Museum may see new life under county's umbrella

CLOVIS — The museum serving as the legacy of former Clovis city employee Ardale “Pappy” Thornton may see new life under the umbrella of Curry County.

County officials floated an idea about moving the contents of the museum at Ned Houk Park to a future county extension office at the Curry County Fairgrounds, and the reception was positive to the point officials with the city, county and High Plains Historical Foundation agreed to research how it could come to fruition.

“I guess we’ve just formed a committee,” Assistant City Manager Claire Burroughes said of the 15 people who attended the Thursday meeting at the Clovis-Carver Public Library’s Ingram Room. The group plans to meet there again 8:30 a.m. Sept. 13 after looking into some of the specifics.

County Commissioner Seth Martin said the county is planning to build a new extension office at the county fairgrounds. The building would have some space for museum items, and a 4-H building already located at the fairgrounds would be freed up when those services are housed at the new extension building. Facilities Director Ben Roberts said $1.2 million is set aside, and the county hopes to complete a 5,000 square foot building by next fall.

Martin felt relocating the museum to the fairgrounds provides educational access closer to area schools, and the extension building and Oldest House in Curry County provide a complement to an agricultural museum.

“That looks like a very feasible option,” Martin said. “I am a farmer, so it bothers me when agriculture is overlooked in our area.”

The museum was named in 1983 for Thornton, who worked part time for the city and ran the Wagon Wheel Trading Post while he acquired donations of antique farm equipment. The museum building is primarily used as storage and office space for park maintenance crews, and is surrounded by a locked fence. Clovis Parks and Recreation Director Russell Hooper estimated the building was about 2,500 square feet, but much of the museum equipment is “packed and stacked” and would likely be more spaced out in a new location.

Years of inactivity have led to many items falling into what Burroughes called “serious disrepair,” and many city commissioners have admitted they’d never heard of the museum before joining the commission despite growing up in Clovis.

Donna Labatt of the historical society said she stumbled on the museum sometime in 1993, and attributed the lack of interest to the difficulty in accessing the facility.

“I think it is an absolutely perfect location,” Labatt said. “There is good utilization of that park. It’s a matter of getting the word out. It’s never been advertised.”

When Labatt asked what exposure a museum at the county fairgrounds would have, County Manager Lance Pyle said the eventual location of the extension office would draw traffic. Pyle added there would be more accessibility to citizens because extension staff or fairgrounds management would always be nearby to unlock the museum. The city keeps the facility locked for liability and vandalism concerns.

Phil Frazee of the historical society said he has his own keys and can open the museum for anybody who asks. When asked about the access by Hooper, who was unaware Frazee had keys, Frazee said he requested the keys about three years ago as a foundation representative, and has no reason to believe any other citizen has a set.

Tom Thornton, Ardale’s son, said he would have no issue with such a move, noting, “Anything is better than what’s happening now.”

Martin said some of the donated items are duplicates, and the county could auction them off like Roosevelt County did recently with a collection of donated windmills. Others at the meeting didn’t take any issue with that idea, so long as donors got a chance to take the items back before they’re put on an auction block.

Burroughes suggested the group meet again after a month of work, but Pyle asked for a tighter timeframe due to deadlines associated with the extension building.