Alamodoso Magazine Mothers Day Edition 2017

The Magazine of Otero and Lincoln County

Connections

INSIDE THIS ISSUE ● History of Mothers Day ● The Snowy River Cave ● I Love Someone with Autism ● Bad Boy of thr Lincoln County War ● Recipies ● Local Advertising ● And Much More

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by Donna Kout Ikard

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� � �������� a person will collect trinkets, treasures and other oddities.

Little gifts that are held onto can carry the spirit of a loved one long after they’ve gone. What a person leaves behind can sometimes hold more meaning to those who inherit their treasure than those who’ve left it behind could ever have imagined. Such is the case of a magical plant from another time and place.

This sacred gift is a Christmas Cactus. What was once a simple houseplant in a great grandmother’s home has now become a cherished family treasure and part of her legacy.

Originally owned by Almira Cotton Leonard in the late 1800’s, no one could have anticipated the joy it would bring to so many lives.

The Christmas Cactus When Almira’s husband Justice passed away in 1921, their daughter Eva Leonard Lund moved Almira from her home in Rapid City, South Dakota to Taos, New Mexico to live with Eva and her family. Among Almira’s worldly possessions was a simple old Christmas Cactus that made the journey to the desert with her.

Almira lived out her last years in Taos, enjoying time with her daughter and her daughter’s family until she passed away on Mother’s Day 1928. After she died, her daughter Eva Lund kept the plant and it continued to live and grow.

Sometime in the 1940s, before her death in 1953, Eva Lund, the plant’s second owner, passed the plant on to her son, Guy Lund and his wife, Ora.

Original Christmas Cactus Owner Almira Cotton Leonard

Well, great aunt Ora, who’s been described as a bit of a “wooly buger” or a “fuss budget” due to her ornery personality, must have decided that the plant was not to her liking as she quickly set the old plant outside on her porch and left it to die.

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PAGE 7 Guy and Ora’s niece, Eva Howard, dropped by for a visit one day and she saw the beautiful green plant withering away outside. Eva asked if she could have it. Ora just shrugged her shoulders in disinterest and told Eva that she could have “the silly old plant”. Eva quickly scooped up her new green prize and headed home.

timed watering and clipping schedules, standing guard to make sure that none of the little kids run by too quickly in order to protect it from the children’s adventure.

She always placed her plant in the most important area of her home where you couldn’t help but notice upon arrival and ask, “Eva where ever did At this point, Eva Howard was in her late teens you get such a gorgeous plant?” She'd stop and and the proud new owner of her great grandmother’s smile as she'd join guests in their admiration, telling them tales of the plant’s journey through time.

Eva sent clippings of her cherished plant to her daughters, nieces, granddaughters and great granddaughters. It’s a very special treasure that still amazes us all.

It’s incredible to think that Eva’s great grandmother was the original owner of the plant that brought such wonder to her life and now her own great granddaughters have Christmas cactus plants from clippings she sent them so they can take part in the plant’s wonder as well.

Eva Leonard Lund 2nd Cactus Owner

Christmas Cactus. Eva took her plant to her home in Fort Stanton, New Mexico and cared for it with all the love in the world.

Eva was born in Capitan in 1929, she was blessed to have lived in many different New Mexico towns taking her Christmas Cactus with her each time. In 2012 Eva moved from Las Cruces to Ruidoso where she lived for the remainder of her life, passing away in 2013 at the age of 85.

After Eva's death, her plant was passed down to her youngest daughter, Kathy McCollum Richardson. Kathy proudly displays her Great Great Grandmother's cactus in her Ruidoso home ninetyfive years after it arrived in New Mexico.

When Eva went off to college she left her plant with her mother, Ethel Lund Howard in Capitan, New Mexico. Eva’s mother assured her that she would take good care of the plant in her absence and she did.

Eva would later reclaim her beloved plant and life went on. Eva has married twice, had five children, eight grand children and seven great grand children of her own. She relocated more than a few times in her lifetime and all the while her plant has continued to grow and flourish.

The Christmas Cactus is quite huge and beautiful now, as it always was. Covered in bright pink blossoms with long succulent plumes, it’s at least seven feet around. Eva spoiled that plant about as much as you could spoil a plant. With perfectly

Eva Howard Last Plant Owner

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T

� T�����, M�� 2017 really could seem like an unpredictable time and even a bit prejudiced towards this Zodiac sign. But now there will be one simple trend for all the inhabitants of earth without exception: don't believe everything you see, since in reality most situations will have such extensive underlying causes that you just won't be able to figure them out straight away In the work sphere ambiguous situations are likely to arise, and they will invariably culminate in your absolute and irrevocable victory. You will get lucky quite often and quite steadily, so with commitment to steady progress, this circumstance could change your life for the better in the shortest possible time. There is a chance that you will get a new job, or increase your income while keeping the old one.

The sphere of feelings and personal relationships will bring about many new things, long-standing secrets will be demystified, and will allow you look at the events taking place more clearly and with an open mind. In general, you'll be on a roll now, but don't get overconfident. Due to the unfavorable position of Venus, rushed and poorly thoughtthrough actions could be very destructive!

Taureans who work for themselves will think about expanding their businesses, and this is definitely the right idea, and it could really drive your progress at this point. Keep yourself motivated, this is very important now! But don't forget that Venus is not on your side. This means

that you must eliminate any inappropriate treatment at work, control yourself, otherwise you will get a result which is the complete opposite of what you expect.

