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Cover photoMajestic living welcomes story ideas and comments from readers.e-mail story ideas and comments to [email protected].

Celebrating the lifestyle, Communityand Culture of the Four Corners

MAGAZINE

publisher Don Vaughan

managing editor Cindy Cowan Thiele

designer Suzanne Thurman

writers Debra Mayeux, Dorothy Nobis,

Margaret Cheasebro,

Vicky Ramakka, Bill Papich

photographers Tony Bennett,

Josh Bishop, Whitney Howle

sales staff

Shelly Acosta, Clint Alexander

Aimee Velasquez

For advertising information

Call 505.516.1230

stacie Voss by Whitney howle Vol. 6, No. 3 ©2014 by Majestic Media. Majestic Living is a quarterly publication. Material herein may not be reprintedwithout expressed written consent of thepublisher. If you receive a copy that is torn or damaged call 505.516.1230.Follow us on @MajesticMediaUSmajesticmediaUSA

contributorsDebrA MAyeux, of Farmington, is an award-winning journalist with recognitions from the Associated Press of New Mexico and Colorado andthe New Mexico Press Association and the Coloradobroadcast Association. she has covered storiesthroughout the southwest and in Mexico and Jordan, where she interviewed diplomats and theroyal family. After nearly 20 years in the business,she recently opened her own freelance writing andmedia business. Mayeux enjoys the outdoors, reading and spending time with her family. she isthe coordinator of Farmington Walk and roll, a safe routes to school organization. she is marriedto David Mayeux and they have three children: Nick, Alexander and Peter.

MArGAret CheAsebro has been a freelancewriter for over 30 years. her articles have appeared in many magazines across the country.she was a correspondent for the AlbuquerqueJournal and worked for several local newspa-pers. she has four published books of children’spuppet scripts. A former elementary schoolcounselor, she is a reiki Master and practicesseveral alternative healing techniques. she enjoys playing table tennis.

ViCKy rAMAKKA is retired from san Juan Collegewhere she directed programs and taught teachereducation courses. Vicky and her husband residenorth of Aztec, where she does free-lance technical writing. Vicky says she meets the mostfascinating people in the Four Corners area, andfinds them always willing to share their expertiseduring interviews. she enjoys photographing theflora and fauna that reside in her ‘backyard’ whichshe considers any place within a mile walk. she ison the board of Directors of the Aztec Museumand volunteers with the citizens’ steering committee to raise funds for a new animal shelter.

toNy beNNett grew up in Farmington. he received his bachelor’s degree in photography from brooks institute. he ownedand operated a commercial photography studio in Dallas for over 20years. he was also team photographer for the Dallas Cowboys for 10 years. Now back in Farmington, tony wants to bringhis many years of photo experience to photo-graphing families, weddings, events, portraits,and more, to his hometown………and sKi !he teaches at san Juan College.

Josh bishoP is a recent graduate of sanJuan College with an associate degree inDigital Media Arts and Design. he currentlyworks at Majestic Media as a video producer and photographer.

WhitNey hoWle was born and raised in Farm-ington and is proud to call san Juan Countyhome. the richness of the landscape and the diverse people, culture and traditions are a photographers dream. Whitney has his bA in Visual Communication from Collins College intempe, Ariz. he is a co-owner of howle Designand Photography—a family owned studio offering graphic design, photography, market research and consulting.

Dorothy Nobis has been a writer and editor formore than 25 years. she authored a travel guide,the insiders Guide to the Four Corners, published by Globe Pequot Press, has been a frequent contributor to New Mexico Magazine .


summerfeatures:

10 “I’ve never been one to take a job

just to have a job. I want to make a

difference in whatever I choose to

do,” says Stacie Voss, director of

the Farmington Regional Animal

Shelter.

By Vicky Ramakka

Things are looking up

for cats and dogs

16 More than 25 years ago, Dr. James

Henderson, then-President of San

Juan College, decided he wanted

to grow something.

By Dorothy Nobis

Community minded

network

20 Time travel is entirely possible in

Northern New Mexico. There

are various spots that allow the

imaginative individual to travel

through history and experience

life as it once was. El Rancho de

Las Golondrinas is one of these

places.

By Debra Mayeux

A Trip through time

26 Stella Castro easily recalls when she be-

came a licensed barber in New Mexico.

It was just before President Kennedy

was shot on Nov. 22, 1963.

By Bill Papich

County’s first

women barber

30 As the new Cooperative Extension

Service agent for San Juan County,

Bonnie Hopkins can recommend

how best to grow your food, based

on the latest agricultural scientific re-

search and technology.

By Bill Papich

From chef to

agricultural agent

SUMMER 2014 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 9

50 Farmington has long been touted as

New Mexico’s best kept art secret. As

home to several world-class artists, the

city has a history of celebrating art and

culture among the locals.

By Debra Mayeux

Family and

community

34 Music brought Joe and Cathy Pope together,

and it continues to play an important part in

their lives.

By Margaret Cheasebro

Love notes

40 Peepers has wobbly cat syndrom. Rescued in 2005 when

his eyes were just opening, the kitten survived, but some

connections in his brain never developed, leading to poor mus-

cle control.


Peepers started it all

46 It wasn’t an easy childhood for

Abiegail Yazzie. Raised in a hogan

with a traditional Navajo

upbringing, Yazzie was the fourth

of nine children and the oldest

girl. When she was 5 years old,

Yazzie was sent to Lake Valley

Navajo School, a boarding school,

with her three older brothers.

By Dorothy Nobis

Clear vision

56 When Keith Cochrane became

San Juan College’s director of

instrumental music 21 years ago,

he began hanging on his office

walls one poster for every

concert he directed.


Sailing away

“I’ve never been one to take a job just to

have a job. I want to make a difference in what-

ever I choose to do,” says Stacie Voss, director

of the Farmington Regional Animal Shelter. This

attitude is what brought Voss here six months

ago. “Farmington wasn’t where they wanted to

be with animal welfare. It would be a challenge.

It spoke to me. It was something I really wanted

to take on.”

Voss will measure success with this challenge

by inching the Farmington Regional Animal Shel-

ter’s live release rate higher and higher. She in-

tends that the majority of animals that come

into the animal shelter are adopted, returned to

owners or transferred to locations in surround-

ing states where there’s a waiting list of people

wanting to adopt. Voss believes a 70 percent to

75 percent live release is achievable.

To achieve this will require the community

coming together to improve animal welfare, Voss

believes. “That’s already evident with the new

animal shelter,” she emphasizes. “I want to give

credit to the community where credit is due.

Community members determined a new shelter

was needed and they came together, advocated

for it, and raised money to make it happen. I

wouldn’t have come here if it wasn’t for all the

good work they have done.”

Symbol of progress

The new animal shelter symbolizes Farming-

ton’s transition from an animal control approach

to what Voss calls an animal services focus. She

wants the public to see the shelter as the go-to

place to find a new pet or for help with animal

related problems.

Located off Browning Parkway, the new shel-

ter offers many amenities, including plenty of

parking. Visitors entering the shelter step into a

bright, modern lobby where uniformed staff

greets them. Volunteers can take dogs for a walk

along the San Juan River. A get-acquainted room

allows people a chance to interact with an

animal to decide if it’s a good fit to become

their family companion.

With up-to-date equipment, and almost dou-

ble the number of cages, Voss can put her ap-

proach into practice. “It’s all about the animals.

If it’s a healthy, adoptable animal, I want to give

it as much time as it needs to get adopted. We

don’t want to put a time limit on it.”

Things are looking upfor cats and dogs

Story by Vicky Ramakka | Photos by Whitney Howle

For Stacie Voss, it’s always been all about the animals


But don’t put Voss into a warm and fuzzy char-

acter category. She’s an experienced administra-

tor. “First thing is getting policies and procedures

down in writing, so people know what to expect

and know what the rules are,” she says with no

hesitation. Also, since several staff members are

new, it’s essential to train them on safety and

standards of animal care. Voss states, “I’m really

big on making sure staff knows my expectations.”

She’s quick to add, “Our management team has

some great chemistry and we’re really on the

same page.”

Managing staff, budgets and bureaucracy

wasn’t how Voss had planned her career. With

more of a focus on the outdoors, she obtained a

Bachelor of Science degree from Iowa State Uni-

versity in animal ecology, specializing in wildlife,

then a Master of Science degree in ecology and

evolution from Northern Illinois University. While

working on a wildlife job in Nebraska, Voss vis-

ited an animal shelter and noticed a sign saying

they need volunteers on Sunday mornings. She

signed up.

“I just loved it,” she said enthusiastically, “so I

looked for an animal sheltering job, and ended

up at the Humane Society of Nebraska. I did any-

thing and everything there.” This foundation led

to Voss advancing to become Director of Veteri-

nary Services in charge of intake, the medical de-

partment and animal care.

The Nebraska Humane Society serves the city

of Omaha and takes in approximately 25,000

animals a year, most being dogs and cats, but

wildlife and other critters as well. One memo-

rable situation involved an alligator. The owner

raised it in his basement and as it got bigger and

bigger, he realized maintaining it might get him in

trouble and contacted animal control. A bit flum-

moxed by the prospect of taking in a 5-foot alli-

gator, Voss arranged for speedy delivery to a

sanctuary that specialized in such unusual animals.

Voss believes the Nebraska Humane Society is

a great example of what a shelter can be, and

how it can make a difference to the community

and be a catalyst for addressing animal welfare

problems. She relates that it is, “a good example

of best practices and how an organization can

work with the public and do good things.”

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What Can Be“This gave me a good vision of what Farming-

ton can achieve eventually, as far as live release

rate, how you can help animals, how you can

help people,” she says. Voss believes there must

be a partnership of the community and the shel-

ter working together. According to Voss, “being

up front and honest, saying what you can do and

can’t do,” is one aspect of building community

confidence. She goes on to say that, “an animal

shelter is a reflection of its community. If the

community cares, the shelter will care, and you’ll

eventually get to a good place.”

Voss falls back on her training to characterize

shelter management. “Ecology,” she says, “is un-

derstanding how one thing affects another, and

population management. My population happens

to be contained in one animal shelter.”

She hopes to implement the Asilomar Accord

system which promotes standardized statistical re-

porting for animal shelters (asilonaraccords.org).

This method places incoming animals in four cate-

gories:

“An animal shelter is a reflectionof its community. If the community

cares, the shelter will care, andyou’ll eventually get to a good

place.”— Stacie Voss


1. Healthy – animal is immediately adopt-

able, with no health or behavioral problems

2. Treatable and rehabitable – the animal

may have a temporary condition that can be ad-

dressed with care and medical attention, then be

placed for adoption

3. Treatable and manageable – animal has

a condition, such as allergies, that requires atten-

tion for the rest of its life, but can make a good

pet for a caring owner

4. Unhealthy and untreatable – animal has

severe behavioral or medical problems that pose

a health or safety risk to the public.

Voss sees this system as a way to assist staff

with decision-making and a way to have statistics

to guide where to put resources.

This process will take time. As a mid-west-

erner, Voss is still getting her feet on the ground.

She admits, “I’m still not a true New Mexican. I’m

not used to the red chili, green chile thing.” But

she is delighted to be in Farmington. “People

have been so nice, so welcoming. They make a

person feel like they are part of the community.”

On days off, Voss enjoys spending time with her

three dogs and exploring history and culture of

the Four Corners area. She especially likes hiking

along the San Juan River below Navajo Lake.

Ups and DownsVoss recognizes the area’s biggest problem

with animal welfare is indiscriminate breeding.

“We have animals surrendered at the shelter just

because they came into heat or the female keeps

having puppies. There’s a very easy, simple solu-

tion to that. Get your animal spayed. It’s better

for the animal and you can keep the animal.

Every week, we get animals surrendered because

there came into heat. And that’s a silly reason to

give up an animal.”

She wants people to understand that not get-

ting pets spayed or neutered has a broad impact.

“It’s not just your dog having pups, it’s puppies

coming into the shelter, or having more puppies.

It’s a domino effect – people don’t see the

whole picture. An overabundance of cats and

dogs impacts everyone, and having low cost

spay/neuter services is one way to address the

problem.”

It’s especially discouraging for staff to be

faced with an animal that hasn’t been taken care

of to the point where it cannot be helped.

“We’re doing so much good, and we’re helping a

lot of animals, but when we see an animal that –

if it had just been brought in two weeks earlier –

we could have helped, now there’s nothing we

can do for it. It hurts your heart,” Voss says, with

emotion in her voice.

