Focus on Lea County Summer 2015 by FocusNM.com

SUMMER 2015

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FROM THE EDITOR FOCUS ON BARREL RACING

AROUND A BARREL TIDBITS & TRIVIA

FOCUS ON COWBOYS & COWGIRLS

FOCUS ON FAITH

FOCUS ON THE FAIR

FOCUS ON RECIPES

FOCUS ON ROPING & RIDING

FOCUS ON COWBOY ATTIRE

FOCUS ON FARMING

NMJC PROGRAM TRAINS NATIONAL COMPETITORS

COWBOY CHURCH HAS VISION LEA COUNTY FAIR

LET’S EAT!

PRESERVING A LEGACY

BOOTS, CHAPS & COWBOY HATS NOTHING ELSE MATTERS GROWING GREEN

26 ABOUT THE COVER

RaeLynn Stewart, Lovington Chamber of Commerce Director and active barrel racer, shows off her riding skills. Photo by Kylee Shantel Photography

Kyle Marksteiner, Editorial Director - Adrian Martinez, Advertising Photography by Various Photographers - Submitted for Use in Focus on Lea County Special Contributors: Leah L.M. Wingert, Jonathan Sena & Susan C. Waters FOCUS ON LEA COUNTY IS PUBLISHED QUARTERLY BY AD VENTURE MARKETING

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SUMMER 2015 | A COMMUNITY MAGAZINE

F O C U S from the editor

Rodeo Time

Coming to a Magazine Near You!

WELCOME TO THE FOURTH ISSUE OF FOCUS ON LEA COUNTY! It’s hard to believe that we’ve been doing this for an entire year now. Time could slow down for a bit and I would not complain. KYLE MARKSTEINER Editorial Director

FOCUS ON LEA CO.

Our very first edition focused on volunteer work, and the good folks with the Salvation Army and other local charitable organizations graced the cover. From there, we moved into the arts. Extremely talented painter Debra Wadlington graced the cover of the second edition. Then we celebrated the “Lea County Legacy” with a cover story spotlight on Casey’s Restaurant. If you haven’t seen any of these previous editions, I certainly encourage you to check them out. Visit our web page at www.FocusNM.com and go through our Lea County archive. You can also contact us at sales@ad-venturemarketing.com or through “Focus on Lea County” on Facebook to acquire back issues. Now, we’re focusing a little bit more on last issue’s legacy component as we move into ranching and rodeo.

FOCUS ON LEA COUNTY | SUMMER 2015

Did you know that the Lea County Fair is the second largest fair in New Mexico every year? The Lea County Fair is second only to the New Mexico State Fair. Did you know that a Lea County resident made history in 1976 when she became the first person to ever compete against her mother in the National Finals Rodeo? Talk about a family affair. Find out more inside. We’ve got some familiar faces joining us for this edition and one new author. Leah Wingert visits an organic farm in Hobbs and chats with some legacy ranching families. Hobbs City Commissioner Jonathan Sena takes a trip to a cowboy church. Our newcomer, New Mexico Junior College Professor Susan Waters, writes about cowboy attire and the college’s competitive rodeo program. I’m making a pledge here as well. I’m going to check out the Lea County Fair this year. I have not previously attended, but after talking to people about what it has to offer, you’ve sold me. As much as I’m looking

forward to the concerts, carnival rides and rodeo, the truth is that the biggest appeal is going to be the abundance of fried food and giant turkey legs. Thousands of years from now, when archeologists look back at our time period and judge us as a people, I hope they respect the fact that we were nice to dogs and that we marketed enormous turkey legs at outdoor activities. We’ve also got big plans on the horizon, including a special “Where Are They Now?” edition that tracks down some of your former friends and classmates. In the meantime, swing by Facebook and say hello! A B O U T T H E E D IT O R

Kyle Marksteiner is the editorial director of Focus on Lea County and Focus on Carlsbad. He can be reached at editor@ad-venturemarketing.com.

PHOTOS: A few snapshots from some of the stories featured in this edition of Focus on Lea County.

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F O C U S on barrel racing

FOCUS ON LEA COUNTY | SUMMER 2015

AROUND A BARREL COUNTY RACERS STAY BUSY by Kyle Marksteiner

RaeLynn Stuart has a lot of hats to wear. She’s the executive director of the Lovington Chamber of Commerce, the former Miss Rodeo New Mexico in 2008 and an active barrel racer when she has the time. However, no matter what role she is occupying at any given time, her favorite hat is her Stetson. Stuart is one of many competitive barrel racers in Lea County, a list that includes pro competitors like Cindy Smith and Rebecca Perez Hughes. Men and boys do compete in barrel racing but not through the Women’s Professional Rodeo Association, which is the sanctioning entity of barrel racing in professional rodeo. In barrel racing, a horse and rider attempt to complete a cloverleaf pattern around preset barrels in the fastest time possible. Breaking the pattern results in a “no time” score; hitting a barrel and knocking it over results in a five second penalty. Why barrel racing? Stuart said she’s a very competitive person. “My two horses have taken me on this new adventure and have made it a lot of fun,” she observed, “and once things click between the horse and rider, it becomes that much more exciting.” Perez Hughes said her mother got her started when she was seven years old. “We started going to a lot of shows,” she

recalled. “I did all the events, and the only one I was good at was running barrels.” Smith, who lives in Hobbs, got off to an even earlier start. “I recently found a baby book, and I think I was 22 months old,” she noted. She first began competing at age 11 on a special permit. When her mother suffered a slipped disc in 1972, Cindy inherited her winning horse, Salty.

She purchased her barrel horse, Chip, two years ago, and they have traveled to various jackpot races since then. Her second barrel horse, Pug, came along last year, and the two horses have helped her land a Western Region Championship title in the fourth division and a saddle from the Better Barrel Racers Association. Barrel racing, and rodeo in general, is unquestionably a family event. For example, Smith’s father was an allaround cowboy who rode bulls and later competed in senior rodeo. She met her

She travelled a lot in her childhood, but rodeo and barrel racing were always part of her life. At age 15 and going by Cindy Witcher at the time, she was the youngest contestant at the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) in 1976. In fact, she and her mother, Marion Gramith, made history that year as the first mother-daughter team to compete against each other in NFR history. Stuart competed in the Intercollegiate Horse Showing Association at New Mexico State University and was Miss Rodeo in 2008.

PHOTO LEFT: Lovington Chamber of Commerce Director RaeLynn Stewart.

PHOTO RIGHT: Hobbs Resident Cindy Smith made history in 1976 when she competed against her mother in the national finals. Photos submitted by racers.

SUMMER 2015 | A COMMUNITY MAGAZINE

husband, Tommy, at a rodeo as well. Stuart grew up around horses. Her husband, Sam, is a PRCA (Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association) bareback rider. Her parents, Dale and Tammy Dunlap, are both team ropers.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Really competing at the upper levels takes a willingness to travel. Eunice resident Perez Hughes has another job, she’s a consultant for a health and wellness company, but riding and training has increasingly kept her busy. She obtained her pro card several years ago, but her children were very young at the time, so she stayed close to home until five years ago. Perez Hughes often travels with a fellow competitor. “I did a few trips with Cindy Smith last year and this will be my first full year on the road,” she remarked. Last year, she attended 40 professional rodeos and numerous other barrel racing events. However, she didn’t travel at all between October and December. PHOTO: Rebecca Perez Hughes has been a barrel racer for some

time, but she’s recently been spending more time on the road.

Photo submitted by racer.

FOCUS ON LEA COUNTY | SUMMER 2015

The schedule for days off (those that are not travel days) usually revolves around the horses. That means light exercise, visits to the vet and shopping for feed.

May event this year. “My goal at the Chamber was to create a new event that would bring more visitors to the community,” she maintained.

“Finding feed is a big deal,” Perez Hughes added during a recent slow day on the road. “One of my horses has sore feet, so I’m making a poultice, and then we have salt water treatments as therapy for the horse.”

For Smith, the line between competing as a barrel racer and raising, training and selling horses is blurred. “That’s how I made money growing up,” she revealed. “If a horse was going really well, then someone would offer a lot of money.”

Perez Hughes recently competed in the National Circuit Finals Rodeo in Florida. It didn’t go as well as she would have hoped. Both of her horses have been battling issues over the winter and she wound up hitting barrels in both rounds, but she stopped at another Florida rodeo on the way there and had a good finish.

The horse breeding part of her career involves focusing on genetic lines and handling embryo transfers. A couple of years ago, Cindy won a $100,000 slot race on the horse Woodbsmokingframe. “I’m getting a lot out of this mare,” she volunteered. “We seem to have horses that want to work.”

Stuart acknowledged that planning and working with people who support her have made it possible for her to continue barrel racing. In fact, in 2014 she returned the favor by helping organize the Lovington Chamber Classic 5D Barrel Race in May. During the event, World Champion Barrel Racer Lindsey Sears, ten National Finals Rodeo qualifiers and 20 pro rodeo cowgirls attended and competed. Lovington hosted another race in October and held the second

CLOSING

Stuart said the sport is cutthroat, requires patience and a lot of hard work. “You will fall and you will have setbacks,” she concluded, “but riding the storm with that gritty determination will help you weather even the most challenging storms.” Lea County’s barrel racers will continue to leave their mark.

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Think you know all about how the West was won? Take our quick trivia test and find out!

1 • How much did the Colt Peacemaker sell for when it was first manufactured in 1873? 2 • What name did Harry Longabaugh acquire after he served jail time for stealing horses in a similarly-named town in Wyoming? 3 • Who was the town marshal of Tombstone, Arizona at the time of the shoot-out at the O.K. Corral? 4 • Where was the first gold strike in the Old West? 5 • How much were the Texas Rangers paid per day when their organization was first formed in 1835? 6 • The Pony Express was in operation from April 1860 through October 1861. How many mail sacks were lost during this time period? 7 • Who was the first woman to be tried for a serious crime by frontier “hanging judge” Isaac Parker? 8 • Who is credited with inventing the chuckwagon by revamping an Army surplus wagon? 9 • There were about 45,000 working cowboys during the heyday of the cattle drives. Roughly how many of those were African American? 10 • What railroad, which went from Sacramento, California to Omaha, Nebraska, was constructed with 1,776 miles of track?

ANSWERS 1. $17.00 2. The Sundance Kid 3. Virgil Earp, who temporarily deputized his brother Wyatt, among others 4. South of Santa Fe in what would become the town of Dolores 5. $1.25 a day 6. One 7. Belle Star, the Outlaw Queen, who was sentenced to five months in prison for horse theft 8. Charles Goodnight 9. About 5,000 10. The Transcontinental Railroad

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SUMMER 2015 | A COMMUNITY MAGAZINE

F O C U S on cowboys & cowgirls

NMJC Program Trains National Competitors

by Susan C. Waters

merica’s Western cowboy is an enduring symbol. During America’s Industrial Revolution, it was a dream to be away from factories and the increasing tyranny of the clock. In the 20th century, the cowboy became a symbol of an escape from businesses and suits, from the uniformity of the modern world. To be a cowboy was to live and work under star-filled skies surrounded by mesas and mountains, relying on the strength of one’s self. Of course, reality was different. Life

was hard, and during the cattle runs between Texas and the railheads, cowboys often faced a gauntlet of obstacles: rustlers, hostile Native Americans, stampedes and nature itself. One unlucky entrepreneur, Oliver Loving, was injured in the arm and side after 500 Comanche braves cornered him along the Pecos River in New Mexico while he was trying to establish a new route for cattle runs. He managed a Hollywood-style escape from the Comanches looking for him by hiding in brush and by submerging himself in the water when danger was near. He somehow was

PHOTO: NMJC’s Keely Bonnett earned first-team honors in tie-down roping this season. He finished fifth in the region in the event with 270 points, just 25 points off of qualifying for the College National Finals Rodeo. Photo courtesy of New Mexico Junior College.

FOCUS ON LEA COUNTY | SUMMER 2015

able to make his way to Fort Sumner, but the injuries he sustained festered, and he died of gangrene. Although the cowboy or cowgirl working on a ranch with a horse still exists, it’s an uncommon sight in the United States today. Motorized vehicles are often used now. Rodeos and popular culture are where the cowboys and cowgirls are to be found in the 21st century. One might be born into a roping or riding family, but unlike times past, young people need to be in school, which means that learning how to rope, ride or barrel race takes place in the remaining hours of the day. Young people often opt now to attend clinics or even go to

college to learn more about the skills and to compete in rodeos.

NEW MEXICO JUNIOR COLLEGE’S RODEO PROGRAM

In addition to having been home to some of the best cowboys and cowgirls in the United States, Lea County has a stellar rodeo program at New Mexico Junior College (NMJC). Not only do students from all over the U.S. seek admission to the program, but also those from other countries, notably Canada. However, wanting to be part of the program is not the same as staying in it. Students must meet academic standards and learn rodeo techniques and take good care of their animals. Plus, Head Rodeo Coach Marty Eakin and Assistant Coach Richard Morris are strict about students adhering to what one could call “being a good citizen.” All the hard work at NMJC has paid off: standings change weekly, but as of late spring 2015, both the men’s and women’s teams at NMJC ranked fifth in the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association’s Southwest Regional Standings. NMJC students’ rankings are consistently high, as is the case of Devin Wigemyr, ranked second in team roping heelers. Kellie Collier placed third in barrel racing while Keely Bonnett came in at third in tiedown roping. Former NMJC students who have transferred also receive high marks: Kody Lamb won the 2014 PRCA (Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association) Rookie of the Year award in bareback riding. Lamb is now a Tarleton State University student, and he competes in both collegiate and professional rodeos. While at NMJC, he qualified twice for the College National Finals Rodeo, the “Rose Bowl” of rodeo. NMJC’s rodeo program typically has 20-25 cowboys and cowgirls a year. In 2008, rodeo facilities were expanded and now include a new indoor practice facility that is 165 feet wide, 350 feet long, and 32

Coach Marty Eakin

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Assistant Coach Richard Morris feet in height. NMJC is the only school among both community colleges and four-year schools with a facility like this in the state of New Mexico. Both the indoor and outdoor arenas are maintained on a daily basis, and the program has a rough stock bucking pen and a calf lane. Sixty shed-row stalls are home to the students’ horses, and livestock is furnished for timed events and for rough stock, broncs and bulls. Animals are conditioned to know what to expect. At the outdoor roping area, calves line up in a chute ready for action, and many wear protective head gear to prevent damage to their ears and heads from rope burns. Also, when practicing, students drop the rope to avoid hurting the cattle, and the animals are not roped every day. Equipment provided on which students can hone their skills and which sound pretty challenging to the uninitiated include the Mighty Broncy, Mighty Bucky and Hot Heels, a Robo Bull Bronc and a Calf Sled. Students are held to a practice schedule of Monday through Thursday on non-event weeks, and Monday through Wednesday on weeks when there

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is a competition. Rodeo is one of the few sports where an athlete must pay to play: the cost of the horse and feeding is the responsibility of the cowboy or cowgirl. The cost of a horse depends on several factors, including the competition level of the student and the blood line of the animal. A trained horse naturally costs more, as does the animal that is used to crowds and the commotion of a rodeo event. Of course, the speed of an animal is another factor. A junior high school student might spend between $6,000 and $10,000 for a horse. College rodeo horses can range from $10,000 to $30,000 or more, and the

professional rodeo competitor could spend $30,000-$100,000 or even more. Other costs that a cowboy or cowgirl must incur include a trailer to transport the horse or horses to rodeos and then back home during the summer college break. Sometimes, competitors will purchase a trailer with sleeping quarters and kitchen— not a cheap proposition. Horses need good medical care, too. NMJC’s rodeo program started in 1974, and the first coach was Robert Pearce. The college is a member of the Southwest Region, which is made up of 15 colleges and universities and is governed by the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association

PHOTO MAIN: NMJC’s rodeo program began in 1974 and is considered one of the best programs in the country. The rodeo facilities were expanded in 2008. Photo courtesy of New Mexico Junior College. PHOTOS INSET FROM LEFT: Team roping heeler Devin Wigemyr earned first-team honors this year for NMJC, took fourth in the region and will be picked up for the College National Finals Rodeo. NMJC’s Kellie Collier, a breakaway roper, earned honorable mention honors in barrel racing. She qualified for the CNFR by taking third with 490 points. Tie-down roper Wyatt Hayes, who hails from Canada, graduated from NMJC this spring. Photos by Whitty, Two Dog Enterprises; courtesy of New Mexico Junior College.

FOCUS ON LEA COUNTY | SUMMER 2015

(NIRA), the organization that oversees college rodeo programs. In an 84-page document, NIRA covers all aspects of college rodeo from saddle specifications to the manner in which calves can be roped, all rules that the NMJC program must follow. After NMJC, students typically go on to universities with rodeo teams such as Eastern New Mexico University, West Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Tarleton State. Of course, a great deal of credit is owed to the two men who oversee and manage the program today. Head Rodeo Coach Marty Eakin, who hails from Texas and accepted the NMJC position in 2013, has a long list of accomplishments. On the high school level in 2002, he was the National AllAround Cowboy, the National High School Steer Wrestling Champion and

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the Shawnee International Rodeo Steer Wrestling Champion. On the college level in 2004, he was the Saddle Bronc National Champion at the College National Finals Rodeo. During the same year, he was named Rookie Saddle Bronc Champion at Cheyenne Frontier Days as well. Prior to his work at NMJC, he was assistant rodeo coach of the men’s and women’s teams at South Plains College. Recently, Eakin was named 2014-2015 Coach of the Year by the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association, Southwest Region (NIRA/SWR). While talking about the honor, Eakin remarked, “I am very humbled to receive this recognition of NIRA/SWR 2014-15 Coach of the Year, because I was nominated and voted on by the SWR Head Coaches of the region—that are my peers—and by the SWR Student Rodeo Event Directors as well as by two student/ rodeo representatives from each of the 16 colleges and universities that make up our region. There are 11 regions that make up the NIRA.” Assistant Rodeo Coach Richard Morris has a long history with NMJC and area schools. For 14 years he was athletic director at NMJC, but in 2007 decided to return to the classroom to pursue his lifelong interest in rodeo

and horses. Typically low-key about his accomplishments, he has actively participated in the sport for 45 years through sports medicine, administration and assistant coaching. Eakin’s advice to young men and women who love rodeo is to finish college with a degree in hand. Even though he was successful in the sport, injuries caused him to re-think the idea of rodeo as a long-term career. It is not so much a matter of whether one is hurt in the arena as much as it is when. Exceptions exist, but most cowboys do not have long careers, and Eakin is a strong believer in students obtaining degrees so they can be successful in life. What does the future hold for rodeo and equestrian events in Lea County? Big plans are in the works to build an equestrian facility on the NMJC campus capable of seating 1,800 people. The indoor, climate-controlled arena will offer a venue for riding and riding clubs and is expected to attract between 31 and 38 events a year. Next door to the site, Zia Park Casino attracts approximately 1.8 million people each year, mainly from Texas, and the presence of events at the NMJC facility is bound to attract visitors, which would bolster local businesses. Nationally, interest in riding and in equestrian events has been declining, but in Lea County it only seems to be growing. ABOU T THE AU THOR

Susan C. Waters is a professor at New Mexico Junior College.

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Cowboys in the Late 1800’s by Zak Nikkila

Editor’s Note: Zak Nikkila wrote about the golden years of cattle drives as a term paper for Susan C. Waters’ world literature class. Zak is a 2015 graduate of NMJC and is now pursuing a degree in the medical field. Below is an excerpt from his essay.

During the golden years of the cattle trails, the cowboys that rode on the trail months at a time often did not make much money. On average, the cattle drivers were usually only paid around $20-$30 a month, and they usually weren’t paid until after the cattle reached their final destination and had been sold. When demand for beef was at its greatest in the North, cattle were worth $20-$40 per head. Life on the trail was not necessarily easy. Day in and day out, the trail master and hands often spent most of their day in the saddle riding 1015 miles a day. Members of the trail included the trail boss who directed the drive and was in charge, the cook who rode in the chuckwagon and prepared all of the meals, and the wranglers who would round up the cattle and keep them in line. If the wranglers were lucky, their day would be rather boring and uneventful. However, there were many dangers that they had to worry about on the trail that often brought sudden danger and chaos to an otherwise uneventful day. SUMMER 2015 | A COMMUNITY MAGAZINE

F O C U S on faith

COWBOY CHURCH HAS VISION “Love God. Love people. No limits.”

JONATHAN SENA Commissioner

CITY OF HOBBS

That is the mission statement of Cowboy Junction Church, one of the fastest growing churches in Lea County. Lead pastors Ty and Heather Bean, along with their team of innovative leaders, have worked hand-in-hand with a church of engaged “owners” (I’ll get to that later) since 1998 to create a dynamic worship experience and a daily excitement for community service.

together they now pastor the modern and diverse church.

Ty Bean and Administrative Pastor Cigi Hardin gave me the explanation of why the church, located off of the Lovington Highway, was founded, what they are doing to reach the community, and the ministry’s vision for the future.

Bean added, “Knowing our Father shows us how to love Him and love people. If we preach this for eternity, it can always challenge people.” And challenge people they do--on many levels.

Cowboy Junction Church (CJC) was founded in 1996 by current Junction Christian Academy Principal Crill Watson and began having monthly services at the Lovington Auction Sale Barn. With its perfect elevation seating, Ty acknowledged it was the prime location to attract ranchers, cowboys and cowgirls, and rodeo lovers. The church continued to grow until two services each month were needed. Then one day Watson invited Bean, who at the time was serving at the First Assembly of God Church in Phoenix, to come speak. The church members immediately knew that Bean was needed at CJC, and he eventually began to serve as lead pastor. Later he met his lovely wife, Heather, and

FOCUS ON LEA COUNTY | SUMMER 2015

So, here’s the question many ask: “Do I have to wear cowboy boots to attend Cowboy Junction?” No. Hardin promised that people can come directly from work to church and can expect to be treated with compassion. Love is how they handle themselves in leadership and as a church community.

As I mentioned before, church members are not called “members,” but are referred to as “owners,” instead. “Members have rights. Owners have responsibilities,” explained Hardin. As a CJC owner, people are invited to serve both CJC and the community as a whole. Serving as one of the CJC owners is something that is celebrated. Each week, a volunteer’s service is celebrated, and there is also an annual volunteer celebration dinner. The serving opportunities are varied and exciting, including an annual camp for students called Camp Crossfire; an annual women’s conference called Create, which last month attracted over 600 women from churches all around Lea County and West Texas; an inspiring music team featuring phenomenal musicians and vocalists such as Fabian and Lesley Grimes; a fun kids ministry; and Crossroads Youth Ministry, with Chris and Abby Haggard at the helm. CJC is also planning for another Fall Fest. The last Fall

Fest attracted almost 4,700 people and is something the ministry is planning to augment in the future. While visiting with Hardin and Bean, they made it very clear that the church’s success has resulted from a team of believers focused on reaching people with the love of God in a creative and excellent manner. It is a community of Christians with a bold vision of growth, including a vision of one day having a recording studio and a roping arena. As Bean always says, “We can never lose our small town heart, but we’ve got to lose our small town mentality.” The Beans have partnered with their ministry owners to create an inspirational 21st century church for people of all walks of life, cowboys or not. CJC cares about people and considers people to be more than just numbers. As Hardin proclaimed, “Every number has a name. Every name has a story. Every story matters to God.” PHOTOS (FROM LEFT): Ty and Heather Bean, lead pastors at

Cowboy Junction Church. At center, the drive up to Cowboy Junction Church, located at 9924 Catchings Road. Pictured are some of the many activities taking place at Cowboy Junction Church, one of the county’s fastest growing churches.

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F O C U S on the fair

FOCUS ON LEA COUNTY | SUMMER 2015

lea

County Fair by Kyle Marksteiner

he folks at Global Spectrum know they have some big boots to help fill. The entertainment company, owned by Comcast, is assisting Lea County Fair’s Board this year in preparing the 80th Annual Lea County Fair & Rodeo July 31 through August 8 at the Lea County Fairgrounds in Lovington.

runs the Lea County Event Center, is on contract to help with a lot of the legwork for this year’s oak jubilee.

“It’s coming up quickly and there’s a lot of work to do,” said Fair Board Chairman Corey Helton. “We start working on the fair the day after the fair ends, so this is a culmination of a whole year’s work.”

Jolly is no stranger to running fairs. His previous stint included running the Curry County Fair in Clovis, the state’s second largest county fair after the Lea County event.

