Book tribute to woman, history she preserved

While working to help establish the outdoor drama theatre near San Jon, I first met Eula Mae Edwards at her Southwestern Artifacts Museum in San Jon. Eula Mae (Smith) Edwards was the only child of Robert and Estella Smith who lived in Quay County for almost 40 years.

Her father was a section foreman for the railroad in Logan for many years and her mother ran the Central Hotel. The hotel burned to the ground in the 1920s. Eula, being an only child, was by her own admission “just a little bit spoiled!” She began hunting Indian artifacts as a very early age and had a nice collection by the time she had graduated from Logan High School in 1932. She was born on May 23, 1914. Her parents, Robert L. “Bob” and Estella (Meeks) Smith, came to Logan in 1902.

After graduating from high school, she did take a lot of college courses and studied archaeology which was her great love. Eula married and became a mother of a child who only lived a few days. This tragedy left Eula in a terrible emotional condition and her marriage dissolved.

Many years later she married Jack Edwards and the two of them put thousands of miles on their old pickup hunting arrowheads. Sunny Dunning of Tucumcari met Eula as a teenager, and since they were both arrowhead hunters, they began a very happy friendship that lasted for almost 30 years.

Eula operated the Artifact Museum, and a small gift shop in San Jon for the last few years of her life and very much enjoyed meeting new people and guiding them through the museum. She became ill early in 1983 and spent must of her time in hospital until she passed away in December of that year.

I published the novel, “Red Is My Color,” at City Printing, Inc.

Sunny Dunning was delighted when asked to write the introduction for Eula’s novel.

This novel, “Red Is My Color” was copyrighted in 1988. Manuscript of this book is owned by ENMU-Clovis, 417 Schepps Blvd, Clovis, N.M. 88101. I own the publishing rights.

“Red Is My Color,” will serve as yet another fine tribute to the memory of a lady who did much to preserve history and interest in our area.