Pages past - May 24

On this date ...

1988: Local cowboy and professional roper Sylvester Mayfield was back in Clovis after a big win at the Crump-Walker Memorial Rodeo in Shawnee, Oklahoma.

He told the Clovis News-Journal that he'd been offered $25,000 for his horse, Jet, after the two of them turned in a total time of 37 seconds on four calves to beat out 77 other world-class ropers.

He turned down the offer, giving credit to his four-legged partner for the quick times.

"I won it with my fine horse, Jet," Mayfield said. "I think he's the best horse in the world."

1983: The end of the caboose was in sight, as the Santa Fe Railroad prepared to join other railroads across the nation in phasing out the traditional last car on freight trains.

Members of the Association of American Railroads had voted to reduce the number of cabooses, and Susan Metcalf, a spokesperson for the Santa Fe Railroad, said the SFR was in negotiation with the United Transportation Union to phase out the 719 cabooses currently in use on the system.

Nationwide, there were an estimated 14,000 cabooses still in use, but much of their original function had been replaced by remote sensors and computers.

It cost about 92 cents a mile to operate with the caboose, and the elimination of those familiar cars was expected to save about $400 million a year for the railroad industry.

Pages Past is compiled by Betty Williamson. Contact her at:

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