Pages Past - Oct. 21

On this date …

1980: The goodbye party was over and Lynn Farris was on her way to Tulsa, Oklahoma, after 10 years teaching students with physical impairments at Barry Elementary School in Clovis.

“Monday was a really sad day,” the Clovis News-Journal reported. “It's a little hard to tell whom will miss whom the most.”

The newspaper reported many of the students had associated all of their school years with Farris.

1975: A parole violator from Salem, Oregon, had been captured by Clovis police. Robert Anthony O'Donnell, 34, was taken into custody after he pulled the van he was driving into a service station at First and Prince streets in Clovis. The arrest concluded an all-day search for the man throughout the Clovis-Portales area.

1965: About 5,500 cattle had been sold during the 18th annual Cattle Festival in Clovis. Another 1,700 were scheduled to be sold later in the day.

Almost 7,800 cattle were sold at the festival a year earlier.

Ace Reid, the famed cowboy cartoonist, was guest speaker for the event.

Quotable …

1970: “Our Meanest Man of the Week award goes to a cad in Albuquerque who accosted a 56-year-old woman on the street, grabbed her purse and ran after pulling her to the ground. The purse contained $1 in cash and $28 in food stamps.” — Bill Southard, managing editor of the Clovis News-Journal.

That time of year …

1980: Gibson's at 1200 W. 21st in Clovis was hosting a “Spooky Specials” sale. Ghoul blood was 59 cents. A “Muzzy Fuzzy” combo beard and mustache went for 88 cents. Assorted Halloween masks were 49 cents to 78 cents.

Pages Past is compiled by David Stevens. Contact:

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