Memories

In reading your news on different places to visit in and around New Mexico, it brought back memories of my childhood past. City of Rocks State park and the Kneeling nun scene are just a few of many interesting sites to visit in the state of New Mexico.

I grew up in the small town of Hurley, New Mexico, surrounded by mountains, valley's, lot's of desert and other small towns like Deming, Silver City, Bayard, Santa Rita, the membris valley and the Gila National Forest.

When my parents weren't working at the Kennecott mines, we were either camping or visiting other towns of friends and relatives. I can remember every season of such, we would go picking cherries in June in the Mimbres Valley as well as apple's and other wonderful fruit grown in that area. Then in October we would head for the mountains and pick pinones', a small nut, very tasty, but very expensive in the grocery store.

Near City of Rocks, was an area of hot springs that was surrounded by apple and pear trees, sometimes we would go picnicking and while my parents were soaking their tired feet in the hot water, we as children would be picking pears-my favorite.

There was an area near Tyrone New Mexico where sometimes we would just go riding in the woods and we'd stop to pick acorns. These were wonderful times. My parents enjoyed going to Lake Roberts, but it wasn't called that till years later. We would go camping a whole weekend. That changed after I got to be a teenager.

I can recall going for the first time to the Cliff Dwellings where there is many Indian artifacts, and at that time they were paving the roads so it would be easier getting there. In the process we got there all right, however, getting up the hill in a 54 Ford was a different story. The car would not make it, so I can remember some people helping us get back home, but my parents had to go back with a truck to pull the car up the hill. That was my last visit to the CLiff Dwellings.

As a teenager, we started going to El Paso more often. This I enjoyed, because we would not just go to El Paso, but we would go across the border and visit Juarez. Things were much simple then (during the 60's). Mother and I would visit the beauty shop and pay only 75cents for a makeover. My dad would visit the huge market -Juarez had on main street. I tasted my first mango. After all that, we would return to our hotel room at the Plaza, get ready to go to the movies that evening.

We would get up early and go have breakfast at Woolworth's, which was a large store, almost like a mini- mall. Then we'd head home 90 miles northwest to Hurley. After my father retired in the late 60's we moved to Florida, another hunting ground for my parents, but nothing like what I experienced as a child growing up in the beautiful state of NEW MEXICO.

I have returned to my hometown several times. Many things have changed, people and friends have moved away, some have returned, built businesses, some have stayed and watched the changes. In all this, my memories have never faded from the Land of Enchantment.

Patricia McMican Canington
Waco, Texas

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