Taurus's personal relationships will develop quite colorfully and dynamically in May 2017, but not always along the tracks you laid down for them. In other words, you mustn't be prepared for your plans to come even half true. That is, if you, for example, prepare a major family holiday, a massive celebration, everything will work out for you. But if, say, if you have been planning for a long time to take your relationship with your beloved to a new level, in this regard you can expect developments and situations which you are definitely not prepared for. In the end this will be to your advantage! It's surprising, but situational readiness and adaptability (which don't come naturally to all Taureans, it's true, but that's not significant in this regard) will allow you to set up your personal life in a way which you never dreamed of. Everything will work itself out, and in the best possible way, don't worry.

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Bad Boy of the Lincoln County War

James Dolan

Kathy Weiser/Legends of America

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�� �� ��� primary instigators of New Mexico's Lincoln County War, James J. Dolan was born in Galway County, Ireland, on May 2, 1848.

When he was just five years old, his family immigrated to the United States.

When the Civil War broke out, Dolan joined the Union Army in 1863, serving two years before making his way to New Mexico. There, he enlisted in the First New Mexico Volunteers and was stationed at Fort Stanton, New Mexico, where he mustered out in April, 1869.

While at Fort Stanton he met another Irishman named Lawrence Murphy, who had also served at Fort Stanton and now owned a sutler’s store called the L. G. Murphy & Co. Store.

Dolan went to work as a clerk for Murphy and quickly picked up on

Murphy's unethical and illegal business practices.

The store, which had profited from Murphy's military contacts, was awarded government contracts to supply beef and other supplies to Fort Stanton and the local Mescalero-Apache Reservation Agency. However, much of what they supplied was gained illegally.

In May, 1873, the hotheaded James Dolan attempted to shoot and kill a Fort Stanton Captain named James Randlett. Later that summer, in September, L. G. Murphy & Co. was evicted from Fort Stanton, partly due to Dolan's confrontation with Captain Randlett, but also due to accusations of price gauging and scamming the local Mescalero-Apaches of the supplies they were supposed to be providing.

Amazingly; however, Murphy did not lose his government contracts and quickly made plans to establish a new business in Lincoln, New Mexico.

Dolan went with Murphy to Lincoln, and the pair opened the new business as

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PAGE 13 partners in April 1874. Within no time, "Murphy & Dolan Mercantile and Banking” made new contracts with Fort Sumner and continued with their unethical business practices.

Before long, Murphy & Dolan Mercantile and Banking monopolized the trade of the county, controlling pricing, making immense profits on their goods, and virtually having a hand in nearly every part of the economy of the large county.

The merchants, along with their allies, who included local law enforcement, were familiarly known as "The House.”

For obvious reasons, Murphy and his allies were disliked by the small farmers in Lincoln County as they were forced to pay high costs for their goods, while at the same time, accepting low prices for their cattle.

In May 1877, Dolan murdered one of his employees, a man named Hilario Jaramillo. He claimed that Jaramilo had threatened him with a knife and he was eventually acquitted of the crime.

of cattle.

Furious at this development, Dolan attempted to goad Tunstall into a gunfight. However, Tunstall refused to use violence himself but soon recruited Billy the Kid, officially, as a "cattle guard.”

However, in February, 1878, Tunstall was killed, allegedly on the orders of Murphy and Dolan.

The murder started the Lincoln County War, which would take the lives of 19 men, including an unarmed Alexander McSween.

When McSween's widow hired an attorney named Huston Chapman to investigate the Dolan faction for her husband's death, Chapman was murdered in February, 1879.

Dolan was accused of the crime but with the help of powerful friends, the case against him was dropped.

In the meantime, Dolan purchased the property previously owned by John Tunstall, including his store and his ranch.

Amazingly, Dolan would later serve as Lincoln Later that summer, Alexander McSween, a County Treasurer and be elected to the Territorial lawyer, and John Tunstall, a wealthy 24-year old English cattleman and banker, set up a rival business Senate. called H.H. Tunstall & Company near the one James Dolan died on his ranch on February 6, owned by Dolan and Murphy.

1898, probably due to heavy alcoholism.

Supporting them was a large ranch owner named John Chisum, who owned more than 100,000 head

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RED CANYON RANGE CAMP "The most godforsaken camp and best place to work in the USA."

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���� �� ��� 1950's Cold War, the US Army's continental antiaircraft defense against long range Soviet bombers consisted of tube guns, i.e. cannons. In 1953, the first guided missile antiaircraft system, Nike Ajax, became operational and the guns slowly began to be replaced by the supersonic missiles. Many gun people were not happy about the changeover.

Training for the Nike Ajax system was conducted at Fort Bliss, near El Paso, Texas.

Following graduation from the brand new Air Defense Artillery School, the class, called a Package, took their Nike equipment 165 miles north to Red Canyon Range Camp and fired several Nike Ajax missiles at target drones.

After firing, the Package was deployed to an operational site near a large metropolitan or industrial area. Nike sites also guarded Strategic Air Command (SAC) bomber bases.

Eventually there were hundreds of Nike sites throughout the nation. Once a year, each operational Nike site returned to Red Canyon to fire three missiles as a continuing training and evaluation exercise.

Red Canyon Range Camp was only a temporary firing range for the missiles. Located 15 miles west of Carrizozo, New Mexico, it was on the side of the Chupadera Mesa in the northeast corner of the vast White Sands Proving Ground complex operated by the US Army Ordnance Corps.

No one expected Red Canyon to be needed more than two years until a suitable firing range could be built nearer Ft. Bliss (McGregor Range).

Being desig-nated a Camp meant no funding was available for permanent buildings, everything had to be procured through the Ft. Bliss Salvage yard or scrounged. With little or

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Photo of Cactus Bar, Carrizozo 1958. A Favorite watering hole for Red Canyon Staff

Red Canyon Camp, circa 1958

to orbit the earth, Red Canyon went from being The Gulch to an "A" Ticket. General officers, VIPs and foreign dignitaries began visiting the camp on a regular basis to examine this newfangled missile system.

Would Nike be suitable to protect their constituency? Special tours called Operation Understanding were conducted weekly at the camp. Support for Red Canyon became a very high priority at Ft. Bliss and the Pentagon.

no support from senior ex-cannon officers at Ft. Bliss, Red Canyon was left to fend for itself.

Many at Ft. Bliss referred to it as The Gulch, out of sight and mind. Red Canyon was a thorn in the side of both Ft. Bliss and White Sands.

That changed overnight on October 4, 1957 when the USSR launched the world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1. Sputnik was a political shot heard around the world.

Suddenly the US felt vulnerable. The mighty oceans were no longer a safety net for our country. Immediate protection was needed and Nike Ajax was it. In less time than it took Sputnik

After more than six years, the "temporary" camp closed for missile launches in August 1959.

A crew of 53 men stayed on until circa Nov. 1960 to remove all permanent structures except the chapel.

Thousands of soldiers and civilian VIPs had been through the camp and more than 3,000 Nike Ajax missiles had been launched.

Without a doubt the Army got its money's worth from the insignificant little temporary missile firing range called Red Canyon Range Camp.

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Brain Teasers 1. An old man wanted to leave all of his money to one of his three sons, but he didn't know which one he should give it to. He gave each of them a few coins and told them to buy something that would be able to fill their living room. The first man bought straw, but there was not enough to fill the room.

The second bought some sticks, but they still did not fill the room. The third man bought two things that filled the room, so he obtained his father's fortune. What were the two things that the man bought and what was able to fill the room?

2. There was once a lazy man. His father was angry that he did not help in the fields and gave him a task to accomplish. He asked his son to bring him something to eat, something to drink, something to feed the pig and something that would grow a crop, all contained in one item. What did the son bring his father?

3. A murderer is condemned to death. He has to choose among three rooms. The first is full of raging fires, the second is full of assassins with loaded guns, and the third is full of lions that haven't eaten in 3 years. Which room is safest for him?

4. A small defenseless animal lays on the ground in the heat of the sun. Suddenly, it is pulled up and beaten with sticks. The animal’s body is broken, but no one is punished for the crime. Why not?

5, Two mothers and two daughters went out to eat, everyone ate one burger, yet only three burgers were eaten. How is this possible?

ANSWERS ON PAGE 76

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HUEVOS RANCHEROS CUPS WITH GREEN CHILE AVOCADO SAUCE Ingredients ● 1½ cups cooked black beans ● 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided ● pinch of ground cumin ● pinch of salt

Instructions

● pinch of cayenne ● generous pinch of red chile powder ● 1 teaspoon lime juice ● ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped, plus more for garnish ● ⅓ cup chopped baby spinach (optional) ● 4 corn tortillas (or a corn/wheat blend), warmed slightly just before use ● ½ cup cheese, grated (cheddar or jack) ● 4 large eggs ● ½ cup diced tomatoes, for serving For the Sauce ● 1 ripe avocado ● 1 cup green chile sauce or salsa verde (see note) ● juice from ½ a lime ● 1 garlic clove, minced ● ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

● Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Brush four ramekins with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. ● In a medium bowl, combine the black beans, 1 tablespoon oil, spices, lime juice, cilantro and spinach. ● Press the lightly warmed tortillas down into the ramekins to create tortilla cups.

Press gently to avoid tearing the tortillas. Spoon an even amount of the bean mixture into each tortilla cup.

Cover bean mixture with grated cheese and then crack an egg over the top of each cup. ● Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until egg whites are cooked through but yolks are still runny or soft, as desired. ● Meanwhile, combine all of the sauce ingredients in a food processor or blender and mix until smooth. ● After removing ramekins from oven, cool slightly then remove tortilla cups gently. Top huevos rancheros with tomatoes, fresh cilantro, and green chile avocado sauce.

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Green Chile Grilled Cheese Sandwich Instructions

Ingredients ● 2 slices whole wheat bread ● Slices of sharp white cheddar ● Slices of mild cheddar ● 1 Tbsp. onion, finely chopped ● Roasted, peeled, chopped green chile pepper (as much as you want) ● Cooked turkey or chicken, chopped ● Cilantro, minced ● 1/2 avocado, sliced ● Butter

● Prep all of your ingredients for assembly. ● Heat up a cast iron griddle or skillet over medium heat. ● Place a touch of butter on the hot griddle. It should sizzle and melt. Place one slice of bread on the griddle to soak up the butter. Repeat with the other slice of bread. ● On top of one slice of bread place the sharp cheddar, onion, green chile, cilantro, avocado, turkey and then the mild cheddar. Top with the second slice of bread, buttered side out. ● Grill the sandwich on both sides until the bread is toasted and cheese is melted. ● Enjoy!

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Tuscan Pork Chops Ingredients ● 1/4 cup all-purpose flour ● 1 teaspoon salt ● 3/4 teaspoon seasoned pepper ● 4 (1-inch-thick) boneless pork chops ● 1 tablespoon olive oil ● 3 to 4 garlic cloves, minced* ● 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar ● 1/3 cup chicken broth ● 3 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced

How to Make It ● Combine first 3 ingredients in a shallow dish; dredge pork chops in flour mixture. ● Cook pork chops in hot oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat 1 to 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Remove chops from skillet. ● Add garlic to skillet, and sauté 1 minute. Add vinegar and broth, stirring to loosen particles from bottom of skillet; stir in tomatoes and capers. ● Return pork chops to skillet; bring sauce to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 4 to 5 minutes or until pork is done. Serve pork chops with tomato mixture. Garnish, if desired.

● 2 tablespoons capers ● Garnish: fresh parsley sprigs

*1 tablespoon bottled minced garlic may be substituted

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Biscochitos: Traditional New Mexican Cookies Biscochito Facts Biscochito (or bizcochito) is a crispy butter cookie flavored with anise and cinnamon.

It was developed, by residents of New Mexico, over the centuries from the first Spanish colonists of New Mexico.

The recipe for making the cookie has been greatly influenced not only by local and indigenous customs, but also by recipes brought to New Mexico by immigrants from other Hispanic countries.

Ingredints ● 3 or 4 eggs (depending on size) ● 4 cups flour ● 1 cup sugar ● 1 cup lard ● 1 tbsp. anise seeds ● 1 tsp. vanilla ● 1 tsp. baking powder

It is served during special celebrations, such as wedding receptions, baptisms, and religious holidays (especially during the Christmas season).

● cinnamon & sugar mixture for coating

It is usually eaten with morning coffee or milk, after lunch in the early afternoon, or dinner late at night. The cookie is seldom known outside its various territories.

● After eggs, sugar and vanilla are mixed thoroughly, add baking powder and flour. Mix in anise seeds (crushed to bring out the flavor).

Mix into a dough. It should be the consistency of pie crust dough.

In 1989, the state of New Mexico adopted the biscochito as its official state cookie. This act made New Mexico the first state to have an official cookie. It was chosen to help maintain traditional home-baked cookery.

Directions

● Roll out dough thick or thin (however you prefer). Cut cookies and dip in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar before baking. ● Bake at 350 for 12 to 15 minutes.

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Celebrations of mothers and motherhood can be traced back to the ancient Greeks and Romans, who held festivals in honor of the mother goddesses Rhea and Cybele, but the clearest modern precedent for Mother’s Day is the early Christian festival known as “Mothering Sunday.”

Goddess Rhea

More phone calls are made on Mother’s Day than any other day of the year. These holiday chats with Mom often cause phone traffic to spike by as much as 37 percent.

The roots of the modern American Mother’s Day date back to the 19th century. In the years before the Civil War (1861-65), Ann Reeves Jarvis of West Virginia helped start “Mothers’ Day Work Clubs” to teach local women how to properly care for their children.

Goddess Cybele

Once a major tradition in the United Kingdom and parts of Europe, this celebration fell on the fourth Sunday in Lent and was originally seen as a time when the faithful would return to their “mother church”—the main church in the vicinity of their home—for a special service.

These clubs later became a unifying force in a region of the country still divided over the Civil War. In 1868 Jarvis organized “Mothers’ Friendship Day,” at which mothers gathered with former Union and Confederate soldiers to promote reconciliation.

Another precursor to Mother’s Day came from the abolitionist and suffragette Julia Ward Howe.

In 1870 Howe wrote the “Mother’s Day Proclamation,” a call to action that asked mothers to unite in promoting world peace.

Over time the Mothering Sunday tradition shifted into a more secular holiday, and children would present their mothers with flowers and other tokens of appreciation. This custom eventually faded in popularity before merging In 1873 Howe campaigned for a “Mother’s with the American Mother’s Day in the 1930s and Peace Day” to be celebrated every June 2. Other 1940s. early Mother’s Day pioneers include Juliet

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PAGE 33 Calhoun Blakely, a temperance activist who inspired a local Mother’s Day in Albion, Michigan, in the 1870s.

The duo of Mary Towles Sasseen and Frank Hering, meanwhile, both worked to organize a Mothers’ Day in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Some have even called Hering “the father of Mothers’ Day.” The official Mother’s Day holiday arose in the 1900s as a result of the efforts of Anna Jarvis, daughter of Ann Reeves Jarvis.

Following her mother’s 1905 death, Anna Jarvis conceived of Mother’s Day as a way of honoring the sacrifices mothers made for their children. After gaining financial backing from a Philadelphia department store owner named John Wanamaker, in May 1908 she organized the first official Mother’s Day celebration at a Methodist church in Grafton, West Virginia.

That same day also saw thousands of people attend a Mother’s Day event at one of Wanamaker’s retail stores in Philadelphia.

Following the success of her first Mother’s Day, Jarvis—who remained unmarried and childless her whole life—resolved to see her holiday added to the national calendar.

Arguing that American holidays were biased toward male achievements, she started a massive letter writing campaign to newspapers and prominent politicians urging the adoption of a special day honoring motherhood.

