Focus
HISTORY OF LOCAL EARLY DITCHES
(The following two articles -- written by Morgan Nelson and
Bernice D'Abadie, the area's leading water historians -- provide history of
some, but not all, of the earliest known ditches in the Roswell Basin of the
Pecos Valley. Refer to maps on the Home page of this issue for locations of some
of these ditches. The photos labeled HCSNM are from the archives of the
Historical Society of Southeast New Mexico, which was previously called the
Historical Center for Southeast New Mexico. These photos were made
available to Rwm to accompany these
articles by the Society's archivist, Elvis E. Fleming.)
(Oasis Well, eight miles east of Roswell, was the world's
largest artesian well, with a flow of 9,100 gallons per minute. Photo
taken Aug. 20, 1940 HCSNM No. 032-C)
HISTORY OF EARLY DITCHES IN THE SOUTHEAST ROSWELL AREA
by Morgan Nelson
(Nelson credits accepted local history authorities: James D.
Shinkle, Lilly Klasner, Will Prager, John S. Chisum, James M. Miller, Mary Corn
Hudson, as well as articles published in the Roswell Daily Record. Rwm)
In the early days, there were four streams flowing from large
springs in the vicinity of what is now known as Roswell. They were large clear
rivers teeming with fish of all sorts, including eels. In 1866, when surveyor
Hiram C. Fellows ran the first survey line on the second parallel south on what
is now known as Second Street, he reported three irrigation ditches that crossed
what was to become Main Street. They ran from the North Spring River
watering considerable land under cultivation along the Hondo. (Shinkle, Klasner,
Prager)
The South Springs River was a large stream fed from springs rising
in the endless prairies west of the Pecos. To the east of the Pecos were the red
bluffs. There were no trees, shrubs or brush in the area except for a few that
survived close to the water's edge. Frequent prairie fires, set by lightning,
swept over the plains, purging all trees and shrubs, leaving the land
surrounding the springs pure grassland. These springs were located in the area
now known as South Springs Acres Subdivision, about four miles southeast of
Roswell.
The earliest ditches in the area that we can identify were
probably at Missouri Plaza/Bottom, 15 miles southwest of Roswell. When the
Robert Casey family arrived there in 1867, they reported "very fertile soil
accounted for the existence of Missouri Bottom. In those days the Hondo was
a good-sized stream so full of water that it ran almost to the top of the
banks. This made irrigation easy, and the crops grown in the fields surrounding
Missouri Bottom were as good as you wish." (Shinkle)
Chisum Ditch
The first known settlers on South Springs River in the 1860s were
an old German named Isenstein and his wife. They lived in a dugout overlooking
the springs. For many years, the springs were known as El Ojo del Aleman,
or Spring of the Dutchman. (Klassner) What happened to him, we don't know.
By 1872, a Mexican family, headed by Pedro Sanchez, claimed the
headwaters of the South Springs River and the land surrounding it. He owed
$3,000 to a cattle trader named James D. Patterson. Patterson was the first
person to erect a building in what is now Roswell. He sold his interest to Van
Smith in 1870. Patterson got the Sanchez land for the debt owed him. In 1894, he
traded South Springs to John Chisum for a $7,000 debt he owed Chisum. (Notes
from Roswell Daily Record, Klasner, Shinkle.) By 1874, Chisum began moving his
headquarters from Bosque Grande to South Springs, where he had a store. His
house was the old block fortress-like house of Pedro Sanchez.
Whether or not Sanchez had started a ditch, we have no record, but
he probably did. Chisum seemed to prefer farming to ranching. (Klasner) When his
cowboys had nothing else to do, he had them digging ditches. They hated it. When
Jim Miller saw Chisum in 1878, he was raking alfalfa that he had cut near his
house.
(Shady Wells - ditches believed to have been on Chisum Ranch.
HCSNM No. 034)
There were actually three Chisum ditches-- the Chisum Dam diverted
water from South Spring River and became the North Branch and the South Branch.
The third ditch, the Chisum Highline Ditch, was fed from a separate spring and
generally paralleled the Old Dexter Highway and the present railroad track. It
ran under John Chisum's new house. The Chisum ditches watered the west and
central areas of East Grand Plains. (Klasner)
Above the Chisum Dam was the Woodlawn Dam that held the springs
that fed the entire system.
Chisum intended to keep all homesteaders out of the area, but they
began pouring in and he could not stop them. He bargained with newcomers, the
Corn family, to settle on the north side of the South Springs River, and he
would keep the south side and the extended prairie to the south for himself.
(Miller & Dills) The Woodlawn Ditch was first mentioned in 1872. (page 253,
Hordes) With the Pumpkin Row Ditch, first mentioned in 1877, along with the
settlement there on the north side of South Springs, little could Chisum do but
acquiesce to this arrangement. (Miller)
After J.J. Hagerman acquired the Chisum properties, he subdivided
and sold off much of the land, along with water rights from the Chisum ditches.
Beginning after artesian wells were drilled, the flow of the springs began to
diminish and Hagerman was not getting enough water to meet his obligations. One
night, he got a crew of men together and dug a channel through the Woodlawn Dam
and drained the water into his dam. A group with Woodlawn Ditch water rights
sued him, resulting in the adjudication of all the surface rights of the South
Springs River. It was a bitter, long litigation and by the time it was finally
settled, most of those concerned had their own artesian wells and it was no
longer as important. (Final Decree in Chaves County, Civil District Court No.
433.Woodlawn ditch Company v. South Springs Land and Cattle Company.)
(A typical artesian well of the area, photo taken in the
1890s. HCSNM No. 046)
Jake Harris Ditch
Sally Chisum testified that when she arrived late in 1877, the
grass caught in the stirrups of their saddles as they rode across the prairie.
Sally said the Jake Harris Ditch was already dug, used and abandoned two years
before she had arrived. (Testimony, Chaves County Civil District Court No. 433)
Jake Harris was one of the Mormons who settled in the area of where the Oasis
Ranch is today. The ditch came out of the South Springs below the Texas Ditch
Dam and ran southeasterly to just west of the Whitney places. It was abandoned
in about 1876 because it ran through gyp hills and would not hold water. All of
the Mormons, except Jake Harris, left the country because factions in the
Lincoln County War intimidated them. Jake Harris stayed at his place, which was
west of the others'. He was a good, close friend of John Chisum. A remnant of
this ditch may still exist.
Jim Miller Ditch (also known as JM Ditch)
Late in 1879, Jim Miller took over and enlarged the ditches
abandoned by the Mormons who fled the year before rather than be forced into the
Lincoln County War. This ditch was taken from the south bank of the South
Springs about 400 yards below the "natural bridge." For many years, it watered
what is now the Oasis Ranch, and when there were sufficient artesian wells to
water the ranch, he sold the water to the Hagerman Canal. Since this ditch was
at the lower end of South Springs, it still has water and flows even today,
because about 3/4-mile of this ditch still exists.
Woodlawn Ditch
The Woodlawn Ditch went north and received its water from the
first dam on the South Springs. The main large spring, the headwaters of the
South Spring River, was at the western end of the river. The first mention of
this ditch was in 1872. The Woodlawn Dam may have been the first on the river
because it seems doubtful that anyone would let someone build a dam above him.
An agreement was reached to allow enough water from the South Springs to flow
over and through the Woodlawn Dam to service the other dams, but to not affect
the prior appropriation of ditch rights. There was just too much water for them
to use.
This ditch ran to the north generally paralleling, and east of,
the railroad tracks. It carried water to Second Street and irrigated the land
west of the Pumpkin Row Ditch. all went well until the artesian wells lowered
the water pressure and the springs' water began to diminish. This was when Mr.
Hagerman took direct action and dug a channel around the dam. By the time the
lawsuit was settled, these farmers had replaced their surface right with
underground water. This happened about 1897 and the suit settled in about 1904.
(I am vague about these dates as I don't have the records before me.)
Pumpkin Row Ditch (also known as Ditch Number
One)
A Mexican settlement was on the north bank of the river known as
Pumpkin Row. (Klasner) It is also known as Ditch Number One. Pumpkin Row seemed
to be a shady place. Apparently there was a bar there, because it had the
reputation for drunks and fights. This ditch ran due north and the present road
named Lipan was on the upper side of it. (Klasner, Hudson)
Texas Ditch
The Corns, with their caravan of Texans, arrived in 1878 and
settled in what is known as the LFD area. They agreed with Chisum to settle on
the north bank of the South Springs and leave the south side for Chisum. The
river, though clear, had treacherous bogs on either side and divided the two
communities of LFD on the north side of the river and East Grand Plains on the
south side of it. With the exception of one dangerous crossing, the communities
were effectively divided. The Corns started this ditch in 1878 and irrigated the
land east of the present White Mill Road. Martin Van Buren Corn installed a
gristmill at the mouth of the Spring River. It operated until the Blashek family
built one near Roswell on North Spring River.
