Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
On this date ...
1978: The Curry County Mounted Patrol Arena was called "one of the best outdoor arenas in the country," in a feature published by the Clovis News-Journal.
Benny Fulgham, captain of the Curry County Mounted Patrol, said, "It's as good as there is. There's none better."
Fulgham said the quality of the facility was a big factor in the ongoing success of the Pioneer Days rodeos held in Clovis each June. The $160,000 facility was constructed in 1970 with covered seating for more than 3,000 spectators.
"We're proud of it," Fulgham said. "We felt that as rodeo-inclined as this area is, we needed a good place to play."
1973: United States Rep. Harold Runnels, D-New Mexico, introduced legislation at the request of Fort Sumner residents to change the name of Alamogordo Reservoir to Lake Sumner.
Constructed by the Bureau of Reclamation in 1939, the lake (15 miles upstream from Fort Sumner on the Pecos River) was named for nearby Alamogordo Creek, but caused confusion with the city of Alamogordo about 160 miles away.
Runnels had introduced legislation the previous year, but too late in the session for any action to be taken. Because it was a Bureau of Reclamations project, the name change required congressional action.
The 4,500-acre reservoir is the centerpiece of Sumner Lake State Park.
Pages Past is compiled by Betty Williamson. Contact her at: [email protected]