So what does she do to handle such situa-

tions? “I’ll go off for some stress relief and I’m a

venter. If I can vent, I’ll be OK after that.”

She quickly rallies, though, and says there al-

ways more good than the bad. “Our adopters,

donors, and supporters – there’re many people

doing the right thing. It’s just the one bad egg

that doesn’t do the right thing – seems like it can

stink up the whole place!”

Adoptions are increasing at the shelter. With a

full-time veterinarian on staff and better facili-

ties, people seeking a new pet can come to the


shelter and find a companion that is

ready for adoption, already neutered

and up-to-date on vaccinations.

“It’s making a commitment to an ani-

mal,” Voss states emphatically. “If I see a

cat that’s friendly or a dog that’s wagging

its tail and gets along with other dogs,

let’s make a commitment to that animal.

Let’s get it adopted or transferred or

whatever needs to happen.”

The new animal shelter expresses the

good part of the community’s humane

spirit. Former mayor and state representa-

tive, Tom Taylor, and his artist spouse,

Bev Taylor, designed and carved the wall-

size donor recognition panel. T. Greg

Merrion sponsored the spacious meeting

room where community groups are wel-

come to meet and school classes can

gather for a tour of the shelter. Soon to

be installed is an outdoor sculpture do-

nated by Drake family members in mem-

ory of Jimmy Drake.

Volunteers have their own office space,

made possible by M.J. Gallahan, a physi-

cian assistant and avid animal lover. A do-

nation box, cleverly designed as a giant

dog bone, is the contribution of Jody and

Bob Carman.

Well before groundbreaking for the

shelter, hundreds of people, schoolchild-

ren, organizations and businesses donated

and held fundraisers to contribute any-

where from small coins to significant con-

tributions. They each have a stake in its

success.

Community members continue the

commitment to animal welfare. It’s be-

come fashionable to adopt a pet from a

shelter. Reinventing their original mission

to raise money to help in construction of

the shelter, the Regional Animal Shelter

Foundation continues to help fund sup-

plies and programs for the shelter. Dozens

of volunteers walk dogs and drive trans-

port vans. Things are looking up for dogs

and cats, and the people who care about

them.

More than 25 years ago, Dr. James

Henderson, then-president of San Juan

College, decided he wanted to grow

something. But it wasn’t tomatoes or green

beans or roses or tulips Henderson wanted to

grow. It was leaders.

“I realized that we needed a number of

leaders to help with programs around the

county,” Henderson explained. As was – and

still is – typical of Henderson, he began

researching leadership programs around the

country. “I looked at a lot of different

programs, but it was leadership programs in

Albuquerque and La Plata (County, Colorado)

that appealed to me,” he said.

Henderson then looked at his own

leadership team at San Juan College and

invited Marj Black and Nancy Shepherd to work

with him to establish a program that would

help people interested in leadership roles, the

opportunity to learn more about the challenges

and opportunities facing their community, and

ways to make the community better.

In 1989, the National Association of

Community Leadership was contacted and a

presentation on Leadership Albuquerque was

presented to a steering committee. The first

class of Leadership San Juan began in

September 1989 and graduated in May of

1990. Since that time, more than 600 local

people have participated in and graduated

from the program.

La Plata County in Colorado had already

started a leadership program. “We met with

representatives of Leadership La Plata,” Nancy

Shepherd said. “They said it took them eight

years to get their program going. It took us

one.”

Black and Shepherd hit the ground running,

preparing for that first class. “Nancy and I put

the curriculum and speakers together and put

together that first class,” Marj Black said.

“Over the years, we’ve added class projects,

servant leadership and some outside activities.”

Connie Dinning was a member of that first

class, the Class of 1989-1990.

“To say it was fun, informative and lovely

would be a huge understatement,” Dinning

said. “I had been somewhat involved in the

community – enough to be selected for the

first class. While I thought I was fairly active,

LSJ was a great wake-up call. It helped raise my

awareness about so many issues in our

community. It also connected me with several

lifelong friends and it even opened up a

couple of job opportunities.”

Each year, the new class enjoys a retreat.

“It’s a big part of the program,” Black said.

“The class gets to know each other and learn

about their personalities. There is an overview

of San Juan County and a leadership

presentation and bonding takes place.”

“A lot of the members of each class are very

nervous about the retreat,” Shepherd said,

“but people come away from it with a really

great feeling.”

Dinning fondly remembers her retreat.

“Melissa (Lane) and I grabbed on to each other

at the first dinner,” she recalled. “As fate

would have it, we were seated at a table with

T. Greg Merrion and Steve Dunn. It was a fasci-

nating and fun evening. We did skits and team

building exercises and generally had a blast the

entire weekend.”

And there was an added benefit of that din-

ner and that retreat for Dinning. “That dinner

at the retreat turned out to be a huge event in

my life, even though I had no idea at the


Leadership San Juan has been growing leaders for 25 years

Story by Dorothy Nobis | Photo by Tony Bennett

Community minded

network

time,” she said. “For about the

last 20 years, I’ve been working

for that hilarious guy (T. Greg

Merrion) I met at the dinner

table.”

Leadership classes include

health and human services, edu-

cation, business, multi-cultures,

criminal justice, media and gov-

ernment. For Randy Large, it

was the criminal justice day that

he remembers most.

“A New Mexico Supreme

Court Justice spoke,” Large

said, “and one of the things he

said was that most of the peo-

ple in prison don’t belong

there. The following speaker

was the warden of the Arizona

State prison. He said, ‘I don’t

know who you have in your

prisons, but trust me, the peo-

ple in my prison belong there.’”

“Hearing two absolutely dif-

ferent perspectives from two

very intelligent leaders was an

amazing experience,” Large

added. “I took a bit from both

of them and was grateful for

the opportunity to hear their

views.”

Diane Benally was a member

of the LSJ Class of 1999 and is

a past president of the Leader-

ship San Juan Board of Direc-

tors.

“The biggest gain I received

from my year in Leadership San

Juan is the network of which

I’m now a part,” Benally said.

“As outgoing a person as I am, I

don’t think I would have gained

as many close contacts and

friends in such a short period

of time.”

The networking doesn’t end

when the class is over, Benally

added. “While many of them

(classmates) have moved away, I retain several

of them and have gained so many more from

the larger network of Leadership San Juan

Alumni. The socials and annual meetings allow

me to meet so many more interesting and im-

portant people,” she said. “I truly feel com-

fortable accessing this network at any given

time by outreach/introduction as an LSJ

Alumni. Any one of them is willing to help or

offer their expertise if asked.”

Yanabah Bluehouse is a graduate of the LSJ

Class of 2013 and agreed with Benally about

the benefit of making new friends through the

program. “What I cherish most about Leader-

ship San Juan is the friendships that were cre-

ated personally and professionally with my

fellow classmates, board members and alumni,”

Bluehouse said. “I would tell prospective stu-

dents that it’s OK to feel a bit anxious and

nervous at the beginning. Embrace being out-

side of your comfort zone and you will learn

more.”

“I am a better person because of what I

learned throughout the class and I’m grateful

for the pleasure to experience Leadership San

Juan,” she added.

Nate Duckett was looking for an opportu-

nity to expand his knowledge and understand-

ing of what makes San Juan County “tick.”

“Leadership San Juan provided that and so

much more,” Duckett said. “The curriculum is

eye opening and challenging and forced me to

rethink many of my previous beliefs about our

community. Having accessibility to the decision

makers that shape the quality of life in San Juan

County was motivating, and opened up so


Leadership San Juan Class of 1990

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many opportunities for me to get involved.”

“The single most important thing I took away

is the friendships and the network of community

oriented people that I now have access to,”

Duckett said. “Life is all about relationships and

sharing experiences that make memories. Lead-

ership San Juan does that, and I think anyone

who wants to get involved locally or wants to be

part of a group that is dedicated to making a

positive difference for our community, needs to

consider this program. It’s worth the price of

admission and is an experience that you will

never forget.”

The cost to participate in Leadership San

Juan is $750. Many businesses, recognizing the

value of the program, help with the cost, and

limited scholarships are also available.

A celebration of Leadership San Juan’s 25

years of service will be held from 5:30 to 7:30

p.m. Sept. 25 at Lions Wilderness Park and Am-

phitheatre. Ben Lyons is the chairman for the

celebration committee and said the goal of the

celebration committee is to make the event fun,

lively and rewarding.

“The committee decided that at the heart of

Leadership San Juan is a vibrant group of indi-

viduals where enthusiasm, energy, and the spirit

to make this community better, thrives,” Lyons

said. To bring this fantastic group of leaders to-

gether, with 25 years of elite graduates, is no

short order. We want to go back to the roots

and the foundation of why Leadership San Juan

was founded, and remind ourselves what the

true essence of servant leadership is, was, and

will continue to be. San Juan County is our

home and we need to celebrate the wonderful

aspects of our area.”

“One huge aspect of Leadership San Juan is

to really delve into the challenges we face, as

well as embrace the incredible opportunities

this area has to offer,” Lyons, a graduate of the

LSJ Class of 2002, said. “To bring leaders from

all different walks of life together in one com-

mon thread – ‘to make this community better

using the tools we have’ – has been richly re-

warding for me.”

Natalie Spruell is a member of the current

Leadership San Juan Class and said the experi-

ence has been “priceless.”

“Not only do you get to meet amazing lead-

ers in the community, you learn a lot about

yourself – and the energy you get to go out and

make a difference is the best,” Spruell said.

“You gain self-awareness and the simple knowl-

edge of just how easy it is to get involved in our

wonderful community. You have the opportunity

to observe public meetings and really get an un-

derstanding of things you may never have taken

the time to experience. There are a lot of won-

derful leaders in San Juan County who truly do

care about the future of the Four Corners.”

If Leadership San Juan has been successful for

25 years, Marj Black and Nancy Shepherd con-

tinue their commitment to make the program

better. And if those who participate in LSJ do

benefit, Black and Shepherd believe they are

the true benefactors.

“We’ve benefitted as much as anybody,”

Black said. “We get to meet everyone in every

class and work with them for nine months.”

“Leadership San Juan is like our baby,” Shep-

herd added. “We are servant leaders and this is

an example of servant leadership for us. It’s a

great feeling to see people graduate, and we

learn something from them every year.”

For more information about Leadership San

Juan, contact Nancy Shepherd at

505.566.3264.

Leadership San Juan Class of 2014

Time travel is entirely possible in

Northern New Mexico. There are various

spots that allow the imaginative individ-

ual to travel through history and experi-

ence life as it once was. El Rancho de

Las Golondrinas is one of these places.

The Ranch of the Swallows dates back

to the early 1700s, when it was a stop-

ping place along the Camino Real, the

Royal Road from Mexico City to Santa

Fe. The Ranch, now a living history mu-

seum, gives visitors a taste of Spanish

colonial life in the early days of New

Mexico.

Located on 200 acres in a rural valley

just south of Santa Fe, the museum and

cultural center opened in 1972. A dirt-

covered walking trail leads visitors past

several sites significant to Hispanic cul-

ture, including a blacksmith shop, a

school house, a fully operational flour

mill run by water from the tiny river

flowing through the property, as well as

homesteads and Catholic Church and

cemetary high atop a hill overlooking the

property.

Along the way, there are weaving,

leathermaking, candlemaking, clothes

washing, bread baking and fiber dyeing

stations run by volunteers, who are re-

quired to dress the part and provide his-

torical descriptions of their costumes and

activities.

Dr. David Geary is a volunteer histo-

rian and member of the ranch’s board of

directors. “Volunteers design and pay for

their own costumes,” he said. “I have

eight outfits that date back to the times

of the Spanish.”

On any given day, Geary can be

found at the ranch wearing one of his

costumes – complete with historic

weaponry. “I have to be able to explain

each of my outfits,” he said.

Geary is just one of many volunteers

who add to the historical feel of the

ranch, which is hidden along a narrow

roadway far from Highway 550 and the

noise of the city. Driving to the ranch

along a winding road, the rural landscape

is emphasized, as homes are built on

large parcels of land.

Upon entering the ranch, cars are

parked in a large dirt field, and visitors

are led to a welcome center. Here there

is a museum store with running water and

plumbing, but this is the only modern

convenience found throughout the prop-

erty. A map guides visitors down a dusty

trailhead across a bridge and into the

lush valley, where the 21st Century is

lost, and colonial New Mexico takes over.

A woman in a full, flowered skirt

stands with a bar of soap, an old basin

tub and a washboard. She is scrubbing

linens and old fashioned long underwear.

“Would you like to try washing my

clothes,” she asks fourth-grade students

from Farmington’s Ladera Elementary

School as they walk past.

