An interview with long-time Hot Springs / Truth or Consequences resident Gayle Middleton, a WWII Veteran, former school board member and relative (by marriage to his wife Ruth) of one of the town’s early developers, A.J. “Pop” Howe.

In Part 4, Gayle’s daughter Barbara Middleton Wiley reads a document written by her sister Debbie Middleton Whitehead, written after Debbie interviewed her parents in 2001. The narrative includes lots of history on AJ “Pop” Howe, Debbie and Barbara’s grandfather. Pop Howe was a well-known local character who moved to Hot Springs in 1922 for treatment of his tuberculosis. After recovering, he sold Model Ts and Model As from the Ford garage, and later was responsible for building many of the structures that still exist along Broadway in modern-day Truth or Consequences.

Maxine moved from her home near Bucklin, Kansas to Hot Springs New Mexico in 1947. As owner of the Broadway Courts Motel, she doubled as a fishing guide and led many a tour. Later she and and her husband, Billy Cecil, owned and ran The Tackle Box, a bait shop and fishing business downtown. Maxine still fishes every day that weather allows.

Scotty Scott talks about owning businesses in Hot Springs / Truth or Consequences, winning 1st Prize in the popular Jeep Races that were part of Fiesta in the 1960s and ’70s, and his involvement in local civic organizations including the Fire Department, as Chief, and the School Board.

Annette Smith’s family moved to Hot Springs in 1917 when she was 3 years old. She recalls going to school in a tar paper shack and traveling between Sierra County’s towns before there were roads.

This video was recorded in the summer of 2011. Annette Smith passed away on January 2, 2012.