Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Jan. 28
On this date ...
1941: W. H. Spaulding, a Clovis hardware man, had been named president of the Panhandle Hardware and Implement Association.
The announcement was made at the group’s 32nd annual convention in Amarillo.
1956: Jack Stagner was the new president of the Clovis Chamber of Commerce. New directors were Carleton Davis, Mark Sellars, John Gott, Floyd Bresenham, T.W. Goolsby, Odis Echols Sr., and Bud Cagle.
The annual gathering of Clovis’ business leaders saw an overflow crowd at Hotel Clovis. About 35 people had to go across the street to the Busy Bee Café for dinner.
1957: The night's TV lineup included "You Are There," "To Tell the Truth" and "Red Skelton."
Five stations were available.
All signed off before midnight.
1962: Nine people had applied for the position of Clovis police chief.
Ollie Damron had announced he would be resigning from the job, effective Feb. 1.
City commissioners selected Lloyd Niece for the job, which he held until 1964.
1965: Officials with the Clovis Community College were expecting spring enrollment to hit 250 for the night classes.
1965: Rock Hudson, Doris Day and Tony Randall were starring in “Send Me No Flowers” at the State Theatre in Clovis.
Hudson’s character played a hypochondriac in the film critics called a “dark comedy.” Adult admission was 90 cents.
1967: A 12-year-old Clovis boy caught a 16-pound, 31-inch fish in Swan Lake at Hillcrest Park.
Park Superintendent John Holland said the catch was the largest he had knowledge of in the lake's history.
Fisher Mike Steinman lived at 1033 Oakhurst. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Ben Steinman.
1968: New Mexico’s oldest living former governor, A.W. Hockenhull of Clovis, was the subject of a front-page feature in the Clovis News-Journal, a few days after he celebrated his 96th birthday.
He was the 10th governor of New Mexico, holding the office from September 1933 to January 1935.
Hockenhull was elected lieutenant governor in 1930, and re-elected to that office in 1932, then became governor on Sept. 25, 1933, following the death of then-Gov. Arthur Seligman.
Seligman died of a heart attack after giving a speech in Albuquerque.
A Missouri native, Hockenhull’s family came to New Mexico in 1908 and homesteaded in Quay County. Besides serving in state leadership positions, during his lifetime Hockenhull was president of Clovis National Bank and served as postmaster of Clovis.
1970: Phyllis Wood, who lived at 2009 Wallace, was the “first woman in memory” to seek a seat on the Clovis city commission, the Clovis News-Journal reported.
Wood was a former grocery store checker who had lived in Clovis seven years.
Incumbent Don Bonner ultimately won his re-election bid, outdistancing four opponents.
Wood finished last in the race that saw more than 3,000 votes cast. She was one of three women who sought seats on the Commission. None were successful.
1973: Anyone wanting to know what was going on at Eastern New Mexico University could dial 505-562-2000 “any time day or night,” officials said.
“Dial-an-Activity” worked by way of an automatic answering service device hooked up to a tape recording of upcoming activities, said Bill Martin of the Campus Union staff.
Movies, plays, athletic events, even the dining hall menu were included in the list of things to do.
1976: A Clovis school teacher had been selected New Mexico’s teacher of the year by the State Board of Education.
Hazel Mayer, who had been teaching 27 years, was director of the Special Education Department at Marshall Junior High.
“We must believe in the inherent worth of every child,” Mayer said.
1988: Brig. Gen. James M. Johnston, Tactical Air Command inspector general, had nothing but glowing praise as he announced the results of a week-long unit effectiveness inspection that had been conducted at Cannon Air Force Base.
A 128-member team was at Cannon from Jan. 19-26 evaluating 533 different areas.
The Clovis News-Journal reported 97% of the base units met or exceeded TAC standards, and 20 areas were highlighted as “the best seen to date” by the inspector general’s team.
“We on the IG team are supposed to train as much as inspect,” Johnston said. “But in this case, we are taking more ideas away than we brought to you. You’ve really taught us something, and we’re going to take the lessons we’ve learned and share them with our other bases.”
2006: New Mexico lawmakers were debating the effects of a minimum-wage increase from $5.15 an hour.
“I think it hurts the economy. I’m opposed to raising it,” said Rep. Anna Crook, R-Clovis.
“Businesses won’t hire as many employees if the minimum wage rises because they won’t be able to afford training the new hires.”
The proposed hike was not approved that year, but by January 2014, New Mexico’s minimum wage had risen to $7.50 an hour.
Pages Past is compiled by David Stevens and Betty Williamson. Contact:
