Teri Shannon came to Álamos in 1979 as a guest of Pember and Elizabeth Nuzum. After several seasons of yearly visits she bought a house in partnership with her mother, Pat Shannon. She has now owned that house--the Puerta Roja Inn at #46 Galeana--for more than 30 years and operates it as a Bed and Breakfast and part-time restaurant. It was originally owned by the Almada family, followed by Levant Alcorn, who sold it to the Pulis family from Des Moines, IA. Jo Yelton was the owner before it was purchased by Teri and her mother in 1987.

The road to Álamos when Teri came was a narrow two-lane highway, paved but filled with potholes. People arrived with cars loaded with supplies for building and living because not much was available locally. There was little automobile traffic in town, with streets used by mules and horses. A notable exception was Victor Soto’s car with the set of animal horns at the front, a car still seen occasionally on the local streets.

The Casa de los Tesoros hotel was the hub of all social activity at that time. Although it was past the days of Darley Gordon and Roberto Bloor’s ownership, the new management of Edith Pratt and Ramón Quintana maintained the same gracious formality where people “dressed” for dinner. The quartet played every night and reservations were usually necessary. The Christmas festivities were booked long in advance.

The Tesoros was also the local “watering hole” where Pember Nuzum and Craig Hill held court daily. A crowd gathered at noon for visits and cocktails, then regrouped again at the dinner hours. Two of the rocking chairs at the Tesoros were designated by gold plaques bearing their names. These two were the genial greeters to all arrivals at the hotel, and represented the welcome of Álamos to travelers.

Telephone were scarce--some 100 at the most--and they were generally party lines. Teri had No. #142 and was on the line with Hildy Aragon. Invitations were hand-written on engraved stationery (produced at the local print shop) and hand-delivered by housemen, who then returned the answer. The town maintained a “Club-type” atmosphere. The population was few in number, and most of the foreign visitors were friends of someone who lived in Álamos. Those who came were given a warm welcome to the community.

Teri and her husband, Rudy Hale, spent the winters in Álamos. On February 4, 1987, they were flying to the Copper Canyon in Chihuahua with Craig Leonard and a German friend when their small private plane crashed. There were severe injuries, and it was through the heroic efforts of the hospital in Creel, Chihuahua, that they survived. After her recovery Teri initiated yearly fundraisers in Álamos for Father VerPlanken, who founded the hospital, and Romey Wheeler, a Creel resident who wrote and performed piano music which he shared with the local populace.

Father VerPlanken brought several Tarahuamara tribe members with him to one of these fundraisers. They arrived when the water was turned off--when Álamos had not had a drop of water in five days. The fact that the Tarahumara were unfamiliar with indoor plumbing added to the general chaos, but the event was an enormous success.

After her divorce from Rudy, Teri stayed permanently in Álamos, turning her home into a bed and breakfast.