Space dreams boost tiny Texas town

Tall order for Texas town
All this is a tall order for the 3,000 or so residents of Van Horn, many of whom believe the biggest thing to happen in recent years was construction of a new truck stop on Interstate 10.

About 120 miles (190 kilometers) east of El Paso, Van Horn primarily is a rest stop for travelers along I-10, the nation’s southernmost cross-country highway. About 50 miles (80 kilometers) to the north is Guadalupe Mountains National Park, which contains many of the highest mountains in Texas, including the signature 8,085-foot (2,464-meter) El Capitan. It can be seen from a distance on Bezos’ property amid desert and cattle-grazing terrain and salt lake beds.

Broadway, Van Horn’s main street which parallels the freeway, is dotted with long-abandoned businesses, many of them flat-roofed adobe-style buildings, and two vehicles waiting at the street’s lone stop light constitute a traffic jam.

Bill Talley, whose Van Horn Pharmacy is the only place to get a prescription filled within a 90-mile (140-kilometer) radius, said he was surprised by Bezos’ project but was withholding judgment until he knew more. His wife, Mary, was more blunt.

“We’re used to it,” she said of “exploiters” who have raised residents’ hopes and then fled.

Dashed dreams of the past
More than a decade ago, some businessmen touted a mica mining venture that created a buzz but went nowhere. Fields along I-10 heading east toward Midland and Odessa are littered with rusting oil field equipment, monuments to the oil industry crash of the 1980s.

Tony Gutierrez / AP Van Horn, Texas, is primarily a rest stop for travelers along Interstate 10, the nation's southernmost cross-country highway.

“We’ve had gentlemen come in here to change the world,” said John Conoly, 76, the Culberson County judge for the past 30 years. “And nothing ever came of it.”

But Bezos is different, Conoly said.

“After meeting and visiting with him, I have every confidence in the world he will do what he says he will do,” the judge said. “I know he’s going to have some of the best minds for this project. He doesn’t do things halfway or second class.”

Bezos also told the Van Horn group that he wanted to give his family the opportunity to enjoy life on a ranch just as he did as a child. The Internet retailer chief executive spent summers at his grandfather’s spread in Cotulla in South Texas.

While Bezos’ spaceship plans were a surprise, his presence in Van Horn wasn’t. His private jet had been seen a number of times in the past year at the local airstrip as he scouted the area and purchased three ranches.

On Bezos’ new property, the only noticeable change, residents say, are the new “No Trespassing” signs posted every mile or so on the rusty barbed wire cattle fences bordering Texas Highway 54.

Conoly said people aren’t real excited yet, but that could change once construction begins.

For Spanish-speaking residents like Manuel Baeaza, 47, who works at a marble mine in the mountains that adjoin Bezos’ property, the project known as “El Estacion” or “the station,” brings promise.

“More jobs, it would be a blessing,” said Baeaza, who’s lived in the area for 14 years.

Ricky Hutson, who works at used-book store and resale shop where he also lives, was a bit more philosophical.

“With (Bezos) coming out here, this is going to force this town to change for the better,” he said. “If you’ve lived a hard life, this is a place you can live in peace. But if you’re used to the high-tech lifestyle, you might not want to come here.

“Maybe we’ll actually get some business. As you can tell, this town is pretty behind the times.”

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