Truth or Consequences, NM

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As I was writing this post, I learned that the game show “Truth or Consequences” began every week with the words, “Hello There, We’ve Been Waiting for You!” Now this sign at the T or C tourism and information center seems a little less creepy.

Truth or Consequences is a small town with a population of 6,246 (as of 2013, according to https://www.google.com/search?q=population+truth+or+consequences&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8.) T or C (as locals commonly call it) is located in southern New Mexico off of Interstate 25 between Socorro to the north and Las Cruces to the south. The town lies within the Chihuahuan Desert and is the county seat for Sierra County.

According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truth_or_Consequences,_New_Mexico, major settlement in T or C did not begin until the early 1900s

with the the construction of Elephant Butte Dam and Reservoir in 1912. (Elephant Butte Dam was a part of the Rio Grande Project, an early large-scale irrigation effort authorized under the Reclamation Act of 1902.) The town was originally incorporated as Hot Springs. It became the Sierra County seat in 1937.

(According to http://www.sierracountynewmexico.info/about/, Sierra County was founded in 1884 and has a population of 12,000.)

So how did the town end up with such an unusual name? According to http://www.sierracountynewmexico.info/blog/a-town-named-after-a-game-show/,  it all started with Ralph Edwards’ popular game show, “Truth or Consequences.”

The show aired on the radio from 1940-57, and on television beginning in 1950.

In 1949, as the radio show’s 10th anniversary approached, Edwards asked co-workers for ideas on how to mark the occasion.

“Why not find a town or city somewhere in America that would be willing to change its name to ‘Truth or Consequences,’ and do the anniversary broadcast from that city?” said a staffer.

Edwards liked the idea. The word went out. A number of cities responded. But one stood out from the rest: Hot Springs, New Mexico.

The show’s producer visited Hot Springs to work out the details with the mayor, the Chamber of Commerce, and other local big-wigs. A special election was held on March 31, 1950, and the name changed passed, 1294 to 295.

Edwards promised to come back the following year, and did – but further cemented his relationship with the town by returning every year for the annual Fiesta celebration, bringing Hollywood stars along for the event.

Though Ralph Edwards died in November of 2005, his spirit lives on as T or C celebrates “Ralph Edwards Day” every April 1st, and continues to hold its annual Fiesta the first weekend in May. The city’s largest park and its auditorium are also named for Mr. Edwards. IMG_3937

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This is the logo for the Healing Waters Trail in Truth or Consequences.

Truth or Consequences is a hot springs town (hence the original name). According to http://www.sierracountynewmexico.info/attractions/truth-or-consequences-hot-springs/, “since before recorded history, the therapeutic benefits of the hot springs in this area have drawn people” to what is now Truth or Consequences. (To read about my experiences with the healing hot water at the bathhouses in T or C, go here: http://www.rubbertrampartist.com/2016/02/06/truth-or-consequences-hot-springs-my-experiences/ and here: http://www.rubbertrampartist.com/2016/02/08/truth-or-consequences-hot-springs-my-experiences-part-2/.)

In addition to hot springs, T or C is also an art town. According to http://www.sierracountynewmexico.info/attractions/art-in-truth-or-consequences-hillsboro-and-more/, all of

Sierra County is home to an extraordinary and eccentric group of artists. Traditional arts and crafts flourish alongside cutting-edge contemporary art, creating a lively creative environment.

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This is one of Delmas Howe’s flower murals adorning the Civic Center in T or C.

Works by local painter Delmas Howe are on view [in T or C] at the Geronimo Springs Museum, as well as at Rio Bravo Fine Art Gallery, the largest venue in the county, which was founded by contemporary artist Harold Joe Waldrum (1934-2003). Howe’s colorful flower murals also adorn the exterior of the Truth or Consequences Civic Center.

Local art is the primary focus of  Truth or Consequences‘ Second Saturday Art Hop, held monthly in the [town’s] downtown…

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This photo shows one of T or C’s outdoor murals.

Truth or Consequences is also home to a growing number of outdoor murals; you’ll find them painted on bath houses, shops, homes, and even vacant buildings located in increasingly colorful alleyways.

(To see more of my photos of the art in T or C, go here: http://www.rubbertrampartist.com/2016/02/10/art-in-truth-or-consequences/, here: http://www.rubbertrampartist.com/2016/02/12/more-art-in-truth-or-consequences/, and here: http://www.rubbertrampartist.com/2016/02/07/artwork-from-la-paloma/.)

Truth or Consequences is one of my favorite places, and I think, well worth exploring. If you are wondering where to stay during your T or C adventure, check out this post: http://www.rubbertrampartist.com/2016/02/13/where-to-stay-in-t-or-c/.

I took all of the photos in this post.

About Blaize Sun

My name is Blaize Sun. Maybe that's the name my family gave me; maybe it's not. In any case, that's the name I'm using here and now. I've been a rubber tramp for nearly a decade.I like to see places I've never seen before, and I like to visit the places I love again and again. For most of my years on the road, my primary residence was my van. For almost half of the time I was a van dweller, I was going it alone. Now I have a little travel trailer parked in a small RV park in a small desert town. I also have a minivan to travel in. When it gets too hot for me in my desert, I get in my minivan and move up in elevation to find cooler temperatures or I house sit in town in a place with air conditioning I was a work camper in a remote National Forest recreation area on a mountain for four seasons. I was a camp host and parking lot attendant for two seasons and wrote a book about my experiences called Confessions of a Work Camper: Tales from the Woods. During the last two seasons as a work camper on that mountain, I was a clerk in a campground store. I'm also a house and pet sitter, and I pick up odd jobs when I can. I'm primarily a writer, but I also create beautiful little collages; hand make hemp jewelry and warm, colorful winter hats; and use my creative and artistic skills to decorate my life and brighten the lives of others. My goal (for my writing and my life) is to be real. I don't like fake, and I don't want to share fake. I want to share my authentic thoughts and feelings. I want to give others space and permission to share their authentic selves. Sometimes I think the best way to support others is to leave them alone and allow them to be. I am more than just a rubber tramp artist. I'm fat. I'm funny. I'm flawed. I try to be kind. I'm often grouchy. I am awed by the stars in the dark desert night. I hope my writing moves people. If my writing makes someone laugh or cry or feel angry or happy or troubled or comforted, I have done my job. If my writing makes someone think and question and try a little harder, I've done my job. If my writing opens a door for someone, changes a life, I have done my job well. I hope you enjoy my blog posts, my word and pictures, the work I've done to express myself in a way others will understand. I hope you appreciate the time and energy I put into each post. I hope you will click the like button each time you like what you have read. I hope you will share posts with the people in your life. I hope you'll leave a comment and share your authentic self with me and this blog's other readers. Thank you for reading.  A writer without readers is very sad indeed.

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