Roswell, New Mexico- Aliens Aside, a Great Place to Visit.

Granted, when you mention visiting Roswell, New Mexico, people make snide comments about seeing aliens or did you get there by spaceship or some other comment that they think is original but is actually getting old. I was recently at a function and making conversation with another person at the table. It was Labor Day weekend and I asked if he had anything exciting going for the weekend. He didn’t. Out of politeness I would guess, he asked what I was doing.  I’m headed to Roswell (New Mexico) this weekend.  He shot me a look and asked why ANYONE would go to Roswell. I was raised there and my parents and brother still live there. His next comment was “That museum they have is terrible. I don’t know why anyone would bother to go there.” I responded that it must have been a while since he went because the museum was newly remodeled and a real credit to the community. Few places have a museum of that quality. “If you say so,” was his response.  That is when it struck me. He considered the UFO museum to be THE museum in Roswell.  It really is too bad when people consider the UFO museum and UFO stores as the cultural center of Roswell.

Mind you, they certainly have their place. As we drove into Roswell, it was evident that the prosperity that the UFO enthusiasts brought to the city was helping to give it a facelift. Stores we had grown up with were repainted, remodeled, or torn down and replaced with nicer buildings. If you are looking to visit, you had better make reservations for a hotel room because they often fill up.  I, however, decided after that conversation to let people know that there is a culture in Roswell that is historical and deep and the people there are proud of it. They tolerate the UFOs to help to grow the cultural side of the town.

This is the real museum in Roswell. Many years ago it was relatively small with a focus on art, especially featuring the art work of Peter Hurd. Now the art side has expanded greatly with many exhibits both contemporary and traditional. Along with Peter Hurd, his wife Henriette Wyeth has paintings on exhibit as well as Georgia O’Keefe. Many other artists are included. To complete the cycle, the museum is deeply involved in teaching the youth of Roswell about art and often has exhibits by local school children of all ages in the art education wing.

The second feature was the exhibit about Robert H. Goddard, the father of modern rocketry. This display has been expanded to a replica workroom and exhibits showing his early rockets and progressing to modern times.  Outside a new addition includes the original rocket structure with a soon to be added bronze of Robert Goddard. Attached to the museum is the Robert H. Goddard planetarium.

After one of its expansions, a wing was added with the Aston Gallery, a collection of American memorabilia from the late 1800s to early 1900s including extensive examples of Native American dress and artifacts and pioneer and military items from that period.  The collection includes dress, weaponry and everyday items for both cultures during that period. Included are a generous number of bronzes depicting  western life

If you are Roswell, by all means stop by the cheesy little UFO museum and tourist trap, but don’t pass up the real museum which, by the way, is free, although donations are accepted.

Across from the very picturesque court house is Pioneer Plaza. This part of the city is new and includes a centerpiece large bronze of rancher John Chisum rounding up a longhorn. Chisum was a major player in the cattle business in the west. His home at South Spring Acres still stands. Soon to be added will be a bronze of Pat Garret, the lawman that ended Billy the Kids outlaw days. Though well known for that, it did not endear him to the community. His contributions to Roswell go well beyond that of a lawman. Garret was given land by John Chisum but had difficulty getting water to it. As a result, he developed a water system and recruited partners and money to eventually get a water system in place in the Pecos valley that allowed it to prosper as it does today.

New Mexico Military Institute was founded in Roswell in 1891 and has provides high school and junior college education to many of our military officers.  The structure itself is dominant along Main Street with parapets like a medieval castle. It houses almost 1000 students about 100 of which go on to one of the five prestigious military colleges including West Point, the Air Force Academy and others. Notable attendees include the aforementioned Peter Hurd who served as a bugler around 1922, Roger Staubach, later the Hall of Fame Dallas Cowboy quarterback and Sam Donaldson, noted news anchor. Will Rogers, who had a son that attended the institute once referred to Roswell as “the prettiest little town west of the Pecos.”

Aside from the UFO festival, the annual dragonfly festival is held out at the Bitter Lakes National Wildlife Refuge.  The lakes boast over 100 species of dragonflies, many very rare.  This area is the home of thousands of native and migrant birds. Roswell gets to witness clouds of Canada and Snow Geese, ducks and teal of all kinds and Sandhill Cranes.  The sound of a large flight of geese in the morning is as soothing as running water.

Bottomless Lakes State Park, the first New Mexico State Park, was designated in 1933 and offers recreation opportunities from water sports, to hiking and camping, to fishing for stocked Rainbows in two of the lakes. The nine small lakes are a result of a series of sinkholes in the limestone escarpment and run from 18 to 90 feet deep. Spring water percolates in from the limestone to keep the lakes full. Each summer Bottomless Lakes is the home of “Enchanted Evenings” an interpretive, nature oriented program.

In June of 1933, the O-Bar-O Cowboys, a ramshackle western band, led by a young cowboy by the name of Leonard Slye arrived in Roswell to do some local gigs. They were broke and about starved to death, eating jackrabbits or anything remotely edible on their disastrous tour during the height of the depression. They stopped in at KGFL, a local Roswell radio station,  and spoke with the station manager about doing some impromptu live music in exchange for some room and board. The manager did a short try-out and agreed to do an interview to get people to the show and perform a little live music. Leonard mentioned, during the interview, how much he missed his mother’s lemon pies. A call came in stating that if he would sing “The Swiss Yodel”, she would bake him a lemon pie. That evening there was a knock on the door of the cabin where the boys were staying. At the door was, Arline Wilkins and her mother, each carrying a freshly baked lemon pie. After Leonard returned to Los Angeles, he began writing to Arline and in 1936 they were married. Things began to turn around for the young cowboy and he eventually became part of The Sons of the Pioneers. Though his manager wanted him to change his name from Leonard to Leroy, he was not comfortable with the name. He suggested shortening it to Roy and decided to take the last name of one of his heroes, Will Rogers. Thus was born Roy Rogers and the rest is history. He was married to Arline for ten years until she tragically died of complications of childbirth. He would remarry Dale Evans and the rest is history.

So take off the UFO blinders and visit this All American City with a wider view of all that it has to offer. You just may come away with a little better response when someone asks you if you saw any aliens.

Enjoy your Treasured Pasts

Stuart