Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
On this date ...
1910: The Roosevelt County Herald readers learned 2,000 “of those special lemonades” had been created in a week at the Dobbs Confectionery — a record.
“Better get in for one or more early in the week in order to avoid the rush,” the newspaper ad claimed.
1941: The Clovis News-Journal asked area judges about the strangest wedding ceremonies they had performed.
Justice of the Peace W. E. McConnell said he married a couple on horseback at a riding academy and married a couple at the county jail just before the man was transferred to the state penitentiary.
Another couple was married in a Roosevelt County ditch, just before traveling to a Clovis church for music and a reception.
1946: Funeral services were being planned for a toddler who drowned in a stock tank near Causey.
Artie Lee Caviness, 1, drowned in the tank at her family’s farm, officials said.
She was rushed to Portales’ hospital after being pulled from 3 feet of water.
Family members said she’d been seen playing in the yard 10 minutes before she was located in the tank, which had a 2-foot concrete wall around it.
1952: Running Water Draw had been closed.
The draw, normally open to the public for picnics each year through October, was closed earlier than usual because of a "shortage of grass due to the drought." Cattle had been moved in over the weekend and the gates were locked.
1958: Clovis was home to five Super Save grocery stores - Howard's Food Market at 1201 Thornton, North Park Food Market at 252 Commerce, Everybody's Food Market at 513 W. Grand, Hubby & Son Food Market at 915 Wallace and Jameson and Sons Food Market at 410 Pile.
The week's specials included:
• Thick-sliced bacon: 2 pounds for $1.35
• Club steak: 79 cents per pound
• White Swan Coffee: 79 cents per pound
Double Sunshine Thrift Stamps were given every Wednesday with a purchase of $2.50 or more.
1962: Clovis learned a supersonic F-100 fighter bomber had crashed the day before near the Melrose gunnery range, killing its pilot.
Lt. Leroy H. Hellman was the second Cannon Air Force Base pilot killed in a week, both on local training missions.
Survivors included his wife and a 2-year-old daughter.
1966: Two Cannon Air Force Base airmen were listed in good condition at the base hospital after they ejected from their F-100 jet the day before near Floyd.
The jet crashed into a maize field.
The airmen said they bailed out after the plane developed engine trouble.
1969: A 13-year-old Clovis girl had been credited with saving the life of a 2-year-old neighbor boy.
Carolyn Joyce Barnett, who lived at 509 Circle Drive, found Jody McDonald locked in a refrigerator inside a nearby vacant house, the Clovis News-Journal reported.
Carolyn told police she was in her back yard when she heard a muffled yell coming from the empty house at 510 Circle Drive. She entered and found the boy locked in the refrigerator.
Officials said it appeared the child had wandered away from his own home at 508 Circle Drive, climbed into the refrigerator, which closed behind him, locking him inside.
When found, he had “just about passed out from lack of air,” the newspaper reported.
1976: The Clovis-Curry County Vector Control crew was dispensing fly bait at area restaurants, grocery stores and cattle-feeding facilities.
Dave Tanner of the Environmental Improvement Agency said the baits are powder or granular in form and have a sweet base. They are mostly placed around refuse containers and animal pens.
Tanner warned residents should not attempt to place the bait near entrances to homes. “The bait attracts flies and they could enter the house before they are killed,” he said.
Tanner said most flies travel less than 300 yards from the site where they are born. He said a fly’s lifespan is no more than five days.
Fly eggs are usually laid on animal manure, garbage, decaying fruits and vegetables and grass clippings. The best means of fly control was to eliminate the breeding site, Tanner said.
He recommended residents equip refuse cans with tight-fitting lids, clean those cans regularly, store grass clippings in covered containers prior to pickup, remove weeds and animal waste in yards and alleys, and screen windows as ideas for preventing fly infestation.
1982: Clovis News-Journal Editor Bill Southard wrote that he'd been gifted a copy of "a fascinating little book" called "The Golden Years: 1928-1960," a memoir written by longtime Eastern New Mexico University President Floyd Golden.
Golden was Eastern's first academic dean and presided over the university from 1941 to 1960.
Southard noted that "the softcover book contains a wealth of information not only about the creation and development of Eastern New Mexico University, but about the history of this area and the state in general."
2008: Clovis awoke to learn eight violent inmates had escaped Curry County’s jail the night before.
Most were recaptured quickly, but convicted killer Edward Salas remained free until Oct. 4, 2012, when he was arrested in Mexico.
Pages Past is compiled by David Stevens and Betty Williamson. Contact:
