We lost two local notables in journalism this past summer, and their passings deserve more in-depth recognition than could be included in their obituaries. I’m talking, of course, about Maurine Mathis & Oza Holcomb, who kept the local touch in Artesia’s newspapers.
Both of these women were active, dynamic contributors to their communities until the very end — and while I never met Oza, I can personally attest to Maurine’s generosity of spirit in all of the advice and background-filling-in that I received from her when I was new at my job. Vicki Burch, news editor at the Artesia Daily Press, wrote a wonderful tribute to Oza Holcomb a couple of weeks ago, and in the same spirit I’d like to share some memories about Maurine.
I can’t remember the first time I met Maurine — but I do remember the first time I introduced her to my family. Maurine took one look at my older daughter Brittany’s red hair, gasped, “Oh!” and folded her into a big hug. Brittany was a little startled at being tackled, but game. Maurine explained that she had been a redhead when she was younger, and that her red hair had been passed down in her family. Redheads were very special to her and she just HAD to hug one when she met them! Maurine then proudly produced photos of several beautiful redheaded descendants for us to ooh & ahh over — which we did.
Maurine always had great stories to tell, and luckily for all of us she also wrote them down. I guess this came from all those years she spent working for the Artesia Daily Press, covering everything from fashion shows, club meetings and weddings to business and advertising.
Our Museum is pretty well known for our wonderful photograph collection — the old saying about one picture being worth a thousand words is really true! What many people don’t realize is that Maurine saved many of these rare, one-of-a-kind photos from being thrown away in 1955, when the Artesia Advocate produced its special 50th anniversary edition celebrating Artesia’s birthday. Many of Artesia’s pioneers were still with us then, and generously gave their early photos to the paper to use. Most were never picked up, and the newspaper discarded them! Luckily for us, Maurine rescued these irreplaceable treasures and saved them for posterity, turning them over to the Museum once Artesia had one.
Speaking of museums and treasures: Maurine was on the original Museum commission appointed by then-Mayor Bayliss Irby in 1962. The Commission’s first assignment was to locate a suitable building to house a museum, which they did after several years of searching! So it seemed only right that when the Artesia Historical Museum & Art Center Foundation initiated our Living Treasures program in 1998 that we honor Maurine that first year.
Maurine & Oza both pursued journalism careers while raising families, running households, and being active in the community. Their accomplishments are impressive by any standards — they kept up a pace into their older years that is exhausting to even think about! They are two women that we can be proud of as part of our town’s heritage, and they set an example that is inspiring to us all.