Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
On this date ...
1988: Eastern New Mexico University biology professor Tony Gennaro placed "Rover," a 12 1/2-foot python, in his home in the newly remodeled Natural History Museum in Roosevelt Hall on the ENMU campus.
Rover was a fixture in the museum for years, and a popular visitor to local schools.
Gennaro died in 2015, and in the spring of 2016, the museum was renamed the Dr. Antonio "Tony" Gennaro Natural History Museum in his honor.
1963: Spurred by a physical fitness challenge issued by President John F. Kennedy, four Clovis teenagers and an adult sponsor braved cold winds to hike 30 miles to Muleshoe.
The 10-hour hike was a first for Johnny Barros, Angelina Padilla, Mary Molina, Yolanda Gonzales, and their sponsor, Lucille Martinez, who left Clovis at 3:45 a.m. for the adventure, arriving on the outskirts of Muleshoe at 1:45 p.m.
"We were having fun the first few miles when we weren't tired," one of the unnamed teenagers told the Clovis News-Journal, "but we sure got discouraged after those first few."
Pages Past is compiled by Betty Williamson. Contact her at:
