Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 44
On this date … 1946: A Curry County man and his son were awarded more than $700 by a district court jury. Thomas J. Stephens and his son Tommy Dale Stephens, 10, who lived five miles west of Clovis, sued Victory Bus, which operated between Clovis and the Clovis air base. The Stephens’ alleged a Victory Bus was being operated recklessly when it struck the boy, who was running across the highway after exiting a school bus. The boy suffered a broken leg, broken hand and other injuries and was hospitalized for 13 days. Att...
On this date … 1956: “Yours to Keep,” a film about a typical American family wanting everything and getting nowhere, was available for civic groups and Parent-Teacher Associations to show. The film, a comedy, had been shown in Clovis schools “to encourage people to save money,” the Clovis News-Journal reported. 1967: Eastern New Mexico University President Charles Meister was feuding with Gov. David Cargo over the proposed use of Walker Air Force Base facilities in Roswell. The base was scheduled to close and ENMU was makin...
On this date … 1945: Eleven Clovis police officers, nearly the entire force, had resigned in protest of the anticipated removal of Chief Leonard Pinnix. Capt. Nelson Worley was one of the 11 who quit. City officials announced the next day that J.W. Manning would be the new police chief. Before year’s end, commissioners had ousted Manning and his successor, Roy Ansley. Worley was appointed the new chief on Nov. 22, 1945. Allegations of prisoner abuse and a stolen car plagued the brief administrations of Manning and Ans...
On this date … 1956: A Clovis police officer was reported in “fair” condition at Clovis Memorial Hospital. Bill Davis, 56, was injured while directing traffic during a funeral procession. His right leg was pinned between a pickup truck and a police car, the Clovis News-Journal reported. He suffered two broken bones, just above the ankle. 1958: The Dora Coyotes boys’ basketball team handily defeated the Causey Tomcats, 65-36, as the Coyotes nailed down their fifth straight victory after outscoring the Tomcats in every quarter....
On this date … 1955: Stagner and Sons had announced plans to build 78 new homes in Clovis, representing more than $500,000 in value. Homes were expected to sell for $7,000 to $10,000 each, plus the cost of the lots. 1956: Seven people had been arrested at the Garcia Pool Hall, 1001 W. Grand in Clovis, and charged with gambling. Four pleaded guilty and were fined $15 each. The others pleaded not guilty and were released on $25 bond. Augustine Urioste and Elijio Martinez pleaded guilty to allowing gambling in a public place a...
On this date … 1932: Eastern New Mexico was covered in about 6 inches of snow. “Old timers pronounced this as the heaviest snowfall in years,” the Portales Valley News reported. “The night bus was unable to run, and the bus mail failed to come in.” In other local news: • Mrs. W.M. Drinkard of the East Valley View Club had won a carpet sweeper and undisclosed cash prize in the Ball Jar canning contest. Drinkard won for canning vegetables. • A Portales man had been arrested for stealing five hens from Ed Spears. The suspect was...
On this date … 1903: Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway workers began construction on the Belen Cutoff – 268 miles of track that connected Texico and the Texas-New Mexico border to the AT&SF’s main line near Belen, south of Albuquerque. The new route, avoiding the mountains of northern New Mexico, led to the creation of Clovis in 1907. 1931: About 100 men, most armed with shotguns, gathered outside the Clovis News-Journal office on Main Street. Then, “bent upon bloodshed,” they sped out of the city, the newspaper...
On this date … 1951: An increase in reports of dogs destroying property had prompted an “intensive campaign” to rid Clovis of strays. Police Chief John Droke was warning dog owners to make sure their dogs were licensed and wore their licenses. Dog catcher Juan Chavez had impounded 28 dogs in the past two days and only one was tagged, the Clovis News-Journal reported. Stray dogs were kept in the pound at the city zoo for 10 days before being destroyed, Chavez warned. 1957: Clovis merchants were gathering an impressive colle...
