Soul of Rogers community remains

Local historians tell us that during the early 1900s, Roosevelt County boasted more than 100 schools in the tiny communities that sprinkled the Plains like cornmeal.

By 1957, that number had dwindled to six districts: Causey, Dora, Elida, Floyd, Portales, and Rogers.

In May that year, the Rogers community made the painful decision to shutter the doors on its school with only 62 students remaining on the roster following graduation. By fall, many of those students were at Dora, with others transferring to Causey and Portales.

It's no secret that the loss of a school can be a death knell for a small community.

But this is not the story of the loss of a community. It's a story about the enduring power of friendships.

The members of the last Rogers graduating class are all a few years into their 80s now. They are the youngest alumni of the school that was, for half a century, the soul of the agricultural community located about 15 miles southeast of Portales as the crow flies.

Or perhaps in honor of the school mascot, I should say as the Eagle flies.

A good many years ago - nobody is certain when - four members of the class of 1951 who all happened to be women started getting together regularly to share lunch and keep their good memories percolating.

Nadine (Eminger) Moore, Ruth (Simnacher) Cox, Vera (Van Winkle) Arnold, and Nancy (Parrish) Ridgely weren't the ones who came up with the moniker, "The Rogers Girls," but over the years more women from other classes gradually joined the group and somewhere along the way that name was born.

The Rogers Girls meet monthly in Portales, according to LaTrelle (Ross) Massey of the class of 1956. It's a lively gathering of octogenarians and nonagenarians who share a love for their community and their old school, cradled by friendships that span decades.

I sat in on part of the June gathering around a string of tables pulled together at a Portales coffee shop.

Elida rancher Charles Good was the lone man at the event - he earned admittance by coming with his wife LaDoris (Belcher) Good, class of 1952.

"I'm a Rogers Girl," he told me with a wink.

Hostess duties are voluntary and switch every month.

Katie (McCormack) Love, one of LaDoris Good's classmates from the class of '52, had chair duties that day.

The two shared a long hug at the end of the meal, telling me they'd been best friends for more than 70 years.

Regular community reunions were a Rogers tradition for many years, but the organizers announced last summer that the 2022 reunion would be the last.

Enter the Rogers Girls. They decided they couldn't let that happen.

They've stepped up and announced a Rogers community reunion ... not in Rogers or even Portales ... but at K-Bob's Steakhouse in Clovis.

"We're trying to keep it simple so it won't be a burden on anyone," Massey said.

The Rogers Girls have reserved a room at K-Bob's beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday, and - wisely recognizing that the alumni group is dwindling in numbers -- they're inviting anyone and everyone with any kind of connection to the Rogers area to join them.

The salad bar and menu will be available for this pay-your-own-way event, and they'll even have a couple of tables set up for folks to bring old yearbooks or other memorabilia.

If you have questions, need more information, or think you might attend, LaTrelle Massey would love to hear from you. Her number is 575-760-8980.

If you don't already have a connection to this group, well, you've got a week to come up with one. You won't regret it.

Don't believe me? Take it from Charles Good.

"These Rogers Girls," he said, "...they're fun."

Betty Williamson is trying to earn her Eagle wings. Reach her at:

[email protected]