Home Care In Orogrande, NM

Orogrande, on U.S. 54 between El Paso and Alamogordo, was once a bustling town of somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 residents. A July 9, 1977, Times article gave some history of Orogrande:

Known through its early history as Jarilla Junction it was turned into a hustler's delight when a nugget the size of a man's finger was found in the nearby mountains. Thus Jarilla Junction in 1905 was dubbed Oro Grande — "big gold."

Overnight, the sleepy railroad heading blossomed into 3,000-plus population community with "Chicago suckers" herded daily through the nearby hills to "discover" planted gold ....

When the mining operations were at their height, the now ghost town of Brice (4 miles east of Orogrande) was the major population center, not Oro Grande, and a railroad spur was constructed to haul the ores out.

Brice, in fact, had the first school in the area, and youngsters from Oro Grande (which has since been turned into one word) attended school there until the 1930s.

While gold captured the imagination of the prospectors, it was iron, turquoise and some silver which actually keep the towns alive.

Faded promise

The population of Orogrande began to wane when the promise of gold did not live up to expectations. By 1979, the town's population was reported to be about 80 people.

Through the '70s and '80s, the townspeople managed to keep a sense of humor about themselves and the town. There was the Orogrande National Forest, two trees and a sign; the Orogrande International Airport, a broken-down Border Patrol aircraft; and the unofficial ceremony to name Zelbourn, Algeria, as their sister city. This is from the Times, June 14, 1979:

Orogrande — Nothing is ever simple here. The 80 folk of this small community in the desert south of Alamogordo were all set to cut the ribbon on Orogrande International Airport this Sunday, when they complicated matters by throwing in this “sister city” thing.

Well. As always with Orogrande, it’s a long story. The airport first. A while back, a U.S. Border Patrol aircraft ran into engine trouble in the air above Orogrande and landed on an access road to U.S. 54, which runs through the community.

The plane was towed in to Perry Brunson’s garage, where it has been for about two months while Perry and friends work on the engine. The minor mishap inspired the impish Wood Johnston, who is chief ranger of the Orogrande National Forest (two trees and still growing) and chef du jour of the Oro Chico Cafe?, to dub Perry’s station and garage Orogrande International Airport.

“Oh, we’re having fun,” Woody announced Monday. “We’ve got the signs up already and everything — where the ‘gates’ are, and ‘baggage claim’ counter — everything.”

Plans call for a gala ribbon-cutting Sunday. To those fuddy-duddies who can’t see how Orogrande could be so “presumptuous,” as one man put it, Woody has an easy answer: “Why, our Runway 54 is 80 miles long!”

But what about the sister city business? Seems some Algerian engineers and embassy officials, in El Paso to study the implementation and operation of a natural gas pipeline with El Paso Natural Gas engineers, happened upon the Oro Chico.

The cafe? is also the “temporary” Ranger Station of the Orogrande National Forest. What with explanations of that arbor’s sign, and the signs about the airport, the engineers and the Orograndians became fast friends. And the engineers decided Orogrande has much in common with their home town: Zelboun, Algeria.

For one thing, they’re both little desert towns, with about the same head count — 80 humans, dogs uncounted. And, Woody points out, they both have border crossing problems — the Algerians complain the Moroccans come over and take jobs away from natives.

By the time all the comparisons had been made, the Algerians and the Orograndians had decided Orogrande and Zelboun were born to be sister cities. So among the festivities Sunday will be the presentation to Ali Boukhiar, as representative of Zelboun, of a proclamation from Orogrande and gifts to the Algerian town.

They will be delivered when the engineer goes home in July. “The whole thing’s got to be quasi-official, of course, because we’re not really a municipality,” Woody says. “I’ll be signing the proclamation as chief ranger. But though the airport is tongue-in-cheek, and though there’s a great deal of fun, connected with the sister cities, the feelings of friendship are genuine.

“Surely we haven’t reached the point quite yet in this bureaucratic world,” he adds, “that a proclamation of friendship and hopes for peace must be ‘officially official’ to be real."

Trish Long is the El Paso Times' librarian and spends her time in the morgue, where the newspaper keeps its old clippings and photos. She may be reached at 546-6179 or [email protected].

OROGRANDE RANGE COMPLEX, N.M. – In the vast expanse of the Orogrande Range Complex, New Mexico, an assemblage of uniformed personnel and military tactical vehicles comprise of the scene. Despite the frigid climate on the morning of Jan. 4, 2019, Army National Guardsmen of Bravo Battery and Forward Support Company, 1-147th Field Artillery Battalion, Watertown, South Dakota, stood outside in eager anticipation to witness an awe-inspiring spectacle.

