Once upon a time, there were scrapbooks and black-and-white photographs and majorettes and batons and twirling contests.

And once upon a time, in a small town in New Mexico, there was Norman Crider.

For many in Socorro who remember Crider — and you might be surprised by how many there are, given that Norman lived here more than 50 years ago — recall an exuberant young man who inspired small-town girls to learn twirling, and to dream large, as reflected by his own life.

Norman Crider — son of the late Opal and Andy Crider; the former a civil servant and collector and the latter a career schoolteacher — died in Indianapolis, Ind., on Aug. 19, 10 days shy of his 71st birthday.

It was his mother who kept the enormous scrapbook chronicling the career of a man destined for life outside the borders of a small town.

And while it was the ballet that captivated young Norman, with no school or teacher near, he took up baton twirling.

His brother, Terry, recalls the day Norman saw a baton in store window in Santa Fe.

"Norman talked of nothing but that baton, he had to have that baton," Terry said.

Eventually, Norman earned enough money doing odd jobs around the house to buy it.

At age 12, he was fortunate to meet a man named John Large, a drum major at the University of New Mexico; and he convinced his parents to drive him to the UNM campus for twirling lessons with Large.

"The chemistry between the two of them was perfect, and John Large became Norman's mentor," said Terry.

Norman was 15 when the Crider family moved to Socorro for Opal's job with Farmers Home Administration, where she spent 23 years. Andy, unable to get on with the local public schools, found a job in Carrizozo.

By this time, Norman felt confident to teach twirling himself. Opal served the role of press agent, drawing up flyers and distributing them all over town. She also found merchants willing to dole out money for trophies.

Norman's premier venture was a twirling jamboree on the New Mexico Tech campus, and within weeks, he had a long list of students.

"For a sleepy, little town, it was amazing how many girls wanted to be twirlers," said Terry. "It took someone like Norman to energize the community and bring them out."

Opal included in her scrapbook competition score sheets from her son's competitions — he was the New Mexico State Twirling Champion in 1953 and 1954 — among countless newspaper clippings and photographs.

Many of the photographs are of young women with names such as Sheila, Carolyn, Ann Nita ("real gone," was how she signed her photo in 1954) and Lucy, Frances, Linda and Sherry Lou. The most common inscription on the photos is "twirling yours."

The girls are dressed in what is considered quite chaste by contemporary standards — lots of satin and bloomer-type creations, fringe and boots — always the boots.

Norman was particularly proud of his young protégé, one Anna Marie Porter, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Dave C. Porter, then of Socorro.

In photos from this period, Norman resembled a cross between Elvis Costello and Buddy Holly, with his dark eyes and dark hair carved into a widow's peak, wearing a band shirt nearly obliterated by all the medals.

In all, Norman earned 41 national championships, 43 trophies and 52 medals, including being named King of the National Championships in Chicago, in 1955. Norman was 17 years old.

Norman had graduated from high school the year before, and followed his brother to what is now New Mexico State University where he was drum major.

The decade of the 1950s had not yet closed when Norman began to manifest the managerial skills that would serve him for the rest of his professional career.

To paraphrase his brother, Terry, if Norman could teach young ladies to twirl batons, he could surely manage a herd of antique dealers — and, of course, in time he did.

The year he was 18, Norman moved to Chicago to find gigs in certain show business venues, supplementing that income with work as a file clerk for a shipping business.

Norman got his big break, in June 1957, with a performance in the Boulevard Room of the Conrad Hilton Hotel in Chicago complete with flags and flaming batons — all while ice-skating!

To appeal to a broader audience, Norman formed, along with two young women, the Norman Crider Trio — which served him well until he met an impresario, a specialized agent, who arranged bookings for Norman in various countries.

Norman boarded the Queen Mary on July 12, 1961, bound for the great continent — and returned eight years later.

About this time, Norman began to fall in love with the antiques of ballet and felt that, finally, he had answered his true calling. And thus began the cosmopolitan part of his life (see related story).

But for a brief, glittering moment, a young Norman Crider brought to Socorro a small measure of fame as home to a national champion baton twirler.

Norman is survived by his brother, Terry, and his family of Socorro; and his longtime partner, Tobias Leibovitz, of Indianapolis.