I recently attended an event that brought back memories of the La Plata County I moved to in 2000. This was the memorial service for Jim and Terry Fitzgerald held in the Exhibit Hall at the La Plata County Fairgrounds. I did not try to get a count of the people there, partly because I am better at counting livestock than people, but I’m thinking 400 or so. The people there were what I consider “old Durango.” I don't mean that all the people there were on the older side, though a lot of us were, but older in the sense that they represented what I believe the Durango community once was.
There were ranchers, farmers, environmentalists, professors, politicians, businesspeople and families. There were people of Hispanic, Native and Anglo ancestry. There were conservatives, liberals and everything in between. All were there to celebrate the life and mourn the passing of two people who were the embodiment of community building, sharing, compassion and educating. We all shared the joy and laughter, the sadness and tears that such a gathering brings. We listened to the eulogies, poems and sang songs, some in English and some in Spanish. It was a celebration not only of two wonderful people but also of this special area we call home.
It would be a complete denial of reality to say that there was no conflict about anything here in the late 20th/early 21st centuries. Methane gas fracking is one example of an issue that possibly caused the largest divide. Environmentalists and many property owners saw this as an environmental disaster, and there is plenty of evidence to back that up. There were dead zones around the wells, water used in the process that could never be reclaimed, people's wells running dry and tap water you could light on fire.
Others saw it as an economic boon for the public and for landowners. Again, there was evidence that this was true, as well. Tax collections boomed. Leasing mineral rights and development access allowed landowners to keep their taxes paid and their operations afloat during bad years. Arguments often became heated. Our elections flipped back and forth between parties. But we got through it, though issues still exist. We remained a community.
Racism has always been an issue, at least to some degree, among some people, but there was a pretty much live-and-let-live attitude. Immigrants were accepted like everyone else, based on their character and the jobs they could do. A landowner having trouble figuring out his ditch irrigation would be told to see Luis, who they swore could make water run uphill. Luis had been here illegally for 25 years – nobody cared. He did his job, took care of his family and helped his neighbors. We had painters, carpenters, cooks, ranch hands and business owners all in that same position.
But we seem to have lost the sense of community that united us. Language has coarsened. Anger has grown. People justify atrocities, cheer a death or look the other way.
Today’s memorial offered relief from a truly bad news week. It was a spark of light needed when it seemed all was heading into darkness. So, Jim and Terry, among the thousands of things you accomplished in your lives and the countless people you touched, we can add one more thing. Today showed that community does still exist among us. Working together, we can accomplish anything. A community united cannot be defeated. Un pueblo unido jamás será vencido. Vaya con Dios.
Scott Perez is a former working cowboy, guide and occasional actor. He earned a master’s degree in natural resource management from Cornell University and lives in the Animas River Valley.