A group of girls giggle at the prospect

of using a bar of soap and tub to clean

the clothes. They stop and give it a try.

The boys have something else on their

minds. They are in seach of a blacksmith

shop, where fire and tools shape metal

into silverwear, knifes and horseshoes.

The blaze is stoked by a wooden lever

that fans the flames, heating the metal to

1,800 degrees. Only then can the metal

be shaped into the spoon, the blacksmith

Visit the 1700s at El Rancho de Las Golondrinas near Santa Fe

Story and photos by Debra Mayeux

is making. The craft of blacksmithing came to

New Mexico in the early 1500s and continues

to be used in the state to this day.

The walk continues to an open field, where

Theresa Falzone can be found in full Spanish

dress sitting atop her Lippizaner Stallion,

Zeema. The horse stands as still as a statue as

children rush up to pet his snow white fur, that

gave him his name. “’Zeema’ means snow in

Russian,” Falzone said, adding she regularly vis-

its the ranch with Zeema to show off the main

form of tranportation used by the Spaniards in

the colonial times.

Across the bridge from Zeema, there are

burros and a sheriff keeping the children and

visitors in line. Jerry Langston is a tour guide

and docent at Rancho de Las Golondrinas, and

he is quick to pull out old-fashioned handcuffs,

fashioned by the town’s blacksmith and ready

to be worn by unwitting guests posing for a

photo with The Law.

Langston tells of how it would take years for

travelers along the Camino Real to reach their

destination without the use of motorcoaches

or trains, relying only on wagons and horses.

He recommends a visit to the schoolhouse and

the dyeing station, where Spanish Market fiber

artist Annette Guitierrez-Turk explains the vari-

ous ways to dye wool naturally, including the

use of onions, roots and flowers.

“They would have taken white wool and

dyed it. Sometimes we use flowers, flowers with

stems and roots,” Guitierrez-Turk said. “I

weave the fabric, spin the yarn, dye the yarn

and put motifs on them.”

Behind the schoolhouse are the rickety wood-

lined steps leading up the hillside to the tiny

adobe church. Inside, visitors may sit on tiny

wooden benches and take in the Spanish santos

adorning the white-washed walls. Outside and

behind a wooden fence is the old cemetary filled

with wooden crosses marking the graves of the

families that once lives at the Ranch of the Swal-

lows. Those families include the Vega y Coca,

Sandovals and Bacas, many of whose descendants

still live in the valley of La Cienega.



The ranch has been mentioned in diaries and

reports of yesteryear, according to the Website,

golondrinas.org. “It became the last encampment

before reaching Santa Fe, the end of the long

journey on horseback or by carretas from far away

Mexico City,” the site stated.

Even New Mexico Governor Juan Bautista de

Anza spent the night at the ranch in 1778, while

searching for a direct route to Arizpe, Sonora,

Mexico, with 150 men on a military expedition.

The ranch was purchased in the early 1930s by

the Curtin-Paloheimo family, which had the vision

to restore the buildings and move other authentic

historic structures from across New Mexico to the

site.

“Now, an 18th century placita house complete

with defensive tower, a 19th century home and all

of its outbuildings, a molasses mill, a threshing

ground, several primitive water mills, a blacksmith

shop, a wheelwright shop, a winery and vineyard

depict many of the essential elements of early New

Mexico. The Sierra Village portrays life as it was

lived in the mountainous regions of New Mexico. A

morada, or Penitente meeting house, descansos, a

Campo Santo and an Oratorio testify to the deep

religious faith that sustained the early settlers,” the

website stated.

The ranch is now owned by a non-profit organi-

zation, El Rancho de las Golondrinas, which

opened it to visitors in 1972 to create a place that

not only shares the rich history of New Mexico,

but also fosters a pride for the language, culture

and arts of Spanish Colonial, Mexican and Territo-

rial New Mexico. El Rancho de las Golondrinas, a

member of the Association for Living Historical

Farms and Agricultural Museums, welcomes school

groups to visit the site and also provides work-

shops and seminars throughout the year to enrich

the visitor’s experience.

The museum is open for self-guided tours from

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday dur-

ing the summer months of June through Septem-

ber. The cost is $6 for adults and $4 for senior

citizens and teenagers from 13 to 18. Children 12

and under are admitted free.

Docent guided tours are available by reserva-

tion during the months of April, May and October.

For more information call, 505.473.4169.

Your Dream San Juan College’s partnership with the Texas Engineering Extension Service and Texas A&M University-Com-

their degree requirements through San Juan College and Texas A&M University-Commerce. Students without TEEX

additional 18 hours of core classes.

Your Future

gown and received his diploma during graduation ceremonies at San Juan College.

time and effort into getting their degree.

Our Focus

assist them in completing their educational goals.

Tfor students to further their educational goals and enhance their careers.

Zach Vann

San Juan College student Zach Vann graduated with an Associate of Applied Science degree, which he earned through an online partnership program with SJC and Texas A&M University-Commerce. Pictured right to left: Dean Patscheck, Associate Professor, SJC School of Energy; Randy Pacheco, SJC School of En-ergy Dean; Zach Vann; and Georgia Cortez, Assistant Professor, School of Energy.

sanjuancollege.edu 505-326-3311

for students to further their educational goals and enhance their careers. Zach Vann

SAN JUAN COLLEGE

Stella Castro easily recalls when she became a

licensed barber in New Mexico. It was just

before President Kennedy was shot on Nov.

22, 1963.

“I was at McLellans Five-and-Dime in Farmington

when they announced it over the radio,” said Castro,

who received her first New Mexico barber license in

September 1963.

Castro owns Castro’s Barber Shop in Flora Vista.

In New Mexico, a barber license must be

renewed each year.

Her license in 1963 was one of the first in

New Mexico issued to a woman.

Castro was told by the issuing office in Santa Fe that

she was the first woman in San Juan County to receive

a barber license.

A barber license is not the same license as the

cosmetologist license, received by beauticians.

Barbers are trained and licensed to cut hair, beards

and mustaches, and to shave faces.

“I was trained on men’s hair,” Castro said.

Women are too fussy. I like my men much more.

We get along really good.”

A phone call to the State Barbers and

county’sfirst woman

barberStella Castro marks 50 years of barbering

Story by Bill Papich | Photos by Josh Bishop

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Cosmetologists Board, Regulation and Licensing

Department, could not confirm who the first

woman was to receive a New Mexico barber li-

cense. Castro may have been the first, but an offi-

cial at the Regulation and Licensing Department

said there are no barber licensing records that date

back to 1963.

Barbering runs in Castro’s family. Her father

Ricardo Ochoa was a barber. Her husband

Manuel Castro was a barber. Misty, one of her

three daughters, became a barber.

Castro met her husband, now deceased, in

Lubbock, Texas, soon after receiving her New

Mexico barber license and beginning work as a

barber in Farmington, then moving to Lubbock to

train and qualify for a Texas barber license. She

applied for a barber training job at a barber

shop in Lubbock.

Manuel was the owner. He hired her so she

could accumulate training hours to qualify for a

Texas license. They married soon after and lived

in Lubbock for 18 years, then moved to Farming-

ton to be barbers.

Castro’s family origins are in Chihuahua, Mex-

ico, where her father was a barber before immi-

grating to the United States. She has a photo of

him cutting a man’s hair in a barber shop in Chi-

huahua, in 1917. He later became a barber in

Santa Fe, then moved to Farmington in 1955,

when the oil and natural gas drilling boom in San

Juan County was going full blast.

“He made more money in Farmington in one

day than he did in Santa Fe in one week,” Castro

said.

After her husband’s death in 1998, she and

her daughter worked together as barbers in

Farmington, including 13 years together at their

own barber shop, Castro’s Barber Shop in Flora

Vista.

Castro said she has been giving haircuts to

three of her customers for 30 years.

“In my prime, I could do maybe 40 haircuts a

day. Now, 20 is plenty. It can be a couple of

minutes for a buzz and maybe an hour for the

longest.”

Asked when she plans to retire, Castro said she

will wait until the time is right. “I’m going to keep

cutting as long as people get in my chair.”

Photo by Josh Bishop

As the new Cooperative Extension

Service agent for San Juan County, Bonnie

Hopkins can recommend how best to grow

your food, based on the latest agricultural

scientific research and technology.

She worked as a professional chef for 10

years, so she can also give you advice on

eating with the season and growing food for

flavor.

“I have the experience of being on both

sides,” Hopkins said.

“When you are cooking, you are manipu-

lating ingredients. I felt myself drawn from

the cooking to the food producers.”

Hopkins is a Kirtland High School gradu-

ate and the first woman to

become the agriculture agent for the

San Juan County Cooperative Extension

Service. She received her undergraduate de-

gree in sustainable agriculture from Fort

Lewis College and her master’s degree in

agricultural integrated resource

management from Colorado State University

at Fort Collins, Colo.

This was after her 10-year culinary career.

Hopkins is a New Eng-

land Culinary

Institute grad-

uate. Her

intern-

ship was at the Farallon Restaurant in San

Francisco and she was the executive sous

chef at Strings Restaurant in Denver. She

cooked for award-winning chef Daniel

Bouland at the Bouland Brasserie restaurant

in Las Vegas and she was executive sous chef

at the Palace Restaurant in Durango during

the three years she attended

Fort Lewis College.

One of her goals as Extension

Service agent is to

connect local

restaurants

and

from chef

Story by Bill Papich

to agricultural agent

Bonnie Hopkins knows how to grow it and cook it too


school kitchens with local growers. Not only are

fresh, locally grown vegetables and fruit better

tasting, they also contain more nutrients than

commercial grade produce that may have been

harvested quite some time before being pur-

chased. Hopkins said she wants to help local

growers “overcome the barriers of market entry”

for supplying locally grown produce to local

restaurants and schools.

“The first thing you have to do is find people

(local growers) who are willing to do it. At the

Palace Restaurant we would go through hun-

dreds of pounds of local products because the

community supported the local producers, the

local market. I believe it is important to connect

nutrition with local agriculture.”

Hopkins said public schools in Durango serve

at least one locally grown product on every

school lunch plate, so Durango could serve as a

model for San Juan County to follow. “I think we

have the potential to do it here,” she said.

The Cooperative Extension Service was estab-

lished by an act of Congress on May 8, 1914, so

Hopkins arrives at her Aztec office as the agency

prepares to celebrate its 100-year anniversary.

Her first day of work was Oct. 22. The Cooper-

ative Extension Service was established so that

agricultural scientific research and new knowl-

edge of agricultural practices developed at uni-

versities could be shared with the public and not

locked up in university vaults.

In addition to her work with agricultural sci-

ence and research specialists at New Mexico

State University, Hopkins collaborates with the

Cooperative Extension Service at Colorado State

University and Arizona State University, which in-

cludes the Navajo tribal Extension Service.

“It is about education of the consumer,” Hop-

kins said. “I have a direct line to the specialists.

If I don’t have the answer to your question I will

find the specialist who does.”

Hopkins conducts agricultural training and

field demonstrations for the public and she of-

fers instruction on agricultural marketing, health

and business studies. She teaches a master gar-

dener’s class and schedules gardening workshops

and seminars. Weed control is a big issue in San

Juan County and Hopkins can provide the most

recent information available on chemical and bi-

ological weed control. Up-to-date information

on cattle production trends, pasture manage-

ment and cattle marketing is provided through

her office.

She also works with children. In April, as part

of her Master Seed Program, Hopkins will be

going into fourth-grade classrooms to teach stu-

dents how to plant a seed.

She has experience teaching in public schools.

Her job before becoming the agriculture agent

for the Cooperative Extension Service was teach-

ing family and consumer science at Kirtland Mid-

dle School and agricultural science at Kirtland

High School.

“I grew up in Kirtland with 4-H and FFA (Fu-

ture Farmers of America), so agriculture was al-

ways a part of my life,” Hopkins said. “In my

family we grew our own food.”

Hopkins said good communication between

the Cooperative Extension Service and the pub-

lic is a priority. She has an advisory committee

made up of agricultural producers, consumers,

university specialists, a BLM rangeland manage-

ment specialist and the laboratory manager for

Navajo Agricultural Products Industry.

“They help me identify the needs of San Juan

County and I base my work around those

needs,” Hopkins said. “My job has to be what

the community wants.”

Perhaps one the most important needs of

gardeners and farmers are assurances they are

planting their crops in soil with enough nutrients

for a bountiful harvest. The Cooperative Exten-

sion Service office in Aztec will provide a con-

tainer to fill with soil that can be mailed to

Colorado State University for laboratory analysis.

