Q. Greetings, Liz. Thanks so much for letting us visit with you today.
When did you move from Borodino?
A. I moved away on Christmas Morning 1993 arriving in Gallup, NM on
January 1st 1994.
Q. Why did you move?
A. I was born in Auburn and lived in Borodino all my
life. I loved growing up in a small farming community most of the time. Going to
Elementary School in Auburn and High School in Syracuse I sometimes wished that
I lived in the suburbs with neighbors on both sides of me, cable TV, a mall down
the road, and no farming
chores. Most of the time though I liked the open space and fun times on the
farm. I went to college at SUNY Fredonia and received a masters degree in
Audiology. My father's parents lived in New Mexico and as a child I enjoyed
going to visit them. New Mexico is full of open spaces and great big blue skies.
Growing up I always said I was going to live in New Mexico. Upon graduation from
college a job opened in Gallup New Mexico. I had a nine-month internship to
complete and thought I'll move to Gallup and complete the internship and then
come home and begin my life. It will be a good experience and as my father
always says "it will build character". The irony is that my father
moved from New Mexico for a one-year job to gather experience. Needless to say
he has been in New York for 44 years.
Q. What are you're doing now?
A. 
I work for the Gallup McKinley County School
District in
A. Gallup NM. The size of the school district is 5000 square miles. Since
coming to Gallup I completed my second masters degree at Northern Arizona
University in Speech Language Pathologist. Until this year I did both speech and
audiology for the school district but this year I have cut back to doing only
speech pathology. I work with special education student's ages 3-14. I hope to
work part time at the local hospital soon as the audiologist.
Q. What do you remember best about this area?
A. I remember the beauty of Skaneateles Lake, the rolling
hills, and the changing leaves. The best time I had in Borodino involved playing
on the farm. As a little girl my friends and I would swing on the ropes in the
barn, go horse back riding, play dress up and occasionally camping out usually
sneaking back into the house around midnight as it got cold, dark, and spooky.
The Dye family and I spent most summer afternoon and early evenings swimming in
the Grange pond. Many of my memories also center around the Borodino Methodist
Church. Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, and MYF kept me involved and
allowed me to see my friends that going to school in Syracuse did not. Other
things that come to mind at the mention of Borodino include Grange plays, 4-H,
pancake breakfasts and snow days.
Q. I was doing some research on Gallup, New Mexico and it's easy to see
why you live there. I remember driving
across the country when I was young on Route 66, and remember the startling
beauty of the area. Maybe this will work into a "Escape From Borodino
Vacation
Guide". We could arrange Bus Tours to Gallup, New Mexico from Borodino.
(Maybe we can hire your mother to drive the bus.) What do you see when you look out
your window?
A. I see Red Rock mesas and the Navajo Indian
reservation when I look out my back window. My home borders the reservation.
Gallup is a town of 20,000 people surrounded on all sides by the Navajo Indian
Reservation. Therefore we have limited space to grow and a large part of the
town is made up of mobile home parks. Other neighborhoods are made up of
traditional stucco homes. There are very few two-story
houses around. Traditional Navajos live in homes called hogans. These are
pentagonal shaped homes that typically have a fireplace in the center. There is
one home like this right over the fence in my back yard.
Q. What does "Main Street" in Gallup look like?
A. 
Gallup has changed a lot since I moved here. When I came it was titled
drunk town USA due to the very high percentage of alcoholism that is prevalent
amongst Native Americans. We were warned not to drive on the weekends because of
the drunk drivers and people passing out in the streets. Alcohol is prohibited
on the reservation so many would come to town on the weekends to drink. In the
almost eight years I have been here this has changed a lot. The city has made an
effort to clean up downtown. They have attempted to bring pride to the Native
Americans by allowing traditional craft work and displays. They have also
developed a drug and alcohol rehab center that allows for many traditional
healings as well as conventional. Our reputation has changed considerably and
downtown is not as sad as it once was. Unfortunately alcohol abuse is still
quite severe. Gallup is also famous for its balloon rally every December. Balloonists
from all over the world travel to Gallup to fly over and through the Red Rocks.
I have been lucky enough to fly in the balloons six times.
