Start: Garden City, Kansas
End: Santa Fe, New Mexico
States: Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico
Time Zone: Western
Perhaps you're curious why we stayed in Garden City rather than Dodge City, a much larger and probably more lively city (that where Chevy Chase almost got shot in the old West town in Vacation) less than fifty miles away. There actually is a reason, beyond having an hour less of driving today. Garden City is the nearest large town to the little hamlet of Holcomb. Ring any bells? There would be only one reason you would remember the name Holcomb, KS, and that would be because you know of a book called In Cold Blood. Holcomb would be a totally unremarkable place (the town population is around 2,000 about the same as the average high school where we come from) except for the fact that in November of 1959 there was a mass murder there, a family of four, mother, father, son, and daughter all slaughtered in their home.
The Clutter family was prominent in the town, which at the time had a population of about two hundred. There was terrible fear, mourning, and anger in the community. Twelve thousand attended their funeral, today the town park is dedicated to the memory of their family. Of course the small news item about the murders in the New York Times also attracted the attention of Truman Capote. I don't need to speak to the legend that is Capote, read George Plimpton's biography of him, or see the film of the same name (I loved Philip Seymour Hoffman so much as Capote, I never bothered to see Infamous). His tale of the killings, capture, conviction, and finally execution of the murders captivated America, then and today.
Alyssa was clearly uncomfortable with visiting the scene of the crime so to speak, and many feel the same way. There were a lot of people who refused to talk to Capote, many more who boycotted the book because they felt he capitalized on the grief of a community. Now Capote was set for life after In Cold Blood was published, he made over 2 million in sales (in the early 60's no less) and rode the fame for years. The angry in Holcomb may have gotten the last laugh however because he never wrote another novel and died a pathetic drunk. At this point most of the principals are long gone, including Capote himself. Herb Clutter if he were alive would be 99 this year. The two elder Clutter children still live in Kansas, not far away and are in their sixties and seventies. My mother was five when the murders happened, I think there's a safe enough buffer in terms of time. Also I have to say that from what I read people felt Capote's greatest sin was focusing too much on the way the Clutter's died, rather than the good, Christian folks they were. He came to write about the murders, if the murders hadn't happened do you really think Truman Capote would have come to Kansas just to meet the Clutters no matter how good they were?
We first visited the Valley View Cemetery in Garden City where the Clutter's graves are. The cemetery is on a gravel road, and boarders a cornfield on one side. Inside its gates however is a shady and lush oasis in the middle of the plains. There were workers everywhere cleaning up some sizable branches that came down in last night's storm. It was a bit awkward maneuvering around them, but luckily one article I read gave coordinates for the graves (north-west corner, right near the boarder with the cornfield). Nearby are the graves of other major players in the story including the judge, attorney, cop in charge, and man who found the bodies. It's a peaceful spot, and a simple marker. The view across the cornfield through the black wrought iron gate was what struck me most, it was so starkly beautiful, and I think Herb Clutter wouldn't have minded that view for eternity.
The town of Holcomb is hard to get to. Well not normally, but today there was all sorts of nonsense roadwork which made our GPS practically short circuit. We found our way, circling around the Tyson Meat Processing Plant on the outskirts of town (its apparently the largest in the world, go figure). Remember when we said Point Pleasant, WV was small? Holcomb is smaller (not as small as Farrell) and set in straight lines. Where they fit 2,000 people I have no idea. The schools were all oddly modern and ridiculously well appointed compared to anything else in town. The Clutter farmhouse is privately owned by the Mader family, who have owned since the 1990's and is private property. We stopped at the end of the driveway, with its long line of Chinese elms is instantly recognizable, though River Valley Farm is no longer what it once was. The Arkansas River which gives the far its name has long since dried up giving the landscape a totally different appearance. Its a bittersweet kind of place, and not exactly where one would chose to linger. Especially two intrepid road trippers on their way to Santa Fe. Still I was glad I got to see it, I mean when will I ever be in western Kansas again?
We made Santa Fe in around six hours, actually very good time and the switch to yet another new time zone allowed us more hours of daylight. Our main attraction was the Loretto chapel, home of the miraculous staircase. The sisters who ran the girls academy there had no way to reach the choir loft, a mistake in the planning of the building, but no carpenter could construct an ordinary staircase due to the chapel's tiny proportions. The sisters prayed a novena to St. Joseph, step father of Jesus and the one who taught him carpentry, he is not surprisingly the patron saint of that profession. Their prayers obviously worked, for a carpenter came and built them a spiral staircase, with nothing but the simplest of tools, and in return asked for only a place to stay and food to eat. He disappeared once it was complete never to be seen again. The staircase remains a marvel of engineering to this day with no obvious means of support aside from its own weight. It is a butte (a little New Mexico humor there for you) and I was highly amused to see that the stations of the cross in the chapel were identical to the one back home in North Attleboro at Sacred Heart parish, the alter also bore a striking resemblance to the alter at St. Mary's the other Downtown parish in North Attleboro, though on a smaller scale. Its a small, small, world (of religious artwork).
We strolled and shopped, and enjoyed the fact that less than three blocks from "downtown", and I use that term lightly, you can find unlimited on street parking. Santa Fe is the least city-like city I've ever seen. There is hardly any traffic and there is no congestion at all. We ate dinner at a Thai restaurant (Thai Cafe actually) near the El Dorado hotel that was recommended to us by a friend, and it was wonderful. First we had almost the whole place to ourselves and the food was highly enjoyable. On the down side last night we drank our last two 'Gansetts from home (buy Narragansett Beer now, bring the brewery back to New England!) and had to switch to Santa Fe Pale Ale, and I am not a fan. I was also slightly nervous after he recommended it to me last night because of the scathing negative reviews I saw online. Can I vent for a moment about the not-so-beautiful recommendations people leave. A comment like 'this is not a good Thai restaurant because they serve fortune cookie at the end of you meal' is not helpful to anyone. Aside from that, what is wrong with you, I never say no to complimentary cookies. I feel like if you wait three hours to be served, get screwed on your bill, your waiter is homicidal, or you find half a decomposed rat lurking in your appetizer you have a right to complain, other than that please help preserve my sanity and shut it.
