sigh of relief. The Vision Magazine editor of the newspaper was doing what she did best, interviewing someone. He stepped into the room.

“Hi, Miss Christina,” he muttered with a sheepish expression.

“Hi, Alan,” Christina Stock said, looking over the rim of her glasses at him.

“I guess they didn’t kill you,” Matt said with a hint of disappointment in his voice. “I mean, I didn’t want them to really kill you, but you know, I was thinking they would

12 | V i s i o n M a g a z i n e | Thursday, July 26, 2018

… oh, never mind.”

Christina chuckled and shook her head. “I will admit this was quite a surprise! – A pleasant surprise. They said they just arrived this afternoon?” she commented with a slight question in her voice.

Alan nodded and scuffed his worn tennis shoe against the floor.

“Yeah, I haven’t told my mom yet. Mr. Friedman is here and I wasn’t sure if he should know or not,” he admitted.

“Was he the man we saw earlier?” Diamond inquired.

Alan nodded. “Yes, he’s the one who came into the warehouse,” he replied.

“He’s a UFOlogist,” Matt added with a flashy grin at Carbon. “See, I’m smart and cute, too.”

Alan saw Carbon’s expression turn skeptical before she politely looked away to hide the rolling of her eyes.

Iron, who had been sitting quiet for once on a bench seat near the wall, smothered a laugh.

“Oh, dear. Then, who is the other man that we took? He was sitting in a car across the street watching us. We thought it best to bring him aboard until we knew he wouldn’t tell anyone else about us,” Diamond murmured with an apologetic smile at Christina.

“Where is he?” Christina asked in concern.

Copper rose to his feet. “This way,” he said, motioning for Christina and the kids to follow him.

Alan scooted backward to let them pass

and took up the rear.

Matt was trying to walk next to Carbon who kept speeding up and slowing down. Iron fell back to walk beside Alan.

“What’s wrong with Matt?” Iron asked, puzzled as he listened to Ma tt ta lk a bo ut h o w smart he was.

Alan shrugged. “I have no idea. Today is the first day we’ve really ever hung out together,” he admitted, shaking his head when Matt almost tripped over Rover One. *.*.* Christina walked along the corridor listening carefully to Copper and Diamond as they chatted with her about the man they had found. She wanted to write everything down, but at the same time she didn’t want to miss anything as they were walking. Instead, she was forced to try to remember the details and the questions that were popping up faster than popcorn in a microwave.

She had covered a lot of interesting interviews in her time, but this was huge news! When she’d first saw the small group cutting across the barren parking lot of the old warehouseturned-art-studio/home of Jennifer Whitehead, she had absently recognized Alan and Matt, but it had been their companions that caused her to freeze in confusion.

Her first thought was that Jennifer had moved to movie quality costumes. Her second thought — well, there were a few very colorful

words that had floated through her mind when Rover One charged her and transformed into a lankier, rope-like version of itself. Fortunately, his ears across her lips had prevented her from needing to wash her mouth out with soap.

Copper had picked her up and whisked her up a platform and into a spaceship that she couldn’t see until they were inside. For a moment, she’d wondered if she was in the Tardis from Dr. Who! Looking around from her position on his shoulder, all she could see were a young boy and girl following her down the metal hallway with an apologetic expression on their faces. She’d never thought of robots as having facial expressions.

“Do you know who this is?” Diamond asked, stepping to the side.

Christina jerked her mind back to the present and stepped up to the door. Peering inside the room, she saw a very rumpled, unnaturally pale man lying on the bed with his eyes closed. A soft groan escaped her. She knew who he was alright.

“Dr. Herbert Lancer.

He is one of the instructors out at Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell. He’s really into UFOs,” Christina stated.

She tilted her head and looking at Herb with a wary expression. “Is he breathing?” she asked.

“Is he supposed to be?” Copper inquired. see

Uh-Oh

on page

13

The importance of milkweed and monarchs

Uh-Oh

Nature

By Taylor Bennett SCA Bio Tech intern at Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge

O

n Saturday, April 14, 2018, Bitter Lake National Wildlife Refuge hosted a milkweed and cottonwood tree planting event involving refuge staff and local volunteers from The Friends of Bitter Lake NWR. Approximately 100 milkweed plants and 30 cottonwood trees were planted along the refuge’s butterfly trail and visitor center. Feel free to come and visit. The trail is open and free to the public from sunrise to sunset daily.

Why milkweed?

Milkweed is the main host plant for the monarch butterfly caterpillars. It is the only plant that provides enough nourishment for caterpillars to grow and transform into adults. Milkweed provides another benefit for the caterpillars as protection against predators. When caterpillars feed on milkweed, they absorb the toxins, making them toxic to predators. The toxins also give monarch butterflies their signature orange color, which provides a warning to predators. Adult butterflies use milkweed as food and habitat to lay their eggs. Due to activities such as urbanization and misuse of pesticides, the population of native milkweed is declining.

Why help the monarch butterflies?

Over the past couple of years, studies have shown that monarch butterfly populations are declining. This is due to a number of reasons such as disease, predation, weather and most importantly, loss of habitat and the decline of native milkweed. Monarch butterflies are one of the few butterfly species that migrate in the fall and spring of each year. There are various populations of monarchs across the U.S and Canada. Where they winter depends on whether they live east or west of the Rocky Mountains. Those east of the Rocky Mountains migrate to Mexico and those west migrate to California. Florida also has a population, but it is non-migratory and will breed there year-round. Monarch butterflies will travel about 3,000 miles in order to get to their

RCLT

Continued from Page 11 they gave so much to RCLT. Roswell is blessed by live theater. That truly makes a difference to our community as a whole. Theater gives people opportunity to explore their talents in leading, interpreting body language, speaking, reading, artistic vision and team participation.

Wow! I love the theater.”

The address of the remodeled new RCLT is at 1717 S. Union Ave. New this year is Neverland Theatre Company joining the production of “Willy Wonka” in September with a youth production, “Willy Wonka Jr.” When asked, all actors, directors and crew say that the best way to support live theater is to come see the shows, buy season tickets or join the theater family.

Everybody is welcome, either to try out as an actor, behind the scenes or as an audience member.

Submitted Photo by US Fish and Wildlife Service Adult monarch butterfly sipping nectar from a milkweed flower. wintering site. Come spring, they fly northward to breed, lay eggs and eventually die. In order to survive this long journey to reach their wintering and breeding grounds, monarch butterflies eat before and during their migration. Adults feed on nectar of various flowering plants. Butterfly gardens help provide an energy source for monarchs as well as a safe place to lay their eggs.

Not only do gardens help butterflies, they also provide food and refuge for pollinators such as bees and hummingbirds.

How can you help?

You too can grow your very own butterfly garden or plant native milkweed in your yard or local community to help these beautiful creatures survive. For more information, visit saveourmonarchs.org/why-milkweed.html.

The material given to the Wilson-Cobb Library includes photos, news articles, RCLT newsletters and programs that highlight the many people who have walked on stage. This information may be sought out for those who are researching their family trees and those who are interested in its history after the anniversary dinner.

The library’s location is at 301 S. Richardson Ave. “Tickets for the dinner theater at the Roswell Country Club are $49.99 per person, because we don’t look like 60,” Stevens said and laughed. Deadline to get the limited tickets is Aug. 1.

For more information, visit roswelltheatre.com or call 575-622-1982.

Continued from Page 12 Christina looked back at Herb Lancer with wide eyes. “Uhoh,” she whispered.

“Wrong Turn to Roswell” continues on Aug. 16 with Episode 10: How Not to Keep a Secret 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 adult 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.

Smith was in town for the UFO Festival, Galacticon and Sci-Fi Film Fest visiting with her fans and finding new inspiration for her stories. She is looking forward to return next year.

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Right: Submitted Photo Courtesy of the Historical Society for Southeast New Mexico A scene from a Roswell Community Theatre play (date and names unknown)

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Vision Magazine |

Thursday, July 26, 2018

| 13

From the Vault: ‘Praxedes Dominguez’ by Peter Hurd

Art

By Sara Woodbury Outgoing Curator of Collections and Exhibitions Roswell Museum and Art Center

O

n June 15, we opened an important new exhibition at the Roswell Museum and Art Center, “Magical and Real: Henriette Wyeth and Peter Hurd.” Featuring approximately 100 works from different museums and private collections, this exhibition was co-organized with the Michener Art Museum in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, and is the first scholarly exhibition to seriously consider the work of either artist in 30 years. While many of the works on view traveled across the country for this exhibition, several were already right here in New Mexico. Today, we’ll be taking a look at a painting with strong local connections, “Praxedes Dominguez”

by Peter Hurd.

