Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
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Exiting Interstate-25 south of Socorro, I head east on the two-lane asphalt known as U.S. 380. Auburn-tinted desert dappled with creosote bushes lines the highway. Ahead is the village of San Antonio, beyond that the Rio Grande River and further down the road the Jornada del Muerto basin. San Antonio, population 113, is one of those places you might miss if you blinked. But a yellow signal at the intersection of U.S. 380 and New Mexico 1 warns motorists to slow down as they zi...
Los Victors Mexican Restaurant has opened at 2521 Prince St. in Clovis. “This is a franchise. We are the 12th location for the company,” Judith Lopez said. Lopez and her husband Ismael run the operation. Judith Lopez said there are a number of locations in New Mexico and one in Wisconsin. “We had a different restaurant in Reno, Nev. We decided to relocate here because we have family close by,” Lopez said. Lopez added most of the employees at the restaurant are family. The food is described as “California style. Basically...
The books listed below are now available for checkout at the Clovis-Carver Public Library. The library is open to the public, but patrons can still visit the online catalog at cloviscarverpl.booksys.net/opac/ccpl or call 575-769-7840 to request a specific item for curbside pickup. “The Mustangers” by Preston Lewis. Autry Branden and Ed Talley aim to join George Mason and capture mustangs in 1804 Spanish Texas. Their mission intersects with Maria Manuel, who is running from Juan Castenada, captain of the Spanish garrison at Na...
I spent most of last week in Robert Lee, Texas, with my three brothers at our maternal grandparents’ old home place. It was a good week. Those weeks always are. Granddaddy Key built that little house in 1928, so it’s approaching a 100th anniversary. I hereby propose to the guys (two are not all that far off from their own centennial) that we plan ahead and extend one of that year’s stays to a month or, at least, two weeks. Anything less would be disrespectful. For around 40 ye...
At the freshly revived Guadalajara Restaurant in Clovis, Mike Mendoza has been called "The King of the Kitchen." So says restaurant management leader John Rink. Mendoza returns the compliment by describing Rink and the restaurant's management team as "one of the best he's seen anywhere." Mendoza, grandson of Guadalajara's founder Librado Casillas, took some time Wednesday afternoon to talk about his life and the new Guadalajara Restaurant, just off the corner of North Prince a...
I’ve been a journalist most of my life. So I have run afoul of the authorities several times when it comes to First Amendment issues. I guess the first time I was maybe 10 years old … I was editor of the Stevens Family Gazette. It had a circulation of six – one for me, my mother, my dad and three siblings, created on six hand-written loose leaf notebook pages. It was full of news relevant to its readers. For example, I always interviewed my mother for the supper menu. She knew well in advance what we were having to eat each...
When the revolution in higher education finally arrives, how will we know? I have a simple metric: When universities change how they measure faculty work time. Using this yardstick, the U.S. system remains far from a fundamental transformation. It is no accident that former college president Brian Rosenberg titled his new book, "‘Whatever It Is, I’m Against It’: Resistance to Change in Higher Education." Some background: Faculty at Tier 1 research universities (which includes my own employer, George Mason University) typic...
Yesway, the corporation that owns the region’s Allsup’s convenience stores issued a news release announcing the official launch of an eCommerce site for Allsup’s products. The release invited the public to visit www.allsups.com/shop to “explore our mouthwatering menu, featuring our original ‘OG’ and legendary masterpiece, ‘The Allsup’s World Famous Burrito.’” The news release also notes the online offerings will include “an array of delicious products, including taco sauce, salsa, and chimichangas....
A classic restaurant of Clovis is getting rebirth within weeks. Guadalajara Restaurant, which once started in a grocery store run by the Mendoza family near Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in the 1940s, will be opening in the Master’s Center. “Some folks might not recognize that location, it’s 810 East 21st Street,” John Rink said. Rink, who has worked in food service since he was 16-years-old and as a manager of major Clovis restaurants since 1999, will be taking care of employees, paperwork and such in the operation. “This is...
Business has returned to the Food Court at Clovis’ North Plains Mall with the opening of The Pita Pocket. The eatery is operated by former vehicle salesman David Ashcraft and his “significant other,” Chelsie Morris. “We feature our homemade pita bread and chocolate chip cookies,” Ashcraft said. Ashcraft operated “Honest D’s Auto Sales” before opening The Pita Pocket. “Before I sold cars I was in the food biz,” Ashcraft said. Ashcraft said the inspiration for The Pita Pocket came from his grandmother who came from the Oro G...
On this date ... 1938: Clovis’ canine population was on the rise, according to city pound director H.A. Scott. He said 231 dog tags had been sold to owners already in 1938, compared to 175 for all of 1937. 1944: The summer of 1944 was arguably the hottest in Clovis history. National Weather Service statistics show the city had an 11-day run of 100-degree days and it hit 110 on Aug. 3 and Aug. 4. 1957: A 12-year-old Clovis boy picked up for taking a motor scooter from a parking lot at Second and Main streets told Assistant D...
Some Clovis residents’ appreciation of soda has led to the creation of a soda shop business. “The Fountain,” 616 W. 21st Street, is run by partners Elizabeth Larsen, Robyn Mender and Jennifer Standing. “The type of soda mix-ins we offer are really popular in our home states, and so we wanted to bring the concept to the area,” Larsen wrote in an email. Larsen described how the shop will go about its business. “People come inside or at the drive-thru, and order from our menu,” Larsen wrote. She described The Fountain’s be...