**********
(View of East Berrendo River facing northwest, where E.
Berrendo Road dips into the riverbed; photo taken late March 2002. This is near
where the Last Chance Ditch had begun, taken from the north bank of this
river.)
HISTORY OF EARLY DITCHES OF NORTHEAST ROSWELL AREA
by Bernice D'Abadie
Well owners on the Berrendo River were the first to receive vital
notice from the State Engineer that they may claim an earlier water right
priority date if their land was irrigated by one of the area's major irrigation
ditches in the 1880s to 1905, before artesian wells were drilled.
A meeting to which all other well owners were also invited by
legal advertisement was held March 20. State Engineer's staff were available to
explain the Templeton Doctrine, the process of relating water rights back to the
use of irrigation by ditches taken out of the four major rivers in the Roswell
area.
By 1905, it has been creditably estimated that 10,000 acres of
land in the Roswell area were irrigated from ditches taken out of the Berrendos
(Middle, North and South), the North Spring River, the Rio Hondo and the South
Spring River. Early priority dates give the well owners a tremendous advantage
in times of drought and water shortage on the Pecos River, but the relation back
to irrigation by the early ditches must be reasonably proved.
Morgan Nelson led with an article on ditches in the southeast
area. This article will focus on the major early ditches in the northeast area
of Roswell. The State Engineer will allow claims relating back to early ditch
use on a ditch-by-ditch basis over the coming months. The process will start
with the ditches farthest north and work southward.
(Canal from east of Roswell to Hagerman. Scene is on Milne
and Bush alfalfa Hereford Home. HCSNM No. 030)
Milne-Bush Ditches
The four Milne-Bush ditches, the first ditches in the area, were
taken out of the Middle Berrendo and the South Berrendo Rivers in 1885-1887. At
one time, the Milne-Bush Ranch covered 3,400 acres, of which 1,000 acres were
irrigated. Much of the land is within Roswell City limits now and not used for
farming. The Milne-Bush Cattle Company was bought by the Berrendo Irrigated
Farms Company and sold in smaller parcels with a right to use water from various
Milne-Bush ditches. Those deeds are important documents when they show specific
lands irrigated, even within city limits, because today's lawns, gardens and
shrubs qualify as beneficial use of water, just as farm crops did long ago. This
may be of help to the City of Roswell in claiming an earlier water right
date.
Over the years, all that remains of the Milne-Bush Cattle Company
is the ranch house on the South Berrendo River. At one time, Edward Nicholas, a
noted author, scholar and businessman lived there and added onto the original
house. Carolyn Schlicher, daughter of Charles Lovelace, presently owns the house
and grounds.
Sedillo Ditch
Lucius Dills, an early Roswell newspaper editor, credits the
Sedillo family and about nine other Spanish-speaking families for being the
first settlers in the Roswell area who stayed and hand-dug the Sedillo Ditch out
of the Middle Berrendo River starting in 1879. The settlement was the first to
start a ditch for irrigation, but the settlers were run out by Texas outlaws who
raided the settlement, stole or destroyed everything including the women's
shawls. The Texans told the people to get out and not come back. Thinking the
outlaws were part of the hated Horrell family from Texas, most settlers left.
Cosme Sedillo stayed and has been noted as one of the 100 men who helped develop
Roswell.
Some other families who stayed on the Berrendo were the Fresques,
Sanchez, Somoros and Chavez. The Sedillo Ditch irrigated several small farms.
Traces of the ditch can still be seen just west of Calumet Drive. Frank Sedillo,
who lived on the home place, said his grandfather sold the land which is now
owned by the Roswell Country Club. Frank Sedillo died in 1994.
Harry Leonard, a popular independent oil man who lived north of
the Roswell Country Club in the 1930s-1940s, claimed water rights from the
Sedillo Ditch for 23 acres of bottomland south and east of the AT&SF
Railroad. The Steins bought and maintained the Leonard place since that
time.
Last Chance Ditch
The longest ditch to be taken out of the South Berrendo River was
dug by Richard F. Barnett, Liberty Walters and Jack and James Rowden in 1888.
The Last Chance Ditch began shortly down-river from where E. Berrendo Road dips
into the riverbed. The ditch, taken from the north bank, was 16 inches deep and
10 feet wide. It ran due east for four miles. An early deed showed water from
the ditch was used to irrigate 640 acres.
The Charles DeBremond Farm used water for 400 acres from this
ditch. Known widely for his leadership of the Battery A during World War I in
France and during the chase after Pancho Villa, Col. Charles DeBremond owned a
large farm and vineyard east of Roswell which he managed in a progressive way.
The DeBremond farm was also irrigated with water from other ditches not featured
in this article. A drive down the gentle curves of Zinnia Road, east of Roswell,
follows the course of the Last Chance Ditch.
Crow Ditch (also known as Crow-Garrett Ditch)
Pat Garrett, the legendary sheriff of Lincoln County, was an early
developer of irrigation projects in the Pecos Valley. When the words "Garrett's
Dam" are mentioned, they could refer to more than one dam. At the eastern end of
E. 19th Street, a private dirt farm road intercepts the south Berrendo River
farther to the east. This was the location of Garrod's Dam, which many associate
with Pat Garrett because he and William Crow put in an excellent dam and
diversion ditch in 1882. At a later time, the Garrod family owned the farm that
gave the dam its common name. The small reservoir behind the dam was the
favorite swimming hole in the Roswell area in early years because it had a
gently sloping gravel bottom. The Crow Ditch, about 8 feet wide, was a shorter
ditch that irrigated over a hundred acres of land, including part of the
Charles DeBremond Farm.
(Irrigation ditch, concrete lined, took water from the North
Spring River. This photo is believed to have been taken on the Stone Farm. HCSNM
No. 038-A)
Stone Ditch (also known as Eureka Ditch)
The North Spring River, which began as powerful springs in the
present Enchanted Hills area of Roswell, furnished a steady flow of water for
the Stone Ditch, starting at the municipal golf course and heading northeast to
the Roswell Country Club area. Riverside Drive ran along the side of the
ditch. A short trestle bridge, just northeast of the railroad intersection with
E. College Blvd., marks the spot where the Stone Ditch left the city and headed
northeast to the large Stone Farm. Credited by some as the first man to grow
alfalfa in this area, Judge Edmund T. Stone and his teenage sons, John and
Price, dammed North Spring River with stones and developed the long ditch in
1883. James D. Shinkle, a noted Roswell historian, wrote that at one time Judge
Stone and his son, John, owned all the land between the South Berrendo and North
Spring rivers from the front of the Country Club to where the Berrendo joins the
Hondo River to the east. That could be over 1,000 acres.
John Stone, after his father's death, sold 640 acres to J.J.
Hagerman, who turned the land into the Fairview Subdivision. According to
Carroll White, a former superintendent of county schools now living in a local
retirement home, Hagerman incorporated the Roswell Land and Water Company. Its
purpose was to sell the land as 10-acre truck farms, with each having a 64th
share in water from the Stone Ditch. Fairview still exists as small holdings
between E. Nineteenth Street and E. College Blvd., east of Atkinson Ave.
John Stone held back one-half of the water in the ditch for his own
farming. Most of the deeds for land in the Country Club area still show water
rights out of the Stone Ditch.
("... trestle bridge, just NE of railroad intersection with
E. College Blvd. , marks the spot where the Stone Ditch left the city and headed
northeast to the large Stone Farm." Photo taken in late March 2002.)
Blasek Ditch (also known as Roswell Mill Ditch)
The City of Roswell holds the major interest in claiming early
ditch rights in the Blasek Ditch. The Charles Lovelace Park, near the
intersection of N. Atkinson Ave. and E. College Blvd., was the location of the
Blasek home, grist mill and ice plant. George Blasek filed a ditch right in
1887, declaring that the Roswell Mill Ditch took a good supply of water out of
the North Spring River east of the railroad bridge, and ran east to his mill for
milling, manufacturing and agricultural purposes. A portion of that cement lined
ditch still exists near the Recreational Trail west of the Loveless Park.
Pioneer Ditch
Nearby, the Pioneer Ditch was taken out of North Spring River in
1881 at a bend near Roswell Livestock Auction Company. The river has been
straightened, but the original bend is still visible. The ditch ran south and
east, crossing Atkinson Ave., then Hondo River that it crossed by flume. Water
was picked up from the Hondo River, and one branch of the ditch ran east through
the large C.C. Slaughter Hereford Farms to an area near the former saline water
plant on E. Second Street near the Pecos River. The Slaughter estate estimated
that 844 acres were under cultivation from the Pioneer Ditch.
Frank C. Miller, a former assistant district attorney in Roswell,
now a resident at a local retirement home, remembers talking with Percy
FitzGerald in the1950s. Percy stated that the FitzGerald farm near the saline
plant received irrigation water from the Pioneer Ditch in earlier years also.
Other acreages were irrigated from the Pioneer Ditch, which branched and carried
water into the southeast area. Traces of the Pioneer Ditch still exist on a few
farms along the north side of E. Second Street.
This short summary of early irrigation ditches in the Roswell area
does not include all the ditches that were used in the development of
agriculture before artesian wells were drilled.
Landowners who wish to file claim to early ditch water rights for
the advantage of an early priority date are strongly encouraged to attend the
State Engineer informational meetings. Even those who have filed claims earlier
need to know what sources of proof are available. Those who have never filed
claims are allowed by Judge Harl Byrd, presiding over the long, drawn-out L.T.
Lewis case, to come forward now. It is hoped that many water rights in this area
will be given the earlier priority dates they deserve.
(Remnants of North Springs River after a good rain. This
view, taken beside Sycamore Avenue near 8th Street, is looking southeast towards
Spring River Golf Course.)
(Robert B. Corn in front of the Olympic Village map. Photo
courtesy of Robert B. Corn.)
OLYMPIAN ROBERT CORN
Rwm
Some people are told, tongue in cheek, that they are one in a
million. Bobby Corn was told he really was one in 21,000; now that was a big
deal. After much screening and red tape, only one out of every 21,000 was the
ratio of people accepted from the vast number of those who applied as volunteers
to work at the 2002 Winter Olympics.
Corn -- also known in Roswell and throughout the state's judicial
system as Magistrate Judge Robert B. Corn -- had given up hope of going to the
2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah and began to make other vacation
plans.
January 24th, prior to flying to Santa Fe on important New Mexico
legislative business, he had received an offer, by Email, from the Salt Lake
Olympic Organizing Committee, and responded, accepting the offer. On Jan. 25,
after returning from Santa Fe, he saw his acceptance from the Committee
selecting him as a volunteer for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games of
2002.
He was chosen for the position of Athlete Driver.
His Email told him and 90 other selected Athlete Drivers that they
would be responsible for ensuring that the athletes arrive at their competitions
safely and on time. The position involved the operation of a new, fully-insured
GMC 15-passenger van. The vans were provided by General Motors and gas by the
sponsorship of Texaco. He fit the applicant requirements, including having a
valid driver's license and no traffic points, and much more, including having a
valid commercial driver's license. The Email said drivers would be provided
thorough training, but knowledge of local roadways would be helpful. Corn had
never before been in the Salt Lake City area, but he was ready to learn.
The Committee wanted him available for dress rehearsals and
special events before the Olympics officially began.
There was one small problem. They wanted him in Salt Lake
City by the next morning, Jan. 26th. That was a mission
impossible.
As a judge, he still had cases on his docket and could not leave
prior to his scheduled vacation. Among the problems, too, was the fact that he
was in southeastern New Mexico and Salt Lake City was more than 800 miles away.
Correspondence quickly flew back and forth through cyberspace and by phone
between Corn and Committee members. They said they would take him as soon as he
could get there. All signals were go, and so was Corn. He packed his bags and
began the drive to Utah on February 4, spending the night with friends in
Durango, Colorado, arriving in Salt Lake City the afternoon of Feb.
5.
Almost immediately the day he arrived, his first eight hours of
training began, from 3 p.m. until 10 p.m. Extensive training involved, not
only familiarity with the Games' venues and all available routes to them, but
other things, such as how to handle a crisis including mass evacuation. High on
the procedures list was diplomacy: methods of dealing with people from all
backgrounds with all conceivable problems, great or small. As serious and
critically important as the job was, volunteers were also instructed to laugh
and have fun.
Besides days of training and other requirements, his official work
schedule was from February 10 through February 23.
An estimated 25,000 trained volunteers made up the workforce of
Team 2002. Each Team member wore a color-coded uniform. Those assigned to Event
Services -- ticket takers and ushers, access control and information -- wore
yellow. The Medical Team -- first aid, physicians and ski patrol -- wore red.
