Southern New Mexico Travel and Tourism Information: Activities, Attractions, History, and Culture - Articles - Roswell, New Mexico

Victoria Louise Massey

no@spam.com (Phyllis Eileen Banks) — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 16:23:24 PDT

Her name was Victoria Louise Massey.She was born in Midland, Texas in 1902.

But her musical career began in 1918 in Roswell. She dropped the name "Victoria" andformed a band with her father, Henry Massey, her husband, Milt Mabie and her two brothers, Allen and Curt Massey.At that time it was called the Massey Family Band but later it became Louise Massey and the Westerners.Their home at 209 W. Alameda Street was modest and attractive.It was here that the Redpath Chautauqua auditioned the group.

The Chautauqua Caravans signed up the nation's artists, actors, actresses, musicians, and speakers and then took them on tours to small towns and sparsely populated areas all across the United States.President Theodore Roosevelt called the annual Chautauqua "The most American thing about America."It was our radio, TV, theater rolled into one in those days.

The group was taken to Kansas City and coached for a few weeks.Their style was a lilting kind of western music and Louise would never call it "hillbilly."She composed My Adobe Hacienda with Lee Penny and it was a "crossover" hit, listed on both "hillbilly" and pop charts simultaneously, and was on the Lucky Strike Hit Parade for 11 weeks.Other of their well-known songs were:South of the Border, When the White Azaleas Start Blooming,In a Little Spanish Town, Ramona, and It Happened in Monterey.Louise's repertoire included many songs in Spanish that were very popular.

Roswell Symphony Orchestra

no@spam.com (Phyllis Eileen Banks) — Thu, 23 Jan 2003 03:07:07 PST

Now in its 38th year, the Roswell Symphony Orchestra's 60 members come from all the major cities within a 200-mile radius of Roswell: Lubbock, Amarillo, Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Las Cruces, El Paso, Portales, Alamogordo, the states of Texas and Colorado, and, of course, Roswell.

Roswell, New Mexico - the city with a magnetic personality

no@spam.com (S. Joan Popek) — Thu, 23 Jan 2003 03:03:07 PST

I grew up (more or less) in Roswell. More or less? Well, my family moved often until I hit my teens. We always managed to bounce back to Roswell for a while before we set out again searching for that elusive rainbow my father chased all his life.

Roswell's Downtown Historical District

no@spam.com (Peg Stokes) — Thu, 23 Jan 2003 02:39:53 PST

Roswell is becoming known for its interesting Downtown Historic District. The District was created by the Historical Society for Southeast New Mexico with the aid of a grant from the State Historic Preservation Division in 1983-84. It was named tothe State and National Registers of Historic Places in 1985, along with the campus of New Mexico Military Institute, several outlying ranches, and Chihuahuita, probably the oldest settlement in the Roswell area. Chihuahuita was named only to the State Register.

A Changing Roswell - what was "The Incident's" purpose?

no@spam.com (S. Joan Popek) — Thu, 23 Jan 2003 02:32:53 PST

Nestled in a valley that is the only oasis for 75 to 100 miles in the desert prairie of New Mexico, Roswell is a bustling community of about 50,000 people. During the famed UFO Festival it grows to about 60,000 to 70,000. Its main street, appropriately named "Main Street," becomes U.S. Highway 285 heading north and south. Its second main street (named what else? "Second Street") becomes U.S. Highway 70, leading east and west. The two highways intersect smack-dab in the middle of town so you can truly "get there from here." According to the UFO experts, you can touch down at Roswell, even if you are from a little further out, say Alpha Centauri for instance.

Historical Center for Southeast New Mexico - a living history

no@spam.com (Phyllis Eileen Banks) — Fri, 10 Jan 2003 03:10:35 PST

The Historical Center for Southeast New Mexico, 200 North Lea Street, Roswell, New Mexico was constructed in 1910 and listed in the National Register of Historical Places. This stately home, once the residence of James Phelps White, houses the Museum. The yellow-brick home, with its gently sweeping rooflines and large porches, is an excellent example of the prairie-style house developed by Frank Lloyd Wright. It is a reminder of turn-of-the-century life in Southeastern New Mexico.

Why retire in Roswell?

no@spam.com (Phyllis Eileen Banks) — Wed, 08 Jan 2003 03:13:39 PST

Why retire in Roswell? Let me count the reasons. Lots of sunshine all through the year with little humidity. Lots of sunshine all through the year with little humidity. Light snowfalls once or twice during the winter, except when Mother Nature throws us a curve as in December of 1997, probably referred to in the future as the Winter of 97. Affordable housing from starter houses to top-of-the-line. Many people have retired here from California. After selling their homes there and buying here they have money left on which to live.

Roswell - UFO Capital of the World

no@spam.com (Phyllis Eileen Banks) — Sun, 29 Dec 2002 03:18:20 PST

The above other-worldly tag was superimposed on Roswell with the 50th Anniversary of the Roswell Incident in July of 1997. But there's so much more. Roswell is the seat of Chaves County, population 58,000, and the fourth largest city in the state; its population is 48,500 and its elevation is 3,649 on average. The city lies at the west edge of the Llano Estacado (Staked Plains) and east of El Capitan Mountain, in the rich and fertile Pecos Valley, a place of relaxed pace and friendly people.