Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
On this date …
1948: Paul and Dizzy Dean became owners of the Clovis Pioneers baseball team.
Paul, whose nine-year Major League career had ended in 1943, would be player-manager for the Class C West Texas-New Mexico League team.
Dizzy Dean, who would be elected to the Hall of Fame in 1953, said he would be active in the team behind the scenes.
1954: High winds and dirt turned regional skies reddish brown.
Winds whipped up to 64 mph and visibility was reported at less than two miles in Fort Sumner.
1960: An exhibit from the State Art Museum was headed to Portales.
The exhibit featured “Interiors and Still Life” by 14 New Mexico artists.
Mrs. Carl Parker was a featured speaker, who planned to present an illustrated lecture on Japan, where her family had visited in 1959.
1961: Cannon Air Force Base had joined Texico and Melrose as Curry County communities surpassing their fundraising goals for the United Fund.
Cannon personnel had raised $8,645; their goal had been $8,500.
The fund's overall goal was $68,000, but it was $20,000 short so far and $4,000 behind the amount raised in its initial efforts in 1960.
1966: Clovis High School was preparing for its season opener in the 1966-67 basketball season.
The team featured "little in the way of height," but "a great deal in the way of speed," the Clovis News-Journal reported.
Top players were 6-4 Dan Shelley, a returning starter who was the team's second-leading scorer a year ago, and Roy Davis, a "sparkplug" playmaker, according to the newspaper.
Wayne Pollard was described as a "dribbling wizard."
1968: Zales jewelers in Clovis was suggesting watches for holiday gifts.
For “faster time-telling,” the Omega Chronostop was worn “at the 3 o’clock position,” or under the wrist. It cost $87.50.
The Speidel band, for $11.95, included a monthly calendar feature.
1969: Eastern New Mexico University football coach Howard White had resigned, saying he was displeased with the school’s financial commitment to the program.
White, whose teams were 10-18-1 in his three seasons, said the programs needed more money to operate if they were expected to be successful.
He also complained about fan support, claiming the Greyhounds’ home games should have been drawing 65,000 each game.
White came to ENMU in 1967 from a junior college in California.
1972: Eastern New Mexico University whipped Western New Mexico, 70-64, despite a five-minute scoring drought late in the game.
Lon Sprayberry, ENMU’s 7-foot center, led the Pack with 16 points and 16 rebounds.
1974: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers held the first in a series of meetings in Clovis, officially launching a study intended to alleviate flood problems in the city.
Area residents attended the meeting to relate their experience with flood waters, primarily along First and Second streets, on West Grand Avenue and at the Marshall Junior High School football field.
1975: Bob’s Mr. Shop in Clovis announced it had received “new designs in tube socks.”
They were called “grafeeti ... They’re super-soft tube socks with pictures and sayings screen printed on them,” a newspaper ad read.
They cost $2 per pair.
1982: Robert Spencer, longtime manager of the Clovis Chamber of Commerce, died at Clovis High Plains Hospital following a “lengthy illness,” the Clovis News-Journal reported.
He was 63.
Spencer began his work with the Chamber on May 19, 1957, CNJ reported. He retired on June 1, 1982.
“He worked to improve highways, promote agribusiness and establish diversified industries in the Clovis area,” according to the newspaper.
“He was instrumental in setting up the Committee of 50, which began more than 20 years ago. … Spencer also worked to secure improved air service to the Clovis area in 1977.”
Pages Past is compiled by David Stevens and Betty Williamson. Contact:
