Life is Good

This has been the best summer in forever. It rained more than once. My first trip to Seattle (6 days) was fantastic. I walked for miles with no problems with my knees. I entered the local Art Show and won an HM ribbon, and my silk painting sold. Our mini class reunion to Santa Fe (4 nights) was wonderful. I got in touch with people I hadn't seen in years. I made a couple of new friends. On the home front, I got new energy saving modern windows across the front of my house. My yard looks great. I got rid of a bunch of relics and my house does not look like a Cracker Barrel restaurant anymore. The more I get rid of, the freer I feel. Life is good.

The Streets of Carlsbad - Bonbright Street

     Included in the second group of investors brought in by J. J. Hagerman was William P. Bonbright. This connection, like the connection with Joseph Stevens, was made through the Broadmoor Country Club in Colorado Springs. Although originally from Philadelphia, where he was the co-owner of a dry goods store (which eventually became Wanamaker’s and then Macy’s), during the 1890s, William Bonbright was a stockbroker, and a civic and financial leader in Colorado Springs. There he was involved in mining, securities, electric companies, and various other investment ventures. Mr. Bonbright and Mr. Hagerman had been successful partners in at least one mining venture.

Mr. Bonbright filed on a section of land through the Desert Land Act in 1890. In 1891, the Eddy school teacher, Edith Ohls also received a land grant which she then deeded to William Bonbright.  Also in 1891, Bonbright was listed as the vice-president of the First National Bank of Eddy. He owned 70 shares of the Pecos Valley Irrigation and Investment Company. William P. Bonbright never resided in Eddy/Carlsbad.  When the disagreement between Mr. Eddy and Mr. Hagerman resulted in Charles B. Eddy leaving the Pecos Valley, Mr. Bonbright also cut his losses and his connection with the town. In 1910, the only shareholders present at the ninth annual Pecos Irrigation Meeting were Francis G. Tracy, I. S. Osborne and C. H. McLenathen. Mr. Stevens, Mr. Bonbright, Mr. Tansill, and Mr. Shaw had given the proxy of their shares to Mr. Tracy.

In 1887, Mr. Bonbright moved to London opening a brokerage office where he was the chief correspondent. After five years, he returned to New York City and the main office of Bonbright and Company was located there. From then until the outbreak of WWI, the Bonbright Company was a recognized leader in the financing of electrical and allied public utility fields that were actively expanding during that era. Mr. Bonbright passed away between 1912 and 1914. Mrs. Alice Bonbright is listed in the 1915 New York City Directory as a widow and head of household.

 

The Streets of Carlsbad - Mermod Street

Land speculation in the 1890s is the main reason for the development of Eddy/Carlsbad. To develop land in the desert, it was necessary to provide water to agricultural land.  The early irrigation developers, Charles B. Eddy, Robert W. Tansill, Charles Greene, Joseph Stevens, and Francis Tracy were joined by Arthur Mermod. The early developers used land laws to obtain land for development. Both Mr. Mermod and his wife were granted a section of land under the Desert Land Act.

Arthur Mermod (pronounced with a silent “d”) was from a wealthy family in St. Louis, Missouri. His father was the owner and president of the Mermod-Jaccard Jewelry Company of St. Louis, at the time one of the largest jewelry companies in the country. Mr. Eddy knew Arthur Mermod from the Colorado Springs area, where Eli and Arthur Mermod, Jr. had “dabbled” in cattle ranching. His father had invested in a cattle ranch in the Colorado Springs area, in an effort to give his sons a sense of purpose. The Mermod ranch and the Eddy ranch were in close proximity. Mrs. Arthur Mermod was the best friend of the Charles Eddy’s sister, Mrs. Mary Fox (Fox Street). When the Tansill party made the trip from Toyah, Mrs. Fox and Mrs. Mermod were visiting the Eddy Ranch and acted as hostesses to the visiting potential investors.

Although the Mermod family did not establish a residence in Eddy, they spent a part of each winter in the town. The family divided their time between St. Louis, Colorado Springs, and Eddy. Mr. Mermod became involved in the first real estate sales office in Eddy. During the 1890s, he served as a U.S. land commissioner.  He recorded deeds of land transactions as early as August of 1890. There were handbills printed by The Argus that identified Mr. Mermod as a land commissioner, notary, and sales agent for the investment company. He was mentioned in advertisements and brochures sent across the country talking up the advantages of life in the Pecos Valley.

Land speculation in the 1890s is the main reason for the development of Eddy/Carlsbad. To develop land in the desert, it was necessary to provide water to agricultural land.  The early irrigation developers, Charles B. Eddy, Robert W. Tansill, Charles Greene, Joseph Stevens, and Francis Tracy were joined by Arthur Mermod. The early developers used land laws to obtain land for development. Both Mr. Mermod and his wife were granted a section of land under the Desert Land Act.

Arthur Mermod (pronounced with a silent “d”) was from a wealthy family in St. Louis, Missouri. His father was the owner and president of the Mermod-Jaccard Jewelry Company of St. Louis, at the time one of the largest jewelry companies in the country. Mr. Eddy knew Arthur Mermod from the Colorado Springs area, where Eli and Arthur Mermod, Jr. had “dabbled” in cattle ranching. His father had invested in a cattle ranch in the Colorado Springs area, in an effort to give his sons a sense of purpose. The Mermod ranch and the Eddy ranch were in close proximity. Mrs. Arthur Mermod was the best friend of the Charles Eddy’s sister, Mrs. Mary Fox (Fox Street). When the Tansill party made the trip from Toyah, Mrs. Fox and Mrs. Mermod were visiting the Eddy Ranch and acted as hostesses to the visiting potential investors.

Although the Mermod family did not establish a residence in Eddy, they spent a part of each winter in the town. The family divided their time between St. Louis, Colorado Springs, and Eddy. Mr. Mermod became involved in the first real estate sales office in Eddy. During the 1890s, he served as a U.S. land commissioner.  He recorded deeds of land transactions as early as August of 1890. There were handbills printed by The Argus that identified Mr. Mermod as a land commissioner, notary, and sales agent for the investment company. He was mentioned in advertisements and brochures sent across the country talking up the advantages of life in the Pecos Valley.

In Mr. Tracy’s Reminiscences, he reported (when the Panic of 1893 and the flood of the Pecos followed), “The strain of the reversal was so disheartening, that discord broke out among the promoters themselves , and after an unsuccessful attempt to wrest control from Mr. Hagerman, Mr. Eddy and his associates (including Mermod) withdrew from the valley and never returned.”

 

The Streets of Carlsbad - Tracy Place

Francis Gallatin Tracy, Sr.

Recruited by his uncle, Joseph Stevens, Francis Gallatin Tracy, Sr. came west to inspect and invest in the irrigation venture. Mr. Tracy returned to New York; however, he was so impressed he sold his holdings on Long Island and returned to Eddy. He remained to manage Mr. Steven’s and his own investments.

Mr. Tracy was twenty-six when he came to Eddy from New York in 1890 with $163 and two collie dogs. He went to work for the Pecos Valley Town Company for $75 a month, investing most of his earnings in lots in the town and in his farm.  The early agricultural boom collapsed when the entire United States was hit by the Panic of 1893. The same year the Pecos River flooded and destroyed part of the irrigation ditches, tore out railroad tracks, and washed out the Rock and Hagerman Dams. A few pioneer farmers decided to “pull up stakes” and moved away. Mr. Tracy was determined to stay and be successful.

After the flood and economic downturn, Francis G. Tracy supervised preparation for building a new concrete flume across the river. The concrete flume was built by the Witt Brothers and finished in 1903. This flume was "one of the largest of its kind in the world."

The irrigation system was barely back in operation when the river flooded again in 1904. In desperation, the development company’s officers negotiated a sale to the United State Bureau of Reclamation in 1905 for $150,000 or about ten cents for each original investment dollar. In 1907 with Bureau money, the irrigation of 30,000 acres using 145 miles of ditches was completed. Francis G. Tracy was largely responsible for the successful reorganization and completion of the reconstruction.

New construction brought jobs and helped the economy. When the project was completed, farmers were able to increase alfalfa acreage dramatically. The Carlsbad Irrigation Co. was the first in the United States to pay back its debt to the Bureau of Reclamation and return to local ownership. Francis Tracy was largely responsible for this effort. The irrigation system was the largest built by private enterprise, and declared a National Landmark in 1973.

A hard freeze in 1906 killed most of the fruit trees and ended growing fruit as an agricultural industry in the Pecos Valley. Francis G. Tracy and C. H. McLenathen, the leading farmers of the area, found with irrigation cotton could be grown profitably. Cotton became the county’s major cash crop, grossing a half million dollars in 1908. Mr. Tracy was a life-long civic and community leader and continued to be of influence until his death in January of 1951. His descendants still reside in Carlsbad and continue his civic work.

The Streets of Carlsbad - Stevens Street

Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders 1889

      One of the most interesting of the early investors in the Pecos Valley was Joseph Sampson Stevens. Stevens was born in 1866, the son of a prominent, high society, New York banking family. His father, Fredrick William Stevens, served on the board of directors of five of the nation’s leading banks. His mother was Adele Livingston Sampson, the daughter of the founder of the Chemical National Bank. Fredrick Stevens served on the board of directors of the Chemical National Bank for 57 years.

            After being diagnosed with tuberculosis, Joseph Stevens came west, to Colorado Springs, which at the time was a sort of playground for the wealthy. He had played polo at Harvard College and was considered to be the best polo player in the country. In Colorado Springs, as a member of the Broadmoor Country Club, he met and became good friends with Charles and John Eddy, who also had family connections with the Chemical National Bank in New York City. As early as 1887, the Eddy brothers had recruited Stevens to invest in their grand scheme to irrigate the desert of New Mexico. He traveled from Colorado to the Eddy’s Halagueno Ranch before his twenty-first birthday. After his visit, he was convinced that southeast New Mexico was a good place to invest his inheritance. He immediately recruited his father, Fredrick and his nephew, Francis Tracy to come west and invest in the irrigation venture. Steven’s father and Mr. Tracy returned to New York; however, Mr. Tracy was so impressed with his visit, that he sold his holdings on Long Island and returned to New Mexico. He remained in Carlsbad to manage Mr. Steven’s and his own investments.

