Posted on 05/09/2014 7:20:58 AM PDT by SandRat
and revitalize Camp Naco gained state-wide recognition this week when it was named one of the recipients of the Governor’s Heritage Preservation Honor Award.
“I’ve been working on this project for about 15 years. It’s been slow and difficult, and there’s been some real discouraging times. About once a year I’m ready to give up and then something nice happens like this to keep us growing,” said Becky Orozco of the Naco Heritage Alliance.
Orozco, along with fellow alliance members Bill Doelle and Deborah Swartzwelder, has worked for years to preserve and rehabilitate the structures populating several acres of land in the small community of Naco, where Army soldiers from Fort Huachuca—including the famed Buffalo Soldiers—once worked to keep the battles of the Mexican Revolution from spilling over into the United States.
In a letter from the Arizona State Historic Preservation Office dated May 5, the Arizona State Historic Preservation Office announced that the work the team has spearheaded has earned them one of nine Governor’s Heritage Preservation Honor Award to be presented at the 2014 Arizona Historic Preservation Conference in Rio Rico next month.
Any momentum gained by the project thanks to recognition such as this is a welcome boon to their efforts, said Swartzwelder, president of the Naco Heritage Alliance.
“It will raise awareness of the history of camp naco, and of the effort of the group, to move it forward into the future,” she said.
“It’s really a model for other historic sites through the state. It really shows the tremendous power of partnership,” said Demion Clinco, president of the Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation, who nominated the Naco Heritage Alliance for the award.
Clinco, who also works in the state legislature as a representative for District 2, said the work accomplished by the alliance and it’s partners is particularly impressive, as the site is so far removed from metropolitan areas which normally have tourist dollars to help promote and preserve historic sites.
“It doesn’t have an urban context, so it really takes a tremendous effort to come up with a plan and then enact that plan,” he said. “It is a wonderful resource. I think it has so much potential. The level of engagement that has got it to where it is, to attract a use, is really impressive.”
In addition to the award, the alliance was also recently awarded a $20,000 grant from the Southwestern Foundation for Education and Historical Preservation.
“It’s great news on two fronts. You can’t ask for much more than that,” said Dolle, president and CEO of Tucson-based Archeology Southwest, and Naco Heritage Alliance member.
That money will be put toward the much-needed repair work of one of the officer’s quarters just south of the main camp.
The roof is in serious need of repair and has left portions of the adobe walls exposed, leading to concern from Doelle and others that the upcoming monsoon would further deteriorate the building.
“We’re quite concerned that we need to get the ball rolling before we get to that rainy season again,” he said.
Since the work can’t be done piecemeal, the entire $30,000 needed to restore the roof and walls will have to be raised before work can begin.
The $20,000 grant helps tremendously with that goal.
“I think we had about $100 left in our checking account when the grant came through,” Orozco said.
Doelle organization, Archeology Southwest, is acting as the fiscal agent for the Naco Heritage Alliance and has already begun accepting donations to get the final funds needed to begin work.
For more information or to make a donation, visit www.archeologysouthwest.org/naco.
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