He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on November 5, 1911.  The building where he was born now houses the Riverfront Stadium, also known as Cinergy Field.  Later he and his parents lived on a houseboat for a few years.  Then solid land beckoned and his dad bought a farm.  Farms require long hours, hard work,  distance from neighbors, and schools.  But it agreed with Leonard.  He rode horseback to school since it was long before the days of school busing.

Home grown entertainment was about all there was.  Radio was in its infancy and it was many years before the advent of television and computers.  Leonard learned to play the mandolin and sing.  Neighbors would be invited for square dances and soon he became expert at calling them.

He also learned to yodel by playing over and over the recording of a Swiss yodeler.  His mother also yodeled and the story goes that they used it as a way of communicating on the farm.  One kind of yodel was to let him know it was lunch time; another kind to warn of a change in weather and yet another at the end of the day.

He dropped out of high school and worked in a factory but those kinds of jobs were difficult.  He moved to California with his parents and siblings, where he worked at all and any kind of job he could find, all the while singing and playing his guitar whenever he had free time.

His sister Mary convinced him to try out for a radio program featuring amateur talent. He did, singing, yodeling, and playing the guitar.  It was his entry into the world of public entertainment as he was asked to join a country music group called the Rocky Mountaineers.  In 1933 he joined a group called the O-Bar-O Cowboys and they toured Arizona and New Mexico and the Southwest.  As it was depression years they barely made enough for gas for the trip.

While in Roswell they were given air time to announce their appearance in town.  In addition to their singing and guitar playing they talked about being homesick and especially about their favorite foods. Leonard’s favorite was his mother’s lemon pie. 

A call came into the studio that if he would sing “The Swiss Yodel” the caller would bake him a lemon pie.

That evening someone knocked on their traveler’s cabin door and there was a young girl and her mother with two lemon pies. Her name was Arline Wilkins.  After he returned to California they corresponded and in 1936 they were married.  They had a daughter, a son and one adopted daughter.  Arlene died in 1945 from complications after the birth of their son.

Leonard starred in many movies with his horse, Trigger. “Tumbling Tumbleweeds” was the first.  He become part of a group known as The Sons of the Pioneers. In 1937 Republic Pictures changed his name.

Have you guessed who Leonard Slye was?  Does “Happy Trails” give you a clue?  Yes, all of the above is about Roy Rogers, King of the Cowboys., who died July 6, 1998.

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Downtown Roswell. Photo by Phyllis Eileen Banks.

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.

The stars shine like diamond s in our beautiful night skies.  In the Southwest, we are used to prairie dogs and coyotes on our sagebrush covered plains, but in Roswell, we also host other creatures.

In the 1940s, Roswell was a sleepy little village dependant upon local farmers and the Roswell Air Field for its livelihood.  In 1947, a stir about a "flying saucer" crashing in a nearby field attracted some attention, but interest quickly died down as people returned to the task of making a living.  This was right after the Second World War, and the community’s interest was more in welcoming home their soldiers returning from the war and trying to rebuild families than it was in "little green men."  So the locals didn’t speak much about it after the hype wore off.  I grew up here and don’t remember hearing anything at all about "The Incident" until the late 1970s when the "Cover Up" conspiracy theory became world news.

Until the 1980s, most people that didn’t live in New Mexico didn’t even realize that the state was a part of America.

Today, The Roswell Incident has put us on the map.  Except for a few uninformed U.S. Congressmen who still insist that you must have a visa to visit New Mexico and a few other people who don’t read newspapers, watch TV or go to movies, everyone knows about Roswell, the Mecca of UFO enthusiasts.

Why all the hull-a-ba-loo all of a sudden?  Only in the last few years has the news focused so strongly on Roswell.

Why now?  Because only recently has the public taken any of the worldwide UFO reports seriously.  Because Roswell does have a place in history, and now we can prove it.  Because the UFO Festival held each year on July 4th brings visitors from around the globe, and all year round visitors come from everywhere to take in the sights and soak up the culture of our unique city.  But mostly, just because we can.

But what of the people who live here?  Are we all kooks?  Do we keep little green men in our basements?  Some of our citizens are fervently dedicated to the search for the truth, a few are a little far out (ok, a bit kooky) but most of us take it all with a grain of salt and just have a good time.

Donald R. Burleson, PH.D., Director of Research for The International UFO Museum and Research Center, says that all of the people involved in the actual research and updating of the Center are educated, serious people who require facts before they will say something is true.  But what kind of people are they?  Burleson says that most are an eclectic mix of spiritual, metaphysical and scientific minds working together to solve a mystery.  Most of these researchers are highly educated and have backgrounds in science or related fields.

But really now, is everyone who is serious about UFOs a solid upstanding citizen with not a wacko among them?  Of course Roswell gets its share of less questionable stories about abduction, sightings and so on, but the experts quickly weed out the improbable from the possible.

As an example Burleson tells a humorous story of a gentleman who wandered into the UFO Museum claiming he had an alien implant in his head, behind his ear.  Burleson asked the man if he had x-rays of the object.  He answered, yes he did, but they were kept hidden in a safety deposit box.  When asked to produce the "proof," the alleged abductee left in a hurry and was never seen or heard from by the people at the museum again.

Since he didn’t return, we can only assume:
A.  He was abducted again.
B.  He was telling a not quite true story.
C.  He got lost on the vast wasteland of the fourteen blocks of our Main Street and couldn’t find his way back to the museum which is marked by a sign on every corner.
D.  He forgot where he kept the key to the safety deposit box.

As for the citizens who live here who claim to have had close encounters of any kind, I have personally only spoken to two or three who say they have sighted a UFO.  As for that, I must say these people are respected and tell a very believable tale.  Who am I to say they didn’t actually see alien spacecraft.  After all, thousands of people sighted such wonders just recently in Mexico (the country, not the state) and Arizona.

And no, I do not keep even one single alien locked up in my basement.

Because of the possibilities of research on the subject, some people have actually moved to Roswell simply because of the research going on here.  They do not make up a large percentage of the population, probably less than one percent, but they are here.  And of course, year round, many researchers, enthusiasts, and other interested parties visit our fair city because of what happened here that stormy summer night over fifty years ago.

Roswell has grown and prospered in the last couple of decades, and a large part of that prosperity is due to the widespread interest in the subject of UFOs.  The marketing aspect cannot be denied.  Artists and craftspeople have discovered new avenues to explore in the production of souvenirs.  The variety is astounding.  Merchants’ wares include alien shaped lollipops, tee-shirts, alien dolls, special magazines and books, glow in the dark jewelry and everything else an imaginative mind can come up with.

Yes, my home town has grown up right along with me, but she has aged better. My "mild mannered reporter’s" face has acquired more than a few "character lines," while Roswell’s face has taken on a new, youthful look, a special millennium brightness.  Her personality sparkles with the flavor of Spicy, Old World Chili peppers and exciting, modern, steaming espresso in silver cups.  There is nothing mild about Roswell.  She sizzles with excitement everyday.

On any given day, you may witness Unidentified Flying Objects streaking across our clear, night skies, but during Festival time, you will see the pilots and passengers of these craft striding down Main Street in their full glory.

Last year, during Festival time, I noticed that wherever I looked, people were smiling and laughing.  Total strangers engaged in animated, intelligent conversations.  The Roswell mystique is proof positive that everyone loves a mystery.  What did happen here in 1947?  Did extraterrestrial beings crash here?  Did any survive?  Where are they now?  Will they be back?

Well, there are many opinions, and I was too young to know (or remember) anything about that, but I can tell you what happened in Roswell New Mexico in 1999.

A miracle!  That miracle was neighborly love.

Last year, during The UFO Festival, I was walking down Main Street with one of my closest friends.  I was amazed by the blend of cultures, people and ideas that make up this city now.  In the Southwest, we are used to a melding of cultures, but that time, I noticed something remarkable.  Everyone had one goal; to seek the truth and have a good time doing it.  It was as if during that one week, all races, creeds and ideals came to an agreement to agree – to empathize – to unite.  I wondered why we can’t do this all the time.  Here, it isn’t a common enemy that binds us together, as in a war, but rather a common idea.  A notion that we are not alone in the Universe – that there is more – that we are not the all powerful/all important beings we think we are.  Instead, we are all a part of our Creator’s family – whoever we believe that creator to be.

Our changing Roswell has shown us what we should be, that we can be united in our humanity.  If extraterrestrials did come to visit, maybe that was the plan all along.

