Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
A bed and breakfast and counseling service open on First Street.
At the ribbon cutting for the Doll House Bed and Breakfast Friday were, from left Kenton Perkins, Misty Smith, owner and operator Debra Whittington, her husband Mark Whittington, and Paula McCasland. Behind Misty Smith is Todd Smith, the remodeling contractor.
Two ribbon-cutting ceremonies Friday helped launch two new businesses in Tucumcari.
One marked the beginning of a new chapter for a Tucumcari landmark, a Victorian mansion in the downtown area, as a bed and breakfast.
The other announced the opening of a counseling service, owned and operated by Sabrina Gaskill, a licensed clinical social worker. The office is located at 706 S. First St., Suite 111.
The century-old, two-story Victorian home at 401 S. First St. has become the Doll House Bed and Breakfast.
About 200 people attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday and received tours of residence, Gail Saunders, director of the Tucumcari Chamber of Commerce, said.
Debra Whittington, the owner and operator, said the new business is a "dream come true."
"I've been seeing this house for 42 years, and I dreamed of owning it," she said.
As the Doll House, the home in the downtown area, has two guest bedrooms and a full kitchen and laundry facilities, Whittington said.
The home underwent extensive remodeling for several months in which some rooms were converted to bedrooms, each with a bath, and a new wrap-around porch was added, Wittington said.
Since it was built in 1908, the house has served as a residence for two prominent Tucumcari families, a law office and a real estate headquarters, among other things, Whittington said.
Gaskill has lived and worked in the Tucumcari area since 2005. She has been a counselor since about 2013, and has taught English, Communications and Sociology at Mesalands Community College. Her office has been open since October, she said, but she had never had a ribbon-cutting.