June 2020 Edition of Alamodoso Connections by Alamodoso Magazine

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THE WINDS OF CHANGE CONTINUES:

This is not a happy piece of writing, but it is a truthful one. Nothing about the advancement of Alzheimer’s is happy. True, humorous events take place that makes us smile, but underlying most smiles you will find sadness. As with all things, there are good times and bad times. Unfortunately, the particular set of experiences related here was not enjoyable, but they happened nonetheless. An individual, who was aware of these happenings, asked me if Jim would have been happy to provide this material in exchange for how terrible it actually was. My answer would have to be, “If he thought that someone else could learn or benefit from these experiences, then he would acquiesce to it being written. Had he known in advance how traumatic the entire experience was, he probably would have passed up the opportunity to have lived it.”

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THE WINDS OF CHANGE CONTINUES:

ANGER AND CONFUSION: While Ellen was driving back home from Jim’s doctor’s appointment, he asked, “Is Julie really here? Are you really Julie?” “Yes, Jim. I’m here and I’m really Julie,” I answered. His words were urgent when he asked, “Where are you?” “I’m right here in the seat behind you,” she answered. He reached his hand back for me to take and he held it for quite a long while. Once more at home, I made him a quick sandwich for lunch. While I was making the sandwich, he asked me to tell him what had happened that morning. I patiently related what had happened during his visit to the doctor and what the doctor had said to him. “Thank you,” he said and kissed me. “That wasn’t much of a kiss, but I have a sore lip.” “That’s strange. So do I,” I told him. He asked, “Did I do that to you?” I wondered if he remembered striking out at me the night before. I hesitated before answering. “Yes, Jim,” responding softly. "Yes, you did it.” “I’m so sorry,” he apologized, and then he started crying. “It’s all right, Jim. You didn’t mean to.” I held his hand, stroking it gently until his tears stopped. Placing his sandwich on the table, I then sat down with a glass of milk. “Is your sandwich ok?” I asked. Story continues next page See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

Without a word, he got up from the table, taking his fork with him, and went to the front door. When he came back, he glared at me. “What are you doing here?” he demanded. “I’ve been here all the time.” “You better leave right now. And, I mean you better leave now.” He continued to glare at me. “You know what happens if you don’t.” “Yes, I do.” I stood up, opened the back door and went outside. “You come back here right now,” he yelled. I went around the house and was heading next door to Ellen’s home when he yelled from the front door, “Come back here you sleazy son-of-abitch.” In about fifteen minutes, I returned to my house to check on him. I noticed that he had placed the doormat on a plastic chair on the porch. He had put another plastic chair inside. An unopened can of V-8 juice sat on the inside windowsill. I looked in the open door, but couldn’t see him. He had moved the wooden rabbit that held his dum-dum pops from the top of the fridge and set it on the kitchen island counter. His shirt lay across the computer scanner. I went to the closed back door and saw that he had set out a small bottle of tap water along with a gallon bottle of water. He was going from the dining room to the kitchen and didn’t see me. I thought it sounded as if he had one boot on and one off. When he went into the living room, I quietly backed away from the door before he saw me. At least he was still home and safe, See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

but I needed to get back inside. It was just a few minutes later when he came out the front door in his stocking feet, flashlight in hand, long-sleeve shirt on over his t-shirt, and his ball cap pulled down on his head. I went to the back door and saw nobody, heard nothing. When I went inside, I noticed the bedroom door was closed. I went to the fridge, opened the door, and picked up a gallon of milk. When I turned back, I saw him standing outside of the back door, looking at me. Shivers ran through my body and my stomach dropped. “Hi,” I said, trying to be very calm. “I came to get some milk.” “Everyone needs milk sometimes,” he replied, then immediately demanded, “Now put that milk back.” I was already crossing the living room as I said, “OK, I’ll leave it outside.” He yelled something unintelligible as I exited the house and returned to Ellen’s kitchen. A few minutes later, he came walking up the sidewalk. I went outside and asked if he needed anything to eat. He said, “Hi, Babe. What did you say?” I repeated the question. “No, I’ve had enough to eat.” “Would you like some cake?” I asked. He smiled up at me, and then replied, “I always have room for cake.” His anger disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. Everything had returned to normal for the moment, but I knew it would happen again. Story continues next page See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

FOUR Home Improvement Ideas

(Family Features) Whether youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re thinking about a bathroom update, kitchen overhaul or any other type of home improvement project, these tips from the experts at the National Association of the Remodeling Industry and eLivingtoday.com can help you get started. â&#x2014;? Create a Plan Improving your home can be one of the most exciting projects to undertake. Start by setting realistic expectations, determining your goals and needs, See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

finding inspiration and, perhaps most importantly, setting a budget. ● Renovate the Bathroom You can improve your home’s usability and increase its value with bathroom updates or a full renovation. Before you get started, think about these factors: the amount of space and storage you need, features that are important to you, sustainability concerns and accessibility considerations. ● Update the Kitchen The kitchen serves as command-central for most homes, and you can get the most enjoyment out of yours by making purposeful changes, reconsidering the physical space, re-evaluating your shopping style and choosing appliances with care. ● Start a Remodel If it’s time for a serious undertaking, a full-blown remodel may be necessary (or simply desired). Remodeling typically calls for hiring a professional contractor, a process you can go about by gathering local recommendations, asking for licensing and insurance, checking references and comparing bids. Find more home improvement ideas and solutions at remodelingdoneright.com and eLivingtoday.com.

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I just didn’t know when or how long it would last. I knew I would never be able to let my guard down at any time if I was to be safe with this man I loved so much. Feeling helpless, frustrated, and desperate, I could only hope that the aid and support needed from the medical community would come soon. They seemed concerned only with his physical condition. She needed a doctor’s referral to a neurologist for his cognitive deterioration, but nobody seemed to be listening. She wondered in desperation, How much longer can I keep this up? What am I to do?

DRUGGER On one particular day, I was tired from the day’s activities, I accidentally dropped one of Jim’s daily pills as I started to give it to him. I bent down to pick it up. Jim instantly grabbed my arms and pulled me back. “Jim, let me go. I need to pick up your pill that I just dropped.” “You know you aren’t supposed to take drugs," He pushed me toward a chair and sat me down, admonishing me all the while. "You know they are bad for you. You know what they will do to you. Now, you sit there. I’m going to turn you into the government for having illegal drugs if you don’t do what I say.” I started to get up, but he pushed me back into the chair. “Listen, you’re a drugger, and you’re under my supervision now. I don’t want to catch you with any more drugs.” “Okay,” I said, placating him. “Just let me get them all together so I can put them up out of the way.” “No! You stay right there. I’ll take care of them,” See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

He started gathering up the bottles of aspirin, pravastatin, and Divalproex that were prescribed for him. Ellen came in at that moment and he took the medicine to her. “I want you to keep this stuff out of her hands.”He pointed at me. “She can only have one of these a day.” He picked up a pen off the table and began to write on the medicine bottle. “She can only have two of these a day,” he said, writing on the other bottle. “Now don’t let her have any more than that.” He signed his initials on the label and gave everything to Ellen who looked wonderingly at me. “All right, Jim,” she said when she saw me nod my head in agreement. “I’ll put them up right now.” “I’m sorry,” Jim apologized as he turned back to me, but he was still angry. “You’re a drugger and you are now under my supervision. If you don’t do what I say, I’ll have to put you in isolation.” He took her by the arm, helped her from the chair, and said, “Now, let's go sit out on the porch where I can watch you.” They went outside and sat side by side on the long porch bench. He firmly held her hand all the while. She sat calmly beside him until he began to relax. It was almost an hour later before he finally loosened his grip and asked her if she was hungry. “I could probably eat a little something,” I said. “Would you like something to eat, too.” “Yes,” he said, shaking his head affirmatively. “That would be real nice.” “Then let’s go to the kitchen and see what we can find to eat.” Story continues next page See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

I got up, y hand still in his, and led him into the house. “How about a grilled ham and cheese,” I asked.

DISCOVER ALAMOGORDO

“Oh, that sounds good. I like grilled ham and cheese sandwiches,” he said with a smile. “Don’t forget the ketchup,” he added. “No,” I agreed. “For sure, we can’t forget your ketchup.” She sighed inwardly but smiled at him. Another crisis has been dealt with, she thought. I wonder how many more there are left to go? The next day, Jim helped me unpack the boxes our friends had brought to us. Each time a new item came out, Jim would be surprised. He was especially happy to get his hands on his flashlights. When I unpacked one of the boxes and found three of them, he promptly took them and lined them on the headboard of the bed, making frequent trips to pick them up and turn them off and on to make sure they were working. “Oh, look, Pumpkin” he exclaimed as he unpacked one of his favorite black thermal coffee mugs. "Here’s my favorite mug.” Then he found two pairs of new jeans that had been in his dresser drawer at home. He held them up, smiling broadly, and told her, “Well, I guess I won’t be needing any more new jeans for a while.” “Oh, Jim, you’re like a kid in a candy store,” I told him. A feeling of happiness flowed through me as I watched him react with such joy and enthusiasm. I was equally happy that he had forgotten all about the drug incident and had taken his pills without further hesitation since then. From that time forward, I always held each pill carefully, making sure not to drop any, especially if Jim was anywhere nearby. See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

WANDERING A spasm of self-pity hit me as I made Jim’s breakfast of two eggs, hash browns, chopped turkey breast, two pieces of toast with apricot jam, and a cup of coffee. I’ve lost my best friend, my buddy, my lover, my companion, I thought as hot tears silently coursed down my cheeks. Even though he’s physically here, I miss the conversations we used to have. I miss the playful arguments we both enjoyed. I miss his mind. I simply miss Jim. I almost managed to keep my tears hidden and under control, but as Jim finished his meal, he noticed something was wrong. Rising from the table, he came and put his arms around me. “Hey, Pumpkin,” he said with concern. “What’s the matter?” “Oh, I’m just feeling a little sad this morning,” I managed to tell him. “The best thing for that,” he said, “is to take a little walk. Come with me and we’ll walk. That will help you feel better.” He led me out the back door and we walked around the back yard a couple of times. Slowly, we strolled along the line of tall cedar trees that separated our yard from the neighbor. Then we circled the huge pecan tree until I told him my leg was hurting. I sat down beside the back door in a white plastic lawn chair that had been loaned to us. Jim looked down at me and asked, “Can I trust you to wait here until I get back?” I smiled because we had made a game of waiting. Frequently, I would need to go inside the house for something. Although I returned almost immediately, Jim would leave. Or, his mind would forget me and he would think I was someone else instead. If I told him I would Story continues next page See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

be right back, he would say, “No you won’t. You always say that, but you never come back.” I wished I knew what was happening with his memory and his ability to recognize me. “Just remember,” he said seriously, pulling my mind back to him. “No wandering. Just wait here.”\ “Okay, Jim, I’ll wait here,” I promised. He went into the house, shuffling from room to room. Then it went quiet. I waited a few minutes, then decided to check on him. He was standing at the gate to Ellen’s house, trying to get the gate latched. Ellen came out of her house and started down the walk toward Jim when she saw me watching at the end of the fence. She called out, “Is everything okay?” “Yes,” I answered. “I’m just watching him fasten the gate.” Story continues next edition

Formed in 1980, the Alzheimer's Association is the leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer's care, support and research. 24/7 HELP LINE

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The July Birthstone is Ruby The official birthstone for July is the ravishing red Ruby and thus the July birthstone color is red. The Carnelian gemstone is the alternative birthstone for July, which also occurs in warm reddish colors. Ruby is one of the Zodiac birthstones for Cancer (Jun 21 – Jul 22) and Carnelian is one of the Zodiac birthstones for Leo (Jul 23 – Aug 22). Other birthday symbols include the birth flowers for July which are the Larkspur and Water Lily. Rubies are extremely valuable and are one of the four precious gemstones, together with diamonds, emeralds and sapphires. Ruby jewelry is the gift given to celebrate 15th and 40th wedding anniversaries. The word Ruby originates from the Latin “ruber” meaning “red”, and the Ruby gemstone is associated with devotion, integrity, courage and happiness. Famous rubies such as the Timor Ruby and the Black Prince's Ruby of the British crown jewels, were in fact later discovered to be red spinel. Rough uncut Ruby stones are used as healing crystals or unusual pieces added to rock collections. Smaller, lower grade stones might be polished and tumbled and used in crafts or handmade jewelry. Larger, higher grade stones are cut by lapidary experts into cabochons or faceted and set in gold or silver fine jewelry. See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

Cancer Health Horoscope for June There is nothing very encouraging about your health prospects this month, since the stars are quite unhelpful. Any carelessness on your part, could bring about a state of general debility and weakness compounded by nervous trouble. The sole cause of this could be overexertion and exhaustion. You should, therefore resolve not to let this happen, by chalking out a fresh schedule of activity that does not put undue strain on your system, and firmly stick to such a schedule. This simple precaution would save you a lot of trouble. Also be extra careful about not consuming any unclean or stale food since this, too, could give you food poisoning. Take care, since the period ahead is not too favorable. Cancer Finance Forecast Your financial prospects does not look too good this month, according to the augury from the stars. There are grounds to believe that See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

some of you would be influenced by a mean streak that would make you severely exploit your juniors, workers, or simply people below you in the social strata, for personal gains. This would surely boomerang upon you, creating a highly unpleasant situation from which it might be difficult to extricate yourself. Curb such tendencies firmly, failing which you only have yourself to blame. There is also a fair possibility, that speculation of any sort could bring substantial losses to some of you. You must, therefore desist from gambling and suchlike activity. Cancer Career and Profession Predictions The augury from the stars is none too encouraging for your career prospects. Even superiors and bosses would not be very helpful. In this scenario, you would have to work quite hard for rewards that would be relatively meager. More important, there is a distinct chance that you would meet stiff opposition, even though of an indirect kind, at your place of work or business. This you must deal with ability. Try to anticipate trouble spots and take remedial action well in time. Cancer Family Prospects This month the affairs of your family are unlikely to have smooth sailing, since the combination of stars facing you is none too favourable. There is a distinct possibility that some people below you in the social strata might create trouble for you or even cause serious harm. Deal with this firmly, before the situation gets out of hand. The family atmosphere would also remain tension â&#x20AC;&#x201C; ridden with no signs of harmony among the members. In such circumstances, pay special attention to children who may tend to become irritable and disobedient. In fact, you would do well to spend a lot of time and energy on their affairs to set things right. See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

CLEAN UNDERWEAR A short story by Junior Thurman

Yep, the call every mother dreads, "Mrs Thurman, your son was in an accident, I'm very sorry, and I really hate to tell you this, but, he was wearing dirty underwear."............ "Oh my God, I warned him time and again. Where did I fail that boy. Lord help us." Yes, we were all told this many times, be sure you're wearing clean underwear in case you get ran over by a truck, or fall out of a tree, and have to go to the hospital, the one piece of sound advice us poor kids received from our loving parents back in the old days. "Never leave home in dirty underwear, anything can happen, one little accident and you're headed for the hospital. "How you feeling son?", the Doc asks, "Looks like you broke your arm in three places." "I'm okay Doc, sure, I've got a broken arm, but, See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

luckily, I just put on clean underwear this morning." "Sorry, we can't admit this boy to the hospital, he's got on dirty underwear", might have well been one of the hospital rules as far as we kids were concerned, what other reason would we need clean underwear? "Oh my gosh, Cletus, you've broke your leg, well, hop into your bedroom, put on some clean underwear and we'll rush you to the hospital. You can't go to the hospital wearing dirty underwear." Funny how things stick with you, I'm in my seventies now, and have thought about this situation many times. I remember I used to love to hunt, and at times, I'd get so far away from camp or my vehicle I wasn't sure I'd make it back, in fact, several times, I wasn't too sure which way was back. But, I knew I had to make it back, I couldn't be found out here by Search and Rescue, among the many tragedies that might befall me, a vicious bear attack, a fatal elk goring, starvation, I also hadn't changed my underwear that morning, ........I could almost hear em now, "No, he didn't make it, but, he left a note," "Sorry, I meant to change underwear this morning, but forgot." Another old saying, our parents used was, "My nose itches, someone's comin with a hole in their britches?? What?, we kids were instantly alert, someone's coming, company, good, but whoever showed up was thoroughly inspected by seven pairs of eyes searching for holes in their britches, of course, back then, the old days, hard times, poverty, it was a pretty good bet whoever showed up definitely had a hole or two in their britches, once again, uncannily, proving the nose itching warning. Mom's gone now, bless her heart, but I can hear her reply to an emergency call, "Mrs Thurman, your son was in an accident and has been taken to the hospital." Mom, "Oh my gosh, was he wearing clean underwear?"

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Smokey Bear Historical Park

Outdoor Memorials and Interpretive Garden Reopen at Smokey Bear Historical Park for Limited Access Santa Fe – The Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department’s (EMNRD) Forestry Division will reopen the grounds of Smokey Bear Historical Park in Capitan, New Mexico for limited access beginning June 8, 2020. The visitor’s center will remain closed until further notice. In addition, capacity limits of no more than 10 visitors at one time will be allowed within the boundaries of the park between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. To ensure visitor safety, all guests are required to wear face masks and urged to maintain physical distancing of 6 feet or more from those not from your household. “During our first phase of reopening it is important to move slowly as directed by the Governor to make sure guests and staff are See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

protected from the spread of COVID-19 for the foreseeable future,” said State Forester Laura McCarthy. “We appreciate the patience and understanding of the many visitors who’ve had to change or cancel plans to come to Smokey Bear Historical Park this spring due to the stayat-home order and shutdown. Visitors will find many fascinating exhibits within the grounds of the 2-acre park, including information about the unique vegetative life zones found in New Mexico, the final resting place of the living symbol Smokey Bear, and the only Fallen Wildland Firefighter Memorial in the state. The Forestry Division urges anyone who feels sick to stay home. Park employees will be taking extra precautions to ensure the outdoor displays are kept clean and sanitary. Restroom facilities located inside the visitor’s center will remain closed. The Forestry Division looks forward to reopening the visitor’s center in the coming weeks. For more information call Smokey Bear Historical Park at (575) 354-2748 or the Capitan District Office at (575) 354-2231.

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he name "Apache" is a Spanish corruption of "Apachii," a ZuĂąi word meaning "enemy." Federally recognized contemporary Apache tribal governments are located in Arizona, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. Apache reservations are also located in Arizona and New Mexico. In Oklahoma, the Apache land was allotted in severalty under the General Allotment Act of 1887 (also known as the Dawes Act); Oklahoma Apaches became citizens of the new state of Oklahoma and of the United States in 1907. Apaches in Arizona and New Mexico were not granted U.S. citizenship until 1924. Since attempting to terminate its governmental relationship with Indian tribes in the 1950s, the United States has since adopted a policy of assisting the tribes in achieving some measure of self-determination, and the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld some attributes of sovereignty for Indian nations. In recent years Apache tribal enterprises such as ski areas, resorts, casinos, and lumber mills have helped See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

alleviate chronically high rates of unemployment on the reservations Apaches are, relatively speaking, new arrivals in the Southwest. Their language family, Athapascan, is dispersed over a vast area of the upper Western hemisphere, from Alaska and Canada to Mexico. Apaches have moved farther south than any other members of the Athapascan language family, which includes the Navajo, who are close relatives of the Apaches. When Spaniards first encountered the Apaches and Navajos in the sixteenth century, they could not tell them apart and referred to the Navajo as Apaches de Navajo. Athapascans are generally believed to have been among the last peoples to have crossed the land bridge between Siberia and Alaska during the last interglacial epoch. Most members of the language family still reside in the far north. Exactly when the Apaches and Navajos began their migration southward is not known, but it is clear that they had not arrived in the Southwest before the end of the fourteenth century. The Southwest was home to a number of flourishing civilizationsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;the ancient puebloans, the Mogollon, the Hohokum, and othersâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;until near the end of the fourteenth century. Those ancient peoples are now believed to have become the Papago, Pima, and Pueblo peoples of the contemporary Southwest. Scholars at one time assumed that the arrival of the Apaches and Navajos played a role in the abandonment of those ancient centers of civilization. It is now known that prolonged drought near the end of the fourteenth century was the decisive factor in disrupting what was already a delicate balance of life for those agricultural cultures in the arid Southwest. The Apaches and Navajos probably arrived to find that the ancient puebloans in the present-day Four Corners area had reestablished themselves near dependable sources of water in the Pueblo See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

villages of the upper Rio Grande Valley in what is now New Mexico, and that the Mogollon in southwestern New Mexico and southeastern Arizona and the Hohokam in southern Arizona had likewise migrated from their ancient ruins. When Spaniards first entered the region, with the expedition of Francisco de Coronado in 1540, the Apaches and Navajos had already established themselves in their homeland. The Grand Apacheria, as it was known, the homeland of the Apaches, was a vast region stretching from what is now central Arizona in the west to present-day central and south Texas in the east, and from northern Mexico in the south to the high plains of what became eastern Colorado in the north. This region was divided between Eastern and Western Apaches. Eastern Apaches were Plains Apaches. In the days before the horse, and before the historic southward migration of the Comanche Nation, in the early 1700s, the Plains Apaches were the lords of the Southern Plains. Western Apaches lived primarily on the western side of the Continental Divide in the mountains of present-day Arizona and western New Mexico. When the Comanches adopted the use of the horse and migrated southward out of what is now Wyoming, they displaced the Eastern Apaches from the Southern Great Plains, who then took up residence in the mountainous country of what eventually became eastern New Mexico. Apaches have endured severe economic and political disruptions, first by the Spanish, then by the Comanches, and later by the United States government. Apaches became known to the Spanish during authorized and illegal Spanish exploratory expeditions into the Southwest during the sixteenth century, beginning with the Coronado expedition of 1540, but including a number of others, at intervals, throughout the century. It was not until 1598, however, that Apaches had to adjust See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

to the presence of Europeans within their homeland, when the expedition of Juan de OĂąate entered the Pueblo country of the upper Rio Grande River Valley in the present state of New Mexico. OĂąate intended to establish a permanent Spanish colony. The expedition successfully colonized the area, and by 1610 the town of Santa Fe had been founded. Until the arrival of the Spanish, the Apaches and the Pueblos had enjoyed a mercantile relationship: Pueblos traded their agricultural products and pottery to the Apaches in exchange for buffalo robes and dried meat. The annual visits of whole Apache tribes for trade fairs with the Pueblos, primarily at the pueblos of Taos and Picuris, were described with awe by the early Spaniards in the region. The Spanish, however, began annually to confiscate the Pueblo trade surpluses, thereby disrupting the trade. Nonetheless some Apaches, notably the Jicarillas, became friends and allies of the Spanish. A small group broke away from the Eastern Apaches in the 1600s and migrated into Texas and northern Mexico. This band became known as the Lipan Apaches and was subsequently enslaved by Spanish explorers and settlers from Mexico in the 1700s. They were forced to work on ranches and in mines. The surviving Lipan Apaches were relocated to the Mescalero Apache Reservation in New Mexico in 1903. The historic southward migration of the Comanche Nation, beginning around 1700, was devastating for the Eastern Apaches. By about 1725 the Comanches had established authority throughout the whole of the Southern Plains region, pushing the Eastern Apaches (the Jicarillas north of Santa Fe, and the Mescaleros south of Santa Fe) into the mountains of the front range of the Rockies in New Mexico. Denied access to the buffalo Story continues page 57 See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

Billy The Kid Outfoxes Joe Grant Story courtesy True West Magazine

he Day Billy the Kid outfoxed a loudmouth cowboy named Joe Grant occurred on January 10th, 1880 at Hargrove’s saloon in Fort Sumner. Grant was his usual drunk and obnoxious self. He brazenly walked up to Jack Finan, one of John Chisum’s cowhands, took a look at the nicelooking ivory-handled pistol in Finan’s holster, lifted it out and inserted his own in the holster. Finan didn’t want to provoke Grant so he said nothing.