The laboratory will mail back a list of nutrients in

the soil. Hopkins said she will assist gardeners

and farmers in interpreting the information and

she can provide advice on how to improve their

soil. The cost for the soil testing is $30.

Hopkins cited the example of a gardener she

assisted who had been putting the same amount

of fertilizer in his soil for 30 years. She said the

man reported his garden was not as productive

as it used to be, but he had never tested his soil.

“The most important thing you can do for

your garden is improve your soil,” Hopkins said.

“You have to feed your soil essential nutrients.

You can’t just keep taking from your garden and

not giving back.”

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Story by Margaret Cheasebro

Music brought Joe and Cathy Pope together, and it

continues to play an important part in their lives. Joe is a fam-

ily practitioner who founded Piñon Family Practice, and Cathy

gives private violin lessons. Both are actively involved in commu-

nity service.

“Music is my first love,” said Joe. “Well, Cathy is my first love,

but a lot of what Cathy and I love is music. Music has been a huge

bond in our lives.”

They’re amateur musicians who love to play chamber music.

Cathy is the first violinist and Joe plays viola in the Tres Rios String

Quartet. Sharon Brink, second violinist, and Hans Freuden, cellist,

round out the group, which has been together nearly 13 years.

They perform at weddings, funerals, receptions and for church

events.

“The quartet is our most important and endearing en-

semble,” Joe said. “Whether we play for concerts or not

doesn’t seem to matter. We love our rehearsals

on Sundays, and every Sunday when it’s done, we

go, ‘Wow! That’s great.’”

Diverse musical involvement

They’ve spent many seasons

playing in the San Juan Sym-

phony and for San Juan

College Sym-

phony con-

certs.

love notes

Cathy sings in the Caliente Community Chorus and

participates in the Bach Festival in Durango almost every March.

They both played in Showcase Concerts, a series of small group

performances directed by local musician Mick Hesse. They also

performed often with the Dead

Composers Society Concert Series.

“Joe Pope is the reason that the San Juan College

orchestra program exists,” said Dr. Keith Cochrane, SJC’s director

of instrumental music. “Fifteen years ago he suggested that we start

a community orchestra that serves the needs of both students and

community. With his support, we were able to do that. We’ve

subsequently performed over forty concerts. He has lent his full

support to the work of the orchestra, serving many concerts

as viola section leader.”

Keith praised Cathy’s teaching skills. “When the college

has an especially talented violin student, it’s Cathy Pope

we turn to.”

Attend music campsOnce or twice a year Joe and Cathy at-

tend music camps in Colorado and Texas.

“Our friends at music camp are

mostly amateur musicians like us

who love to play chamber

music,” Cathy said. “You

go for four or five

days and

play

Music fills the lives of Joe and Cathy Pope

Photos by Tony Bennett

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chamber music,” Cathy said. “You go for four or

five days and play chamber music 14 hours a

day. It’s fun.”

Mick Hesse has worked with Joe and Cathy

for almost 20 years. “Much of our relationship

has been built and based on music, beginning

with Showcase Concerts,” he said. “When I dis-

covered that they played violin and viola, I was

thrilled to think we could collaborate with a

dream project of mine, a classical chamber or-

chestra. Since that time we have performed to-

gether many times. Their genuine love of music

makes them the most enjoyable musical couple

one could ask for. Their enthusiasm and com-

plete dedication to fine chamber music makes

them the ‘go to’ duo in town.”

Their love of music developed early. Joe and

Cathy both spent a few years in Texas schools,

where they benefited from the Music in the

Schools program. It provided free instruments

and lessons for kids.

Cathy chose violin early

Cathy spent her elementary school years in

Fort Worth, Texas, where her father retired as an

airplane mechanic in the Air Force at Carswell

Air Base. One day the music teacher came to

her class and played a violin to recruit students

for the school’s orchestra.

“I’d never been exposed to classical music,

but I told my parents I wanted to play the vio-

lin,” Cathy said. “It was free. My parents didn’t

have the money to do it. They said okay, so I

started.”

Her parents eventually settled in New Mexico,

and Cathy played violin through high school and

college. The summer of 1976 between her junior

and senior years at Albuquerque’s Cibola High

School, she was accepted as a member of Amer-

ica’s Youth in Concert, a national high school

orchestra made up every summer of students

from across the country. She practiced with the

group in New Jersey, then toured with them for

30 days, playing concerts in Carnegie Hall and

across Europe.

Joe moved often

Joe’s father worked for Western Electric

Company as a supervisor who built microwave

SUMMER 2014| MAJESTIC LIVING | 37

towers. When he finished building, equipping

and getting one running, he turned it over to

the phone company and moved on to the

next town. Joe doesn’t remember many of

those towns, though one was Farmington. He

does remember living in El Paso until he was

in the middle of sixth grade when the family

moved to Roswell, N.M.

“The availability of Music in the Schools

from grade four in El Paso was a huge

boost,” he said. Another plus was living in a

neighborhood with musicians. The principal

second violinist in the El Paso Symphony lived

on his street, and down the road lived the

concert master.

“The second violin principal took me to

concerts even when I was only nine or so,”

he recalled. “She would put me in the bal-

cony and take me home after the concert. It

was a thrill for me to hear symphonic music.”

He played violin through high school,

eventually switched to viola, and spent part

of the summer of 1975 touring Europe with

America’s Youth in Concert.

Joined the Navy

After he graduated from Goddard High

School in Roswell, he joined the Navy. He

served most of his time at Memphis Naval Hos-

pital in Tennessee.

“My first job out of corps school was to be

corpsman on the medical intensive care unit,”

he said. “I was 18 years old and pretty freaked

out at first.”

It intensified his interest in medicine, which

had begun in high school.

“It didn’t seem realistic for me to think

about medical school at the time because my

family didn’t have money for college, and I

didn’t perform fantastically in high school,” he

said. “It wasn’t until later in my Navy years I de-

cided that I had what it took or the determina-

tion to go to school and become a doctor.”

His last job in the Navy was in Memphis Naval

Hospital’s dispensary, where, under the super-

vision of physicians and physician’s assistants,

he saw patients, diagnosed and treated them,

wrote prescriptions, and did minor surgery and

emergency procedures.

Both attended UNM

When he left the Navy in 1979, he began his

freshman year at the University of New Mexico

in Albuquerque. Cathy was a junior there,

working on a bachelor’s degree in history.

She’d started majoring in music until she dis-

covered she didn’t have what it took to be a

professional musician.

“Now I just play for love,” she said with a

smile.

While in Albuquerque, she played with the

UNM Orchestra, the Albuquerque Philharmonia

and the Albuquerque Civic Light Opera.

The day they met

Joe vividly remembers the day he met Cathy.

“It was in January 1980,” he said. “I was the

new kid. I had just joined the orchestra. On

my first day in the orchestra, I was wandering

around during a break. I saw a violin case that

had stickers on it from Rome, Florence, Venice,

Pisa, London, Paris. I thought, ‘I went on a trip

like that. I wonder who that is?’ I asked

around. An orchestra member introduced me

to Cathy Scheck. I asked her, ‘Did you go on

this trip called America’s Youth in Concert?

She said, ‘Yeah.’“

They began dating and married in August

1981.

As a freshman, Joe worked full time as a

UNM Hospital emergency room technician while

taking a full class load. “I almost flunked out

my first year,” he said.

He took a year off from school. When he

married Cathy, he cut back on his work hours

because she had a job that let him return to

school, where he did well. Those good grades

kept him eligible for the GI bill.

Attends medical school

He graduated from UNM in 1987 with a

major in biology, focusing on vertebrate zool-

ogy, and a minor in chemistry. He hoped to at-

tend the UNM School of Medicine.

“After not doing well the first year of col-

lege, that seemed less realistic than ever,” he

said. “I had some explaining to do when I went

to the medical school interview. I was able to

call on my 12 years of clinical experience and

say, ‘I think I know what I want. I think I’ll be

good for the school and for the profession.’“

By then Cathy was attending law school at

UNM. She graduated in 1988 with an eye on

practicing natural resources law.

“I wanted to do water law, environmental

law,” she said, “but because of our place in life

at that point it never worked out.” She prac-

ticed law six years in Santa Fe and in Grand

Junction, Colorado, mostly in the insurance de-

fense field.

Move to Grand Junction

When Joe graduated from medical school in

1991, the couple moved to Grand Junction,

where he did his internship and family practice

residency at St. Mary’s Hospital.

He chose family practice in part because he

loved all aspects of the medical field but didn’t

want to specialize in any of them.

“With family practice you get to do a little bit

of each,” he said. “But I think the bigger thing

was after all those years in the ER and moonlight-

ing in ICUs and seeing all that carnage and all

those unnecessary illnesses and deaths, I con-

cluded that the better use of my life would be to

help keep people out of the ER. I wanted to do

a lot of preventive medicine.”

Settle in Farmington

Once he finished his residency, the couple

moved to Farmington because they liked the

community and the music opportunities. By

then, Cathy was pregnant with their son,

Stephen, who was born in late 1994.

Joe began his medical practice at Farmington

Family Practice. In 1998 he founded Piñon Fam-

ily Practice, which has grown from one doctor

and a few staff members to 45 employees, in-

cluding five doctors and five mid-level staff –

physician’s assistants and nurse practitioners.

Cathy began playing violin with the San Juan

Symphony in the spring of 1995 and played

with them for 17 seasons. Joe played viola with

them for 12 seasons, and the couple gradually

increased their involvement in the music com-

munity.

Cathy joins Caliente

Stephen took piano lessons for eight years,

then switched to voice when he was in the

Piedra Vista High School Chorus. He also sang

with the Caliente Community Chorus.

“When Stephen was a senior, I thought I

would really love to sing with him in the same

chorus,” Cathy said. “I hadn’t because Caliente

and the San Juan Symphony rehearsals were

both on Tuesday nights. I finally decided if you

want to sing with your child, this is your last

chance. So I took a leave from the symphony,

joined Caliente in the fall of 2011 and had a

blast. I enjoy exploring a new musical avenue,

and I’m taking voice lessons. I miss the sym-

phony, but I absolutely love singing.”

Stephen is now a sophomore at UNM, major-

ing in geology.

Though music is important to the Popes,

they have other interests as well. They like to

bird watch and have seen nearly 400 species

across America, including more than 50 species


* Pope 55

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Peepers has wobbly cat syndrome. Res-

cued in 2005 when his eyes were just

opening, the kitten survived, but some con-

nections in his brain never developed, lead-

ing to poor muscle control.

Amy Harden began fostering feral cats

because of Peepers. The work has become

her passion, filling much of the time that re-

mains after her fulltime job in the biology

lab at San Juan College. She is one of sev-

eral volunteers who foster cats in the

OHCAAT (One Homeless Cat at a Time)

program.

Amy met Peepers through a woman who

lived in a neighborhood where someone

was feeding feral cats, leading to the cre-

ation of a cat colony. The woman brought

Peepers to Amy, who was fostering kittens

long before OHCAAT formed.

We’ve got a barn“She didn’t know how to deal with it,”

Amy said. “I had just moved out of town. I

said, ‘We’ve got a barn. I can have one

more cat.’” Peepers since has grown into an

adorable wobbly adult cat.

The woman soon brought Amy another

kitten from the same colony. Amy fostered

it too. Today, between her barn and her

house, she fosters more than 20 cats and

kittens.

Cat coloniesCat colonies almost always start because

someone sees a homeless cat, wants to

help, and starts to feed it.

“If you feed one female cat, within a

year you can have 16 or 20 kittens,” Amy

said. “I’ve gotten in on the early stages of a

colony. The people say, ‘I just fed that one

female.’ She had a litter. Then her litter had

a litter, those kittens had litters, and she

was having a litter every time her kittens

had litters.”

If people want to feed feral cats but

can’t afford to have them fixed, she recom-

mends they call the San Juan Animal League

at 505.325.3366 for assistance.

The league hosts a Dogsters Spay and

Neuter program in which a mobile unit from

Durango holds three-day clinics twice a

month. On one day they spay and neuter

owned cats, on another day owned dogs,

and on the third day feral cats.

Trap, Neuter, Return

A few years after Amy started fostering

cats on her own, she became involved with

a group called Trap, Neuter, Return. Begun

in 2008 under the umbrella of the Humane

Society of the Four Corners, its purpose is

to trap wild adult cats and their kittens,

vaccinate and neuter them, and return them

to the place where they were trapped.

