1951
7/13/51 Governor Edwin Mechem was in town to dedicate the Ruidoso Airport and the newly-paved section of Alto Road that went to the airport. More than 2,000 people attended the airport opening ceremony and barbecue. Pilot Ralph Brown cut the ribbon across the runway with his plane. Pilots from Walker and Holloman Air Forces bases flew in. The road was later renamed “Mechem Drive” in honor of the governor.
7/20/51 Archeology students from UNM explored Fort Stanton cave. The 21 students camped near the cave and cooked their meals using an old army truck that had been converted into a chuckwagon.
1976
7/15/76 A gross receipts tax of one fourth of one percent (0.25%) was enacted by village concillors. An additional one fourth of one percent would be voted on in the next election. Although businesses complained that they were paying as much tax as they could already, Mayor pro-tem Ab Gunter said, “We’ve lost more than $100,000 in revenue by not enacting the gross receipts tax.”
7/21/76 An ad for Alto Lakes Golf and Country Club offered, in celebration of their tenth anniversary, 20 percent off the price of lots and a full golf membership for $3,000.
The Chamber of Commerce asked residents to list any rooms in their homes that they would be willing to rent, to help with an anticipated lodging shortage on Labor Day weekend.
2001
7/6/01 Plans for a $6 million two-story 70-unit assisted living facility to be built on land bordered by Wingfield, Chase and Grindstone Canyon Road were stymied during a meeting of Village councillors. The developers, Sunwest Management Inc. of Salem, Ore., had been working for five months with the planning commission, but were told that the proposed site was in conflict with a design for a bypass that was part of the 1988 comprehensive plan. Company representatives said that some 50 people had already signed up to purchase units, that the option to purchase the property would expire by the end of the month, and that the company would pull out of the deal if the village could not resolve the matter by then.