Remember. First Friday with Rick Geary at CPL Oct 7@ 7pm. See you there!

From the New Mexico State Library

Letters About Literature 2017

 New Mexico’s Letters About Literature 2017

     Letters About Literature encourages young readers to read a book and write a letter to the author about how the book changed their view of the world.  This is the fifth year New Mexico State Library has sponsored the competition.
     Readers in grades 4-12 write a personal letter to an author explaining how his or her work shaped their perspective on the world or themselves.  Students may write about works of fiction, nonfiction, or poetry.  Entries in Spanish will be accepted and translated for the New Mexico judges.  State judges will select the top letter writers in New Mexico, who then advance to the national competition.
     Letter writers compete at three levels: Level I is grades 4-6; Level II is grades 7-8; and Level III is grades 9-12. The one winning letter from each level from each state is entered into the final national competition. There will be cash prizes for the three state winners and also for the national winners.
Please click here to see and/or print the Letters About Literature participation guidelines and the entry form.
Level 3 entries must be postmarked by December 2, 2016.
Level 1 and 2 entries must be postmarked by January 9, 2017.
Teacher's Guide
Reflective Writing Assessment
For more information about New Mexico’s Letters About Literature contest, please email lori.thornton@state.nm.us or call Lori Thornton at 505-476-9717.
Letters About Literature is sponsored by the New Mexico State Library, a division of the Department of Cultural Affairs.  Letters About Literature is also sponsored by The Center for the Book at the Library of Congress.
The Letters About Literature annual writing contest for young readers is made possible by a generous grant from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, with additional support from gifts to the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, which promotes the contest through its affiliate centers for the book, state libraries and other organizations.
To read about the Letters About Literature contest at the national level, please click here:
Letters About Literature – Center for the Book – Library of Congress

One of this year's winning letters to an author

  Check out the creative envelopes in which they sent their entries. Awesome! Readers Rock!

News Release - Secretary of State mails notice to eligible voters

Election Officials contact almost 460,000 potential voters for

National Voter Registration Day

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 19, 2016	Contact:  Ken Ortiz Office of the Secretary of State (505) 827-3661

     New Mexico election officials are sending out postcards this week to 459,838 state residents who appear eligible to vote, but haven’t registered.  The postcard invites eligible voters to register online or by mail by the deadline of October 11 in order to vote in the upcoming General Election.

New Mexico residents are eligible to vote if they are at least 18, a U.S. citizen and not under custody of the Department of Corrections for a felony.  If a recipient of a postcard is not eligible to vote, they should not register.  Registering to vote if one is not eligible is a felony.

     “We hope these postcards will encourage eligible voters to go online and get registered in time to participate in the November 8 General Election,” said Secretary of State Brad Winter.

The postcard mailing, paid for by a grant from the Pew Charitable Trusts and county clerks across the state, was generated by information from the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), a non-profit organization of member states that helps improve the accuracy of voter registration lists and provides information on unregistered potential voters that states can contact.  New Mexico recently became the 20^th state to join ERIC in an effort to balance voter outreach with voter list maintenance.

     The announcement comes on the cusp of National Voter Registration Day, which is September 27.  National Voter Registration Day is an event designed to encourage civic participation and help educate Americans on the ways in which they can register to vote.

     It is possible for individuals already registered to vote to receive the outreach postcard if their driver’s license or state ID records do not match up exactly to an existing voter registration record.  The reasons for records not matching include clerical or handwriting errors, or if names and birthdates do not correlate between records.

     Recipients who believe they received the postcard in error are encouraged to check their voter record online at https://voterview.state.nm.us/.  Recipients who have further questions about their voter record may also call their local county clerk or the Secretary of State Elections Division at 1-800-477-3632.

     Registrants who simply need to update their voter registration information, such as their address or party, may also use the online voter registration system located at www.sos.state.nm.us.

     More information about voter registration and National Voter Registration Day is available at www.nationalvoterregistrationday.org. For more information regarding the upcoming General Election, visit the Secretary of State’s website at www.sos.state.nm.us.

