Serving the High Plains

Tucumcari native writes book on city's history

Semi-retired history professor David H. Stratton was 75 years old when he began his research into the history of Tucumcari, his hometown.

Twenty years later, Stratton's book, "Tucumcari Tonite!: A Story of Railroads, Route 66 and the Waning of a Western Town," has been published by University of New Mexico Press and is available for purchase on April 1.

Though it took two decades for it to come to fruition, Stratton said he never thought composing the book was tedious.

"The writing of it was a lot of fun," he said in a recent phone interview from his home in Olympia, Washington. "It brought back a lot of memories. Whether it was published or not, I still got a lot of enjoyment out of it."

"Tucumcari Tonite!" is described as part history book and part memoir, the latter where Stratton draws on his memories. Stratton grew up on Adams Street in Tucumcari, just a couple of blocks from Route 66, and later became a history professor at Washington State University.

"Drawing on newspapers and government documents as well as business records, personal interviews and archival holdings, Stratton weaves a poignant tale of a western town's rise and decline - providing a prime example of the destructive forces that have been inflicted on small towns in the West and all across America," UNM Press wrote in the book's description.

Stratton intersperses the book with stories that may be new even to longtime Tucumcari residents, including Jewish people playing a prominent role in developing the region and the short-lived scheme in the 1970s to hollow out Tucumcari Mountain so a shopping mall could be placed inside.

Stratton found one story of an area doctor who did house calls before the automobile age.

"This guy covered territory for seventy-odd miles, between the Pecos River and the Texas line across the plains there," Stratton said. "He devised this water barrel into a riding coach and drilled a couple of holes so he could see out of it and run the reins through it. When he was out all night (for doctor calls), he'd crawl into that barrel and go to sleep while the horse knew the way home. When he got home, the horse would kick the barrel to wake him up."

Stratton said a key moment in the rise of the United States highway system that led to U.S. 66 going through Tucumcari was a convoy of Army vehicles from Washington, D.C., to San Francisco right after World War I.

One of the observers of the caravan that crawled along the country's primitive roads was a young Dwight D. Eisenhower.

"In the proposal to do it, it was to prepare for any Asian invasion of the western United States," Stratton said of the Army convoy, who added he found several government documents stating this. "Who was going to invade the United States at that time? The only one was Japan. Those in position of authority knew who the next enemy would be. It was clear Japan would be the next enemy in the next war. Why they weren't more prepared for Pearl Harbor, I don't know."

When Eisenhower became president, Stratton said he was inspired by Germany's Autobahn highway system and wanted to emulate it in the U.S.

"In typical Army fashion, he told his staff he wanted an interstate highway system but don't want it to increase the national debt," Stratton said. "It was the Army way of doing things; you call in a sergeant, and the sergeant had to figure out how to do it.

"The interstate highway system was the biggest public works project in the history of the United States. I don't think Eisenhower gets enough credit for I-40, or I-5 that runs where I live now. I think it should be called the Eisenhower I-40."

Stratton said his research helped clarify what happened to Tucumcari that caused it to lose almost half its population since 1960. He said the railroad companies pulling up stakes in Tucumcari, plus the interstates that bypassed Route 66 in the city, became a "double whammy."

"It just knocked the socks off Tucumcari," he said.

Despite Tucumcari's misfortune, it pales in comparison to the defunct coal-mining town of Dawson, which once had a railroad line connecting to Tucumcari.

"Dawson actually was larger than Tucumcari at one time," Stratton said. "Now it's just wiped off the map. It was a company town by Phelps Dodge. They could build the town, and they could destroy it. And they did."

Now 95, Stratton lives in an assisted-living facility near one of his daughters. With regret, he said he likely won't be able to do a book tour to promote "Tucumcari Tonite!," including at his hometown.

"I used to get back there every two to three years, but I'm in failing health now," he said. "I like the Rattler Reunion; that's a nice gathering. I believe it's the biggest reunion in the state. I don't know how often I'll get there now."

Stratton said he hopes his book will help illuminate the history of Tucumcari for residents, both current and former.

"Maybe a city commissioner doesn't know a lot about the past or the people who live there, it might help them learn about the town," he said. "And there are more people who used to live there who live away from Tucumcari than the people who live there now."

 
 
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