Greene Acres Lake has a dark history

It seems strange that in all the incidents of life the greatest tragedies come in the hours when least expected.

On the morning of Monday, April 29, 1919, a 12-year-old boy, Hubert Bell, son of a prominent real estate dealer of Clovis, left his home, calling back to his mother:

“Mother, you must come, you can’t miss it.”

Hubert referred to an Army tank that was being displayed on Main Street. Hubert went alone and, after enjoying the pleasures of seeing the tank and running races, he and two companions went to Dutchman’s Lake.

We now call it Greene Acres Lake; 85 years ago, it was located a mile north of Clovis.

Hubert went swimming in the lake. There, without a known cause, he suddenly strangled and sank in four feet of water. His companions, wading along the shore, were unable to swim to him. They ran for help, but before help could arrive he was dead.

It became the duty of his own brother, George, to bring the lifeless body to shore.

That story came to me by way of the late Dr. I. D. Johnson, who as a small child witnessed the drowning.

That was the first drowning in that lake that I know about.

Another occurred on Dec. 20, 1973, with ice more than a half-inch thick. The victim was Hubert P. “Skippy” Hawkins, 15, son of Florine and Buster Hawkins.

Witnesses said the boy walked out on the ice. The ice broke beneath him, and he fell in. He desperately tried to get out on unbroken ice, but the ice kept breaking.

From the Loring service station at 21st and Main, Don Loring had seen some boys attempting to walk on the ice. He ran to the south side of the lake hollering that the ice was too thin, to get out.

When he saw the boy break the ice and fall in the water, Loring started running and went into the lake fully clothed, breaking ice as he went. He waded out until the water was chest deep and saw he could not reach the boy.

His legs were badly bruised from breaking the ice and he was almost in a state of shock from the icy water.

A police officer arrived, but could not get close to Skippy.

Southwestern Public Service Company crews, working on 21st Street, saw Skippy fall through the ice. They rushed to the south side of the lake. One of the men threw a rope out to try to reach the boy, but the rope was too short.

Some 30 minutes later a scuba or “wet suit” diver named Ted Reams arrived. He was a serviceman for SPS too. He dived into the 20 feet of icy water several times unsuccessfully and had to return to shore because his air regulator froze. He swam out again. After two more dives he brought the body to shore an hour after the boy had fallen in.

A third drowning occurred on June 8, 1988. Aric Arnold, 9, drowned despite efforts of two kids and one adult to save him.

Aric fell into the lake near the intersection of Mitchell and 21st streets. The boy’s sister, Ayanna, 7, and cousin, Tameka, 10, jumped into the water in an attempt to save him. But the two girls had to be pulled out by Mary Fechter who was driving by.

The three kids had been fishing in the channel west of the walkover bridge, in about six feet of water.

“I realized they were not playing,” said Fechter, “and I went into the water and pulled the two nearest to the shore out. I couldn’t see the boy after I pulled the two girls out.”

After pulling the two girls out, Fechter said Ayanna was not breathing. “I just rolled her over and pushed down on her. She vomited out a bunch of water and she was breathing again.”

Rescue personnel from Clovis Fire Department and divers from the Clovis Police Department searched the muddy water for almost an hour before finding the boy. His father arrived at the scene shortly before the body was found.

As they began to pull the body from the water, the father buried his face, sobbing. The water was so dark beneath the surface due to the silt that the divers could not see their hands in front of their faces. The water was so cold the searcher’s legs kept cramping.

As our weather warms, I hope parents will talk to their kids about the potential dangers of Greene Acres Lake.

Don McAlavy is Curry County’s historian. He can be contacted at:

[email protected]