TNR members recognized that many kit-

tens they returned might not survive. They

would have a better chance if someone fos-

tered them and tried to find homes for

them.

“It’s a hard life for kitties out there,”

Amy said. “They’ll die, or they’ll grow up

and breed or get sick. In these colonies,

they all come to the same bowl, and they

keep spreading their germs. So mama’s sick,

and she’s carrying kittens, and they’re born

sick.”

OHCAAT begins in 2011

To give feral kittens a better survival

chance, OHCAAT was born in 2011. It’s

made up of some of the same people in

the TNR group. For awhile OHCAAT

OHCAAT gives homeless kittens a better chance to surviveStory by Margaret Cheasebro | Photos by Tony Bennett


members did their best on their own to take in

homeless kittens, tame them and try to find homes

for them. But fostering kittens isn’t cheap. In addi-

tion to buying food and litter, there are vet bills

when kittens get sick.

OHCAAT volunteers knew more people would

see the kittens if they could bring them to Petco, a

pet supply store at 3530 E. Main St., but to meet

Petco requirements, they needed a 501(c)(3) desig-

nation. So they became affiliated with the San Juan

Animal League. The 501(c)(3) affiliation also lets

OHCAAT pursue grants that Petco and other organi-

zations offer.

More cats, more vet bills

The affiliation with San Juan Animal League

brought OHCAAT more attention. As a result, their

fostered kitten population increased by at least one

third. That meant more food, litter and veterinary

expenses. Recognizing the challenge, the league

began providing them with financial help in 2012.

Even so, as of January, OHCAAT’s veterinary bills

had reached $3,600. They have yard sales and ac-

cept donations to help pay those bills. They often

spend their own money on food and litter.

“They’re so boots on the ground,” said Kristin

Langenfeld, who coordinates the San Juan Animal

League’s Spay-Neuter Program. “What they do is so

important. OHCAAT is the only 501(c)(3), affiliated

foster cat program in the county. That’s huge.”

Petco likes OHCAAT

In 2013, Petco General Manager Lisa Stiffler

agreed to let OHCAAT volunteers bring the cats to

Petco every Saturday.

Volunteers made an impression on Lisa. “They

and the adoption events became so popular, and I

noticed how well each cat was taken care of,” she

said.

So Lisa and the volunteers mutually agreed that

OHCAAT should be the official adoption group for

the Farmington Petco store.

Cats at Petco daily

Foster families bring their cats to Petco every

morning where customers can see them. If they like

one, they can ask Petco staff members for an adop-

tion application. It costs $60 to adopt a cat, and

each animal is already spayed or neutered and

“What they do is so important. OHCAAT is the only 501(c)(3) affiliatedfoster cat program in the country. That’s huge.”

— Kristin LangenfeldSan Juan Animal League


vaccinated. The adoption fee helps to cover those

costs.

Every Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. OHCAAT volun-

teers bring in all the cats that are up for adoption,

and they stay to talk with people about each ani-

mal.

Having the cats at Petco has increased the adop-

tion rate. In 2013, OHCAAT took in 119 foster cats

and found adoptive homes for 75 of them.

“We keep fostering and showing the cats until

they’re adopted,” said Kathy Vickers, an OHCAAT

volunteer who works closely with Amy.

Extra care

It takes awhile before some cats are ready to

come to the store. First, they have to be tamed,

spayed or neutered and vaccinated, and some cats

need extra care.

“OHCAAT offers services that aren’t available

anywhere else,” Kristen Langenfeld said. “When they

have the room, they take orphan litters, individual

kittens, and special needs cats that require more

time. They work with the animal shelter and the vet-

erinary community. Everybody knows they’re out

there and can call them when they have those kinds

of needs.”

Kathy fosters more than a dozen kittens. “We’re

passionate about this,” she said.

Adoption enriches lives

One of many people who benefit from OHCAAT

is Mark Gadway of Cedar Hill. He adopted a two-

year-old female named Patches. He’d had two sister

cats for five years. When one disappeared last May,

the remaining cat seemed lonesome. Mark saw

Patches at Petco.

“I pulled her out of the cage and played with her

a little,” he said. “I filled out the adoption paper-

work and got her in November.”

He followed Amy’s instructions for introducing

the cats to each other. Now they get along well.

Secret weapon for taming cats

Taming kittens can be tricky. Amy gets help from

her husband, Scott Harden, a tree trimmer, who

owns Riverside Arborist.

“He’s my secret weapon when I tame cats,” she

said. “I foster them in a room where he sometimes

sits. They can sneak up on him and get used to

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people without the person staring and saying, ‘Are

you okay, are you sick, do you need medicine?’ as

I, the primary caregiver, often do because so many

initially have something we need to treat.”

The fostered kittens live indoors, so they don’t

have street smarts and wouldn’t survive long outside.

People who adopt them must agree to keep them

indoors.

If people are not OHCAAT members but foster

cats on their own, OHCAAT will help find homes for

those kittens if their guidelines are followed. Those

rules require that kittens must be healthy, spayed or

neutered, and vaccinated.

Cat colony develops fast

Ester Nañez of Farmington is one of those non-

members. While she was out of town, someone

dumped two female cats by the river near her prop-

erty. A friend was feeding a cat, and the homeless

females found their way to the cat dish. They soon

had litters of kittens, and their kittens began having

litters.

“Forty cats later, I had a cat colony,” Ester said.

Working together, TNR and the San Juan Animal

League neutered 34 cats in that colony with two

more cats to go. Because Esther followed OHCAAT

guidelines, OHCAAT let her show the kittens at

Petco. So far, five of them have found homes.

Amy and Kathy

Amy and Kathy form the core of the OHCAAT

group. They met in 2003 after Kathy began work-

ing as a veterinary clinic secretary. Kathy and her

husband, Bill, are animal lovers.

* OHCAAT 54

www.FlyGreatLakes.com1-800-554-5111Four Corners Regional Airport

1300 W. Navajo St. Farmington, NM • 505-599-1395

www.IflyFarmington.com

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It wasn’t an easy childhood for Abiegail Yazzie.

Raised in a hogan with a traditional Navajo upbringing, Yazzie

was the fourth of nine children and the oldest girl. When she was

5 years old, Yazzie was sent to Lake Valley Navajo School, a

boarding school, with her three older brothers.

It wasn’t until she was in the second grade, however, that a

teacher discovered Yazzie needed glasses. Those glasses opened

up a whole new world for the little girl.

“I didn’t realize there were leaves on trees or that people

had eyes,” Yazzie said with a shake of her head.

Her clearer vision not only helped with her school work and

her appreciation of the world around her, it helped her with her

assigned duties at the boarding school. Each student at the

school had responsibilities and Yazzie’s was cleaning – a job that

would ultimately help her in a career.

Structured life

It was a structured lifestyle at the boarding school, Yazzie

said. “We’d get up and go to our boxes, which were all in a row

and had numbers on them, no names. We were known by a num-

ber and my number was four. We’d shower, get dressed, brush

our teeth, braid our hair and make our bed. Then we’d line up

according to our size and we’d march – right foot first, just like

the military – to breakfast.”

It was very structured for a 5-year-old, Yazzie said, but a

structure she continues to use.

The joys of learning and the structured life were good for the

young Yazzie, but the death of her oldest brother was difficult

for her to accept. “I grieved for him,” she said. “For months, I

waited for him at the road every day, because I knew he would

come to me.”

Her brother never came and, to this day, Yazzie questions the

cause of his death. “They said it was an accident,” she said, “but

I never believed it.”

Degree in social work

Yazzie graduated from high school and attended San Juan

College, Fort Lewis College and New Mexico Highlands Univer-

sity, and got her bachelor’s degree. She received her master’s

degree from Smith College in North Hampton, Mass. Her degrees

were in social work – something her father said she was destined

for.

“My father was a journeyman carpenter, which is how I picked

up math, which is one of my strengths. And my dad always said I

had a spiritual gift for helping people and I had to use it.”

“My dad said because I cared for my six younger siblings, I

knew how to nurture and how to comfort people,” she added.

Yazzie went to work for Indian Health Services, where she

worked mostly with children who had been abused or neglected,

children who were in foster homes and children with disabilities.

“Because of the death of my brother, I knew how to work

with children who were grieving,” she said. “I enjoyed working

with the children and I was able to communicate with them, es-

pecially the kids with special needs. I got to their level, and

Story by Dorothy Nobis | Photo by Tony Bennett

Abiegail Yazzie’s path takes her back to the beginning


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that’s what my dad saw in me and the gifts he said I

had.”

For 29 years, Yazzie nurtured, counseled and

worked with those children until, finally, the emo-

tional strain of the job became too much, and be-

cause of what she saw as an insensitivity of the

culture of the Navajo people.

“My plan was to retire in February of 2015,”

Yazzie said with a laugh. “I wanted to have a busi-

ness before I retired.”

New business venture

Yazzie and her husband, Ray, started Ray, the

Welder, LLC, in 1999. The business was successful

but, in 2008, the economy took a downturn that

affected the business. Yazzie started looking for an-

other business to put her time and energy into.

In April 2010, Yazzie was invited to the Arizona

Public Service Navajo Business Day workshop and

she thought about an industrial cleaning business. “I

worked with the Small Business Development Cen-

ter and they helped me with a business plan, mar-

keting and finances. I joined the c200 Emerging

Leaders Program and the NxLevel Entrepreneurs

Series. I learned leadership skills, QuickBooks, taxes

– everything I needed to know.”

But it’s not just about cleaning the floors and

offices where she specializes, Yazzie added. “I’m

very proactive regarding safety. We wear hard hats,

steel toed shoes, ear plugs, long sleeves and safety

glasses,” and she added that safety on sites is a

priority for her and her employees.

Yazzie and Hodi’shooh Specialty Cleaning Serv-

ices was honored as the Small Business of the Year

by the Small Business Development Center and was

recognized on the floor of the New Mexico Senate

in February. That recognition, Yazzie hopes, will add

to her goal of broadening her client base. “I’m

looking for million dollar contracts,” she said with

confidence. “With the help I received at the Small

Business Development Center, I’m going to try to

get work with the Department of Defense.”

Carmen Martinez, director of the Farmington

Small Business Development Center, said she en-

joyed working with Yazzie.

“Abiegail is a pleasure to work with,” Martinez

said. “She first reached out to the SBDC in 2001.

Since then, she has taken full advantage of our

services. She took the 12-week NxLevel course to

develop her business and she took the Emerging

Leaders class to work on her growth plan.”

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“She has worked with our Procurement and

Technical Assistance Program office to help with

government contracting,” Martinez added. “Abie-

gail’s commitment to her business and her customers

are what has made her so successful.”

Yazzie wanted a name for her business that was

unique and defined what she does. “Hodi’shooh

means the spirit of cleaning,” Yazzie said of the busi-

ness’s name. “And I’m enthusiastic about cleaning

and we have the spirit of cleaning.”

Oddly, her new business venture has taken her

back to where she started. “I have a $1.4 million

contract with the power plant and a school. I’m

back at the school I went to, but now I clean and

get paid for it.”

“And now I go in the back door instead of the

front door,” she added with a laugh.

17 and growing

Yazzie employs 17 people, most of whom are

Navajo and who have been with her since the begin-

ning. “One of my employees is a woman who was in

the National Guard but who couldn’t find a job. I

hired her and she’s a full time employee and still

does her National Guard training.”

“The greatest satisfaction I have is giving back to

unfortunate Navajos who didn’t complete high

school or go to college,” Yazzie said. “I give them a

good salary and I tell them ‘Enjoy what you’re

doing. Be proud.’”

Hodi’shooh isn’t just Yazzie’s business, however,

she’s quick to explain. “It’s my baby. I like the own-

ership. I can make it as beautiful and productive and

successful as I want it. And I want it to be a multi-

million dollar business.”

While she enjoys her work, Yazzie spends what lit-

tle spare time she has getting back in touch with her

soul. “I go back to my sheep, my goats, my cattle

and my horses,” she said. “We have a ranch with

spring water and it’s so beautiful and quiet out

there.”

In spite of how far she’s come since she was the

little girl who needed glasses and cleaned her

school, Yazzie admits there’s one thing about her

life that hasn’t changed.

As busy as she is with a life that is full and good,

Yazzie admits that she’s still the little sister who waits

at the road for her big brother to come home. “I

still grieve for him,” she said. “He was my big

brother.”

Farmington has long been touted as New Mex-

ico’s best kept art secret. As home to several

world-class artists, the city has a history of cele-

brating art and culture among the locals. While it

has yet to be on the map as an art destination

for tourists who visit the state, the Taylor family

has helped to develop and change the attitude

of promoting art in the city proper with Artifacts

Gallery.