It’s hard to even fathom how much total effort goes into the fair, which includes the livestock show, a major rodeo, a carnival, dozens of vendors, A-list concerts and a Hispanic Heritage Celebration. There’s also a Hispanic Heritage queen, a parade, a fiddler contest and a special rodeo for children with physical or developmental disabilities. Lea County commissioners each appoint two residents to the Fair’s Board. Global Spectrum, who also PHOTO: A little cowboy and cowgirl at the Lea County Fairgrounds in Lovington. Photo by Amy Ward; courtesy of Lea County Fairgrounds.

“I am very excited,” declared Kevin Jolly, general manager for the Lea County Events Center and Fair Grounds. “It’s one of the top ten outdoor PRCA (Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association) rodeos a year. There’s such a tradition.”

There was still a lot left to be done, in terms of preparing for the fair, during an interview in April. The County’s Fair Board and Global Spectrum have divvied up the workload. “Global Spectrum’s role is to run the grounds itself and bring in the entertainment,” explained Helton. “The Fair Board still makes the decision on running the fair.” Jolly wasn’t quite ready to list the anticipated concert schedule, as there were still pieces being put into place, but he was extremely optimistic. “We’re in the entertainment business, and we’re handling the booking,” he added. The fair starts every year with

SUMMER 2015 | A COMMUNITY MAGAZINE

the Hispanic Heritage Celebration, and there’s a concert planned for each evening, usually a mix between country/western and rock. Recent musical feasts have included big names such Joe Nichols, Dwight Yoakum, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Night Ranger. “It gets harder every year to top what we did the year before,” admitted Helton. “We’re working on the lineup.” Wednesday night has been declared Faith and Family Night and is the most popular evening of the entire Fair, according to Helton.

FOCUS ON LEA COUNTY | SUMMER 2015

The annual PRCA rodeo runs during the second half of the week and will include the full gamut of rodeo activities including bull riding, saddle bronc riding and barrel racing. Admission is pretty simple. Once you pay at the gate you can attend every event, though there’s an extra charge for carnival rides. In addition to the concerts, there’s plenty of other entertainment prepared. For example, Jolly noted, the Fair is bringing in the “Great Bear Show,” an act featuring a variety of brown and black bears. Conjurer Robert Smith is also paying the Fair a

visit this year. “It’s like the movie Big,” commented Jolly. “He stands inside of this big conjurer machine.” The midway will include the usual stream of food vendors, carnival rides and retail. Jolly’s favorite fair fare, incidentally, is the caramel apples. Jolly contended that the animal shows are his favorite part of the entire week. “I grew up showing livestock,” he reflected. “I love being involved with fairs and working with youth. My kids show in the Fair, and I definitely like watching the animal shows.” Helton said the Fair contracts with

Dwight’s Amusements for the carnival rides. The company has worked well in the past and the Fair Board also appreciates the company’s focus on supporting local charities and youth programs. Fair planners emphasized that the Lea County program never forgets about its roots. “One thing to stress is that this is still about our kids,” Jolly declared. “We have animal projects, and arts and crafts projects. That seems to get lost a lot of the time, but that’s why we have fairs, for kids to show and sell their livestock and other accomplishments. The concerts are fun and the rides are great and the

rodeo is huge, but it’s really about our kids.” Helton fully agreed. “That’s what the fair is about. It’s kids and animals, but it is also kids who do quilts or who do cooking or photography. Really, the whole point to it all is that it is still a showcase for the kids and all the work they’ve done.” Helton stressed that the Fair is beneficial to the entire county. In fact, motel rooms across the entire region usually fill up, and the net economic impact is huge. He became involved with the fair

years ago and spent 15 years showing livestock with his own children. That’s what created his interest in serving on the Board. “I just want to keep the atmosphere alive the way it was when my kids were growing up, and the way it was when I was a kid growing up,” he concluded. “That’s a passion of each of our board members.” For more information on the Lea County Fair & Rodeo, please visit http://www.leacounty.net/p/ departments/fairgrounds/lea-countyfair-and-prca-rodeo. PHOTOS: Previous fair activities at the Lea County Fairgrounds in Lovington. Photos courtesy of Lea County Fairgrounds.

SUMMER 2015 | A COMMUNITY MAGAZINE

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LET’S

Eat!

Getting impatient waiting for the county fair? Here are a few recipes for “fair food” that we hope are much more than fair! Recipes taken from allrecipes.com.

County Fair Elephant Ears Ingredients: • • • • • • • • • • • • •

2 cups all-purpose flour 1½ Tablespoons white sugar ½ teaspoon salt ½ cup butter, softened 2 Tablespoons butter, softened 4 Tablespoons butter, melted 1 package (.25 ounce) active dry yeast ¼ cup warm water ½ cup milk, scalded and cooled 1 egg yolk 2 cups white sugar 3½ teaspoons ground cinnamon ¼ cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. Mix flour, sugar and salt. Cut in ½ cup of softened butter, as for pastry. Soften yeast in water. Combine milk, egg yolk and softened yeast. Add to flour mixture and mix well. Cover dough and refrigerate for at least two hours. 2. Place dough on a lightly floured cutting board and knead lightly. Cover with a cloth and allow to rest for ten minutes. Roll dough into a 10x18 inch rectangle and brush with 2 Tablespoons of softened butter. Mix ½ cup of sugar and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon; sprinkle evenly over dough. Roll as for a jelly roll, sealing the edge. The roll should be 18 inches long. Cut dough into one-inch slices. Mix remaining sugar and cinnamon on a large square of waxed paper or aluminum foil. Place slices, one at a time, on sugar mixture and roll into five-inch balls. Sprinkle nuts on top and press gently. 3. Place dough on ungreased cookie sheets. Brush with 4 Tablespoons of melted butter and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of the sugar-cinnamon mixture. Bake immediately in a preheated 400˚ oven about 12 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

Snow Cone Syrup Ingredients

• 2 cups white sugar • 1 cup water • 1 (0.13 ounce) package unsweetened, fruit-flavored drink mix

Directions:

In a saucepan, stir together the sugar and water. Bring to a boil, and boil for about 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in the drink mix. Allow to cool; store in a container for pouring. Pour over shaved ice to flavor.

