Majestic Living Fall 2017

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contributors MarGareT CheaSebro has been a freelance writer for more than 30 years. her articles have appeared in many magazines across the country, some of those articles winning state and national awards. She was a correspondent for the albuquerque Journal and worked for several local newspapers. She is the author of the young adult fantasy/reality novel, The healing Tree, set in aztec. She also wrote the non-fiction book, healing with Trees: Finding a Path to Wholeness. a retired elementary school counselor, she is also a reiki Master and practices several alternative healing techniques.

She enjoys playing table tennis.

DoroThy NobiS has been a writer and editor for more than 25 years. She authored a travel guide, The insiders Guide to the Four Corners, published by Globe Pequot Press, and has been a frequent contributor to New Mexico Magazine.

Debra Mayeux, of Farmington, is an awardwinning journalist with recognitions from the associated Press of New Mexico and Colorado and the New Mexico Press association and the Colorado broadcast association. She has covered stories throughout the Southwest and in Mexico and Jordan, where she interviewed diplomats and the royal family. after nearly 20 years in the business, she recently opened her own freelance writing and media business. Mayeux enjoys the outdoors, reading and spending time with her family. She is the coordinator of Farmington Walk and roll, a Safe routes to School organization. She is married to David Mayeux and they have three children: Nick, alexander and Peter.

beN braShear has called the Southern San Juans home for most of his life. he holds a b.a. in Creative Writing from Fort Lewis College and has worked for Cutthroat: a Journal of The arts, as assistant poetry editor. he is currently working as a freelance writer and photographer based out of Durango, Colorado.

WhiTNey hoWLe was born and raised in Farmington and is proud to call San Juan County home. The richness of the landscape and the diverse people, culture and traditions are a photographer’s dream. Whitney has his b.a. in Visual Communication from Collins College in Tempe, ariz. he is a co-owner of howle Design and Photography — a family owned studio offering graphic design, photography, market research and consulting.

publisher Don Vaughan

sales

Clint Alexander

editor Cindy Cowan Thiele

administration

designer Suzanne Thurman

Lacey Waite

writers Dorothy Nobis, Margaret Cheasebro,

MAGAZINE Celebrating the Lifestyle, Community and Culture of the Four Corners Vol. 9, No. 4 ©2017 by Majestic Media.

Majestic Living is a quarterly publication.

Material herein may not be reprinted without expressed written consent of the publisher. If you receive a copy that is torn or damaged call 505.516.1230.

4 | MAJESTIC LIVING | FALL 2017

For advertising information

Ben Brashear, Debra Mayeux

Call 505.516.1230

photographers

Whitney Howle, Ben Brashear

Cover photo Comments

WhiTNey hoWLe Majestic Living welcomes story ideas and comments from readers. email story ideas and comments to editor@majesticmediausa.com.

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fallfeatures: 8 Different lives, different interests

Jessica Polatty and Jaimie Church are beautiful flowers in a “sister garden” that brought them together as children, separated them as teens, and as adultshas made them closer than ever.

By Dorothy Nobis

14 Happiness comes from family, friends and her students As a young girl, Kim Mizell’s world was full of friends, oil field families of which her own family was proud to be part of. Her father, the late Harold Cloer, was dedicated to the industry and worked hard to provide for his family.

By Dorothy Nobis

tests your 20 Business deductive powers A full coat of armor greeted me and my three friends as we stepped into the king’s study, intent on finding our birthright, stolen from us by a younger brother who ruled the kingdom so poorly that its people were in despair.

By Margaret Cheasebro

26 Navajo Lake Marina 2.0

The employees at Navajo Lake Marina are working where other people get to play, according to David Louton, who has enjoyed working there for the past 40 years.

By Debra Mayeux

6 | MAJESTIC LIVING | FALL 2017

students attend 30 FHS international thespian festival Student achievement in the performing arts is celebrated each summer as the top high school theater artists gather for the International Thespian Festival.

By Debra Mayeux

36 The tailor and the test pilot “That machine there, it’s a bar-tacker and it’ll blast 42 stitches per second through anything,” said Andrew Wracher, co-owner and proprietor of Bedrock Bikepacking Bags.

By Ben Brashear

and ACES 40 Brownings partnering with Pinon Hills

it really 45 Has been 24 years?

Community Church The road to the home of Gwyneth and Bob Browning is much like their life story.

By Dorothy Nobis

When you’re 18 years old and a recent high school graduate there are a lots of things going on in your life.

By Dorothy Nobis

FALL 2017 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 7

Different lives Different interests Sisters Jamie Church and Jessica Polatty team up to care for their mother Story by Dorothy Nobis Photos by Whitney Howle Sisters are different flowers from the same garden – Author unknown Jessica Polatty and Jamie Church are beautiful flowers in a “sister garden” that brought them together as children, separated them as teens, and as adults, has made them closer than ever.

Their parents divorced when Jamie was 12 and Jessica was 10, and both remained with their mother. Four years later, however, Jessica 8 | MAJESTIC LIVING | FALL 2017

moved in with her dad, and the dynamic of their relationship changed.

Grandma Helen As teens, their interests – and their friendship circles – were different in Durango, Colo, where they lived. But while each lived with a separate parent, they shared the guidance and the unconditional love of their grandmother, Helen. “’Tutu’ (a Hawaiian nickname commonly used

for a grandparent) was always there for us,” Jessica said. “It was like having a mother and a father figure. She had a big influence in our lives. She was open and adventurous and really didn’t care what anybody thought about her.”

The glue that held them together “Tutu was always there for us,” Jamie said.

“She was the glue that held us together.”

“Tutu” (Helen Crane) had a major influence on her granddaughters. They all lived in

Durango and Tutu shared her time – and her many talents – with Jamie and Jessica.

“When I was in college, my grandmother had friends that were between 18 and 80,” Jessica said with a laugh. “My grandmother and I shared party calendars. Helen still partied and had friends of all ages. My friends in college knew my grandmother before they knew me.

They’d meet me and say, ‘Oh, you’re Helen’s granddaughter.’”

“I was always worried about the future,” Jamie admitted. “And Jessica had a ‘who cares’ attitude. Tutu could deal with all of us and keeps us strong and sane.”

didn’t ‘take,” Jessica said of the two-year union, “but we did like each other”). Jessica never wanted children, but admits her two dogs, 10 chickens and a horse are her “babies.”

Their politics, religious beliefs and their lifestyles are different.

“I’ve been married for 30 years and I love decorating, flea markets and HGTV,” Jamie said with a smile. “I homeschooled my sons and I’m a people pleaser.

Jess is very talented. She sews, makes pottery and draws. She picks up (foreign) languages very fast and she’s so much more adventurous. She’s traveled the world.”

Different interests As young adults, Jamie and Jessica’s interests continued to be different. Both graduated from Fort Lewis College. Jamie married and had four children (a daughter died at birth) and Jessica traveled, had a brief marriage (it

Jessica’s work is like hanging out with friends While Jamie focused on her family, Jessica traveled, and her work included washing windows for a business and running errands for

elderly people. It was the “running errands” part that took her to the job she has loved for almost 15 years.

“Norm Tucker (the director of the Bloomfield Senior Center) was a friend and said I ought to apply for his job, because he was promoted to Community Services Director,” Jessica said. “Norm has always been able to put people where they’re supposed to be.”

Jessica was hired and, “It’s never been hard to come to work,” she said. “My work is like hanging out with your friends all day long.”

Jessica likens her friends at the senior center to her grandmother. “It is so refreshing to be with people who don’t have anything to prove and to hang out with people who are happy just as they are. I’ve learned so much from them, and I hope they’ve learned from me.”

A city of thirds There is an acceptance at the senior center FALL 2017 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 9

been a very good director,” Scott added.

“She knows how to get things done.”

While Jessica has devoted much of her life to senior citizens, Jamie’s career path took a slightly different turn.

Jamie’s path let her to Childhaven

that Jessica embraces. “I love that Bloomfield is a city of ‘thirds,’ (a third Native American, a third Hispanic and a third white),” she said.

“It’s great that they all intermingle very well.

We’re all just people and we don’t have to be identified by race or by culture. I see it every day – the discrimination melts the minute they walk through the (senior center) door.”

The seniors who go to the senior center regularly are big fans of their director.

“Shorty” Griffin has known Jessica since the director first arrived at the center.

“I fed my face out front,” Griffin said with a laugh, “until I decided I wanted to work here.”

In addition to “feeding” her face, Griffin volunteered in the kitchen, washing dishes and helping wherever needed. Four years ago, a paid position in the kitchen opened and Griffin jumped at the chance to work for Jessica.

“Jessica takes very good care of us old people,” Griffin said. “She takes more guff from us old people than she probably should.”

“Jessica is my best friend,” Griffin added.

“I can go and talk to her and I can give her my opinion and she gives me hers. We don’t always agree, but she’s a very important person to me and I consider her my best friend.”

“She’s very giving to everyone,” Griffin added. “She’s a neat lady and I love her dearly.”

10 | MAJESTIC LIVING | FALL 2017

With a slight pause, Griffin added, “Jessica is a fantastic little human being that God put on Earth for us old people.”

She knows how to get things done Stanley Scott also has known Jessica since she first started. “She’s really done a lot of improvements from what is was like back then,” Scott said. “Back then, we only delivered about 15 meals a day to people and now we deliver between 40 and 50.”

“She helps ramrod our fundraisers and she’s

Jamie has worked for Childhaven for almost 11 years and is the Childhaven Foundation Development Director. As the development director, Jamie works with donors – individuals and businesses who contribute financially to the organization.

“Childhaven does such important work for at-risk children and youth in our community,” Jamie said. “It is such a respected organization and I feel like I’m doing a job that really makes a difference.”

Erin Hourihan, CEO of Childhaven, said Jamie is a great asset to the organization.

“Jamie oversees all of the fund development activities, including the two main fundraisers, and she builds connections with our donors, volunteers and is the ambassador to the community,” Hourihan explained. “She excels in the limelight at community events where she can talk to people about what we do at Childhaven and the Childhaven Foundation and how they can help.”

