Postcards from the Past
By Ruth E. Vise Faculty Advisor & Editor
2004 Borderland Staff, from left to right: Gretchen Dickey, Consulting
Editor; Ruth E. Vise, Faculty Editor and Advisor; Stella Perry, Editor. Not
pictured: Sean Perry, artist. Photo by Kim Prieto. This year's cover reflects the old postcards that today are collectors' items. The photos and drawings are ours, however, and represent just a few of the stories that we hope you will read and enjoy. We feature articles about Solomon Schutz , prominent merchant, who served as mayor the year the railroad came to El Paso, and James B. Gillett , an ex-Texas Ranger and El Paso marshal, who became a legend.
Several students researched Jim White , the first white man to explore Carlsbad Caverns and promote it as a tourist site. Other students studied Aldo Leopold, an early environmentalist, and Ben Lilly , who lived the life of a mountain man in the Gila Forest in the 20th century.
Our center spread features the work of students who discovered Hueco Tanks State Park and its history. Some of them had never been to the park that attracts visitors and researchers from all over the world. They took pictures and notes and discovered that field research can be fun.
Other students researched two local World War I heroes, Marcelino Serna and Sam Dreben . We conclude the issue with stories on the manufacturing empire built by the Farah family in the 1920s and on council 638 of the Knights of Columbus in El Paso, the first in Texas.
The students who produce the papers on which these articles are based are freshmen at El Paso Community College. Because students in my English research and critical writing classes explore local history topics, they must visit area libraries, do field research, examine old newspaper articles on microfilm, interview local historians and other authorities, in addition to surfing the Internet and finding other sources. Some students illustrate their papers with photographs or original art. No easy research papers for them!
Time constraints limit what students who are learning the research process can do. Student editors and I must conduct further research while we are turning these research papers into feature articles for Borderlands. Editors must search for historical photos in family collections and at area libraries and the El Paso County Historical Society . Getting to the print shop is a major accomplishment, where much more work lies ahead.
I thank this year's editor, Stella Perry, for stepping in after another editor had to bow out. Stella, you did a great job without any training other than your excellent writing and research skills. Next year will be easier, I promise!
I also thank my colleagues, Joe Old and Martha Lou Broaddus, who volunteered to edit our articles and to share their expertise as teachers of writing without expecting any reward other than our gratitude. Joe, special thanks to you for giving us your time when you were editing your own book.
Thanks also to Monica Wong, Joe Old and Rachel Murphree, Borderlands has been on the Web for three years. Thirteen issues are now online, and we invite you to access our site by going to www.epcc.edu and accessing the Northwest Library where you can click on Borderlands Student Project.
Gretchen, your hard work, persistence, grace and generosity have helped me through many rough moments and remind me why I teach. Thank you for your big heart, your sunny smile and your enthusiasm for Borderlands.
Happy 21st birthday to my daughter April, who was only seven when I became advisor of Borderlands, and whose photo is used on the cover. Stella, Gretchen and I hope that you, our readers, enjoy this issue.