Tom Taylor’s family has always been civic

minded. The Taylors served as elected officials

and helped the local economy through busi-

nesses such as the old Farmington Lumber in his-

toric Downtown Farmington. The lumber business

was a staple for decades, and when it closed,

Tom’s wife, Bev, had a new idea for economic

development in Farmington. She asked Tom for

the chance to turn the lumberyard into an artists’

community in the heart of downtown.

The Taylors had visited the Torpedo Factory in

Alexandria, Va. Originally a torpedo factory, it

was converted into the largest collection of

artists’ studios in the country. Bev had a vision of

a lumberyard that could be converted into studio

space on a much smaller scale, and she asked

Tom to allow her the opportunity should Farm-

ington Lumber ever close.

Bev’s time came in November 1995, when she

had the opportunity to convert the lumberyard

into studio space for 10 artists. It took her two

weeks to fill the studios with working artists, and

Bev was giving them more than a place to work.

She was validating them.

This UNM graduate with a degree in art history

was making art in her basement, when her chil-

dren lived at home. “I was ecstatic when I got a

studio,” she said, while stroking Patches, the stu-

dio cat that lives at Artifacts.

Bev recalled having someone ask her if her art

got better when she moved her work into a stu-

dio, but she said her mind got better. “Having a

studio validates me as an artist. It’s the dividing

line between ‘I paint a little’ to ‘I am an artist

and I have a studio,’” she said. “By having a stu-

dio, you give value to what you do. I was validat-

ing 10 artists by giving them a studio.”

In the beginning, there were only artists’ stu-

dios. The artists rented the space and could

Artifacts gives art and artists a home downtown Story by Debra Mayeux | Photos by Josh Bishop


Family Communityand

come and go as they pleased. “People

would look in the window and try to fig-

ure out what we were doing,” Bev said.

Four years later, she decided to make

the secret public. She opened Artifacts

Gallery with her daughter Tara Churchill

as her business partner.

“I wanted Tara to develop a skill, and

I wanted to revitalize downtown,” Bev

said. Artifacts did both.

Tara began keeping the books for

both the gallery space and the studios.

She also honed her photography and

artistic skills, while having the opportu-

nity to raise her three young boys in a

gallery setting with her mother at her

side. Bev was able to focus on art and

on teaching.

“Pretty much in every aspect of the

business we are true 50 percent part-

ners. It takes both of us to keep us at

the top of our game,” Bev said. “We

also have developed a great cama-

raderie – almost a family – with these

artists.”

There are 14 artists renting studio

space at Artifacts today, and the gallery

represents 40 artists from throughout

the Four Corners region. There also is a

Chile Store, which helps tie in the

Southwest flavor of the region to the

gallery. The true focus, however, remains

a way to promote art and artists in Farm-

ington.

Dwight Lawing’s art career has blos-

somed through his networking at Arti-

facts. Lawing rented studio space at the

gallery 13 years ago. His wife Anna

wanted him and his art supplies out of

the bedroom, where she quilts, so she

went in and secured him the space.

“It was great. I could come down

here anytime,” Lawing said. “I am so

grateful to Tom and Bev for giving us

this opportunity.”

Lawing was an artist in California, but

when he moved to Farmington he had to

build up his reputation. “I was learning



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and practicing. I started out experimenting – get-

ting into a couple of shows,” he said, adding that

he recently took first place in the Gateway to

Imagination national juried art show at the Farm-

ington Museum.

Lawing’s time spent at Artifacts helped him

achieve that goal. “An artist works in a studio all

by himself and struggles and works to get better

all of the time,” he said. “When I work on a

painting, I think I get it done, and I take it to Bev

or Robin (Compton) or Michael (Bulloch) – to

have that other artist’s opinion is priceless.”

Michael Bulloch’s studio is beside Lawing’s and

they often share ideas and critique one anothers’

works. “I like the sense of communing with other

artists. You can bounce ideas off of each other

and get peer critiques,” Bulloch said. “It helps

you grow as an artist and I like that.”

Bulloch began renting space at Artifacts nine

years ago. “It seems just like yesterday,” he said.

In that time, Bulloch has received accolades at

several art shows throughout the community, and

his work has become highly collectable. He also

began publishing the Handmade Artist’s Guide, an

annual publication that lists studios, galleries and

artists in the Four Corners region. His primary job,

however, is painting at Artifacts, where people

can wander in and find artists at work nearly any

time of day.

“This environment gives people an understand-

ing of the art world. For non-artists, they can

come in and see actual artists working – the ac-

tual process of creation from beginning to end,

when the piece goes on the wall for sale,” Bul-

loch said.

Opening up the art world to outsiders was

one of Bev’s purposes in opening Artifacts. She

wanted to give the public an opportunity to see

real artists at work and develop an understanding

of the process. She also wanted to give artists an

opportunity to hone their skills, while getting rec-

ognized as artists in the community.

Sandy Nelson and Marilyn Taylor are two

artists who benefitted from this. They have

shared a studio space for 4 1/2 years. Marilyn

decided to rent the space after she and Nelson

began taking art classes from Rod Hubble at

San Juan College.

“I came in and looked around. I didn’t think

I belonged in a studio,” Marilyn said. She saw

Bev working on a large piece and felt com-

pelled to ask whether a space was available. “It

was divine intervention – the right time and

place.”

Marilyn asked Nelson to share the space and

the deal was sealed. “We’ve learned a lot from

each other and from those around us,” Nelson

said.

Marilyn has enjoyed building relationships

and feeling the stress roll away, when she picks

up her paintbrush.

Nelson added that the studio being open to

the public has been positive. “I think it is a re-

ally good thing. It demystifies the process,” she

said. “There are conversation starters all over

the place.”

Bev had helped the process along by having

quarterly shows at the gallery. “That was how

the art walks in downtown started,” she said.

“We kept plugging away and then the city

stepped in and started putting art in other

businesses downtown. It has become a staple

activity and we are so thankful to the people

who come downtown to support the art walks.

The shows sponsored by Artifacts are open

to the studio artists as well as any other artist

in the Four Corners region. The shows are

open and any artist can enter two pieces of

work, as long as they follow the theme. The

June-July show will be Tools of the Trade. The

August show’s theme is Play.

Bev said she has enjoyed the shows, because

they bring people into the studios and galley.

“I wanted people to come in and feel totally

comfortable watching art being done,” she

said.

And Bev constantly creates. She has done

civic art projects, along with Tom, including the

giant wall sculpture that recognizes those who

contributed to the Farmington Regional Animal

Shelter. She painted murals on the walls of the

Ladera Elementary School Library, and she is a

San Juan Mentor, teaching art skills to a youth

in need.

Bev has long enjoyed teaching art and fo-

cuses on what her students enjoy by teaching

at the gallery. “I really like the one-on-one

teaching,” she said.

The entire endeavor of opening the studios

and the gallery has been about family and com-

munity for the Taylors. “It’s worked well for al-

most 20 years, which is hard for me to

believe,” Bev said. It’s worked because the

community supports Artifacts, and the Taylors

support the community.


After Amy began volunteering with TNR, Kathy

offered to foster some kittens from a colony.

Kathy enjoyed it so much that she continued fos-

tering.

One feral kitten stands out in Kathy’s mem-

ory. Stewie came to her in 2013 after people

called for assistance when a cat was killed on a

road in Wild Horse Valley, leaving three kittens.

“He was three weeks old when I got him on

Sept. 15,” Kathy recalled. “He was orange, and

his ears stuck straight out. His eyes were huge,

and he had this teeny tiny nose and mouth. He

looked like an alien.”

In spite of upper respiratory and eye infection

problems, he flourished.

“He’s still got a little face, but his ears went

up, and he’s grown into his face,” Kathy said.

“He is so adorable. I hope he’ll get adopted.”

Kittens vulnerable

He’s well past the age when kittens sometimes

die. That often happens at about eight weeks

when they reach weaning age. The immunity they

got from their mother is wearing off, and their

own is just starting to develop.

“That’s the reason for the series of vaccina-

tions for kittens,” Amy said. “Their immunity

doesn’t kick in when mom’s immunity stops. It’s a

gradual process.”

That’s why OHCAAT often takes mother cats

in with the kittens. Once kittens are weaned and

taught good social behavior by their moms, the

mothers are fixed, vaccinated and returned to

where they were trapped.

Sick cats get vet care

When kittens do get sick, they get all the vet-

erinary care they need if they have a treatable

condition. Only seldom when the vet says the

outcome is poor does OHCAAT opt for euthana-

sia. Some kittens die no matter how hard volun-

teers try to save them.

“We had a horrible year in 2013,” Amy said,

her brow wrinkling in pain. “We lost 11 kittens.”

Amy uses a computer program to keep track

of all the cats, when they enter the foster system,

their medical and vaccination information and

when they are adopted.

“She is really organized,” Kathy said. “She re-

members all their names.”

Good adoptive homes

Because OHCAAT volunteers put so much

time, expense, and love into the cats they foster,

they want them to have good adoptive homes.

People who want to adopt one must fill out an

application. Volunteers review each application,

meet the applicants and talk with them.

“They usually tell you pretty quick what kind

of pet owners they will be,” Amy said, but even

after they talk with applicants, they must trust

their gut instincts.

Last Christmas Eve, a family who lived on the

reservation visited the cat cages at PETCO.

“That one looks like Hank,” one of them said.

Amy’s ears perked up. She’d fostered Hank

and felt good about the family who adopted

him, but questions lingered in her mind. “They

lived out in the middle of nowhere,” she said.

“They told me their last cat had been killed by

OHCAAT continued from 44


When OHCAAT (One Homeless Cat at a

Time) volunteer Amy Harden got a call about a

kitten in need, she had to say no. There was no

room in foster care.

The caller wouldn’t give up. “This little cat

family showed up, and I don’t think they’re out-

side cats. It’s October, and it’s cold.”

“But we have no room in foster care,” Amy

repeated.

“We can’t keep them,” the caller insisted.

We’ve got so many.” She paused. “I think one

of them is blind.”

Amy relented. “I’ll be there after work.”

When she picked up the kitten, who came to

be known as Honeybear, the cat’s eyes were

badly infected. Amy took her to the vet, who

referred her to a specialist in Albuquerque.

“We found that she had three or four differ-

ent birth defects, including one where she had

no eyelids,” Amy explained. “She had fur rub-

bing on her eyeballs constantly, so there was

chronic ulceration of the eye itself. That was

why her eyes were infected all the time.”

The specialist held little hope that Honey-

bear would ever see but counseled waiting for

two months just in case. By then, it was obvious

Honeybear had no vision, so the specialist re-

moved her eyes.

“They were these tiny deformed eyeballs that

looked like raisins,” Amy said. “She probably

never did see. But that cat is incredible. She

can catch gnats.”

Looking back, Amy believes circumstances

prepared her for Honeybear.

“There’s a book called Homer’s Odyssey

about a blind cat and a woman right around the

time of 9-11,” she said. “Somebody gave me

that book a month-and-a-half before I took

Honeybear, and I read it. These cats that have

never seen are just incredible.”

Honeybear found an adoptive home, though

it took a long time for the couple to decide to

adopt her.

“They visited her every week at Petco for al-

most a year before they finally took her home,”

Amy said.

Honeybear, who will be 2 years old this sum-

mer, is flourishing with her new family.

Honeybear finds a home

something. They were a nice quiet family. The little girl that picked

him out went past a cage full of adorable kittens and picked this big

old beefy tomcat.”

The family pulled out pictures of Hank sprawled on his back,

asleep on their couch.

“He’s doing fine,” Amy said, her eyes sparkling. “You can’t believe

the feeling. That just tickled me.”

“You’re doing a good thing”

People often tell OHCAAT volunteers, “You are doing such a good

thing.”

That’s nice to hear. It offsets the people who ask if OHCAAT can

take their 3-year-old cat because they have to move and can’t take it

with them.

Amy bristled. “That’s your family,” she said. “They’re yours for-

ever.”

It’s not easy to foster kittens, grow to love them, then give them

up for adoption.

“There are days it’s extremely overwhelming, and you start to won-

der if you’re making a difference,” Amy said. “Then families who took

the kittens come back with pictures of their pets. They love their new

family members, and it makes all the effort worthwhile.”

To learn about kittens available for adoption, visit the cat cages at

Petco, email Amy at [email protected], or go to

www.petfinder.com/shelters/NM123.html or

www.facebook/com/ohcaat.SUMMER 2014 | MAJESTIC LIVING | 55

OHCAAT continued from 44

Pope continued from 38

at their Farmington home. Joe grows vegetables

in his garden and in a backyard green house.

