Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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Before Air Jordans, we had Buster Browns Buster Brown had come to town, making the front page of the Roosevelt County Herald. It happened on May 3, 1910. He performed to a full house at Portales' Wonderland Theater, at the invitation of Miller & Luikart, the retail store that happened to sell Buster Brown children's shoes. It was no coincidence, of course. The little boy was in town to sell shoes as part of an advertising campaign. "There wasn't a shadow of a doubt that...
Sid Strebeck had an idea. Clovis’ steakhouse owner understood he had to comply with the governor’s social-distancing guidelines during this COVID-19 pandemic, but he also wanted to keep his business going. And so he proposed “a different dining experience.” • He would set up 30 picnic tables in the KBob’s Steakhouse two-acre parking lot. • Each table would be at least 30 feet from the next table. • Customers would order and pay online. • On arrival, customers would remain in their vehicle until the food was placed on an assi...
Stuck at home because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Phyllis Roeder has decided to write her life’s story. “It’s something I’ve wanted to do for 25 years, since I retired,” she said. So that’s what got her started thinking about her childhood in Portales. And that’s when she started remembering her school days, which reminded her of the big explosion at Central Grade School. Problem was, Roeder had never known details of the explosion and she wanted some. So she emailed the newspaper to see what she could find out. This is what...
The governor’s Economic Recovery Council is looking for “low-hanging fruit” out the gate as it tries to refuel the economy as quickly as safely possible in the wake of COVID-19. Members of the advisory council said Friday they expect New Mexico businesses to begin opening gradually and purposefully over the next few weeks. Industries that can effectively practice social distancing — especially those in areas with few cases of the virus — may be allowed to open before those in areas where health concerns are higher. “I think...
TUCUMCARI — Warren Frost called him “the consummate farmer and rancher, always on the cutting edge of new developments.” Thom Moore said he was “a man of values. Just an upstanding citizen. A huge supporter of rural eastern New Mexico.” And Lance Adkins said, “He was solid gold. I can’t believe he’s gone.” By all accounts, eastern New Mexico lost one of its finest citizens early Saturday following his diagnosis with coronavirus. Paul Quintana, 76, was hospitalized in Tampa, Florida, after contracting COVID-19 on a cru...
Joan Clayton wrote nine books, hundreds of articles for magazines and anthologies, 13 essays for the “Chicken Soup for the Soul” series and — as many faithful readers probably know — more than 1,000 religion columns for this newspaper. She never got paid for the newspaper columns. “I don’t write for money,” she said. “I write for Jesus.” It’s important to note she did not preach about her religion in those newspaper reports. Instead, she showed us her faith through her stories. That was way better. Clayton started writing aft...
In-person voting is safe. So are overflowing parking lots at big-box retailers. But it’s too dangerous for a small nursery to sell Easter lilies to individuals curbside. And if you see any suspicious activity downtown — say an alley door closing quickly and somebody slipping a shopping bag inside their jacket — well, you’ll need to call the cops, Gladys Kravitz. This coronavirus circus is crazier than any “Bewitched” rerun you’ve seen since we’ve all — sorta — been ordered to shelter in place. Guns and alcohol were “essen...
These are extraordinary times. They call for extraordinary measures. But let’s not give up our liberty — especially when government’s “help” in trying to save us from ourselves doesn’t make any sense and won’t prove helpful. Recent executive orders from New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham are undoubtedly intended to prevent the spread of COVID-19. But they are not all well-reasoned and won’t stand up to scrutiny when this is over. Take for example the governor’s list of “non-essential” businesses that must close until the... Full story
Clovis has been home to movie theaters and/or vaudeville entertainment since Clovis began. The earliest theaters were less impressive than most living room entertainment centers today — small spaces, sometimes located in the second story of a commercial building, consisting of a screen, projector, wood benches or seats and a ticket booth. That’s according to the National Park Service and its National Register of Historic Places. Then in 1911, when Clovis was 4 years old, the industry began to thrive. The city’s first Lyceu...
We can probably all agree hand washing and social distancing are key to preventing the spread of COVID-19. But there’s another safety component some officials around the state seem to not understand: Information should be shared, especially information that might help us avoid infection. New Mexico health officials are telling us daily the number of positive tests by county. Sometimes we’re told approximately how old the patient is and whether they are hospitalized, especially if they die. That helps keep the topic in the...
I collect historical tidbits that interest me from area newspapers. Here are a few from Aprils past: • April 3, 1945: Bill Vance of Portales announced his dog, Buzz, had been poisoned. Vance said he would pay a $25 reward if someone could identify the perpetrator. Two other dogs had also been recently poisoned in Portales, including “the dog of the little crippled children of the Colby family.” • April 6, 1955: The Lilac Park Cafe, on U.S. 70 near Eastern New Mexico University, had new owners. Mr. and Mrs. Bill Walker, former...
The coronavirus has hit home. Hard. Hundreds of businesses across eastern New Mexico are closed or limited in services they can provide. Schools have been closed for two weeks and soon switching to a "learn-at-home" model. And Curry and Roosevelt counties have both received notification that residents have tested positive for COVID-19. It's not just something we see on the news anymore. This thing has walked in our front doors and settled into our most comfortable chairs. And... Full story
Myrtle Gurley was the first to die, on Oct. 7, 1918. She left two small children and a husband. Ten days later, Clovis’ number of influenza deaths had swelled to 23. “This is by no means whatsoever a large death rate, considering the hundreds of cases involved,” The Clovis News reported. Mayor Lester Stone had ordered all public meeting places closed, including schools, theaters and churches. Coronavirus is a concern for eastern New Mexico, and the world, today. The Spanish Influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 reminds us why we ta...