“She exudes enthusiasm over her job and is

by far, one of the easiest people to work with,” Hourihan added.

Mom diagnosed with dementia About six years ago, when their mother was diagnosed with dementia, their lives – and their relationship – took an unexpected turn.

“We noticed that she (their mother) was forgetting too many things and that some of her decision-making wasn’t making much sense,” Jamie said. “She was also really starting to lose contact with friends, because she couldn’t remember who people were or how she knew them. Over time, it became difficult to recall words, which made it hard for her to carry on conversations with people.”

Sadness, helplessness and the knowledge that they were going to have to work together to be sure their mother was taken care of and her needs met, created a closeness and a need for each other, Jessica said.

“We were going to have to rely on the strengths that each of us possessed to make

sure that things did not fall through the cracks,” Jessica said. “It also takes a lot of communication, laughter, patience (which I am very bad at, but Jamie is great at), and being a shoulder for the other to cry on or to express our frustration for this chronic, debilitating disease.”

Teaming up to care for their mother For Jamie and Jessica, watching their mother struggle with dementia has been difficult.

“I miss having conversations with my mom about things, and it’s hard, knowing that she doesn’t remember much about our childhoods,” Jamie said. “I think I struggle with it most when there are big events – like my son’s marriage – because I really wanted to be able to share that with her and it just wasn’t possible.”

“My grandmother’s sister had Alzheimer’s for many years before her death,” Jessica said.

“Plus, working at the senior center, I have seen the devastation of the disease and how it can really change a person and their world. There is also lots of internal fear – will this be happening

to me as I get older? My grandmother and I have always been very philosophical about aging and dying and death. It makes sense that I need to get things done for my mother so she is comfortable and safe. People are probably horrified that I am so matter-of-fact about the situation, but you have to do what needs to be done.”

“I have worked with older adults for the past 15 years,” Jessica added. “It helps to know and accept that no one gets out alive.”

Because it is up to the two of them to join forces and care for their mother, they visit regularly and frequently work closely together.

“We both know that she is depending on us to make decision for her and to help her,” Jamie said of their mother. “Jessica and I take on different responsibilities in terms of her care, so it doesn’t become overwhelming to either one of us. I am just so very grateful that we all live close together and that Aztec, where my mother lives, is a small, caring community.”

Relationships Jessica said that just because she is her

Saturday, September 23 7:30PM Farmington Civic Center • Tickets $30 • fmtn.org/civiccenter FALL 2017 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 11

caregiver for her mother.

“I relate this to many families who hold lots of guilt that they should be the ones to step up and be the main caregiver for a family member,” Jessica said. “Family members may not make the best caregivers. This does not have to do with responsibility or guilt or even personalities. It has to do with positive outcomes for the person who needs the care and how best to reach those positive outcomes.”

“My mother and I have always had a strained relationship, so I know that being her caregiver is not what is in her best interests or mine,” Jessica added. “Jamie has a much different relationship with our mother than I do and my mother responds better to her. But being a full-time, effective caregiver is not an option for Jamie either. The three of us realize the situation and have agreed that a non-relative should be a caregiver for my mother.”

Finding the right caregiver is a challenge “We both want my mother to be able to stay in her home as long as possible and, in order 12 | MAJESTIC LIVING | FALL 2017

to do that, many things must be put in place so she is safe, comfortable and physically healthy,” Jessica said. “Many families are dealing with these same issues. It is day to day, every day.”

“Knowing that she is cared for will allow us to concentrate on all the other aspects of our lives that do not stop just because your mother has dementia,” Jessica said. “It will also allow all of us the freedom to simply be family without constantly coping with the disease and not seeing each other as mother and daughters anymore. I do realize that while I did not children of my own, I have now become the parent to my mother. I do not resent this role, but it is not something that any family wishes for.”

Renewed respect and admiration “Our mother has two small dogs that she loves and Jessica and I both feel that the companionship and they day-to-day care of the dogs is really good for her,” Jamie added.

“If we can keep her in her own home, she can keep her dogs with her. She does love to garden, so that is another activity that gets her outside and she can do that if she remains at home.”

The process of coping with their mother has brought a renewed respect and appreciation for these sisters.

“Jamie is patient and rarely (but sometimes) gets mad or frustrated with my mother when

dealing with certain situations,” Jessica said.

“Jessica works with senior citizens so she understands what programs and services are available for them and she’s really good at making sure we utilize what is available,” said Jamie. “We are both so different, but we are sisters and we are there for each other when the chips are down.”

No matter the differences between Jamie and Jessica, they are united in caring for their mother. The frustration, the concern, the caregiving have been challenges, but the sisters have become a united front in their mother’s behalf.

“I see my sister wanting to get things in order for my mother in order to ‘solve the problem,’” Jessica said, “which is not a bad thing. But, as I know as does she, it isn’t realistic. This is ongoing and day to day.

Winning small battles are great and we need to celebrate those wins.”

“I do realize we will never win this war,” Jessica added. “No one ever wins this war.”

FALL 2017 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 13

HAPPINESS

comES from

fAmIly, frIENdS ANd HEr StudENtS Kim Mizell’s priority is always what is best for the kids Story by Dorothy Nobis Photos by Whitney Howle As a young girl, Kim Mizell’s world was full of friends, oil field families that her own family was proud to be part of. Her father, the late Harold Cloer, was dedicated to the industry and worked hard to provide for his family.

When Mizell was five 5 old the family was transferred from Montezuma Creek, Utah, to El Paso’s Chaco Plant.

Harold Cloer had a dream he wanted for his family.

Careful with the family’s finances, he saved up enough money to make that dream come true.

“He wanted a family farm,” Mizell said. “We bought land on West Hammond (near Bloomfield), and we cleared sagebrush to get the land ready to farm.”

The “we” included Mizell’s mother, Carol, and her sisters, Colleen and Karen. The almost 100 acres of farm land required work – lots of work. “We cleared the first 50 acres first,” Mizell remembered. “We laid down pipe and we had to move the pipe three times a day – and that included 350 joints of pipe.”

“We worked and we got paid,” Mizell said of those early farming days. “And we got to spend our money on school clothes.”

That wasn’t the only “treat” the Cloer family enjoyed, however. “We’d go to Farmington to buy groceries and to 14 | MAJESTIC LIVING | FALL 2017

the drive-in movies. We’d buy groceries for a month, and we saw almost every John Wayne and Clint Eastwood movie.”

A labor of love If the farm was hard work, Mizell is quick to say that the farm was more than just work. “It was a labor of love for our family. My dad was a hard worker for El Paso, he worked hard on our farm, he raised livestock and he was a mechanic.”

“We all shared the same dream – keeping the farm up and running. We (the daughters) were involved in sports and 4-H. My family worked hard to get where we were and we were a strong unit – and we still are.”

Mizell’s mother, Carol Cloer, said while farming wasn’t easy, it did have benefits.

“All of the girls can operate farm equipment,” Carol said with a smile. “The work on the farm was hard.

We moved 240 joints of irrigation pipe twice daily from April 14 to October 15 each year, at 5:30 in the morning and at 4:30 in the evening.”

“I think the thing Kimberly learned from that (farming) experience is to ‘hold up your end of the work or it makes

it harder on everyone.’ She and her sisters (Colleen Cloer Anderson and Karen Cloer Baird) learned that cooperation helped make the job easier.”

position, then moved into the company’s management training program. She was a buyer, designed clothes, and developed lines for the company before being transferred to Palm Springs, California, where she worked for the then-popular I. Magnin, a luxury department store.

By then, Mizell had married and become a mother to her first child, James. She eventually went to work for Ann Taylor, a women’s specialty clothing store.

Small town girl Carol and Harold Cloer wanted the best for their daughters, and that included college.

After graduating from Bloomfield High School, Mizell enrolled at San Juan College in 1982.

While she enjoyed the classes at San Juan College, she loved the ski slopes of Colorado more.

“I transferred to Fort Lewis College and got a part time job at Purgatory (ski resort),” Mizell remembered. “I worked three days a week on the mountain, had classes in between and got my business degree, with an emphasis in marketing.” While in college Mizell did an internship with then New Mexico’s Representative, Bill Richardson, in Washington, D.C. She also moved to New York City, where she commuted to downtown Manhattan every day.

Managing the feed store with dad

“I was this small town girl, getting to enjoy the big city every day,” Mizell said with a laugh.

Off to Denver Mizell took her degree and headed to Denver, where she started her career in retail at May D&F, a large department store. Mizell quickly moved into an assistant manager

In 1994, Mizell was divorced and returned home with her son to help her parents with Cloer Hay and Feed Store, west of Farmington.

“I managed it with my dad and we had a great time,” Mizell said, adding that the store became a visiting spot for friends and neighbors. “It was a family project, with my dad and my brother-in-law, and it was hard work – but it was fun.”

Teaching degree When Harold Cloer had a heart attack, the store closed and Mizell went to work for Buchanan Consultants in Farmington, and returned to school. With her mother’s encouragement, she got her teaching certificate and went to work for the Bloomfield School District, where she started the after-school program and taught first and second grades at Central Primary School.

After four years at Central, Carolyn Poore left as principal at Blanco Elementary School and Mizell moved into that position. At the suggestion and with the support of then Bloomfield School Superintendent, Dr. Harry Hayes, Mizell went on to get her doctorate degree.

“When Kimberly decided to get her doctorate, we talked,” said Mizell’s mother, Carol. “I encouraged her to apply and helped as much as I could with my grandson (James).

Kimberly’s husband was also very supportive.”

“She burned a lot of midnight oil to keep up with all the aspects of her life,” Carol Cloer added.

16 | MAJESTIC LIVING | FALL 2017

Three Rivers Education Foundation Completing her doctorate work in three years, and following the death of her father in 2012, Mizell worked with Three Rivers Education Foundation and the Northern Region Educational Cooperative No. 2 in a partnership with Principals Pursuing Excellence: New Mexico Public Education Department, which builds a leadership program. While she loved the program, Mizell’s career path took yet another turn.

Home again The Bloomfield School District had an opening for a superintendent and, “I came home again,” Mizell said with a smile.

Coming home also meant coming into a district that was faced with meeting Common Core State Standards, a challenging situation for teachers, administrators, parents and students.

Her students are a priority Committed to meeting those challenges,

Mizell said her priority has been – and will continue to be – her students.

“I don’t want one more generation of kids not to be prepared for what they will face in the future,” she said. “They deserve our best, no matter what. I have a love of education and I want what’s best for them (students) and that’s my belief.

“When I grew up, there was more autonomy in teaching directives, but now we don’t have the luxury of doing fun things as much,” Mizell continued. “It’s hard to get teachers to break away (from the old system). They’re simply not allowed to think for themselves. A lot of educational requirements are mandated, monitored and have to be controlled. This has resulted in less freedom for teachers in the learning environment, ‘the classroom.’”

“If I had to get back into teaching in that environment, I’m not sure I’d survive the controls. Somehow we have lost the love of teaching, with all the regulations. We give it our best here (Bloomfield schools), but it’s challenging.”

Those challenges are balanced by one

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important thing for Mizell – her love of the kids.

“I can’t adopt them all, but I can help fulfill their academic needs. I think about what I can do for them while they are with me and under my care. I give them the best I can, but there is just so much we can’t control.”

Making a difference in her home town Patricia Marquez is the Bloomfield Schools Federal Programs Director, and is a beneficiary of the leadership Mizell offers the district.

“Dr. Mizell’s heart is pure gold, and it is for the people of the communities she serves,” Marquez said. “She has given her time and talent to promote others in the field of education.”

Marquez said she received a master’s degree and became a principal because of Mizell’s vision for teachers. “She has supported 55 teachers who she felt had the talent to pursue administrative and special education positions in the state,” Marquez said. “I was a principal for five years at Nizhoni Elementary in Shiprock, where the work I did was solely for the

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FALL 2017 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 17

rising, the graduation rate is at an all-time high,” Maes continued. “Dr. Mizell has a drive for the children of the Bloomfield schools. She cares for every child and we are honored and grateful for her efforts.”

“Kim is not one to toot her horn,” Maes added, “so I will toot it for her.”

With a background of marketing, fashion, retail and her intense focus on education, Dr. Mizell has utilized her experience, education and training to enhance the Bloomfield School District, through the annual magazine publication, by attending as many school functions as possible and promoting a positive image.

Choosing happiness

community. I feel I made a positive difference there with the help of my mentor, Dr. Mizell.”

Back home in her own community of Bloomfield, Marquez said Mizell continues to make a positive difference in the education of Bloomfield students.

“It is a blessing to have a superintendent who truly cares about families, teachers, and, above all, the students,” Marquez added. “She is hands on and ensures that she knows what is happening in the district. She never looks at a problem with negativity, but engages it to ensure a positive outcome.”

“She works collaboratively with all of her (leadership) cabinet and values our opinions and our thoughts,” she added. “I have witnessed her turn around schools, mentor principals, and truly love the students she serves.”

Marquez isn’t the only one who appreciates Mizell’s leadership. Jodie Maestas is the Director of Finance for the Bloomfield School District and has known the superintendent for several years.

“She is one of the finest supervisors I’ve ever had,” Maestas said, “and she is a real joy to work with. On a personal level, Dr. Mizell is kind, funny and witty. You feel at ease when you are in her presence and she really has a loving spirit and really cares for the people 18 | MAJESTIC LIVING | FALL 2017

who work for her.”

“As a superintendent, she is a strong leader, has direction, sets goals and strives for excellence,” Maestas added. “She is the type of leader I enjoy working with because you know the direction you are going. She faces the everyday challenges and she handles them with grace and humility. She doesn’t let them get her down. In fact, she looks them in the face, tackles them and keeps on going!”

Waking a sleeping giant Dale Maes is the president of the Bloomfield School Board and said selecting a superintendent for the district was not easy.

“It is one of the hardest jobs a school board has to do,” Maes said. “When we were looking for a new superintendent for Bloomfield Schools, we wanted a person who could shake this sleeping giant. We needed someone to push our district to new levels.”

When Mizell was interviewed by the board, she shared the passion for the district that the board has, Maes said. “She had a drive we were looking for. Now that she’s been in office for a couple of years, she has awakened that sleeping giant (and taken it) to new levels.”

“She has accomplished so much in the past two years – test scores are rising, attendance is

Mizell hopes to find more time to spend with her family, which includes Greg her husband of 22 years, son, James, and daughter, Emily, who is 14 and a student at Mesa Alta. A trip last year took the family across the United States in their RV, covering 5,400 miles and enjoying Mount Rushmore, the Henry Ford Museum, the Mall of America, Niagara Falls, Washington, D.C., Tennessee and Dallas.

“It was wonderful, but I want to see it all,” Mizell said.

Seeing it all, doing it all, helping Bloomfield students, teachers and staff work for – and achieve – the best, and making it all look easy is a definition of Mizell. Her parents encouraged her and her sisters to be positive and to make a difference.

“We taught all three girls to think ‘I can’ rather than ‘I can’t,’” said her mother, Carol Cloer.

“When confronted with a difficult situation that requires confrontation or a decision, they should do it with kindness, but do it.”

“We have two choices in this short life,” Cloer added. “We can be happy or not. The choice is up to us.”

For Kim Mizell, that choice is easy. Her happiness comes from her family, her friends and her students.

“We (educators) can’t lose faith (in the system),” Mizell said. “We have too many kids to educate and support. It’s all about the students and our vision must always be what is best for our kids.”

business tests your deductive powers Escape Games NM provides challenging family fun, team building Story by Margaret Cheasebro Photos by Whitney Howle A full coat of armor greeted me and my three friends as we stepped into the king’s study, intent on finding our birthright, stolen from us by a younger brother who ruled the kingdom so poorly that its people were in despair. We had 60 minutes to find our birthright before the guards found us and killed us.

Vonda Stowell, our hostess at Escape Games NM in Aztec, informed us that the escape room, Quest for the Throne, had a 40 percent success rate. At least we wouldn’t be alone if we failed to find the birthright!

All kinds of locks secured many drawers that held clues we needed to find our birthright. Keeping one eye on the clock and its message board — that gave us clues when we didn’t know what to do — we worked our way through many logic puzzles that required us to stretch our minds and exercise our thinking skills.

Worked so hard We worked so hard! But, alas, when the 60 minutes ended we still had not found the birthright. Instead of the murderous guards finding us, Vonda entered the room and complimented us on the things we did right. She’d been watching and listening the whole time via a computer and set of headphones and sending us clues when we needed them.

“Do you want to finish the room?” she asked. No, we decided. We wanted to come back for another full 60-minute try on another day. This was too much fun!

Vonda told us not be discouraged. She had helped to build the room and put together the puzzles. She thought it would take a mere 20 minutes for her to make it through the room with some visiting relatives. “We didn’t make it out,” she confessed.

Our egos somewhat soothed, we let her take our picture as we held signs with 20 | MAJESTIC LIVING | FALL 2017

variations of the message that we didn’t find our birthright.

Vonda’s daughter, Deanna Haynie, would later post the pictures on Facebook and Instagram for all to see.

Three rooms, more coming More than 100 people have tried their luck in the Quest of the Throne escape room since Deanna and Vonda opened the business in March. Now there are two additional rooms, Aunt Elna’s Inheritance and Carat Capers, each with their own story. But Vonda and Deanna don’t intend to stop there. They plan on building three additional rooms.

Escape rooms are popular all over the nation, and there are a lot of them in Arizona.

In the Four Corners area, they’re a new concept for many people. There is an escape room business, Conundrum, at 736 Main Ave., Suite 100, in Durango, Colorado, but there were none in northwest New Mexico until Deanna and Vonda, with a lot of help from family, opened Escape Games NM. “We wanted to bring something to the area that was good, clean, wholesome fun,” Deanna said. “It’s a destination activity, so you can be a little bit further away, and people will drive to it because it’s something different.”

Former barbecue business She and Vonda lease what used to be the Red Barn Barbecue from owners Carl and Lori Vandruff at 200 S. Ash St. in Aztec.

Carl and Lori have been through two of their escape rooms.

“It’s a lot more fun than I thought it was going to be,” said Lori. “It’s a great date night. It challenges your brain. The time goes by really fast.”

People who go through a room want to come back for more.

“I absolutely loved it,” said Aaron Moore of Aztec. “It was some of the best entertainment I’ve experienced in San Juan County. I did one room with some friends and liked it so much I went back the next day and did another room.”

FALL 2017 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 21

our kids at home. It was just the adults. We all went out and did something fun together. It’s interactive, so you’re not sitting there in a movie where you can’t talk. And you’re using your brain. You go in, and you’re racing against the clock, so you’ve got that adrenaline. You’re having to figure out things that you normally wouldn’t have to figure out. You don’t know what to expect in any of the rooms.”

The rooms are also great for teenagers, but young children may not enjoy the experience.

Never thought they’d do this

Family activity Vonda and Deanna had a similar reaction when they experienced their first escape rooms in Arizona with members of their large family.

Vonda and her husband, Dean, have eight

children and a lot of grandchildren.

“We love to do things as a family,” said Deanna. “It’s fun when you find things that you can all do together. We got to go out on a date night. We all had babysitters, and we left

One of Deanna’s sisters, Brenda Filbrun and her husband, Dave, own Escape Games Arizona in Mesa, and another sister works for Brenda.

Deanna and Vonda never thought they’d own a business like that, but things changed after Vonda’s husband, Dean, experienced an escape room in Arizona. When Dean was offered the chance to go through an escape room, he turned it down. When he found out he’d do it with family members, he reluctantly agreed to go. He was recovering from a bone marrow transplant and got sick easily.

Dean had worked in the oil field for decades. “He got benzene poisoning from the oil field, so he had the transplant,” Deanna explained. “He hasn’t been able to go back into the oil field because he can’t be around benzene.”

