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Today's Featured Biography
Steve Hallford
Greetings & best wishes to ALL!
We were truly blessed to attend AHS, and live in a town like Aztec. The town was big enough to have a good education system, a bunch of churches, a couple of banks, a small airport, a 9-hole golf course, a local theater, a car dealership or two, an oval race track, and even a couple of chain restaurants (A&W and Blake's come to mind). But Aztec was also small enough for kids to “bike to town” and for families to merely dial 5 numbers (remember dialing?) for all local calls. There was only one traffic-light (and it was just a 1-color flasher!). Our Senior Trip didn't involve jetting off to Europe or sitting on the beaches of Cancun. We made-due on the shoreline picnic tables @Navajo Lake. We were pretty satisfied w/simple things.
"Football Hill", "the Big Tree", "the dump", "the Ruins", the "Hi-Spot" "the big ditch", "the 'A'", and the "Dam Road", create different memories for all of us. If any of these places could talk, I'm sure they would have a million stories to tell (I know I've got a few, and I'd love to hear yours!). I still chuckle as I remember my brother saying (as we sat in the back of Dad's truck w/the tailgate down on the way to Navajo Lake) "Wow, the Dam Road is rough!"
Yep, we are blessed indeed to come from a town small enough to have a welcome sign that informed visitors that we had "3,000 friendly folks and 6 old soreheads". Everything in town was closed on Sundays, and they rolled up the streets at sundown. You didn't go 'all the way' to Farmington unless you “just had to", and the 3 TV-channels that we received were just fine! My little brother and I had such great fun climbin' on top of the roof during a thunderstorm to adjust the antenna so that Dad could watch the Cowboy game! That high-pitch noise you heard on occasional Sunday afternoons?... it wasn't the narrow gauge railroad passin' through town... it was Dad screaming at the TV set because he missed seeing a touchdown pass by ‘Roger Starbuck’ due to the “no-good stinkin' TV reception"!
Seriously our fondest memories should be of our families and friendships. We should try to keep in touch, share pics of our kids & grandkids, and pray for each other. I am the guilty-est (is that a word?) classmate of all. I have totally lost touch with almost everyone, and hope you are able to share your thoughts, stories, and personal biography on this site. I know there are some exciting, humorous, earth-shattering, life-changing stories that could be shared here. Please feel free to write from the heart, and have fun!
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This is my personal bio in brief:
After graduation, I roamed aimlessly from Aztec to Las Cruces, to Farmington, to Gallup, etc. I finally decided to move to Texas in 1979 to attend a small local college while working @ my uncle's pizza biz (Mr. Gatti's). Though I missed NM, I fell in love w/the East Texas area, a neighborhood church, and the locals. As a bachelor, I rented an apartment for a while, and then bought a small home on a private lake. My brother, sister and uncle all came to live w/me at different times while they moved out here. I met my dear wife Linda @ a local Christian bookstore in late 1980; dated nearly 4 years and were married during a Sunday morning church service on 6/24/84. We lived in my quaint lake house for 3 years, then sold it and built our present home. Linda owned an antique, gift & accessories store called “The Grey Pony” for 17 years and closed shop in 1999. As a certified interior decorator, she helped clients decide which antique furniture pieces, household fabrics, lamps, rugs, quilts... would best suit their homes. (She still decorates a couple of homes/yr) I sold construction related products for 20 years, and for the last 10 years have been in the Christian book publishing/printing industry.
We live in a 2-story "salt-box" style house on several acres near Chandler, TX and are blessed w/3 fun-loving, hard working wonderful teenagers. When our firstborn, Ruthie (and her firstborn cousins) arrived on the scene in '88 & 89, Mom & Dad immediately high-tailed it from Aztec to East Texas. Ruthie graduated High School in ‘08 and has 2 part-time jobs. Ruthie’s expertise on the sewing machine is incredible; friends (and friends of friends) frequently ask her to make purses, pillows, dresses, curtains, etc., etc., etc.,...! (I bet you already know, she didn’t learn that talent from me). She’s also an incredible cook, decorator and ‘foal whisperer’. Our boys love fishing w/friends & cousins down on the pier, eating Mac & Cheese, and inventing crazy/convoluted, mechanical & electronic gadgets. (It's safe to say that they’re Rube Goldberg fans). Since Linda & I home-school the boys, they have odd-jobs during the school year and during the summer months. They care for several neighbors' dogs, horses, llamas, cats, donkeys, chickens, sheep and otters (yes otters – one of our neighbors runs an animal rehab farm). The kids enjoy riding horses when they get time. We have a large vegetable garden, a barn full of horses, 5 cats, 2 dogs and many friends (mostly Linda's and the kids'). Linda and I both love to read, garden, and tend to 'the farm'. Linda really enjoys "hooking"... but it's not what you think! She's a rug-hooker. She weaves and hooks wool strips through a gunny-sack lookin' material (like burlap) to make beautiful floor rugs. Our family enjoys old westerns, musicals, and classic movies. As God leads, we occasionally care for troubled children/teens.
Sis Lauri ('75) lives in Tyler (about 30 minutes away); is married (24 yrs) to Bo Jones a production engineer for a metal building manufacturing firm. They have 2 super sons; Travis (a recent graduate of East Texas Baptist University), and Nick – a junior in High School; both are fine young men. Lauri’s family is very involved w/their church and Lauri regularly writes op-eds for the local newspaper. If you'd like to see a sample editorial of hers, feel free to copy & paste the following address into your browser address bar:
http://www.tylerpaper.com/article/20090514/OPINION02/905139991
Bro Jim ('77) lives in Spring, TX (about 2-3 hours away from Lauri, Mom & me); he’s married (23 years) to Jane and they have 5 great kids (after having 3 of their own, they lovingly adopted 2 more). Jim teaches music for Spring Public Schools, and Jane home-schools their kids. Both Jim & Jane give private music lessons (piano, voice, guitar, trombone, maracas, bowafridgeaphone, triangle...) (I got carried away on the last few). 'Jim & fam' are very involved in N. Houston community affairs and church; they sing, act, produce plays, etc. Their eldest was married in early ’09 to an outstanding military man and moved to Pensacola, FL for Marine flight training.
Mom lives alone in Whitehouse, TX about 45 minutes from us. As some of you may know, she taught elementary school for 30 years in Aztec (mostly @McCoy). Most of you remember that Dad taught Chemistry, Physics, etc., @AHS; he was also the golf coach for several years, AHS football game time-keeper, Science Club sponsor, dorm-student tutor, and darn good father. Dad died Oct. 18, 2005 after battling a very aggressive cancer on his lower spine. Though we miss him a great deal, our reunion some day will be grand! He & Mom were happily married for 50 years.
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Well, that concludes my bio, and quick trip down Memory Lane. How 'bout sharing your story? My bio isn't very exciting, and you may think yours isn't either (and that's okay). However, I guarantee that there are folks that have wondered about you over the years and would really be interested in hearing about your life. Please let everyone know about your history, so that it’s no longer a mystery. Tell us about your "magna cum laude" college-grad daughter, or your "mega cries loud" cute 'lil granddaughter. Everyone enjoys hearing about Eagle Scout sons and Tenderfoot grandsons. Please share your personal military experiences or those of family members - God bless those that serve our country; we pray for their continued protection. We'd all love to know about your family, job, church, travels or retirement. (Retirement?!?! Yes Lord, some day.... yes indeed - some dayyy.... but not anytime soon for me!!) * * Just a quick cautionary statement about your biography content; please don't tell me about the new boat you bought... I can't go to work with my face all green.
Though I rarely get an opportunity to visit Aztec, I really enjoyed seeing the progress of our small town on my last visit (8 years ago?). Its still a very nice community, with a lot more traffic lights, brightly-lit businesses, cars and people. There's actually SEVERAL fast food restaurants now, a bigger golf course, a fewwww more TV channels, and most amazingly... the Big Tree is still there (all propped up like a very old man with multiple crutches and canes). After hearing about the old tree for years, my kids finally got to see it and have their pictures taken in it. (Oops climbing it is forbidden... let's just say we photo-shopped them in the tree).
If you still live in Aztec... appreciate what you have. If you don't live there, and haven't visited in a long time, you should.
Take care - let everyone know how you're doing! Please don’t hesitate to leave your bio!
Blessings to all,
Steve
(The AzTexan)
P.S. Thanks to Randy Lydic, for telling me about this site! Now write your bio bro! Say "hi" to Jean, lemme hear more about those beautiful grandkids & your incredible travel trailer!
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