Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
On this date …
1899: Evelina Twilla was born in Tennessee. Her family settled in the Field community (west Curry County today) when she was about 8.
The pioneer settler wrote about her life’s experiences in 1956, including this tidbit about what teenagers used to do for mischief:
“(We) slipped out our mother’s coffee and smoked it,” she wrote. “We smoked cotton leaves, too, after the frost had come.”
1942: With New Mexico and the rest of the nation facing a shortage of fuel oil and coal as winter approached, Helen Crandall of the New Mexico Extension Service suggested that “a search through closets and trunks may provide forgotten garments that may be used to provide a little extra warmth in cooler rooms.”
In a Clovis News-Journal article, Crandall advised citizens to repurpose old and worn garments to make them look as good as possible.
“It would be too bad if everyone had to look unattractive merely to keep warm,” she said. “If there is any way of mending, blocking, or otherwise reclaiming old knitted garments, the effort seems worthwhile.”
1951: Mary Pickford, the actress known as "America's Sweetheart," announced she was coming out of retirement after 19 years.
The 58-year-old silent film legend, an Academy Award winner who owned her own production company, said she would play a librarian in Columbia Pictures' "The Library."
Columbia reported Pickford came to one rehearsal, but never returned.
Pickford was married to Charles "Buddy" Rogers, who lived in Clovis as a boy.
The couple were married almost 42 years when she died in 1979 at age 87.
1953: Magic Steam Laundry at 301 W. Seventh in Clovis claimed it “laundered to suit you.” Dress shirts were five for $1.00.
1956: Briscoe West, scheduled to begin his term as Curry County sheriff on Jan. 1, had named his assistants.
Nelson Worley, who lived at 1108 Lea St., was named chief deputy, or undersheriff.
L.B. Redwine was named jailer and would live in the apartment atop the Curry County Courthouse.
Ernest Garcia was named the office deputy.
1959: Employees trying to clean up around the building started a grass fire that caught the timber framework of the Dorris Equipment Co. at 504 Commerce Way in Clovis.
Damage to the building, stock and fixtures totaled more than $20,000, officials said. Workers were trying to burn off high grass on the building’s west side when flames got out of control.
Firefighters needed 90 minutes to extinguish the blaze.
1972: Cecil Music, of 210 Connelly in Clovis, was the victim of hungry thieves. He reported to police that someone stole 25 cans of soup and vegetables from his residence.
1972: Clovis Mayor Chick Taylor was a good sport as he bought the first fruitcake of a fundraiser being held by the Clovis High School marching band. But he might have also felt a sense of obligation since his salesperson was his daughter, Pam, a member of the Wildcat band.
The two of them posed for a Clovis News-Journal photo, along with other band members Keith Gibbons, JoAnn Martinez, Charlene Naylor, and Julio Rubio.
All band members and band boosters were peddling fruitcakes for the fundraiser. Proceeds were designated to assist paying for band activities, including the annual spring trip.
Pages Past is compiled by David Stevens and Betty Williamson. Contact:
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