Pages past, March 1: Mother, child jailed for no license

On this date ...

1946: A committee of Curry County men finalized plans for fairgrounds facilities that would include a grandstand, cow barn and display hall.

Cost for the projects was estimated at $75,000.

Committee members represented five organizations — Chamber of Commerce, county agent, Mounted Patrol, Bi-State Fair Association and Soil Conservation Service.

Dean Pattison made the resolution calling for a $25,000 bond election. The plan was for the remainder of the money to come from donations.

1950: Eastern New Mexico University captured its second consecutive New Mexico Intercollegiate Athletic Conference basketball championship with back-to-back wins over Panhandle A&M. The Silver Pack finished with a conference record of 13-1.

Team members included Kenneth Moore, Keigm Harp and Tex Wallis of Portales, Billy Griggs of Clovis and Blossom Dunning of Fort Sumner.

1953: The deadline was looming for drivers to put 1953 license plates on their cars, and there were long lines at the basement of the Curry County courthouse where car owners waited to get the new plates.

Because the Feb. 28 deadline had fallen on a weekend, drivers were given a couple of extra days to get into compliance, but car and truck owners were warned to not use vehicles that didn't have the new license plates after the coming Monday, or they would face fines.

Mrs. Dee Humphrey was overseeing distribution of the plates in Curry County. She said more than 5,000 car license plates and 1,600 truck plates had been distributed so far.

1961: A 26-year-old Clovis woman, along with her 10-month-old son, were in the Curry County jail because the mother was unable to pay $15 in fines for driving without a license.

Betty Rains said she had to keep her son Terry with her because he was nursing, United Press International reported.

Mother and son were released a day later after money came in from around the country to pay the fines.

At first, Rains declined the money because she wanted to serve the sentence rather than borrow from anyone.

She ultimately accepted a donation, and vowed to pay back the money; she said she didn’t want to be considered a charity case.

One telegram came with $20 and a message: “Justice without Mercy. God help this nation. Matthew Ch. 6.”

1963: A headline in the Clovis News-Journal about the previous night's city commission meeting read, "Water Woes Predicted; Shortage Plans Started."

"We all may not be around to see it," Mayor Ted Waldhauser told the commissioners, "but sometime in the future, Clovis will need additional water supplies."

One plan Waldhauser foresaw was piping water 70 miles over land from the Canadian River.

"One thing is certain," Waldhauser warned. "Sometime in the future we're going to need more water. It may be 50 years from now, but now is the time to start thinking about it."

1965: Clovis voters approved a $2.3 million bond issue intended to finance school construction.

Voters approved the measure by a 6-1 margin after rejecting a similar proposal two years earlier.

The latest bond issue was for construction of 91 classrooms, a new elementary school and extension of cafeteria facilities.

The 1963 proposal had included $400,000 for athletic program construction, which was not part of the 1965 plan.

1965: Former New Mexico Gov. John Burroughs of Portales was released from Clovis Memorial Hospital where he had been recovering from pneumonia.

He’d been hospitalized five days. Burroughs’ physician said the pneumonia had been brought on by flu.

1965: Portales police were investigating a series of weekend thefts and losses.

Joe Montez reported $70 had been stolen from his car while it was parked downtown.

A 1962 model car belonging to F.L. Grimshaw was reported stolen from the 1200 block of North Avenue A.

Martha Newson, of 724 W. 18th, told police she lost her billfold containing $45 and four credit cards.

And Olen Rhoten, of 124 N. Houston, lost four keys on a key ring.

1972: A Human Dignity Commission found no evidence of racial discrimination by Eastern New Mexico University basketball coach Buddy Ball, as alleged by Black student athletes. The commission did, however, find “individual instances of violations of the human dignity of several basketball players” and recommended all athletic scholarships that had been rescinded for Black athletes be reinstated.

The Greyhound Booster Club supported the coach and threatened to cut off its financial support if scholarships were reinstated.

University officials ultimately decided to pay five Black players for room and board the remainder of the semester, but declined to reinstate scholarships.

Black players had alleged Ball called them names and blamed them for lost games.

1976: Ron and Jeanell Harmon, along with their sons Gary, Tim and Tye, were planning to participate in a wagon train memorializing the United States’ 200th birthday.

Their plan was to meet the wagon train near Belen, travel horseback and camp out for two or three days.

“It’s something the boys will remember all their lives, whether it turns out to be fun or trouble,” Ron Harmon said.

The Harmons lived in Clovis but farmed in Roosevelt County.

1997: Clovis officials were in Santa Fe, looking for money to help fund a special events center.

Clovis Public Safety Director Harry Boden was asking lawmakers for $300,000 to acquire land and design the center, which was expected to cost $6 million.

At least some lawmakers were skeptical.

"The cost of construction is one thing, but maintenance is another," said Sen. Billy McKibben, R-Hobbs.

"It's been hard to get events to come (to a similar facility in Hobbs). Will (the proposed Clovis center) have enough activity to justify it?"

Boden said Clovis was working with Portales leaders and they were convinced an events center could draw well from a population base of about 100,000.

"We've gathered information from the experts to learn what problems to avoid," Boden said.

Rep. Anna Crook, R-Clovis, was pushing for $3 million in capital outlay funds to help build the Clovis events center.

All bills related to the center were tabled.

The city's events center was ultimately funded with a 1/16 percent Gross Receipts Tax.

Pages Past is compiled by David Stevens and Betty Williamson. Contact:

[email protected]