The enduring myth of Billy the Kid

Category: Local News Releases Local News Releases
Published: 14 August 2018 14 August 2018

billy the kid rsBilly the KidJim Smith is the scheduled speaker for the next Westerners' meeting. It will be held on Tuesday, August 21, 2018 at 6:30 p.m. at the Silver City Cross Point Church Fellowship Hall, located at 11600 Highway 180 East. We cordially invite you to join us for this presentation, which will be both informative and entertaining.

Jim Smith is a retired high school teacher and educational consultant who has made presentations on teaching history and writing to teachers throughout the United States as well as in Europe and Asia. In 2014, he taught an online course for Rice University titled "The Art of Teaching History" that reached over 6700 teachers in 148 nations. Jim now spends his time writing and teaching community education classes on U.S. history and music history.

Jim has published articles and book reviews for such journals as Phi Delta Kappan, Historical Times, AP Central, Healthy U, and The Journal of Southern History. His novel about Billy the Kid titled Catherine's Son was named as a Finalist for the New Mexico-Arizona Book Awards in the category of historical fiction, and his textbook for U.S. history students titled Ideas That Shape a Nation has been endorsed by two Pulitzer Prize-winning historians. Jim has also published a biography of a long-time Methodist minister in New Mexico titled Skipper Hall. His most recent book is titled Flash Back: A Baby Boomer's Guide to Talking about Something Other than Declining Health and How the World is Going to Hell.
 
Jim has been a recipient of the James Madison Fellowship, the Christa McAuliffe Fellowship, and is a two-time recipient of the William Robertson Coe Fellowship. The Gilder-Lehrman Institute of American History has recognized Jim as the U.S. History Teacher of the Year. He has also been recognized as the New Mexico Teacher of the Year and a Finalist for the National Teachers Hall of Fame.

Westerners is an international group dedicated to sharing and preserving the history of the American West. "Westerners was founded in 1944 and has over 60 corrals (or chapters) in the US, and 20 corrals abroad, with over 4,000 members around the globe. Corrals generally meet for camaraderie and interesting programs on all aspects of Western history. Anyone who loves the lore and history of the American West can join. Members range from local history buffs and readers and viewers of Western movies, to professional historians, educators, writers, and artists of all kinds." Our local chapter meets on the third Tuesday of every other month throughout the year, except for December, when the meeting is held on the second Tuesday. Dinner is served at the meeting, and the cost is $12.00 per person for members and $15 for non-members. The public is invited to attend the meeting, and everyone planning on attending should make reservations with Mary Margaret Soule at 538-2888 on or before Sunday, August 19.

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