Ride advocates for reopening businesses

An estimated 40 people participated Saturday morning in the Freedom Ride in Tucumcari that saluted small, nonessential businesses closed by the governor's emergency health order and advocated for their reopening.

Organizers were reluctant to call it a parade because they didn't have a city permit or insurance policy for that. Instead, they called it a cruise down old Route 66, Main Street and First Street along with a few side trips to salute businesses shuttered by the coronavirus pandemic.

About a dozen vehicles, including motorcycles, departed from the parking lot of the Tucumcari Convention Center at 10 a.m. There was talk of Freedom Ride participants also gathering at the parking lot of the closed Kmart on the east side of town, but that failed to materialize.

Participants affixed signs on their vehicles that stated "Small Businesses are Essential," "Open Our Churches" and "Freedom Saves Lives Too" along with one "Don't Tread on Me" flag and a bevy of United States flags. Drivers honked their horns at closed businesses in solidarity during the one-hour cruise.

Ann Hall, one of several female co-organizers of the event, estimated 40 people participated as the cruise proceeded and more drivers joined in.

"I thought it went really well," she said during telephone interview Saturday. "I was thinking we would get a whole lot more people, but it's Tucumcari - sometimes you don't get a big turnout.

"I thought we got good reaction," she added. "I never saw any negative reaction. Everything was very positive."

Deanna Osborn, a co-organizer unable to attend the cruise, said during a phone interview Friday that members of the Quay County Patriots group on Facebook hatched the idea for the Freedom Cruise. She said most of its members lean Republican, but "we're Constitutionalist more than anything."

"We wanted to let the small, non-essential businesses know that we do support them and that we would like to open up Quay County," Hall said.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's announcement Thursday to loosen restrictions to some businesses the next day didn't dissuade cruise organizers, Osborn said.

"I knew we had a few small steps made where things were allowed to open partially but not open fully - not where we'd like to be," she said. "There are a lot of businesses that need to be open but are not allowed to open as of yet."

Osborn cited the fact Ute Lake State Park being reopened, but nearby bait shops remaining closed until at least May 15 under the governor's order.

"We're just trying to get our businesses opened back up and we can live normally again," Hall said.

Osborn acknowledged reopening nonessential small businesses shouldn't be done without safeguards against the disease, including social distancing by customers and occupancy limits.

"We're not pushing to reopen full-fledged. Nobody believes we need to go back to the way we were," she said.

"Let's take precautions. We're pushing to open those mom-and-pops that can keep control of their (customer) numbers," she added. "We honestly believe the people of Quay County are smart enough to know, especially the business owners, how to maintain that safe distance in order to stay open. At least allow them some income. In our area, we need mom-and-pop (stores)."

Hall said the fact Quay County had just four confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Saturday spurred demands for nonessential businesses to reopen.

"We don't have a problem here," Hall said. "Maybe if we're in the Navajo Nation, that's a whole different story than us over here. And the fact is Texas has opened up; most of us on the east side can go to Texas now."

"I'm not as concerned with COVID-19 as I am concerned with these little community stores," Osborn said.