Dear Marfa,
We want to thank everyone who attended the Judd Foundation Star Party at the Block this past Sunday. It was a beautiful evening made possible through the kind partnership of the McDonald Observatory. We are always grateful for the opportunity to share Don’s appreciation of our beloved West Texas Dark Skies, and this year marked a special return of the annual event.
We would like to thank all of those who made the evening possible, in particular: Katie Kizziar, Rachel Fueschsl, Stephen Hummel, Joe Wheelock and Ryan Cantrell from the McDonald Observatory for their expertise and star-gazing equipment brought to Marfa from Mount Locke. We would also like to thank Liz Ruiz, Olga Rubio, and Marisela González from Antojitos El Turista for their food and delicious tacos; Ross Cashiola and Pat Keesey for their beautiful music; and Sarah Vasquez for her photography of the event. Your contributions brought so much to the evening.
To Judd Foundation staff and guides, we thank you for the hard work you do year-round. Your dedication and time mean so much to us here and to the whole community. Special thanks to Jeff Matheis, Natalie Melendez and Yasmine Guevara for organizing the Star Party. And very special thanks to our buildings team for keeping the grounds and spaces so beautiful, especially Peter Stanley, Randy Sanchez, Rico Roman, Jesse Dominguez, Jonathon Lujan, Shelby Rogers, Diana Simard and Beau Buck.
It is always special for us to open Don’s home and his spaces installed with his art, and it means a great deal to us to be able to share it with you all. We hope to see you again at the next event and hope you will visit throughout the year.
Thank you all!
Rainer Judd
President, Judd Foundation
Marfa
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Dear Editor,
Last year there were no flags ordered for veterans graves for Memorial Day in Marfa. This year the county sprung for some of the cheapest plastic flags I have ever seen. And worse yet, not nearly enough flags were ordered, so about half of our deceased veterans do not have flags on their graves.
This is how Presidio County honors its Marfa veterans.
To top it off, the Memorial Day program in Marfa was held on Thursday, May 23;
Memorial Day was on Monday, May 27. Was having the program on May 23 for the sake of convenience? Is this akin to celebrating Thanksgiving on a Tuesday rather than on the actual Thursday –– because it is convenient for someone? Is this like celebrating Christmas on Dec. 20 rather than Dec. 25 –– because it is convenient for someone?
This is how Presidio County honors its Marfa veterans.
Dawn Shannon
Marfa