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CLOUDCROFT ONLINE NEWSLETTER #96
February 8, 2002
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Dear Subscriber:

I saw Lottie Scott a couple of weeks ago. I was checking my
box at the post office just as she was coming in. I hadn't
seen her in several weeks. She asked how I was doing. She
asked about Peggy.

"Y'all had the best sandwiches when you had that cafe," she
said. As I opened my box I said something like, "Come out to
the house sometime and Peggy will fix you one just like it."

"It's a deal," she said.

As I picked through the mail in my box, I said, "How y'all
been doin?" There was no answer. I looked up. Lottie had
already disappeared around the corner and was on about her
business.

If I had known it was the last time I would see her, I would
have said, "Lottie, I want to thank you for welcoming Peg and me
to the village like you did back in '95."

We were a bright-eyed and naive couple from Lubbock that had
decided to dump our careers in Texas and move to Cloudcroft
where the air was always sweet with the smells of the mountain
and the people were as real as gold.

We had owned a cabin in Cloudcroft since the mid-80s, but since
we only spent a few days at a time here on weekends and
vacations, we never saw the need to hook up a gas line. We used
the fireplace for warmth and had a small electric water heater.

Our first order of business after moving to Cloudcroft
permanently, after unpacking, was a gas hook-up. That
occasioned my first visit to Scotty's L.P. Gas and my first
acquaintance with Lottie.

Everyone in the village knows the Scotts. There are hundreds of
people that receive this newsletter from other parts of the
country that may not be as familiar with Lottie and Verbal and
their family.

The Scotts settled this area generations ago. Their kids went
to school here and after graduation most decided there was no
better place to live so they stayed on in the village.

Following the model of Lottie and Verbal, the kids have become
advocates for this village and all that is good about it. The
parks, the schools, the social structure...you need not look
far before you'll find a Scott involved. The word "tireless"
is over-used, but there's not a better word to describe the
time and energy put into this town by that family.

The family L.P. gas business is a good business, but when Lottie
was behind the counter, no one was treated as a customer. You
were treated as a neighbor. It may have been the only L.P. gas
outlet in the village, but she never let you forget she
appreciated your business or thought of you as a friend.

If I had known it was the last time I would see Lottie I would
have let her know how much respect I had for her. I would have
had to be careful how I worded it because Lottie was a humble
person. I wouldn't want to embarrass her.

The fitful quiet of the village this morning (Monday) was a
testament to the grief and sense of loss we were all feeling.
Our hearts ache for the Scott family. We are burdened with the
frustration that we can't take away their pain or fill the
void.

Lottie and Verbal Scott will be remembered as legends of this
village for as long as there is a Cloudcroft. They genuinely
loved this place. Not as a town they lived in, but as an
extended part of their family. They gave much more than they
ever took from our little town and they will be profoundly
missed.

A part of the heartbeat of Cloudcroft is gone. It is better to
miss Lottie and Verbal, though, than it would have been never
to have known them at all.

Don Vanlandingham
Cloudcroft.com

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IN THIS ISSUE
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1. LOOKING AT THE WEATHER
2. SPECIAL -- CLOUDCROFT.COM WEATHER LINKS
3. VILLAGE NEWS
4. INSIDE THE SHOP -- CENTURY 21 CLOUDCROFT
5. CLOUDCROFT ONLINE SPOTLIGHT -- WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE
6. Q AND A -- BECAUSE CLOUDCROFT ONLINE READERS WANT TO KNOW
7. COMING EVENTS
8. LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
9. CONTACT INFORMATION
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LOOKING AT THE WEATHER
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It snowed all week. Probably about 2 feet total. It's a wet,
spring-like snow, but the accumulation is enough to make the
village a good recreational destination for spring break next
month.

The paved roads are clear. Off the pavement, chains or 4wd are
recommended.

Highs have been around 35. Overnight lows about 10.
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SPECIAL -- CLOUDCROFT.COM WEATHER INFORMATION
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We get many emails asking why some weather web sites give
weather information about Cloudcroft that clearly cannot be
correct. The answer to this question is that these weather web
sites give Alamogordo information as Cloudcroft information,
because the US Weather Service does not have an office in
Cloudcroft. The US Weather Service does get weather data about
Cloudcroft, but it is collected by an individual and may not
always be timely.