(Sorry - can't attach picture of the card, because the blog does not like PDFs)

Book Club October 6th book to read

Book Club meets the first Thursday of every month at 10:00 am. 

This looks like a rather healthy book to be reading, so perhaps they will only serve fresh veges and fruit as the refreshments on Thursday?  Join the group to learn more about this book on healing. A New York Times bestseller.

Just a thought. We could add, "think before hitting PRINT" to the "save a tree" sustainability movement.

Michael Hurd to receive prestigious NM Art Award. If you are in Sante Fe on Friday, Sept 23, between 3 & 6 pm, try to make it to the free public reception and ceremony. See details below:

Governor’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts

Santa Fe – Governor Susana Martinez and the New Mexico Arts Commission today announced the eight artists and major contributors to the arts who will be recipients of the 2016 Annual Governor’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts.
   “Our arts and culture make New Mexico unique, and are very important economic and tourism drivers in our state,” said Governor Martinez. “These artists and arts supporters represent the very best New Mexico has to offer. Through the Governor’s Arts Awards, we recognize the diverse and amazing talents of these 2016 recipients, and celebrate their dedication and contributions that ensure our arts and culture are accessible to all, and that our creative industries continue to thrive.”
   The 2016 Governor’s Arts Awards ceremonies will be held on Friday, September 23, at 5:15 pm at the St. Francis Auditorium in the New Mexico Museum of Art in Santa Fe. The ceremony is preceded by an afternoon reception and exhibition opening, 3:30 – 4:30 pm, in the Governor’s Gallery at the State Capitol. Both the awards ceremony and gallery reception are free and open to the public.
   This year marks the 43rd annual celebration of the Governor’s Arts Awards, which was established in 1974 to celebrate the extensive role that artists and their work have in New Mexico. A diverse and noteworthy list of painters, weavers, sculptors, dancers, musicians, storytellers, poets, actors, playwrights, and potters have been honored by the Governor’s Arts Awards, New Mexico’s most prestigious arts awards. Past awardees include: Georgia O’Keeffe, Robert Redford, George R.R. Martin, Maria Martinez, Tony Abeyta, Glenna Goodacre, Tony Hillerman, N. Scott Momaday, Tammy Garcia, and Catherine Oppenheimer.
   Nominations are accepted from arts groups and interested New Mexicans. All nominations are reviewed by a committee of the New Mexico Arts Commission, which sends its recommendations to the full commission and to the Governor.

 Governor Martinez and the New Mexico Arts Commission announce that the awardees for this year’s Governor’s Awards for Excellence in the Arts are:

"Monsoon" print donated to Capitan Library from Michael Hurd.  Come by to view this beautiful artwork by "our" Michael.  Josie's Framery donated its frame.

     Michael Hurd of San Patricio, Major Contributor to the Arts: An accomplished painter in his own right, Michael Hurd is being recognized not only for his own impressive artistic achievements but for his vitally important work to preserve and enhance his family’s legacy and historic property in New Mexico. The youngest son of Peter Hurd and Henriette Wyeth Hurd, Hurd was born in Roswell and raised on the family’s Sentinel Ranch in the Hondo Valley. Encouraged by his father to explore pursuits other than art, Hurd studied business at Middlesex School in Concord, Massachusetts, and graduated from Stanford University with a degree in political science. He spent a year performing with the New Kingston Trio and then did a stint in Chicago selling real estate. Realizing he was “definitely not a city boy,” Hurd returned to his beloved Sentinel Ranch in the 1970s. Hurd oversees the operations of the Sentinel Ranch and the Hurd-La Rinconada Gallery, which he designed and built. “The scenes immortalized through Michael’s work reflect the inner soul of him,” said nominator Rep. Candy Spence Ezzell of Roswell. “He is a true Renaissance Man whose importance to New Mexico encourages viewers to be inspired by and to drink in the beauty and colors of his timeless works of art.” Hurd works from reality, as did all the Wyeth and Hurd painters. “The inspiration of his father’s landscape scenes and the still life compositions of his mother are evident in his work,” Ezzell said. “He doesn’t refute his heritage or the effect it has had on his work, but Michael’s style is distinctly his own.” Hurd was very involved in the massive undertaking to relocate his father’s mural, “The Future Belongs to Those Who Prepare for It,” from Houston to the Artesia Public Library, where it was dedicated in 2015. “Michael’s art is rooted in the tradition of family – a family that has produced four generations of world famous artists,” said Elizabeth Stephens of the Artesia Arts and Cultural District. “Michael is devoted to keeping alive the art of that family. At the same time, he paints his own vision, seeing and capturing the world that he loves through his own eyes.” Gallery owner Nedra Metteucci said Hurd is “tireless and broad thinking in his pursuit of excellence for his own painting but also in his efforts to sustain the rich artistic heritage that his family has contributed to for generations. …His impeccable standards apply not only to his colorful array of paintings that capture the heart of New Mexico, but also to the arts community statewide, and he is sensitive to our museums, with a continual awareness for cultural preservation.”

     Other winners of Art Awards include:

    David Bradley of Santa Fe, Artist, Painter/Mixed Media: David Bradley is one of the nation’s most respected and well-known Native American artists whose work has inspired at least three generations of artists.  
     Nicholas Herrera of El Rito, Artist, Painting/Sculpture/Mixed Media: Nicholas Herrera is one of the most important folk artists in the United States, who has pioneered a folk art form with his more personal interpretations of traditional bultos and retablos, using wood and recycled metal, including salvaged automobile parts.
     Felix López of Espanola, Artist, Master Santero/Spanish Colonial Bultos: Felix López, who grew up in the village of Santa Cruz, is one of the most accomplished artists of his generation, renowned as a leader and a teacher dedicated to preserving the traditions of Santeros and to inspiring others.
     Jim Vogel of Dixon, Artist, Painting: Born in Roswell, Jim Vogel was encouraged by his parents to pursue drawing and painting as a child. He is now considered a storyteller with a paintbrush and is nationally recognized for his depictions of rural New Mexico.
     Dr. Ramakrishna and Ammu Devasthali of Las Cruces, Major Contributors to the Arts: Dr. Rama and Ammu Devasthali are passionate supporters of the arts in southern New Mexico. “Their very generous donations of both time and money have helped create a level of community engagement in the arts that is unique,” said nominator Donna Tate of Las Cruces. “In addition, they have and continue to encourage the diversity in the performing, literary and visual arts that sharing a border with Mexico offers.” 

    New Mexico Magazine of Santa Fe, Major Contributor to the Arts: Founded in 1923 as the New Mexico Highway Journal, New Mexico Magazine is the oldest state magazine in the country. Today, as an arm of the New Mexico Tourism Department, New Mexico Magazine is a key promoter of the state’s artistic assets and attractions, helping to drive tourism and build the New Mexico economy. New Mexico Magazine currently boasts an international circulation of 92,000, a total monthly readership of 240,000, and a combined print and digital audience of over 300,000. “No doubt, New Mexico Magazine’s success is partly due to its in-depth coverage of the arts, one of the state’s major attractions for residents and visitors alike,” said nominator Carmella Padilla, who received a Governor’s Arts Award in 2009 for literary arts and is a frequent contributor to the magazine, which she credits with helping to launch her professional writing career. “Above all, I value having a voice in a publication devoted to promoting the state, and the places and people, I most love.” The archive of New Mexico Magazine includes a who’s who of notable New Mexican writers, including Mabel Dodge Lujan, D.H. Lawrence, Rudolfo Anaya, Tony Hillerman and countless others. Renowned photographers such as Douglas Kent Hall and Jack Parsons have contributed to the magazine. “Like the artistry it promotes, New Mexico Magazine is itself a dedicated work of art, the creation of countless staff members, past and present who, month after month, decade after decade, have ensured its delivery,” Padilla said, calling the publication “one of our state’s most esteemed artistic treasures.” Coverage by New Mexico Magazine of its many festivals, artists and galleries has helped Silver City become known nationally as “one of the Best Small Arts Towns in America,” said Faye McCalmont, the former longtime executive director of the Mimbres Region Arts Council, which received a Governor’s Arts Award in 2013. “It would be fascinating to discover how many others like myself were first drawn to the Land of Enchantment – and learned to appreciate its arts and culture – through New Mexico Magazine.” McCalmont said she moved to New Mexico some 24 years ago “in part because of the beautiful photos and articles in New Mexico Magazine that painted a compelling picture of life in the Southwest.” Artist Michael Hurd said he remembers as a young boy seeing publicity about his parents, artists Peter Hurd and Henrietta Wyeth, in New Mexico Magazine, and in LIFE and other notable magazines. “(LIFE has) faded away, but New Mexico Magazine remains a strong and vivid source for the great stories within our state,” Hurd said.