Anna Jarvis

Anne Reeves Jarvis By 1912 many states, towns and churches had adopted Mother’s Day as an annual holiday, and Jarvis had established the Mother’s Day International Association to help promote her cause. Her persistence paid off in 1914 when President Woodrow Wilson signed a measure officially establishing the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day. Anna Jarvis had originally conceived of Mother’s Day as a day of personal celebration between mothers and families. Her version of the day involved wearing a white carnation as a badge and visiting one’s mother or attending church services. But once Mother’s Day became a national holiday, it was not long before florists, card companies and other merchants capitalized on its popularity.

While Jarvis had initially worked with the floral industry to help raise Mother’s Day’s profile, by 1920 she had become disgusted with how the holiday had been commercialized. She outwardly denounced the transformation and urged people to stop buying Mother’s Day flowers, cards and candies.

Jarvis eventually resorted to an open campaign against Mother’s Day profiteers, speaking out against confectioners, florists and even charities.

She also launched countless lawsuits against groups that had used the name “Mother’s Day,” eventually spending most of her personal wealth in legal fees. By the time of her death in 1948 Jarvis had disowned the holiday altogether, and even actively lobbied the government to see it removed from the American calendar.

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Y

�� ����, ��� think being a parent would be easy and glamorous.

But I managed. Leon was growing up. He was a happy baby he was always smiling, laughing and giggling.

Nothing was wrong, he was perfect.

For some parents, it is, but for others it isn’t. I first found out that I was pregnant for the first time at 20 and gave birth at 21.

It was a long and very hard pregnancy for the whole nine months. You think about the baby and how you're going raise him or her.

Once he reached fourteen months of age, I notice some odd things. He was always walking around in a daze, looking off like he was seeing something. He would flap or rotate his wrist and people would ask me what he was doing and I would always say it’s probably just a faze, he will get over it

You think and plan how life is going to be.

I would say the same thing over and over You have dreams and aspirations, wondering if he will be a doctor or business owner. A Republican again about other little things that my son would do, and I didn’t see it as anything bad or that there or Democrat. was something wrong with my son.

After being in labor for eight hours the doctor My husband came back from deployment from was going to induce labor but after breaking my the Middle East, and life was at its best. I was water my baby had plans of his own and he was happy and so was our son after not seeing daddy just ready to come out . for a long time. You could tell he was happy to He was beautiful and perfect; he was my see him as well as myself. world and he was my son.

When he turned eighteen months we took Being a military wife was hard, but being a him for his checkup. Our doctor wanted to us to mother to a newborn baby was more of a do a checklist of milestones of Leon’s progress. challenge.

Once we were done we gave it to the nurse and

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PAGE 37 waited for the doctor.

He came back into the room with a look of concern. I was worried there was something wrong.

He had told us that the checklist that we did was an autism questionnaire for Leon. I thought to myself what? What is autism?

As he continued to talk to us about his concerns he gave us a referral for us to take Leon to a specialist to do some testing on Leon. I was nervous and scared. My husband and I had never heard of autism. We didn’t know if it was a good or terrible.

Autism, or autism spectrum disorder, refers to a broad range of conditions characterized by challenges with social skills, repetitive behaviors, speech and nonverbal communication, as well as by unique strengths and differences.

We waited for about a week until they called us for an appointment. I was upset that my husband couldn’t make it to the appointment because he had to do Cpl. Course. So, I went on my own, scared since I didn’t have anyone to go with me.

I walked in with Leon we waited. Finally they took us to the back. They asked me questions while they watched as they asked Leon to play

with toys or for him to do a specific action with a toy.

After they were done I was told it would take a few days for them to go through their notes before giving us the test results.

I waited for the longest two days of my life for the call. After what seemed like an eternity, they called us in for the appointment. I was nervous and scared, fearing what they were going to say.

We were taken to a room and waited as Leon played with some toys in the room.

The specialists came in and sat down. They handed me a packet with the results of everything they had done with Leon. They said that Leon wasn’t reaching certain milestone expectations and that he was very delayed in certain developmental areas.

We got to the last page that was when I saw it, it said that Leon was autistic.

I didn’t know what to do but just thought to myself , wow ok.

I didn’t know how to react when they told me that they wanted him to start going to therapy After the appointment I walked Leon back to the car I looked at him kissed his forehead and hugged him tightly and put him in his car seat.

Story continues in the next issue

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PAGE 38 ● The World’s Most Expensive Caviar Or you could go for some Almas caviar, the rarest and most expensive form of Beluga caviar, reaching prices of almost $25,000 per kilogram.

● The World’s Most Expensive Spice And how about including a bit of saffron in the meal. Saffron, you see, is no ordinary spice. You need up to 170,000 saffron crocus flowers to produce one kilogram of dry saffron – that is enough flowers to fill two football fields.

● The World’s Most Expensive Chocolate Chocolates are a firm favorite on Mother’s Day (if a little unimaginative). But not many grateful children can afford the price of $2,600 per pound.

Considering it takes around 40 hours of labour to pick 150,000 flowers, you can understand why saffron is so expensive: in the West, the average retail price for saffron is $1,000.

● The World’s Most Expensive Omelette

That’s how much you’d have to shell out for Knischildt chocolates, a company based in Connecticut.

How about something simple, like an omelette?

You could take a trip to Le Parker Meridien restaurant in New York, where you can taste the world’s most expensive omelette for $1,000. It’s Founded by Danish culinary expert Fritz Knipschildt, the most expensive one-piece chocolate made with ten ounces of sevruga caviar, a whole lobster, and six eggs. is a hand-made dark chocolate truffle containing a French black truffle within it, consisting of 70% If you can’t quite stretch to that, it can be made at Valhrona cacao blended into a creamy grenache home for just $700. with truffle oil and lightly dusted with cocoa powder available for the princely sum of $250.