Local historians tell us that during the early 1900s, Roosevelt County boasted more than 100 schools in the tiny communities that sprinkled the Plains like cornmeal. By 1957, that number had dwindled to six districts: Causey, Dora, Elida, Floyd, Portales, and Rogers. In May that year, the Rogers community made the painful decision to shutter the doors on its school with only 62 students remaining on the roster following graduation. By fall, many of those students were at...
The stucco hacienda, where The Lady of the House and I reside, sits on a corner we call "Kingbird Corner," in honor of the birds who drop in in late spring and disappear in August/September, the Western Kingbird. When they arrive for the season, one or two of them hang out at our place chattering and snapping bugs out of the sky. In late April or early May, if one listens to the springtime birdsong of the avian residents of eastern New Mexico and west Texas, you might catch...
For two years, Cherie Davis has managed the Curry Resident Senior Meals Association's (CRSMA) food service operations in Clovis, which provides daily lunches at $4 each for seniors and includes a meal delivery service. The CRSMA shares quarters with Clovis' Friendship Senior Center at 901 W. 13th St. Davis took the job after running the House Coop in House, which offers a combination of farm and ranch supplies and general store merchandise. She commutes to her job from...
It’s always good when people take time out of their busy schedules to protest what they believe to be an injustice. And the Cradle of Liberty, good old Philadelphia, is the place to be for protests of all kinds, as we saw last month. On Jan. 24, we had pro-life activists raising their voices in support of one of their own, Mark Houck. Six blocks away, there were Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ, and other acronymed activists protesting at the Union League, a private club founded in 1...
When February offers up no fewer than four fetching food fundraisers, what’s a food fundraiser fanatic to do but fork over the facts? The festivities kick off this Saturday when the Clovis Noonday Kiwanis Club will be flipping flapjacks for its 71st annual Pancake Day that runs from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Clovis High School cafeteria. The menu includes pancakes, sage sausage, milk, juice, and coffee. Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for children ages 4-10. Tots 3 and under ca...
Getting roasted turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, green bean casserole and pie on the table this Thanksgiving is going to cost consumers more than it did in 2021. Rodney Holcomb, Oklahoma State University Extension food economics specialist, said consumers can expect to pay 35% to 45% more for their turkey this year, which typically is the centerpiece for most Thanksgiving tables. “Bird flu has impacted the availability of turkey, which has also impacted the egg and poultry industry as a whole. While there isn’t ne...
We come from a long line of outlaws, woolly-mammoth slayers and rock-and-roll rabble rousers. But we've evolved since those early days. We like the wholesome life of slow-pitch softball and peanut butter shakes now. OK. Truth is, we're kind of complicated and still connected to our roots, when early day promoters called this region the "wonder of the West" because of its wide-open spaces and freedom to roam. We can be rough and rowdy, always ready for some football and the...
The aromas from the café's kitchen filled the room and I couldn't help but think the single page, typewritten menu did not do the whiffs justice. "Is the Green Chile Apple Pie made with pinyon nuts?" I asked, handing the white paper menu back to the waitress. "It is," she replied, interpreting my question and gesture for my order, which she wrote on her pad before tearing it off and handing it to the cook on the other side of the kitchen doorway. The roadside cafe and the...
Any way you measure it, eastern New Mexico is a long day's drive away from the nearest beach. But that hasn't stopped Clovis-Carver Public Library and the Portales Public Library from diving into "Oceans of Possibilities," the shared theme for the 2022 summer reading programs that kicked off early this month, and continue through the end of July. Both libraries have packed their summer calendars with activities and events that appeal to a wide range of ages, from storytimes...
As far as I’m concerned the best part of waking up is Folgers in my cup. I mostly like my coffee pretty plain. Black with sweetener in it works for me. As far as my wife’s cup is concerned, the sweeter and milkier the better. We went 20 years without making coffee in the morning. But the breakfast table became our refuge and rehab as she was recovering from health concerns. The drip coffee maker I only used when my parents stayed with us got pressed into service every mor...
Twenty years ago this month, Thomas Elliott Fite joined the Marines -- just 10 days after graduating from Clovis High. Following boot camp, combat training, and follow-up school, Fite was sent to Iraq for the initial invasion of U.S. forces, in March of 2003. Now, Fite finds himself in a much different position as a marketing manager for clients from New Mexico to California to Virginia. One of his jobs is brand manager for an "estate grown weedery," Estrella River Farms,...
The other day, I went to a movie, and the experience moved me to tears. It was the most recent version of “Macbeth,” brought to the screen by the great Denzel Washington, appearing alongside a combination of veteran actors (like the sublime Frances McDormand as Lady Macbeth) and talented newcomers. That, added to the amazing black and white cinematography, lifted this film to the next level. As I was walking home, something dawned on me. Denzel Washington is a Black man tha...
The Taste-Testing Panel crew is at it again. Our Clovis Municipal Schools food services department remains increasingly proactive when it comes to encouraging students to eat healthy foods. Last fall our nutrition crew, headed up by Deborah Westbrook and Sharon Garcia, began taste-testing in the district to solicit feedback from students when new food items are introduced. The first taste-testing was done at CHS Freshman Academy. With positive response from the student test...
