1951
5/18/51 In the column “Canyon Echoes,” which documented the comings and goings of Ruidoso residents, it was noted that “Mayor Ike Wingfield went to Roswell to get some parts for his lawn mower.”
A celebration of the fortieth wedding anniversary of Ike and Lula Wingfield was planned by their daughters Opal and Della. The Wingfields were married on May 29, 1911 at Lula’s family home on the Bonito.
“The newly-married couple moved to Ruidoso and lived in a house that stood where the post office building now stands (location of the Adobe Gallery in 2026). They have lived in Ruidoso all of those years with the exception of eight months spent on the Bonito. They moved back to Ruidoso in 1914 and bought the Wingfield estate from the heirs.
“They moved into the old Wingfield home located on the site of their present home. In the fall 0f 1914 the house burned. They rebuilt on to the adobe walls and that remained as their home until 1929 when they tore down the building and built their present home.”
1976
5/13/1976 In an article with the headline “Ruidoso Growing Radidly,” it was reported that an estimated 7,000 to 8,000 people were fulltime residents of the village. Post office box rentals had increased 100 percent in the previous five years and building permits were $4 million higher that the previous year.
The Smokey Bear Historical Park, located on land adjacent to the Smokey Bear Museum in Capitan, was officially dedicated. The park is intended to be the burial place for the now-retired Smokey, who was rescued after a fire in the Capitan Gap in 1950. He became the symbol of fire prevention. He is currently a resident of the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. Attending the ceremony were U,S, Senators Pete Domenici and Joseph Montoya; U.S. Representatives Manueal Lujan, Jr. and Harold Runnels and Jack Weaver, “The Voice of Smokey Bear.”
2001
5/2/2001
Firefighters battled four fires around the county, including Eagle Creek, Kraut Canyon and the Capitan Gap.
The long-time mayor of Corona resigned. Ernest Lueras announced that he was “stretched thin” with managing his ranch and gas station. Village clerk Cathy Muniz said, “We couldn’t figure out how long he’s been mayor, but it’s at least 20 years.”