In spite of his weakened condition, Dean loved the escape room experience. “He came out and said ‘you need to do this,’” Vonda said.

Mother, daughter take the plunge

8

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Deanna thought it might be a good business opportunity for a mother-daughter duo even though she already ran a real estate business from her home, researching chain of title.

The home-based business was perfect for her family. Deanna and her husband, Jared, have four children, ages 18 to 2.

Vonda mulled over Dean’s suggestion.

During the two years Dean was undergoing the bone marrow transplant and recovery in Arizona, Deanna and her family had supported him and Vonda. They were grateful for the

help, so Vonda decided to take the plunge.

“This was our way of helping her with money and a little bit of extra income on the side,” Vonda said. They chose the name Escape Games NM to have an unofficial connection with Brenda’s Escape Games Arizona business.

Different personalities Vonda is 63, and Deanna is 40. They have different personalities. Vonda is more laid back, and Deanna is more aggressive, but at the end of the day they get everything done.

Because Dean has the know-how, he has done much of the building on the three escape rooms. Vonda has done a lot of it too, thanks to skills she picked up in San Juan College’s building trades program. Each room must not only be built, but also furnished, and all the clues and puzzles installed. Deanna follows their directions and takes the lead on the technology side of the business, including maintaining an Internet presence and making up all the fliers.

It takes time and money, but they have moved forward without getting any loans.

They purchased room ideas from someone in Canada and tweaked them to make the rooms unique.

Brenda and Dave helped with lots of clue and puzzle ideas that worked in their Arizona business. They introduced Deanna to Bookeo, a

software program that lets people book the rooms on the web at www.EscapeGamesNM.com.

Brutal months of preparation When Deanna and Vonda first began renting the Aztec building in October 2016, there was a lot of work to do. “At the beginning we were here twelve hours a day six days a week,” Deanna said. “It was brutal. When I got home, my 8- year-old was attached to my leg.”

When they finished building two escape rooms and opened their business in March, their hours weren’t quite so long. But there’s still a lot to do. They plan to build three more escape rooms, and they’re gearing up to have a spook house in the party area of the business this October.

But more than anything they’re spending lots of time introducing people to the concept of escape rooms. Their games are linear, so the puzzles must be solved in a specific order. “You have to solve one puzzle to get to the next,” Deanna said. “Sometimes you may have four or five people working on one puzzle and a couple of other people listening and watching.”

Work cooperatively The goal is for people to work cooperatively to be successful. At the end of 60 minutes, if people didn’t make it through the FALL 2017 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 23

room, Deanna and Vonda provide encouraging, helpful comments. They offer a video playback so groups can see how they could have worked together better.

“It’s interesting when we watch them on the monitor to see how they interact with each other and how they do,” Vonda said. “It’s kind of like a psychology class.”

Their normal days of operation are Thursdays through Saturdays. On Thursday their first game begins at 4 p.m. and their last game starts at 8:30 p.m. On Friday, the first game is 4 p.m. and the last game begins at 10:15 p.m.

On Saturdays, the first game is at 10 a.m., and their last game starts at 10:15 p.m.

“Believe it or not, we’ve had a lot of people do that 10:15 p.m. time slot,” Deanna said.

Host birthday and other parties They also open on special days for people who want to have a birthday, anniversary or other type of party. It can include just renting

a space with round tables for the party and, if needed, warming tables for food, or it can include experiencing one or more of the

rooms. Soon they hope to serve Spudnuts, soft drinks and coffee through the drive-up window Monday to Saturday mornings.

They offer a breakout box for younger age groups. “It’s basically an escape room in a box,” Deanna said. “I took one to my daughter’s school, and they did it as a class.

The kids had so much fun with it. They were all engaged. They had a great time. There are a few hundred scenarios in that breakout box, and they’re all written by teachers. They’re fun for the kids and educational too.”

Team building experience The escape rooms have been popular, and several businesses have sent their employees through one as a team building experience.

Four Corners Community Bank Customer Service Manager Heather Skelton went through an escape room along with other customer service managers during a team-building day.

“It was challenging and fun at the same time,” she said. “Excellent for team building.”

Deanna and Vonda are getting excited about hosting the spook house, about building three more rooms, and adding Spudnuts to their business. There won’t be much slowing down for this adventurous mother-daughter duo.

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Navajo Lake Marina 2.0 Owner Jarrett Johnson wants to introduce a new generation of boaters to the beauty of Navajo Lake Story by Debra Mayeux Photos by Whitney Howle The employees at Navajo Lake Marina are working where other people get to play, according to David Louton, who has enjoyed working there for the past 40 years. Louton has seen the marina change throughout the years, and most recently worked through a $4.6 million expansion and upgrade of the once out-of-date facility.

The changes came about after Jarrett Johnson and his mother, Margaret Vandervalk, of Dallas, Texas, decided to purchase the marina in July 2013.

“I knew I wanted to own a marina, from a very early age,” Johnson said. He visited more than 3,000 marinas in 20 countries and 40 states, before deciding to invest in San Juan County’s marina.

God’s country “I love the Four Corners area,” said

Johnson, of Bayfield, Colo. “It’s God’s country – beautiful.”

Johnson grew up in Dallas and was no stranger to the water. He began boating at the tender age of 2. “My parents owned boats – lake boats and ocean boats,” he said. “I love anything that floats. In Dallas, Johnson had a small boat cleaning business and has taught himself about the marina business. He’s learned everything about boats and water sports including being a scuba diver, which came in handy recently at Navajo Lake.

A monsoon rescue With the monsoon season at hand, a storm had blown into the lake. A boat owner, who had a 26-footer, decided to pull into the dock rather than ride out the storm. Once the boat was docked, it began taking on waves to the broadside.

“The boat went vertical and started to sink,” Johnson said. There was a passenger onboard and two dogs left inside the cabin. The passenger got off the boat, but the dogs – a Hound and a Heeler - were trapped as it quickly sank.

“I ran and grabbed my diver gear,” said Johnson, who jumped in the water to save the animals. It was a dangerous situation as fuel poured into the water, and dive gear that would not fit through the hatch.

A Good Samaritan offered Johnson some goggles to protect his eyes, and the Marina owner dove back down and removed his dive gear to enter the hatch.

“There was a little air pocket that was hard to find,” he said, adding that he did locate it and the dogs, that were spooked from the ordeal.

Johnson said the rescue was a “challenge,” because he had to move the dogs 10 feet FALL 2017 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 27

date the marina’s buildings and restaurant. He committed to the state that he would build a new restaurant and store in 2016, and the state granted him a 30-year lease on the property, making Johnson the only marina owner in New Mexico’s history to receive that lengthy a lease.

Local sourcing Construction began in November 2016 with Marine Development Inc. acting as the dock builder, FBI Architects designing the project and Winters Construction doing the work.

“We wanted to source as many things as we could locally,” Johnson said.

The completed project is a small city on a half-acre of floating platforms. The buildings make up 7,000 square feet, consisting of a 4,500-square-foot store with office space, a restaurant, updated restrooms and a rental office. The facility received an R-value rating for energy conservation.

“We are using less energy in a building that is three times the size of the old building. That is really nice,” Johnson said.

Repurposing the old building

while underwater, but he managed to get them out safely.

“Anyone with the proper gear and training would have done the same thing,” Johnson said.

Customers are family For Johnson, saving someone’s pets from a sinking boat, goes along with his philosophy that his customers should be treated like family.

“We know our customers have lots of options of where to spend their disposable income, so here we treat them like family,” he said.

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Johnson started by immediately investing in the Navajo Lake Marina, once he and Vandervalk purchased it in July 2013. They put $1.5 million into expanding the rental fleet and building 60-foot and 100-foot uncovered slips for boat storage. This provided more slips, which were lacking under the former owner.

Updating the marina and restaurant Once that project was completed, Johnson decided to invest another $3.6 million to up-

And he didn’t get rid of the old buildings.

By next year, Johnson hopes to turn the old 240-square-foot office into an exercise facility for slip holders, and he hopes to make the old maintenance building a banquet hall for special events and birthday parties.

Another plan for next year is to expand the already large rental fleet. The marina currently offers 20 motor boats, three stationary floating lodges, new pontoon boats, three party barges, jet skis, paddleboats, hydro bikes, kayaks and paddle boards. Johnson also put down payments on houseboats, which will be available to rent and take up the lake next season.

Brue Café All of these upgrades and purchases mean that Navajo Lake State Park and Marina provides water sport enthusiasts with 100 mooring balls to accommodate boats, 350 wet slips, transient dockage, fuel and pump-out facilities,

Next stop Navajo Lake

a store, office, gas dock and Brue Café, the only floating restaurant in New Mexico.

Brue Café is independently operated by David Folk, who used to operate the now-closed Java Junction.

The restaurant serves up American cuisine including appetizers, wraps, burgers, fish and chips, chicken fried steak and calamari, which Johnson said is his favorite. The seating is both indoor and outdoor with roll-up

doors to bring the outside in, allowing for greater enjoyment of the scenery.

Navajo Lake itself is 400 feet deep with 160 miles of shoreline. It has 244 developed campsites, a primitive beach and in-boat camping.

“Dallas has a ton of lakes – mud holes,” Johnson said. “This (Navajo Lake) has some of the prettiest water and canyons and coves.”

It is Johnson’s great desire to foster and encourage a new generation of boaters. “We want to provide a progression to go from an introduction to the water to seeing them get hooked on the natural beauty that is out here,” he said.

The lake’s beauty and the outdoors get in the blood, Louton said. He enjoys “being able to get out and get away from the hustle and bustle” by working in the rental shop. “I get to work where other people go to play.”

And the people, who are playing like the changes, according to Gordon Tompkins, who has worked at the lake for the past 11 years.

“Every response (to the upgrades) has been fantastic. It’s much easier to work here,” Tompkins said.

And for the next 30 years Johnson will have an opportunity to build upon the dream he has started at Navajo Lake. “We didn’t want to make this the stop to the destination. We wanted to be the final destination.”

