Pages past — July 5

On this date ...

1971: A rookie placekicker in the National Football League had lost both his legs and part of his right hand in a fireworks accident on July 4.

Dale Allen Eidson, who was scheduled to report to the San Diego Chargers for his first training camp this week, was setting off fireworks in a one-gallon can in his parents’ back yard in Concord, California.

“He was apparently dropping (fireworks) inside a dairy can and slamming the lid down on it to see how high the lid would go,” Patrolman Lloyd Straughn told reporters.

1961: A car crash near Muleshoe killed a mother and her two young children and left two others seriously injured.

Mrs. Curtis Parker, 25, was dead on arrival at the Muleshoe hospital. Her 17-month-old son died soon after arriving at the hospital. Her 4-year-old daughter died the next morning.

Parker was driving a 1957 Chevrolet when it collided with a 1958 Ford just west of Muleshoe on U.S. 84.

Law officers said it wasn’t immediately clear what caused the head-on collision but that the sun may have been a factor.

The wreck occurred at a curve in the road where other fatal crashes had occurred. Law officers had described the locationas “deadman” curve, the Clovis News-Journal reported.

1941: About 35 people gathered in the back yard of the A. L. Dillon home at 422 Ross St. in Clovis to celebrate the Fourth of July.

They called it the 23rd annual pioneer picnic, though only two attendees — Mr. and Mrs. Cash Ramey — were part of the original group.

“One highlight in the evening’s activities was the mad scramble for a piece of Mrs. James M. Bickley’s cake,” the Clovis News-Journal reported.

Pages Past is compiled by Editor David Stevens. For more regional history, check out his weblog at:

www.highplainsyesterdays.com