Doug Kerr
Well-known member
From the 1930s, George McDonald and his family raised goats on a large tract of desert land rented from the US Government, about 60 miles northwest of our home in Alamogordo, just north of the Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range. The area had been known to the Spanish as La Jornada del Muerte (the dead man's journey).
The McDonalds lived in a modest adobe and fieldstone house, purchased from the prior leaseholder, Franz Schmidt, who built it in 1913, and enlarged by McDonald. (It was then a little larger than our current home in Alamogordo.)
In 1942 the government advised McDonald that the lease was terminated and he, his family and the goats would have to vacate. The land was needed for an expansion of the Bombing and Gunnery Range for use in training pilots for service in World War II. We assume that he was compensated for the house. The house remained vacant until 1945.
In late 1944, a team of government personnel arrived in the area to prepare for an important new project. They put up a lot of temporary buildings, but found that the former McDonald Ranch House, still intact, would be handy for one task they had on the agenda.
On July 13, 1945, in a makeshift not-very-clean room in what had been George and his wife's bedroom, the core of the world's first nuclear bomb, the Trinity "Gadget", was assembled. This mass of this grapefruit-sized sphere of plutonium would, three days later, be converted into as much energy as would have been released by the detonation of about 18,000 tons of TNT.
The house, only about two miles away, was not significantly damaged (mostly the windows were all blown out). A success for German/Scottish adaptation of traditional southwestern design!
The rest is history.
************
Today, George's grandson, Wayne McDonald, is the proprietor of a nice "family-style" restaurant on the western edge of Alamogordo (just off McDonald road actually). They serve wonderful barbecue (and in fact the best veggie burger available in this part of the world), but not cabrito, lest you later become worried.
And Wayne manages a nice herd of goats on a large posture adjacent to the restaurant, following a tradition carried on by his father, Clif McDonald.
Douglas A. Kerr: Goat patriarch and matriarch
In fact, a later shot (not posted here) shows that Billy is still interested in increasing the size of the herd. It is not clear that Nanny was wholly in agreement.
Here we see the self-appointed overseer at work:
Douglas A. Kerr: Oversight
Here's a future overseer, practicing his stance:
Douglas A. Kerr: Future overseer
Finally, we see the goat ranch kraftwerke (idling for the moment):
Douglas A. Kerr: One goat power - any time now
By the way, each of these images was dealt a glancing blow by the toy-of-the-week, Topaz Clarity. It looks as if it will be a really useful tool.
Best regards,
Doug
The McDonalds lived in a modest adobe and fieldstone house, purchased from the prior leaseholder, Franz Schmidt, who built it in 1913, and enlarged by McDonald. (It was then a little larger than our current home in Alamogordo.)
In 1942 the government advised McDonald that the lease was terminated and he, his family and the goats would have to vacate. The land was needed for an expansion of the Bombing and Gunnery Range for use in training pilots for service in World War II. We assume that he was compensated for the house. The house remained vacant until 1945.
In late 1944, a team of government personnel arrived in the area to prepare for an important new project. They put up a lot of temporary buildings, but found that the former McDonald Ranch House, still intact, would be handy for one task they had on the agenda.
On July 13, 1945, in a makeshift not-very-clean room in what had been George and his wife's bedroom, the core of the world's first nuclear bomb, the Trinity "Gadget", was assembled. This mass of this grapefruit-sized sphere of plutonium would, three days later, be converted into as much energy as would have been released by the detonation of about 18,000 tons of TNT.
The house, only about two miles away, was not significantly damaged (mostly the windows were all blown out). A success for German/Scottish adaptation of traditional southwestern design!
The rest is history.
************
Today, George's grandson, Wayne McDonald, is the proprietor of a nice "family-style" restaurant on the western edge of Alamogordo (just off McDonald road actually). They serve wonderful barbecue (and in fact the best veggie burger available in this part of the world), but not cabrito, lest you later become worried.
And Wayne manages a nice herd of goats on a large posture adjacent to the restaurant, following a tradition carried on by his father, Clif McDonald.
At a recent meeting where Clif was to speak, he was introduced by his wife, Barbara. She said, "When I met Clif he was a goat herder." A Scottish heckler in the crowd called out, "He still is, Barbara."
Here we see the current patriarch and matriarch of the goat herd (not to be confused with a goatherd - that's what Wayne is).Douglas A. Kerr: Goat patriarch and matriarch
In fact, a later shot (not posted here) shows that Billy is still interested in increasing the size of the herd. It is not clear that Nanny was wholly in agreement.
Here we see the self-appointed overseer at work:
Douglas A. Kerr: Oversight
Here's a future overseer, practicing his stance:
Douglas A. Kerr: Future overseer
Finally, we see the goat ranch kraftwerke (idling for the moment):
Douglas A. Kerr: One goat power - any time now
By the way, each of these images was dealt a glancing blow by the toy-of-the-week, Topaz Clarity. It looks as if it will be a really useful tool.
Best regards,
Doug