However, thinking positively, he plays
electric guitar at home, taught by an
out-of-town friend by means of video.
Shadix likes all sports but really loves
baseball. He is a good pitcher, but not
the best, he is careful to add. He always
has fun playing baseball, and has an
excellent coach (Rick McIvor). He also
praises Sara Pittman, his social studies
teacher. An optimist, he feels that the
worst of the school cuts are now over,
and that things will improve.
2014 is the first year Shadix, now in
Junior High, entered the Texas History
Fair. He named his project “Keeping
West Texas Skies Dark: It’s Our
Responsibility.” He had brought his
exhibit (which he had some help with)
to show me – a very professional four
foot high, three panel cardboard con-
struction. Through captions and pho-
tographs, the need for reducing light
pollution was spelled out – not just for
the star gazers and researchers, but for
reasons of economics, wastage and
lifestyle. Shadix prepared, by himself, a
small diorama which was activated by
vertical flashlights showing the differ-
ence between shielded and unshielded
light.
He went with the other Gifted and
Talented students in his group to the
Texas History Fair in Austin, and
enjoyed staying in the Embassy Inn.
None in the group advanced to the
National History Day level, but Shadix
collected a $75 prize. He’s going to wait
and see what next year’s topic is before
deciding whether to compete. Asked
about his future career, he said he had
no fixed plans but “would go with the
flow.”
TAYLOR LUTTRELL-WILLIAMS
The young man who greeted me
with a ready handshake in the lobby of
Big Bend High School in Terlingua
wore a bluegrass music t-shirt and red
hair knotted in a pony tail. I was there
to interview him as a winner in the
History Fair, one of three local students
who had been successful in the nation-
wide competition It was the first time
that I had interviewed this age group
for Voices of the Big Bend. We headed
for the principal’s office and sat undis-
turbed across from each other at a con-
ference table.
Taylor (“Tay” to family and friends)
was born in Bamberg, Germany on 31
March, 1999 where his father, Mark
Williams, was serving in the U.S. Army
as a sergeant. The family moved short-
ly after to Alexandria Bay, NY, where
Taylor attended lst grade. From second
through fifth grades Taylor, who has a
half-sister, a sister and a brother, all
older, attended Harmony Science
Academy in El Paso, where his father,
having left the army, was undergoing
training with the U.S. Border Patrol.
At Harmony Science Academy, a
charter school with a Turkish founder,
Taylor’s preferred subjects were
Geography, History and Spanish
Language. He liked studying and was
happy in a classroom, where some of
the teachers were Turkish. He devel-
oped new interests and a taste for
Mediterranean food. He filled the walls
of his room at home with maps.
With training completed, Mark
Williams was assigned to Big Bend
National Park in 201l. Taylor attended
San Vicente School (sixth through
eighth grade). Later, when his mother
Glenda Lutrell took a job as Activities
Coordinator at Lajitas Resort, he
switched to Terlingua School. Taylor
loved the Terlingua music scene and
learned to play fiddle, banjo and man-
dolin. He also learned hiking, rafting
on the Rio Grande and became
involved with the Terlingua Ghostown
communal garden.
His number one interest is music,
particularly blue grass music, melodies
from Appalachia of Scots/Irish origin
(later influenced by African music). He
has been playing since age eight. His
other interest, “really bizarre” in his
own words, is in dairy products, partic-
ularly cheese. He described with enthu-
siasm artisanal cheeses like the
American Touvelle, and the Italian
semi soft, fruity Taleggio. He learned
how to make cheese from Marathon’s
cheese-maker Sally Roberts and he
demonstrates his cheese-making skill at
Terlingua’s Farmer’s Market.
As a straight A student, Taylor took
to the History Fair naturally and has
competed for four years, advancing
from regional to state-wide but no fur-
ther. His topics have ranged from, “A
Cross Loss,” about our 2002 border
closing, to the schism in the Church in
1040, to this year’s subject: “Got
Milk?” about raw (i.e. untreated) milk.”
Asked about the future, Taylor said
he hopes to go to Reed College in
Oregon; asked about future History
Fairs, he said:” I will, I will get to
National.” I could have easily spent
another hour with Taylor Luttrell-
Williams, but he had to jump in a van
to go Lubbock for an academic compe-
tition.
Cenizo
Third Quarter 2014
17