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The Roswell Symphony Photo Courtesy Dr. Lari Young, Mgr., Roswell Symphony Orchestra.

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.

It has come a long way since its inception in the basement of the First Methodist Church on July 28, 1959. Though not professional musicians, the first group of lawyers, accountants, teachers, florists, housewives and geologists was determined to give Roswell a professional-sounding symphony orchestra. It was quite an accomplishment in 1959 for a city of less than 40,000.

John Farrer became the director in 1972 following William Kirschke, Thomas Lewis and Glenn Cunningham, the original director. Mr. Farrer lives in Bakersfield, California, where he conducts its Symphony Orchestra in addition to the Roswell Symphony. He is a frequent guest with orchestras in England and is currently serving as Principal Guest Conductor of the English Sinfonia in London. He recorded English String Music with the Sinfonia. In addition to those honors, he has received the Governor’s Award for Excellence and Achievement, New Mexico’s highest arts honor. His creative programming has brought inquiries from professional musicians all over the region who aspire to be a part of this outstanding orchestra.

A season usually consists of five subscription concerts and a free Labor Day Concert in the Park plus three Chamber Music concerts. In addition local merchants underwrite the Send-a-Senior to a Concert. The subscription concerts are held in Pearson Auditorium on the campus of New Mexico Military Institute. The Chamber Music Series is held at the Roswell Museum and Art Center.

It is reported that a friend of Leonard Bernstein who was traveling through New Mexico with the conductor/composer saw our beautiful vistas and said "Those hills are pure Beethoven. They have a quality of majesty and craggy exaltation that suggest Beethoven to me." The RSO responded to that observation by presenting a Beethoven Symphony.

Members of the Symphony, the many volunteers, the business community and staff reflect the statement of Winston Churchill, "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give."

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The Mossman House Courtesy photo.

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.

The Downtown Historic District is large, covering approximately 40 city blocks and contains homes of over 22 architectural styles. Roswell’s early history explains this unusual architectural style mix.

Capt. Joseph C. Lea, an early settler and merchant, first platted Roswell in 1885, and brought stability to the area after the trials of the Lincoln County War. His ranch partner, Horace Thurber, added an additional two blocks on the south to include present Alameda Street. Within five years after the filing of the original plat of the townsite there were four to five additions. The Roswell Historic District covers most of these early 1885-90 additions to Lea’s original plat.

The cattle industry originally sired settlement in the Pecos Valley when John S. Chisum founded the Jinglebob Ranch in 1878, an open-range company that extended along the Pecos River "as far as a long-legged cow can graze," some 150 miles. Chisum established his headquarters on the now-dry South Spring River, six miles from the tiny trading post of Rio Hondo, that became Roswell.

Growth was slow at first. Added to the usual frontier lawlessness of the hostile Comanches east of the Pecos and Apaches to the west, was the violence erupting from the Lincoln County War. Area residents Chisum and John W. Poe persuaded fellow Roswellite Pat Garrett to run for sheriff. In that capacity he tracked and shot Billy the Kid, a large step in bringing respectability to the community.

In 1898 George Slaughter brought New Mexico’s first purebred Hereford cattle into the area. The ever-present challenge of water scarcity seemed solved when Nathan Jaffa sank the first artesian well, causing a spate of well-drilling throughout the valley.

GA Hamilton House Courtesy photo

At about the same time the people of the village of Roswell, population around 900, were still celebrating the arrival of the railroad extension from Pecos, Texas in 1894. Their hope of getting the line extended from Roswell to Amarillo, Texas was accomplished in 1899. Excursion trains began to bring in homesteaders from the Midwest, an influx of ranchers, many of whom filed claims on land which had formerly been open-range for cattle grazing. People were also pouring into the little town for their health. Roswell had become a haven for tuberculars. Many who came recuperated and stayed, contributing greatly to the growing town.

Because housing was critically short, those who could afford it built new homes, usually in the style fashionable in their erstwhile regions. As a result, Roswell’s Downtown Historic District is an exciting and eclectic mix of architectural styles. In this single residential area, only a few blocks west of Main Street, everyone, rich, poor and in-between, lived.