Hurd was born and raised in Roswell, and his childhood experiences in the Southwest were formative to his artistic interests and sense of self. He demonstrated an interest in drawing from a young age, but initially aspired to a military career, enrolling at West Point Academy in 1921. He left the academy two years later to pursue the arts and became a student of renowned

illustrator N.C. Wyeth in 1924. By the late 1920s, Hurd began accepting Wyeth’s overflow assignments and had become engaged to his mentor’s eldest daughter, artist Henriette Wyeth. Yet Hurd also wanted to develop an artistic voice of his own, and was frustrated that his work so closely resembled that of his teacher. In 1928, Hurd temporarily returned to Roswell, embarking on a separation that lasted until 1929. During this time, he began painting the region around him, and discovered that through southwestern subject matter, he could embrace the teachings of N.C. Wyeth while expressing his own artistic voice. Hurd articulated his self-discovery to Henriette Wyeth in January 1929, writing that “… to realize that dream of mine, which is to become one of the American Painters, I must know this my homeland in its every mood and prismatic variation.”

Among the first expressions of Hurd’s artistic independence are the portraits he painted in 1929 of Hispanic Roswell residents.

While these works are conventional studio portraits, they exude a

striking sense of individuality and dignity.

Having grown up near Roswell’s Hispanic district, Chihuahita, Hurd had become fluent in Spanish through his friendships with the residents there, and demonstrated a lifelong appreciation for New Mexico’s Spanish culture . Hurd would paint Hispanic sitters such as ranch hands or neighbors throughout his career, usually in between commissioned portraits.

Praxedes Dominguez, the subject of this painting, was the daughter of the gardener who worked for Hurd’s father. Completed during Hurd and Wyeth’s honeymoon during the summer of 1929, this work was painted while the couple stayed with his parents before moving on to a cabin in Ruidoso. Henriette had contemplated painting Praxedes before Peter decided to do so, and described her in a letter to her sister Ann as having “heavy black hair, parted down the middle and braided down her back in a long pigtail.” She also mentions a doll that the girl regularly carried around with her, which Hurd has included in

Curator of Collections and Exhibitions at the Roswell Museum and Art Center, Sara Woodbury, is leaving her position to work on a PhD in Art History at the College of William and Mary in Virginia. Since starting at the museum in 2013, Sara has contributed an immense amount to the scholarship, programming and collection holdings at the Roswell Museum and Art Center. An eloquent speaker and writer, she presented many well-attended lectures and tours and created print materials that further connected the museum’s audiences to its exhibitions. She worked on the nationally-recognized retrospective of regional artists Henriette Wyeth and Peter Hurd, titled Magical & Real, in collaboration with co-curator Kirsten M. Jensen during much of her time here and which will be on view through mid-September. Muse-

14 | V i s i o n M a g a z i n e | Thursday, July 26, 2018

the portrait. Praxedes Domingues is a vibrant painting. Praxedes directly engages the viewer with her quiet, somewhat pensive gaze.

The palette is bright, with the girl’s red dress complementing the green backdrop. The energetic brushwork, particularly evident in the wavy strokes in the background, demonstrates Hurd’s brief use of a painterly, expressive style. Striking for its directness, “Praxedes Dominguez” exemplifies Hurd’s newfound confidence in his southwestern surroundings.

Praxedes, or Peggy as she was known to family, would go on to have a rich, full life and many of her family members are still based in the Roswell area. Her descendants would later rediscover the portrait at the Hurd La Rinconada Gallery in San Patricio and would acquire it. Today, the portrait remains with the family, who have generously loaned it to the exhibition. As a portrait, “Praxedes Dominguez” is significant because it’s both an early work

by Hurd and an important piece of Roswell history that retains its family connections. As curator of the Roswell Museum and Art Center,

Submitted Art Peter Hurd, “Praxedes Dominguez,” 1929, oil on canvas, collection of Rae Lynn Barela. it’s gratifying to bring collections, so this could in works that have such be your only opportunistrong ties to the local ty to see some of these community, especial- works for a long time to ly when the artist who come. If you’re in town, painted it is so well- I highly encourage you known and beloved in to come see the exhithis area. bition and say hello to “Magical and Real” is “Praxedes Dominguez” on view through Sept. a n d a l l o f t h e o t h e r 16. Many of these paint- works on view. ings remain in private

um Director Caroline Brooks said, “I can’t say enough about Sara. She has done an amazing job here. While we are sad to lose her, we know she will continue to contribute to the art history and curatorial fields in many ways and we were very lucky to have her. We wish her only the best in her academic and career pursuits.”

Woodbury enriched the Vision Magazine since her first column in the Oct. 2, 2014, edition of the Vision Magazine. Since then, every of her stories contributed were an enthusiastic guide to the treasures of the Roswell Museum and Art Center’s unique collections. She leaves with us several more stories that we are going to feature throughout this year. Thank you, Sara, and good luck in your future endeavors and career. — Christina Stock, Vision Magazine editor.

History

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

By Elvis E. Fleming

M

any local folks will remember Otis Brenneman as a prominent businessman in Roswell from the 1940s to the 1960s. For even longer, he was known as an active citizen of the community and as a sort of resident humorist about town, always ready to crack jokes with just about anybody who would listen to his humor and wisdom. Though he was a man of diminutive stature at 5 feet 6 inches, his popularity and influence loomed large in the community. One local citizen remarked that Tode was the kind of person one always remembers.

While Brenneman’s real name was Ira Otis, he was better known for most of his life as Tode.

It seems that when he was about 4 years old, Otis was given to bursts of anger during which he would hold his breath until he “... swelled up like a toad.”

People began to call him Toad and it stuck.

Somewhere along the way, he started spelling it Tode, and that became Tode’s nickname for the rest of his life, although he claimed that he did not know where the nickname came from until after he was grown.

Tode more or less used toad frogs as a conversation starter. He used little ceramic, rubber or plaster toads for gifts and decorations, always having some on hand in case he encountered some poor soul

that obviously needed a toad. His favorite stunt was to slip a rubber toad onto the shoulder of some unsuspecting victim. Besides Tode’s collection of over 100 toads, he had collections of World War II artifacts, medals and coins; Western artifacts, stamps, buttons and lots of antiques.

Tode’s parents, Ira Bishop Brenneman and wife, moved from Murphysboro, Illinois — where Tode was born on Feb. 18, 1899 — to Alamogordo in 1905.

The father died in 1906 and Tode and his mother returned to Illinois temporarily. They then moved to Roswell in 1907 when Tode was 8 years old. Thus began Tode’s long relationship with Roswell.

Tode met his future wife, Norma Rasmus, at Roswell High School.

She came to Roswell, along with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Beauchamp Rasmus, and two siblings, from Talequah, Oklahoma, in 1916.

Mrs. Rasmus was seeking a dry climate for her health. Tode and Norma graduated in 1919 and got married on July 15, 1920.

Before he opened his famous store, Tode worked at The Model, a high-end men’s store on Main Street. Between 1920 and 1947, Tode sold men’s fashionable clothing there.

Tode’s business from 1947 to 1963 was “Tode’s Western Clothes” at 207 N. Main St. He took over the former location of

Photo courtesy Historical Center for Southeast New Mexico Archives, Photo No. 329 New Mexico Rifle Champions, 1936: Gallery Rifle Team featuring Tode Brenneman (seated, front right), Charles Fuller (seated, front left), back row, l-r: James Cullender, Ed Raymond, Jack Hardin.

Welter’s Saddlery Co. from Grover C. Welter and made it into the first Western wear store in Roswell. Of course, he sold the usual hats, boots, shirts, pants and belts, but Tode had a wider choice of products and services for his customers, according to signs on the front of the building. These included tents and awnings, with repair services for these as well as expert shoe repair. Another major category was saddles and other leather goods, which Tode continued from Welter’s.

He frequently surprised his customers by giving them their change in either silver dollars or two-dollar bills.

In 1963, Tode sold his store and retired. He soon purchased a little

store/filling station in the historic town of Lincoln. He continued to operate it for 14 years.

It is not clear whether the Brennemans lived in Lincoln during that time, commuted from Roswell, or both.