Roasted Barbecued Turkey Legs Ingredients:

• 4 smoked turkey legs • 4 cups hot water • 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules • 2 cups bbq sauce

Directions:

1. Place the turkey legs into a 4 quart pressure cooker over medium-high heat. Pour in just enough water to cover them. Sprinkle chicken bouillon granules over the water and stir to dissolve a little. Place the lid on the cooker and bring up to full pressure. Cook for 5 minutes. 2. While the turkey is cooking, preheat your oven’s broiler. After the time is up on the turkey, remove from the heat. Run cold water over the top of the cooker to help release the pressure, then open the lid. Place the turkey legs on a broiling pan or roasting pan. 3. Broil the turkey legs for 10 to 15 minutes until the skin is brown and crispy. Brush the legs with barbecue sauce toward the end of cooking. Serve with remaining sauce on the side. SUMMER 2015 | A COMMUNITY MAGAZINE

F O C U S on roping & riding

Preserving a Legacy by Leah L.M. Wingert

ON THE CAMPUS OF NEW MEXICO JUNIOR COLLEGE SITS A UNIQUE SLICE OF BOTH AMERICAN AND LEA COUNTY HISTORY. Settled into a desert scene complete with roadrunners and barbed wire is the Western Heritage Museum and Lea County Cowboy Hall of Fame. A windmill dots the landscape, and visitors are greeted by a leviathan of metal and a cowboy on horseback leading into the bright and gleaming museum. It is the pleasure of Dr. Darrell Beauchamp, Executive Dr. Darrell Beauchamp, Executive Director of the Western Heritage Museum and Lea County Cowboy Hall of Fame. PHOTO RIGHT: Carole and Buddy Luck continue a ranching tradition that began in 1908.

Director of the Museum, to maintain the legacy of the men and women, ranchers, cowboys and pioneers who carved a home from the forbidding beauty of this corner of the New Mexico desert. Lea County is fiercely proud of its heritage and continues to hold tight to its past while empowering future generations.

PHOTO LEFT:

FOCUS ON LEA COUNTY | SUMMER 2015

“We give scholarships each year to equine and rodeo students,” stated

Beauchamp. “We also honor [those persons] who have made considerable contributions to the rodeo, ranching and livestock culture of Lea County. We induct about three people a year into the hall of fame that meet very strict criteria.” Each year, during the Llano Estacado Banquet, three additional Lea County pioneers are awarded with the Bronze Cowboy Award, the highest honor given by the Museum. However, the Museum also seeks to honor others who have made a significant impact on the culture of Lea County with the Silver Concho Award, Working Cowboy Award, Volunteer of the Year and Young Rancher Award. Established in 1978 by legendary roping champion Dale “Tuffy” Cooper as a way to honor the ranching

and rodeo history of Lea County, the Hall of Fame exhibit began in the Caster Gymnasium but soon outgrew the space. “In 2005, the College built this building and we moved everything in 2007.” Beauchamp explained as we toured the meticulouslykept Hall of Fame. Each inductee provides memorabilia that is kept preserved behind gleaming glass in the climate controlled building. Rodeo championship belt buckles shined beside cotton bonnets, delicate bits of pottery and well-worn cowboy boots. In addition to the permanent exhibit of the Hall of Fame, the Museum also has several travelling exhibits that come through each year. “Some people ask what Andy Warhol or dinosaurs have to do with Western heritage,” Beauchamp disclosed. “The Cowboy Hall of Fame is never going away. However, different exhibits may get people in who may not necessarily come into the Museum. We believe in success through learning because we are a branch of the Junior College, and having the travelling exhibits has dramatically increased the amount of people exposed to the Hall of Fame.” In fact, according to the Museum’s 2014 Annual Report, attendance increased 86% over 2013; that’s 86% more people learning not only about dinosaurs and Warhol, but about the families who forged the backbone of the community—families such as the Luck family of Bar C Bar Ranch just outside of Hobbs, who continue to work their land and cattle just as generations of their family before them. While the Western Heritage Museum and Lea County Cowboy Hall of Fame is a good starting point for learning about ranching in the area, it naturally takes a visit to a working ranch to get the complete picture. The roots of the Luck family run deep in Lea County. In 1908 Carole Luck’s grandfather, Charlie B. Cochran, for whom Cochran Street in Hobbs is named, homesteaded in Hobbs and PHOTO: The Bar C Bar windmill.

SUMMER 2015 | A COMMUNITY MAGAZINE

began the Bar C Bar Ranch. Luck and her husband, Buddy, continue to work the cattle and the land, although on a smaller scale than her parents before her. As we navigated the bumpy roads of her pasture land, the white pickup we were in was soon trailed by a herd of interested cows and their calves. “We’ve got a small operation—only about 26 head,” she revealed as she pressed the button of the feed hopper attached to the truck, “and it was a hard winter, which is why we’re so grateful for the rain. The cows do better grass-fed.” She stopped the truck and we got out to observe the curious cattle. This land was purchased by her father when she was girl. “Those trees are old.” She pointed out a small grove of mesquites near the cattle tank where the cows come to

FOCUS ON LEA COUNTY | SUMMER 2015

drink. “I remember coming here when I was a girl, and those same trees were there,” she reminisced, expressing in one sentence the importance of family ranches and their deeply personal history; her children were raised on the same land her parents ranched, and her grandfather’s 1908 homestead is also still in family hands. Her pride in the ranch, which she and her husband manage with help from one of their sons, was obvious as we watched the cattle watching us. “We just worked and branded the cattle,” she maintained as the cows shied away from us and our attempts to walk closer to them. “The calves have to be branded in order for us to sell them.” The Bar C Bar is one of the brands that can be found on the wall of the Western Heritage Museum, and it must be registered and renewed

every five years with the state of New Mexico. So much of her personal history is involved in this land: a tool building built by her father is still used as storage and her children have gotten married in the front yard. Just steps away live her two grandsons, who came tumbling down the hill to hurl their little arms around the neck of a massive English mastiff they call Slag. It is this history, of cowboys and cowgirls and family heritage, which sustains the county when oil fades and wells dry up. It is families such as the Lucks that have made Lea County home for generations and people like Dr. Darrell Beauchamp who take up the banner of keeping its history alive who will maintain and sustain the life and history of Lea County for generations to come.