On the night Sheriff Pat Garrett shot Billy the Kid in Fort Sumner, he was accompanied by deputy John W. Poe. Poe later became a prominent banker in Roswell and built for his wife Sophie a Queen Anne Style house on Seventh Street. After his death Sophie wrote Buckboard Days about their early life in Lincoln County (of which Roswell was a part in those days). Their home, although changed somewhat over its 102 years, still sits on a half-block site in the Historic District.  Many of the original trees, the old carriage house, and separate living quarters for the household help are a part of it. Capt. Burton C. Mossman, organizer of the Arizona Rangers, and founder of the famed Diamond A Ranch, later bought this house. (Picture 1)

G. A. Hamilton, a real estate developer who moved to Roswell for his health, built a Greek Revival house in 1910. That home now anchors the northwest corner of the District at 712 North Lea Avenue. Hamilton developed a subdivision northeast of Roswell on the Berrendo River where Dr. Robert H. Goddard later lived and conducted his now famous experimentation with rockets. (Picture 2)

The 400 block of south Lea is dominated by this two-story Hipped Box Style house built pre-1912 by C. F. Joyce. Mr. Joyce was one of the partners in an early mercantile chain, the Joyce Pruitt Company. (Picture 3)

410 S. Lea Courtesy photo.

The homes pictured give you a very small sample of the many historic houses on the Historic Walking or Driving Tour in Roswell. The District consists of over 280 contributing houses, all listed on the State and National Registers of Historic Places. Many other styles, Bungalow, Mediterranean, California Mission, Pueblo Revival, Southwest Vernacular, Italianate, Tudor, Federal,and Simplified Anne, dot the District eclectically. This Tour also includes one of the oldest public school sites in Roswell in the 300 block of North Kentucky. The Special Education Service Center now located on this site is the third school building built on this site, completed in 1928.

The oldest churches in Roswell were built in this area. The Methodist Church was built in 1888, the Episcopal in 1899, the Baptist in 1895 and the Presbyterian in 1900. All still remain in the District although they have all been remodeled, added to, razed and replaced, or destroyed by fire. The oldest part of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church and its original sanctuary is the back wing along the alley on 5th and Pennsylvania. The First Presbyterian Church, located at 3rd and Kentucky, burned in 1932. It was replaced in 1937 with a Gothic Revival sanctuary, designed by Rapp & Rapp, Architects of Trinidad, Colorado. Its sanctuary is included in the Historic District. This church and the old converted school on North Kentucky have helped greatly to stem the commercial encroachment into this residential Historic District.

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Downtown Roswell Photo by Phyllis Eileen Banks.

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.

The year I turned thirteen, my mother declared that a magnet was planted in the middle of Second and Main Streets in Roswell, and everyone who passed over it would forever feel its gentle tug beckoning them home. She confessed that the rolling hills of Kansas, the cascading snows of Michigan, and the magnificent deserts of Arizona were all wonderful, but we could have all that and more if we went home to Roswell. So home we came.

At sixteen, I realized that my Mother knew nothing of the real world, and as most teenagers believe, I was absolutely positive that I was much smarter than she was. I couldn’t wait to get away from this small town, which of course offered nothing to do. I wanted to see the world so I could really live.

In my early twenties, I left. For ten years, I felt the gentle but irresistible pull of an intangible presence. Slowly that attraction grew incredibly strong. At last, I realized how smart my Mother had been all those years ago when she moved back to Roswell for the final time. I obeyed the alluring tug of that magnet. I came home again.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus, and you can go home again.

Within one hour of Roswell, you can ski on the majestic mountains of Ruidoso, which offer enough snow to satisfy even Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, tour the rolling, Peter Hurd hills of Hondo Valley for breathtaking scenery, or explore the desert landscape rich with unique forms of life ranging from rainbow hued, blooming cacti to sleek, howling coyotes and prehistoric Horned Toads.

The past, present and future belong to you.

If you drive a few hours north, you can visit the ancient past. The remains of extraordinary, ancient Indian cities lie entrenched in the mighty cliffs of Mother Earth herself. Resting on lofty plateaus, overlooking vast distances, ancient, religious Indian kivas beseech you to relive history and renew your faith.

A few more hours in the southerly direction catapults you into the future. Alamogordo offers a glimpse of travel to the stars, and you can visit a world limited only by your own imagination at The International Space Hall of Fame. 

Back in Roswell, Alien visitors from space wait to greet you at a UFO museum. The Chili Pepper Festival, Cinco De Mayo Celebration, Artists in Residence shows, famous Historical Homes, symphonies, an ostrich farm and a plethora of other cultural and historic events keep visitors and residents so busy they have to make an appointment just to have lunch.

If the changing seasons are your cup of chili peppers, Roswell has them. Perhaps you are old enough to remember the Howdy Doody show. If so, you might remember the famous Indian princess the show hosted. Her name was Princess Summer-Fall-Winter-Spring, and she must have come from Roswell because we have them all. (Sometimes all in one day!)

Yet, none of the seasons are extremely harsh. Mild winters, cool nights in the summer and breathtakingly brilliant autumn sunsets give us just a taste of each season. Adding to the already phenomenal diversity of Roswell’s people, cultures and interests, the seasons in Roswell do not confine themselves to the traditional calendar months. I’ve seen snow on Easter, and one year, my family carried Christmas dinner to the patio and had a turkey picnic because the weather was so perfect. You can expect weather surprises all through the year – just to make things interesting.

The magnet at Second and Main in Roswell, New Mexico denotes all four points of the compass – North, South, East and West. You can always get there from here.

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Historical Center for Southeast New Mexico.

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.

Victorian furniture and Battenberg lace highlight the decor of the parlor. Oak-beamed ceilings and stained glass windows give the dining room warmth and charm. The kitchen has been painstakingly recreated as an early 1900s kitchen, including vintage appliances like a wood and gas-burning cookstove, ice box and pie safe. Hundreds of utensils of the day and an authentically stocked pantry complete the realism. One can almost smell the freshly baked bread or the odor of cider from recently picked apples.

The second floor gallery has ever-changing exhibits featuring subjects as varied as the History of American Fashions and a display of "little adult" toys.

The third floor houses the archives of the Historical Society, an abundance of invaluable rare books, photos, and business and family records of early Southeastern New Mexico. Plans are underway to build an annex to house these treasures of our past as soon as the funds can be obtained.

A gift shop, in the room to the left of the entrance, opens October 17. It will have children’s books and books about the Southwest, as well as stationery and small items.

"We are starting small," said Lea Fraser, great-granddaughter of Joseph Callaway Lea, one of Roswell’s early pioneers. She is the person in charge of volunteers at the Museum. "A group from Martin, Tennessee, will be coming for a special tour, as well as first and second graders who will make apple juice. Usually, fifth graders are the ones who make apple juice. However, the teacher of the younger ones requested permission to do it, as they are studying apples."

Admission is free, and the Museum is open daily from one to four p.m. with volunteers on duty. Although some work many more hours, volunteers are only asked to contribute three hours a month. For those who love history and the past, like to meet people and would like to play a major part in the success of the Museum, volunteering is the way to do it.

The Historical Society maintains the Museum to promote the discovery, collection, exhibition and preservation of archeological, historical and cultural materials relating to Southeastern New Mexico.

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Cahoon Park Photo courtesy Roswell Parks Department

Why retire in Roswell?

Let me count the reasons.

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.

Property taxes are reasonable. One realtor reports a phone call from New York in which the caller asked about property taxes on a certain price house. When the realtor gave him the figure he asked, "A month?" He was amazed that it was for a year.

People are friendly! They do not hesitate to speak or to help when its needed.

Yes, we have a Symphony Orchestra, in its 39th year. Businesses in town purchase tickets that are then provided without cost to Seniors. All they have to do is send a request and a stamped, self-addressed envelope and voila, a free concert.

We have the Roswell Community Little Theater. New Mexico Military Institute and Eastern New Mexico University-Roswell provide other cultural activities. The renowned Roswell Museum and Art Center plus the Robert H. Goddard Planetarium offer wonderful exhibits and programs. The Patricia Lubben Bassett Educational Wing has classrooms for ceramics and other art forms for adults and children. There is an Art Gallery of 21 local artists, potters and sculptors.

These are all very appealing but there is more. The Roswell Adult Center provides activities and a central meeting place. Do you like to play dominoes? Check out the schedule. Theres a group ready. The hospitality room has jigsaw puzzles waiting for you to add a piece as you walk in. Coffee and cookies and even a pie day tempt you. Bridge games, dance instruction as well as periodic dances, art, woodworking, ceramic, lapidary, exercise classes plus a lifelong scholars program. Learning never stops. In one month’s time there are 50 different activities in which to participate. As a retiree you cant say theres nothing to do.

