Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
On this date ...
1940: K.C. Lea had been named director of student aid at Eastern New Mexico College in Portales.
Lea, a former Curry County superintendent of schools, was to have “charge of all college efforts to provide work for students needing assistance,” according to college officials.
1946: Eastern New Mexico College in Portales announced it had converted Army barracks into apartments and had room for 100 military veterans and their families.
The apartments, for vets enrolled at the college, ranged in size from one to three bedrooms, The Associated Press reported.
1951: Teenagers working on a farm 17 miles northwest of Clovis died following an explosion at the house where they were staying.
Officials said Otis Meeks, 15. and Melvin Blake, 18, were walking into the tenant house when Meeks struck a match and the house exploded.
“The explosion was of such force that the front door of the house was blown off, and the gas range was blown out through the side of the building,” the Clovis News-Journal reported.
Meeks died at the scene. Blake suffered multiple burns and was in “very critical condition,” CN-J reported.
He died the next day in Clovis Memorial Hospital.
1960: About $1,000 worth of boating equipment was damaged in a fire at the Curry County Fairgrounds.
Officials said a caretaker was burning weeds near a barn and flames apparently spread inside the barn where the equipment was stored.
The equipment was owned by Red’s Boat Shop, 201 E. First in Clovis, which rented the barn for storage.
1961: An Eastern New Mexico University senior from Clovis had been named Miss New Mexico in competition in Hobbs.
The Clovis News-Journal described Sug Conn as a “statuesque auburn-haired green-eyed beauty.”
Conn was a senior drama major at ENMU.
1967: One man was killed, a second man was injured and 12 cattle were killed in traffic accidents near Bovina.
The accidents occurred within an hour of each other and a mile apart after 100-plus head of cattle escaped their pasture on U.S. 60.
An Amarillo man was injured driving a bread truck, taking out six cattle in the incident; a Roswell man was killed in an incident involving another six cattle.
1970: Clovis city commissioners were hearing complaints from residents about poorly kept cemeteries.
City Attorney Harry Patton agreed to look into “alternatives to private ownership” of Lawn Haven and Mission Garden cemeteries, the Clovis News-Journal reported.
Plot owners said a Colorado company was supposed to be providing perpetual care, but those services were not being provided.
1975: Clovis Police Chief Nelson Worley had issued a list of “self-protection tips for women.” The 27 tips included:
• Install a peep hole in the door.
• Replace locks when moving to a new home.
• Draw shades after dark and never dress in front of windows.
• Stay near people and avoid short cuts through parks, vacant lots or other deserted areas.
• Hold your purse close, not dangling.
• If attacked, bite.
1987: Mental Health Resources in Portales settled a lawsuit against an ex-employee in which the employee was seeking more than $1.5 million.
The terms of the settlement were confidential but Scott Jackson, a former MHR director of program services, said he was seeking damages for wrongful termination.
Jackson was fired in June of 1985 for “flagrant behavior that was detrimental to MHR.”
Pages Past is compiled by David Stevens and Betty Williamson. Contact:
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