Voices of the
BIG BEND
Jim Glendinning recreates some of his popular
public radio interviews ~ Photos by Jim Glendinning
BILL IVEY
B
ill Ivey, the younger son of Rex
Ivey Jr. and Kitty Carr, was born
in Alpine in 1955. He grew up in
Lajitas, where his dad owned the
Trading Post. The border area in
those days was unique and wide open,
neither United States nor Mexico.
While he later went to school and to
Sul Ross State University in Alpine
and later again established a home
there so his kids could go to Alpine
schools, his heart has always been in
Lajitas and Terlingua. Growing up in
Lajitas gave him, in his words, “a pro-
found sense of belonging on both sides
of the Rio Grande.” He spoke
Spanish and felt equally at ease in
Mexico as in the United States.
Ivey graduated from Texas A & M
University in 1979 with a B.A. in eco-
nomics, but this learning was nothing
compared to the hands-on experience
of running the Lajitas Trading Post
from 1980 to 1993. Lajitas Resort was
being expanded, and there was free
flow across the river. The candelilla
10
Cenizo
CELIA SMITH HILL
1928-2008
wax trade from Mexico was flourish-
ing, and Ivey was a major importer.
Tourism was developing as the
national park became better known
and events like the Chili Cook Off
started up.
The Trading Post was the center of
the universe which was South
Brewster County, and Ivey served as
banker, tradesman, doctor, preacher
and much more to clients from both
sides of the Rio Grande. There were
bad guys and good guys, locals and
tourists, celebrities and river guides –
anyone who needed anything headed
for the Lajitas Trading Post. This was
long before 9/11 and the subsequent
closing of the border.
In 1991, Ivey married Lisa Massey
of Campwood. In addition to his
adopted son, Martin Lujan Jr., he and
Lisa have three young sons: Zane,
Cody and Levi. The family lives in
Alpine where the boys go to school,
and Ivey tends his Alpine store, Ivey’s
Emporium.
Second Quarter 2009
At the same time, he wears another
hat as landlord of Terlingua Ghost
Town, which he bought in 1983, where
he also owns and operates the Terlingua
Trading Post. In this way, he keeps
involved in the life of South Brewster
County – whether it’s burying someone
in the Terlingua Cemetery or attending
local events like the Pea-Off.
M.R. GONZALEZ
Ivey is intensely gratified that the
new Terlingua has such energy and
life but would disclaim any responsi-
bility for its transition from ghost town
to creative, vibrant art and tourism
center. “It’s all in the karma,” he says.
B
orn in Alpine on May 25, 1928,
one of three daughters of
Winnie and Harris Smith, Celia’s ear-
liest memories were of ranch life. Her
father raised goats, first at Oak Creek
Ranch, where Big Bend National Park
now is, and later, until 1947, at Fresno
Canyon Ranch. While she went off to
high school in Alpine and later to Sul
Ross (B.A. in Accounting and
Agriculture, 1952), her father teamed
up with rancher Homer Wilson to
develop cinnabar at the Buena Suerte
Mine.
In those days Celia and her friends
would relax in Alpine with a meal at
the Green Café, then perhaps head for
the Granada Theater (entrance fee 10
or 15 cents) to watch a Western star-
ring Roy Rogers. Walking home after-
wards, life seemed “just wonderful” –
a positive spin on life which Celia kept
throughout her life, together with a
good sense of humor.
During the war years, while most of
the men were in the armed forces,
Celia and her teenage friends worked
two ranches in the Big Bend area,
VIVIAN GRUBB
rounding up goats and cattle, even
branding. She told a story of riding
122 miles in two and a half days from
Alpine to Terlingua, heading to Fresno
Canyon Ranch and stopping for ice
cream, paid for by garrison soldiers, in
Terlingua.
Celia loved teaching and for 39
years taught, wherever possible,
seventh and eighth grades, in schools
across West Texas and in New Mexico.
“Teaching was so much fun then,” she
said, since the students were open-
minded and had all sorts of questions.
There was never a dull moment. By the
time she ended her teaching career in
the Presidio Independent School
District, the satisfaction in teaching was
changing, largely due to state testing
requirements.
After her teaching career ended,
Celia became a store owner in
Ruidosa, where she was kept company
by her son, Rusty, the youngest of
three sons; she also had four daugh-
ters. Long since shrunk in size from