Field of Play -- gate judges, course groomers and statisticians -- wore green.
The General Team -- transportation, logistics and press assistants -- wore
blue. Robert Corn wore a blue uniform and was equipped with a
radio.
The volunteers of Team 2002 saved the Salt Lake Winter Games an
estimated $80 million.
Correspondence had begun between Corn and the Salt Lake 2002
Committee almost two years earlier, on March 10, 2000. He had originally applied
for the Medical Team. He spends weekends as a ski patrol volunteer on the slopes
of Sierra Blanca during Ski Apache's season. With First Aid training, as a
member of ski patrol, he is available to render aid to skiers, as well as do
search and rescue missions if required. Included in those duties, he and others
on patrol sweep the mountain to assure everyone is off at day's end. As a
volunteer applicant, that was the experience he offered the Olympic Committee.
The facts that he was a skier, a licensed commercial airplane pilot, a former
New Mexico Representative and a sitting magistrate judge were probably thrown
into the mix for good measure.
For nearly two years, correspondence by phone, letter and Email
continued between Corn and the Committee. He was eventually told that the
Committee received more applications than they could possibly use from medical
professionals, including physicians, nurses and paramedics, who had also
volunteered. Professionals in the medical fields ultimately filled all of the
Medical Team positions. Upon learning that, Corn gave up expecting to go to the
Olympics.
Then came the last-minute Email from the committee offering him a
different position, that of Athlete Driver. "This is even better," said Corn. He
was so excited that he could not sleep that night after learning of his
acceptance.
An estimated 3,500 athletes and officials from about 80 countries
were expected to participate at the Games. There would be competitions for seven
sports in 70 medal events.
Approximately 1,500 Athlete Drivers were selected to drive 600
vans assigned to the motor pool. There were other types of vehicles as well. The
drivers drove the athletes to venues to compete in their specific events, and to
sites of entertainment provided for them and other attendees in downtown Salt
Lake City. Some of Corn's driving assignments were miles away, and took 1-1/2
hours to reach.
Salt Lake City was the host city, but the locations for the 2002
Winter Olympics, on the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains stretching north
to Ogden and south to Provo, became the largest urban area to ever host the
Winter Games. The 10 venues were spread over a large area, between 10- and
60-minute drives from the Olympic Village. The assignment of Athlete Driver was
no insignificant task, but it also gave drivers opportunities to become
acquainted with Olympic athletes. Well, kind of. Corn said the athletes'
minds were focused upon their competitions, so they were not prone to chatter.
However, you could learn a lot from the coaches, he said.
(Super G Crowd - Photo courtesy of Robert B. Corn)
The venues were: The Curling Arena located at the Ice Sheet at
Ogden; the Alpine Area at Snowbasin located at the Snowbasin Ski Area; the
Skating Arena at West Valley City located at "E" Center; Speed Skating Oval at
Kearns located at the Oquirrh Park Oval; Bobsleigh & Luge Track and Ski Jump
Hill located at the Utah Winter Sports Park; the Alpine & Snowboard Area at
Park City located at Park City Mountain Resort; the Alpine & Freestyle Area
at Deer Valley located at Deer Valley Resort; Biathlon & Cross-Country Area
located at Soldier Hollow; and the Ice Hockey Arena at Provo located at the Ice
Sheet at Provo.
Corn said he was lucky; he was one of the few drivers to have the
opportunity to go to nearly all of the venues. The Ice Sheet at Ogden was the
only venue he did not get to, nor did he see the Olympic Medals site, but "I was
very nearby," he said.
The Bobsleigh & Luge Track, the Olympic Oval, and various
temporary stands and stadiums were added for the Games, said Corn.
However, most of the area's sites, used as venues and other purposes, already
existed before Salt Lake City was selected as host for the 2002 Winter Olympics.
Winter sports have always been important in Utah.
The Olympic and Paralympic Villages were on the University of Utah
campus, and the majority of the 70-acre complex was within a historic area known
as Fort Douglas. The opening and closing ceremonies took place at Rice Stadium
near the University of Utah. Each night, gold, silver and bronze medals were
presented to the day's winners at Salt Lake City's downtown Medal Plaza. The
estimated 10,000 media were housed in the Salt Palace Convention Center and in
nearby hotel rooms. Figure skating and short track speed skating events were
held at Salt Lake City's Olympic Skating Arena, which was one of the few new
facilities built. That 20,000 seat facility would become the regular home
of NBA's Utah Jazz.