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FHS students attend International Thespian Festival Duo win two excellent ratings for their performance of Screwtape Story and photos by Debra Mayeux Student achievement in the performing arts is celebrated each summer as the top high school theater artists gather for the International Thespian Festival.

Llyr Biehler, 18, and Nick Mayeux, 17, both of Farmington, were invited to participate in the June 19-24 event at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. The Farmington High School students received “superior” ratings at their New Mexico Thespian competition, earning them a trip to compete at internationals. This put Biehler and Mayeux in a category among the top high school actors in the nation.

International Thespian Festival Three educators started the International Thespian Society in 1929. Dr. Paul Opp, a professor at Fairmont State College, Harry Leeper, a teacher at East Fairmont High School,’and Ernest Bavely, Opp’s secretary, wanted to form an organization to support and recognize high school theater students. The so-

ciety in turn became an honor society for actors and technical theater students, and there were 71 troupes by the end of 1929.

The organization has grown exponentially, to more than 2 million members, including 100,000 active members from 4,500 high schools. For the past 20 years the best of the best of these members have gathered in Lincoln to compete, perform and learn about theater.

Corey Mitchell, a drama teacher at the Northwest School of the Arts in Charlotte, N.C., refers to his school as the Island of Misfit toys, because it is a performing arts school.

He enjoys attending the festival, because “It’s cool to see 5,000 other people, who are misfits,” he said.

Tony Award winner Mitchell received the 2015 Tony Award for Excellence in Theater Education. He was selected from a pool of 4,000 theater educators. A panel of judges comprised the

American Theatre Wing, The Broadway League, Carnegie Mellon University and other leaders from the theater industry selected Mitchell as this year’s winner. He received the award during the 69th annual Tony Awards on June 7 at Radio City Music Hall.

Mitchell began teaching theater 24 years ago and one of his former students, Eva Noblezada, received the nomination for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance as Miss Saigon. Mitchell said he knew Eva would be nominated.

He brought two of his 117 students to the Thespian Festival as competitors. “That’s how you establish community,” he said.

Mitchell also spokes about why he thinks he received the Tony. “I talk to my students honestly,” he said. “Sometimes it’s playfully, sometimes I say good – sometimes awful things, but I’m saying it nicely.”

He is keeping art alive in education, which is what Holly Stanfield, a teacher from Bradford FALL 2017 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 31

High School in Kenosha, Wis., was promoting with a reboot of West Side Story. “We’re trying to bring art into the schools,” she said.

“Leonard Bernstein did that in my generation.”

Alex Bernstein shares stories about his father Leonard Alex Bernstein, son of Leonard, who attended the festival to view the production and share stories about his father, joined Stanfield. “My father would be so immensely proud and thrilled and overjoyed at what you have accomplished,” said Alex, who became a teacher of middle school drama, after deciding to forgo a career in acting.

“It was incredibly cool to grow up in my father’s world,” he said. “It was a lot of fun, and a lot of interesting people were coming to the house.”

Alex said he enjoyed the reboot of the stage production, which was written for high school performers, because he wasn’t fond of the movie. “I always thought the movie corrupted it (West Side Story),” he said, adding

32 | MAJESTIC LIVING | FALL 2017

there could be a movie remake, because

Spielberg secures right to West Side Story Steven Spielberg secured the rights to show.

“We made a deal.”

Alex said West Side Story was a “very controversial” piece when first staged in the 1950s. It also was difficult to cast, because “there were very few triple threats – now, people are trained in singing, acting and dancing,” he said.

Alex reminded the students that his father’s centennial will be in 2018, and there will be a big celebration “My father remembered every tune he ever heard,” Alex said.

Festival attendees also had opportunities to study different forms of theater from set design to improv acting with professionals in the business.

FHS Students perform Screwtape Biehler and Mayeux enjoyed improv classes with professional actor, Mike Rock.

“The workshops were nice – a lot of fun,” Mayeux said.

“I wouldn’t say I learned a lot from them.

That being said, I don’t think I wasted my time going to them,” Biehler said. “I always like getting tips for improv.”

What the duo did learn was how to better their performance for competition. They performed a Dramatic Duo from the play Screwtape, by James Forsyth, based on the book by C.S. Lewis.

“Nick had wanted to do Screwtape. He was interested in the idea of demons and Christianity,” Biehler said.

Mayeux said he enjoys, “giving dark creatures a comedic aspect and making them seem more human.”

In the scene, Mayeux portrays Screwtape, a demon, mentoring his nephew, Wormwood, on how to obtain souls.

“We started rehearsing it a certain way.

The idea was Wormwood pretends to be very meek and shy and afraid of his uncle, but he is a lot more capable,” Biehler said. “The uncle is the dumb idiot mentor.”

Changing it up a little When they took the performance to state, they rehearsed all night before competition. “We had this whole bit with this character who was grumpy and not happy about being in this situation. … We got a great response from the judges,” Biehler said.

Once in Nebraska, they added more to the performance. “We changed up the voices and added a bit more of a threedimensional aspect to the characters,” Mayeux said.

“There was a lot more physical comedy added,” Biehler said.

“To make it flow a bit better,” Mayeux added.

“We took all the finishing touches and put it together on stage,” Biehler said. “We got fantastic notes for the voices and facial expressions that seems to be what they liked the most.”

FALL 2017 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 33

Duo receives two excellent ratings at International Thespian Festival

art. “We both do a lot of drawing,” said

The duo received a superior and two excellent ratings. The judges said they enjoyed their performance. “You have made some character choices and stuck to them! Great job,” one judge wrote. “Love voices – articulation is great.”

The other two judges said they had “great characterization.”

Another added, “wonderful relationships … very believable.”

It was easy for Biehler and Mayeux to develop their character relationships, as they have been working together on acting, video and animation projects for the past three years.

They first interacted on stage in Macbeth and later performed in the leads of The Hobbit, with Mayeux portraying Bilbo and Biehler acting as Gandalf.

“Bilbo and Gandalf are notoriously known as friends,” Biehler said.

They share similar interests, including their

Digital animation and a movie

34 | MAJESTIC LIVING | FALL 2017

Biehler, along with Mayeux, showcased their digital animation in the 2017 Farmington School’s Farmington Learning Initiative Showcase, for digital artists.

“We’ve drawn each other’s characters, and that’s always fun,” Biehler said.

The duo also made a movie, Xenon XII, which was shown at the Animas Valley Mall during the 2016 showcase. Xenon XII was based on a radio drama written by Mayeux.

When Biehler heard the broadcast, he liked it.

“I was amazed. I thought, ‘This sounds exactly like something I would write,’” he said.

“I approached Nick on doing a film about it.”

They developed it over the course of a month and filmed it over two weeks.

“That was tons of fun. I had a lot of fun doing that,” Mayeux said.

“We wanted it to be super ’80s like. Overall it’s pretty solid,” Biehler said. “It’s a really

fun short film. It holds up in that aspect.”

The film can be found on YouTube.

A creative future Biehler, who graduated this year from Farmington High School, plans to work on a degree in animation. “I would love to eventually go into that field making cartoons and 3-D animation in television and movies,” he said. “I love the entertainment industry. I’ve always been interested more in the creation aspect.”

Mayeux has one more year of high school and will attend San Juan College on a dual credit program during his senior year.

“I’m taking some acting classes at SJC during my senior year of high school. I would like to try and see where my acting can take me,” Mayeux said. “My main goal is to be a voice actor, because I love to use my voice and change it up. ... I like to use the voice to act instead of my whole body to act. I also would be happy being a theater teacher as well - to teach students to love theater as much as I do.”

THE

TaILOr AND THE TEST PILOT

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Getting to know Bedrock Bikepacking Bags Story and Photos by Ben Brashear “That machine there, it’s a bar-tacker and it’ll blast 42 stitches per second through anything,” said Andrew Wracher, co-owner and proprietor of Bedrock Bikepacking Bags. He takes a moment to pause and run his hand through his silver and black hair. “We’ve named it the Honey Badger,” he laughs and holds out a small piece of black webbing that has been tacked with red polyester thread. From the front of the room Joey Ernst, co-owner, says over the top of a walking-foot sewing machine and a pile of seat bags, “Because Honey Badger don’t care whether it’s stitching through webbing or your finger.”

Resurgence of the cottage industry There is a phenomenon happening in the

current bike market. It is nothing new, but it is a notable resurgence of the cottage industry.

Although it can be easily argued that much of the innovation, and even the foundation, of the bike market rests upon the heritage of independent builders, it is now more than ever becoming apparent that it is the independent builder who shapes much of the current industry. And Bedrock Bikepacking Bags is just one of those innovators shaping the current face of the bikepacking world.

Located in Durango, Colorado, Bedrock has been in operation since 2010 and is quietly directing the way more and more cyclists approach multiday rides, tours, and endurance races, such as the Colorado Trail Race, Arizona Trail Race, or the Continental Divide Race.

Wracher originally set out to design a frame

bag for his personal touring bike and found that there was very little “how-to” information available. He took it upon himself to design a decent frame bag and, after surviving the ordeal and having good results, he chose to share his experience on YouTube.

“The video had a huge number of hits and I realized then that there was potential here, that a lot of people were looking for frame bags, and that really was the start of Bedrock Bags,” he says.

YouTube video From its humble beginnings of YouTube notoriety, however, it was the merger between business partners and self-proclaimed “dirtbags,” Ernst and Wracher in 2015, along with the good fortune of winning “Best in FALL 2017 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 37

Show” at the 2016 National Handmade Bicycle Show with Ernst’s made-to-order 27.5+ built by well-known builder, Todd Ingermanson of Black Cat Cycles, that Bedrock has come into its fullest recognition.

“It was the perfect partnership. I was designing bags and Joey could go out and be the guinea pig and test each prototype in the field,” Wracher says. “He could give me feedback and suggestions. And, though we don’t use 3D CAD to design our patterns, he is someone whose brain can visualize in 3D like I can.”

Addressing inherent problems in the market In an industry where everything looks basically the same, every rack-less setup, frame bag, seat bag or bar bag, it really comes down to the minutiae, the gritty details, and the “why” behind any product that distinguishes one company from the next.

For Wracher, it’s individuation that drives his

that those bags didn’t or couldn’t do and we came up with a bag that looks nothing like the competition,” Wracher says. “Sometimes I think that we haven’t been copied because people don’t know what to make of what we put out.

In a way we have escaped replication by heading in the complete opposite direction.”

Driving into oncoming traffic product design, much of which, he says, comes down to addressing inherent problems in the current market of bikepacking bags— wagging, sagging, high wear zones, and mounting brackets that are often prone to failure in a crash.

He argues that this often requires taking the basic idea of any product into oncoming traffic and turning 180 degrees.

“There is a lot of copying in the industry right now. Take for example the little round stem bags. There are literally, without exaggeration, 25 companies making the exact same thing. Using that as a specific example, we set out to design a bag that would do everything

It’s not easy driving into oncoming traffic.

Take their seat bag, for example. According to Ernst it was nine months in the making from its first stages, but then we realized that if that thing were to break, you’d be toast,” Ernst says as he leans far back into his chair, spinning one of the large black plugs in his ear. “So we partnered with Ska Fabrication here in town and came up with an aluminum seatrail bracket that is virtually indestructible.”

The silent revolution It seems theirs is a silent revolution and largely unnoticed by their customers. And frankly, that’s what Wracher and Ernst are shooting for. “We were joking the other day; we like it when customers don’t notice our bags. That means the product works and they don’t have to worry about it,” Wracher says.

Wracher continues the tour of the 200square-foot production room. It is crowded if you’re not seated at one of the several workstations, and so we side-step one after the other down the length of the shop. There are a variety of Juki sewing machines, a large cutting table, endless custom patterns, and rolls of fabric that line the walls – everything that it takes to produce a host of custom bags. “I think we even have a pattern for a 1987 Specialized Rockhopper over here somewhere,” he says over his shoulder to Ernst.

“Yeah, I’ve been collecting frame patterns since the beginning; there are thousands of ’em upstairs,” Ernst says from underneath his flat brimmed ball cap.

A place for everything Everything appears to have its place— scissors, rotary cutting wheels, logos waiting to be 38 | MAJESTIC LIVING | FALL 2017

applied. Even the cuttings of red and black Xpac ripstop sitting next to a finished frame bag for a Cannondale Beast of the East seem to have been deliberately placed. Ostensibly, this is the work of the patient and organized geologist and teacher that Wracher once was. “I’m like any Durangoan, really -- you know, work 57 careers until you find what’s right,” he says.

Ernst, on the other hand has, arguably, lived a lifetime in the cycling industry, with over 20 years of experience, having grown up racing cross country and working in cycling shops.

One day, though, he decided that he had finally had enough of all the travel and hustle.

“I wanted to settle down. Racing wasn’t doing it anymore for me and my rides kept getting longer. I wanted to be out on the trail more and more and it turned from big day rides to racing multi-day rides and that’s when I decided I needed to open Velorution Cycles.”

Growing Bedrock Ernst is handing over the reins of his cycling shop in order to pour his full attention into growing Bedrock, with a new marketing plan and several new partnerships with hand-selected cycling shops around the country. “We used to be six months out for product and we’d run a waiting list and that grew into hundreds of people waiting for our product. We’d finally catch up and have enough product for them and then we’d go live for sales and within hours we’d be sold out again,” Ernst says. “Maybe this year we can have something to sell year-round.”

Though the demand for product is outpacing production capacity and the team is still discerning their plan to keep up, Wracher and Ernst are proud of the high-end product that they are offering and that they can play a role in bolstering, albeit a small portion of, the economy. They have employed two military veterans, which Wracher says has been a godsend since sewing and inspection demand so much attention and discipline. “It takes a special type of person to take on that kind of pressure and our two sewers are that type of people. I don’t even have to crack the whip,” Wracher laughs. “They do it themselves.”

Trends will come and go It’s hard to foresee

“I’m like any Durangoan, really – you know, work 57 careers until you find what’s right.”

— Andrew Wracher

the fate of bikepacking beyond the trending upswing that has the market booming, but Ernst and Wracher are not worried. They have a solid understanding that trends will come and go dependent upon how much money the “giants” are willing to spend on advertising dollars. They are confident that there will always be a dedicated niche of distance and touring riders.

“We were here before the sport blew up

and, with any luck, we’ll be here after the boom dies off. I can see the big corporations being in this for a couple of years and then moving on to the next big thing,” Ernst says.

“It’s a basic product, and frame designs will always be changing. What will really drive innovation for us is trying to adapt to advancing bike technology.”

That’s the future. Wracher and Ernst say that the immediate goal is to hide out in the dark of the production room this winter with noses to the sewing table, and with any luck they will be able to emerge into the light. “We’ve sponsored record-setting riders on the CT and tours of New Zealand, Iceland, and Alaska,” Ernst says.

“And it’ll be nice once we get out for a big ride ourselves.”

FALL 2017 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 39

Brownings and ACES partnering with Piñon Hills Community Church Bob and Gwyneth Browning’s road of life has been a blessing to Farmington Story by Dorothy Nobis Photos by Whitney Howle The road to the home of Gwyneth and Bob Browning is much like their life story.

The road twists and turns and is rough in spots. But along the way, there is a lovely pond, where ducks swim and gather; a field where horses share their spot with Canada geese; and a corral that holds llamas and goats.

And at the front door is a sweet dog, who will bark your arrival and lick your hand when you get out.

Life for the Brownings has been full of rough roads and beautiful ponds and pastures.

The Brownings live in a comfortable home at the end of this dirt road. It is a home they have enjoyed for more than 50 years. The path to 333 Browning Parkway was not an easy one, however.

Some bumps in the road Bob Browning was born in 1926 in Mineola, Texas, and grew up in an era known as the Great Depression.

“There was very little money then,” Bob remembered. “You could buy a small farm for $1,000. My dad made money by buying and selling – he was a good horse trader and he had a good attitude.”

Families in and near Mineola gathered on the weekend to trade what they had for what they needed, Bob said.

40 | MAJESTIC LIVING | FALL 2017

“You traded without money,” he said. “You learned the rudiments of how the economy works. It’s all about exchanging or trading something for something. Money is a medium for that exchange.”

What makes up a successful trade Browning believes there are ten important questions that must always be asked in a successful trade or exchange – who, what, when, where, why, and how. “And there’s always an ‘if’ ‘or’ and a ‘but,’” he added.

“I believe everything begins with an idea or a thought, including creation itself,” Bob said.

“It began as an idea in the mind of the creator. The idea then became the plan of creation. God used those questions and he produced.”

Bob used those questions early in his life to make things happen. A friend of his father had two restaurants, Bob remembered, and the friend wanted to serve chicken in his restaurant.

“I worked with him and we built his chicken business,” he said. “He bought a big chicken house about a mile from where I lived and he and I got to be friends.”

Inspired by the success of his friend’s chicken business, Bob decided to start his own business.

The chicken business “There was a vacant Quonset hut in a junky part of town,” he said with a big smile.

“I acquired usage of that Quonset hut. I bought 3,000 baby chicks and things looked great.”

However, cold weather came into Mineola and froze the water and gas lines. Bob lived in the Quonset hut and woke up freezing at 3 in the morning.

“There was no heat,” he said. “And the chickens were all in a heap. I hauled off dead chickens for hours.”

A pretty widow named Gwyneth During that time, Bob frequented a restaurant in Mineiloa where a pretty young widow was working. Gwyneth is from South Wales and married an American airman.

Gwyneth moved with her new husband to America after his discharge and he frequented a small airport in Mineola with other pilots who enjoyed hanging out there.

A newly licensed pilot was flying, with her husband as a passenger. For reasons Gwyneth never knew, the plane crashed, killing her husband and the pilot.

The couple had one child and Gwyneth was eight months pregnant with her second child when her husband died.

“He had asked me to raise our children in

America if anything ever happened to him,” Gwyneth said of her late husband. “My family wanted me to move home (to South Wales), but I told them ‘no,’ and said, ‘I love these American people and I’m going to stay.’”

every night after work. The couple married not long after.

“He helped me with two little children,” Gwyneth said. “Bob is a good man and we’ve had a good life. We have lots of love and he’s leaned on me and I’ve leaned on him.”

A handsome young man named Bob Gwyneth said she had always been a serious young woman, but that changed. “I learned to laugh when I came to America,” she said.

“Bob was a handsome young man,” she said with a big smile, and she was more than happy to let that handsome young man take her home

Selling real estate Bob went to school to study industrial mechanical engineering, but went into the oilfield to work with his brother, Rufus. When an oilfield accident happened when he was in North Dakota, Bob’s priorities changed. “I was

in intensive care for three weeks and it took all of our savings (to survive),” Bob said.

Bob, his family and his brother moved to Farmington. He went to work in the oilfield, but decided he wanted to go back to school and pursue his interest in the ministry. But that wasn’t paying the bills and taking care of his family. Bob sold Singer sewing machines and vacuums door to door. He met Eryl Cummings on one of his sales calls. Cummings was in real estate, and he convinced the eager and enthusiastic Browning to get his real estate license.

“I passed with flying colors and also got my FALL 2017 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 41

Colorado real estate license,” Bob said proudly. “I had my own office and got my broker’s license and I sold real estate.”

Boyd Tanner knew a lot of people and convinced Bob to go into the real estate business with him.

“We had a good relationship, but Boyd moved to Las Vegas, Nevada.

I knew land was a wise investment and I invested. I used what I could and sold what I didn’t want to use.”

With several hundred acres, Bob was in the right position when the city of Farmington decided it wanted a road between Main Street and and Highway 64 the early 1980s.

Browning Parkway The city, however, wanted the new road going through his property.

