Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
On this date ...
1941: The region was recovering from “the worst duster since the Black blizzard days of January 1935,” the Clovis News-Journal reported.
A teenage Clovis newspaper delivery boy rode his bicycle into the side of a moving freight train, but was not seriously injured. Billy Martin had his head down, trying to avoid the sand blowing in a 50-mph wind when the accident occurred. Skid marks on the road suggested Billy heard the train just before impact. His bike, demolished, was found a half mile from the crossing.
Officials said visibility was “a scant few feet” at the height of the storm. Traffic moved “at a snail's pace,” the newspaper reported, with most motorists turning on their lights in mid-afternoon to avoid collisions.
1956: Levine's department store was advertising a “parade of Easter values.”
Boys and girls Easter shoes were $2.98 and $3.98 a pair.
Men's Easter sport coats were $19.98.
Girls' Easter hats and purses were $1.
Boys' Easter suits were $7.98.
1961: Clovis city commissioners had adopted a new dancing ordinance.
It required public dance halls - where dancing was permitted regularly and not less than twice a week - to pay a $260 annual fee.
Liquor establishments and charity organizations were exempt from the fee but required to apply for a license.
Organizations not exempt that hosted “one-night stand” dances were required to pay a $10 fee.
Clovis police were charged with processing applications, while the city clerk was to issue licenses.
1961: Jack Lacy, Amarillo Chamber of Commerce manager, told Bovina Chamber members that the United States needed more unity.
“We are fighting the battle against the organized masses and the disorganized classes,” the guest speaker told 175 people who gathered in the Bovina High School cafeteria.
Lacy said Chambers of Commerce could provide a means to achieve progress and a place to discuss common problems.
School ag instructor Roy Crawford was named the Bovina Outstanding Citizen.
1966: Eighteen bands and two orchestras were scheduled to compete for ratings at Eastern New Mexico University.
Bands from Melrose, Fort Sumner, Portales, Tucumcari and Clovis were among those registered. Artesia and Hobbs were sending orchestras.
Floren Thompson, director of bands at ENMU, was chairman of the festival. Thompson received multiple awards during his music career at Eastern, which began in 1950 and continued through the 1980s. He died in 2002 at age 80.
1969: Clovis police were investigating the theft of a safe from Clovis Automotive Supply at 200 Gidding St.
Officials said an intruder entered the office through its back door sometime between 1 a.m. and 6 a.m. on a Sunday.
The thief “passed up a cash register and took the firm safe,” the Clovis News-Journal reported. “The safe was later found in an alley at Fourth and Gidding with the bottom ‘peeled’ out in what police termed a ‘professional manner.’”
The amount of money in the safe was not disclosed. Police attempted to lift fingerprints from the safe, but no arrests were made in subsequent weeks.
1971: A man who escaped the Roosevelt County jail two days earlier was shot and killed as he fled the scene of an alleged attempted burglary in Slaton, Texas.
Officials said Carl Davis, 33, and another inmate, William Jacobs, 29, had used a “short segment of sawblade” to saw through a lock and escape the Portales jail.
They then broke into a number of offices in the courthouse where they stole cash and tools, stole more money from the bus station, then stole a 1969 Caprice Chevrolet with a full tank of gas from the Cooper-Hobbs Motor Co. in Portales.
The stolen car was soon located in Morton, Texas, where officials believed the pair split up. Jacobs’ whereabouts remained unknown.
Davis was found hiding under a car outside Champion Jewelry in Slaton. A patrol officer thought the car suspicious and soon learned it had been stolen.
When the officer approached the car, he found Davis, who began running down an alley. The officer, Randall Holley, said he fired a warning shot and then saw the suspect reach for his right rear pocket. Fearing the man was reaching for a weapon, Holley shot Davis in the back of the head, killing him.
Davis’ criminal record went back almost 20 years. He’d been sentenced to five years in prison as a juvenile after a grand larceny conviction.
He was awaiting transfer to state prison when he escaped the Portales jail after pleading guilty to burglaries in Elida, Dora, Portales and Causey.
Officials said he was unarmed when he was killed outside the jewelry store.
1971: Organizers were preparing for the 20th annual Grand Ole Opry at Floyd.
As always, the “pickin' and strummin'” show was sponsored by the 10-member Floyd Lions Club with proceeds benefiting local youth projects.
1977: The region experienced an extreme weather day, with destructive winds, blowing dust and even some snow.
Officials in the Clovis-Portales area reported sustained winds better than 30 mph with gusts to 50 mph.
While no major damage was reported, the Salvation Army’s collection box was toppled, power lines were blown down and “scattered damage” occurred throughout the area, the Clovis News-Journal reported.
Some areas of the Texas Panhandle reported wind gusts in excess of 100 mph and zero visibility on highways because of blowing dust.
Melrose and Clovis saw a trace of snow and several communities reported small amounts of moisture.
Meanwhile, Northern New Mexico experienced blizzard-like conditions with high winds and snow.
1978: Wind gusts up to 55 mph fanned a fire that devastated downtown Portales, destroying the Tower Theater, the Print Shop and other businesses near the town square.
The initial investigation pointed to an electrical short in nearby sweet potato warehouses that ignited the blaze that started early on a Friday afternoon.
Many locals pitched in to help drag hoses, redirect traffic and save items in the path of the flames.
1987: Clovis Livestock Market became Clovis Livestock Auction.
Herschel Caviness sold the business at 504 Hull St. in Clovis to a group of Clovis and Portales investors for an undisclosed amount.
The investment group was headed by Dick Moore of Portales, who also would be auctioneering sales.
Pages Past is compiled by David Stevens and Betty Williamson. Contact:
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