Couple opens Old Time Photo studio in Tucumcari

link Rhys and Leigh Williams in western wear, left photo,and modern garb. Pleae click on thumbnail to see photo.

QCS Staff

Nostalgic visitors to Tucumcari’s Route 66 now have an opportunity to recreate the experience of an even earlier time, and keep a souvenir in the form a photo.

Mother Road Old Time Photos opened its doors on Saturday, offering an opportunity to dress like a 19th Century cowboy or western lady, and pose for an old-time sepia-tone photo, carrying a period weapon of choice in a Wild West setting—the saloon or around the poker table.

The store will also offer holiday merchandise for the Christmas season, according to Rhys Williams, who owns the new shop with his wife Leigh.

The couple plan to relocated to Tucumcari eventually, but currently still call Nashville, Tenn., their home, where they are ending long careers in management with Southwest Airlines. Both claim New Mexico roots. Rhys has lived in Albuqerque and Leigh has family ties there.

They have chosen Tucumcari because the city retains much of its Route 66 history from the 1950s and 1960s when Route 66 was the Mother Road, Rhys Williams said.

The shop’s location is 824 E. Route 66 Blvd., in Tucumcari. It’s phone number is (575) 461-0066, and its e-mail address is [email protected].