“It would have gone straight through my property,” Bob said, “and ruin my ranch. I decided where I wanted the road to go and I sold them (city officials) on the idea, which was practical and made sense economically and logically.”

When it came time to name the new road, Bob suggested Browning Parkway, “so I could remember where I lived,” he said with a laugh.

The new Browning Parkway location wasn’t just a good economic decision for the city of Farmington, however, Bob said. “It increased the value of property all along the road. Where the road went affected the value of the land.”

42 | MAJESTIC LIVING | FALL 2017

With his own land intact, Bob turned his attention to his passion – mustang and appaloosa horses.

The Ranch and ACES He opened Our Ranch San Juan, a 501(C)(3) non-profit in the mid-1990s and operated the ranch until 2005.

“I’d been involved with horses since my early childhood,” he said. “I started doing classes with animals and children involved.”

Bob has a love of wild mustangs and training them.

“There is great benefit potential using wild mustangs,” Bob said with enthusiasm.

“We teach them patience and we have a positive outcome. It’s all about building a relationship with mustangs. I’ve trained about 50 mustangs in the last 10 years and mustangs are a great teaching tool between horses and people.”

Bob speaks lovingly of horses and is especially interested in how horses can help children; He created a concept of Animal Connected Christ Centered Educations Solutions (ACES).

Partnering with Pinoñ Hills Community Church It is because of Bob’s commitment to horses and kids that prompted him to partner with Pinon Hills Community Church in its quest to establish a Christian high school.

The Brownings have sold their home to Piñon Hills Community Church, with the church allowing them to live in the home as long as they desire. The almost 30 acres that surround the home was donated to the church by the Brownings.

It is Bob’s wish and his dream that the land

FALL 2017 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 43

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44 | MAJESTIC LIVING | FALL 2017

he has donated be used by the church for his Animal Communication Christ Centered Education Solutions (ACES) program, as well as the interdenominational academy.

“There is tremendous advantage and potential in the development of the ACES program on a wide scale basis,” Bob said. “And if it’s going to happen, it’s up to me and who I can encourage to help.”

Brad Salzman, the Chief Financial Officer of Piñon Hills Community Church, said the land and the high school are needed to continue the educational system the church has begun.

“In 2010, the church started the Promise Land Child Development Center (which provides year-round and quality care and education for infant children through preschool age children) and, in 2013, we started the Piñon Hills Academy for students in kindergarten through the eighth grade,” Salzman said.

Piñon Hills sees the need and importance of having a high school for the academy students to attend when they begin their freshman year in high school. The church created a new umbrella for its current schools and the new high school, under the name of Southwest Academies. The mission of Southwest Academies, Salzman said, is to have academic excellence with a Christian world view.

“For the last couple of years, we’ve been talking with Bob Browning and his vision is the same as ours. He is donating the land to Piñon Hills Community Church and for the high school and because of who Bob Browning is, we’ll add to the high school (curriculum) an animal – connected program.”

“Bob is a really dedicated Christian and has

dedicated himself to animal connected dynamics in life,” Salzman said, adding that the church plans to continue Bob’s commitment to animals in general and horses in particular.

Piñon Hills and the ACES program The dream of Bob and Gwyneth Browning is that the new high school, under the direction of Piñnon Hills Community Church, will continue the focus of ACES. “There is tremendous value and potential in a mustang’s communication with kids,” Bob said.

“But you must have a positive attitude and a lot of patience,” Bob said. “They (the horses) can be valuable as a teaching tool and as therapy.”

While the Brownings aren’t sure if they’ll stay in their home or move to something smaller (Gwyneth would like a smaller home, but Bob isn’t sure!), they are a happy couple, with no regrets.

Taking the right road “We think of the good times,” Bob said, nodding affectionately at his wife. “As long as we keep breathing, we’ll roll with the punches.”

At the ages of 91 for Bob and 94 for Gwyneth, this couple stays active and interested in everything and shies away from nothing.

“We try to say and do the right thing and we are always praising God,” Gwyneth said.

Saying and doing the right thing has been easy for Bob and Gwyneth Browning, and their faith has given them a good life. When they look out at their horses, the Canada geese, the goats, the llamas and the ducks swimming in the pond, they know the road that took them to 333 Browning Parkway has been a good one.

Has it really been 24 years?

Determination, hard work, faith and community spirit all key to DJ’s Pizza owner Dale Maes’ success Story by Dorothy Nobis Photos by Whitney Howle When you’re 18 years old and a recent high school graduate, there are a lot of things going on in your life. Where will you go to college?

What will your major be? Will you make new friends? Will you make it through four more years of education?

For Dale Maes, none of those questions were asked. A 1994 graduate of Bloomfield High School, Maes knew he didn’t want to go to college. He’d worked for Big Cheese Pizza in Bloomfield and, when he learned the business was for sale, he knew what he wanted to do.

He wanted his own business.

business at his age was a great idea.

“They finally said OK,” Maes said. “Mom and Dad helped me finance it. They used their house as collateral, but they didn’t know it until I paid the loan off.”

Because he didn’t want the Big Cheese franchise, Maes had one week to change the name and he decided on DJ’s Pizza – his given name is Dale John. With a lot of determination and hard work, DJ’s Pizza has remained a successful business and earlier this year, DJ’s Pizza was honored as the Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce 2017 Business of the Year.

Starting a business at 18?

Uncle Sam

Maes visited with his parents, Paul and Delcie, who weren’t convinced that owning a

That success brought with it a lot of lessons, Maes said. “I learned a lot, real quick, about

Uncle Sam,” he said with a laugh, adding that he took bookkeeping from then teacher Karen Ransom and, “to this day, I still thank her!”

Karen Ransom said Maes was a good student and had an amazing work ethic, even as a high school student.

“When Dale became owner of DJ’s Pizza, he worked hard,” Ransom said. “But he worked hard all his life, and he shares that work ethic with the people who work for him.”

“Dale has lived here all his life. He’s raising his family here and he closes his business on Sundays so he and his family can go to church,” Ransom added. “He’s a gentle giant and every time he sees me, he gives me a big hug.”

The accounting and bookkeeping he learned at Bloomfield High School aren’t the only keys FALL 2017 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 45

named the Bloomfield Chamber’s Citizen of the Year in 2014, and in 2016, DJ’s was named Business of the Year by the Chamber.”

Community leader

to Maes’ success, he said.

Bloomfield’s loyal to local businesses “The biggest lesson I learned is that Bloomfield is very loyal to local businesses.

I still have customers from 24 years ago.

My customers are very loyal.”

“I didn’t think it would last 24 years,” Maes admitted with a shake of his head, although he admits he has thought about expanding his restaurant. “It was a dream to expand DJ’s to more than one location. But I enjoy being with my kids and I didn’t want to miss their school athletics. If I had more than one (restaurant), I’d miss out on all the important stuff. I only have about six years left (before his kids have all graduated). “

Dale is loyal to Bloomfield in return If the community has been loyal and good to Maes and DJ’s Pizza, it is a loyalty he returns. Dale and his wife, Michelle, have been 46 | MAJESTIC LIVING | FALL 2017

married for 15 years. When they first met, Maes had been in business for seven years.

“I used to help him on the weekends when we were dating and when we were first married,” Michelle said. “But since the kids (DJ, 13, and Celina, 11) came along, I don’t help out much. I work full time for Western Refining Logistics, so I am thankful his schedule allows him to take the kids to school and pick them up.”

“Dale is so patient and kind,” Michelle added. “He is like a big kid himself, and I could not have asked for a better role model for our kids. He treats others as he expects to be treated and that carries through to his business. He was born and raised in Bloomfield and his clientele is very loyal. He is selfless and one of the most giving persons I know. He’s donated pizzas to Project Graduation, to the (church) youth group, and was once recognized by the Red Cross because he donated pizza during a crisis in our community. He was named Boss of the Year in 2006 by the Four Corners Human Resources Association, in 2013, he was

Janet Mackey is the President of the Bloomfield Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and has known Maes since he was 12 years old. “Dale’s ethics, dedication to the community and mentoring of his teenage employees amazes me,” Mackey said. “His compassion for Bloomfield and its citizens is awe inspiring. He is a great community leader, a great businessman, a great family man and a great friend.”

Giving back to his community is as much a part of Maes’ personality as is his success in business. He is president of the Bloomfield School Board, is a youth baseball coach and served on the youth baseball board for seven years, is active in his church, St. Mary’s Catholic Church, where he is the youth coordinator, and serves on the church’s confirmation program.

While Maes is apt to downplay his community service, his wife knows it is important to him.

“Being a successful business owner in a community that he was born and raised in, makes being a community leader an easy job,” Michelle said. “All Dale wants to do is give back to the community that he was raised in and that his kids are being raised in. Bloomfield is a community that has been so loyal and helped him be so successful. He wants to better the community by making sure that all voices are heard and things are as fair as possible.”

Bloomfield School Board “Dale’s heart is always in the right place and he wants to do what is best for all of the students (in the Bloomfield School District),” said Dr. Kim Mizell, superintendent of Bloomfield Schools. “It’s all about community with Dale and we’re blessed to have him on our school board. He is very grounded and loves all kids, not just his own kids.”

Maes was appointed to the Bloomfield School Board about five years ago, and ran for

election to the board two years later. He has served as the board’s president for three years.

“It’s a learning process,” Maes said of serving on the board. “With government money, it’s amazing at what you can and can’t do. I was born and raised in Bloomfield and my goal is to make Bloomfield schools a better place and to make our students college ready and not just street ready.”

Maes was inspired by his teachers at Bloomfield High School and said teachers like Karen Ransom pushed him in the classroom to succeed and encouraged him to run for the school board.

“Karen said our board needed young blood and, as a board member, was the first one to congratulate me and thank me for running,” Maes said of his service to the school board.

“Karen was an awesome board member.”

Karen Ransom said it was time for some young blood. “And he’s been re-elected to the school board twice and is now the president,” Ransom added. “He’s led a wonderful life.”

Community spirit If Maes is passionate about Bloomfield schools, he is equally passionate about his faith.

