Rocky Ford enterprise., 1913-03-07
ENTERTAINED
in fine STYLE
Agricultural A College Visitors
Praise Hospitality
THOUSANDS VISIT
DEMONSTRATION TRAIN
Gain Valuable Information on Many
Subjects Of Interest to Farmers
and Stockmen

and Stockmen
Through the efforts of our
worthy mayor, backed by the Otero
Agricultural association and citi-
zens the visitors on board the Col
orado Agricultural demonstration
train on Saturday last carried
away with them the knowledge
that Rocky Ford has the liveliest
bunch of business men and farm
ers of any town that they have
visited in tile state.
Headed by Mayor Coffman, the
visitors were met at the depot on
Friday evening by big delegat-
ion of city and club officials and
were at once escorted to the Rocky
Ford cafe, where one of the finest
banquets ever served in this city
awaited them.
Mayor Coffman, as host and
toastmaster, opened the speech
making-which was carried along
through the banquet-with the
following address:
"Gentlemen:-It is perfectly meet and
proper that the coming of the represent
atives of our great agricultural college.
together with their demonstrating train
~ thie oman N;ty ~ tho U.IIa,, ~ Naa
tent should be on the 2sth day of Feb
ruary. for it was just fifty-elght years to-
day since President Buchanan signed the
bill that declared Colorado organized as
a territory.
And to you, gentlemen, Rocky Ford
throws wide open her doors and bids you
thrice welcome. We have with US to-
night representatives of the greatest
sugar-factory in Colorado. and the Of
fioers of the Otero County Agricultural
and horticultural clubs, who Join me in
welcoming you.
Otero county has eight prosperous
towns of which Rocky Ford is the queen.
We have the oldest and pest water rights
in the state, eight fully developed irrigation
canals, two hundred thousand acres of
land under high state of cultivation. Oh.
if you could live here in this Valley of
Sunshine and Content, if you could see
the purple dawn and the scarlet sunset
you would be in love with it as am.
1t would need the pen eff a ready writer
with an artists hand to guide the pen to
express all the loveliness of this valley
and make this picture complete.
Rocky Ford and the Arkansas Valley
do not need to boast as other parts of the
state and other states do. The plain. un-
vanished truth sounds like fairy tale to
the citizens of other states, and of other
with SO many sunshiny days and plenty
of water at all times for irrigation, and
deep rich soil and the best and most up
to-date farmers on earth.
With oantaloupes netting the farmers
from 5000 to S40o per acre. with our
sugar beets that have enriched our farm
ers to such an extent that land that used
to be worth from S25 to $40 per acre is
now worth from 5000 to $500 per acre,
with our great fields of alfalfa, and grams
and grasses waving and glistening in the
sun, with hundreds and hundreds of acres
of crops grown for seed, netting the
farmers from 500 to 5000 per acre and
making wealthy men of those who are in
the seed business. With the best citizens
that ever lived, with our great churches
and school houses, here. there and every
where, and no saloons to corrupt our
youth, our farmers the most intelligent
and enterprising, The greatest agri-
cultural club ever heard OF which num-
bers among its members men of rare
attainments, men who would grace the
halls of Congress, or fit well in the govern
or's chair and some Of them no doubt
could pass as college professors. or news
paper correspondents, or even railroad
officials. The officers of these great
farmers organizations are here with the
city officials to welcome you to our city
and valley.
1t gives me great pleasure to introduce
to you the President of the Agricultural
Club, Mr.. DYe-the big, little man-who
will respond to the toast, Our Guests
w. II. Dye, president of, the
Otero Agricultural association, in
his own inimitable manner "toast-
ed'' the guests, and Prof. g. H.
Hinman responded for the Fort