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Billy walked over to Grant, looked admiringly at Finan’s pistol, lifted it out Grant’s holster saying, “That’s a mighty nicelooking six-shooter you got.” Billy spun the cylinder. It seems that prior to the encounter Finan had fired three rounds from the pistol. He saw the three used cartridges in the cylinder so he spun the cylinder again making sure the hammer would fall on an empty cartridge. Earlier, Grant had made it clear he was going to shoot somebody that night and boasted he was going to shoot John Chisum. Billy explained to him the man he was planning to shoot was not John but his brother Jim. Grant called him a liar and Billy turned and walked towards the door. Just as Billy figured, Grant pulled his pistol and when Billy heard the click of a hammer falling on an empty chamber, he spun around and fired three quick shots. They said you could cover them all with half-dollar. “Joe,” Billy said, “I’ve been there too often for you.” The shooting of Joe Grant didn’t get much attention in the press and Bob Utley in his fine biography of Billy explains why: “The shooting of Joe Grant earned Billy some notoriety…….Had Billy perpetuated a coldblooded murder public opinion would have been aroused and the sheriff of San Miguel County moved to investigate. That the newspapers gave the event virtually no notice, and the law never acted, stamp it as simply another saloon dispute that ended fatally.” An article appeared in the Weekly New Mexican (Santa Fe), January 17, 1880: Billy Bonney, more extensively known as ‘The Kid’, shot and killed Joe Grant. The origin of the difficulty was not learned.” truewestmagazine.com See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

Story courtesy Gorka Alonso

he Mescalero Reserve Mescalero Reserve (then located near Fort Stanton, Lincoln County, New Mexico) lost their horses due to robberies committed by white men. During the winter of 1875, robberies increased. In early December 1875, four Mexican Americans stole 12 horses and mules. A mescalero deputy boss, JosĂŠ de la Paz, went to the table to report the robberies to Marshal Mariano Barela. This one, with a small group and some mescaleros, followed the thieves, capturing them without firing a single shot. On January 31, 1876, Williamson D. Crothers, the mescaleros agent requested 12 Winchester rifles so they could defend their cattle. In September of the previous year, Crothers was against establishing a police made up of mescaleros, but now he changed his mind. He believed that the fastest and least See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

expensive way to stop raids was to form a police force, with him and his employees present to prevent mescaleros from responding violently. In early February, there were more horse robberies. They suspected a group of about 30 to 40 Mexican Americans living in La Boquilla (Lincoln County, New Mexico). The Nozzle, about 56 km west of Roswell (Chaves County, New Mexico) over the Hondo River, was a "perfect fort, with lagoons and other means of defense, hidden steps to flee and secret hiding". Its Occupants had bragged about having more than 200 hidden horses less than 16 km from La Noquilla, and challenged who wanted to be found. Following the report of the robbery, a detachment consisting of a sergeant and eight soldiers, belonging to the "H" company of the 9th Cavalry (Buffalo Soldiers), headed to La Noquilla, accompanied by two mescaleros and several citizens (one of them John Copeland, reserve employee). In La Nozzle they found only four men, recovering eight horses. Problems didn't end because everyone wanted the land where the reserve was settled. Shortly after the "Victorio War", where a large group of Mescalerriors joined their band, the U.S. government moved its reserve to Otero County, New Mexico in 1883

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Apple Dumplings INGREDIENTS For The Crust ● 3 cups all-purpose flour ● 1/2 tsp salt ● 10 tbsp butter unsalted, cold and cut into cubes ● 8 tbsp shortening cold and cut into cubes ● 6 tbsp ice water or more as needed

For Brown Sugar Syrup ● 1 cup water ● 2 tbsp lemon juice freshly squeezed ● 1 cup brown sugar packed ● 1 tsp cinnamon

For Dumplings ● 4 medium apples peeled, cut half in and cored See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

â&#x2014;? 2 tbsp butter unsalted, cut into 8 pieces â&#x2014;? 3 tbsp brown sugar packed â&#x2014;? 1 tsp cinnamon INSTRUCTIONS Start by making the crust. Add the flour, salt, butter, shortening to the bowl of your mixer and mix to incorporate. Start adding a little bit of water at a time, and keep adding until the dough starts to come together. Dump the dough onto your work surface and divide it into 2 pieces. Wrap each piece of dough in plastic wrap then refrigerate for 30 minutes. To make the brown sugar syrup, add all the syrup ingredients together in a saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn the heat down to a simmer and let the syrup reduce to about half, should take about 8 to 10 minutes. In the meantime prepare the apples. Peel the apples, cut them in half and remove the core. In a small bowl mix together the 3 tbsp of brown sugar with 1 tsp of cinnamon. Take 2 tablespoons of butter, cut it into 8 small pieces and roll each piece in the sugar cinnamon mixture. Place each butter piece in the center of each apple. Preheat your oven to 425 F degrees. On a floured surface, roll out one of the pieces of crust and cut it out into 4 pieces. Each piece of has to be big enough to folder over the apple completely. Fold the crust over the apples, use a bit of water if necessary to wet your finger and run it along the edge of the crust. Pinch off any excess dough. Pour about a ladle of the brown sugar syrup into the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Place the apple dumplings in the baking dish and pour the remaining syrup over the apples. Bake for about 40 minutes or until the apple dumplings are golden brown. Let the dumplings cool for about 5 minutes before serving.

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How to Store Wine Story courtesy Heart of the Desert Cool. Dark. Still. Sideways. To get the best flavor experience from your wine there are some basic rules to follow. Don’t let it get too hot or too cold. Store it on its side. Don’t expose it to sunlight. Don’t store it on top of your refrigerator and don’t keep it around very long after opening. Store Wine at the Proper Temperature. Of all the factors influencing the quality of stored wine, temperature is perhaps the most important. Unsuitably warm or cold temperatures are a sure way to spoil wine. In general, the ideal temperature for wine storage is around 55ºF. Regardless of the type or label, wine should never be kept below 25 °F, which can cause wine to freeze, or above 68°F, which See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

can accelerate the aging process and destroy volatile compounds. If you’ve ever left a bottle of wine in your car during the summer and then wondered why it tasted like pure alcohol or maybe even a little vinegar-like, you know what heat can do to a bottle. Most importantly, your wine storage temperature should be kept as stable as possible—temperature fluctuations can cause the cork to expand and contract, allowing wine to seep out (or air to seep in) around it. Store Wine Bottles Horizontally. For bottles with corks, be sure to store your wine horizontally in a wine rack. Keeping wine on its side helps keep the cork moist, which is key for long-term storage, as a dried-out cork can cause seepage and premature aging. While it’s not necessary to keep screw top wine bottles on their sides, horizontal storage is nevertheless an efficient way to store your wines for maximum space and easy access. Protect Wine from Light and Vibration. Whether you’re storing it for months, weeks, or days, keep your wine in the dark as much as possible. UV rays from direct sunlight can damage wine’s flavors and aromas. You should also keep wines away from sources of vibration, such as the top of your refrigerator, your washer and dryer, exercise area, or stereo system. Vibrations can disturb sediments in the bottle, disrupting the delicate process that causes wines to age favorably. Store Wine in a Wine Fridge, Not a Regular Fridge. If you don’t have a wine storage space that’s consistently cool, dark, and moist, a wine refrigerator (also known as a wine cooler) is a good idea. Unlike a standard refrigerator, which keeps your food very cold and dry, a wine fridge keeps wine between 50-60˚F and at the proper humidity. (A good fridge will also See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

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have a cooler setting for champagne.) Keeping your wine in a separate wine fridge also helps prevent cross-contamination from food odors. If you don’t have a wine cooler or temperaturecontrolled storage space where you can stow your wine, a cool cupboard (not in the kitchen) is a great way to make do. If your basement is free of dampness and mold, it can also serve as a makeshift wine cellar. Serve Wine at the Proper Temperature. When preparing to serve a stored bottle to fellow wine lovers, allow time for it to come up (or down) to the proper serving temperature. This ensures full expression of wine aroma and flavor. Americans tend to drink red wine too warm. It really should be slightly chilled, like a nice Spring day. Red wine should be served somewhere between 58 and 65˚F. White wines, meanwhile, can and should be served colder than reds. But they must not be kept so cold as to affect the aromas. Instead, white wine should be chilled between 45-55˚F. The easiest thing to do is pop your white wine in the house fridge for about 20 minutes to chill it properly. Store Open Bottles of Wine Properly. Stored properly, an opened bottle of wine can last 3-5 days. The key to extending the shelf life of an open wine and retain its original qualities is to recork it promptly and tightly. To recork wine, place some wax paper around the cork and slide it back into its original position. The wax will ease the cork into the top and also ensure that no stray parts of the cork drop into the bottle. If recorking isn’t an option—for instance, if the cork is splintered or has been discarded—a rubber wine stopper can create a tight seal. Air is the enemy of wine. To further extend the life of your wine, you need to remove the air. Consider a wine vacuum pump, which enables you to suck the air out of an open bottle, creating a nearly airtight seal. If you don’t want to deal with that expense, consider using a mason jar with a tight seal to See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

store the last of your wine. Make sure to put it back to its ideal temperature and enjoy it tomorrow…or 5 days from now. Finish It There are roughly five standard sized glasses of wine in a regular 750-ml bottle. If you and yours have two glasses each and split that last glass—all while eating a decent-sized dinner— it’s not bad. In fact, according to recent studies, 1–3 glasses a day may improve your heart health. Cheers! Heart of the Desert is a working pistachio ranch and vineyard with four retail establishments in New Mexico. They are best known for their farm fresh pistachios and Award-Winning New Mexico wines. Each store offers wine and pistachio tastings. They offer worldwide shipping and produce attractive gourmet baskets that make great corporate and family gifts. The main store, on the ranch in Alamogordo, offers farm tours that showcases how pistachios are grown and processed as well as a stunning Tuscany themed patio that overlooks the groves and is available for weddings, private parties or enjoying a relaxing glass of wine.

