Clothing of course varied, no doubt social position and economic background came into play. An early observation, again from Lily Klasner, was her comment that the women of Missouri Plaza all wore Rebosos (shawls) when they were out and about, and as a child in Texas, she had never seen this before, she thought the women only had one eye. Another comment she made which evokes some thought, was when she was telling of the Anglos there she mentioned: a Frenchman named Lalone who had a Spanish wife and another American who was married to a Mexican. Was there a difference? Señora Lalone was raised by a Gentleman, don Ygnacio niño Ladrón de Guevara; did she wear different clothes, was she otherwise identifiable or was that just literary license?

Hollywood has it, notably in early Zorro movies, that the folks dressed different, the campesinos dressed in home spun and the patrones more tailored garments; was that true in very early Lincoln County? By the 1870s and the coming of photography it seems to have evened out and clothes responded to personal preference and financial position. Women wore very nicely tailored dresses and the men wore suit like jackets; they never look like Hollywood cowboys of the 1930 and 1940 era.

Entertainment was normally a limited affair but when they let loose they did a big job of it. Most women stayed home and cared for the kids however many men worked hard then drank and gambled when they could. None the less, when it was time for a get-together all stops came out, because many folks had to travel some distance, they were frequently two or three day affairs. A fandango or bailie for the Hispanos or a dance for the Anglos often lasted from sundown to sunup with music and food all night long. Weddings were especially wonderful, quoting from a description from the wedding of José María Vega's daughter, Margarite, to Tiofilo Lalone's son Fred: "A year later Margarite and Fred were married. They had a big wedding at Tiofilo's ranch. They had a three day and three night party. Margarite wore two beautiful dresses. Her wedding dress was a cream color with a high neck."

Holidays and Religion, 4th of July was a big event on the frontier, horse races, games and picnics; Christmas and Easter and other dates depending on your background were a little more subdued. Lincoln County did not have a regular Catholic Priest until the 1880s so celebrations were planned and brought forward by lay leaders. The Protestants were no better off lacking regular churches until about that time. Another difficulty in tracking the Protestant experience is the lack of central record keeping, as the Anglos showed up, they were used to the government keeping track of marriages, births and deaths, the Hispanos of course, expected the Church to fulfill that function.

I haven't seen any evidence of it, but on other parts of the frontier, Camp Meetings were a way for the Protestants to express their faith; usually a several day event, notification was spread by word of mouth to gather at certain location, often by a river, for a time of preaching, singing and revival. These were interdenominational affairs with different preachers taking turns or if it was a sufficiently large turnout, multiple preacher at once. Everyone would camp out, share food and get caught up on social or family affairs. In rural areas Churches would meet in School Buildings, White Oaks had at least two Churches by 1900; a Congregationalist and a Methodist congregation.

Baptisms and marriages were the means for the Catholic Church to keep families straight and of course a convenient way for us to track families today. One of the big problems of tracing families is if they aren't in the Catholic records, it is difficult or impossible to associate individuals. Even in Catholic families not every child or marriage was recorded; no doubt due to the lack of a regular Priest and for some, the lack of finances, the Priest expected a fee for his services. Infant mortality, death associated with childbirth and the general hazards of the times make hard to reconcile the families through the years. Early Civil records are nonexistent or hard to come by.

Therefore it is very difficult to get a comprehensive view of the folks of early Lincoln County. Your Editor/Author has put the 1860, 1870, 1880, 1885 and 1900 Censuses in spreadsheets and compared them with various Catholic sources and still there are major gaps. However, by studying the Census we can see who the neighbors were and by looking at what Baptismal and Marriage records there are, we can see who were important and close to different folks by looking at the Godparents or Padrinosin the case of Baptisms and the Padrinos and/or Witnesses in the case of marriages. The gaps that are left can only be filled by Family Records or traditions.