            Joseph Sampson Stevens went on to join Teddy Roosevelt’s Rough Riders. In May of 1889, he traveled to Cuba and fought in the Spanish-American War. He returned from the war with what was, at the time, termed “Cuban Fever” (malaria). On his return, he spent time re-cooperating living with his mother (now the Duchesse de Dino) on the French Rivera.  In 1899, he married Clara Sherwood Rollins. In 1904, at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, he played polo with President Teddy Roosevelt at a Rough Rider Reunion. He served on the board of directors of the Chemical National Bank in New York City and built “Kirby Hill”, a manor estate still in existence in Newport, Rhode Island.  Joseph S. Stevens passed away March 23, 1935 at the age of 69, in Charlotte, South Carolina.

The Streets of Carlsbad - Greene Street

The view from the southwest corner of Greene and
Main Streets during the flood of 1893. Photo courtesy
of nearlovingsbend.net
 

     Yes, Greene Street ends with an "e." Greene Street was named for one of the original developers, Charles W. Greene. He was connected to the Santa Fe Railroad, but visiting Roswell, New Mexico, when he introduced himself to the famous lawman, Pat Garrett. Garrett introduced Mr. Greene and Mr. Eddy. Mr. Greene was an enthusiastic promoter a newspaperman originally from St. Louis, Missouri. His job in the development was to promote the idea back east and in Europe.
     His youngest daughter described the effort with these words: "To carry out his project, Mr. Greene chartered a private car from Chicago and a party was formed to carry out the ideas and make their dream come true of transforming a desert into a land of prosperity. Those making this first trip were: R.W. Tansill, Mrs. Ruth Hustis, Ed S. Motter, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Gregory, Mrs Minnie H. Gibson, and the Messrs. Philpot, Hinkle, and O'Meara, all from Chicago. At St. Louis, Miss Mary Reed, daughter of Mr. Greene, joined the party and upon the invitation of Mr. Tansill, Lillian Greene went as mascot."
     When the town was christened in 1888, it was Mr. Greene's daughter, Lillian, who did the honors by breaking the bottle of champagne on a rock at the low water crossing. The first wooden bridge over the Pecos, on Greene Street, was completed in 1890. People came from all over the country to have a hand in the development of the new town.
     Mr. Greene's enthusiasm could not be contained, and he was not satisfied with slow and steady growth. He moved to Europe and settled in London, where he spent the next five years devoting his efforts to promoting Irrigation and Investment Company and the town of Eddy. He was responsible for bringing many colonies of foreigner to the Pecos Valley to settle and grow their crops.
     This was successful until 1893, when a national economic panic and a terrible flood of the Pecos caused a reversal of fortune. Many of the immigrants left the Pecos Valley, as did many investors. Mr. Eddy and his associates backed out of the venture. Mr. Greene was one of those left responsible and it was too much for him. He lost his entire fortune and died soon after in New York City. But he is still remembered in Carlsbad, with Greene street, ending with an "e."

The Streets of Carlsbad - Hagerman Street

James John Hagerman

Many of the streets in our town are name after people who came before us. They were developers, capitalists, and visionaries. They could see a land of opportunity in the desert, maybe none more so than James John Hagerman. Mr. Eddy traveled all the way to Colorado Springs to recruit Mr. Hagerman. Mr. Eddy picked up Mr. Hagerman at the Toyah train depot and drove him through the Pecos Valley showing him the prospects for agriculture by irrigation. After this hundred mile buggy ride, Hagerman took charge of the development. The original investors and Hagerman formed the new Irrigation and Investment Company. Hagerman raised capital, and invested heavily himself. By 1890, the Rock Dam was built north of the village at today’s Avalon site and water released into the main canal. A high, trestle-supported wooden flume was built to carry the main canal from La Huerta over the river for irrigation south of the town.

J.J. Hagerman invested heavily and became the force behind the development of southeastern New Mexico, bringing the railroad from Pecos to Roswell. There were serious problems between Mr. Hagerman and Eddy.  Both were strong personalities and they fought about business operations. There were economic problems throughout the nation in 1893, and in 1895 a flood washed out most of the irrigation canals and dams that had been completed.  A great deal more money would be needed to complete and rebuild the irrigation project.  Charles Bishop Eddy left Carlsbad in 1895 to go into developments in the El Paso area.  He never returned to the town or county to which he had given his name.

Mr. Hagerman continued to invest. Hagerman had seen the need for an easier way for people to get to the Pecos Valley and to get valley farmers’ crops to market. Hagerman formed a separate company to build the Pecos Valley Railroad from Pecos, Texas, and in 1891 the townspeople celebrated the arrival of the first train. Hagerman built a large home east of the river and town. He later invested more of his money to extend the railroad to Roswell and to Amarillo. Although the town of Hagerman was named for him, the Hagerman family never lived there.  In 1900, Mr. Hagerman sold his home in Colorado and moved to Roswell. He purchased the John Chisum South Springs property. In 1906, his son, Herbert, became the Territorial Governor of New Mexico. Hagerman died in Italy while touring Europe with his wife and was buried in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The Streets of Carlsbad - Eddy Street

Charles B. Eddy in trimmed beard plaid
bowtie, top-buttoned coat. Eddy was the
original La Huerta ranch owner and
project promoter.

Of course, the most prominent name in early Eddy/Carlsbad was that of cattleman turned promoter, Charles B. Eddy.  None of the first streets were named for Mr. Eddy. However, the town took Eddy’s name, and in 1889 when two new counties were formed from the southern part of Lincoln County, one was named Chavez and the other, Eddy.

