Reese revels in showing treasures

Reese

Becky Duval Reese, '74, '76, recently moved to a new home - a new home for the El Paso Museum of Art, that is. Reese, who has been the museum's director since 1991, said she accepted the museum's top slot for the challenge of building a new facility. Little did she know that challenge would span the next seven years. The El Paso Museum of Art's summer 1998 move more than tripled its space, from 30,000 square feet to 104,000 square feet. Covering two acres, the building is on a par with Los Angeles' contemporary art museum. "It's a big institution, and we have wonderful works of art to put on the walls," Reese said.

The move has enabled the museum to show 75 percent of its permanent collection, up from 5 percent in the former location. "We have a very strong collection," Reese said, including European paintings from the 13th through the 18th centuries, Mexican viceroyal painting and sculpture, and American impressionism and regionalism. "Most Texans had no idea this was here in El Paso, so when people visit they are absolutely overwhelmed at the quality and depth of the collection," Reese said. "We built a wonderful building that showcases real treasures."

For more information, call the El Paso Museum of Art at (915) 532-1707.

Rachel Kendall

Theater restoration high on Meyers' list

Meyers

When Nancy Meyers, '82, '88, first arrived in Las Cruces from Chicago 20 years ago, she thought she had landed on the moon. Now she loves the community and her job here as the executive director of the Dona Ana Arts Council since July 1998. Meyers, who holds master's degrees in ceramics and business administration, both from NMSU, is thrilled to combine her experience in foundation work and art for the council's newest project. In the fall of 1998, the council acquired full ownership of the Rio Grande Theater, a 60-year-old adobe film theater, centrally located on the downtown mall. Plans are under way to restore the building's exterior, while renovating the interior for all sorts of presentations, including theater, dance, music and visual arts. It also will serve as the council's permanent home, Meyers said.

"So many people grew up here and have fond childhood memories of the Rio Grande Theater," Meyers said. "We're excited to have such a beautiful and historic building in which to continue presenting programs for the community."

For more information about the Rio Grande Theater restoration project or the Dona Ana Arts Council, call (505) 523-6403 or send a note to daac@zianet.com.

Rachel Kendall

Like to talk about old times? Join the club!

Oral history buffs Archie Beckett, left, and Kenneth Guynn are members of NMSU's Class of 1951.

It started out in 1995 as a "bull session" between three NMSU alumni and has turned into a monthly, two-hour history lesson that attracts an audience of 180 people. Officially, it's known as the Oral History Club of Las Cruces. But its name may be the only thing official about the club. The club has no membership dues, no officers, no bylaws. Its sole purpose is to serve as a meeting place for folks interested in sharing stories and learning more about the area's history. The club, which welcomes men and women, was founded by Las Cruces residents Archie Beckett, '51, Kenneth Guynn, '51, and the late Jess Williams Sr. "We decided to get some of the old-timers together one day to talk about...well, old times," Guynn said. The club's first meeting attracted 38 people. In just three years, the club's registry totals more than 300. An average of about 180 members meet for dinner at a Las Cruces restaurant on the first Thursday of each month. The evening's menu always includes good food, good friends and lively conversation.

"We talk about a number of things that are relevant to our history in the Mesilla Valley," said Beckett. "But we don't just limit our talk to southern New Mexico. We've had some speakers talk about northern New Mexico, prehistoric New Mexico, and Pancho Villa and Mexico."

Lately, the club is attracting many non-native Las Crucens who are interested in the history of the area.

"A lot of those people are more interested in our history than we are," Guynn said.

A sure draw for club membership is its informal, no rules atmosphere. Participants pay for their own meals and can donate $1 at each meeting for a handout of last month's highlights.

Not surprisingly, many of the club's members are NMSU alumni. Beckett and Guynn estimate that about 40 percent of the club's members are NMSU alumni or former employees of the university.

"NMSU is certainly a hot subject during our meetings," Beckett said. "We start talking about last week's game and then we start reminiscing about our college days."

The concept of the original meeting still lingers. The "bull session," Guynn says, still has its place at every meeting.

The Oral History Club meets from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month. For more information or the location of the club's next meeting, contact calling committee volunteer Sue Liefeld at (505) 522-5488.

Dan Trujillo, '92

Touching young lives

Seventy-eight-year-old Giulio Tambalo, '96, pictured with some of his students at Las Cruces' Camino Real Middle School, prefers teaching over retiring. Tambalo hit the books at NMSU to earn his master's degree at a time in life when many people prefer to hit the golf course. Of his job as an eighth-grade mathematics teacher, Tambalo says, "It is a great sense of responsibility. You are touching their lives." With a twinkle in his eye, he says he also is collecting "bargaining chips" for the afterlife. A native of Italy, Tambalo began amassing those chips years ago. In 1954, as manager of a 10,000-acre forestry business in Swaziland, Africa, he founded

the Mhlatane School and clinic for the workers' 200 children. In Africa, he says, education was hard to come by and respected as a privilege. His current middle-schoolers often are more interested in boy-girl matters than math, he gently laments. But the students are learning, he says, showing off long rows of A's and B's on his grade sheets. (Photo by Michael Kiernan)