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Why Do Cats Like Some Humans But Not Others? by Amber King of Iheartcats.com

ats have a reputation for being picky about the people they choose to be around. When you finally win a finicky feline’s affection, it’s a great feeling. Family members compete to be number one in a cat’s heart, but not everyone ends up with the prized position. The person who feeds them and cleans out their litter isn’t always the one who the cat prefers. It can seem unfair, but for your cat, bonding with humans is about more than meeting basic needs. They’re independent animals and don’t necessarily need a human to take care of them. When they choose their favorite people, they’re thinking about more than where they’re getting their next meal. See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

Personal Space One second they want you to scratch behind their ears, and the next, they’re swatting your hand away in annoyance. Cats are known for being moody, and they want what they want only when they want it. In most cases, the person who can best interpret those mood swings is also the person to win the cat’s heart. Cats won’t take kindly to someone backing them into a corner or petting them when they’re not in the mood for interaction. You’ll have a better chance of forming a good relationship with your cat if you let them stay in control. Cats like people who respect their space. If someone does that, the cat will learn to appreciate their restraint. They’ll reward them with attention later on when their mood changes. Personality Like people, cats have personalities all their own. Some are always up to wrestle, and others are comfortable only when it’s quiet. Regardless of what they’re like, cats choose their friends based on who best matches their own personalities. Cats have great observation skills, and they know who in the family is fun, who is quiet, who is boring, and who is loud and intimidating. They’ll gravitate toward the person that behaves similarly to themselves, and they’ll act more standoffish toward everyone else. Trust If your cat is a rescue and you’re having trouble bonding, there might be something from their past getting in the way. They could have had a bad experience with a person of your same gender, height, age, or hair color. You could do everything right, but it’ll be hard to separate you from the untrustworthy person in their past. See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

Health Benefits of drinking Tea Courtesy of Erika Marty with Cup & Leaf Protects Heart Health Recent research including animal studies shows that tea drinking may significantly lower the risk for serious heart disease including heart attack and blood clots. Tea contains antiinflammatory properties that help to soothe tissue in arteries. This helps to minimize the risk of inflammation that can restrict blood circulation and cause clotting (1). Tea consumption may also help decrease high blood pressure and lower cholesterol. One study found that people who drank four cups or more of green tea each day had a 32 percent decreased risk of heart attack and significantly lower levels of bad LDL cholesterol. Boosts Energy Green tea contains a small amount of caffeine that can help increase energy. The low caffeine amounts make green tea a good choice for See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

people who are looking to cut back on their caffeine intake. May Aid Weight Loss Green tea may help accelerate weight loss thanks to its chemical composition. Green tea contains amino acids that signal the body to burn stored fat. The caffeine in green tea also helps boost energy so you can power through your workouts more efficiently (2). Studies have shown that these benefits are more pronounced in individuals of Asian decent. People of other ethnicities may also see improved weight loss numbers, but to a lower extent than others. Green tea also helps to keep you hydrated and may satisfy a sweet tooth. Green tea is a calorie-free drink so you can drink as many cups as you'd like without feeling guilty. Replacing sugary sodas and sports drinks with green tea can cut calories and help you reach your fitness goals sooner. Supports Mental Health Regular tea consumption has been linked to lower risk of neurological disease and decreased stress levels. Green tea consumption has also shown promise in preventing cognitive decline associated with brain disease such as Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's. Tea offers natural calming effects that can reduce stress and help you unwind after a tough day. Tea contains antioxidants that work to prevent oxidative stress, which can damage healthy cells. Antioxidants in tea eliminate free radicals caused by pollution and other factors, which can cause oxidative stress. Oxidative stress has been linked to dementia and depression. Antioxidants also help cleanse the body of toxins that can cause mental health problems. Tea drinkers have been shown to have lower stress levels and improved overall health with regular consumption. See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

The Rio Grande River or Future Beach Front? Story courtesy of Discovernewmexico.com

Spanish conquistadores discovered the mouth of the Rio Grande River in 1519. In the next 100 years, they founded some of the earliest North American settlements along its banks. These explorers named the river El Río Grande, or ‘the Great River.’ However, it has been called many other names. The Pueblo people called it Posoge, or P’Osoge, ‘big river. Shipwrecked British sailors crossed it in 1568 and called it ‘the River of May.’ Various Spaniards and Mexicans named it El Río de Nuestra Señora (‘river of our lady’), El Río Guadalquivir, El Río Bravo, El Río del Norte, and El Río Turbio (‘turbulent river’). On a map dated 1700, it appears as El Río del Norte y de Nuevo México. This river of many names, or at least the section that runs through northern New See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

Mexico, is not a typical river that has carved out its own valley. Rather, the valley appeared first and the river followed. This ‘rift valley’ is a separation in the earth’s crust caused by faulting and other earth movements when the North American and Pacific plates scraped against each other some twenty-nine million years ago. The Rio Grande Rift is not just the canyon, or gorge, that holds the river, but an area of more than 160,000 square miles reaching from central Colorado almost to Big Bend National Park in Texas. Taos Plateau is part of this ‘rift system’ and lies in the San Luis Basin, which is nearly a hundred miles long and about fortyseven miles wide. The San Luis Basin is one of four major basins created by the faulting and volcanic energy. Some scientists believe that several million years from now the Rio Grande Rift may become an ocean. If that should happen, Taos County residents will have both mountain and ocean views! As pressures from the scraping plates caused the earth’s crust to crinkle, Colorado and New Mexico rose nearly 5,000 feet. Basaltic magma surged upward from the mantle, forcing weaker areas of the surface to spread. All of this faulting and mountainbuilding activity was accompanied by volcanic eruptions and lava flows. One eruption formed Capulin Mountain National Monument, a cinder cone east of Taos. Fault-enclosed basins called grabens dropped several thousand feet lower than adjacent land. Blocks of the earth’s crust fell into some of these grabens, deepening them. Sediments including sand, gravel, volcanic lava, and ash filled the grabens to depths of four and a half miles in some places. Meanwhile, the Sangre de Cristo Range rose to the east and the San Juans to the Story continues next page See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

northwest. The Rio Grande, then a stream trickling down from near present-day Leadville, Colorado, flowed into four basins forming a 340-mile-long line between the river’s headwaters and the vicinity of Socorro, New Mexico. Today, the four basins-the Upper Arkansas, San Luis, Española, and Albuquerque Basins-range in length from about 50 to 150 miles, with an average width of 30 miles. Several of New Mexico’s early pueblos are believed to have experienced earthquakes as the rift continued to develop. Some of the earliest people, the Clovis and the Folsom, may have witnessed volcanic eruptions some ten to twelve thousand years ago. Occasional mild earthquakes continue today along this rift. The heat from ongoing geologic activity shows up in hot springs along the Rio Grande, including Ojo Caliente, or ‘Hot Eye,’ southwest of Taos. Native Americans enjoyed soaking in these springs, just as do New Mexicans and tourists today. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, prospectors and miners flocked to New Mexico attracted by deposits of gold, silver, lead, copper, zinc, and molybdenum that rose from deep in the earth as super-hot, mineral-rich solutions along the Rio Grande Rift. The Rio Grande is among the longest twenty-five rivers in the world and the fourth or fifth longest in North America. It starts near the Continental Divide in the San Juan Mountains, runs 470 miles through New Mexico to the border of Texas and the Mexican province of Chihuahua, and empties into the Gulf of Mexico. For about 1,250 miles it forms the international boundary between the two countries. The river is between 1,800 and 1,900 miles long overall, depending on how its course changes from year to year.

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The Battle of El Brazito took place on December 25, 1846, early in the MexicanAmerican war. In October 1846, Colonel Alexander W. Doniphan of the First Regiment Mounted Missouri Volunteers was ordered by US Army General Stephen W. Kearney to rendezvous with US Army General John E. Wool inside Mexico at the city of Chihuahua. En route to Chihuahua, Doniphan's regiment was attacked by a Mexican army from El Paso del Norte about 9 miles below Las Cruces, New Mexico. Since it was Christmas, Doniphan had given his men the day off. However, they spotted a Mexican scouting party observing them. Doniphan promptly ordered his 850 men to prepare for battle. Before long, the main Mexican force arrived. It was composed of infantry, cavalry, lancers, and artillery and totalled about 1,100 men. Doniphan ordered his troops to hold their fire until the Mexicans came within easy range. At 50 yards the Americans then opened fire with their rifles. Their fire was devastatingly accurate and the Mexican regulars broke and fled. Mexican cavalry next attacked Doniphan's wagons train, but was driven off by the teamsters. The Mexican force then retreated, abandoning their howitzer, which Doniphan's men recovered. As the Mexican forces fell back, they were harassed by Apache Indians who had been watching the battle.

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GERONIMOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S MIGHTIEST BATTLE

fter the treachery and massacre of Casa Grande we did not reassemble for a long while, and when we did we returned to Arizona. We remained in Arizona for some time, living in San Carlos Reservation. In 1883 we went into Mexico again. We remained in the mountain ranges of Mexico for about fourteen months, and during this time we had many skirmishes with Mexican troops. In 1884 we returned to Arizona to get other Apaches to come with us into Mexico. The Mexicans were gathering troops in the mountains where we had been ranging, and their numbers were so much greater than ours that we could not hope to fight them See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

successfully, and we were tired of being chased about from place to place. In Arizona we had trouble with the United States soldiers and returned to Mexico. We had lost about fifteen warriors in Arizona, and had gained no recruits. With our reduced number we camped in the mountains north of Arispe. Mexican troops were seen by our scouts in several directions. The United States troops were coming down from the north. We were well armed with guns and supplied with ammunition, but we did not care to be surrounded by the troops of two governments, so we started to move our camp southward. One night we made camp some distance from the mountains by a stream. There was not much water in the stream, but a deep channel was worn through the prairie and small trees were beginning to grow here and there along the bank of this stream. In those days we never camped without placing scouts, for we knew that we were liable to be attacked at any time. The next morning just at daybreak our scouts came in, aroused the camp, and notified us that Mexican troops were approaching. Within five minutes the Mexicans began firing on us. We took to the ditches made by the stream, and had the women and children busy digging these deeper. I gave strict orders to waste no ammunition and keep under cover. We killed many Mexicans that day and in turn lost heavily, for the fight lasted all day. Frequently troops would charge at one point, be repulsed, then rally and charge at another point. About noon we began to hear them speaking my name with curses. In the afternoon the general came on the field and the fighting became more furious. I gave orders to my warriors to try to kill all the Mexican Story continues next page See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

officers. About three oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;clock the general called all the officers together at the right side of the field. The place where they assembled was not very far from the main stream, and a little ditch ran out close to where the officers stood. Cautiously I crawled out this ditch very close to where the council was being held. The general was an old warrior. The wind was blowing in my direction, so that I could hear all he said, and I understood most of it. This is about what he told them: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Officers, yonder in those ditches is the red devil Geronimo and his hated band. This must be his last day. Ride on him from both sides of the ditches; kill men, women, and children; take no prisoners; dead Indians are what we want. Do not spare your own men; exterminate this band at any cost; I will post the wounded to shoot all deserters; go back to your companies and advance.â&#x20AC;? Just as the command to go forward was given I took deliberate aim at the general and he fell. In an instant the ground around me was riddled with bullets, but I was untouched. The Apaches had seen. From all along the ditches arose the fierce war-cry of my people. The columns wavered an instant and then swept on; they did not retreat until our fire had destroyed the front ranks. After this their fighting was not so fierce, yet they continued to rally and re-advance until dark. They also continued to speak my name with threats and curses. That night before the firing had ceased a dozen Indians had crawled out of the ditches and set fire to the long prairie grass behind the Mexican troops. During the confusion that followed we escaped to the mountains. This was the last battle that I ever fought with Mexicans. United States troops were trailing us continually from this time until the

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treaty was made with General Miles in Skeleton CaĂąon. During my many wars with the Mexicans I received eight wounds, as follows: shot in the right leg above the knee, and still carry the bullet; shot through the left forearm; wounded in the right leg below the knee with a saber; wounded on top of the head with the butt of a musket; shot just below the outer corner of the left eye; shot in left side; shot in the back. I have killed many Mexicans; I do not know how many, for frequently I did not count them. Some of them were not worth counting. It has been a long time since then, but still I have no love for the Mexicans. With me they were always treacherous and malicious. I am old now and shall never go on the warpath again, but if I were young, and followed the warpath, it would lead into Old Mexico.

