Sag-Ashus – The Great Goat-Milking Contest
As many of our readers may recall, Ole Sag has, for the last 40 years or so, enjoyed the privilege of working within the state and county court systems, both as a bailiff and a Spanish and English interpreter. From 1973 until 1980 we did this full-time under Judge Jerry Woodard, who presided over the 34th district court. In those days the 34th was the only criminal court for El Paso, Hudspeth and Culberson counties, and we traveled periodically to Sierra Blanca and Van Horn to hear both civil and criminal cases. We’ve shared stories from several cases in this column. For the last 20-odd years, our interpreting has been limited to whenever the 394th and 205th are in session in either Sierra Blanca or Van Horn, but we really enjoy the opportunity to keep in touch with the legal system, including judges, both old and new, and the many lawyer friends we have made over the years.
Recently, while we were waiting for the bailiff to call the court into session and usher in the presiding judge, we struck up a conversation with a young attorney whom we had not met before. His name – William “Wes” Navidomskis – didn’t ring a bell with us, but when he told us that his grandfather was Colbert Caldwell, we pricked up our ears and began sharing memories of the days when his grandfather was county judge in El Paso County. Judge Caldwell succeeded Woodrow Bean as El Paso County judge, and as some old timers may recall, Judge Bean left office under the cloud of an IRS investigation.
One detail related to us by “Wes” that we had never heard before was that, before he left office, Woodrow called Mr. Caldwell one evening and asked if he would be interested in running for county judge. Mr. Caldwell, who at that time was practicing law in El Paso, replied that he would give it some thought and let him know. Imagine his surprise the next morning when he got his newspaper – and there on the front page was the announcement that Colbert Caldwell, a prominent local attorney, was announcing his candidacy in the upcoming election for county judge.
Well sir, that didn’t surprise us one bit because we had known Woodrow for as long as we could remember – and that fit his style perfectly. By the way, if you have been watching the huge construction project at Loop 375 in East El Paso, you might be interested to know that that loop was conceived and put into the planning stage by Judge Woodrow Bean back in the 1960s. The road across the mountain through Smugglers Gap is named Woodrow Bean Trans Mountain Road.
Now let’s get back to Judge Caldwell. He did run for judge after he had read about it in the paper, and he won the election, and to the best of our knowledge his administration was a very good one.
By now you are probably wondering what all of this has to do with a goat-milking contest. We were happy to fill “Wes” in on a story that he had never heard before.
It turned out that at one time during the 60s Judge Caldwell was manning the bench in El Paso County at the same time that Judge Tom Neely was holding down the fort in the county courtroom in Hudspeth County. Now we’re going back to the days when the Basset Center Mall had just been completed on the spot that used to be a gravel pit owned by the El Paso Sand and Gravel Company. The new freeway had been opened through downtown, but there wasn’t very much development east of Basset Center. No Cielo Vista Mall, no Tinsel Town – just coyotes, rattlesnakes and mesquite bushes.
Now we’re getting down to the nitty-gritty of this story. The enterprising folks at the new mall were planning a big promotion, and, being good at the advertising game and knowing that the best way to get the community involved was to get the kids involved, they sponsored a 4-H fair. We are not privy to the details of how they convinced both judges to participate in a goat-milking contest. On second thought, it probably just looked like good PR. In any event, they both showed up on the appointed day, and sure enough, there were two nannies that appeared to be in great need of milking. Then with a great deal of fanfare and to the cheers of a crowd of onlookers they set about filling their respective pails with goat milk. To be fair, it wasn’t much of a contest at all. Judge Neely, having grown up on a farm and ranch, was expert in the art of milking, and our best guess is that Judge Caldwell had probably never touched an “animal” teat in his life. At any rate, Judge Neely won the contest “hands-down” and was awarded a four-legged milking stool with a brass plate on it that reads “1966 – GOAT MILKING CONTEST – THE WINNER – JUDGE TOM NEELY – BASSET CENTER 4-H FAIR.”
That milking stool is one of our treasured keepsakes, and we will pass it on to a grandson or granddaughter, along with this story, in the hope that it keeps alive the knowledge that grandparents, and judges as well for that matter, are not always stodgy old folks, but can have a sense of humor and can enjoy a little fun just like everybody else.
That’s about it for this week.
Here’s an uplifting thought:
“A sweet spirit can make the plainest face beautiful.”
SAG