Accuweather bases its Cloudcroft weather information on actual
Cloudcroft data. For a link to this information, see their logo
in the left column of our home page:

http://www.cloudcroft.com/index.html

We also provide raw US Weather Service data that is very useful.
To check the raw temperature and precipitation data being
reported by the US Weather Service, see the table at the bottom
of this page:

http://www.cloudcroft.com/cgi-bin/nws.pl

To get a raw daily weather prediction, see the information for
Zone 11 at the bottom of this page:

http://www.cloudcroft.com/cgi-bin/fire.pl

For moon phase information for Cloudcroft, check this page:

http://www.cloudcroft.com/cgi-bin/moon.pl

For the average monthly temperatures in Cloudcroft, check this
page:

http://www.cloudcroft.com/cgi-bin/temps.pl

For the average monthly rainfall and snowfall in Cloudcroft,
check this page:

http://www.cloudcroft.com/cgi-bin/rainfall.pl

For a weather map of the current US precipitation, check this
page:

http://www.cloudcroft.com/rain.htm

For a weather map showing the current US temperatures, check
this page:

http://www.cloudcroft.com/temp.htm

For a weather map showing the current surface conditions for
the region, check this page:

http://www.cloudcroft.com/conds.htm

For a current satellite photo of New Mexico, check this page:

http://www.cloudcroft.com/satelite.htm

For a doppler radar image of New Mexico, check this page:

http://www.cloudcroft.com/doppler.htm

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VILLAGE NEWS
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Lottie and Verbal Scott died in an explosion and fire at their
home in Cloudcroft Sunday.
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INSIDE THE SHOP -- CENTURY 21 CLOUDCROFT
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We are members of the Alamogordo Association of REALTORS. As
such we subscribe to a Code Of Ethics that puts you, the
customer and client, FIRST. Our Cloudcroft office offers a full
range of real estate services. As members of of the Alamogordo
Association of Realtors, we can expose your property to more
buyers by putting it into the Multiple Listing Service. Call us
toll free at (877) 873-6468 or see our link on the Real Estate
page of Cloudcroft.com:

http://www.cloudcroft.com/real.htm

Remember, when people think real estate, they think CENTURY 21!
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CLOUDCROFT ONLINE SPOTLIGHT -- WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE
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The US Army White Sands Missile Range, a unique strategic
national treasure, is America’s Range for the 21st century. We
will ensure our war fighters have the best military equipment
possible by providing the highest quality and most cost
effective test, evaluation, research, and technical services.
We will continue to emphasize customer focus, sound resource
management, innovative use of technology, modernized
infrastructure, stewardship of our land and superior quality of
life.

For more information, see the White Sands Missile Range links
on the Cloudcroft.com Links page:

http://www.cloudcroft.com/links.htm

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Q AND A -- BECAUSE CLOUDCROFT ONLINE READERS WANT TO KNOW
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Q - Does the recent snowstorm in the Sacramento Mountains mean
the ski area and snow-play areas will be open?

A - We are told they will be. We drove by the ski area today
and the lifts were running.
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COMING EVENTS
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February 8 -- Bears BB vs Tularosa (V-JV) away.

February 8 -- Lady Bears BB vs Tularosa (V-JV) home.

February 8-10 -- Murder Mystery, Cloudcroft Light Opera Company
The Lodge. For more information call 505-682-2566

February 9 -- Bears BB vs Lordsburg (V-JV) away.

February 9 -- Lady Bears BB vs Lordsburg (V-JV) away.

February 9 -- Sunspot Casino Night
Sac Peak Community Center, 7:00pm - 12:30am

February 25-26 -- Circus Chimera, Otero County Fairgrounds
For more information, call 505-437-6120

Thru February -- An exhibit of oils by Jack Schuller. Ruidoso
Village Hall.
http://www.zianet.com/jaxart/gallery/gallery2.html

Thru February -- 11 Artists from Artisan Alley will have a show
at Eagle Ranch. The show runs the entire month, a reception
with the artists will be Friday, February 15, 7:30-9:30pm.

Cloudcroft Art Society meets the first Sunday of each month,
2-4pm, in the Old Red Brick School House. Call (505) 682-2494
for more information.

Senior Van from Timberon to Alamogordo leaves the Timberon
Lodge promptly at 8:30am every Tuesday morning.

If you have news of public events in the Cloudcroft area, email
us.

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For an online calendar of area events, click the Events Calendar
link in the left column of our home page:

http://www.cloudcroft.com/index.html

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
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Dear Newsletter:

The Hanley family, who own a cabin on Sugar Pine, would like
to express their deepest sympathies to the Chris Scott family
concerning the terrible family accident this week.

Sincerely,
Fred, Beth, Seth and Cassandra
Avondale, AZ

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Dear Newsletter:

My wife Joan and I were deeply saddened when we heard the news
of the deaths caused by the explosion. We knew the Scotts and
Hansens very well. In fact, as I recall, I had some of the
Scott boys in my classes when I was teaching at Cloudcroft High
School in the 1950s.

Please relay our regards and sympathies to the Scott family,
as well as the Bill Hansen family. I'm sure there are others
who are touched by this terrible tragedy, and we want everyone
to know that our prayers and heartfelt sympathies are prevalent
here at Peachtree Village in Roswell, New Mexico.

May God bless all you good folks at Cloudcroft. 

Clarence Adams

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Dear Newsletter:

I live here in Las Cruces and I would trade with your
environment and beauty any day. I think it is so beautiful up
there, I wish I was there instead of here.

I read your newsletter each time I receive it, and I just
smile each time I read it. Thank you for every smile you put
on my face.

DeeDee Lujan

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Dear Newsletter:

Thank you so much for the news letter today. Glad to hear that
you got snow yesterday. We in Amarillo, Tx got mostly sleet and
ice yesterday and last night. Wow, what a mess today. But we
needed the moisture so bad. I love to be in the mountains when
it snows.

Thanks for the photos. Wow what a beautiful sight.

Thanks Again,
Shirley

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Dear Newsletter:

The pictures in your last newsletter are beautiful. What a
wonderful way to share your unique surroundings. Thanks to the
people who supplied them. It makes Cloudcroft more enticing to
visit. Looking forward to the summer.

Wish we could be there now. I am still enjoying the newsletter
very much, and thanks to you for sharing it with all of us.

Marian
Hereford, Texas

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Dear Newsletter:

I would just like to say that I enjoy your newsletter. I
subscribed because a friend of the family we lost touch with
wrote at Christmas to say she was living in Cloudcroft and I
was interested to see what it was like. It looks a wonderful
place.

Thanks for showing me what it looks like, hopefully I will
get to visit it one day. 

Diane Fearn,
Derby, England

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Dear Newsletter:

I know you get tired of this Don, but one more time--"THANK YOU
for the service you provide with this newsletter and especially
the pictures last week!" They made us want to head for the
mountains!

I wanted to let you know how impressed we were with your story
about your sister. What a wonderful, loving mom you must have.
My husband's nephew is autistic and as he grew older, his
father, along with other parents who had children with
handicaps, began Disability Resources here in Abilene. Its
purpose is to give children, when they are old enough, a home
of their own with responsibilities and when possible, jobs.

Also, when the parents become elderly, the children have a home
of their own. They have homes in Abilene, where 4 young people
will live with a houseparent which enables them to be self
sufficient. For the ones who can't get jobs in the community,
an industry was created which raises quail, sells pickled quail
eggs (even in New York City) and salsa.

Just thought some of you might be interested in what Abilene is
doing. Thanks again for all the time you put in on this
newsletter.

Peggy Shields

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Dear Newsletter:

This past summer I and my family went on our first vacation.

My 14 year old was in A.A.U. basketball and we took part in
many fundraisers to raise the money to come to New Mexico for
her games. After the games we started sightseeing, we took a
different route and came upon Cloudcroft. As we rounded a
corner the trees where so beautiful, the clouds where in the
trees.

I looked up and the tree line came into a backwards "V" and
there stood deer grazing. I got out of my car and drank in the
beauty of it all, wondering how can anyone say there is no God.
I stood there and cried like a baby, never wanting to leave the
beauty of that place. I took picture after picture, which does
not do it justice!

I can think back on this experience and get just as emotional
as the day I came across Cloudcroft. When I arrived back home I
started looking online for anything to do with Cloudcroft. My
desire was to go back someday. I looked at places to vacation,
which all was above what I could ever afford. I even looked at
plots of land for sale.

I can not tell you why, but just that the whole beauty of the
place has stolen my heart and I will never be happy with where
I am living again.

I found this newsletter shortly after my return from Cloudcroft
and have enjoyed every newsletter, I really love getting to look
at photos of Cloudcroft. Now, I never stayed a night not even a
day in Cloudcroft, all I did was pass through and I fell in
love. Who ever said there is no such thing as love at first
sight? For I know I fell in love that day, I thought I had died
and gone to heaven. I have a dream of coming there on vacation
one day, I am 33 now and it may not happen until I am 50 but it
will happen. Until then I will enjoy the newsletters and the
photos and keep on dreaming of that beautiful land you all call
your home.

Don't forget to take the time to enjoy the beauty around you!
God bless and I hope to see you one day.

Vicki Lemmon

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