For those who like to be of service there are all sorts of opportunities. A docent at the Historical Society for Southeastern New Mexico, at the Roswell Museum and Art Center or greet the visitors at the International UFO Museum and Research Center? It’s there waiting for you to sign up.

And a zoo! The only free one in New Mexico. On weekends an antique merry-go-round and a miniature train plus a youth fishing lake will help you entertain your grandchildren.

The Roswell Public Library is outstanding. The latest books appear as soon as they are in print. Reference librarians are ever-helpful. How do you make hummingbird food? They will find the information for you. More for your grandchildren to do in the children’s section. There are craft classes, story times and all kinds of intriguing events.

A five mile bike/walking trail from the zoo through the parks, or the Roswell Mall provide indoor and outdoor opportunities for keeping fit. Golf? Three uncrowded courses where you don’t have to wait to tee up. Plenty of tennis courts if thats your sport. Bird-watching? There’s Bitter Lake Wildlife Refuge a few miles northeast of town. Camping? There’s Bottomless Lakes sixteen miles east.

The downtown historic district has wide streets, large trees and some old homes and grounds occupying a city block. A self-guided walking tour is provided by the Historical Society.

At the crossroads of U. S. Highways 70/380 and 285, Roswell is a regional center, providing shopping facilities for surrounding towns. Its hospital facilities contains an oncology center and there are many health care providers.

There are enough of the ways to cause Merrill Ditzler to retire to Roswell twice. He and his wife came here from Colorado, then returned to Illinois to be near family. After his wife’s death, he again returned to Roswell to be with friends and to rent a unit in a retirement complex.

Another advantage to Roswell is that retirees can rent rather than buy into a retirement complex. There are now two from which to choose, Villa del Rey and Peachtree Village. Mayor Bill B. Owen calls attention to our generous land and air space and a place large enough to fill your needs, yet small enough to know your neighbors . . . He invites you to share in our energy . . . as we continue to grow as the community with an indomitable spirit . . .

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Downtown Roswell Photo by Phyllis Eileen Banks

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.

From a rowdy little cowtown in the 1800s, where cowboys drove their cattle on the Chisolm Trail, Roswell has grown into an agricultural center with cotton, alfalfa, chile, pecans, sheep and cattle production. It is home to more than forty dairies and the largest mozzarella cheese manufacturing plant in the nation, using 4 million pounds of milk daily.

Van C. Smith, a professional gambler, in 1871 named the town for his father, Roswell Smith, but ex-Confederate Captain Joseph C. Lea is credited with turning it into a community. In 1891 the town was incorporated with its first bank and newspaper, both of them still in existence. Large, Midwest-style homes were built near the crossroads of U.S. highways 70/380 and 285, the center of town, and are now designated the historical district.

The year 1891 was also the beginning of New Mexico Military Institute. The General Douglas McBride Military Museum is located on its campus.

Dr. Robert H. Goddard, the father of space exploration, made his rocket experiments in the city between 1930-1941. The Roswell Museum and Art Center has a replica of his workshop on display.

The closure of Walker Air Force Base in 1967 was a blow to the economy, but it soon bounced back after a widely publicized campaign geared toward retirees. The advertising stressed Roswell’s attributes: a delightful and economical place to live, with fabulous year-round weather. Many responded by retiring there.

Opportunities abound for cultural experiences and leisure. There is a Symphony Orchestra, a Little Theater, Spring River Park and Zoo, miles of walking trails, and such celebrations as Party on the Pecos, Chile-Cheese Festival, Art in the Park, Juneteenth, Pinata Fest, Gus Macker Tournaments, and International Art Exhibits. Nearby are Bottomless Lakes State Park – New Mexico’s first state park – and Bitter Lake Wildlife Refuge.

Not too far away are the Carlsbad Caverns, Living Desert State Park, Sitting Bull Falls, "Billy the Kid" country of Lincoln, and Smokey the Bear country of Capitan. Roswell is the gateway to the Sacramento Mountains, to Ski Apache in the winter and to Ruidoso Downs for horse racing in the summer.

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