Tode Brenneman was involved in the civic life of Roswell for most of the time he lived here. When I first met him, he told me how he had participated in an improvement to the courthouse. Tode was one of the jurors in an early jury trial, and the jury chairs were very hard and exceedingly uncomfortable to sit in during the long hours of the trial, he said. So, after the first day, the jury was sent to their sleeping quarters in the courthouse for the

night. Here came Tode the next morning toting a pillow to cushion his jury chair. The judge saw what was happening, and being interested in the jurors’ plight, he immediately gave orders that all of the jury chairs should have cushions installed forthwith. Tode Brenneman took credit for those cushions from then on, calling himself the “grandfather of the seat cushions.”

Tode served on another jury in a sensational case from Eddy County in 1924. Nannie Halsey had hired two of her friends, Claude Archer and Luther Foster, to bump off her husband, Fred Halsey. They were found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to hang. The

Vision Magazine |

sentence was never carried out. But that’s another story ...

Tode’s civic activities included serving four years on the Roswell City Council. During his tenure, the Works Progress Administration built the present city hall in 1937. Tode was an amateur historian and took note of historically significant events such as this in the community.

He accumulated many photographs of historic Roswell. The numerous stories about Roswell that Tode collected included his own interaction with old-timers and his observations of the economic development and evolution of downtown Roswell during his lifetime.

To be Continued Aug. 16

Thursday, July 26, 2018

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UFOlogy

How important are UFOs to the government?

Looking Up

F

or those who submit Freedom of Information Act requests to the government, seeking release of UFO-related information, it’s a common experience to see one official agency or another write back and say, in effect, that the government isn’t interested in UFOs or in maintaining files on them. But don’t believe it. I’ll give one reason why it couldn’t be true.

Or perhaps I should say a dozen reasons.

When the Roswell UFO crash occurred in July 1947, it caught President Harry Truman (and everyone else) unprepared. It had to be disturbing for Truman to

By Donald Burleson

get that phone call in the wee hours asking, “What do you want us to do?” with no time even to think about it.

He could only order a crash retrieval and hope for the best. I feel sure of one thing: he would have been determined to be ready the next time.

There are documents indicating that he and his advisors assembled a special team to look into such things. It was called Majestic Twelve or MJ-12. Documents relating to their activities would be stamped Top Secret MAJIC. Let’s look at who those 12 remarkable people were.

MJ-1 was Adm. Roscoe

Hillenkoetter, who was the director of the Central Intelligence Group and later, when the CIG evolved into the Central Intelligence Agency, the first director of that, too.

MJ-2 was Vannevar Bush — a prominent scientist who headed the U.S. Office of Scientific Research and Development during World War II — founded the company later called Raytheon and was Dean of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Engineering and chair of the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (forerunner of National Aeronautics and Space Administration).

MJ-3 was James Forrestal, appointed by Truman as the first Secretary of Defense. He had a nervous breakdown and allegedly committed suicide under very suspicious circumstances.

MJ-4 was Gen. Nathan Twining, Air Force Chief of Staff, later Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and recipient of the Distinguished Service Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, and numerous other honors. MJ-5 was Gen. Hoyt Vandenberg, who served as Air Force Chief of Staff, Director of Central Intelligence, and recipient of many awards, including the Legion of Merit, Distin-

guished Flying Cross, and Silver Star.

MJ-6 was Detlev Bronk, an aviation physiologist who at various times was president of Johns Hopkins University and Rockefeller University.

MJ-7 was Jerome Hunsaker, head of Aeronautics at MIT. MJ-8 was Sidney Souers, intelligence expert and first Director of Central Intelligence, among other positions.

MJ-9 was Gordon Gray, former Secretary of the Army and head of the CIA’s Psychological Strategy Board.

MJ-10 was Donald Menzel, Harvard professor of astronomy, cryp-

tology expert, consultant to the CIA and NSA, and disinformation specialist.

MJ-11 was Gen. Robert Montague, a mathematician, base commander of Fort Bliss and officer responsible for White Sands Proving Ground.

MJ-12 was Lloyd Berkner, a geophysicist who later would head up the International Geophysical Year.

Truman and his advisors would scarcely have chosen this all-star team if the UFO issue were not considered exceedingly important.

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16 | V i s i o n M a g a z i n e | Thursday, July 26, 2018