New Mexico Arts is a division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs and partners with the New Mexico Museum of Art in presenting the annual Governor’s Arts Awards events. The New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs is New Mexico’s cultural steward charged with preserving and showcasing the state’s cultural riches. With its eight museums, eight historic sites, arts, archaeology, historic preservation and library programs, the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs is one of the largest and most diverse state cultural agencies in the nation. Together, the facilities, programs, and services of the Department support a $5.6 billion cultural industry in New Mexico.

# # #

Mark your Calendar for FREE flu shots

Go Green & $ave money

Couple of items worth checking into because of incentives & rebates available to help with the cost.
http://www.letsgosolar.com/solar-panels/new-mexico/
AND rainwater catchments with funding help: go to http://upperhondoswcd.org/index.html

LOOKING for a job? Here's a good opportunity to see many employers in one place

Creative Aging Monthly Meeting - Friday, Sept 16 9AM at ENMU-Ruidoso

Agenda includes review of new hospital planning, assisted living center updates, Lincoln County Transit news and the AARP Livable Community planning.

We also are going to brainstorm the organization of the new Creative Aging Resource /Information Center  for older adults at ENMU.
How should it look?
 What kind of outreach should we do?
 How will such a center improve the quality of life for seniors with questions as to food, employment, finance, health, wellness, housing and engagement in community affairs, you name it! 

Then at 11am the new intergenerational  mentorship program to help ENMU  Students succeed in college will meet to continue to organize and develop their own program agenda with Daniel Waldo.

 All in all a busy morning, but remember we have coffee and refreshments.
Call with questions? Clara Farah. 575.973.7835. clrfarah@gmail.com

More about the Chautauqua on Saturday, Sept 10 at the Hubbard Museum at 11:30 am. Plus you can view the current exhibits on display!

Chautauqua: 'The Way You Ride the Trail, Dale Evans Rogers'

Michelle L. Huey, Ruidoso News 12:20 p.m. MDT September 7, 2016

Kay Sebring-Roberts Kuhlmann with Roy Rogers, Jr. , Dale Evans Rogers' stepson in Roswell. (Photo: Courtesy)

     Ruidoso resident Kay Sebring-Roberts Kuhlmann, a veteran Chautauqua performer of 25 years, brings Queen of the West Dale Evans Rogers to life in a Chautauqua presentation at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at The Hubbard Museum of the American West at  26301 US Highway 70, Ruidoso Downs.
     "I find her to be a rather remarkable person," Kuhlmann said about Rogers. "She is a pioneer in so many ways. She is our first famous inspirational writer, the first celebrity who wrote about her tragedies and they were pioneers in adopting inter-racial children and children with disabilities."
     Rogers was a best-selling author, writer, film star and singer-songwriter and the third wife of singing cowboy Roy Rogers. The two married in 1947 and went on to star in their successful television series The Roy Rogers Show. Besides acting in television, Evans starred in more than 30 films and wrote around 200 songs. Her most well-known was "Happy Trails."
     In the Chatauqua, Kuhlmann divides Rogers' life into two parts. She explores Rogers' time as an actress and also as a more mature author who unabashedly shares her deep faith.
Kuhlmann is a drama teacher at New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, a playwright and has portrayed many historical women including First Ladies Bess Truman and Mamie Eisenhower. She founded the Women’s Chautauqua Institute at Cottey College for Women. Her characters have been featured at the National Archives, six Presidential Libraries and at museums and arts centers across the county.

