Our people: Penchant for small-town life

Meadow Forget (for-ZHAY) has served as the mayor of Melrose since June.

That hasn't stopped her from a full schedule of activities, including part-time work at the Melrose Bombing Range on contract with the U.S. Air Force and ministry as the youth director for the Melrose First Baptist Church.

She is not a Melrose native, but she has shown a penchant for small-town living for decades.

She also found time over the years to raise five sons to adulthood.

Forget sat still for a few minutes on Wednesday to answer some questions in an interview with The News.

Here are our questions and her responses.

Q. You became Melrose' mayor in June. What else have you done in village government?

A. I was on the Village Council and served a term as mayor pro tem.

Q. What do you do at the bombing range?

A. I work at the gate, part-time under contract. I'm a civilian employee of the Situational Force at the base. They do a lot there, including live-fire training for troops and drone training.

Q. What do you like about working with the village government?

A. I love the people. They are amazing people. I want to give something back and contribute to the sense of community and community pride.

Q. How long have you lived in Melrose?

A. We've lived here for seven years. I grew up in Wyoming. We lived in Washington state. We were in central Washington, so it was not the rainy part. It was plains but we had a lake in the middle of town. We moved from there to New Mexico while my husband was in the Air Force. We lived in Clovis for four years, but I really wanted to live in a smaller community, so we came here, to Melrose.

Q. What do you like about smaller communities?

A. A little town has a different feel to it. People are more connected and they care about each other.

Q. Besides the council, what else are you involved with in the community?

A. I am in the Cannon Spouse's Club, I'm on the board for the Curry County Cooperative Extension, and I'm the youth director at the First Baptist Church of Melrose. My mom always said if you want to get something done, give it to a busy person. People tell me I'm the busiest person they know without a job. I was supposed to be a stay-at-home mom, but I never stayed at home.

Q. Your husband works on the base. What does he do?

A. My husband James Forget is a trainer with Combat Training Element. He was a combat controller for them for 15 years in the Air Force. He's still attached to the Air Force as a civilian.

Q.

And your children?

A. Mine are all grown. I had five boys and I have a grandson, too. They're all over. The youngest is in school. They live in Ohio, Maine, and the Netherlands. The oldest is 34. The youngest is turning 23. One has passed away. It's been hard to get everybody together. The last time was at a lake in Minnesota. All five were there at our cabin.

Q. When you have time away from everything to do what you want, what do you do?

A. I love to cook. I like being outside -- hiking, gardening, taking walks, and taking care for my chickens. The eggs have really been a bonus, considering their price. And I like to make jewelry.

Q. What is your proudest achievement as mayor?

A. Our Christmas celebration. I went to each of the employees and asked them what they would like to see. One of the suggestions was a Christmas tree. We got some good donations from local businesses and we had a raffle and raised more money. We had a parade, we got enough money for the tree, and some hot chocolate. The turnout was wonderful and everybody had a great time. My favorite comment was that somebody told me it reminded them of being in a Hallmark movie.