Launch Pad Lecture Slated for Friday, April 1
(Alamogordo, New Mexico, March 15, 2022) – At the turn of the 20th century, most of the arid land east of Las Cruces, New Mexico was ranch land. Cattle, sheep, and goat ranches filled the Tularosa Basin, the Oscuro Range, and the surrounding countryside. Most of these ranches were small privately owned pieces of land supplemented by large parcels of federal and state property which ranchers leased for grazing purposes. These self-sufficient ranchers had maintained their homes for up to fifty years, but events taking place halfway around the world would change their lives.
The New Mexico Museum of Space History is pleased to welcome Leah Tookey, Curator of History at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum, as the guest speaker for the Launch Pad Lecture on Friday, April 1. Home on the Range: From Ranches to Rockets tells the story of the ranchers who were forced off their land, and the military and defense industry that would turn it into a military complex.
The Launch Pad Lecture begins at 9:00 am on the museum’s first floor and is free to the public. Coffee and donuts are compliments of the International Space Hall of Fame Foundation. The next Launch Pad Lecture will be held on Friday, May 6, and the topic will be We Choose to Go to the Moon: Kennedy’s Speech and the Space Race with Museum of Space History Executive Director Chris Orwoll.
Launch Pad Lectures are recorded and available for viewing, typically within a few days, on the museum’s youtube page: https://tinyurl.com/NMspacemuseum.
About Leah Tookey:
Leah F. Tookey is the Curator of History at the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum in Las Cruces, New Mexico. She earned a master’s degree in Agricultural History and Rural Studies from Iowa State University. Her job at the museum involves research and writing for exhibits and maintaining the museum’s library and archives. Tookey curated Home on the Range: From Ranches to Rockets which will be exhibited thru the summer.
About the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum: www.nmfarmandranchmuseum.org
The New Mexico Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum is 47 acres packed with real stories about real people. The interactive museum, which has welcomed visitors from all over the world, brings to life the 4,000-year history of farming and ranching in New Mexico. The museum is part of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs and is located at 4100 Dripping Springs Road in Las Cruces, N.M.
About the New Mexico Museum of Space History: www.nmspacemuseum.org
The New Mexico Museum of Space History in Alamogordo is a division of the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs. A Smithsonian Affiliate, the museum showcases the significant role New Mexico has played in the development of the U.S. Space Program and features the International Space Hall of Fame, and New Horizons Dome Theater.