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Alamogordo and Sacramento Mountain Railway

he Alamogordo and Sacramento Mountain Railway was built as a branch line for the El Paso and Northeastern Railway . Construction began from the EP&NE connection at Alamogordo in 1898 to reach the Sacramento Mountain fir and spruce forests to the east. Sawmills were built in Alamogordo to mill lumber for extension of the EP&NE to reach the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific Railroad. The railroad reached Cloudcroft, New Mexico, in 1900, where a lodge was built for summer tourists to enjoy the cool mountain air. Cloudcroft was laid out in several villages so tourists might avoid associating too closely with loggers and railway workers. The railway was extended from Cloudcroft to the small community of Russia in 1903; and several branches were built to reach timber for the Alamogordo Lumber Company. Climbing from the Tularosa Basin into the Sacramento Mountain fault block escarpments required numerous trestles, switchbacks and grades as steep as 6.4 %. The work was supervised by Horace Sumner, whose experience in Colorado included construction of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad and the Florence and Cripple Creek Railroad. The result has been described as a standard gauge railroad built to narrow gauge standards. It was one of the most spectacular railroads of the American west. Story continues page 54 See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

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The climb began in La Luz Canyon and reached Fresnel Canyon using trestles and two 36-degree curves. It climbed into Salado Canyon through a double horseshoe of 30degree curves on a 4.2 percent grade to reach High Rolls. From Toboggan the line used a switchback with two trestles on a 22-degree curve with a 6 percent grade. The first trestle was 108 feet and the second was 200 feet. The line then crossed Bailey's Canyon over a 30-degree curve on a 198 feet trestle and a 28-degree curve on a 261-foot trestle. The following 323-foot trestle 52 feet over Mexican Canyon still stands as a historic landmark. The final canyon before Cloudcroft required a 338-foot trestle 41 feet high supporting two 30-degree reverse curves. The climb to Cloudcroft was scheduled to take 2 hours and 50 minutes, and the descent back to Alamogordo took 2 hours and 25 minutes. As many as five daily excursion trains from El Paso, Texas, (with a $3 fare in 1907 which is the equal of $87 in 2020) were scheduled through the summer months, and one or two daily round trips provided passenger and mail service through the winter. The line became part of the Phelps Dodge El Paso and Southwestern Railroad in 1905 and was leased by Southern Pacific Railroad in 1924. Summer excursions from El Paso were discontinued in 1930 and passenger and mail service ended in 1938. Freight service ended in 1947 and the line was dismantled through the summer of 1948

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The Best Ways To Clean Bugs Off Your Car (And How To Avoid Them In The First Place) Story courtesy of Geico Insurance

“Thousands upon thousands of bugs hit our cars every year,” says Mark Hostetler, professor, urban ecologist at the University of Florida and author of That Gunk on Your Car: A Unique Guide to Insects of North America. “Most of them are moths, beetles, mosquitoes and midges,” he adds. “And if you leave them on for a period of time, they could cause some damage to your car’s paint.” Continue Page 56 See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

While we can’t reduce the number of bugs flying around—and wouldn’t want to, since they’re a vital part of our ecosystem—knowing why they crash into our cars, the risks of leaving them unattended, and the best ways to clean them off could help preserve the car’s appearance and finish. Here’s a primer on Bug Removal 101.

SAVE MONEY ON THE STUFF YOU NEED!

Bugs Are a Year-Round Nuisance For Many Drivers Whether you live in the north or the south, and whether the climate is dry or humid, you’re likely to be bugged year-round by insects splattering your car, says Hostetler. “And there’s no way to say if some parts of the country are more buggy than others,” says Hostetler. “Bugs are everywhere.” The Best Times to Avoid Bugs on the Road While there’s no official bug season, summer and spring are the buggiest times of year, especially after sunset. Most bugs are nighttime fliers, and there are more of them along the highways—and in front of your car’s headlamps—because they’re attracted to the light. Clean Bugs Off Quickly to Avoid Paint Damage. When bugs hit your car’s front bumper, the grill and the backs of the mirrors—the most common landing areas, along with the windshield—and aren’t cleaned off right away, problems could start. Bug splatter is acidic and can destroy your car’s paint, leaving pockmarks. On top of that, bacteria grows on the dead bugs—and this, too, eats away at your car. Add summer heat to the equation and you’ve got an even bigger, baked-on problem. That’s when dark vehicles are particularly susceptible to permanent damage, says Chuck Brosz, managing partner of White Rock Car Bath, in Texas. “Darker cars generate more surface heat, and that leads to blistering where the imperfections can appear as white spots,” he says.

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Continued from page 54 Clean Your Vehicle Often During Bug Season. A good rule of thumb? Wash your car every two weeks and make bug removal a priority— especially after you’ve driven on the highway for a few days. “After a road trip, the car needs to be washed as soon as possible,” says Brosz. “The key is the length of time the bugs are left on the vehicle. Extreme conditions only make it worse—so the hotter the temperatures, the more likely damage is to occur.” Yearly waxing is also a good idea to protect your car’s finish, he notes, but it doesn’t prevent bug-juice damage. “Wax can help, minimally,” he says. “It makes the car easier to wash. But if it’s August and it’s 110 degrees, and you leave the bugs on for a week, that wax will not keep them from damaging the finish.”

by the time the United States moved into the Southwest at the conclusion of the Mexican herds, the Apaches turned to Spanish cattle and War in 1848, the Apaches posed an almost horses. When the Spanish were able to unsolvable problem. conclude a treaty of peace with the Comanches The Americans, lacking both Spanish in 1786, they employed large bodies of diplomatic skills and Spanish understanding of Comanche and Navajo auxiliary troops with the Apaches, sought to subjugate the Apaches Spanish regulars, in implementing an Apache militarily, an undertaking that was not achieved policy that pacified the entire Southwestern until the final surrender of Geronimo's band in frontier by 1790. 1886. Some Apaches became prisoners of war, Each individual Apache group was hunted shipped first to Florida, then to Alabama, and down and cornered, then offered a subsidy finally to Oklahoma. Others entered a period of sufficient for their maintenance if they would desultory reservation life in the Southwest. settle near a Spanish mission, refrain from raiding Spanish livestock, and live peacefully. One by one, each Apache group accepted the terms. The peace, though little studied by modern scholars, is thought to have endured until near the end of the Spanish colonial era. Continued from Page 23

The Best Ways To Remove Bugs From A Car Or Truck. A quick run through the drivethrough car wash will rinse off some of the bugs, and hand-held pressure sprayers can help. But to get rid of all of them, according to Brosz, the best way to go is a bucket of water and a microfiber cloth—terry cloth can be too abrasive on darker cars, he says. For the peskiest of dried-on pests, give this DIY prewash treatment a try: Spritz from a spray bottle of water mixed with few drops of dish detergent. There are a number of specialty bug-removal solutions available, too. “There’s not a product that I can put on and the bugs just magically come off,” says Brosz. “There’s always a degree of labor and attentiveness, and easy does it.”

The start of the Mexican War with the United States in 1846 disrupted the peace, and See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

The History of

Mayhill by Pat Rand Sacramento Mountains Historical Museum and Pioneer Village In the early 1850â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the U.S. government was having problems trying to maintain peace between the Mescalero Apaches and the white settlers who had recently begun homesteading in the area. The Indians would leave their reservation to steal horses, cattle, and sheep in order to survive. The settlers, fearing the Indians, asked the military for protection. Capt. Henry W. Stanton, for whom Fort Stanton was named, and a party of soldiers were dispatched from San Patricio to search for Apaches. On January 18th, 1855, the Indians suprised the party as they traveled up the Penasco River. Stanton and several others were killed in the vicinity of present-day Mayhill. This historical incident is recorded on a marker in the village. The village of Mayhill is situated on the eastern slopes of the Sacramento Mountains at an elevation of 6,500feet. It is located at the forks of the Rio Penasco and James Canyon, about 17 miles east of Cloudcroft on US Highway 82, at its junction with US Highway 130 to Weed. Albert Coe, who had come to new Mexico in 1867 and whose brother Frank and cousin George were involved with Billy the Kid in the Lincoln County Wars, arrived in the Rio Penasco area in 1873 and settled on what is now the Jim Mahill ranch, about 1/2 mile east of the present village. One of the log cabins he built still stands on the homestead. Soon, other settlers began coming into the area, including Charles Arthur (1884), Teen See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

Clayton (1883), Joe Curtis (1880), John Gardessler (1880), Ben Henry (1882), Aled & Kim Hunter (1884), John James (1879), Henry Kepler (1884), Robert McGee (1878), W.C. Warren (1878), and John G. White (1878). In 1881, Albert Coe returned to his former home in Missouri and married his childhood sweetheart Mary (Molly) Mahill. They returned to the Penasco for their honeymoon. One year later, Mollyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s parents, John and Sara Mahill and their family joined them. John Mahill bought the land covering the present village site from John James, for whom James Canyon was named, for $300 in December of 1882 and built an adobe house, which is still standing and occupied by family members. The first post office, called Upper Penasco, was established in 1885. It was located in the Coe residence and Molly Coe was the first postmaster. In 1904 after several moves, the post office was permanently located and the village was officially named Mayhill, rather than Mahill, apparently through an error by the Postal Department. Attempts to correct the misspelling have been in vain.

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NASA's daring Parker Solar Probe made its fifth daring flyby of the sun this weekend. The spacecraft has been conducting a marathon of solar observations since May 9 as scientists affiliated with the mission look to crack more secrets about how the sun works. The observations will continue until June 28, totaling more than seven weeks of measurements during the probe's fifth swing past the sun. The closest approach of this orbit, called a perihelion, occurred at 4:23 a.m. EDT on Sunday, June 7. At that time, the probe was about 11.6 million miles from the sun's surface and was traveling at over 244,000 mph relative to the sun. This weekend's fifth perihelion is also the prelude to another intriguing event. On July 10 , the Parker Solar Probe will conduct a flyby of Venus. The maneuver is one in a series that is vital to send the spacecraft closer toward the sun, giving the probe ever-closer views of the star during perihelion passes. But the July flyby will also be a prime opportunity to study Earth's neighbor, as the spacecraft will pass just 517 miles above the surface of Venus. In particular, this flyby should give scientists vital information about how the atmosphere of Venus dribbles away from the planet in what scientists call its tail. It's the sort of bonus science that missions love.

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● She sees cheese. ● Six sticky skeletons. ● Truly rural. ● Pad kid poured curd pulled cod. ● Which witch is which? ● Willy’s real rear wheel. ● Six sleek swans swam swiftly southwards. ● Scissors sizzle, thistles sizzle. ● A happy hippo hopped and hiccupped. ● Cooks cook cupcakes quickly. ● Really leery, rarely Larry. ● Twelve twins twirled twelve twigs. ● A snake sneaks to seek a snack. ● Six Czech cricket critics. ● Can you can a canned can into an uncanned can like a canner can can a canned can into an un-canned can? ● Imagine an imaginary menagerie manager managing an imaginary menagerie. ● Rory the warrior and Roger the worrier were reared wrongly in a rural brewery. ● If you must cross a course cross cow across a crowded cow crossing, cross the cross coarse cow across the crowded cow crossing carefully. See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

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Ancho Story courtesy of legendsofamerica.com About 23 miles north of Carrizozo, New Mexico is the ghost town of Ancho, a former railroad and ranching community. The settlement was established at the turn of the 20th century when families began to settle the fertile valley, followed by a number of homesteaders who became the areaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s first sheep and cattle ranchers. Miners also roamed the area of gypsum hills in search of precious metals. In 1902, a gypsum deposit was discovered and the Gypsum Product Company plaster mill was established. That same year, Ancho got a post office with Frank J. Bush as the first postmaster. When a settler by the name of Bosque came to the area from Iowa, he saw an opportunity in the fire clay of the region and established the Ancho Brick Plant in 1905. That same year, the railroad pushed through town and the depot was built. In 1906, after the devastating earthquake and fire in San Francisco, Ancho was busy shipping plaster and brick to the ravaged city. In 1917, the brick plant was sold to the Arizona based Phelps Dodge Corporation, See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

which built a new 16-kiln plant at a cost of $150,000. ( Equivalent to $3 million todoy) However, this move proved to be unprofitable, as the plant went bankrupt in 1921. Though this was a devastating blow to the small community and several people moved out, the town survived, supported primarily by the railroad and ranching industries. During the Depression years, Ancho’s population increased as a number of destitute families moved in trying to make a living mining for gold in the nearby Jicarilla Mountains. However, once the economy improved, people moved out once again. In 1930, Ancho’s one-room schoolhouse burned down and was replaced by the brick school that continues to stand today. At its peak, the school had five teachers and 140 students. The town also supported two stores. However, Ancho’s life was on a downhill trend. In 1937, though the brick plant had long been closed, the property was sold to Abilene Salvage Company, who dismantled it When the new U.S. Highway 54 was paved in 1954 between Carrizozo and Corona, it spelled a death knell for Ancho, as the small community was bypassed by 2 ½ miles. The following year, the school was closed. In 1955, the Ancho School closed its doors. Four years after in 1959 the train station closed, and in 1969, Ancho's Post Office shut its doors. The final blow for Ancho was when the railroad discontinued the depot in 1959. The building was sold and in 1963 became a museum called “My House of Old Things.” That same year, the town’s combination store and gas station closed. Five years later, the post office also closed and the town was left with only a few people.

