Tucumcari Tuesdays pitches in to beautify city

When Donna Garcia of the New Mexico Children, Youth & Families office in Tucumcari received word from the governor she wanted Garcia's office to participate in a statewide beautification program, she called a local organization that essentially are experts on such efforts.

Garcia, a social worker at CYFD, contacted Tucumcari Tuesdays, a volunteer group that has conducted weekly cleanups in various parts of the city since May.

"There's power in numbers, and so we contacted Tucumcari Tuesdays," Garcia said of the cleanup.

"We told them we'd be grateful to help," said one of the group's leaders, Joann Thompson.

About 10 members of the group combined with eight CYFD employees to remove tall weeds and litter from Second and Aber streets the morning of Oct. 22.

"I thought it was pretty cool with the way it turned out," Garcia said. "It was a nice turnout."

A member of Tucumcari Tuesdays tagged Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in a Facebook post about the CYFD cleanup, and the governor responded with a heart icon, indicating she "loved" the post.

An email to a spokesman of Lujan Grisham requesting comment went unanswered.

Garcia said she definitely has noticed the local group's ongoing efforts.

"They're inspiring a lot of people to step up," she said.

Thompson said she was inspired by Jeff Siegler and his book, "Your City Is Sick," which advocates for grassroots efforts to revitalize cities.

"Pull weeds and pick up trash, and things will start to happen," Thompson summarized Siegler's approach.

Thompson said she and others decided to form Tucumcari Tuesdays after an Odeon Theater matinee with Toni Wilson and Connie Loveland where they saw tall weeds in the planters along Second Street and in a nearby parking lot.

"I got tired of hearing, 'This city should do this ...'" Thompson recalled. "F--- it, we are the city. If we can help them, we should. Let's get on this.

"Everyone was tired of the complaining. It's too many years of people being beat down about Tucumcari. We're taking positivity into a movement."

As the Tucumcari Tuesdays group fanned out over the weeks, members began to receive free food or breakfasts from various restaurants during their cleanup days.

The cleanups also sparked more cheer from residents, Thompson said.

"If you feel good, it begats good feelings," she said. "I think Tucumcari is on the precipice of falling into good stuff. It's possible Tucumcari will become great in a whole new way."

Thompson said the irony is Tucumcari Tuesdays has become so successful, it's becoming more difficult to find unkempt areas.

She said the scope of Tucumcari Tuesdays should expand to local businesses offering promotions to locals and tourists that day.

The CYFD office and Tucumcari Tuesdays weren't the only groups conducting cleanups in the city.

On Friday, four city commissioners and several city employees cleaned up the areas around the South First Street and Mountain Road ramps of Interstate 40.

They collected about 700 pounds of trash.