Tree Rock donated and dedicated to WNMU 112015

Photos and article by Mary Alice Murphy

Western New Mexico University President Joseph Shepard opened the dedication by saying: "I asked J.C. (Robinson) if he would donate Tree Rock to the university."

"We want to keep our students outdoors," Shepard said, "and this will be a signature place that I hope the public also enjoys."

"I thank Joe for allowing us to donate this area to the university," Judge J.C. Robinson said. "Five generations of Robinsons have owned this propertyâ€”two before me and two after."

He and his grandson, Oscar, son of Kevin Robinson, removed the covering of the plaque that was set into the rock designating the area as a park.

J.C. Robinson told the Beat the property was part of the old Sherman mining claim. The portion where Tree Rock stands is about .97 of an acre that was separated from the rest of the claim when the highway was put in.

"The first time I heard about Tree Rock was from Bobbie Neal," Robinson said. "The vision I have is of kids coming here for picnics. How lucky we are to live in the Gila, with all these vistas. The university is about what you want to dream, and your aspirations and hopes. Dr. Fowler worked at Kennicott and went to what was then New Mexico College. His chemistry professor told him he needed to do something besides work at the mine. He did, he went to medical school, and just retired from being a doctor for 53 years."

Neal-Little said she used to come to Tree Rock, with Jack Schmitt, David Holt, Linda Little and Ellen Uhli. "We would come up with picnics. We explored the mine adits and tunnels, and we were very lucky never to run into rattlesnake nests. We came pretty often. Our parents didn't know we were exploring the mine shafts. We would drop a pebble and you couldn't hear it land."

Ken Puleston, a native of Silver City, who attended elementary, high school and college on the Western campus, said 1944 was the first year he came to Tree Rock. "I was playing high school football. We used to run and walk the trail to Tree Rock for training. The old high school's first building was on the east side of Ritch Hall.

"One member of our team was old enough to buy beer, and I had a cooler," Puleston said. "He would buy the beer, we would appropriate ice from the dorms, and we would take turns carrying the cooler up the hill."

Now the park belongs to the university and students and the public will have access to it for picnics, dreams, aspirations and hopes.