Instead of leaving home and joining the circus themselves, the site crew of the High Lonesome Wind Ranch helped send a group of Mountainair kids to see the Culpepper & Merriweather Circus. Together they raised more than $350.

The circus was in Edgewood on Tuesday night and Mountainair on Wednesday.

"Can't miss a good circus as a kid, right?" site manager Ben Ramirez said.

Most of the crew have been away from their homes for almost a year, since construction began last summer. But the crew still wants to make sure they leave a lasting impact on the community that has welcomed them.

Ramirez, the ringleader of the construction crew of the wind farm, which is in final stages of construction near Willard, saw a clown in town promoting the circus — "probably one of my guys," he joked. He asked in the grocery store how many tickets were being sold, and the clerk told him not many, as people are struggling to make ends meet. After purchasing a few tickets for the kids himself, Ramirez went to his crew and asked around for donations to buy more. Within a few days, he had raised more than $260 and gave $120 out of his own pocket, which was given to the school, which purchased the tickets.