Corn returned from his sojourn to Salt Lake City loaded with
photos and anecdotes. When asked, "Give me a story to tell," he said, "Which one
do you want? How much time do you have?" He said he had a story to tell
with each of the hundreds of photos he took.
Here is just one of the stories he told along with a couple of his
many photos. "This is Becky DeWitt, and this is her dad, Mike." They were from
the Salt Lake area. Becky was a "wannabe" Olympic competitor who belonged to the
local area's Luger club; Mike was one of the organization's many officers and
was assigned as part of a crew in charge of the upkeep of the entire Luge
venue.
Before many competitions, forerunners were selected to run the
entire courses ahead of the competing athletes to test them and the lights and
timer equipment. Becky was the forerunner of the women's luge competition. Had
she been a competitor instead of the forerunner, she would have placed fifth
that day.
"That's one of the Children of Light," said Corn showing another
photo. "Light the fire within" was this Olympic Games' theme, and thousands of
volunteer Children of Light -- ages four through 70 -- were seen silently doing
their jobs of spreading the light of helpfulness throughout the Games'
events.
Corn said he was very impressed with the Salt Lake Olympic
Committee's organization. That included in-depth planning and handling of
the many varied aspects involved in such a giant undertaking.
They did a superb job of crowd control, considering the huge
numbers of people attending each event, he said. One of the many photos he
showed to the Pecos Valley Rotary Club depicted 30,000 people orderly departing
a particular event through a passageway.
(Helicopter, probably security, flying above the Salt Lake
2002 Olympian Torch. Photo courtesy of Robert B. Corn)
Corn was impressed with the necessarily high security measures
taken before and throughout the Games. Security helicopters flew overhead.
During training, Athlete Drivers were given multiple alternative routes for each
planned journey, and drivers were told to not stop for any reason once the drive
began. Outside all Games venues were security screening ports for pedestrians
similar to those at airports. There were also checkpoints for all vehicles
entering venues. Vehicles' exteriors were always checked. These often included
examination of gas tanks, engines, luggage compartments, and use of mirrors on
long handles to examine the vans' undercarriages. Some of the checks also
required all van occupants to disembark for an extensive interior exam of the
vehicle as well.
The security measures were effective. There was no news-breaking
crisis.
Most of the athletes, even young ones, and their coaches had
already spent much of their lives preparing for or attending Olympics games at
their varied world-wide locations. All of those Corn and other drivers talked to
unanimously said the Salt Lake 2002 Olympic Winter Games were by far the best of
any Games they had attended.
The Salt Lake Organizing Committee told their Team 2002 volunteers
when they had arrived for duty: "We hope this incredible experience will remain
with you forever as we come together to light the fire within."
The Team's mission was "to be the Best Games Work Force Ever."
Mission accomplished.
Rwm
(Photo courtesy of Robert B. Corn)
(J.C. Lea portrait taken about
1885-1890. This archive photo is courtesy of Historical Society for Southeast
New Mexico.)
Captain Joseph C. Lea, "The Father of Roswell"
by Elvis E.
Fleming
He was an
outstanding man who played a significant role in shaping the West: Captain
Joseph C. Lea (1841--1904), "the Father of Roswell." Lea was especially dominant
in leading southeast New Mexico from a small speck on the frontiers of the
cattleman and the farmer to one of the most advanced areas in New Mexico
Territory. With the contributions of Lea and other developers, such as J.J.
Hagerman and Charles Eddy, the Pecos Valley area became a leading region of New
Mexico.
Lea
started life as a farm boy in Tennessee and Missouri. His father, Dr. Pleasant
Lea, was a well-to-do doctor and planter. When the Civil War broke out, J.C. and
his brother, Frank, joined W.C. Quantrill's Confederate guerrillas to defend
their country against plundering by the Kansas Jayhawkers in the Missouri-Kansas
border war. J.C. Lea was wounded in Quantrill's raid on Lawrence, Kansas. Lea
also served under CSA Gen. J.O.Shelby in the 6th Missouri Calvary, but for the
last two years of the war, he was a captain commanding his own men in Louisiana
opposite Vicksburg. Forever afterward, he was known as "Captain."