● The World’s Most Expensive Tea

● The World’s Most Expensive Flower Many people’s imaginations don’t run much beyond chocolates or flowers when it comes to Mother’s Day gifts. So if a floral gesture is more your style, how about you take a tip from the anonymous buyer who in 2005 paid $200,000 at auction for a unique orchid specially developed by agricultural scientists in Guangdong, China.

It’s not known whether or not they gave it to their mum, but whatever they did with it, let’s hope they kept it well watered, whoever they were.

If your mum has more homely tastes then maybe she’ll be happy with a nice cup of tea brought to her on Mother’s Day morning.

It’s a humble gesture but not quite so humble if you decide only the world’s most expensive tea bag will do the job.

At the last evaluation a single teabag was worth the cool sum of $9,600. Commissioned by PG to commemorate their 75th anniversary the price is understandable when you consider it was decorated

by Boodles Jewelers with 280 diamonds.

● The World’s Most Expensive Truffles Another fine and worthy Mother’s Day tradition is to treat mum to a thoughtful and distinctly amateurish homemade meal.

If you really want to show how much you care, you could prepare a fine repast including some white truffle. These mushrooms originate from the Piedmont region of northern Italy and will set you back around $1,350 to $2,700 per pound.

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Each Mother's Day, flower shops and restaurants see big boosts in business. But it's not just roses and brunch that people turn to as they celebrate the women who gave them life -- it's YouTube, too.

Well, sort of. More specifically, it's the songs on YouTube. Each Mother's Day, YouTube sees a big spike in views for many mom-related tunes. In honor of this year's holiday, YouTube shared with Billboard data on 12 songs that, since 2012, have experienced the biggest boosts in daily views.

From hip-hop to metal to Latin pop to country, it's an eclectic bunch. No. 1 won't shock you, but the popularity of No. 4 each Mother's Day will probably come as a surprise.

One entry on this list, "Dear Mama" from 2Pac, will probably be a song many turn to this Mother's Day given the recent passing of the late rapper's mother, Afeni Shakur.

In terms of methodology, YouTube filtered for songs that enjoyed at least twice the amount of

views on Mother's Day when compared to their daily average throughout that year. YouTube only looked at well-known tracks that average at least 10,000 views a day to begin with.

Revisit these great musical tributes to ma below.

12. Danzig – "Mother" 11. Pink Floyd – "Mother" 10. Roberto Carlos – "Lady Laura" 9. 2Pac – "Dear Mama" 8. Carrie Underwood – "Mama's Song" 7. Juan Gabriel – "Amor Eterno​" 6. Ricardo Arjona – "Mi novia se me está poniendo vieja" 5. Jorge & Mateus – "Ciclo" 4.Justin Timberlake – "Motherlover" 3. Pesado – "Mi Primer Amor" 2. Denise De Kalafe – "Señora, Señora, Señora" 1. Boyz II Men – "A Song for Mama"

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Fort Stanton-Snowy River Cave

F

��� S������ ��� an interesting history—above and below the surface.

The U.S. Army built the post in 1855 as a base of operations against raiding Mescalero Apaches, and in July 1878 its soldiers marched 10 miles east to Lincoln to support the MurphyDolan faction in the Lincoln County War.

lamps, ropes, haversacks, tin canteens.

Probably not the best equipment for a cave tour.

According to historian Lynda A. Sánchez, officers and others with ties to the fort were also avid cavers. “In 1855 Emil Fritz and other Company K troopers went on a ‘patrol’ underground,” she explains, “with orders to observe and explore topography that might interest the military.

Fritz and others signed their names on a cave wall.” Lieutenant Orsemus Boyd and Captain Casper H. Conrad later became cavers, building a boat in the early 1870s to cross what they thought was an underground lake. “It was a bust and sank, almost drowning Conrad,” says Sánchez.

The sodiers were eqipped with .44 caliber pistols belted around their waists and musketoons. They also had bulky whale oil

“Conrad’s Branch, inside Fort Stanton Cave, is named for him, and today pieces of ‘Conrad’s boat’ are still visible in the mud near

This was about the same time soldiers had chased Apaches into the interior of the sinkhole now known as Fort Stanton Cave.

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PAGE 47 Inscription Rock and along the sides of the cave.”

Newspaperman Ash Upson—later ghostwriter of Pat Garrett’s biography, The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid—described the cave in 1872:

into a white form of calcite. The formation is so impressive because it continually fills a passage of eight kilometers length.

It is thought to be the largest calcite formation in the U.S.A., although there is actually no way to measure this. Due to the scientific importance of the Snowy River In one place a lofty dome seems to pierce passage and the extremely fragile the roof of the outer world.…It confuses formations, this part of the cave is not open the sense to gaze so long upon the brilliant to the public. beauties of this place.

General [James Henry] Carleton and several other officers were more than two days and nights in the cave. They burned a box of candles but failed to find a terminus.

Five years later the Wheeler Survey, supervised by 1st Lt. George M. Wheeler, surveyed about 2 miles of the cave. They had only scratched the surface. “Today members of the Fort Stanton Cave Study Project have mapped more than 31 miles,” Sánchez says, “rivaling the length of Carlsbad Caverns.”

