Potter Park namesake could milk a goat

He was a champion goat milker. He had audience with a president. And when you think about the only outdoor public swimming pool in Clovis, it's his name that comes to mind.

This is a good day to remember Oscar Gerome Potter because his birthday is Sept. 14. He was born on that date in 1882, in Gadson, Alabama.

O. G. Potter was Clovis' mayor from 1953 to 1957. But he's most famous today for the city's second-oldest park, which bears his name: Potter Park, home of Potter Pool.

When he was 20, Potter enlisted in the Navy and spent the next four years traveling the world. When he was discharged from the military in 1906, he sought a new adventure in the fledgling communities of eastern New Mexico.

History books tell us Potter arrived in Texico with $1,000 in gold, part of which he used to settle on land north of Grady.

He soon moved to Clovis - to 209 Gidding St. - and began working for the Santa Fe railroad, where he was a car inspector.

It's not clear why Potter Park was named in his honor, but we know this from the Clovis News-Journal published May 14, 1954:

"The city commission last night on the recommendation of the city park commission and the youth recreation board officially designated the new west side park as 'Potter Park.'"

Potter was mayor at the time, so that probably had something to do with the honor.

Hillcrest was Clovis' only other city park. Hillcrest also had a public pool. Potter Pool opened in June 1954. It cost taxpayers $57,000.

At least one other historically significant event occurred while Potter was mayor.

In January 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower spent time in Clovis and Curry County as part of a two-day drought-inspection tour of the Southwest. He remains the only sitting U.S. president to set foot in Clovis. Potter was part of the president's welcoming committee.

As for that goat-milking championship, that apparently happened twice, as part of Clovis' Pioneer Days celebration.

The Clovis News-Journal on June 7, 1953, reported Mayor Potter "retained his title of champion milker after competing with other mayors and prominent men from nearby communities."

Judges included Gov. Edwin Mechem and Pioneer Days Queen Wilma Fulgham.

The competition began with a pistol shot from Clovis Police Chief Ollie Damron.

"Contestants had to run the block from Seventh to Eighth on Main carrying their chairs and milk pails," the paper reported.

Gov. Mechem presented Potter with a certificate for his victory, "which makes him an honorary member of the Royal Order of Goat Milkers."

Potter died in 1964, the day before his 82nd birthday.

He's buried in Grady.

David Stevens writes about regional history for The Eastern New Mexico News. Contact him at:

dstevens@thenews.email