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F O C U S on cowboy attire

Boots, Chaps

Cowboy Hats

NOTHING ELSE MATTERS

by Susan C. Waters

rom head to toe, every part of a cowboy’s attire had a purpose. On a cattle-drive trail, sometimes 1,000 or more miles long, extra gear and clothing could not be brought along. Mountains, steep ravines and unruly brush meant that anything unessential needed to be left home. Whatever one wore had to be durable. The Western cowboy mainly wore collarless shirts, a vest to stash personal items, sturdy denim jeans for the long ride and often chaps, which provided protection against the landscape. Last, but certainly not least, were the finishing touches to the cowboy’s work-wear: his hat, bandana and boots. The cowboy hat has its origins in Mexico, and before that, in Spain, where it was called a “poblano,” a wide brimmed hat for shade with a flat crown. In Mexico, the poblano became the sombrero, a high crowned hat which protected not only the head and neck but also the shoulders. When the conquistador Don Cristóbal de Oñate crossed the Rio Grande at El Paso in 1595 with an extensive entourage plus cattle and sheep numbering 7,000, he is pictured as wearing armor, but he may have well wished that it was a poblano or sombrero in the unforgiving sun and heat of New Mexico’s Jornada del Muerto.

In the days of cattle runs from Texas, the hat which became popular was the brainstorm of a young Easterner who had traveled west to cure his tuberculosis, John Stetson. His idea for a wide-brimmed, felted hat made from fur caught on quickly. It was waterproof and could withstand bad weather and all the uses a cowboy had for a hat, among them retrieving water, fanning a fire and signaling others. At night, the hat would make for a nice pillow. By chance or luck or both, Stetson’s 1865 invention was concurrent with the first big cattle runs which took place after the American Civil War. Even after the

FOCUS ON LEA COUNTY | SUMMER 2015

era of the great cattle runs, cowboy hats were popular, even on the East Coast. A 1900 Sears, Roebuck and Co. catalog lists one for nearly $5 with postage, the equivalent of $138 today. In our world, cowboy hats run from the cheap, imported straw version to Stetsons ranging from a hundred to several thousand dollars. Cowboy hats can be made of straw, but the iconic cowboy hat is felted from animal fur by the use of water and/or steam, making it waterproof, light-weight, and durable. Creases and folds in the hat and brim make for different styles, and it is said that people knew what company or ranch a person was from by the indentations in his or her hat.

Country, Dobie wrote, “When the cowboys of the West make their final parade on the grassy shores of Paradise, the guidon [banner] that leads them should be a bandana handkerchief.”

Inside the hat, a bow is added in remembrance of the people who made cowboy hats in the late 19th century. Mercury was used in manufacturing hats, and the poisonous effects of the chemical were either unknown or ignored at the time. “Mad as a hatter” was a common term for the insane, and many hatters in the U.S. and Europe suffered from debilitating emotional disturbances, mental confusion and uncontrollable tremors. Of all the cowboy’s clothing, the bandana, or kerchief, is perhaps the most versatile. J. Frank Dobie, who wrote extensively about Texas and the Southwest, declared it should be the “flag of the range country.” In his book A Vaquero of the Brush

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He lists a number of uses: a strainer for dirty water, a way to tie down a hat on a windy day, a band aid for cuts, and a sling for broken bones. One of the more unexpected uses that he describes is a noose to hang a man! A bandana could keep a cowboy’s ears warm or keep his neck from being sunburned. It also made for a good dust filter, especially for the men at the tail end of the drive who were enveloped by dust, though one wonders if these cowboys, assigned a low-level job that no one else wanted, had enough money to buy the silk kerchiefs which were better filters. Good boots were indispensable on the trail. Western boots were, in part, the adaptation of Northern European riding boots by German cobblers who immigrated to Texas and Kansas. One assumes that the decoration on the top of the boot was for show, but it was pragmatic. Stitching kept the boot top from slipping down; the whole idea of the long boot shaft was to protect the wearer from thorns, brush, and well, yes, rattlesnakes. Loose-fitting through the shaft, the boot would be pulled off by the bodyweight of the cowboy if he had the misfortune of falling off a

horse with a boot stuck in the stirrup. Narrow-toed, underslung boots with a high heel and a smooth sole were favored by many because they allowed the cowboy to quickly slip in and out of the stirrups. The high heel prevented the boot from sliding clear through the stirrup. Being entangled in the stirrups could lead to disaster as a cowboy could be dragged by a startled horse. While the traditional Western boot is what people know from the movies, the other type of cowboy boot, and the one favored in some rodeo events, is the “roper.” It has a low heel and is much more conducive to walking— something the cattle drive cowboy was not doing a lot of. A roper has a rounded or squared-off toe and a more flexible sole. Cowhide was the material used in early boots, later replaced by calfskin. Today, a real or wannabe cowboy or girl can have boots made of anything, from deerskin, kangaroo or ostrich skin, to eel, python and alligator hide. Price is what one can afford. One customer with a lot of change in his pocket spent $75,000 for a pair at Tres Outlaws in El Paso, Texas. Gold and silver historical coins valued at $18,000

PHOTOS LEFT: A 1900 Sears, Roebuck and Co. ad lists the price of a Stetson hat at $4.50. Cowboy boots range from functional to masterpieces. PHOTO BELOW: This Charles Marion Russell painting, Buckaroos, captures the traditional cowboy attire.

decorated the boots, and the history of Mexico was etched into the hide. Why would someone pay so much for a symbol of a life that only existed at its peak for about two decades, from about 1866 to 1886? By the turn of the century, the cattle drives were almost gone, and barbed wire was stretched along properties as far as one could see. Hollywood has a lot to do with the continuing interest in the cowboy life. Westerns were and are still watched all over the world. In the United Kingdom, serious sounding clubs exist, some featuring Western enactments. Germany and France have their own variations on the same theme. Approximately 160 cowboy clubs exist in Germany with people becoming weekend cowboys living the Westerner’s life of 130 years ago. As far east as China and Japan, Westernthemed attractions exist, from clubs and bars to riding grounds for horses and camels in China. And the list goes on. . . Maybe Louis L’Amour was right when he said, “There’s a little cowboy in all of us, a little frontier.” ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Susan C. Waters is a professor at New Mexico Junior College.