The most famous feature of Fort Stanton Cave is the Snowy River, a passage with a bright white crystal calcite formation covering the bottom. It actually looks like a river of snow, only the snow consists of white crystals.

Very slow moving, limestone rich ground water recrystallized the limestone

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A

�������� �� ����������, the more than those who were not lonely. While you hang out with mom, the longer isolation and being lonely can take a toll on anyone, the study found that it hits extra hard she’ll live the older we get.

Getting to hang out with your grandma is the best! From hearing great stories to enjoying all of their secret recipes, there really isn’t anything better. Plus, according to a new study, hanging out with your grandmother will actually help them live longer!

A study conducted by the University of California, San Francisco has found that adequate companionship can help extend and improve the quality of life for the elderly.

The study was conducted in a group of 1,600 adults with the average age of 71. Through the study, it was found that the adults who were lonely consistently held higher mortality rates

More or less, the older you are, the more you need these companionships in order to thrive.

While people often portray senior homes as a negative thing, they are actually quite beneficial in this sense. It is important for older generations to have a place where elderly friendships are encouraged. As a person ages, their social circle inevitably gets smaller and smaller. In group settings like this, it’s much easier to mingle, connect, and thrive.

Just think of it as getting a second go at the college lifestyle! It’s the perfect setting for making friends.

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T

����� L������ ���� to Texas, where he owned and operated a trading post. After making considerable money in the venture he decided to sell out and return to Iowa.

He was told that he could not leave Texas with any money. He thought he could outwit the natives. He arranged a party, inviting all the people to his former place of business and served all the liquor any and all wished to drink.

When he thought all those present were thoroughly drunk, he stepped outside to make his getaway on his horse, which was waiting nearby.

He did not make it.

A letter from the local sheriff to the family in Iowa told what happened.

The sheriff ended his letter by saying, 'I advise that you carry the investigation of the death of Thomas Lumpkin no further.'

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Must Have Ultimate RV Gadgets ● Light Blocking Curtains Curtains add texture and dimension to an interior. They also block heat. Light blocking curtains available at Walmart, Target and Hobby Lobby are a great RV addition. Not only will they customize and soften your RV, they will also save you money. Heating and cooling bills add up. Light blocking curtains provides extra insulation to keep your bills low. Sound good right?

RV. There are a variety of units available so be sure to read reviews to locate the right one for your unit.

● The Electric Fly Swatter Yup. They make these, and some RVers don’t want to live without them. Electric fly swatters or bug fryers are a great way to keep your RV free of pests!

● Carbon Monoxide Alarm ● Solar Oven Why heat up your kitchen when you don’t have to? Use the sun to cook your food. The GoSun portable cooker is an easy to use cylinder style oven. It folds down for easy storage. The NurtureNatur portable fold flat oven is another affordable option. This reflective bag works with your own pans to cook food without energy.

● Cell Signal Booster You are out in the middle of nowhere camping when your phone rings. Unfortunately, you don’t have enough bars to take the call. You dash left and right trying to find a signal to no avail. What should you do? Easy! A cell booster will increase the range of your phone, especially inside your

If your rig didn’t come with a Carbon Monoxide Alarm, get one. These alarms detect gas leaks that humans can’t always smell. This is especially important if you own a diesel pusher and your bed is in the back to the engine.

● Front of Sink Cutting Board If you’re anything like me, you never have enough counter top space. That’s why I love this Undermount front of sink cutting board. It hooks to the counter and allows you to slice, dice and chop at the sink. Toss the scraps into the garbage disposal and rinse your produce all in one easy step.

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Cool Must Have Car Gadgets

● Road Shower With the Road Shower, you can have a hot pressurized shower on your vehicle. The water is solar heated even while driving.

● The No Blind Spot Rear View Mirror This is the rear view mirror used by police officers and pro racecar drivers to reduce blind spots.

● RoadPro 12-Volt Portable Stove Heat things up while on the go with this 12-volt portable stove. This handy portable stove warms food up to 300 degrees and is easy to bring along.

● R2-D2 USB Car Charger R2-D2 whistle sadly when he sees a device that’s run out of power. Make him bloop and bleep happily again by letting him use your vehicle’s power to recharge your devices

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From routine maintenance to backed up systems,

We here to help.

Serving Otero and Lincoln County

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Releasing the Buffalo An Apache Legend

By Pliny Earle Goddard in 1911 Compiled and edited by Kathy Weiser/Legends of America

L

��� ���, ���� were camping about burning brought it near the dog's eyes. After a over on the plain without food. They while he cried, Wau." "You may keep it, it’s only a dog. It does not know anything," the father said were playing the hoop and pole game. Raven came from nobody knew "Its name will be înôldî (choke)," said the child. where and took off his quiver. Inside of the Raven had the buffalo all shut up. He opened quiver were intestines.

Magpie took them out. They watched Raven to see which way he would start home. When it was evening he started off flying up toward the sky-hole. "You must all watch him," they said to each other. Everyone was looking at him.

He kept circling about until he became very small and few could see him. When he was so far off that no one else could see him, Rattlesnake and Bat still could make him out.

When he was at the top of the sky and out of sight, he flew across this way to the east where the Black Mountains range from north to south.

When he reached them he went to the junction of canyons. Only the two could see him.

The people moved their camp four times before they came to him. They found he had very much meat there which he (Raven) distributed to the people. They asked him about the buffalo but he would not tell them.

Then they changed an Apache into a puppy, making eyes for him of black obsidian. They hid him under a brush bed and moved their camp away.

The children of Raven came around the deserted camp and finding the dog, took him up.

Raven's smallest child folded his arms about him and carried him home.

His father said to the children, "He was lying there to find out something."

the door when he wanted to kill some of them.

That was the way he secured the meat. The dog went along with them and they fed it. When it was dark and they had all gone to bed, the dog went over there and opened the door.

The buffalo started out. They had nearly all gone out before Raven noticed it.

He ran over there with his quiver, shooting at them as they rail past. When all his arrows were gone but one, he looked at the door for the man who had become a dog. There was an old buffalo going out which could hardly get to its feet.

The man caught hold of this buffalo and went out with it clinging to the opposite side. Raven paid no attention to it and stood there holding his bow with the one arrow looking for the man in vain.

The man overtook the others who had moved their camp away, "I turned the buffalo all loose," he told them.

They turned back, moving their camp to the buffalo, where they killed many of them and were no longer hungry.

Raven told his children, "You will live on the meat that is left on the backbone and on the eyeballs."

Long ago they were hungry but he let the buffalo out and then they had plenty to eat. That way he did.

The child did not want to give up the dog. The father put the poker in the fire and when it was

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Ingredients ● 1 cup wine ● 4 Tbsp gelatin ● 1/2 tsp stevia (optional) ● 2 -4 Tbsp maple syrup

Directions ● In a saucepan, warm the wine on low heat. I put a thermometer in it and made sure it didn’t go much above 90 degrees. ● Add the gelatin one Tbsp at a time, and stir very well before adding more. ● After the gelatin has completely dissolved, add the other ingredients. Taste the mixture after adding each one—you’ll have to use your taste buds as a gauge for how much sweetener to add ● Once your mixture is ready, either use a spoon to fill a mold ● Put them in the fridge to set - two or three hours ● Enjoy

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Operation Soldier Smiles ‌ Bringing smiles to the front line Operation Soldier Smiles is hard at work assembling care packages for service members deployed overseas.

Operation Soldier Smiles was founded Oct.1, 2004, by Maggie Fazenbaker, an 11year-old 7th grader at Chaparral Middle School who was concerned about the happiness and well-being of active duty soldiers far from home.

Her first inspiration was a care package sent to her father, Paul Fazenbaker, who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom.

"I got to see what was in the box," Miss Fazenbaker wrote in a recent e-mail. "I

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PAGE 75 thought it was really cool that people from 20 years ago in his life, and some people that didn't even know him, sent him this package.

I thought I could do something like this, but I didn't know how to get started."

About that time, a Holloman family member called Maggie's mother, Annette Fazenbaker, to say they were moving to Hawaii and had donations from a Ruidoso church which needed to go to the war.

The woman told the Fazenbakers Holloman wasn't able to send the items, and she was no longer able to address the situation because of her move to Hawaii.

She was hoping the Fazenbakers would find a way to get the items to the Soldiers.

After many phone calls, the Fazenbakers determined the Fort Bliss Deployment Center was the place to go with their care merchandise. They took it there the last week of September 2004.

letter from a Soldier (who) received one of our packages. He was a middle school teacher (who) taught special ed in West Virginia; he was called up on reserve duty.

His letter was so wonderful. He had a grandson my age. He missed his students, and I felt like he was just like ... people I knew. I could not quit."

Maggie still sends smiles to deployed Soldiers. The Fazenbakers do not have to pay shipping charges, and the care packages are dropped along with supplies all over the war zone. The family has been involved in sending over 16,000 care packages so far.

For information on making donations or helping out Operation Soldier Smiles, contact the Fazenbaker family at: 575-434-5615 or email @ operationsoldiersmiles@gmail.com

Fort Bliss personnel talked to us and told us they hadn't had any care packages in at least six months. They thought people were forgetting because the war wasn't new news anymore.

"They gave us a list of what was acceptable to send and what was not allowed. We figured out what we could put in ZiplocÂŽ bags was just as much as a Soldier could carry in his jump pockets."

Miss Fazenbaker's class had been doing a book drive, and Maggie asked the principal if she could do a care package drive as a community service project.

"Everyone expected it to last about two months," Miss Fazenbaker said. "When school was done, I could not quit. I got a

Maggie shown here with another of her pet projects - hand made pillow cases that she donates to the Ronald McDonald House - over 600 for far!

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BRAIN TEASER ANSWERS 1. The wise son brought a candle and a box of matches.

After lighting the candle, the light filled the entire room.

2. A watermelon. The flesh to eat, the juice to drink, the rind to feed the pig and the seeds to grow a crop.

3. The third one. Lions that haven’t eaten in three years are dead.

4. It was a pinata.

5. They were a grandmother, mother and daughter.

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pottery to the Apaches in exchange for buffalo robes and dried meat.

The name "Apache" is a Spanish corruption of "Apachii," a Zuñi word meaning "enemy."

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 to the presence of Europeans within their homeland, when the expedition of Juan de Oñate entered the Pueblo country of the upper Rio Grande River Valley in the present state of New Mexico.

Oñate 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

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.

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 herds, the Apaches turned to Spanish cattle and horses. When the Spanish were able to conclude a treaty of peace with the Comanches in 1786, they employed large bodies of Comanche and Navajo auxiliary troops with Spanish regulars, in implementing an Apache policy that pacified the entire Southwestern frontier by 1790. Each individual Apache group was hunted down and cornered Story Continues Next Edition

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