They love to travel and are avid UNM basket-

ball fans.

Community involvement

Joe is in his second six-year term on the San

Juan College Board and is currently chairman.

He was involved with Leadership San Juan,

teaching people to network and learn more

about leadership. He served as chief of staff at

San Juan Regional Medical Center in 1998 and

was on the board of Childhaven from 1998-

2012. He serves on the Farmington Convention

and Visitors’ Bureau Board.

Cathy became involved with Farmington

Clean and Beautiful, the local affiliate of Keep

America Beautiful, in 1996. She has served for

over 10 years on the board of San Juan Col-

lege’s Fine Arts Committee, whose biggest

project is running the annual Young Artists’

Recital. She is a co-executor of the estate of

Connie Gotsch, which, through the Connie

Gotsch Arts Foundation, provides grants and

scholarships for the arts and artists in San Juan

County.

She helped raise money to create the Pure

Bliss Cancer Library for cancer patients and

their families. She also was a founder of the

Piedra Vista High School Academic Booster

Club that supports students in the top 25 per-

cent of their class.

Music is their first love

But of all of their activities, music remains

their favorite.

“We have a passion for the arts,” said Cathy.

“We want to keep the arts going for another

generation.”

sailing awayKeith Cochrane has inspired many students to live a life filled with music

Story by Margaret Cheasebro

When Keith Cochrane became San Juan College’s director of

instrumental music 21 years ago, he began hanging on his office

walls one poster for every concert he directed.

“I’ve always said that when my posters cover every square inch

available, I need to quit,” he said.

Only one tiny patch behind his door doesn’t hold a poster, so

it’s a fitting time for Keith to move into other musical arenas. Be-

fore he steps down this summer, he will complete his work as

music

director for Sandstone Productions, his third year in that position.

He also will direct summer band and orchestra performances.

Marvelously talented

“Keith is marvelously talented,” said Linda Edwards, associate

professor of music at San Juan College. “I have seen his expertise

salt and peppered in many situations and many events at the col-

lege all the way from his early years assisting me with Masterworks

to playing in the orchestra. His creativity with his classes has

helped develop the music department.”

In addition to a host of musical endeavors, once Keith moves on

he will do more sailing. As a member of the San Juan Sailing Club,

he has taken several musicians out on his boat at Navajo Lake.

“Sailing really connects with musicians because it’s a visceral ex-

perience,” he said. “With music, our whole body is affected. As a

conductor, I find it’s a lot like dancing. The visceral experience of

sailing and the wind picking you up and moving you down the lake

or ocean is very much the same. I’ve never had a musician out on

the boat who didn’t connect with the experience.”

Photo by Tony Bennett

“Whether they go on to become

professional musicians, teachers,

performers, composers or recording

studio engineers is not important.

It is important to give them the ability

to become life-long musicians.”

— Keith Cochrane


Sails many parts of world

He has sailed with friends and family in sev-

eral parts of the world. An invitation to race

on a two-man crew for the National Champi-

onships of the Royal Victorian Yacht Club took

him to the Solent Sea off the Isle of Wight. He

has sailed around the Midriff Islands and the

Sea of Cortez, the Stockholm Archipelago in

Sweden, and in the Baltic, among other places.

After he leaves the college, Keith will sail

into performing with professional musicians and

arranging music for some of them. Among

those musicians are Dan Lambert, Eve Fleish-

man, Hoyle Osborne and Jane Voss, with all of

whom he has performed in SJC concerts.

Plans move to Albuquerque

He and his wife, Kristen, a case manager for

Presbyterian HMO, plan to move to Albu-

querque and buy a house there. Their daugh-

ter, Brooklyn, a pre-med student at New

Mexico State University in Las Cruces, will at-

tend the University of New Mexico Medical

School in Albuquerque. She is also a singer,

actor and dancer.

Their son, Bryce, who grew up playing

music, lives in Kearney, Neb. He is the father of

Kadyn, 10, who plays violin and fiddle, much

to Grandpa Keith’s delight.

When the Cochranes move to Albuquerque,

Keith will have several musical opportunities.

He has received an open invitation to play with

the Albuquerque Jazz Orchestra. He’s also

been asked by a former student to form a

community band there. He’s thinking about be-

coming recertified in elementary music so he

can teach in the Albuquerque Public Schools.

Elementary music vital

“Elementary level teaching is the most im-

portant thing a music teacher can do, because

that’s where the basic skills of music are assimi-

lated,” he said. “If kids don’t get it by the time

they leave elementary school, it’s much harder

to learn it as an adult.”

Recalling why he chose music as a career,

Keith said, “I was not a stellar student, but I

played in the high school band and orchestra

and jazz band and sang in the church choir. It

was the only thing I was good at, so I decided

that is what I would do.”

Some students with whom he interacts feel

that way about music too. He talks with many

of them when he hosts festivals and has clinics

for high school bands, jazz bands and orches-

tras at San Juan College.

Music is life-long

“Whether they go on to become profes-

sional musicians, teachers, performers, com-

posers or recording studio engineers is not

important,” he said. “It is important to give

them the ability to become life-long musicians.

In sports, by the time you’re 30 or 40 you

can’t continue that career, but music is differ-

ent. I have many friends who are in their 70s

and still playing with our bands and orchestras.

They’ve made music a life-long avocation.”

In 1999, at the suggestion of medical doc-

tor and musician Joe Pope, the college’s or-

chestral program expanded to include a

community orchestra.


“I really didn’t think we had enough musicians

in the community, but I was soon proved wrong,”

Keith said. “At our next orchestra concert we will

do Antonin Dvorzak’s New World Symphony,

Franz Liszt’s Die Tote Nachtigall tone poem with

guest pianist Victor Neidzwieki and a world pre-

miere by an Arizona composer David Sprinkle of

a piece called Particles. The community orchestra

has continued to enlarge and mature, and it bites

off some really difficult repertoire and makes it

sound really well.”

Brought music back to us

Chris Moon, who plays clarinet, French horn,

and trumpet in both the SJC band and the or-

chestra, is grateful that community musicians can

participate.

“I’m 63, and I had not played in an orchestra

for 30 years,” he said. “To be able to play again

was awesome. Like so many of us, Dr. Cochrane

brought music back into our lives.”

Aztec Public Schools Food Services Director

Bob Schryver plays tuba at SJC. “I’ve played in

park and community college bands all over the

country,” he said. “Dr. Cochrane is without a

doubt the best conductor I’ve ever played under.

He has top notch musicality and is also an educa-

tor. He conducts to educate you.”

Mom supported his music

Keith didn’t come from a musical family, but

his mother played the piano and supported his

musical efforts in high school.

“She paid for lessons, but she required that I

practice half an hour a day on any instrument

that I was taking lessons on,” Keith recalled. “I

concentrated on piano and trumpet. I couldn’t

do anything until I’d done that practicing. I

couldn’t go to Boy Scouts, church choir, baseball

practice, or play with my friends. Try as I might

to weasel out of it, she always made me practice.

My mom gave me the tools to do what I do

now.”

New York native

Born in New York City on Oct. 27, 1957, he

moved with his family to nearby Valley Stream,

N.Y., and graduated from high school there. He

quit playing instruments soon after high school

and managed the American Handicraft Store in

Boston, Mass. Missing music, he discovered

nearby Boston Community College and took a

jazz class there. That’s where he learned about

the Berklee School of Music in Boston.

He saved up his money, attended Berklee for

three years and two summers, and graduated in

1982 at age 22 with a bachelor’s degree in

music education. He supported himself by driving

a taxi, waiting tables at a kosher vegetarian

restaurant, doing jingles for the radio on trumpet

in a recording studio, and playing with a salsa

band.

First job in elementary music

He got his first job teaching elementary music

and junior high choir in Cedaredge, Colo., from

1982-1985.

He stepped into the high school arena when

he worked as Grand Junction High School’s choir

director in Grand Junction, Colo., from 1985-

1988. From there, he became assistant band di-

rector at Mesa State College.

Along the way, he earned his master’s degree

in performance on trumpet from Western State

College in Gunnison, Colo., and he directed the

Valley Symphony Orchestra, which drew musicians

from Delta, Montrose, and Grand Junction,

Colo. That’s how he met Kristen.

Needed oboe player

“We were doing Messiah one Christmas, and

we didn’t have an oboe player,” he said. “So I

called my friend, Greg Carly in Grand Junction,

who conducts the Centennial Band. He said,

‘Why don’t you try my girl friend?’ So I did. To

hold on to a good oboe player, evidently you

have to marry her. She’s been playing in the

San Juan College orchestra and our band since

I got here, and has been a wonderful asset.

Working 14-hour days, you need someone who

Before Dr. Keith Cochrane leaves this sum-

mer as San Juan College’s director of instru-

mental music, he has several musical events

ahead of him.

For the third year in a row, he will be Sand-

stone Productions’ music director. This year,

Sandstone will produce the play , with 21

shows on Thursday, Friday and Saturday

evenings from June 19 through Aug. 2 at the

Anasazi Amphitheater in Lions Wilderness Park.

Keith’s daughter, Brooklyn, will be in the cast.

He will direct summer band performances

at Brookside Park Amphitheater at 7 p.m. the

Sundays of June 29 and Aug. 3.

When the summer orchestra performs at

SJC’s Little Theatre at 7 p.m. Tuesday, July

29, he will be the conductor. Guest artist Eve

Fleishman will sing music composed by her and

arranged by Keith for the San Juan Orchestra.

The performance will include a rhythm section

and performances by the rock combo.

The rock combo also will get a workout

during the summer music festival on Saturday,

June 12, in the SJC graduation plaza behind

the library.

He invites musicians to call him at

505.330.5174 if they would like to play in the

summer band, which rehearses every Wednes-

day night, or in the summer orchestra, which

rehearses every Tuesday night.

A summer filled with music


understands what you’re doing. To have a sup-portive wife has been a blessing.”

To increase his knowledge of orchestral con-ducting, he earned a doctorate of arts from theUniversity of Northern Colorado in Greeley, grad-uating in 1993. That degree opened the doorsfor him at SJC, where he became director of in-strumental music in August 1993.

Philmont Scout RanchMoving to New Mexico was an easy choice. He

fell in love with the state as a teenager when heattended the Philmont Scout Ranch in Cimarron.“I thought I had died and gone to heaven,” hesaid. “Fresh air, 13,000-foot mountains, back-packing for 11 days, ponderosa pines, ridinghorses.”

In spite of the state’s beauty, he had secondthoughts about the SJC job after he and Kris at-tended the first night of band rehearsal.

“I think there were 11 people in the band,” hesaid. “I drove home, knowing that I had gotteninto the wrong thing. But we managed to build upthe band.”

Today, it has more than 50 members.

College supports music“San Juan College is wonderful in how they

support community organizations like band, thejazz band and the orchestra,” he said. “You don’tfind that at many community colleges. Music de-partments are typically housed in ancient WorldWar II left-over hangars or Quonset huts, Theydon’t have a beautiful facility like this.”

San Juan College President Dr. Toni HopperPendergrass called Keith “a remarkable influenceon so many of our students and on the commu-nity. He has been instrumental in organizing morethan 200 concerts and numerous outreach clinicsin area schools. Along with being an extremely tal-ented musician, he has inspired students to ex-pand their love of music and the arts. We will allmiss Keith’s passion for music, his dedication tostudents, and his unfailing support of San JuanCollege and the community.”

Many musical groupsIn addition to the community orchestra, the

band and the jazz band, Keith said, “Each yearwe’ve also had a couple of jazz combos, rock

combos, and a youth orchestra called Sinfonietta.Usually we do one musical every other year. I’veconducted all of them. The last two wereSweeney Todd and Urine Town. We also did LittleShop of Horrors and Sound of Music.”

The college also hosts a number of music festi-vals, including the regional large group festival,the all-state youth choirs, the elementary and mid-dle school choir competitions, and ensemble con-tests.

“We just completed our 15th annual jazz fest,with guest artist trumpeter Gavin Bond fromPortland, Ore.,” Keith added.

The jazz festival has been a major recruiter forthe college.

Still excited about his workEven though his college tenure is coming to an

end, Keith remains excited about his work.“I continue to put all of the effort into this

program that I did on the first day I walked in,”he said. “I still look forward to my job. Everymorning when I wake up I can’t wait to get towork and see our wonderful talented studentsmake progress in music.”