            Charles Bishop Eddy was born in 1857 in Milford, New York. In the early 1880s, he and his brother, John Arthur Eddy, came to Colorado to try cattle ranching. John was the day to day manager, and Charles, the promoter.  They soon moved south and purchased the Pecos Valley Ranch along the Pecos in the southeast part of the territory. 

            Charles and John, with the financing from a New York banker, began developing the Eddy-Bissell Ranch in 1881.  At first, cattle ranching seemed profitable.  The first few years there was enough grass and rain for the cattle in the valley.  However, rainfall in southeast New Mexico was never dependable. The drought of 1885 and 1886 was severe.  Eddy lost one third of his herd and he was lucky, many other ranchers were wiped out.

            Always a promoter, after the drought of 1885 and 1886, Eddy began an irrigation development.  In 1887, he and other investors formed a company and incorporated the town of Eddy from a portion the Eddy-Bissell Ranch.  Charles Eddy was responsible for planting the cottonwood trees that were one of the early attractions of the town.  Despite Eddy’s effort promoting the town, the company was in financial trouble until Robert W. Tansill introduced Mr. Eddy to James John Hagerman.  Mr. Hagerman became a major factor in development, bringing the railroad from Pecos to Roswell.

            Starting in 1893, there were economic difficulties, and in 1895 a serious flood destroyed a major portion of the canals, dams, and railroad.  New money was needed and the major investors disagreed over business matters.  Eventually, Mr. Eddy moved on to develop other projects in the El Paso area. He never returned to the area he had given his name.  Carlsbad has an Eddy Street, Eddy Elementary School, and is the county seat of Eddy County.

The Streets of Carlsbad - Tansill Street

Robert Weems Tansill

When the Pecos Land and Ditch Company formed in 1887, the first investors were cattlemen.  The drought of 1885 and 1886 was severe; there wasn’t enough grass for the cattle and the shrinking river was the only water. One rancher said so many cattle died you could walk on the backs of dead cattle from Seven Rivers to Pecos.  Charles B. Eddy, of the Eddy-Bissell Cattle Company, lost one third of his herd.  Many of the other ranchers were completely wiped out. This drought convinced Mr. Eddy that to raise cows or anything else in the Pecos Valley serious changes would have to be made.

            Mr. Eddy envisioned an irrigation project fed by the Pecos River along a canal he named, "Halagueno".  Charles Eddy and his brother John formed a corporation and began looking for investors.  Soon after, Eddy met with Pat Garrett, who was operating a ranch south of Roswell.  Garrett was also trying to raise funds for a canal he called "The Great Northern Canal.”  Garrett’s project, if extended southward, would provide irrigation for up to 40,000 acres.  These two teamed up with Charles W. Greene and began their venture.  They hired engineers and had plans drawn up.

            In searching for capital, they made the acquaintance of Robert Weems Tansill.  Tansill had made a fortune manufacturing “Punch” cigars in Chicago, the first cigars to the use concept of branding.  His cigars were advertised on billboards and were the first to use cigar bands.  Due to health problems, he had come west on the advice of his doctor and settled in Colorado Springs. Tansill joined “the Company” and later moved to Carlsbad to better manage his investment. Along with his money and business sense, he also had connections. Tansill introduced “the Company” to James John Hagerman. Mr. Tansill loved the community and stayed here until his death in 1902.   Tansill Street, Tansill Dam, and Lower Tansill Dam are evidence of his significant influence in the development of our community.

The Streets of Carlsbad - Canal Street

View Southward from the Alonzo Luckey tower at
206. N. Canyon; Second section of Hagerman
Hotel completed, National Bank Building on Canal
Street completed. 

Did you ever wonder about the names of the streets in Carlsbad?  Here in the desert our busiest street is named Canal.  Most towns have streets named Main, Center, or Park, and tree streets, like Oak, or Elm.  Some were platted with named streets one direction and numbered cross streets.  How did Carlsbad’s streets get their names?  This column will reveal a little of the history of our town and how it grew to be the place we live today. 

            The town of Eddy was conceived by a group of promoters in 1887.  Charles B. Eddy, co-owner of the Eddy-Bissell Cattle Company, envisioned an irrigation project fed by the Pecos River.  Another irrigation promoter was Pat Garrett, the lawman famous for killing Billy the Kid.  These men teamed up with Charles W. Greene, Robert W. Tansill, along with Arthur Mermod, Joseph Stevens, and Elmer Williams to found the Pecos Land and Ditch Company.

            In 1888, The Ditch Company hired B.A. Nymeyer to survey and plat the first eighteen blocks of the municipality.  Six streets ran east-west and four streets ran north-south. The six east-west streets were named after investors or their friends. The four north-south streets were Canal, Canyon, Main, and River Streets.  Mr. Greene supposedly insisted the town be named for Mr. Eddy.  On September 15, 1888 they christened the venture by breaking a bottle of Champagne on a rock at the Pecos River crossing.  Mr. Eddy began planting cottonwood poles and marking out streets. The first town building was The Land and Ditch Company building, a wooden structure on Greene.  A few lots were sold for $50 each and construction began.

            The purpose of the venture was to create an oasis so inviting that people from back east would purchase lots from the Land and Ditch Company.  Advertisements placed in eastern newspapers lured people to move to Eddy.  The ads described the lush greenery made possible by the canals and ditches that delivered water from the Pecos River to almost every property in town.  These successful ads brought people from as far away as Switzerland to settle in the town with the “Canal.”