On this date … 1870: Christmas was celebrated as a federal holiday in the United States. Europeans long celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ as part of their Winter Solstice, when cattle were often slaughtered and food was plentiful as people celebrated the worst of winter behind them and promises of longer days and sunlight ahead. 1940: Clovis firefighters and other city employees had delivered sacks of toys to more than 600 children in the city. About 250 families benefited from the gifts, provided by volunteers and o...
On this date … 1921: The headline across The Portales Valley News read: “Most revolting crime in history of Roosevelt County.” A secondary headline reported a father had shot his son and daughter-in-law dead while they were eating breakfast. The newspaper reported Lewis Hawes was confined in the county jail, “as the result of a family row, facing the gallows as the result of his hasty temper.” When law officers arrived at the death scene six miles south of Portales, Lewis Hawes admitted his deed. “Father and son Clinton had...
On this date … 1936: C.V. Steed Undertaking was “serving Clovis since Clovis began,” according to its newspaper advertisement. Anyone needing ambulance service or funeral service could reach Steed at phone number 14. 1954: Fourteen floats were entered in the upcoming Christmas Pageant Parade in downtown Clovis. The parade route was set to begin at West Seventh and Mitchell streets, then proceed down Mitchell to West First, over to Main Street and then to Ninth Street, where it would end. All of the floats were spons...
On this date ... 1906: Portales and railroad officials were looking for those responsible for the theft of the Saturday night mail sack. It had contained about 1,000 letters, officials estimated. The mail sack was located late Sunday afternoon, but only a dozen letters remained inside. "It seems it must have been a deliberate plot to rob the sack and the robbers must have been laying for it," the Portales Times reported on Dec. 15, one week after the heist. "This is shown by...
On this date … 1957: Hazel Stone, head of the linens department at Clovis’ C.R. Anthony’s, had been “buying and planning for a wonderful array of practical gifts for your gift shopping.” Chenille bedspreads were $4.99. Quaker lace table cloths ranged from $16.90 to $3.98. Orlon blankets were $10.99. 1961: An ice storm hit much of eastern New Mexico, leaving many rural residents without power for two days. Crews from Farmers Electric were working all hours to restore service to Fort Sumner and multiple farm homes, the Clovi...
On this date … 1946: Lloyd Jordan and Don Litchfield had been named captains of the 1947 Clovis High School football team. Coach Bill Gibson made the announcement at the annual football banquet. Also at the banquet, John Fila had been presented the Holmberg Award, symbolic of the most outstanding football player on the squad. The award, given by Wildcat supporter and jewelry store owner A.A. Holmberg, was a 14-carat solid gold miniature football. Attitude, ability and sportsmanship were the primary factors considered in s...
On this date … 1948: Paul and Dizzy Dean became owners of the Clovis Pioneers baseball team. Paul, whose nine-year Major League career had ended in 1943, would be player-manager for the Class C West Texas-New Mexico League team. Dizzy Dean, who would be elected to the Hall of Fame in 1953, said he would be active in the team behind the scenes. 1954: High winds and dirt turned regional skies reddish brown. Winds whipped up to 64 mph and visibility was reported at less than two miles in Fort Sumner. 1960: An exhibit from the S...
On this date … 1915: The Clovis Woman’s Club appointed a sanitation committee to ensure the city’s livery stable was cleaned out twice a week. Club minutes also tell us, “Mrs. Anna Janes reported that the box supper will be December 8, proceeds of which will be used for the library fund. Be sure to bring your husband and remind him that his bids are to be very generous.” 1969: A black airman at Cannon Air Force was being court-martialed for refusing to cut his hair. Airman First Class August Doyle said he believed the order...
On this date … 1956: The White House Christmas tree was scheduled to make a stop in Clovis prior to heading east, Santa Fe Railway officials said. The 65-foot spruce cut in the Lincoln National Forest was slated to be shipped via two flat cars. The tree would be on the cars “considerably west” of the passenger depot, officials said, before being loaded onto a different freight train sometime during the night. 1957: Big news in Elida: Mr. and Mrs. Claud McDowell were driving a new Mercury car, the community was still talking a...