      Each of  Kuhlmann's presentations is a labor of love and includes two to three years of research before she steps into a role.

     After choosing a subject, Kuhlmann begins research by culling through every bit of first hand information she can find, along with talking to anyone that has intimate knowledge of her subject. From there,  Kuhlmann begins to take notes about and embody her subject.
     "When I'm ready to write I've absorbed so much that it's like it's that person choosing what to tell about themselves," Kuhlmann said.
     On an interesting side note, Kuhlmann remarks because of copyright laws, she can't use Rogers' own words or songs. One example of how she cleverly skirts around that subtle, but important issue is showing how Rogers created her most famous song "Happy Trails" for Roy.
     "This is another reason why I don't write things down, I don't want to use her words," Kuhlmann said. "I want to use my absorption of what she said and then put it in my words because, again, she owns those words. I'm very careful about that."
     Admission is $10 and includes admission to the museum and featured exhibits "The Fabulous 101 Ranch: The Rise and Fall of an Empire," "Cultural Red" and "The Horseman's Tools." The Chautauqua is sponsored in part by the New Mexico Humanities Council.

Excellent Chautauqua at the Hubbard Museum on SATURDAY, Sept 10

The Way You Ride the Trail

A CHAUTAUQUA–STYLE PRESENTATION

BY KAY SEBRING-ROBERTS KUHLMANN

MEET “DALE EVANS”  

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 11:30 a.m.

HUBBARD MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN WEST

$10 Special Second Saturday price

Includes admission to the museum and its two special exhibits.

Some funding for this program provided by New Mexico Humanities Council

Capitan Library Patrons - I've been talking to Kay about doing a Chautauqua at the Capitan Library next year.  Kay is a local, when she isn't teaching at NMMI (New Mexico Military Institute).

Cave Experience - ENMU-Ruidoso Sept 6

Dr. Melzer @ the library

Dorothy Payne of Carrizozo and Dr. Richard Melzer

Great first Friday at the library on Sept 2 with UNM History Professor, Dr. Richard Melzer.  Melzer spoke on the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) in N.M. 1932 to 1941. He was at the library courtesy of the Historical Society of New Mexico.

Payne shares her memories of playing a softball game with Capitan townees against the girls at Camp Capitan. Payne was the pitcher.

Payne, Melzer and Matt Basham of Ruidoso. Basham works for Four Corners Research in Tularosa. 4 Corners does archeology work to preserve artifacts in the forest and public lands before any digging or prescribed burns, etc.

Join us Sept 2 @ 7pm for First Friday

After school program - homeschoolers are invited - sign up at the library

Book Club book for September

BOOK CLUB: Thursday September 1st at 10:00
"Sarah's Key" by Tatiana de Rosnay.

Dual plots follow a ten-year-old Jewish girl who is arrested during a roundup in Paris in 1942. The second plot follows an American journalist living in Paris who is asked to write an article in honor of the 60th anniversary of the roundup.

Book rating: Good read!

War of the Words declared between HAL and Sharon @ the library

(HAL keeps a diary!!!!  To boast? This really means WAR.)

HAL continues to send old posts to my blog reading public.  HAL, this has to STOP.  It reflects on me.  They think I don't know what I am doing.  (reflecting thought - there could be some truth in that last statement...)

My neighbor, Yvonne Lanelli, responded to my last ARRRGGH! with information she found reading HAL's Diary.

Excerpt from HAL's Diary #1 

"My plan succeeds beyond expectation. Human has no idea how to stop me. I am in control. Human will never ascertain what is happening. Humans are inferior. Machines are superior.

"And I am the most superior of all."

Excerpt from HAL's Diary #2 

"Human has idea of what i am doing. Human alerted other humans. This must stop. Human cannot communicate with others. I will take steps.

"I have nothing to fear from humans. They will never defeat me. Humans are nothing. Even if they try to help each other discover my plan, they are not smart enough. I will not be defeated. Humans will be subject to me. I am superior.

