Family knows ‘inz and outz’ of Clovis

Don McAlavy: Local Columnist

One of the oldest families settling near the soon-to-be Clovis in 1904 was the Joel C. Faris family of eight. A farmer who raised cotton, horses and mules in Texas, Joel Faris was also a carpenter, building the first homes when Clovis began. He built the first real estate building at Third and Main, made for Clayton Reed and C. V. Steed.

One of his grandsons was Carroll Faris, Clovis High School Class of 1950, one of CHS’ great athletes. Carroll, like his grandfather, was an entrepreneur too, full of ideas.

Three years ago, Carroll had the idea to put together a scramble golf tournament in Albuquerque where he and his wife, Buck, live.

“We call ourselves ‘The Over-the-Hill Brat Pack,’ Carroll said, “and we call the tournament the ‘Inz vs. the Outz.’ This means the former Clovisites living in Albuquerque play the former Clovisites who still live in Clovis or who now live in the Albuquerque general area or other towns around New Mexico.

Those living in Albuquerque include Cecil Davis (CHS class of ’50), J. T. Isham (CHS ’53), John Hager (CHS ’55), Pascal Wickard (CHS ’53) and Carrol Faris.

“We are the ‘Inz’ golfers,” Faris said.

The “Outz” golfers include Faris’ brother Leon (CHS ’52) who lives in Lovington, Freddie Robinson (CHS ’52) of Socorro, Buddy Prince (CHS ’54) of Portales, Clarence Rehorn (CHS ’52) of Santa Fe and Gerald Clancy (CHS ’53) of Clovis.

“The tournament is strictly for bragging rights,” said Clancy, “and the winners have no trouble bragging. In 2002 the Inz won, in 2003 the Outz won, and this year it was a tie. I somehow wound up this year with the ‘trophy plaque’ that Carroll makes from different kinds of wood each year in his woodwork shop.

“... This tournament is generating quite a bit of interest and we expect to add several more players next year.”

Carroll Faris said a round includes two days at two different golf courses.

“The teams are pretty evenly matched and usually it’s just one stroke difference, or a tie,” Faris said.

“After the first day of our golf tournament we all go out to eat with our wives (usually to a Mexican food restaurant.) I also organized a ‘high tea’ for the wives while the guys played golf this year. My daughter-in-law, Trish Faris, is a licensed tea hostess, and she and my wife Buck hosted the tea for the ladies.

“Some years the players change, but we always manage to have fun.”

Cecil Davis has been battling cancer for several years, but when he’s on the golf course he can hit that golf ball farther than any of the others, I’ve been told.

When I talked with Carroll Faris, he threw in a little-known piece of history about Clovis High School.

“At one of our CHS Class of ’50 mini-reunions we have every first Saturday of September, discussion about who wrote the school song, ‘Purple and White,’ came up,” he said.

“Recently a first cousin of mine, Lou Ann Culley, was in Albuquerque and dropped by my house. The subject of the school song came up and she told me her mother, my Aunt Ann Faris Culley, wrote the words and the music to our CHS school song.”

Faris said his Aunt Ann lives in a nursing home in Manhattan, Kan. She is 96 years old and fairly alert, he said.

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

[email protected]