Surrender

I have not come to this conclusion lightly, but the war is over, and all is lost. The 1% - 4% won, and though we would not admit it to even ourselves, we always knew they would. I do not think this is a surprise. Think back to the late 60s and early 70s. Everything predicted by the counterculture gurus has come true. Not in the apocalyptic manner we were so innocently expecting, but insidiously, slowly, like the leak in the dyke, slowly eroding the foundation of whatever was true and light and good in the world. We closed our eyes and pretended it was all going to be fine.

And no, we didn't just get old - while we were raising our children, working, teaching, and trying to make a difference in our own small ways, SOMETHING went wrong, and we were so distracted by LIFE, that we barely noticed. We were given bread and circuses, lotteries, fancy electronics, concerts, sports, and amazing toys. The church casinos of Stranger in a Strange Land that seemed so impossible are commonplace. The Population Bomb actually exploded, seven billion people are crowding our planet. The hidden street cameras of 1984 take our pictures an average of 14x's every day. We allow ourselves to be poked and prodded by quasi-officials to fly through the air to destinations that are logged onto government computers. We meekly allow concert security teenagers search our purses, no grumbling, just find our seats and try to enjoy.

Those who are still able to THINK, can post, grumble and complain. We can write about it, we can rail and expound and protest, but ultimately - it will do no good. Freedom is an illusion. Free will is limited to those who volunterly stay within the fence. Freedom of the press, freedom of religion, freedom to assemble, and the rest of the guarantees of the Bill of Rights are illusions maintained by the Haliburton, GM, AIG, B of A, Wells Fargo, Proctor and Gamble, ABC/Disney/GE and all the rest of the 500 to maintain order and keep profits headed the right direction on the nightly graph. It doesn't matter which political party is in power, because they are just different images, no different than Punch and Judy. They have the same hands up their dresses or manipulating their strings. The political play is merely another distraction.

Our children are not and will never be upwardly mobile. Our grandchildren will not live better than their parents. Those of us with children and grandchildren, if we do not wish to be driven totally insane by this realization, must encourage them to learn to enjoy the small beauties left to us. Music, art, gardens, flowers, poetry, sunrises, sunsets, rainbows, mountains, lakes, streams, and good books - those are the pleasures left, as long as we don't make waves and stay inside the fence. Do not lightly dismiss my surrender, it matters.

A quote from the play JB, by Archibald Macleash:

"If God is god, he is not good.

If God is good, he is not god.

Take the even, take the odd.

I would not sleep here if I could,

Save for the green grass in the wood,

And the wind on the water."

How to Behave - Really?

Okay, I am about to get on my bandwagon. Most people know I'm a staunch Women's Libber. However, I'm taking a stand on this Herman Cain nonsense that might surprise you. I am not a Cain supporter. I agree with Rachel Maddow - that his candidacy cannot be serious, even on his part.
BUT --- what ever happened to just slapping the snot out of someone that makes an unwelcome pass at you? Even if it is your boss, and this doesn't look like he was supervising any of them. Why in the hell would you go to a lawyer because someone tried to stick his hand up your skirt? First of all, why did you put yourself in a position where that was an option? This smells of money. I'm sure these women are professional women - how else do you get that close to a big bucks CEO. Wouldn't you just label the man involved as a pig, and make sure you were not in his reach again?

I'm not defending Cain, I'm sure he is a pig, but the whole thing smells of Nixonish (GOP) dirty tricks. And if that is true, then the source of this mess needs to be identified. What I see in my head are back rooms with researchers sitting at laptops digging through every publicly filed action with the man's name on it. Which one of his opponents was using back room investigations? He is blaming it on the Democrats, and I am sure that is a possibility. But that doesnt make much sense, because I think the Dems would rather run against Cain over the rest of the very poor field of candidates.

The Joy of Being a Grandparent

I was a terrible mother. Really. The results speak for themselves. My oldest son passed away at 25. My youngest son had the hardest adolescence imaginable. He survived it, and is now a real grownup person, a little rough around the edges, but has an excellent handle on who he is and what he wants. He is intelligent, hardworking, and kind.  And I am very proud of the man he has become.


I stayed home with my two boys until they started K and 1st. I did everything thing that Dr. Spock and the other experts said I was suppose to do. They never missed a doctor checkup or a vacination. I made homemade babyfood; and they took their vitamins. I made Halloween costumes on my sewing maching.  My kids went to baby play dates, church, Sunday school, Tuesday school, Cub Scouts, swimming lessons, vacation bible school, community college classes, day camp, educational vacations, community theater, little league, and everything else I could find or imagine. We made homemade Christmas ornaments and gifts for the grandparents. I read to them every night - every night until they were passed old enough to read to themselves. They had at least heard most the classics before they started school. They always scored at the top 5% of all the national testing. They went to school in clean clothes, and with home cooked breakfasts in their tummies. Their homework was done and stacked by the door. No matter how long the battle the night before had lasted.

