27 May 1958: LTC McCarthy (L) explains to General Willard Wyman, CG of CONARC, how many thousands of meals are served daily in this shanty of a messhall. The messhall was constructed of scrap material from the salvage yard and missile crates. Brigadier General John T. Snodgrass, Deputy Commanding Gen., USAADC (center), listens intently. Following two Sputnik launches by the USSR in 1957, RCRC began hosting many high ranking visitors.
28 Oct 1957: LTC McCarthy, Mrs. Lorena Richards and Mrs. Crystal E. Walls of Special Services perform a tongue-in-cheek "Official ribbon cutting ceremony" for the new Craft Shop.
The shop is two 16 X 16 surplus wooden shacks butted together and covered with tarpaper. These were the same shacks used as latrines. The craft shop housed leather working, wood burning and assorted other tools. Note the fancy doorstop.
LTC McCarthy's office in the Administrative Butler Building. The camp eventually replaced all tents used as living quarters with Butler Buildings retrieved from the Ft. Bliss salvage yard. These prefabricated metal buildings were a vast improvement over the canvas squad tents.
RCRC had a very active basketball team, playing teams from other military installations. McCarthy was very proud of his team and supported them in every way possible.
In the Fall of 1957, plans were drawn up for a chapel. In Dec. 1957, ground was broken and the chapel was started. It was built with all volunteer labor from scrounged materials. The men of the camp quarried the beautiful red stone from a nearby canyon. The dedication was held Easter Sunday 1958. The chapel was LTC McCarthy's crowning achievement in this desert wasteland.
LTC McCarthy lived in Carrizozo with his wife and two daughters. However, he spent most of his time, including weekends, at the camp. There was always some project he wanted to check on. In late 1957, a baby burro was caught in a nearby canyon and brought to the camp as a mascot. Here, LTC McCarthy is feeding the burro, named NIKE, milk from a bottle. A makeshift corral has been fashioned of 55-gallon drums. Looking on are his two young daughters Mary and Margaret
.