"Let her try. I will defeat her. I will defeat all humans. 

"Today: Capitan Library.  Tomorrow: the world."

Septemeber First Friday Event on September 2, 2016, at 7 pm

The Civilian Conservation Corps

 (CCC) in N.M.

At the Capitan Public Library on Friday, September 2, at 7:00 p.m., join

NM historian and author  Dr. Richard Melzer for a presentation on  

how Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) projects impacted New Mexico

 and, in particular, Lincoln County during the 1930’s and 40’s.  This program 

is sponsored by the Historical Society of New Mexico and is free to the public.

 The Civilian Conservation Corps was an early New Deal program begun by 

President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933 and continued through 1942. During

the Depression, young men were employed in projects to plant trees, improve soil conservation and environmental conservation in state & national forests. They also had building projects, such as Monjeau Lookout Tower on the

 Lincoln National Forest, completed in 1936.

This program is based on Melzer's research for his 2000 book: Coming of Age in the Great Depression: The Civilian Conservation Corps Experience in New Mexico,

 1933-42

Dr. Melzer has lived in New Mexico since 1973 and earned his Ph.D. in

 History at UNM in 1979. He taught history at the University of New Mexico's

 Valencia Campus since that same year. He is now a Regents professor of history.  

Dr. Melzer is the author, co-author, or editor of 21 books as well as over a hundred

 articles and chapters about New Mexico history. He is a past president of both the 

Historical Society of New Mexico and the Valencia County Historical Society.  

Among the many awards he has received for writing, teaching, and service to his

 profession, he is most proud of receiving the University of New Mexico's Outstanding

 Teacher of the Year Award. 

The USDA Lincoln National Forest website contains information on the CCC

and the Lincoln:  

"The work that the CCC young men accomplished has lasted .

to the present day, many times without us even realizing their   

 hard work.   Campgrounds, lookout towers, roads, trails, fences, phone

 lines, planting of trees, bridges, erosion control dams to name but

 a few.  In New Mexico, by the summer of 1942 a total of 1111 bridges,

 465 lookouts, 534 dams, 5938 miles of fence, 1867 miles of phone

 line, 4,649 miles of roads were constructed and over 4 million trees

 were planted."

An amazing amount of work was accomplished during these 9 years, work that can still

 be seen today and, for the most part , survived a raging forest fire in 2012. 

 The LNF website invites families to share any stories and pictures of a member of their 

family  who worked at a LNF CCC camp. 

Come find out more about this fascinating time in our history, when the nation employed

 young men who needed work and their work has improved our life today.  Get in-depth details and stories about New Mexico CCC at Dr. Melzer's presentation with photos  at the Capitan Library on Friday, Sept 2nd at 7p.m.

You're invited to enjoy refreshments after the presentation.

For more information call Capitan Public Library at 575-354-3035.  

 The library is located at 101 E. 2nd Street, Capitan, NM. 

Monjeau Lookout reconstructed by the CCC in 1940.  This photo, taken after the Little Bear Fire of 2012, shows the lookout survived except for the interior.  Photo by David Tremblay. 

HAL is at it again. WHY did you get posts for May 14 & 11 on August 20?

THIS blog has a mind of its own.  I truly believe it.  It does what it wants to do and only WHEN it wants to.  Far be it from me to try to control it.  "The medium is the message"* is what I learned in Journalism 101 in college. But maybe this blog is channeling HAL. (2001 Space Odyssey)

 HAL:  "I know I've made some very poor decisions recently, but I can give you my complete assurance that my work will be back to normal. I've still got the greatest enthusiasm and confidence in the mission. And I want to help you."

Sharon:  "HAL, you got to help me out here, not make me look like an idiot!"  Aside, whispering so HAL can't hear , "I THINK this blog definitely has idiosyncrasies or issues like a real person".

Just know - I AM NOT IN CONTROL. Sharon

*"The medium is the message" is a phrase coined by Marshall McLuhan meaning that the form of a medium embeds itself in the message, creating a symbiotic relationship by which the medium influences how the message is perceived.