Suddenly, a deafening roar temporarily disrupts the stillness of the desert landscape. Volleys of rockets have been launched from a group of M270A1 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, propelling in convergence toward the sun-drenched sky.

This training event was one of the 1-147th FAB’s pre-mobilization exercises conducted to strengthen their readiness and lethality postures.

“We are here for mobilization validation,” said 1st Lt. Jessie Park, operations officer for Bravo Battery, 1-147th FAB. “The South Dakota Army National Guard is one of two MLRS battalions in the United States, so it’s really important that we keep up on our platforms and training.”

The abovementioned volley of rockets is called Time on Target (ToT), a critical artillery technique in which an area or target is completely saturated by munitions. ToT is one of several tasks performed by the 1-147th FAB, under direct scrutiny and evaluation by Observer Controller/Trainers of the 5th Armored Brigade, Fort Bliss, Texas.

“We did three types of fire missions: Fire When Ready, At My Command…and then ToT,” said Sgt. Dillyn Thompson, MLRS crewmember and seven-year veteran of 1-147th FAB. “It’s a little different this year, the way they have us doing this live fire. We have (the MLRS vehicles) all lined up, with four to eight rockets in a row.”

According to Sgt. 1st Class James Meyer, master gunner for Bravo Battery, 1-147th FAB, the M270A1 MLRS can launch over a dozen types of disparate munitions.

“We can shoot multiple rockets from the MLRS, depending on the setup and whatever mission requirements are, such as M28/M28A1 training rounds, M30/M31 guided rockets, and ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) guided missiles,” Meyer said.

Thompson further elaborated on the destructive power of the MLRS, touching upon the weapon platform’s moniker: “Grid Square Removal System.”

“The maximum load is 12 rockets or two missiles total,” Thompson said. “If we have a full load of rockets, we can take out an entire grid square on a map.”

These validation and military rehearsal exercises (MRXs) have been vital to the preparation for the 1-147th FAB’s upcoming mobilization.

“Under Operation Atlantic Resolve, we’re going to participate in exercises in Germany, Poland, Hungary, Romania, Lithuania, and Latvia,” said 1st Sgt. Dusty Kiner, First Sergeant for Bravo Battery, 1-147th FAB. “Whoever wants assistance or wants artillery support for their exercise, they will call us, and we go out to that location.”

Taken into consideration the joint nature of this deployment, Kiner asserts that mission requirements principally depend on multinational collaboration.

“The way we understand it for our first exercise, we will be falling under a Canadian DIVARTY (Division Artillery),” Kiner said. “We’ll be acting as the DIVARTY support for the Canadian division. It’s kind of a new experience for us, as we will be functioning multi-national and multi-echelon all the way through the entire phase.”

For junior enlisted Soldiers like Spc. Micah Miller, an automated logistical specialist for the FSC, 1-147th FAB, these training exercises have ventured outside the proverbial comfort zone.

“One of the biggest challenges is this different climate and terrain here,” Miller said. “There’s a lot more mountains here than there back in South Dakota, which is a lot flatter.”

Nevertheless, Thompson stated that he and his unit have been primed and ready for this occasion.

“I was in Saber Guardian in Romania, where I was able to jump in with Alpha Battery out of Aberdeen, South Dakota, and go over there with them,” Thompson said. “But with this mobilization, I think that we can get a little more in-depth, which will be nice in being able to train with other countries. It’s all pretty new to me, and I’m excited about it.”

Bravo Battery/FSC elements of the 1-147th FAB will sustain their pre-mobilization training scenarios until their eventual flight to Eastern Europe.

“We’re looking forward to moving out to Eastern Europe and making this stuff happen and get some rockets downrange in Europe,” Kiner said. “Supposedly, we are going to be the first heavy MLRS unit in Eastern Europe since 9/11. We’re going to help write new doctrine as to how heavy artillery operates in Europe. This is a cool mission for us.”

Visitors Find Substantial Cattle Town Interesting Place for a Stop

In the vast desert near Oro Grande, N.M., a visitor gets the impression that nature, after lavishing her color everywhere-on the towering pines and firs of the Sacramento's-suddenly found her brush worn, the paint of her palette practically gone.

And, fatigued, she listlessly smeared across the canvas blobs of brown for the sun-seared hills; streaks of green for the puffs of greasewood; and decided to let the sun dry it.

Yet below the earth she has been riotously lavish, residents of Oro Grande tell you. The boisterous jangle of boom mining town life once swept through Oro Grande and brought 5000 prospectors, merchants and fortune seekers to the area. That was between 1900-06, when the town was a roaring mining camp and placers were averaging one ounce of gold an hour during running time.

Tells Of Past

And the running time was 24 hours a day.

Tom Bell, who has been a leading citizen of Oro Grande more than 14 years, has talked with many of the old-timers who worked placers in the vicinity during the "boom days."

"There were nine saloons in Oro Grande at one time and a shooting every night," Mr. Bell said. "It was a real boom mining town."

Water for the town was hauled from Wildie Well, north of Oro Grande, previous to an including part of the boom days.

A mining company was organized in 1906 and a six-inch water line was laid from the grapevine Horse Camp, now a part of the Oliver Lee Ranch, into town.

Prospectors were roaming the Javilla Mountains near Oro Grande then for deposits of gold, copper, iron and silver. Daily "strikes" of gold were made.

Things Were Popping

"Things were popping," Mr. Bell said, "Then a smelter was constructed. It looked like the area was a sure-fire mineral producer."

The foundation of the old smelter is still standing in Oro Grande

Law enforcement was a major item in Oro Grande during the blood days. The job was turned over to Lon Danley, who was appointed marshal.

Then the firm operating the mill and smelter at Oro Grande found that the high cost of production was cutting their profits. The ore became lower in grade and more expensive to take from the ground, mill and smelt. The smelter and mill were closed.

Cattle Town Now

Oro Grande gradually drifted from a boom mining town into a substantial cattle raising community. Today the town is the center of some of the most prosperous ranches in the area.

Douglas McGregor operates 365 sections in the Oro Grande vicinity. Mr. Bell operates about 42 sections. Other outfits are the Oliver Lee Jr. and Oliver Lee Sr. Ranches and the Bill McNew Ranch.

Mr. McNew owns land on which the Oro Grande Placer Syndicate, headed by James O'Hara of Denver, once stood. The area was last worked about two years ago.

Plenty Of Gold

"There's still plenty of gold in this region," Mr. Bell said. "But there's lots of dirt mixed with it."

Mr. Bell started working in the Otero county area in 1918 when he was employed as a cowboy for the Circle Cross Cattle Co.

Cattle ranges in the Oro Grande region are in fair condition. Several thousand cattle will be shipped from the area this season. Most of the calves in the vicinity have been contracted for by buyers for 7 and 8 cents a pound.

Business has been good because of the steady flow of tourist travel in and out of El Paso. Tourist attractions in the area include White Sands and points beyond in the Gila National Forest.

The scorching sun shimmered against the seemingly endless plains of sand and desert as Soldiers from 1st Battalion, 37th Armored Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division, braved harsh elements while participating in exercise Strike Focus in Orogrande Range Camp, N.M., April 8, 2019.

“We’re here to conduct a brigade-level training exercise and to certify our company teams,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Eric Lowery of 1-37 AR. “We’re doing some situational training exercises, and we’re building our readiness to execute whatever mission our nation calls us to do.”

Strike Focus is a comprehensive training exercise improving the readiness, lethality and deployability of the 2ABCT, testing Soldiers and units through real world scenarios and simulations over an approximately two-week period.

“We’re improving our lethality by putting Soldiers in tough and realistic situations that will test their ability to execute their job-specific skills,” said Lowery. “The medics are doing medical evacuation training; we have infantry Soldiers assaulting objectives and we have our tankers and supply honing their skills.”

Readiness is a vital component for 1-37 AR, as they train to advance their skills on a company level while ensuring that they are always capable to excel as an armor regiment at a moment’s notice.

“Strike Focus improves readiness because we’re actually applying what we do,” said Lt. Col. Kristopher Howell, the battalion commander for 1-37 AR. “This is the first time we’re doing this at the company level, we’re having company commanders go through the different procedures and processes at their level.”

Strike Focus provides an opportunity for 1-37 AR to improve their fighting capabilities as well as ensure that continued cohesiveness between the various facets of the regiment remains strong and unbreakable.

“The big thing with Strike Focus is that it is on the ground reps and iterations that we don’t always get,” said Howell. “We have to have a true fighting mentality, and, out here, fighting on this terrain while understanding and integrating tactics is all about our lethality."

The opportunity to increase and demonstrate the readiness, lethality and deployability of 1-37 AR is paramount throughout the exercise, however, Strike Focus also presents the opportunity for Soldiers to practice and prepare for what their job in the U.S. Army entails.

“Soldiers expect to do what they raised their right hand to do, they joined the military to serve their country and to do a certain job,” said Lowery. “Putting them in this type of situation and allowing them to improve on what they do I think improves morale immensely… this is what they joined the military to do.”