Hundreds celebrate annual Border Town Days

Norma Engman looked through her copy of the 1958 Farwell High School yearbook Saturday hoping to find a familiar face in the crowd of hundreds at the Farwell City Park.

Engman was among the hundreds of former Farwell High teachers and alumni in the crowd of this year’s Border Town Days celebration, which highlighted the Farwell school district’s 100th anniversary.

Organizers said there were more people at this year’s celebration because of the school district’s centennial anniversary.

Event officials estimate about 2,500 people gathered at the Farwell City Park, which is about 1,000 more than the yearly average.

The event kicked off with a parade that started in Texico and included more than 50 entries, according to event official Anne Cooper.

Organizer Mike Pomper said the event serves as a yearly reunion for Texico and Farwell, two towns divided by the Texas-New Mexico border.

“It’s a day for families getting together to chat and say hi,” he said.

Engman, who taught typing and business classes at Farwell High from 1957 to 1961, met Jerry Lovelace, a 1962 Farwell High alumnus.

“It’s fun to see all my students who are now retired,” said Engman, now a real estate agent in Durango, Colo.

Lovelace said he took Engman’s typing class.

“I can still type,” said the retired teacher who now lives in Houston. “I might not be fast, but I can still type.”

Lovelace said his hometown hasn’t changed much except for Main Street where the buildings he remembered such as the theater were replaced with newer structures.

“I hated to see all that stuff go,” he said.