On this date … 1952: Cannon Air Force Base personnel were preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving with a traditional turkey and dressing feast served in both airmen dining halls and the officers open mess. A Thanksgiving eve dance was also on the calendar, as well as Jewish, Protestant, and Catholic services. Many airmen also had invitations to dine with local families in lieu of spending the holiday on base. 1956: A pair of Clovis teens had confessed to robbing the juke box at Juarez Café. One boy told Chief of Police Nelson Wor...
On this date … 1940: A man known “from the Pecos River to the Texas line as a character of the old days of the West,” died in a Clovis hospital at age 75. The Clovis News-Journal reported that Frank H. “Doctor” Childs died from injuries suffered when he was “slugged and robbed” in El Paso a few days earlier. Childs, who homesteaded near Melrose in 1908, was easily recognized throughout the region because he was always “well dressed ... with a cane slung over his arm,” CN-J reported. 1946: Movies playing in local theaters in...
On this date … 1946: A man had been arrested on allegations he made “improper advances” toward a young girl in a Clovis movie theater. Police were called to the theater after the girl’s father threatened to beat up the suspect. When police arrived, the suspect ran from the theater. Police captured him a few blocks away. “A local physician said that the man was either intoxicated or under the influence of dope, but that he was probably temporarily insane,” the Clovis News-Journal reported. 1961: Portales consumers were cuttin...
On this date … 1952: Three Roosevelt County businesses had been hit by burglars, but the only significant loss was $40 from a Portales farm supply store’s cash drawer, soft drink and candy dispensers. An Elida service station reported two old automobile batteries were missing, but new batteries were left behind. The service station was also missing a gallon of milk. A Roosevelt County Sheriff’s deputy said it wasn’t clear if the three burglaries were related. 1952: Authorities were investigating the poisoning of 16 head of...
On this date … 1966: Clovis police investigator Cliff Wirtjes had earned the highest score in the annual policeman’s shooting competition. Wirtjes scored 663 out of a possible 800 to take the top-gun trophy for the second year in a row. 1969: The Clovis Junior Women’s Club had announced its annual home tour. Five Clovis homes were scheduled to be decorated for the holidays and open for public viewing. The homes were located at • 701 E. 21st • 1744 Baronne Court • 1617 Courtland Circle • 2824 Axtell • 1921 Enloe Drive. Ti...
On this date … 1950: A 54-year-old tenant farmer was found dead in a ditch about 12 miles southwest of Muleshoe. Officials said the man tied a rope around his neck, fastened the other end to the steering wheel of his car, and jumped out of the car while it was in motion. Investigators estimated the car traveled 200 yards after the man’s body hit the ground; it was found stalled in a field. 1956: Officials at Clovis Air Force Base were asking residents to avoid trespassing on the Melrose Gunnery Range. Lt. Col. Bernie Bas...
On this date … 1940: Two young male lions were sold to a circus by the Clovis zoo. Cole Bros. Circus purchased the lions and a monkey in a cash transaction following its Clovis performances, the Clovis News-Journal reported. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. 1940: Clovis High School band members needed new uniforms and they were willing to work for them. Band members said Nov. 9 was going to be “Hobo Day,” during which they would mow lawns, clean up trash, wash dishes or perform just about any other task in excha...
On this date … 1937: A.L. Watson of Clovis was fined $100, with $50 suspended, after pleading guilty to riding with a drunken driver. The driver pleaded not guilty to the allegations and was going to trial. 1940: More than 100 blocks of Clovis city streets had been paved since March, city officials said. Eight more blocks were expected to be paved within the week — two on East Fifth, one on North Wallace, one on West Eighth, two on West 12th, one on North Reid and one on North Hull. 1941: An overnight drenching left far...
