I never knew that there was a “desert hill” until after I read through my mother’s poems several times. She died from leukemia in April, 1946. It was 56 years later before I began to gather up, read, and meditate upon the poems that she must have packaged away when she knew she was terminally ill. Now I know where that desert hill was and, broadly, what happened there. The hill was a place near the University of New Mexico campus. My father and mother courted there. From their poems and letters it is clear that love blossomed on that hill. As with other mountaintop experiences, it is the treasure of memories that transform and sustain. In an August 1946, my father wrote to his sister-in-law: “The desert hill at (University of New Mexico) now has a golf course – but in 12 years there are many desert hills.”
The outlines of the story are clear. Stella Marie Schmitt was born on March 9, 1914 to Paul and Veronica Koppes Schmitt, immigrant stock from Luxembourg, Germany. She was the youngest of four girls. Stella Marie, who quickly became nicknamed “Tudie” – often abbreviated “2d” - moved from Lawrence, Kansas to Mount Pleasant, Michigan when her father became a teacher at the Indian School. Her childhood poems, even at the age of 10, show a joy in life combined with an awareness of tension between the contemplative and active life. See Category "Childhood and Youth" First poem, age 10
She graduated from Sacred Heart Academy in Mt. Pleasant and enrolled in Central State Teachers College, also in Mt. Pleasant. Her poetry at that time concerns the ups and downs of a youthful love for “F.J.M.” In I933 she followed her family, transferring to the University of New Mexico, and found, to her despair, that the romance with F.J.M. was ended. See category "Identity, Love, and Marriage"Poems by Category
While at U.N.M. she met Albert Ely, my father. Her journals and poetry show her fear of being hurt again, her joy at being in love and her search for beauty and meaning in the New Mexico landscape. At times, she lamented her fear of loving again, her loneliness and the apparent absence of God from her life. After graduation she taught school in Grants and Gallup, New Mexico, until her marriage in 1938. Her home was in Santa Fe where she gave birth to her son in 1941 and her daughter in 1944. During this time she cared for her children and wrote poetic interpretations of a series of paintings done by Franciscan Missionaries in New Mexico in the late 17th and 18th century. (See category & photo album "Sacred Paintings"Sacred Paintings on Skin
My mother was diagnosed with leukemia in February of 1946. (See category "Lamentations") On April 6, she flew to Denver for treatment. I can remember the trip because I got to fly with her from Santa Fe to Albuquerque in a DC-3 – big stuff for a five year old! Shortly thereafter, my father flew to visit her. While in Denver, he interviewed Evelyn Bauer for a position as librarian at the Museum of New Mexico. Four years later she became my stepmother. I am grateful to her for “stepping up to the plate” and for doing all those things that growing and active children need. My sister and I had good times with her. I was always proud to introduce her as my stepmother. To me it was a term of honor. I thank her for many things, including seeing to it that I did my flashcards before going out to play. By preserving and passing all of the poetry, including “Desert Hill”, she made it possible for me to share the mountaintop experience.
Navigating this site: Poems are sorted in chronological order except for undated works that are placed next to dated poems of similar themes. Individual poems have links below their title to previous and next poems allowing them to be read one at a time in order. Category pages list all poems in that category in chronological order. Links to newly-added poems appear in the right column of the page.
