Thomas Catron, School Bus Changes, Chicken Fry

By Kaye Mindar
Did You Ever Wonder
How did the name of Catron County come to be? Thomas Benton Catron (Oct. 6, 1840 – May 15, 1921) was born in Lexington, Mo. During the Civil War, he served four years in the Confederate army.
With his home in Missouri destroyed, he sought to move west after the end of the war. Catron arrived in the Territory of New Mexico in 1866 and settled in Las Cruces. Catron was a lawyer familiar with Mexican land grants, and through a variety of measures, he gained an interest or clear title in 34 land grants.
He became an influential member of a group of land speculators known as “The Santa Fe Ring.” The Santa Fe Ring was a group of powerful lawyers and land speculators in the United States during the late 19th century and into the early 20th century.
Catron became the largest single land owner in New Mexico and one of the largest land owners in the United States. His life, education, influence and subsequent rise and fall are an interesting read in the history of New Mexico.
School Bus Changes
Luna welcomes Dawn Delgado as our new Reserve school bus driver.
We thank Mr. Johnson for so many years as Luna’s bus driver before his retirement. Delgado used to drive the Head Start bus for Luna, so she is a familiar face for our students.
The old Luna bus has been retired, and the students have an upgrade this year. We wish them a safe year traveling over the mountain each day.
Fair Time
Our 4-H Club youth are preparing tirelessly, weighing their animals as the Catron County Fair quickly approaches, Aug. 28 and 29.
We have the Luna Buyer’s club to help the 4-H students raise money by buying selected animals.
More than just the younger members of Luna are working on an assortment of entries, and we hope for a great fair this year.
Annual Chicken Fry
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Luna Ward’s annual chicken fry will be at 5 p.m. Sept. 5 in the church parking lot. All are invited; bring cut and defrosted chicken pieces and a side dish for a great meal and social.
Luna Losers
Our Luna weight loss group will be meeting again each Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. beginning Aug. 17 at the community center. There will be a half-hour meeting each week to weigh in and learn new cooking skills, share ideas and support each other.
A new doctor’s scale has been donated to the center for the group. There is no charge, and anyone who would like to participate is welcome to join.
Luna Community Center
At 7 p.m. Sept. 10, the community center meeting will be an important one to attend where officers will be elected for the coming year. Meetings are the second Thursday of each month, and all are invited to attend.
We appreciate the locals who put so much of their time and talents into keeping the building running smoothly and the county managers for their help in maintenance and repair in keeping our old building useable. There is a lot of history in that building from it being used as a school, to Forest Service offices, to hosting community, club and church events.
Preparedness Corner
How many times have you left home without any cash in your pocket? It is always a good idea to keep emergency cash when you’re traveling. You might think that having credit cards would be enough if you encounter a problem while on vacation or driving in a rural area. However, you have to assume that credit cards might not always work. If that happens, what would you do?
That’s where emergency cash can come in handy. It is a good idea to keep no less than $30 to $100 with you, always in small bills. You might want to keep more emergency cash on hand, for example, if you have a larger vehicle that doesn’t get very good gas mileage.
A good way to make sure your emergency cash is available when you really need it is to use your credit or debit cards when traveling anytime it is possible to do so at an ATM. That way you will be more likely to have your emergency cash fund for when you really need it, in case it was dipped into on another occasion.
Also an important tip in today’s economy is that more and more stories are surfacing about credit cards being declined without prior notice to the card holder because of the credit card company closing the account at their discretion.
Genealogy Corner
For all of us Facebook users, there is a New Mexico Genealogical Society network authored by Robert James Baca. At this writing, there are 123 followers, mostly in the Albuquerque, Salt Lake City and Chicago regions.
In preparation for next year’s 50th anniversary conference in Albuquerque, this may be an important Internet blog to be a part of.
Quote of the Week
“I love Mickey Mouse more than any woman I have ever known.”
~ Walt Disney (1901-1966)

Thomas Catron, School Bus Changes, Chicken Fry