My first knowledge that a place called ROY existed in New Mexico came from my
high school band director, Duke Stephenson, in 1963 or '64. He had taught there
before coming to my home town of JAL, and he always spoke very fondly of the
town and of the people who lived there.

My first connection with ROY came in 1964, my senior year, in Albuquerque at the
All-State Band Festival, where Duke introduced me to a fellow all-stater and former
student of his from Roy......Rose Martinez.

The first time I actually saw ROY was on a trip to Denver circa 1966 with my brother and his family. We didn't even stop, but I was taking in all the sights I could as we zipped by, wondering what it was that Duke saw in this little 'spot-in-the-road'.
Jal was small, but this was something I couldn't comprehend.

In December of 1968 I received a call from Duke. I was in my senior year at ENMU and he was now the school superintendent in Mosquero. It seemed that after Xmas, Roy would be needing a band director. I jumped at the chance, arranging to finish my degree the following summer; so it was off to Roy for a job interview.

I arrived in Roy in my favorite car of all time....my '59 Chevy Impala, copper-colored and with a creme top. The 'gull-wing' rear end was classic. The school was easy to find. Actually, given five minutes of driving time, anything in Roy was easy to find.
I arrived at the superintendent's office and was greeted by Mrs. Randell, the school secretary, who introduced me to Mr. Riddle, the superintendent.

I don't really remember anything about the interview except that at some point a very pleasant, outgoing man entered and instantly made me feel very wanted and very much at home. He was the high school principal, Gilbert Gonzales. We had a nice long visit while he took me on a tour of the facilities. The school was very old and many parts of it were in dire need of repair. This was definitely not the 'oil money' Jal, N.M. school that I had grown up in. For the first time, I began to realize how 'spoiled' I had been and how I had taken my educational opportunities for granted.

The 'band hall' was a room on the back side of the gymnasium, which from it's curved roof I deduced must have originally been an airplane hanger during the war.
As we stepped inside I was absolutely astounded! The place bore no resemblance to the rest of the school, and had obviously been remodeled with a great deal of forethought and planning. It was a small room, but quite adequate, and consisted of built-in carpeted risers, acoustical ceiling, bright diffuse lighting, and acoustical sound reflecting panels on the wall which were covered with the same carpet as the floor. It was simply gorgeous!

At that moment I knew that I would take the job if it were offered to me...and it was.

The next order of business was to find me a place to stay. Housing in Roy was not an easy matter at the time. However, to make a long story short, Gilbert called a friend of his and asked if she would be willing to take in a border for the rest of the school year.
She said 'Yes' ! The next step was a drive with Gilbert back toward Mosquero eight miles to the ranch home of Mrs. Elizabeth Herron. Her generosity in renting part of her home to a complete stranger was only the tip of the iceberg, so to speak. This woman's generosity knew no bounds and I would come to know a very warm and loving relationship with her and her family.

So, everything settled, I went back to Mosquero to visit with Duke before returning to Portales. My '59 Chevy (which I loved) however, was causing me some problems, and had been for months. It had been in and out of the repair shop in vain. Duke wanted to take a look at it, so I naturally consented. It seems that all the repairmen had overlooked the obvious proplem of a badly clogged fuel filter. With the problem finally fixed, I started on my way back to school at ENMU with an automobile that was now running like a top.

I smiled as I descended 'David Hill' east of Mosquero, for earlier that morning it had taken me three tries (the third one with a one mile 'running start') to make it to the top
of that incredibly steep climb. I would quickly get back to Portales, wrap up things at the school, pack, and move to the Herron ranch outside Roy, all in just a few days.
At least that was the plan.

"The best laid plans of mice and men........"   That same evening on the way back to Portales, around midnight and about ten miles north of Clovis, a drunk driver careened out of a side road and slammed broadside into my '59 Chevy. No one was hurt, but both cars were totaled...and I was delayed in getting back to Roy by about a week. It just so happened that my landlady in Portales was selling her '68 Chevy II Nova (practically brand new) because she needed something with power steering. What luck! Now that I had a job, I felt I could afford to buy the car. The car pictured is similar to mine, but mine was a four door, had a white top, and was a lighter blue.


So, a week later I pulled into Elizabeth Herron's drive in my new blue and white Nova, (a rather strangely shaped car in my opinion) and settled into my new home. I'll come back to this later....had some wonderful experiences here with Mrs. Herron and her family. For now, all I want to say is that she raised Pomeranians....
those beautiful little dogs that everyone but their owners find perfectly obnoxious.

I was nervous my first day on the job. I introduced myself to the band, we talked a little bit, and then began our first rehearsal together. To my great satisfaction, I found the group to have quite a few talented and experienced musicians.....they just didn't know how to work together as an ensemble. At some point in the rehearsal a hand went up....a really cute little girl, Vickie YBarra, asked..."Mr. Phillips, what's your first name?"
Knowing that I'd better not get off on the wrong foot (I wasn't much older than some of these kids) I thought for a second, than glared at her and answered...."Mister"! A snicker went through the group and I felt very proud of my response.....but I've always regretted putting this sweet little girl in her place.

My relationship with these Roy students evolved into something very unique. I respected them....they respected me ( I think)....and we just didn't play the typical student-teacher games. We had fun. For instance, when I would ask Ann Pendleton to do something, she would usually glare at me in front of all the other students and say...."NO!"  After a few more 'NOs' she would eventually do whatever it was I had asked.....but not before sometimes making me say 'please'. If I told the clarinet section they were 'flat', Jeri Moore would give me an indignant look, thrust out her chest, and reply...."I beg your pardon, Mr. Phillips"!

I just can't imagine the proceedings in any other band hall being anything like what went on in our band hall at Roy. We were unconventional and we had fun. I would find out later in my career that I couldn't be so relaxed with larger groups without sacrificing discipline. I later had to be "the mean ol' band director", which I never enjoyed.

Since I began at Roy after Xmas break I obviously didn't get to work with the marching band that year. It was now concert season. Yearbook photos of the marching band show several band students who must have transferred or changed their schedules for the second semester, as they were not band members while I was there. It was obvious to me after the first week that we had a good saxophone section in Marlin (Boodie) Mackey, Tim Filkins, and Ann Pendleton. Later we would add Ann Main and Wally Self. I remember in calling roll the first day I asked for a "Marlene" Mackey, much to everyone's delight. That was the first and last time I made that mistake.

Anyway, we put together a sax trio for contest that spring; the three students worked hard and got a first division rating from the judge. I really don't remember if any other students entered the solo / ensemble compition. The concert band performed three numbers...I believe the march was the 'MinuteMen' but I'm not sure...I'll have to check that out. The other two numbers were the Gerald Tolmage arrangement of 'Chester' and Frank Erickson's 'Air for Band.'

All of this music was worked up in a short time, since we went to contest in Clayton in either March or April...again I'm not sure. What I am sure of, though, is the hard work and dedication the group showed. After our performance on the day of contest, the group boarded the bus to go eat lunch somewhere in Clayton. I had stayed behind in Wood Auditorium, and managed to find out early that we had gotten a 'first division' rating. I remember running outside into the middle of the street as the bus was pulling away......I simply held up one finger, the kids in the back of the bus saw me.....and the screaming and yelling drowned out the roar of the bus engine as it went on down the street. What a great moment!

The next fall brought several changes to the marching band. First, I asked for interested students to join as auxiliary marchers, even if they had never played an instrument. The object was to get more bodies on the field so that we could perform intricate drills during out half-time shows. It worked.....we had a 56 piece marching band that year.....about half with instruments, half without.

The next item on the agenda was to improve our looks. We found a lot of old, discarded uniforms in the school basement. It turned out they had been purchased 'used' from Kermit, Texas.....17 miles from my hometown of Jal......small world !
Some of our band mothers altered the maroon uniforms.....took off all the fancy braid, and reshaped the coats to form a blazer with a single button in the front. We wore these with white shoes and white turtle-necks.........and we looked REALLY SHARP.

  This page is 'Baby Boomer' friendly, with LARGE TYPE throughout.

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