If the windy spring days in Southwest New Mexico make you think of kite
flying, you're not alone. In fact, the American Kitefliers Association,
which now boasts more than 4,000 members in 35 countries, was founded
in 1964 by Robert M. Ingraham of Silver City.
The area's aerial tradition will be celebrated on Sunday, April 9, with
the Grant County Health Council's Family Kite Day, starting at 1 p.m.
The free afternoon of kite-flying and demonstrations will be at the Benny
Altamirano Sports Complex soccer fields on the 32nd St. Bypass in Silver
City. Toytown will have kites for sale at the event, or you can attend
a kite-making workshop the day before, April 8, at the Silver Recreation
Center at 1 p.m. (registration required).
Kendra Milligan of the health council notes that
Ingraham, who died in 1995, was "a big guy in this area" and that his widow, Hazel,
still lives here. "We can claim kite flying as a tradition in the
area," she adds, "plus we have some great kite fliers in
Silver."
Born in Hornell, NY, Ingraham came to Silver City
in 1949. He served as editor of the Silver
City Enterprise newspaper
and later as a columnist for the Daily
Press. According
to his obituary, "With Paul Garber, curator of the Smithsonian
Air and Space Museum, he was one of the progenitors of the 1960s kite
renaissance in this country. Assisted by his wife, Hazel, Ingraham
founded, published and edited Kite Tales, a
magazine which had subscribers in 50 states and 27 foreign countries
when it was published in Silver City."
Ingraham was also the inspiration for the annual
Cielo Encantado, a kite festival held each October in Silver City for
a number of years. The Ingraham Award, given to "the outstanding person in the field
of kiting," was presented at the first fiesta and has since become
a national award, presented by the American Kitefliers Association.
For more information on the association, see www.aka.kite.org.
For information on Family Kite Day or to register for the kite-making
workshop, contact Milligan at 388-9708, ext. 13.
"Think back to how uncomfortable the Democratic
presidential candidates looked during that train wreck Spanish debate
during the 2004 primaries as they mangled what few Spanish phrases
they'd crammed for the occasion. Now imagine Richardson in the same
situation. Imagine someone at ease and able to move deftly between
the extremes. On Sunday he was one of the guests of honor at the Manchester
(NH) St. Patrick's Day parade, for God's sake, and was well received
to boot.
"This is no one trick pony. This is a savvy
politician and if he takes this campaign seriously, he will put up
a serious challenge."
—Shawn Macomber, The American Spectator
"You know I'm really Irish, right? This Hispanic
thing is
just a cover."
—Gov. Bill Richardson, campaigning in New Hampshire
April 2006
