problems to the haste with which it was planned. "It will be recalled that a special case was made of this project," said Kittredge, with "approval and authority to commence … granted … based only upon a sketch map." The road was not in keeping with NPS standards of construction, through no fault of the CWA crew. Kittredge then learned of Charles' plans for a massive attendance on April 29 at the monument's dedication, and he urged the NPS to provide picnic shelters, restrooms, and parking facilities, and more staff (especially a full-time maintenance worker to clear the gypsum from the road).[1]
The CWA project ended just days prior to Tom Charles' planned gala dedication ceremonies. Several committees with prominent residents as members devised a host of welcoming activities. J.L. Lawson, a prominent lawyer and landowner who would later try to sell to the NPS his water rights to Dog Canyon ranch (the Oliver Lee property east of the dunes), served as chair of the "Old Settlers Day," where prizes would be awarded to the oldest and longest-resident Hispanic, Anglo, and Indian attendee. On the "reception" committee sat W.H. Mauldin, who had settled in 1882 in the nearby town of La Luz, and who was the father of the future Pulitzer prize-winning wartime cartoonist, Bill Mauldin.[2]
All who attended the day-long celebration realized the special nature of the event, and of the monument itself. Tom Charles estimated that 4,650 visitors arrived in 776 vehicles on the newly opened dunes road. During the afternoon the crowd cheered a baseball game played by two all-black teams, the Alamogordo Black Sox and the El Paso Monarchs. The Black Sox thrilled the "home-team" fans sitting on the dunes high above the playing field by winning 12-7, despite rumors that the Texas squad had utilized players from the Mesilla Valley. Then speakers addressed the throng on such topics as A.N. Blazer's "The Sands in the Seventies," George Coe's "Recollections of Billy the Kid," Harry L. Kent's "Origins of the White Sands," and Oliver Lee's "Early Days in New Mexico."[3]
The most touching moment at the opening ceremonies, all agreed, came when Albert Fall spoke on "Reminiscences of Early Days." Making his first public appearance since completion in 1932 of his five-year prison sentence, Fall brought tears to the eyes of his loyal partisans from west Texas and southern New Mexico. A reporter from the Alamogordo News noted Fall's infirmities (the reason for his early release from prison by President Hoover), and wrote that "it was indeed a pathetic sight to see that he had
- ↑ SWNM Monthly Report, March 1934; Laurence Cone to Charles, March 18, 1934; H.B. Chase, CWA Project Engineer, to Charles, April 10, 1934, 1934 File L; Kittredge to Cammerer, April 17, 1934; Charles to Cammerer, April 18, 1934; Charles to Pinkley, April 18, 1934, RG79, NPS, WHSA Files, Denver FRC.
- ↑ "Old Timers Reunion," Alamogordo Advertiser, April 26, 1934.
- ↑ Ibid.; "The Big White Sands Dedicatory, Sunday, April 29," Alamogordo News, May 3, 1934; "White Sands Picnic," Alamogordo Advertiser, May 3, 1934. The appearance of black baseball teams in an area with a scant black population reflected the temper of the times, where major- and minor-league baseball excluded black players because of their race. Instead, such athletes performed in the famed "Negro Leagues," mostly local teams who played for gate receipts (semi-professional status). At the White Sands game, fans donated a total of twelve dollars to be divided between the two squads.
