Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
On this date ...
1951: A Hereford family was asking Clovis-area residents to be on the lookout for their cocker spaniel named Blondie, last seen headed in the direction of home from Fort Sumner.
Blondie and her family were visiting Fort Sumner when the dog “decided she didn’t like it” and started east, the Clovis News-Journal reported.
1956: Law officers were on the lookout for 15 prized bantam chickens stolen from a locked chicken house at 1312 E. 10th in Clovis.
The victims included 13 hens and two roosters, officials said.
1964: Clovis High School’s Richard Osburn had the fastest time in the state for the 180-yard low hurdles: 20.2 seconds.
Teammate John Cook had recorded the second-fastest time in the mile run: 4:30. Only Roswell’s Web Loudat (4:18.3) had covered the mile faster among New Mexico schoolboys.
In other local sports news:
• Causey was preparing to build a new gymnasium after voters approved a $4,880 bond measure by a vote of 54-31.
• Walley’s Girls were leading the team events in the Clovis Women’s City Bowling Tournament. Team members were Ann Porter, Ann Kluever, Dorothy Brisco, Betty Fortune and Carleen LaBonte.
1966: Portales learned of the death of Bud Kimmel, who had attended Portales Junior High School when his father was stationed at Cannon Air Force Base.
The Portales News-Tribune reported Kimmel was killed in action in Vietnam on April 3.
Kimmel’s father, Sgt. John Kimmel III, was also stationed in Vietnam when Bud was killed. John accompanied Bud’s body back to Camarillo, Calif., where funeral services were held.
1970: A tornado struck the Quay County community of McAlister, causing an estimated $1 million in damages, but no injuries.
The Church of Christ sustained the most damage, losing its roof and glass from the windows. Officials also said fences, windmills and irrigation systems in the region were destroyed.
McAlister-area residents were without power for more than eight hours overnight.
1972: Officials were cleaning up after a fire on the third floor of Clovis Memorial Hospital.
The fire broke out about 10:40 a.m. on Sunday, April 16, producing a large amount of smoke but no injuries and no structural damage, the Clovis News-Journal reported.
“The fire was localized in a room in the southeast corner of the third floor and was confined mostly to the Naugahyde covering on three chairs, which were considered a total loss,” the newspaper reported.
Fire Chief Joe Maddox said a burning cigarette was the apparent cause of the fire.
Officials said three rooms and a hallway would need to be repainted and some small glass panes would need to be replaced because of the fire.
1976: A Roosevelt County jury had found Alfred Hartley guilty of second-degree murder and attempted criminal sexual penetration.
Judge Stanley Frost had sentenced him to two consecutive 10- to 50-year terms in the state penitentiary.
His victim was Mary Jo Newton, who was killed Nov. 9, 1975, in her Pile-street apartment in Clovis.
District Attorney Fred Hensley had asked for a first-degree murder conviction, which could have included the death penalty. When asked by the court for a sentencing recommendation, the prosecutor said Hartley “got a tremendous break ... We think he should be put away as long as the law allows.”
1978: Thirty individuals, mostly from eastern New Mexico, were still hospitalized after an outbreak of foodborne botulism that was eventually traced to contaminated three-bean salad served at the Colonial Park Country Club restaurant.
Two fatalities were blamed on the type A botulism that was found in a total of 34 people who had eaten at the restaurant that weekend. Survivors faced hospital stays ranging from four to 164 days, followed by lengthy recoveries.
The victims were being cared for in hospitals from Albuquerque to Amarillo; many were airlifted by military aircraft from Cannon Air Force Base. All were being treated with vials of anti-toxin flown in from the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta.
1988: Clovis High School students Richard Knowles and Steve Houston earned a spot on the front page of the Clovis News-Journal after they wore mini-skirts to school to protest the district policy that allowed female students to attend classes wearing short skirts, but forbid shorts for all students.
"We were just mad because we were getting all hot and sweaty and the girls can get away with wearing mini-skirts," Knowles told the newspaper. "There was nothing in the dress code saying we could not wear them."
Superintendent Rick Purvis said the dress code had remained unchanged for at least 20 years, and no plans were in the works to amend it despite regular challenges from students.
Pages Past is compiled by David Stevens and Betty Williamson. Contact:
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