When I started teaching, I made sure I was home with them when they were sick.  I started working on my Master's and their grandmother took care of them. I took them to college with me sometimes and we went on great vacations. By the time they were in High school, they had been to the bullfights on Easter in Juarez, a Dallas Cowboys game, Ringling Brothers Circus, Sea World, and every historic site in NM and TX. They had been deep sea fishing, to football camp, to rodeos, the State Fair, and Disneyland.  They had attended the theatre in El Paso, Cats, Camelot, Fiddler, and all the community concerts and local community theatre plays in Carlsbad. They had been to museum exihibitions in serveral cities, the Ft. Worth Zoo, the Aquarium and Zoo in ABQ, the Natural History Museums, Art Museums, and just about anything else we could find.
What did I do wrong? Lots. I gave them too much, and did too much for them. I over parented. I agonized over all the details. I smothered. I wanted perfection. I didn't get it.

Now, grandkids are a whole different story. The pressure is off. I can entertain without guilt. I can buy what I want or not. I can feed her junk food. I can dress her for school in 2 different socks without having an anxiety attack. Lots of things that I thought really mattered with my kids, are not really all that important. Now, I can see that she will be what she will be, and both of her parents love her very much. She is happy sometimes and unhappy sometimes, but now I understand that life cannot be perfect. And she might not be perfect. But I can enjoy being with her. And pretty soon, we can do some of those things I did with my kids, but without all the stress. I can give her some of the same advantages, and not worry about the results. I look forward to it - a lot. And I look forward to the second grandkid too. He will be here around Dec. 30th and I intend to spoil the heck out of him too.

Lavern and Voncile

These two women planted seeds,
And watered their garden,
So we could blossom and grow.
They gave little girls an amazing gift,
A gift of time, and being so young
We didn’t know the cost.
We only knew that they were there,
With hugs, laughter, and words of wisdom
With Elmer’s glue and glitter.
They shared their life experience,
And love, and homemade cookies
They patched up our fights,
And dried our tears, with Kleenex,
Sympathy and good advice.
They were dependably there
Throughout our forming years,
For Box Suppers, Candy Sales,
Car washes, and Style shows;
For pecan pies and Campfire Camp.
And as we grew, they guided.
They were there to teach us
About Service, Kindness, Duty,
And the importance of Friendship
We learned Pride and Humility
And how to walk with heads held high.
They watch over our childhood and
Endured our adolescence, and
Then ushered us into adulthood.
They taught us to reach for stars,
But to be there when someone falls,
And to cheer for each other’s success.
They deserve a large part of the credit
For the women we have become,
Nurses, bankers, teachers, artists,
Writers, homemakers, and business leaders
And after all these years, still real friends.

Too Early to Be Focused - Occupy Together / Occupy Wall Street

The Occupy Wall Street movement does not need to be focused yet. Right now they need to organize and energize. They need to get across the idea that people are sick of the way Wall Street and our Government is circle jerking each other. As soon as they come up with a list of specific demands, someone, the SSDD Dems, or, heaven forbid, the Tea baggers will try and co-opt their energy and their agenda. They will be pigeon-holed, minimalized, and forgotten – just like the One World protestors in 1999. If they keep the Occupy Together movement going, they will be able to force the media (or the media not controlled by Murdoch) to either jump out of the way or jump on board. Some of their best ideas are: getting rid of corporate money in politics, prosecuting the bankers responsible for the Bank Debacle and the Mortgage Meltdown, student loan forgiveness, infrastructure jobs, supporting universal health care, forcing true fair world trade, and getting the military the hell out of the Middle East. I voted for Obama on the promise that he would get the troops out of the Middle East. I don’t care if he is black, white, or green. Right now, I am not happy with his compromising attitude. However, I don’t see anyone in the potential GOP candidates that could do any better. And neither do the people in Liberty Park. We need better answers. Better answers will not come from the same old talking heads. This has been the best thing I have seen on the news in years. I had lost all hope of things ever changing. Now maybe there is a flicker of a light at the end of the tunnel.

Why Public Education is in Peril

Not long after I retired, I was packing away and throwing out education books I had collected over the 25 years. I came across a tattered paperback copy of Teaching as a Subversive Activity, and was struck by how deeply my teaching had been affected by this book: Early in my career, I had vigorously attempted to adhere to these principles. At my very best, I tried to teach students to question everything they were told – even the things I told them. The public education system is not friendly to this kind of teaching. And by the end of my career, I still had the attitude and tried to pass it on to my students. But today public education will beat the inquiry out of you.

According to Postman and Weingartner, students should be encouraged to ask questions meaningful to them, and ones that do not necessarily have easy answers; teachers should be encouraged to avoid giving answers whenever possible, and to avoid giving direct answers in favor of asking more questions.

The method of teaching students to ask questions is motivated by the authors’ understanding that learners need to center their attention on the process of inquiry itself, not merely on the end products, or facts. They list certain characteristics that they think are common to all good learners (Postman and Weingartner, 31–33), saying that all good learners have:
• Self-confidence in their learning ability
• Pleasure in problem solving
• A keen sense of relevance
• Reliance on their own judgment over other people's or society's
• No fear of being wrong
• No haste in answering
• Flexibility in point of view
• Respect for facts, and the ability to distinguish between fact and opinion
• No need for final answers to all questions, and comfort in not knowing an answer to difficult questions rather than settling for a simplistic answer

In attempting to imbue students with this approach to their education, a teacher who adheres to the inquiry method must act in ways that are startlingly opposed to traditional teaching styles.

Postman and Weingartner suggest that inquiry teachers have the following characteristics (pp. 34–37):
• They avoid telling students what they "ought to know".
• They talk to students mostly by questioning, and especially by asking questions that are divergent.
• They do not accept short, simple answers to questions.
• They encourage students to interact directly with one another, and avoid judging what is said in student interactions.
• They do not summarize students' discussion.
• They do not plan the exact direction of their lessons in advance, and allow it to develop in response to students' interests.
• Their lessons pose problems to students.
• They gauge their success by change in students' inquiry behaviors (with the above characteristics of "good learners" as a goal).

Good teaching can be subversive because, among other things, it challenges students to think, to question things as they are, to envision and consider possibilities. To be "subversive", we must encourage students to think outside the box. We need to teach students to desire to be life-long learners. We need to create a thirst for knowledge. The evidence that we have failed in this mission hits us in the face with every new government educational report. We have bright students, but what are we doing that causes the quality of education to continue to degrade? Why is America not at the top of the list of educated, developed nations?

I don’t know when I stopped using inquiry with conscious effort, but I know there were years I didn’t do it as well as Postman and Weingartner would have liked. I could blame my failure on burnout, or on No Child Left Behind, Madeline Hunter and five page lesson plans with stated objectives, checklists, state standards, and benchmarks. I cannot even explain how discouraging it was knowing that Central Office (my bosses) wanted every 8th grade History or Language Arts teacher to be on the same page, on the same day, teaching the exact same enumerated State Standard. I do know that NCLB was why I retired after the minimum 25 years.

The book's authors predicted that much in American education would be changing. In some respects, and it has; but not for the better. I was blessed with a good mind and an excellent public school education. The elementary and secondary teachers I remember best did encourage their students to ask questions. They also taught from the heart and with a love of the curriculum, not from a list of objectives provided by the state or central office. I can’t imagine exactly what some of them would have thought about the inane hoops I was required to jump through after the implementation of NCLB.

We have a wealth of educational technology today. The average 8th grader holding an iPhone has more information at his or her fingertips that all of the previous U.S. Presidents. But if they do not have the ability to sift through the information provided by this technology and recognize what is valid, it doesn’t do them any good. All the technology in the world will not produce an inquiring mind without someone modeling the process of inquiry.

The results of not having a questioning mind are evident in the attitudes and actions of a large majority of adults today. They hear something on TV and immediately take it to be a fact. Our society has become too accepting. We don’t ask why. We don’t ask how. We get in line and do as we are told. We give up our basic rights. We have become sheeple.

Why Education is Failing

This is the gorilla in the room that no one talks about. One of the reasons the quality of K-12 education is failing because of the opportunities for women have expanded since 1972. The demographics of college bound female students that are choosing to major in education have changed greatly since 1972. In 1970, the year I started college, most of my female friends that went to college majored in education, nursing, or business. And that was after the start of the women's liberation movement. When I started elementary school in 1958, even the best and brightest females had basically the same three choices. And many of the brightest females had chosen education. I had a great deal of respect for 98% of my female teachers. Today we find the middle to bottom of female high school graduates chosing eduction as a major. My teachers encouraged me to ask question and think for myself. My son's teachers rewarded conformity. My granddaughter has the same second grade teacher that my son had 21 years ago. And she is teaching in the same format that she used when she was teaching my son. The entire school system since NCLB has focused on rewarding conformity. Conformity is one of the keys to high national test scores. One of the reasons I quit teaching as soon as I made my retirement was that I was disgusted with an administration that wanted every teacher teaching 8th grade history in the district to be on the same page on the same day. The entire system had been altered to provide proof that we were teaching all of the standards and benchmarks. There is no room for creativity. There is no respect for the teaching profession, even from educaional administrators. Many parents have no respect for teachers, because the education system failed them also.

Cookie Cutter Cities

In a time when we are in danger of all towns beginning to look just alike, please save the individuality of our communities. Don't let the urban planners cover the old charm with new shiny, plastic, cookie cutter sameness. For every mindless tourist you might make comfortable, there are hundreds who have the mental awareness to appreciate visual evidence that the old has evolved into the new. Our alleys and backyards are evidence of our history. The rock walls and the ivy represent our beginnings. The front facades of our downtown buildings have changed many times over the years, and will change again in years to come. But true beauty is found with a few cracks, a rock wall, a screen door, and a connection to how we arrived here. The identity of our children is built by a connection to their community. When all communities look just alike, then what connection will be made? How will they develop community pride if everything is the same everywhere? There is nothing wrong with cleaning and painting; there is nothing wrong with updating the facade of some buildings. But please, save what little historic corners and crevasses that are left. These small differences that make our town unique will cling in the memory of our children and the tourists passing through.

To Tweet or Not to Tweet

Whether it is nobler in mind to be an instant smart ass, or to delay the gratification.

I set up a Twitter account a year or so ago, didn't get into it, and let it lay dormant for a while. My kids gave me an iPhone for Mother's Day and it came with the Twitter AP already on it. Didn't use it.
This morning on Morning Joe on msnbc, there was a (I want to say article - what is the term for a spot on TV?) segment (?) about Klout which is an Internet function (?) that rates your clout whether you want it to or not. (disturbing)

And of course, after thinking about it for a while, I picked up the iPad to check. I know, I know, how vain. And, again of course, I have no clout or Klout either. (disturbing) So, I desire clout, but I am not sure why. Maybe I'm bored, or maybe I am insecure, or maybe just a sucker for Internet junk.