Langdon Skarda was an intelligence officer in the U.S. Army during World War II. He was also an attorney, farmer, rancher and banker with wide-ranging hobby interests. Skarda lived most of his life in Clovis, having been born in the city on Feb. 8, 1914. He became a champion quarter-horse breeder after the war, and learned to judge show dogs. He remains a legend among Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show fans. In 1979, a Siberian Husky named Cinnar was having a difficult time catching judges’ eyes because a kennel mate had b...
Fourteen states held primary elections on Tuesday, including Texas. That makes today a good day to look back on the region’s choices for president through the years. Some interesting tidbits from Bailey, Curry, De Baca, Parmer, Quay and Roosevelt counties: • All six local counties have voted Republican since 1980, with one exception. In 1996, De Baca County chose Bill Clinton over Bob Dole by 20 votes — 509-489. • All six counties overwhelmingly supported Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton in 2016, but Trump received fewer v...
Congratulations to the Roosevelt County Commission. That was some impressive politicking it did on Tuesday. Commissioners seem to have successfully walked a fine line — supporting the county sheriff who doesn’t want to enforce the state’s newest gun law, while declining to defy the governor who championed that law. Commissioners passed a resolution “Declaring Opposition to the Extreme Risk Protection Order Act.” Sheriff Malin Parker and his supporters no doubt left the meeting believing they have commissioners’ permission...
Rumors of his death were “slightly exaggerated.” That was according to Portales’ Don Holderman, 23, who had supposedly died in a Japanese prisoner camp near the end of World War II. His good health was substantiated by newspaper reporters just a few days before Holderman’s wedding in February 1946. One said he was often seen breezing around town on a motorcycle. Here’s what happened: Holderman, a U.S. Army sergeant, was working in a Japanese steel mill, shoveling iron ore and tending furnaces with other prisoners of war. T...
A few thoughts on Clovis’ municipal elections: n Where did anyone get the idea crime in Clovis is rising, as several candidates have suggested? Clovis police statistics show calls for service have been dropping steadily since at least 2014. Police received 17.4% fewer calls (that’s more than 6,000 fewer calls) between 2014 and 2018, the most recent year statistics are available. Violent crimes are down as well and the number of burglaries dropped from 736 in 2014 to 375 in 2018. The District Attorney’s Office reports it op... Full story
I collect historical tidbits that interest me from area newspapers. Here are a few from Februarys past: n Feb. 5, 1929: Ridge Whiteman, 19, of Portales wrote a letter to the Smithsonian Institute reporting he’d found an arrow point with elephant bones at the site now known as Blackwater Draw. Anthropologists and archaeologists soon realized the discovery was proof that man was living in North America 13,000 years ago. n Feb. 7, 1968: The Board of Trustees for Clovis’ Memorial Hospital voted to increase patient room rates to...
Newcomers to Clovis might misinterpret the name of L. Casillas Boulevard near the Lighthouse Mission as Las Casillas — as in The Casillas. That’s not far off. Librado Casillas was the Casillas who helped build Guadalupe parish, a mission of Sacred Heart Church in 1943. That complex, now lost to time, was just around the corner from today’s Lighthouse, which also ministers to searching souls. Librado Casillas was also the Casillas who opened a grocery store next to the railroad tracks in west Clovis in 1945. That store — also...
Some New Mexico lawmakers are supporting a proposed “red flag” law they hope will protect us from crazy people. No, thank you. The idea that government can protect us from anything is crazy enough. Senate Bill 5 — which is being debated in the Legislature this month — would allow law enforcement to obtain a court order to take guns from people who might be dangerous. It would allow close acquaintances and law enforcement to seek a court order to temporarily take weapons and ammunition from somebody making violent threats...
Their names are long forgotten, at least in Clovis' political circles. But they laid the groundwork for other women to become active in city government. Phyllis Wood, Tommy L. Turner and Lela Bainum were all making headlines 50 years ago as they were "believed to be the first women to ever seek city offices in Clovis," the Clovis News-Journal reported. All three women were soundly defeated in their respective municipal races in 1970, but all three presented credible...
Voting begins next week for municipal seats in Clovis and Portales. This election offers us more hope than usual because we have choices. A lot of choices in some cases. Clovis has six contested races on the ballot, including five candidates who want to be mayor. Four City Commission seats are also contested, as well as the municipal judge’s job. Portales has a contested race for City Council in Ward B. Early voting begins Feb. 4. Election Day is March 3. This newspaper doesn’t endorse candidates, but this editorial page sin...
Temperatures hovered near zero. Visibility was about the same. Actor Jimmy Stewart was flying the first plane he'd ever owned from Kansas City to Los Angeles when he had to set it down at Tucumcari. "Clouds and snow and fog and ice," Stewart told reporters when asked why his flight was delayed. Tucumcari is a good place to sit and wait for celebrities, thanks mostly to its location along historic Route 66. Paul McCartney, William Shatner, Red Skelton, Danny Thomas and Morgan...
Occasionally, it’s hard to tell the good guys from the bad guys. Recent allegations about local law enforcement officers stealing cash from criminal suspects is a good example. But as troubling as those incidents are, it’s encouraging to learn Clovis police have a system in place to prevent such atrocities. And that system allows us to have confidence that police really are the good guys most of the time. Last month, a New Mexico State Police investigation showed $8,254 is missing from the Roosevelt County Sheriff’s Depar...