MLaround

town Koogler Middle School students listen as owner and president of Merrion Oil and Gas, T. GregMerrion shares information about the development of oil and gas in the basin and importance offossil fuels in energy creation during Energy Week in April. Nearly 1,500 middle school studentsfrom Shiprock to Dulce learned about energy in the San Juan Basin during the annual EnergyWeek presentations at the Farmington Museum.

Chelsea Nicole Tillman, daughter of Mike and Nancy Tillman ofFarmington, was crowned Miss Las Cruces recently.She will be competing for the Miss New Mexico Crown in Ruidosoon June 28.She is a junior at New Mexico State University and is a 2011graduate of Piedra Vista High School.

Tri-City Mayors, from left Tommy Roberts, Sally Burbridge and Scott Eckstein, speak to the crowdat the third annual Mayor’s Ball at the Farmington Civic Center in March. The ball is a fundraiserfor nonprofits in the county. Proceeds from the fundraiser will support Big Brothers and BigSisters of San Juan County. At the event Roberts announced that Sexual Assault Services ofNorthwest New Mexico has been chosen as the recipient for the 2015 and 2016 fundraiser.


Aztec freelance writer Margaret Cheasebro

earned five first place awards in the New Mex-

ico Press Women’s state communications con-

test for articles that appeared in Majestic Living

Magazine and Four Cor-

ners Sports in 2013. The

awards were presented

during the NMPW’s state

convention in Las Cruces

on Saturday, April 26.

Cheasebro won in

these categories: news story for an article

about Farmington Postmaster Steve Begay; arts

and entertainment specialty articles for stories

on the bluegrass band Chokecherry Jam and

the artist group Loose Ladies; education spe-

cialty articles for pieces on Red Mesa, Arizona,

High School teacher Kathi Stanford being

named Navajo Nation Teacher of the Year and

on The First Tee, a national organization that

teaches golf and life skills; environmental spe-

cialty articles for pieces about Heather Eber-

hard and the national award she won for

recycling when she was a fifth grader and

about Dr. Bob Lehmer and his efforts to make

river environments enjoyable recreational

areas; sports specialty articles for stories about

Tom Wishon of Durango, an internationally

known golf club head designer, and about Jeff

Rogers, who lost his right arm in a roadside

bomb blast in Iraq but learned to play golf left

handed and to find success in his personal and

business life.

She also earned third place for a personal-

ity profile about chiropractor Dr. Doug Pen-

dergrass.

Entries are judged by out-of-state journal-

ists, and each winning entry receives a point

value based on its first, second or third place

status. Using that point system, Cheasebro

earned the second place general excellence

award, which included a $75 check.

First place awards are automatically entered

into the National Federation of Press Women

Communications Contest.

Margaret Cheasebro earns 5 first place awards from NMPWA

Fresh off a silver medal win in Sochi, Russia, Paralympian and Farmingtonnative Alana Nichols came home in April for and visit a and to supportMadison Seeiner at a fundraisers for Peach’s Neet Feet. Nichols, 31, livesin Wheat Ridge, Colo., and is a dual sport athlete for Team U.S.A. in theParalympics. She competes in both wheelchair basketball and alpine skiing.She competed in the Sochi Winter Games and brought home a silver medalin downhill skiing.

Debby Titus, Farmington candidate for Mrs. New Mexico 2014, joined with hosts Jimmy Bond, DebbieJenson and Jeff and Maureen Roth to raise money for the Women Veterans of New Mexico in May. At thefundraiser, they filled a trailer full of food and clothing and raised $1,200 for the organization. TheWVNM is a voice for women who have served and those currently serving in the United States ArmedForces. The group is an advocate for Women Veteran’s rights, issues, and benefits. Debby will representFarmington when she competes in the 38th Annual Mrs. New Mexico Pageant on June 28 in Albuquerque.Pictured above at the fundraiser are from left Debby Titus, Anita Rowe and Beverly Charley.

MLCoolest Things

If you’re anything like the gang here at Majestic,

each summer you promise yourself “I will not waste

one single moment of it this year.”

And, as always, things get in the way! But, we all

still manage to eke out some perfect nights and

relaxing weekends, and some extra down time with

friends and family.

We’ve strung together some items that will make

those times a little more fun and a lot easier.

It’s Summertime

WHY?

BECAUSE ICE MELTS!

Whiskey Rocks

www.geekalerts.com

Whiskey stones are freezable naturally

mined soapstones that will keep your

drink cold but won’t water it down. The

whiskey stones will keep your drink cold

up to an hour, allowing you to savor the

delicious whiskey or other liquor of your

choice.

Each set comes with a cushy muslin

drawstring pouch and nine (9) of these

Whiskey stones.

$19.99

1PLUG IN

AND TUNE OUT

USB Wall plug

www.homedepot.com

Look around you. Chances are pretty

good there are at least half a dozen

things within arm’s reach of you that are

plugged into a power outlet. Your laptop,

your tablet computer, your phone – even

that awesome pair of wireless head-

phones needs to be charged.

Charge all your portable devices directly

from the wall without using up your avail-

able outlets – no adapter required.

5-star energy efficient design auto

senses the correct wattage and only

outputs full power if needed.

$27.95

2HAVE FUN STORMING

THE CASTLE

Excalibur Motorized Bumper Boat

w/Cannon

www.overstock.com

King Arthur would have loved having this

in his arsenal. The Excalibur Bumper

Boat comes complete with jumbo-sized

squirt gun.

The quiet, single motor with one-button

accelerator makes it easy.

This bumper boat gives you steering

wheel control.

Also includes a squirt gun right on the

steering wheel that lets you soak anyone

in your way.

$84.99

3TACO

TRANSPORTATION

Taco Truck Taco Holder

www.amazon.com

If you’re in the mood to make a home-

made Mexican meal, then the Taco Truck

Taco Holder will provide a playful way to

keep your scrumptious tacos from top-

pling over and making a mess. It comes

with two trucks in each package· Colors

include salsa red and guacamole green.

$15

4


4

3

1

2

YARD OF

THE LIVING DEAD

Zombie Gnombie

www.designtuscano.com

Watch out! The Zombies have now

invaded the realm of the gnomes! This

macabre gnome has only survived the

zombie invasion by joining the Living

Dead. Sculpted in gruesome zombie

detail and cast in quality designer resin

exclusively for Design Toscano, our post-

apocalyptic Zombie Gnombie is hand-

painted to create a full vision from bloody

beard to graveyard hues. Don’t miss this

unique garden collectible!

11½”Wx8”Dx10½”H. 3 lbs.

$49.99

5HOOK, LINE

AND WIENER

The Campfire Roasting Rod

www.hammacher.com

This is the patented counterbalanced

campfire set that enables campers to

roast hot dogs and toast marshmallows

from a safe distance as if fishing. With

heat-resistant wooden handles, each of

the four 36”-long steel poles have a 21”-

long stainless steel “line” that terminates

in a pair of roasting spits. Gently jigging

the pole upwards—just like setting the

hook while fishing—flips the roasting

spits over for even cooking. Set of four.

Storage bag included.

$119.95

6WARM DAYS,

COOL DIP

Prodyne ICED Dip-on-Ice

Stainless-Steel Serving Bowl

Walmart.com; bedbathandbeyond.com

and amazon.com

The Prodyne Dip-on-Ice Serving Bowl is

an efficient tool for hosts and hostesses

who like to entertain. This stainless steel

serving bowl can be used for almost any-

thing, and it keeps foods chilled over a bed

of ice without leaving the food watered-

down or diluted. The serving bowl is also

top rack dishwasher safe. The bowl has a

durable stainless steel and acrylic con-

struction that will make sure that this will

be around for many parties to come.

$19.99

7PITCH BLACK

BBQ Grill Light and Fan

www.sharperimage.com

Cook perfectly grilled steaks, ribs and

burgers – even at night – with this BBQ

Grill Light and Fan. There’s never been a

great way to view your grill surface after

the sun goes down, until now. With this

clamp-on light and fan system, four ultra-

bright LED lights illuminate your grill sur-

face, while dual fans pull smoke up and

away. Lights rotate up to 300 degrees for

the perfect outdoor task lighting while

you baste, flip and grill to perfection.

Universal clamp attaches to virtually any

hood (except Kettle style hoods).

$89

8


5

6

7

8

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Farmington, NM

505-325-8231

www.basinhomehealth.com

Beehive Homes ............................................44

400 N. Locke

508 N. Airport

Farmington, N.M.

505-427-3794

Budget Blinds.................................................2

825 N. Sullivan

Farmington, N.M.

505-324-2008

Cascade Bottled Water

& Coffee Service ..................................48 & 53

214 S. Fairview

Farmington, N.M.

505-325-1859

Cellular One..................................................33

1-800-730-2350

www.cellularoneonline.com

C.A.R.E. Cleaning & Restoration....................12

505-327-3742

www.swcare.com

City of Farmington .......................................45

Great Lakes Airlines

Farmington, N.M.

1-800-554-5111

www.flygreatlakes.com

DeNae’s Boutique ........................................19

San Juan Plaza

Farmington, N.M.

505-326-6025

Desert Hills Dental Care..................................5

2525 E. 30th St.

Farmington, N.M.

505-327-4863

866-327-4863

www.deserthillsdental.com

Employee Connections, Inc...........................38

2901 E. 20th Street

Farmington, NM

505-324-8877

Farmington Boys and Girls Club....................18

1825 E. 19th St.

Farmington, NM

505-327-6396

Farmington Convention &

Visitors Bureau...............................................7

www.fmtn.org/sandstone

Four Corners Community Bank. ....................24

Seven Convenient Locations

Farmington • Aztec • Cortez

NM 505-327-3222

CO 970-564-8421

www.TheBankForMe.com

Four Corners Orthodontics...........................28

3751 N. Butler Ave.

Farmington, N.M.

505-564-9000

1-800-4Braces

www.herman4braces.com

Le Petit Salon...............................................49

406 Broadway

5150 College Blvd.

Farmington, N.M.

505-325-1214

Natalie’s for Her, Him, Home ........................67

4301 Largo, Suite H

Farmington, N.M.

www.nataliesonline.com

Nature’s Oasis..............................................23

300 S. Camino del Rio

Durango, CO

970-247-1988

www.NaturesOasisMarket.com

Next Level Home Audio & Video ...................29

1510 E. 20th St., Suite A

Farmington, N.M.

505-327-NEXT

www.327NEXT.com

Parker’s Inc. Office Products ........................42

714-C W. Main St.

Farmington, N.M.

505-325-8852

www.parkersinc.com

Partners Assisted Living...............................13

313 N. Locke Ave.

Farmington, N.M.

505-325-9600

www.partnerassistedliving.com

Quality Appliance .........................................36

522 E. Broadway

Farmington, N.M.

505-327-6271

R.A. Biel Plumbing & Heating .......................52

Farmington, N.M.

505-327-7755

www.rabielplumbing.com

Reliance Medical Group ................................60

3451 N. Butler Avenue

Farmington, N.M.

505-566-1915

1409 West Aztec Blvd.

Aztec, N.M.

505-334-1772

www.reliancemedicalgroup.com

ReMax of Farmington.....................................3

108 N. Orchard

Farmington, N.M.

505-327-4777

www.remax.com

San Juan College .........................................25

505-326-3311

www.sanjuancollege.edu

San Juan Nurseries.......................................58

800 E. 20th St.

Farmington, N.M.

505-326-0358

www.sanjuannurseries.com

Sanchez and Sanchez Real Estate ..................4

4301 Largo St. Suite F

Farmington, NM 87402

505-327-9039

Sleep-N-Aire ................................................14

3650 Iles Avenue

Farmington, N.M.

505-327-2811

www.sleepnairemattress.com

Southwest Concrete Supply ..........................49

2420 E. Main

Farmington, N.M.

505-325-2333

www.swconcretesupply.com

Southwest Obstetrics and Gynecology..........22

622 W. Maple St., Suite 1

Farmington, N.M.

505-325-4898

Strater Hotel ................................................23

970-375-7160

www.durangomelodrama.com

www.strater.com

Sunray Gaming.............................................24

On Hwy 64.

Farmington, N.M.

505-566-1200

Treadworks ..................................................37

4227 E. Main St.

Farmington, NM

505-327-0286

4215 Hwy. 64

Kirtland, NM

505-598-1055

www.treadworks.com

Webb Toyota ................................................68

3911 E. Main

Farmington, N.M.

505-325-1911

Ziems Ford...................................................28

5700 E. Main

Farmington, N.M.

505-325-8826

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majestic living summer 2014

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