So if you like my blog, please follow me on Twitter. I will tweet when I update my blog. I think, maybe.

Skills for Success in School



What can a parent do to help their children succeed in school? There are five skills that must be learned to be a success in their journey through the educational maze. Your child will be in school for at least 12 years and these five skills are needed from first grade all the way to graduation. The first skills we are going to discuss are Organization and Time Management.

To find out which skills your child already has and which might need development, start a conversation about their interests and goals. Ask about their favorite subjects, which classes are their least favorite, and if they’re satisfied with their grades. Check with your child’s teacher or teachers early in the first grading period. Don’t wait until it is too late to make an improvement. Listen for clues. Use your own observations to check what they are telling you. Is the student turning in assignments late or not at all? This may mean they are having trouble organizing, or poor time management.

1. Organization: Whether it's keeping track of materials or remembering to bring a backpack home, all children in every grade need to be organized to succeed. For many students, academic problems are more a result of poor organization than a lack of ability. Here are some tips to help your child get organized:

• Make sure you have provided all the supplies needed, both at home and at school. This includes the supplies that the teacher requested and extras at home where they do their homework.
• Make a checklist of things your child needs to bring to and from school every day.
• Find out how your child keeps track of his homework and how to organize notebooks, then work together to develop a system. Check to see what system the teacher prefers.
• Try to check each day to see how well the items on the list are remembered.
• Track assignments on a monthly calendar. Work backward from the due date of larger assignments and break them into nightly tasks.

2. Time management: Time management can be a hard concept for young students to understand. Even when they have a week to do a project, many won't start until the night before it's due. It takes some experience for a student to figure out how long an assignment or project will take. Learning to organize time takes a little practice and parental guidance. Here are some tips to help your child manage time:

• Designate a time and place for nightly homework and help your child stick to this schedule. The best way to stay organized is to do their homework in the same place every night – not in front of the TV.
• The more organized you are, the less time it takes to get things done. Having to hunt for supplies takes away from work time and discourages the student.
• The secret of getting done is getting started. The sooner they get started after school, the easier it will be to get their work done. It is harder to get them started on homework if they are already playing or watching TV.
• Help your child record how much time is spent on homework each week, so together you can figure out how to divide this time into manageable chunks.
• If you start this early in elementary school, the student will have an easier time transitioning to junior high or high school. On the secondary level, they will have 6 or 7 teachers every year that might each have different expectations.

The other three skills that we will discuss are Prioritization, Concentration and Motivation. These are skills that do not come naturally to elementary school students. They need help from teachers and parents and practice to develop these skills. These are skills that are necessary throughout all their years of education and are also essential in the world of work.

3. Prioritization: Just what is prioritization? It is a big word, but it just means deciding what you need to do first and then how to get it done. Which assignment is most important? Which assignment will take the longest to finish? Which assignment does the teacher want first? Sometimes students simply don't know where to begin. Here are some tips to help them prioritize:

• Ask your child to make a list of all the things they need to do, including all their school, sports, and outside activities. You could do this with the student, so they can see that it is an important skill for adults too.
• Ask them to number or rank each task from 1 to 3, with the tasks ranked number 1 being the ones the child feels are the most important.
• Discuss each task so you understand your child's priorities. If they rank social activities as 1, then you know where their attention is going.
• Show your child how to better prioritize for success in school, suggest rewriting the list until all the 1's are at the top.
• Check in weekly to see how well the list is working and how your child is prioritizing new tasks.

4. Concentration: Whether your child is practicing 2^nd grade spelling words or studying for a trigonometry test, it's important that homework is done in an area with limited distractions and interruptions. These are tips to help your child concentrate on the task at hand:

• Turn off access to e-mail and games when your child works on the computer.
• Declare the cellphone and TV off-limits during homework time.
• It usually works best for the child to have a space of their own that is the designated homework spot with their supplies and materials at hand. 
• Some large projects like science fair projects or art projects may take a different space and materials.
• Depending on the age of the child, they should work for about 15 to 20 minutes and then take a 5 minute break. We all concentrate better when we break our work into manageable time periods.

5. Motivation: When asked, most children say they want to do well in school, yet many still fail to complete the work necessary to succeed. The reason is often motivation. Motivation might be the hardest skill to acquire. Tapping into their interests is a great way to get them eager to do well in school. These tips might help to motivate your child:

• Try to link what they are learning in school to your child's life. If they are learning percentages, at the grocery store ask them to figure out the price of a discounted item.
• Link your child's interests to academics. If your child a music nut, give them books about musicians and show them how music and math are connected.
• Don’t over manage. Be there to help, but as they get older allow them more control and choices. With guidance, let them determine study hours, organizing system, or school project topics. If you start early, you will have less trouble as they get older.
• Encourage your child to share the school experience with you. Regularly ask about what they are learning in school. Have conversations where you are listening to their opinions and allowing them to disagree with you in a respectful way.
• Show your child how to have pride in the little things, encourage new ideas and questions, and celebrate all efforts and successes.

Remember all children are individuals and the parents have to adjust to individual learning styles - just like teacher do. Often students are hesitant to try because of the fear of failing. You can help break this cycle by celebrating your child's successes, no matter how small, and by giving them opportunities to succeed. And there's no better time to start than now.