Pages past - Sept. 13

On this date ...

1970: Clovis' first jail escape in five years had ended without injury.

Officials said a 17-year-old prisoner overpowered a 62-year-old jailer. "I tried to use a little tear gas gun I had, but he struck my hand and knocked it away," Jailer Bill Burch told the Clovis News-Journal.

Larry Smart had been arrested Sept. 11 on a car-theft warrant out of Texas. The next afternoon, he asked Burch - who was filling in for the regular jailer - to bring him some medicine, which precluded the assault and escape.

City police Officer Jim Coleman and Curry County Sheriff Nelson Worley captured the youth a few hours after his escape. He was located in the back seat of a car parked on East Brady Street. Authorities were concerned Smart had a pistol, but he was unarmed when captured.

1930: A Muleshoe boy was being credited with the biggest snake haul of the season. Eugene Moore, 11, killed 13 rattlesnakes in a den. Most were about 8 inches long, the boy said, but the two were "extra large."

That's entertainment ...

1970: Portales' Varsity Drive-In Theatre was showing "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid." The movie starred Paul Newman, Robert Redford and Katharine Ross. Admission was $1.

Price check ...

1980: Portales' Doc's Drive In offered the Ramburger with a 12-ounce soft drink for $1.35 on Mondays. The Sunday special was a steak sandwich for $1.25.

Pages Past is compiled by David Stevens. Contact:

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