Friendship Force New Mexico

Outbound Journey to Medicine Hat, Canada

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We have a planned outbound exchange to Medicine Hat, Canada, to visit the club that we entertained in Albuquerque in 2023. The biggest event in Medicine Hat is its Stampede which includes its famous Chuckwagon Races. Many clubs want to schedule their exchanges for this time, including my former club, Dallas; but we have locked it in. The races will be held from June 20 to 23, so we are planning our exchange for June 18 and through June 25, 2024.

We will need to begin to get a handle on how many ambassadors we will send so their club can arrange hosting. Just like the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta, this is a popular time of year for tourists to Medicine Hat, so early planning is wise.

Some of the other places Medicine Hat likes to take its visitors to are:

1)  the Medalta Pottery Museum. Medicine Hat was once a major centre for producing clay products which were sold all over Canada including restaurants and the Canadian Pacific Railway. Even the emperor of Ethiopia ordered a full set of dinnerware from Medalta.

2) the IXL Brick Plant Museum. The IXL Brick Plant was recently shut down because of the damage caused by a recent flood. The plant has been left in the state it was on the day of the flood. That is a very interesting tour. The bricks used in buildings in Medicine Hat have all been manufactured here.

3)  the James Marshall brick murals depicting the Stations of the Cross. James Marshall is a renowned artist whose claim to fame are the brick murals he has designed and constructed in Medicine Hat and his pen and ink drawings of places all over Alberta. He also has some brick murals located in the United States.

4) Prairie Gleaners. Here visitors have the opportunity to have a hands-on experience preparing vegetables which are dehydrated and sent out to places world wide. Medicine Hat also has a thriving greenhouse industry and is a major distribution centre for vegetables shipped throughout western Canada.

As for getting here, one option is to drive . The other option is to fly. It is possible to fly from Calgary to Medicine Hat on Westjet. The cost of a return flight is currently listed at $240.58 CAD . It is a one hour flight. The other option is to fly to Calgary and take a 4 hour long trip by  shuttle from the airport. The cost is $85 each way and the shuttle leaves in the early afternoon which does create a time problem. It is possible to book a shuttle privately but that would require enough interest to split the cost.

FFNM members should notify the JC as soon as possible to indicate their interest in participating in the trip.

January Business Meeting

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Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!!
Friends, our guest speaker comes highly recommended by our FF member, Lenore Pardee.
Friendship Force will have Dr. Ned O’Malia as the first guest speaker for 2024!  We will learn about the spirituality of northern New Mexico
                          

Northern New Mexico is home to many religious traditions, some modern, some much older and all living in the same geographical area. There are the traditional religions of this area, Roman Catholic, various Protestant denominations, Curanadaras and Hermano Penitenteses.  In the early 1960s came new forms of religion into this area.

A Hindu temple in Taos, the Sikhs of Espanola, Zen Buddhists temples, several Tibetan Stupas along the Rio Grande, Christ in the Desert Monastery, A Muslim village in Abiquiu and numerous Spiritual communes following different religious leaders. This is a rich spiritual area Dr. O’Malia will talk about and perhaps even explain.

Dr. O’Malia received his PhD from Temple University. He has instructed at several colleges for over 50 years. The longest of these at the Honors College of the University of New Mexico. His area of instruction is Asian Religions.
He designed a seminar on the Spirituality of northern New Mexico which involved classroom instruction followed by a two week resident in the north visiting and living at these spiritual areas. He instructed this seminar over 25 times. Dr. O’Malia spends considerable time in northern New Mexico. Using a PowerPoint presentation, Dr. O’Malia will discuss many of these communities.
Please make your reservations no later than Thursday,  Jan 4, 2024, by calling or texting Berta Wagstaff at 505-710-4448 or emailing her at vets4vets@aol.com.
A late lunch will follow after the presentation.
PLACE:          International District Public Library
ADDRESS:     7601 Central Ave. NE
DATE:             Saturday, Jan 6, 2024
TIME:               11:30 am  
 Restaurant:  To be determined; any suggestions please let me hear from you!

Outbound Journey to North Carolina

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The Magnolia Hotel was once one of the few places blacks could stay during discriminatory times in Greensboro; listed in the “Green Book” of hotels

With the Charlotte Club at a welcome party
North Carolina has its own wines

Famous blacks who fought for integration
The famous Woolworth’s where black students integrated the coffee counter is now part of a Civil Rights Museum
The sprawling RJ Reynolds estate was amazing

 

A small contingent of the Albuquerque Friendship Force club members traveled to North Carolina in June. The Journey included our ambassadors being hosted by members of the Friendship Force of Charlotte for one week, followed by a second week hosted by members of the Friendship Force of Central North Carolina. Both clubs extended warm southern hospitality and le long lasting friendships were quickly established. Both of the hosting clubs planned many wonderful places to visit and everyone enjoyed learning the history of the area. Some of the highlights of the trip include visits to a local winery, first documented gold mine in the U.S., a tour of the R.J. Reynolds lovely estate, seeing the Woolworth’s where the challenge of “White Only” was met and successfully fought and a tour of the old Salem Historical District.  Here are a few pictures for your enjoyment: