In fact, it predates my family moving to Roswell in the early 1900’s. In my store, down the hallway, we have an article from the RDR dated 1917 that announced the marriage of my great-grandfather to my great-grandmother.
As I think about it now, it seems pretty wild that my great-grandparents were the first of our family to be featured in the paper and now, over 100 years later, I’m in the same publication.
I hope you go check out the article, but I wanted to make a comment here regarding Episode 2 of the podcast.
In the episode, John mentions to me that if I wasn’t a Bullock, I wouldn’t be there. I don’t want you to get any ideas that I’m some sort of special celebrity in this town. I’m just another business owner trying to make a living in this town. But I do recognize that for over 100 years, the Bullock name has been in the paper and in front of people’s eyes./
I kick off the episode with Bob Entrop, a fellow connector in Roswell. Bob runs one of the large radio stations in town. If you drive through town and land on a station in your car, you’ll likely be listening to one of his stations and you’ll likely hear his voice welcoming you. In the episode I say that in Roswell, it’s not what you know but who you know. And Bob and I know a LOT of people.
But we aren’t the only connectors. There are tons of them that come to mind, even as I write this – Bud, Juan, Jacob, Molly, Kathy… These names are just some that I think about immediately. If you need something or someone, one of these people could probably connect you.
Now how do you find one of these connectors? Well… not easily.
That’s the tricky thing about Roswell – we are a small, closed off town. We welcome tourists and are friendly to outsiders, but trying to become embedded in the community is hard to do. I wish it were easier for people, and I’m an advocate for opening up the town to new residents more easily. For now, finding a connector is essential to becoming an established member of the community.
When you find a connector of Roswell, you will know it. They are the ones who know what’s happening in town before you see it in the RDR. They know what person is organizing what events, they know that person’s family, they know that person’s history, and they can tell you all about it if you ask. These connectors are valuable to our community and, truth be told, they are where the decisions, the information, and the story of Roswell gets passed through.
All that to say, in the episode when John said “if I wasn’t a Bullock I wouldn’t be there,” I believe it’s because he knows my family is a connector family. We transmit information through Roswell and tell the story of Roswell.
There’s a lot you could look up on the internet about Roswell and there are many places you could go to do UFO research. But the real information will come from a Roswell connector. They will be the ones with the best, most juicy bits of info you’ve never heard.
So if you want to learn something about this mysterious town that you haven’t heard before, find yourself a connector… if you can track one down. You might just hear the story before it makes it to the RDR!