“I love teaching kids about my faith,” he said. “I’m on St. Mary’s Catholic Church’s confirmation program and I’m a youth coordinator for the church. Faith is so important and I love teaching tenth and eleventh graders, who have maybe lost their faith.”

Maes also served on the Youth Baseball Board for seven years and is a coach for the Bloomfield Bombers, a 14 and under team.

Coaching, teaching and picking up his daughter for her guitar lessons are considered “hobbies” for this busy guy.

“The people of Bloomfield come together as a community so many times,” Maes said.

“I love the close-knit family we have in Bloomfield. “

The future looks bright Still young and with the knowledge his children will soon leave home for college and

careers, Maes looks forward to a future that continues to be bright. When the kids are gone, he and Michelle will have time to think about what they want to do and while that might not be clear at this moment, Maes know one thing will always be part of his past, his present, and his future.

“I’ll always volunteer,” he said, “and I encourage other people to volunteer. There are opportunities for volunteers to help those less fortunate. I’ll continue to volunteer as long as I can and I thank God every day I’m able to do that.”

Michelle admitted thinking about the time when her children have left home isn’t something she likes to dwell on.

“It seems like a long time (before the children leave), but I know it will be here in a blink of an eye,” she said. “I hate to even think of it. Luckily, Dale and I are friends and we like each other, so we will not run out of things to talk about when the kids are grown and gone.” * Maes 50

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How it got to be back to school time again so soon is mind-boggling.

Summer has slipped through our fingers once again. But what we have to look forward is pretty great as well. The leaves will start changing, the mornings will get crisp and we’ll have a lot to be thankful for as the season changes.

So for all of you who also have a great appreciation for fall here are some fun items the make this time of year even more special.

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MAY THE SNACKS BE WITH YOU

Star Wars Snack Bowls www.thinkgeek.com The Star Wars Snack Bowls come in your choice of Chewbacca, Jabba the Hutt, or a Wampa. All of them have tried their fair share of wild cuisine, and they still seem pretty okay with gummy worms and potato chips in their ceramic gobs. We’re guessing there’s antacid involved. $16.99

48 | MAJESTIC LIVING | FALL 2017

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Dancing Groot Speaker www.thinkgeek.com www.amazn.com www.toysrus.com

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TAKE IT FOR A SPIN

Crosley C200 Turntable www.target.com

Millennials have discovered vinyl and they are discovering what we’ve always known.

You have a lot of options when it comes to The sound quality is amazing. Enter the speakers these days. But just come a little Crosley C200 model turntable that has adbit closer and consider what is being ofjustable speeds and a built-in amp. With fered. The next time you need to share more control than ever over the speed of your tunes with the whole ship in order to your discs, this sleek, powerful turntable get the party started, think about who it is was built to mix it up. Spin into the next that you want to let back in your heart. generation of the vinyl revolution with the Baby Groot’s always ready to rock out to Crosley C200, mixing Crosley’s vintage-inyour favorite tunes! spired, synth style with high tech, hi-end features. Crosley’s first direct drive $24.99 think geek turntable motor brings records up to speed $19.99 quickly and smoothly.

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IT’S THE SIMPLE THINGS

The Grovemade Minimalist Wallet grovemade.com or thegadgetflow.com Leave home with only what you need by using the Minimalist Wallet by Grovemade.

Made to simplify your life and what you carry, this wallet allows for super fast accessibility. The Minimalist Wallet has a hard-anodized aluminum shell to hold up to five cards and some cash. A hidden steel faceplate ensures your valuables are safely stored while giving you one-handed access for when you need your goods.

The Minimalist Wallet is finished with a single piece of tanned leather wrapped around the frame. $99

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Vinyl Halloween Door Covers www.amazon.com www.partycity.com These Halloween door decorations set a delightfully spooky tone for your party or for trick or treaters. Door curtains come in two basic styles — creepy and kid-friendly, and are sized to fit standard doorframes straight out of the package.

You can trim them to fit narrower frames or crop them to shorter spans as you like.

Hang them with tape, tacks, or reusable Sticky Tack for instant, affordable, and unmistakable Halloween atmosphere.

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Prices vary from $7.50 to $20

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Star Trek Phasers Remote www.ebay.com www.firebox.com Set phasers to standby and arm yourself with the pinnacle in remote control geekiness — a universal remote control built to look like a phaser from the original Star Trek series. Control your TV and other gadgets with a range of motions, buttons and dials. Just don’t try blasting any Tribbles. $ 139 to $150

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Polaroid Snap Touch Instant Digital Camera The next generation.

Polaroid Snap Touch instant digital camera allows you to snap, print, and share all of your favorite photos instantly with app-driven creative and new Bluetooth connectivity.

Enjoy the precision of digital and the fun of instant prints with this Polaroid Snap Touch digital camera. Take a photo and print it immediately with ZINK Zero Ink printing technology. Editing options let you add filters, stickers and borders before hitting “print.” This Polaroid Snap Touch digital camera has an automatic timer and selfie mirror for more photo opportunities. $99 to $125

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Stainless Steel Spreadable Butter Mill www.gadgetflow.com www.lehmans.com Introducing the new way to spread butter!

The Spreadable Butter Mill turns butter into softer thin ribbons of dairy deliciousness in mere seconds. Get smooth sumptuous ribbons of soft, spreadable butter right out of the fridge with our Stainless-Steel Butter Mill. All you need to do is place the stick of butter inside of the Butter Mill, place the top back on it and give it a twist through it’s built in grater and voilà! After each use, you can keep the butter inside, pop the top back on and store it in your refrigerator. $29.95 to $35 FALL 2017 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 49

Maes

continued from 47

“Besides, knowing Dale, when the kids are gone, it will only free upsome of his time to pick up some other extracurricular activity,” she added.

Never takes it for granted The friendship they share and their strong faith have helped create a marriage that is loving and strong, Michelle said.

“We keep God in the center of our marriage. Without our faith, it would not be possible to conquer the obstacles that everyday life brings,” Michelle explained. “We were raised with the same values and morals and we have our parents to thank for that.”

“We were a bit older when we got married,” Michelle continued. “Dale was 27 and I was 29 and I think we both knew what we wanted in a marriage. Whoever said that marriage is 50/50 lied. It has to be 100/100 all the time. Dale and I balance each other and that is what makes our marriage so strong.”

While Dale loves pizza (Michelle does to, but make it a pizza with the “workss” minus the black olives). And while Dale is a born-andraised New Mexican, he does not like chile.

“People think that all of us from New Mexico love chile,” Michelle said. “Dale doesn’t. I have to make green chile enchiladas without the green chile!”

A strong and loving marriage, a successful business, and a mentor to kids of all ages, Dale Maes takes nothing for granted. With that work ethic his friends say is his trademark, Maes thanked this reporter for taking time to visit with him. Politely excusing himself, Maes, dressed in shorts and the flip flops his wife says he wears ALL the time, greeted customers, bussed a few tables, took several orders and went back to the kitchen in DJ’s Pizza.

With the laughter that came from the kitchen, where Maes worked alongside his employees, one would have to agree with Karen Ransom. He has a wonderful life and he’s enjoying every minute of it.

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Four Corners Community Bank. ............32 Seven Convenient Locations Aztec • Cortez • Durango • Farmington NM 505-327-3222 CO 970-564-8421 www.TheBankForMe.com

Partners Assisted Living......................42 313 N. Locke Ave. Farmington, N.M. 505-325-9600 www.partnerassistedliving.com

Porters Restaurant..............................33 Good Samaritan Society.......................22 2210 E. 20th St. Farmington, NM Farmington, N.M. 505-327-5979 Blue Moon Diner .................................33 505-334-9445 www.portersfarmington.com 1819 E. 20th St. Farmington, NM Great Harvest Bread Co. ......................52 Presbyterian Medical Services .............39 4009 E Main St., Suite A 505-324-1001 1001 West Broadway, Suite E Farmington, N.M. www.bluemoon-diner.com Farmington, NM 505-327-4422 505-327-4796 Budget Blinds .......................................2 www.farmingtonbread.com www.pmsnm.org 941 Schofield Lane, Suite A Highlands University ...........................25 Farmington, N.M. R.A. Biel Plumbing & Heating...............34 505-566-3552 505-324-2008 505-327-7755 www.budgetblinds.com/farmington nmhu.edu/farmington www.rabielplumbing.com Directory Plus .....................................47 Kitchen & Bath Artworks......................12 www.directoryplus.com 7525 E. Main St. Farmington, N.M. Desert Hills Dental Care.......................35 505-860-8166 2525 E. 30th St. Farmington, N.M. La Mesa Chiropractic Center.................43 505-327-4863 2904 N. Hutton www.deserthillsdental.com Farmington, N.M. 505-327-4845 Enchanted Celebrations.......................16 www.drrowse.com 505-215-1525 www.enchanted-celebrations.com Leavitt Group ........................................3 300 W. Arrington, Suite 100 Farmington Civic Center .......................11 Farmington, N.M. FarmingtonNM.org 505-325-1849 www.leavitt.com

50 | MAJESTIC LIVING | FALL 2017

Reliance Medical Group ...............23 & 38 3451 N. Butler Avenue Farmington, N.M. 505-566-1915 1409 West Aztec Blvd.

Aztec, N.M. 505-334-1772 www.reliancemedicalgroup.com

Sanchez and Sanchez Real Estate ........19 4301 Largo St. Suite F Farmington, NM 87402 505-327-9039 Jack O. Smalley, DDS............................51 2650 E. Piñon Frontage Rd., #300 Farmington, NM 505-327-3331 www.smile42day.com Smoothie King ....................................33 3554 E. Main St. Farmington, NM 505-258-4335 Southwest Obstetrics and Gynecology..29 634 West Piñon Farmington, NM 505-325-4898 www.Southwest-OBGYN.net Arlon Stoker .......................................17 2713 E. 20th St. Farmington, N.M. 505-326-0404 www.stokerlaw.net

SunRay Gaming...................................24 On Hwy 64.

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