SUMMER 2015 | A COMMUNITY MAGAZINE

F O C U S on farming

FOCUS ON LEA COUNTY | SUMMER 2015

by Leah L.M. Wingert

When thinking of organic farms and produce, it is distant cities such as San Francisco, Austin or Los Angeles that come to mind; however, located “just down the road” at 502 W. Navajo Drive in Hobbs is Dory Farms Neighborhood Market. Proprietor Derek Jones is dedicated to making this new organic farm and market make a difference in the lives and diets of the people of Southeastern New Mexico. “It’s my girlfriend, really, that got me out of fast food and into eating healthy. She was already eating healthy, home cooked foods and eventually I went along,” Jones admitted as his girlfriend, Brittanie Lynch, stocked the shelves. “Eventually we started asking questions. Pictured members of the Dory Farms family are Donna Jones, James Clarke, Brittanie Lynch and Derek Jones. PHOTOS BELOW: Healthy, fresh vegetables grown locally at Dory Farms Neighborhood Market. PHOTO LEFT:

Where did our food come from? Who grew it? What was our carbon footprint? We didn’t like the answers.” Jones and Lynch became so dedicated to their healthy lifestyle that they were making runs to Lubbock and Midland to find the healthy and organic foods that they craved. “Then we were taking orders for our friends and then their friends, so we thought, ‘Why don’t we have a farm?’ It wasn’t until later

that the idea of the business came into it,” Jones added. While the idea may have fallen into his lap, organic farming is not for the faint hearted. No herbicides or pesticides are allowed, and even the seeds they use in planting must be organic. Then there are the bugs, the diseases and the never ending documentation. “Just about every time I step into our garden I have to write it down,” Lynch pointed out. “Documentation is a huge part of being certified organic. When a plant dies, we write it down. When we lose a crop, we write it down—what kind of insects we have and what we do about them.” They use a system of pest management

“People shouldn’t be deprived of good food.”

SUMMER 2015 | A COMMUNITY MAGAZINE

called Integrated Pest Management. While in traditional farming pesticides can be used as part of the process, organic farmers have to be more creative. “We use marigolds, beneficial insects and even sacrificial plots [plots that are planted specifically to be eaten], which is definitely harder,” noted Jones. “We have a big problem with squash bugs,” Lynch continued, “so instead of using a chemical, we use assassin bugs, which will eat the squash bugs, as well as Neem Oil that covers the bugs and prevents them from reproducing.” However, sometimes they do things the old-fashioned way. “Sometimes we’ll just go out and pull the squash, and when the bugs come out, we’ll just have the guys out there stomping on them,” she said. Jones and Lynch were also recently recognized as Young Organic Farmers of the Year from the New Mexico Organic Farming Conference for their efforts in organic farming. “Farmers are growing older,” mused Jones, “and once all of the farmers die, where will our food come from?” Indeed, as our population ages, the average age of the American farmer has increased significantly as well. In fact, of the 2.2 million principal farm operators in the United States in 2007, more than one-third, or 656,000, were 65 years of age or older, according to the 2007 Census of Agriculture. While the idea of being a farmer, and an organic farmer at that, may seem daunting, Jones and Lynch continue, even going so far as to grow some of their produce in a greenhouse just behind the market.

to the sophisticated system they use in the greenhouse. It is a fairly new system of farming, a hybrid of hydroponics called “aquaponics.” While the system is not currently in use on a large commercial scale, it is catching on with hobby farmers and smaller farmers such as Jones and is being endorsed by the USDA.

illegal in New Mexico because they are considered an invasive species. So instead we use koi, and the only thing added to the system is food for the fish and more water to the tank when it becomes low from natural evaporation. Aquaponics only uses about one tenth of the water of traditional farming.”

The greenhouse is open to the air for the workers coming in and out with more rafts of newly potted produce that will soon be added to the aquaponics system.

“The fish produce the nutrients for the plants, and the plants filter the water that is returned in an endless loop back into the tank,” he explained. Jones is passionate about using both organics and aquaponics as a way in which to give back to the community of Hobbs.

“Do you smoke?” Jones asked before we walked into the greenhouse; I answered that I do not. “There is a disease transferred in cigarette smoke (tobacco mosaic virus) that can kill my tomatoes. Even if your hands are clean, it can travel on your clothes,” he revealed as we walked through the doors. Inside where the diffused sunlight is still painfully bright through the shell of the greenhouse, I felt like we had entered the future. Tomatoes were suspended in air growing out of lava rocks, rafts of lettuce floated on a tiny lake and strawberries sprouted from PVC pipes. The modern science of aquaponics is the fiction our grandfathers only dreamed of. Jones was animated as he explained the process, a fairly new and highly sustainable system of farming that uses fish, nutrient-rich water and plants. “Fish are the engine for the system,” Jones pronounced as he led the way to a large tank filled with white and golden koi, flashes of color beneath the surface. “A lot of aquaponics systems use tilapia, but they are

“People shouldn’t be deprived of good food,” he said as his uncle came through with another raft of seedlings. “Today, food is grown to look good, ship well and make money.” While Jones knows he cannot compete with the cheap prices of major grocery chains, he is confident that the people of Lea County will see the benefit of paying a little extra for food grown with health rather than looks in mind. He is so intent on giving back to the community that he has created a “Hero’s Garden”—a 40x50 foot patch on the grounds that will be dedicated 100% for the growing of organic foods for service veterans. “We still need volunteers to get it going,” Jones maintained as his mother and uncle continued the tedious work. “We depend a lot on friends and family to help out because we have to.” As rain once again fell gently from the skies, he summed up his work: “It is a true family effort.”

As we stepped through the “Employees Only” door, there was a hubbub of activity. Plants were being repotted by Jones’ mother and uncle, Donna Jones and James Clarke. As Donna repotted the tiny plants, Clarke added them to a raft and carried them into the white shelled greenhouse. Several employees were busy washing and rewashing the stones that will be used in a new addition

FOCUS ON LEA COUNTY | SUMMER 2015

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w e n LOVINGTON MEDICAL CLINIC

OUR DOCTORS WILL SEE YOU NOW AT THE

Steven Acosta, M.D.

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Venkata Mangalagiri, M.D.

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Ricardo Wynter, PA-C

Artur Sadowski, M.D. Behavioral Health

At Nor-Lea, you told us what you wanted in a clinic and we listened. Now, Southeastern New Mexico has a new 50,000 square foot clinic to meet all the needs of our very important patients. Our new clinic has selfcontained labs and x-ray facilities. Plus, we have even expanded our staff of doctors so that our patients get the very best care, right here in Lovington.

Call 396-6611 to schedule an appointment today. Lovington Medical Clinic 1600 N. Main M â&#x20AC;&#x201D; F, 7 a.m. â&#x20AC;&#x201D; 8 p.m.

Come visit our new clinic, built just for you!