Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
On this date ...
1939: John Sparks, the son of Mr. and Mrs. J.C. Sparks, had learned a valuable lesson about riding his bike alongside a car.
The boy was riding to the Portales swimming pool alongside a car driven by his friend Billie Kenyon when the bicycle “dumped him underneath the car,” according to the Portales Daily News.
“His arm was run over,” the paper reported.
Fortunately, both boys were Boy Scouts and they used their first-aid skills to stop the flow of blood from John’s arm. He was rushed to the Portales hospital for additional treatment.
John’s arm was not broken.
1941: The Chicago market was reporting the average weight of hogs sold was at 288 pounds, compared to 270 pounds a year ago.
“One day last week the average broke the 300 mark,” the Clovis News-Journal reported.
A bumper crop of corn was among reasons cited for the heavier porkers.
1944: Maude Pierson found out how blue a blue Monday can be, a newspaper society columnist reported.
“It seems her mother had found a moth in the clothes closet, so she awakened her daughter early to help empty three closets to air the clothes.”
The unidentified “Up and Down The Street” columnist quoted Pierson saying, “Carrying all those clothes out to the line sure got tiresome.”
1954: Several Clovis families living on West First Street were evacuated from their homes after 4 inches of rain fell on the city in less than two hours.
First Street was a river from Hull Street east to Prince, the Clovis News-Journal reported.
The underpass on the Portales highway was filled with 10 feet of water — and under the water was an unidentified automobile.
1957: John Burroughs, a Portales peanut processor, announced his candidacy for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in 1958. He pledged a “businessman’s administration” if elected.
He was the first man from either major political party to announce for the governor’s seat.
Burroughs, 50, who entered politics a year earlier when he won a seat in the state House, said he spent four months talking to people in various parts of the state about a possible gubernatorial run.
“Many of them seem to feel our state would benefit from a businessman’s administration … for a few years,” Burroughs said.
“I am aware that this sentiment is not unanimous. Some politicians would prefer a seasoned politician. Some lawyers would prefer another lawyer, and so through other professions.
“My belief, however, is that the rank and file citizen would like to see a businessman’s approach to the executive office tried.”
Burroughs was president and owner of Portales Valley Mills Inc., the largest peanut processing firm in New Mexico and one of the four largest peanut mills in the Southwest, United Press reported.
Burroughs was elected governor in 1957, defeating incumbent Gov. Edwin Mechem by fewer than 2,000 votes. Two subsequent runs for governor ended in defeat.
He died in Portales in 1978 at age 71.
1960: The Portales Swimming Club had defeated Clovis’ swim team for the second time this summer.
Portales’ latest victory occurred at Hillcrest Pool in Clovis.
1961: Cashway Super Market at Seventh and Main in Clovis offered back-to-school specials: pencils 1 cent, rulers 5 cents, 8-count Crayola boxes for 10 cents.
“As off to school we go, please folks … drive slow,” the grocery store cautioned in a newspaper ad.
1965: Clovis Memorial Hospital officials said they were having problems with patients misusing their emergency room.
True emergency services were “not to be misunderstood as an extension to the physician’s office or as an outpatient clinic,” according to a statement issued by the hospital.
Hospital officials said they treated 6,050 patients in the emergency room during the previous year, and estimated only 25% were “true emergencies,” the Clovis News-Journal reported.
1966: The Clovis News-Journal, on its society page, offered these suggestions for college-bound women interested in sorority rushing and membership:
“... Just be yourself. Good manners are important for making favorable impressions and they help express your personality. Simplicity and neatness in dress are most important.”
1968: A Portales couple was arraigned on first-degree murder charges in connection with the death of city druggist Elbert Muncy.
Muncy was shot eight times, police said. They theorized he surprised burglars when he came into the store after hours on a Sunday night to fill a prescription.
Dennis and Pearl Carlton were arrested after witnesses claimed they saw the Carltons’ white car in the area near the drug store.
Pearl Carlton had worked at the drug store for six months.
Prosecutors theorized the person responsible for the slaying had hidden inside the store before it closed. Evidence showed someone had unsuccessfully attempted to pry open a drug store filing cabinet where money was kept.
The Carltons were ultimately convicted of second-degree murder.
Pages Past is compiled by David Stevens and Betty Williamson. Contact:
