Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
On this date ...
1961: A fight for the body of Billy the Kid had moved “out of the realm of idle chit-chat and into the courts” with the filing of a petition seeking removal of the Kid's body from its grave south of Fort Sumner.
Lois Telfer claimed in the court filing she was the Kid's next of kin and wanted his remains moved to “a decent burial place” in Lincoln County.
Telfer alleged officials in De Baca County, who were responsible for care of the gravesite, had failed to maintain the cemetery where the Kid was buried and had allowed his grave to be desecrated and commercialized.
District Judge E. T. Hensley in March 1962 denied Telfer's petition after claims that the exhumation of the Kid's body might unnecessarily disturb remains of others buried in the area.
Hensley also told the overflowing courtroom, “It is apparent that Lincoln County (where the Kid escaped jail and a planned hanging) was the place where he least desired to live or die.”
The Clovis News-Journal reported a “highly partisan De Baca crowd” seemed “ready to protect that old graveyard with firearms if need be.”
Telfer did not attend the hearing, leading some to speculate the issue “started as a tourist gimmick, got out of hand, and then returned to its proper perspective at the end,” the CN-J reported.
1961: A $1 million addition to Clovis Memorial Hospital was nearing completion. Construction workers had begun “breaking through the wall separating the new addition and the original hospital,” the Clovis News-Journal reported.
Once the new addition was complete, plans were to begin renovating the original building at 12th and Thornton streets.
1971: Clovis school officials reported at least three incidents of vandalism had occurred on school properties within the week.
The most serious damage occurred at James Bickley Elementary School where vandals had broken at least 30 windows in the building's west wing. Broken glass panels were also located on doors on the northwest side of the school.
Clovis High School also was a victim of vandals with 20 light bulbs broken and dirt thrown on a wall.
Clovis police suspected children were responsible for the damage.
Pages Past is compiled by David Stevens. Contact:
