Red Hatters Day Trip To White Oaks, New Mexico Ghost Town

Saturday, August 26, 2017

Eleven members of the New Mexico Roadrunner Chapter of the Red Hat Society in Alamogordo, New Mexico took a day trip to White Oaks, New Mexico and their famous "No Scum Allowed Saloon". We had a fabulous time exploring the Saloon and dining on meatball sandwiches, fresh fruit and veggies, and potato salad. For dessert, they provided shots of Bailey's Irish Creme mixed with something else. Anyway, whatever the something else was, it was delicious!

As you will see by the pictures that ensue, the "No Scum Allowed Saloon" is quite a colorful place. It is owned by a Texas couple, Marlon and Teresa Coffman, who are quite hospitable and very much enjoyed having us visit. The Saloon is a favored biker bar and before long about 30 or so bikes parked out front. What a lovely bunch of guys they were and we had fun interacting with them as well.

We also visited the old school house museum where we were shown around by Karen Mills who is the Historical Records Clerk of Lincoln County and she lives in Carrizozo, New Mexico. She had many stories to relate to the items on view as well as about people who actually attended the school house when it was in operation as such.

Later, some of us drove the 3-1/4 miles down a gravel road to visit with Ivy Heymann, Potter, and proprietress of the White Oaks Pottery. She does beautiful Porcelain Designs and she was delighted to see us. Several of us bought pieces of her work.

On our return trip to Alamogordo, we ran into a monsoon downpour which didn't last too long, but it was scary driving. When we got to the KMart parking lot, not a drop of rain had fallen there. This is the way it works in New Mexico. Some days it rains in one side of town and not the other. At any rate, we all made it home safely and had a ton of FUN!

The lovely Phyllis, bartender and chief cook at the No Scum Allowed Saloon. Isn't she a cutie pie?

A few years back, the town of Carrizozo had an artists competition where each one created a burro or donkey. They then sold them to various merchants to display and this is the one at the No Scum Allowed Saloon.

This is the inside dance floor

L to R: Lu Mattson (standing), Bobbie Tanner and Margie Purcella

This is the outdoor bandstand

Here am I (Carla) doing my Vanna bit while owner Marlon shoots the photo

When pigs fly! Marlon says the boots used to be pink, but the New Mexico sun has bleached them white

Just a little reminder that Halloween is not far off!

The lovely Gail Swineford petting the donkey

L to R: Carla, Gail, Margie and Darla Shelley

Here we all are gathered around the fire pit. L to R: Dorothy Edwards, Darla, Carla, Lu, VQ Donna Williams, Gail, Jan Jennings, Alice Johnston-Evans, Margie, Trudy Reese and Bobbie. Great view of the mountains from here.

This just one section of the bikes parked along the road

I got so into shopping that I forgot to take pictures at the pottery, but here are the two items I purchased.

We have been to the No Scum Allowed Saloon a couple of times, but it is always so much FUN to go back and let new chapter members experience the history of White Oaks. There is also another museum and a historical cemetery which we didn't have time to see. We will visit these next time we go. While we were dining in the Saloon Alice brought up the fact that a young man who makes excellent pizza had moved from the back of the little store in High Rolls, New Mexico (up the mountain from Alamogordo) to our White Sands Mall (in process of being completely renovated) and we decided that we should visit him the very next Saturday for lunch. More on this in a later article. I am late publishing this because I was waiting on a photo of us taken in front of the Saloon. If and when I get it, I will add it in.

This is all I have to say for now.