From Dizzy to the Kid - July a memorable month

I collect historical tidbits that interest me from area newspapers. Here are a few from Julys past:

• July 1, 1908: A fire wiped out the east half of Portales' business district, causing $30,000 in damage. The blaze began early in the morning. Nearby pool players were first on the scene.

• July 1, 1942: Floyd Golden was named the second president of Eastern New Mexico College.

• July 1, 1960 — Adult male parakeets, regular $2.49 each, were on sale for $1.19 at Woolworth’s in Clovis. All-metal cages were $3.29 and up.

• July 1, 1991: Eastern New Mexico University-Clovis officially separated from ENMU to become Clovis Community College. Its first president was Jay Gurley.

• July 8, 1949 The Clovis Pioneers celebrated “Dizzy Dean Night” with a 7-2 win over the Lubbock Pioneers in a West Texas-New Mexico League baseball encounter. Dean, a hall-of-fame pitcher who co-owned the Clovis franchise with his brother Paul, appeared in the game as a pinch-hitter, rapping an eighth-inning single.

• July 9, 1960: Five hitchhiking hobos died when a freight train plunged off a rain-weakened trestle and caught fire near Tucumcari.

• July 14, 1881: Lincoln County Sheriff Pat Garrett killed notorious outlaw Billy the Kid at Fort Sumner. The Kid’s death was reported by multiple newspapers, including those in Colorado Springs, Colo., and Las Vegas, N.M.

• July 14, 1910: William Hanna was born in Melrose. The son of a construction worker, he only lived in the village three years. Hanna and Joseph Barbera were co-creators of animated legends Huckleberry Hound, Fred Flintstone, Yogi Bear, George Jetson and countless others. Hanna died March 22, 2001.

• July 14, 1912: Folksinger Woody Guthrie was born in Okemah, Okla.

• July 23, 1938: Actor/singer Ronny Cox was born in Cloudcroft. He graduated high school and college in Portales. In 1972, he scored his first major acting role in the film "Deliverance," playing alongside Ned Beatty, Jon Voight and Burt Reynolds.

• July 25, 1959: Gordon Ellis, a 13-year-old Quay County boy, shot his parents with a deer rifle as they slept. Gordon's father died a few days later.

David Stevens writes about regional history for Clovis Media Inc. Contact him at:

[email protected]

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