Legend of journalism knew time for discretion

A few weeks ago, I was wading through old newspaper archives — one of my favorite pastimes — when I came across an essay written by Gordon Greaves in honor of his 50th anniversary of working as a journalist.

By May 24, 1981, Greaves had been the editor of the Portales News-Tribune for decades. In the piece, he shared the story of his “first official assignment.”

Greaves graduated from Portales High School in May of 1931. Within days, his editor-father J.G. Greaves proposed that his diploma-bearing son should be the new “rural representative” for what was then the weekly Portales Valley News.

Young Gordon was given direction to “drive the family automobile down the country lanes throughout the county, and gather items of interest, which would be published in the paper,” he wrote.

I flipped back through the years and found that first piece. It was a careful accounting — and I do mean accounting — of the livestock and crops of a number of local farmers.

Greaves’ story, headlined “Farms Looking Good in Arch Community,” includes:

n “Mr. I.T. Bell is busy planting his corn crop this week. He is farming 160 acres this year and his cotton crop is already coming up. He has just installed an irrigation pump, He has some beans and tomatoes already up.”

n “W. D. Pate has one of the largest farms in the Arch community. He is farming 310 acres, 200 of which are feed crops and about 100 acres of cotton. Mr. Pate uses irrigation and has a large plot of alfalfa on which he pastures his sixteen head of hogs. He also has 15 head of dairy cattle and 75 hens.”

n “George P. Dougherty has 28 head of Jerseys, all of which are either registered or subject to register. Mr. Dougherty says that he keeps nothing but pure blood cattle. He is farming 110 acres this year. He raises only grain crops to feed his cattle. He also has 150 chickens.”

“I have vivid memories of that first assignment,” Greaves reminisced in 1981. “It was about all I could do to muster courage to stop at the first farm, and knock on the door, and start my career as a writer for the newspaper.”

Interestingly, the best story he heard that day came from that first door knock, but it didn’t see print until a half century later.

“The family was hospitable,” Greaves wrote in 1981. “The old timer kindly took me out into the locust thicket and showed me the remains of his moonshine still which had been raided and destroyed only a few weeks before. He bore me no grudge, and assured me that he had never sold any liquor that was not properly aged.

“I recall it was a well-hidden still,” Greaves went on, “with a roof made of strong timbers, and sand piled on top, and bear grass growing in it. This kindly old fellow was simply being hospitable, and had a certain pride in his craft.”

Even though he was a green reporter, Greaves instinctively knew the time for discretion when he saw it.

“I didn’t think he was talking for publication,” he said simply, “and I didn’t print anything about this unique experience.”

I’m 40-plus years past my first newspaper story, but darned if I can remember what it was. I am quite certain it was nowhere near as good as the one Gordon Greaves had the grace to avoid on his first outing.

I’m also grateful that old moonshiner was kind and didn’t discourage a young man who went on to become a legend of New Mexico journalism.

But then, what else would you expect from someone who “had never sold any liquor that was not properly aged?”

Betty Williamson knows that some of the best stories are too good to be told. Reach her at:

[email protected]