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JICARILLA Courtesy Henry Chenoweth.

Jicarilla lasted for about 50 years (1892-1942). The majority of the town was built from logs, and that's why there isn't much left standing today. The chief industry was mining. During the depression, the population soared as the mines payed surprisingly well at that time. When the depression ended, most people moved on and Jicarilla soon faded. Native Mexicans worked the streambeds in the Jicarillas as far back as 1850 separating the gold from the dirt in a wooden bowl called a "batea." Prospecting for the lode deposits by American miners began in the 1880s with moderate success. The town of Jicarilla grew up around these miners and had a log cabin schoolhouse, a general store and a population of some three hundred during the depression years of the early 1930s. The town was a haven for destitute families during those years when mining was the only means available to produce even a meager income. When jobs became more plentiful, people moved on and the town began to die. Today a false front building, formerly the store and post office, still stands. The log schoolhouse also remains.

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Lawrence Gustave Murphy was an Irish, Union Army veteran, Grand Army of the Republic member, Republican Party leader, racketeer, Old West businessman and gunman, and a main instigator of the Lincoln County War.

Tax Preparation Service Accountant Financial Planner Wealth Management

Murphy was born in County Wexford, Ireland, and as an adult moved to the United States. He enlisted in the United States Army, from 1851-55, and re-enlisted in 1856. After he was discharged in 1861, he ventured to Santa Fe, New Mexico, and reenlisted once again in the Union Army. He served for the duration of the Civil War but saw little, if any, combat. He mustered out at Fort Stanton in 1866 and quickly joining the Grand Army of the Republic which united Union Army veterans as

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auxiliaries of the Republican Party in Reconstruction America. He eventually moved to Lincoln County, New Mexico, and in 1869 he started "L. G. Murphy & Co." By 1873, he had hired fellow Irish immigrant James Dolan, who by 1874 had become a business partner in a profitable mercantile and banking operation. The business saw success mainly due to there being no competition. Murphy also became influential within law enforcement circles, and had an alliance with the Lincoln County Sheriff, William J. Brady. Story courtesyThe Lincoln Forest Circuit NM

Connieâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Micro Mart Why drive down the mountain for a loaf of bread? See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

(Family Features) A wedding day is filled with symbolic tradition, from varied religious customs to the never-ending circle reflected in the rings and the types of flowers accentuating the celebration. Even with all the traditional rituals to consider, nearly every bride and groom can find ways to give their special day some unique touches that reflect their personality and love. Music sets the mood for every wedding, and it’s an easy place to put your own spin on the celebration. Whether you forgo the traditional bridal march entirely or simply look for an arrangement that gives an updated twist to the classic version, let guests know this isn’t your average wedding by setting the festivities against a soundtrack that lets your true character shine. The wedding party is intended to be a collection of those nearest and dearest to the bride and groom, who help ensure the day goes off without a hitch and who lead fellow revelers in celebrating the start of the new couple’s life together. That being said, there’s no reason this group must be limited to women See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

on her side and guys on his, or even that it’s limited to humans – a beloved pooch can make for an adorable ring-bearer, after all. Photography is an essential element of your big day, but think beyond the images you’ll capture throughout the wedding and reception. Photos lend a personal touch, no matter what your color scheme or theme. Integrate photos of the two of you at various stages of life, together as a couple and with loved ones (perhaps even some you’re honoring in memoriam). You can display these at a table with the guest book, as part of the table centerpieces, or even on the gift table. Or take things digital and load all your images into a slide show set to music. Make favors meaningful. Forgo more common items like bubbles and chocolate, and instead send a little of yourself home with your guests. Maybe it’s a memento from a place with special meaning to you both, or a bottle opener shaped like a bicycle to represent the way you met. Just think about the moments and things that define you as a couple and do some searching online. You’ll probably be surprised by how quickly the options pile up. Serve up a menu that shows guests more about your life together. Your loved ones can order basic beef or chicken anywhere. Instead, give them a glimpse into you. Make your main course the same food you enjoyed on your first date or during another monumental moment in your courtship. Or plan the entire menu around a region that you hold close to your heart. Weddings are filled with traditions, but that doesn’t mean you can’t put your own touches on the day for a special event filled with memories that are uniquely your own. Find more advice for life’s special moments at elivingtoday.com.

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Get Away Without Going Away

(eLivingtoday.com) Family vacations are a great way to bond and take a step back from the hectic schedules that accompany everyday life, but sometimes time or money (or both) make planning an elaborate trip a non-starter. However, a staycation – a vacation you take right in your hometown (or nearby) – can be much less expensive and fit into nearly any amount of available time with the added bonus of skipping out on potentially stressful travel. Consider these staycation ideas to take advantage of your local area’s attractions and prove you don’t have to go far to spend quality time together. Visit local landmarks. Just because it’s not a traditional vacation doesn’t mean you can’t pretend to be tourists. Start by visiting the places you recommend to friends and family from out of town or pick up a city guidebook to See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

uncover hidden spots you may not even know exist. Make a plan to seek out historic sites, visit local landmarks like museums or try an out-of-the-way restaurant (or two) you’ve never eaten at before. Camp out in the backyard. Camping doesn’t have to be done far from home. In fact, it can be done right in your own backyard. Pitch a tent to sleep under the stars and plan a night full of traditional camping activities like roasting s’mores, telling spooky stories by flashlight and trying to identify stars and constellations. Set up a picnic in the park. Pack a basket with sandwiches, fruit and other treats and head to the park. You can enjoy a casual meal then take advantage of the open space for a family walk or game of tag before retreating to the playground to let the little ones expel any leftover energy. Have a home spa day. If you’re looking for some relaxation but don’t want to splurge on the full spa treatment, plan an at-home oasis instead. Light some candles, run a bubble bath and break out the facial masks and fingernail polish. Visit an amusement park. No matter where you live, there’s probably an amusement or water park within driving distance. A quick online search before you arrive can help prepare a strategy for hitting the most popular thrill rides and waterslides while skipping those that may not provide quite the same entertainment value. Find more tips and tricks for enjoying family time together at eLivingtoday.com.

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A Perfect Steak Sidekick Grilling up a homemade meal is a classic way to show appreciation to loved ones at backyard barbecues. This summer, as you enjoy grilling steak, one of the most popular meals for a cookout, try adding an extra touch of flavor with this Smoky Bacon, Chive and Shallot Butter.

Smoky Bacon, Chive and Shallot Butter Recipe courtesy of Omaha Steaks Cook time: 25 minutes Rest time: 30 minutes Servings: 10

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INGREDIENTS ●4

ounces bacon, coarsely chopped

●2

sticks unsalted butter, divided

●1

small shallot, minced

●3

tablespoons chives, finely chopped

●1

teaspoon apple cider vinegar

● kosher salt, to taste ● freshly ground pepper, to taste INSTRUCTIONS 1. In small sauté pan, cook bacon over medium heat, stirring occasionally until browned and crisp, about 8-10 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to small bowl. 2. Cut 1 stick butter into pieces. Add pieces to drippings and cook, stirring often, until butter foams and browns, about 5-8 minutes. 3. Strain mixture into medium bowl or bowl of stand mixer. Stir in minced shallot. 4. Allow bacon fat-butter mixture to cool 30 minutes, or until it reaches room temperature. 5. Add remaining stick butter to bacon fat mixture. Using hand mixer or stand mixer, beat until light and fluffy. Add chives, vinegar and reserved bacon. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. 6. Place butter mixture in refrigerator and allow to firm slightly. Butter can be made up to 3 days in advance. Remove from refrigerator 1 hour prior to serving to allow butter to soften. See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

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When it comes to naming your baby boy or baby girl, the possibilities seem endless â&#x20AC;&#x201D; especially if you widen your search to include older baby names. While many parents are big on vintage names and those that have historical significance, there are some names not even the biggest history buffs have even heard of, and we've collected them for you here! From Ancient Rome and Greek mythology to the Middle Ages, we've compiled a list of 40 names so old that you've probably never heard of them. No, we're not talking about Abraham or Elizabeth. These names are much more obscure. Some of the names have been overlooked for good reason, either because of their clunky spelling or pronunciation or lessthan-desirable meaning. Other names seem ready for a surge in popularity as parents keep trying to buck trends and get creative. Whatever the case, these names come from saints and biblical figures, kings and queens, goddesses and emperors, scholars and inventors. Maybe Judson will strike you as the perfect baby boy name, or perhaps Clotilde has that exact elegant feel you have been trying to find for your future daughter. Could one of these unique choices be the one you pick for your baby? Take a look and see. See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

Abaddon There’s probably a reason this name has not come into favor in modern times. The name Abaddon first appeared in the Bible, but even then it was pretty uncommon. It translates to “ruin” or “destruction,” not a particularly inspiring meaning for your new baby boy. Anthea A girl’s name of Greek origin, Anthea roughly translates to “flowery” or “lady of flowers.” Historically, according to Nameberry, Anthea has been used in Greek mythology as a poetic symbol of spring. Aquilia A girl’s name of Greek origin, Anthea roughly translates to “flowery” or “lady of flowers.” Ariadne This is another girl’s name that dates back to Greek mythology. It was the name of the Cretan goddess of fertility, and the meaning of Ariadne is “most holy,” Beulah The name Beaulah is a Hebrew girl's name first identified in the Bible. It translates to "married" or "espoused." With ties to old literature and biblical times, it has a bit of a mysterious quality about it as it refers to a place between heaven and earth Cerys Pronounced "KEHR-iss," this old Welsh girl's name is ripe for adoption. Its adorable sound combined with its even sweeter meaning, which is "love," makes it a strong contender for parents who want to try something new. Charbel Charbel is said to be an ancient Christian name with roots in Aramaic. The name roughly See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

translates to "God's good news," and its appearance can be traced back to the historic area of Mesopotamia and the ancient Aram region. Emeric Dating back to the 1100s, Emeric is a French name that translates to "power." Jeconiah An ancient Hebrew name, Jeconiah translates to "God will establish." Mael The boy's name Mael seems to have history both as a Celtic name in Ireland and a name in old France. It means "chief" or "prince," and is pronounced "MY-el." Maelys This is the female variation of Mael, also dating back to old Ireland and France. Melisent It's not clear whether the girl's name Melisent is a variation on "Millicent," but it has roots in Greek and German and roughly translates to "strong and industrious." Nerilla Dating back to ancient Greece, Nerilla has also appeared in Shakespeare but is very rare in modern times. The girl's name loosely translates to "ambition, strength and independence." Tansy Tansy is a girl's name that originated in Greece, and it means "immortality." Verena The Latin variation translates to "integrity," while its Teutonic roots say "defender." See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

INCONVENIENT CORPSES Courtesy of Martin Brown, The Real Billy the Kid on Facebook

great deal of historical resource and time has been spent researching old men who, in their dotage, decided to come forward and reveal that they were some infamous character from the past. People like Oliver P. (Brushy Bill) Roberts, J. Frank Dalton and John St. Helens/David George, who, in their declining years, suddenly wanted to clear their consciences and reveal to the world their â&#x20AC;&#x153;true identitiesâ&#x20AC;?. They do so by claiming that they were historical figures like Billy the Kid, Jesse James and John Wilkes See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

Booth. But there is something in all these stories that presents a peculiar predicament: the fact that there was a dead body left behind in their place. I call them the “inconvenient corpses.” For Billy the Kid to have survived to be an old man and die on the streets of Hico, Texas, someone else had to die in Pete Maxwell’s bedroom that night. The same is true with Jesse James and John Wilkes Booth. Although tremendous amounts of research are done on the survivors; things like DNA, facial analysis and endless combing through the history of their lives while “on the run”, so little is done on those poor hapless souls whom fate has chosen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and take someone else’s appointment with the grim reaper. For Brushy Bill, it was a cowhand named Billy Barlow who, evidently favored Billy the Kid so much that he managed to fool a coroner’s jury, a sheriff and his posse….even close friends. Although history holds no record of him as a member of Bonney’s inner-circle, he seems to have appeared from the ether just in the nick of time to freely walk into Maxwell’s bedroom that night and take the bullet for the Kid. Then, there was Charlie Bigelow who, according to J. Frank Dalton, was an undercover Pinkerton agent who had moved into the Jesse James household and was the recipient of Bob Ford’s bullet to the back. Bigelow….Barlow….hummmm! Strange that the Pinkerton’s didn’t launch a national search to determine what happened to their agent who, as Dalton would have people believe, was buried at the James’ family farm. And, just like Billy Barlow, he must have borne such a strong resemblance to Jesse James that he fooled the family who buried him. See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

DISCOVER TULAROSA

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Henry McCarty in Silver City & Arizona Story courtesy of Jim Johnson at The Real Billy The Kid.com Billy the Kid's real name was Henry McCarty and it is known for sure that he and his brother Joe attended his mother Catherine McCarty's wedding to William Antrim in Santa Fe on March 1, 1873. Many believed that she moved out west hopeful that the dry climate would help ease her tuberculosis. The family moved to Silver City in Grant County, located in southern New Mexico. Catherine was suffering from consumption and her health began to deteriorate rapidly. Then on September 16, 1874, the Kidâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s mother died. Antrim didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to be burden with two Story continues next page See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

small boys, so he separated them and placed them in foster homes and left Silver City for Arizona. The Kid now had to earn his own keep, so he was put to work washing dishes and waiting on tables at a restaurant. After a year of no parental guidance and looking out for himself, the Kid quickly fell in with the wrong crowd. One of his troublemaking buddies, Sombrero Jack, stole some laundry from a Chinese laundry cleaner and told the Kid to hide the bundle. The Kid got caught with it and was arrested. The county sheriff decided to keep him locked up for a couple of days just to scare him, but the Kid escaped and ran away. The Silver City newspaper reported: “Henry McCarty, who was arrested Thursday and committed to jail to await the action of the grand jury, upon the charge of stealing clothes from Charley Sun and Sam Chung, celestials, sans cue, sans Joss sticks, escaped from prison yesterday through the chimney. It’s believed that Henry was simply the tool of Sombrero Jack, who done the stealing whilst Henry done the hiding. Jack has skinned out.” The Kid fled to one of his foster families and they put him on a stagecoach to Clifton, Arizona where his stepfather was living, but when he found his stepfather he didn’t want him and told the Kid to leave. All alone in a strange desert, the Kid wandered from one ranch to another to find work. For the next 2 years the Kid tramped around as a ranch hand and gambler. He then met up with a horse thief name John Mackie who taught him the tricks of the trade and the two became partners. But after some close calls, arrest, and escaping from custody, the Kid decided it was wiser to give up his new occupation. He returned some stolen horses to the army to clear himself and got work as a ranch hand. One day while at a saloon in Camp Grant, Arizona, the Kid who was about sixteen at the time, got into serious trouble. He got into an argument with a bully named Frank “Windy” Cahill, who had picked See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

on him numerous times before. After some name-calling, Cahill rushed the Kid and slammed him down on the ground, then jumped on top of him and proceeded to slap him in the face. The Kid worked his hand free to his revolver and fired it into Cahill’s gut. When Cahill fell over the Kid squirmed free, ran off, and mounted the nearest horse and fled Camp Grant. The Kid didn’t stick around to face murder charges and left Arizona and returned to New Mexico. Now an outlaw and unable to find honest work, the Kid met up with another outlaw named Jesse Evans, who was the leader of a gang of rustlers called “The Boys.” The Kid didn't have anywhere else to go and since it was suicide to be alone in the hostile and lawless territory, the Kid reluctantly joined the gang. The gang made their way to Lincoln County where the Boys joined forces with James Dolan, who was currently in a feud against an Englishman entrepreneur named John Tunstall and his attorney and partner Alex McSween. The feud would be famously known as the Lincoln County War. The Boys started to steal Tunstall’s livestock, so arrests were made and the Kid eventually was caught and placed in jail. Tunstall noticed something different about this rustler, he wasn’t rough like the other men, but just a boy who got a bad start in life and was looking for place to belong. So Tunstall gave him an ultimatum: if he testified against the other rustlers, Tunstall would hire him as an employee. The Kid took Tunstall’s offer. Now fighting for the Tunstall side and in the hopes of a better future, the Kid changed his name to William H. Bonney, but his friends called him “Kid.” Tensions were high and the feud between Dolan and Tunstall escalated in to bloody violence. John Tunstall was brutally murdered by members of Sheriff Brady’s posse and the Boys. Tunstall’s ranch hands then formed a vigilante group called “the Regulators.” Now the war was on. See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

New Mexico Territory Cowboys. Ca. 1880. Some believe the man standing in the middle is the notorious King of the Rustlers, John Kinney.

John Kinney – King Pin of the Cattle Rustlers Story courtesy of .legendsofamerica.com

ohn Kinney was the leader of the John Kinney Gang, who were also known as the Rio Grande Posse of New Mexico. Kinney, himself, was known as the “King Pin of Cattle Rustlers”, as he and his gang primarily rustled cattle Dona Ana County, but also committed acts of robbery. When they weren’t busy with outlaw crimes, they made See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

themselves available as hired gunmen. Kinney was born in about 1847 in Hampshire County, Massachusetts and the family later moved to Iowa. He enlisted in the army in 1865, obtaining the rank of sergeant before he mustered out in 1873. Afterward, he settled in Dona Ana County, New Mexico and soon organized the Kinney Gang. Jesse Evans was one of the early members and on December 31, 1875, Kinney, Evans, Jim McDaniels, and Pony Diehl entered a saloon in Las Cruces, New Mexico, where they became involved in a brawl with Cavalry soldiers from Fort Seldon. In the fight, the outlaws were beaten badly and thrown out of the saloon. Afterward, the outlaws returned to the saloon and opened fire, killing two soldiers and one civilian, and wounding two other soldiers and one civilian. Not long afterward, Evans broke away from the gang to form the Jesse Evans Gang. In 1877, Kinney hired his gang out to fight in the El Paso Salt War, a conflict between El Paso businessmen over the salt deposits near the base of the Guadalupe Mountains. The next year, they made their guns available to the Dolan-Murphy faction in the Lincoln County War, which was a conflict between rival cattle barons Upon their arrival in Lincoln County, Kinney was deputized by Sheriff George Peppin to counter Billy the Kid and his â&#x20AC;&#x153;Regulatorsâ&#x20AC;&#x153;. With his gang acting as a posse, Kinney and his men were given the freedom to run rampant in the county. At the same time, former Kinney Gang member Jesse Evans and his gang were also were enlisted by Murphy-Dolan faction. When the Lincoln County War was over, most of the gang members returned to Dona Story continues next page See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

Ana County and their profitable cattle rustling activities. However, a few of them remained and joined up with another gang called Selmanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Scouts. In 1883 Kinney was arrested for cattle rustling and sentenced to serve five years in the Leavenworth, Kansas State Penitentiary. By the time he was paroled in February 1886, his men had all scattered. He returned to Arizona where he worked at a feedlot in Kingman for a time. However, when the Spanish-American War broke out, he joined up and was serving in Cuba in the Spring of 1898. Afterward, he worked as a successful as a miner in Chaparral Gulch, Arizona before retiring to Prescott, Arizona. He died there of natural causes on August 25, 1919.

Sheriff George Pippen See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

On February 18, 1878, members of the Jesse Evans Gang shot and killed John Tunstall, which sparked the Lincoln County War. The Lincoln County Regulators, led by Dick Brewer, were formed to bring to justice those involved in the Tunstall murder, and several were killed over the following months, to include the Regulator leader Dick Brewer, and with Buckshot Roberts, William Morton and Frank Baker being killed by the Regulators, and later Sheriff Brady himself along with Deputy George W. Hindman. Peppin was present during the Sheriff Brady shootout, but was not wounded. Following Brady's death, John Copeland was appointed to the office of sheriff, but was dismissed shortly thereafter due to his refusing to take the side of the Murphy-Dolan faction, and he was replaced by Peppin, whose loyalties were with MurphyDolan, and with his weak demeanor he was easily influenced by that faction.

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Peppin deputized members of the MurphyDolan faction, to include Evans, a main suspect in the Tunstall murder. He then led a campaign against the Regulators, resulting in the death of Regulator Frank McNabb and with Regulator Ab Saunders being seriously wounded during the gunfight at the Fritz Ranch. Peppin then led a posse into Lincoln on July 15, 1878, to clash with the rest of the Regulators, assembled by Alex McSween. In what would become known as the Battle of Lincoln, Peppin and his posse well outnumbered the besieged Regulators, and received assistance from the US Cavalry under the command of Colonel Nathan Dudley. That battle ended in a draw. McSween and his business partner Harvey Morris, along with Regulator Tom Cullin were killed, as were Peppin's men, "Dutch Charlie" Kruling, Bob Beckwith, and Charlie Crawford. Other Regulators escaped, and although the tensions Story continues next pasge

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continued for some time afterward, for all practical purposes the Lincoln County War ended there. Peppin lived in fear following the range wars end, resigning as sheriff immediately afterward, and begging for sanctuary at Fort Stanton, where for a time he worked as a butcher. He also worked as a butcher for rancher Pat Coghlan for a time during this period, before returning to work as a mason. He testified in the court of inquiry on behalf of Colonel Nathan Dudley, and later testified against Billy the Kid in the killing of Sheriff Brady. Peppin lived out the remainder of his life in solitude, dying in 1904

William J. Brady (August 16, 1829 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; April 1, 1878) Sheriff of Lincoln County during the Lincoln County Wars He was killed in an ambush, aged 48, in which Billy the Kid took part. See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

James Williams was born 1820. In 1898, the rails had finally reached the vast timber resources of the untapped Sacramento Mountains. That created a boom that was heard all the way to Williams Hill in Pope County, Illinois. That was the year that James Washington Williams, born in 1855, accompanied with his daughter Annie, born in 1882 and son Joe left for New Mexico. The timber industry in Illinois had played out, and New Mexico offered a new beginning. The Williams finally made their way to Russia, NM., south of Cloudcroft, NM. The two Williams men went to work in this newly created logging camp and Annie got a job as a cook there. Story courtesy of Joe Ben Sanders

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CHARLIE MYER, LA LUZ MERCHANT,1891-1916 By Joe Ben Sanders 2017 C. Meyer, a prominent merchant of La Luz, NM was born in Germany [I think in 1845], and in that country he was reared and received a common school education. At the age of eighteen years he came to America, and a few months after his arrival in New York City he enlisted his services in defense of the Union army in the Civil war, becoming a member of Company B, Seventh New York Regiment, in which he served for ten months. After a military career of ten months he received his discharge at Hart's Island, New York, for his adopted country no longer needed See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

his services, and he returned to the duties of private life. In 1869, Mr. Meyer made his way to Texas, remaining in the Lone Star state from that time until 1882, when he moved to old Mexico, and for three years was there engaged in merchandising. He returned to Texas, and for the following six years was employed as bookkeeper for the Ameican Mining Company. He then came to New Mexico and opened his place of business at La Luz, being now the proprietor of a large general merchandise store, in which he has a complete and well selected stock of goods, his being the only store of its kind in the beautiful little settlement of La Luz. In this city in 1894, Mr. Meyer was united in marriage to Lillie M. Greenwood, and they have three children: Lille, Carl and Pauline. In his fraternal relations Mr. Meyer was a Mason, belonging to Alamogordo Lodge. He was also a director in the First National Bank of Alamogordo. The picture of the store is taken from near the catholic church looking roughly north across the street. An inspection of the trees around the store indicate that octotillo has been woven around the young tree sapling, likely to prevent livestock from eating the tender, juicy, succulent tree bark. Charlie died of apparent old age about 1915 or 1916 and was buried in the La Luz Campo Santo and has a fine tombstone to mark is passing. He was well liked, apparently honest, and sorely missed by the local citizens,

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Essential Gardening Tools

(Family Features) - You wouldn't think of trying to eat your peas with a knife, and it can be just as cumbersome to try to edge a garden bed with a shovel instead of a spade or edger, or to work with a pile of bark mulch using a shovel instead of a manure fork. The right tool for the job can make the work go faster and with less strain on the gardener. Here are some of the tools that belong in a well-stocked garden shed and the jobs for which they're best suited. Spreaders. These are used to spread lime, fertilizer, and grass seed. There are two basic types: drop spreaders, in which a small paddlewheel at the bottom of a bin controls the amount of material spread, and broadcast spreaders, in which the material drops onto a spinning disk that scatters it. Broadcast spreaders cover large areas quickly, but they are not as accurate as drop spreaders. Often you can rent or borrow spreaders where you buy your fertilizers. Spades. A garden spade has a blade with a straight end, making it handy for edging around flowerbeds and sidewalks, spreading materials, and skimming sod off new garden beds. It's also useful for double digging new garden beds. Hoes. A hoe with a small, pointed head is good for weeding around growing vegetable and flower See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

plants and for making furrows for planting seeds. Hoes with flat blades are good for moving the soil from pathways onto garden beds and for making raised beds. The swan neck hoe has a short, wide blade that's pointed on the ends for slicing off weeds while you're standing up. Forks. A spading fork with flat tines comes in handy for turning over the compost pile and for harvesting root crops like potatoes. It also can be used to turn over the soil and dig up clumps of established perennials. Make sure the tines are square or reinforced, since thin flat tines will bend during use. A manure fork with round tines is good for turning over compost and moving bark mulch and other chunky materials. Pruners. There are two main types of pruners: anvil and bypass. The bypass type causes the least damage to the stem tissue. For tender-stemmed annuals, even a sharp pair of scissors will make the cut. Loppers. These are bigger, long-handled versions of hand pruners. The extra leverage the long handles provide, combined with the heavier, stronger jaws, allow them to cut branches up to an inch or more thick. Loppers also extend your reach. Pruning saw. If a lopper can't cut it, a pruning saw is the next step up. Some come with a blade that folds into the handle -- very handy. Mattock. If you have to tear out old, established plantings, you'll learn to love the mattock. It both chops and pries out old root systems. Hand weeders. There are many types of handweeding devices. One of the most popular is the v-weeder or asparagus knife. It looks like a screwdriver with a wide tip notched with an inverted V. It's useful for digging out deep-rooted plants like dandelions, harvesting asparagus, and digging weeds from between paving bricks or stones. Try some different types of weeders and you're bound to find a favorite. Last but not least, a good-quality pocketknife is a handy tool for every gardener, providing you keep it sharpened. See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

Tips for Better Home Safety this Spring (Family Features) As people become more active during the warmer months, keeping home safety top of mind can sometimes go by the wayside. However, when it comes to fire and carbon monoxide safety, you can never be too prepared. Whether you are just beginning to take a stronger safety-first approach or looking to upgrade existing home safety equipment, keep these tips in mind as you spruce up your home for the season. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t Just Check Batteries, Check the Alarm Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a good idea to review your safety equipment and ensure everything is in good working order at least a couple times each year. For example, every type of smoke alarm must be See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

completely replaced every 10 years whether itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hardwired into your home or operates on a battery. New smoke alarms commonly come with built-in 10-year batteries, meaning no battery changes, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a good idea to test the units regularly. In fact, most manufacturers recommend weekly. You can also use this time to double-check the gauge on your fire extinguishers, replace batteries in flashlights, test security systems and replenish first-aid kits. Inspect and Repair Outdoor Areas Set aside time to evaluate any damage or potential hazards as the weather warms. For example, fallen tree branches and leaves can become trapped in gutters and pose a fire hazard. Shutters and fences can also weaken over time. To make sure theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re in good working condition, check that they are securely fastened. Take Advantage of Smart Technology According to the National Fire Protection Association, 40 years ago people had an average of 17 minutes to escape a home fire, but today the average has decreased to about 3 minutes due to synthetic materials used in modern-day home furnishings. To get the earliest warning of a home fire, install wirefree interconnected battery-powered combination smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. When one alarm senses a hazard, all alarms throughout the home sound in unison. Check Appliances While going through your spring home safety checklist, take time to check your appliances or schedule an annual maintenance check for your stove, oven, heating system and more. According to the American Red Cross, dryers are responsible for approximately 9 of every 10 appliances fires. These common household appliances can collect dust, lint and other particles, which are potential fire hazards and can cause carbon monoxide leaks.

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Tiffanie Owen Paints Lincoln County

“My mentor in this technique,” says Tiffanie Owen from her studio in Lincoln, “called me a ‘historical painter.’ I’m not sure if that is a term that existed before, but I love history and I love art, so if I can combine the two, what could be better?” Living in the historic town of Lincoln, made famous by Billy the Kid, Owen certainly doesn’t lack for subject matter. She says that what initially attracted her to this unusual painting technique was the resemblance to old sepia photographs. Owen took art classes throughout her school and college years in Alamogordo, but it wasn’t See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

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until 2012 when she learned the technique known as Oil Rub-Out from Master Artist, Lou Maestas. “From 2008 to 2012, I had been living at Michael Hurd’s Sentinel Ranch in San Patricio and working as the Director of the Hurd-La Rinconada Gallery,” said Owen. “I lived in the west wing of the gallery and so was completely surrounded and absorbed in the art of the Hurds and Wyeths every day.

During those four years, while spending time with Michael, I learned about the business of art, but more importantly, I experienced a family that knew no distinction between art and life. They painted their world. Their experience of living was evident in every landscape, every flower and every portrait, whether it was a portrait of a ranch-hand or a President. I marveled at an entire family whose profession was ‘artist’ and nothing else. Until then, I had only thought of art as a hobby.” “When the time came for me to leave the ranch, I was devastated. To cope with the emotions, I signed up for a seminar with Lou Story continues next page See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

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Maestas in Scottsdale, Arizona, and that’s where he shared the gift of his process. When I had my first show, I sold every piece, which was thrilling! Even though I’ve been selling my art for the last 7 years, I am still overcome when someone purchases something that I created to hang in their home. Is there any greater honor than that?”

“Mission in the Mountains”

Owen returned to the mountains in 2017 when she was hired as Instructional Coordinator for Lincoln and Fort Stanton Historic Sites. Although her job developing education and volunteer programming at the sites keeps her very busy, she is currently working on a series of paintings featuring Lincoln and Fort Stanton’s buildings and people. “I say that my painting technique lends itself to old, crusty buildings,” jokes Owen. “I think the reason Lou called me a ‘historical painter’ is because many of my paintings include historic buildings that have either been demolished already or that are deteriorating rapidly. Structures retain the energy of the people who lived and worked in them and that See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

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Tiffanie Owen Paints Lincoln County “My mentor in this technique,” says Tiffanie Owen from her studio in Lincoln, “called me a ‘historical painter.’ I’m not sure if that is a term that existed before, but I love history and I love art, so if I can combine the two, what could be better?” Living in the historic town of Lincoln, made famous by Billy the Kid, Owen certainly doesn’t lack for subject matter. She says that what initially attracted her to this unusual painting technique was the resemblance to old sepia photographs.

Tunstall’s Last Stand

Owen took art classes throughout her school and college years in Alamogordo, but it wasn’t until 2012 when she learned the technique known as Oil Rub-Out from Master Artist, Lou Maestas. Story continues next page See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

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“From 2008 to 2012, I had been living at Michael Hurd’s Sentinel Ranch in San Patricio and working as the Director of the Hurd-La Rinconada Gallery,” said Owen. “I lived in the west wing of the gallery and so was completely surrounded and absorbed in the art of the Hurds and Wyeths every day. During those four years, while spending time with Michael, I learned about the business of art, but more importantly, I experienced a family that knew no distinction between art and life. They painted their world. Their experience of living was evident in every landscape, every flower and every portrait, whether it was a portrait of a ranch-hand or a President. I marveled at an entire family whose profession was ‘artist’ and nothing else. Until then, I had only thought of art as a hobby.”

“When the time came for me to leave the ranch, I was devastated. To cope with the emotions, I signed up for a seminar with Lou Maestas in Scottsdale, Arizona, and that’s where he shared the gift of his process. When I had my first show, I sold every piece, which was thrilling! Even though I’ve been selling my art for the last 7 years, I am still overcome when someone purchases something that I See this and past issues on line at issuu.com/alamodosomagazine

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created to hang in their home. Is there any greater honor than that?” Owen returned to the mountains in 2017 when she was hired as Instructional Coordinator for Lincoln and Fort Stanton Historic Sites. Although her job developing education and volunteer programming at the sites keeps her very busy, she is currently working on a series of paintings featuring Lincoln and Fort Stanton’s buildings and people. “I say that my painting technique lends itself to old, crusty buildings,” jokes Owen. “I think the reason Lou called me a ‘historical painter’ is because many of my paintings include historic buildings that have either been demolished already or that are deteriorating rapidly. Structures retain the energy of the people who lived and worked in them and that gives them their own charm. I guess that by painting them, I feel like it’s just another way that I can do my part to help preserve our history.” Tiffanie Owen’s work is currently showing at the Lincoln Gallery of Western Art and Annie’s Little Sure Shot/Old Lincoln Gallery, both at Lincoln Historic Site.

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108 Susan McSween was born Susan Ellen Hummer in Adams County, Pennsylvania on December 30, 1845. After the Civil War ended, she left Pennsylvania to Ohio to live with her sisters there. In 1870, in Illinois, she met Alex McSween, and they soon became engaged. She went with him to Kansas, and there they married on August 23, 1873. They left for New Mexico shortly after, settling in Lincoln. Like her husband, she was an important figure in the Lincoln County War. Unlike her husband, she was not afraid to speak her mind and was far more realistic about what was going on. She was hated by every MurphyDolan-Riley man. After the war and after her husband was killed and her home burned to the ground, she hired a lawyer named Huston Chapman to bring the men she blamed to trial. At the top of her list was Lt. Col. Nathan Dudley, who was a Dolan man and who was present at the Five-Day Battle in Lincoln, in which her husband was killed and her home destroyed. During the battle, she had pleaded to Dudley to help her husband, but he basically laughed in her face. Her lawyer, Chapman, was murdered by Dolan and three other Dolan men, one of which basically announced he was hired to kill Chapman by Dudley. (This was during the famous meeting to end hostilities in Lincoln between Dolan, Jesse Evans, The Kid and others. The Kid would later offer to testify about this murder.) Dudley did go to trial for arson, but was acquitted. Before that, he faced a court of inquiry to decided whether he should face an actual court martial for his activities during the Five-Day Battle. Susan got past this and became the owner of not only her late husband's property, but that of the dead Tunstall and Dick Brewer's as well. She started a ranch near Three Rivers, New Mexico and became known as a cattle queen. She married a man named George Barber in 1880, but later divorced him. She died in White Oaks, New Mexico on January 3, 1931.

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