Hood, Margaret Page

Margaret Page Hood was a mystery writer and New Mexico journalist. Her husband, Alec C. Hood was a WWI veteran, a Las Cruces businessman, and active in the Las Cruces Rotary Club.

From the description of Margaret Page and Alec C. Hood papers, 1914-1985. (New Mexico State University). WorldCat record id: 50685177

Margaret Page was born on February 9, 1892 in Connecticut. As a child her family moved to Massachusetts, but she spent her summers with her grandparents near Portland, Maine. It was Maine that she grew to love and would return to later in life. After graduating from Simmons College in Boston, Massachusetts, Margaret received her first job as a teacher at Nasson Junior College in Maine.

The Pages had family in the Southwest, and in 1924, Margaret arrived in Las Cruces, New Mexico where she began her career in journalism in the publicity department of the Extension Service at New Mexico College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. The following year she married Alec Hood. She continued working as a journalist after her marriage, writing articles for the El Paso Herald Post, the Rio Grande Farmer, the Christian Science Monitor, and the New Mexico Sentinel . She worked for the Sentinel until 1944 when it ceased publication. In 1954, Margaret received the Zia Award from the New Mexico Press Women.

The Hoods moved to Maine after Alec's retirement and Margaret began writing fiction. She published seven full-length novels: six were mysteries set in Maine and one was set in New Mexico in the early 20th century. Some of her books were translated into foreign languages and one was adapted for television. Several of her short stories were published in Ellery Queen.

Through the Hartshorn family on her mother's side, Margaret was a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She was inducted into the Doña Ana County Historical Society's Hall of Fame in 1981. She died in 1983.

Alexander Cecil Hood was born in Leeds, England in 1888. He immigrated to the United States in 1912. First moving to Omaha, Nebraska, which he found to be too cold, Hood kept moving South. On a train in Socorro, New Mexico, he told the conductor to give him a ticket to the largest place between there and Texas, which was how Hood ended up in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

A skilled mechanic, Hood found work in auto garages and eventually bought his own garage. After Pancho Villa raided Columbus, New Mexico in 1916, Hood, along with several others, was appointed a Special Deputy Sheriff by Felipe Lucero. In 1917, he sold his business to join the Army Air Corps. He was discharged in 1919 and returned to Las Cruces to start over again. He eventually opened the Motor Service Company which he ran until 1947 when he sold it and retired. Hood organized a National Guard unit in Las Cruces in 1921 and served as first Lieutenant until 1924. While at one of the local dances, he met his future wife, Margaret Page. The two were married in 1925.

After his retirement the Hoods moved from Las Cruces to an island called Vinalhaven off the coast of Maine. While Margaret worked on her writing, Alec discovered a new hobby, carving birds.

The Hoods returned to New Mexico in 1953. Hood became secretary of the Rotary Club of Las Cruces and served in that position for 13 years. He remained active in the community until his death in 1985.

From the guide to the Margaret Page and Alec C. Hood Papers, 1914-1985, (Archives and Special Collections, New Mexico State University Library)