Lea moved
around the South after the war and in 1867, married a widow, Ellen Burbridge,
who died four years later. Following another period of restlessness, Lea met and
married Sallie Wildy in 1875. She was the beautiful daughter of W.W. Wildy, a
Mississippi planter.
Lea soon
departed for New Mexico Territory in search of something more interesting than
cotton production. After a few years ranching sheep and cattle around Wheeler
Peak in northern New Mexico, Lea moved his family and operations to the Roswell
area. The Leas had two children: Wildy was born in 1877 and Ella in 1881. Sallie
died in 1884, leaving J.C. with their two young children.
(Pictured is the J.C. Lea house, taken in
the late 1880s, probably after Sallie died. Most of the people in the photo were
relatives of J.C. or Sallie Lea. This was the first building in Roswell. It was
built as a hotel about 1870 by Van C. Smith on the present location of the
Pioneer Plaza. Archive photo courtesy of Historical Society of Southeast New
Mexico.)
Van C. Smith
had already started Roswell before the Leas arrived, but Lea was responsible for
turning it into a growing and thriving community -- thus earning the title
"Father of Roswell." Lea was a lot more
than just the Father of Roswell, however. He kept the Lincoln County War out of
Roswell and later was a major player in ridding the Territory of one "Billy the
Kid." Following the war, Lea started a large-scale ranching enterprise: The Lea
Cattle Company. Financed primarily by New York businessman Horace Thurber, the
Lea Cattle Co. by some estimates had the largest ranch with the most cattle of
any ranch in Lincoln County and probably in the Territory by 1890. Lea bought 50
miles of waterfront land along the Rio Bonito and Rio Hondo, from Ft. Stanton to
the Pecos River.
The cattle
company was created mainly to raise cattle, but it also owned much land that was
suitable for development as farms and town lots. To entice interested farmers to
the Pecos Valley, the Lea Cattle Co. embarked on an effort to develop both the
farmland of the Valley and the town of Roswell. A major project was the
construction of several canals to water thousands of acres of farmland from the
North Spring, Hondo and South Spring rivers. They also surveyed the original
streets and several additions to Roswell and commenced selling lots to
prospective settlers who wanted to go into business and build homes. Lea Cattle
Co. began to falter about 1891, and the Panic of 1893 started the gradual but
eventual collapse of the company.
In the
meantime, J.C. Lea was the primary influence in the creation of Chaves and Eddy
counties in 1889. He donated the courthouse square in Roswell but declined to
have his home county named for him. The incorporation of Roswell in 1891, the
building of the railroad into Roswell in 1894, and the establishment of numerous
businesses in the 1800s and 1890s all felt Lea's influence.
Goss Military Institute was established in
Roswell in 1891, largely through the efforts of Lea and his third wife, Mabel.
The school became New Mexico Military Institute in 1893, and is still one of the
foremost military academies in the country.
Roswell's government was reorganized from a town
to a city in 1903. The Democrats drafted Lea to run for mayor, and he was
elected to serve until the next regular election cycle. Regrettably, he lived
only two months after his election, dying in February 1904 at the age of 62.
J.C. was honored and recognized for his
accomplishments in his lifetime as well as after his death. Lea Avenue, Lea
Hall, Lea Lake and Lea County attest to the high honor which New Mexico
Territory bestowed upon this patriarch. Lea also experienced a lot of distress,
losing his first two wives to early deaths, seeing his son confined to the
Territorial mental hospital for life, and seeing the collapse of some of his
major developments.
During his adult life, Lea was a guerrilla, a
cattleman, a developer and a patriarch to one of New Mexico's most vital
regions. Captain Joseph C. Lea was a genuinely extraordinary man, much revered
by everyone who came under his influence.
Captain Joseph C. Lea: From Confederate Guerrilla to New Mexico
Patriarch, the new book by Elvis E. Fleming, is now available at the
Historical Society for Southeast New Mexico, 200 N. Lea Avenue, and also at
Cobean's Stationery, 320 N. Richardson Avenue, Roswell. The book sells for $25,
with over 260 pages plus 66 illustrations. The book was published by Yucca Tree
Press in Las Cruces, in cooperation with the HSSNM.
The author, Fleming, is city historian, member of and archivist for
Historical Society for New Mexico, as well as Eastern New Mexico
University-Roswell professor of history, emeritus.
Rwm
