The more, the merrier for Red River mom

Michael Johnstone staff writer

RED RIVER — Beth Hodges of Red River plans to celebrate Mother’s Day with her family, which keeps growing and growing. Not only did her daughter Melissa get married last month, but her two other children, Bobby and Diane Maloney, have upcoming weddings. Her grandson Casey will also tie the knot later this year.
“This Mother’s Day is going to be very special. I am welcoming the new additions to my family and there will many other moms, as well as grandmothers and great-grandmothers here as well. Not everyone from Red River could make it to Melissa’s wedding, so we are also having reception here at The Lodge on May 10, the day before Mother’s Day,” said Beth.
Beth moved from Dallas, Texas, over seven years ago to live permanently in Red River. While vacationing in the town in the summer of 2000 she met the infamous Carl Hodges, who used to own Shotgun Willies, and is now the food and beverage manager of the Red River Ski Area. He courted her properly with his good humor and fine singing, and they were married the following summer.
Red River is the ideal location for Beth because she has so many fond childhood memories of this place. “Back in the 1940s and 1950s our family would vacation in Red River. My brother and I, along with Ada and Earl Romer’s children, would spend the summer roller-skating at the Play House and riding horses. Our horses were the original off-road vehicles. We went anywhere we wanted to and our parents didn’t seem to mind even if we stayed out all day.” After falling in love with Red River as a child, she missed the excitement of visiting when she got older. She decided to restart an old family tradition and with Melissa began vacationing here for a month every summer beginning in 1997.
Melissa would go on to graduate from Adams State College in Alamosa, Colo. She married Red River musician Michael Smith April 3, in Las Vegas, NV. She now is a Title One teacher at Eagle Nest Middle School.
Beth’s son Bobby, who lives in Denver, Colo., installs audio-visual conference equipment throughout the United States. He is getting married to Kristen Tamblyn in Rome, Italy, May 17.
Beth’s oldest daughter, Diane Maloney, lives in Red River and is a real estate agent with Resort Realty. She and her fiancé, Steve Smith, will be married September 28 in Taos.
If all this wasn’t enough, Beth’s grandson, Casey Maloney, who is currently serving in the Army in San Antonio, Texas as a medic, will marry his sweetheart Stephanie Gee some time later this year.
While not claiming any specific royal heritage, Beth is commonly known in Red River as the Queen of Village Hall. Don’t miss the opportunity to stop by and congratulate her as her family continues to grow. If you miss her at the Town Hall, she can be seen (although possibly in disguise) performing “melodrama” at the Mineshaft Theater in the Red River Inn at least a few nights a week during July.
Happy Mother’s Day!