Deming Headlight bids former building adieu
DEMING – The Deming Headlight building at 219 E. Maple Street has been sold and is no longer a point of contact for the newspaper.
Delivery service will not be interrupted for subscribers of home delivery.
The Deming Headlight and Graphic dates to 1881 and is in the 141st year of publication in southwestern New Mexico. The newspaper began when Deming became a “Tank Town” servicing water for the railroad passing through the territory. As a matter of fact, the newspaper took the name from the headlight of the locomotives. Townspeople came out to greet the trains once they could see the Headlight’s beam.
In the 1960s and through the 1970s, the newspaper brought back the old Deming Graphic as part of the Deming Headlight family. The Graphic was published every Monday and the Headlight hit the streets on Thursdays. Ironically, both newspapers were published by the same staff at the same location.
The Graphic focused on agriculture and government while the Headlight was projected as a society page that also covered art and entertainment.
The Headlight office was in the center of town at the intersection of Pine and Gold streets for many years. It was next to the former City Hall (Morgan Hall) and the adjacent Deming Fire House.
The Headlight staff moved into its’ new building at 219 E. Maple Street in 1974. The newspaper became a daily – Monday through Friday – in the late 1970s. The 12- to 16-page format included special pages for each day of the week. The special pages were: Business, Education, Agriculture, Health/Recreation and Lifestyles. At that time, the Headlight newsroom was staffed with a publishers, editor, three reporters, a special pages editor, and a sports editor. Production had four employees dedicated to design and paste-up and the press crew numbered two. They also handled darkroom duties.
The most important part of the post-production team were the carriers and street vendors. Without their dedication and service, the news would never reach the readers.
The Headlight also played a vital role in the community by highlighting annual events, being a source of information, and hosting economic development summits that brought city and county governments into an open forum for community members seeking transparency and accountability.
The Headlight shined a light annually with its “Horizons” special edition that celebrated the publication's anniversary, long with success and growth in the city and county.
During the closing of the sale, the Headlight donated its archives and an antique printing press to the Deming-Luna-Mimbres Museum. The museum sits at the corner of Silver Avenue and Hemlock Street directly behind the Headlight building.
“The Headlight is proud to be a part of the local museum that is affectionately called the ‘Smithsonian of the Southwest,’” said Billy Armendariz, editor of the Headlight.
If you need information regarding the newspaper or for news tips, you can call Billy Armendariz at 575-494-5059 (leave a message) or email at: biarmendariz@demingheadlight.com.
For your advertising needs, call 1-800-764-5620. That includes obituaries, classifieds, celebrations and memoriams, and legal notices. Jonathan Phillips is your multimedia account consultant at: 915-546-6234 (office) or email to: jphillips@localiq.com.
Bill Armendariz can be reached at 575-494-5059 or biarmendariz@demingheadlight.com.
This article originally appeared on Deming Headlight: Deming Headlight bids former building adieu
