Voices of the
BIG BEND
Jim Glendinning The Galloping Scot, Author, World Traveler and sometime tour operator.
Story and photographs by Jim Glendinning
JOHN FERGUSON
Music has played a vital role in the
life of John Ferguson, who was born in
Abilene, TX in June 1963. Both par-
ents played musical instruments, and
his father still attends music events
twice weekly at age 72. Of his two
younger siblings, Julianne and
Michael, the latter is a band director.
By the time he attended high school
(Garland High School, 1977-81),
Ferguson knew that music would play
a major part in his life. Garland, a sub-
urb of Dallas, had one of the best high
school bands in Texas, coached by
band director Neil Chamberlain, and
Ferguson played trumpet.
At the University of North Iowa
(Cedar Falls, 1981-85) Ferguson grad-
uated with a Bachelor’s of Science in
Education. He was encouraged to
apply for a scholarship to the
University of Arkansas, where he got
an invaluable introduction to jazz
music. He graduated in 1987 with a
Master’s in Music.
Music was one reason he met Lucy
McBride, a music major, at the
University of North Iowa. Four years
late they married - in Chester, Iowa in
June 1989. Earlier, the Fergusons had
taken a family trip to Big Bend
National Park. John had also taken a
geology course at the university. The
rocks, the landscape and the proximity
of Mexico all had a great effect on him.
On graduating and after marriage,
with the Iowa economy faltering, the
couple looked for music jobs in the
Big Bend area. They both got jobs as
band directors with the Presidio
Independent School District: Lucy,
who plays trombone, at the middle
school in 1989, and John in 1990 at the
high school.
After 20 years, Ferguson, needing a
change, switched to high school
12
Cenizo
JOHN FERGUSON
Presidio
counselor. Meanwhile, between 1991
and 1994, Ferguson was mayor of
Presidio, resigning early due to
employee fraud. Today, in a new
Presidio, he is again mayor and relish-
ing the challenge of developing
Presidio.
He works with Brad Newton,
Development Director, to move
Presidio forward, following a commis-
sioned assessment of the town’s eco-
nomic strengths. The Arts Festival (in
its sixth year), the new baseball com-
plex, the UFO festival, and a mobile
home construction business (where the
homes are built in OJ and finished in
Presidio) are examples of new Presidio.
The reopened stockyard (in Ojinaga)
and the future new international bridge
are also part of the change. Much
depends on making contacts across the
Rio Grande, which he does well.
Fourth Quarter 2014
MISSy CANTRELL
Fort Davis
Music still plays a major role in
Ferguson’s life. In 2004, he helped to
found The Resonators, which now
numbers nine players, half of whom
are from Ojinaga. No one at Alpine’s
4th of July celebrations can ignore the
Resonators at full throttle, led by Lucy
and John, much of the music (and the
uniforms) being mariachi.
Meanwhile, daughter Molly (18) will
start studying music this year at SRSU,
and son Maxwell (15) composes music
and performs it in Ojinaga. From the
flat fields of Iowa to the border commu-
nity of Presidio, the Ferguson family
has transitioned well and brings great
talent and energy to the community.
MISSy CANTRELL
Missy Cantrell was born in Tyler,
Texas in 1965 to Shirley and Royce
Cantrell, who was head basketball
JOHN ALExANDER, P.A.
Lajitas
coach at John Tyler High School. She
has one older brother, Kenn.
She had a nominal interest in aca-
demic matters when she attended John
Tyler High School, which in 1983
joined with Robert E. Lee High
School. From the time she started to
walk, she recalls, her only interest was
in horses.
The smell of horses and their sense
of power was what appealed to her.
From the time she started to walk, her
life was all about horses. She was
thrown off a horse at an early age and
broke her collar bone. Her grandfather
picked her up and put her right back in
the saddle. Her career began at three,
she says.
First she needed to make some
money and, after high school gradua-
tion in 1983, went to Dallas. There she
took a 30-month Court Reporting