Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 791
On this date ... 1941: A Portales family had sent five sons into the armed services in the previous four months. Alexander, Joseph, Frederic, James and William Johnson had enlisted. A sixth brother, Neal, had tried to enlist but failed the physical exam. “Then there’s Ray,” said Frederic Johnson. “He’s 17. ... As soon as he’s old enough ... I reckon he’ll want to join us. After all, he sings tenor in our sextette.” 1941: After 31 years in the same location — 112 W. Grand Ave....
On this date ... 1941: The Antler’s Bar promised “We serve and prepare your favorite drink the way you like it best.” The place to “Meet your friends” was at 111 W. Grand in Clovis. The phone number was 235. 1952: Edd’s Bar, located three miles north of Grady, encouraged customers to “Organize a party, come dance, have fun,” in newspaper ads. 1956: Clovis Junior High School officials had plans to install an iron barrier and fence around the campus as precautionary m...
On this date ... 1917: Washington Ellsworth Lindsey became New Mexico’s third governor after Ezequiel C. de Baca died in office. Lindsey had been elected lieutenant governor in 1916. He was president of the Portales Townsite Committee from 1902 to 1911. A statue honoring the one-time mayor of Portales stands outside the Roosevelt County Courthouse. 1941: Curry County Clerk Mae Hood was reminding residents that county offices would be closed on Saturday in honor of W...
On this date ... 1921: Two men accused of criminal activity from Nebraska to Texas and New Mexico had been arrested in Kenna. Local authorities became involved when the men gave a forged check to purchase a rifle and ammunition in Hereford. From there, they purchased gasoline in Bovina, then other guns in Texico and Elida, all with forged checks using different names. Officials said the men's journey began in Omaha, Neb., in a stolen Jordan roadster, which they soon traded...
On this date ... 1940: Clovis Floral Co., at 501 E. Fifth in Clovis, was reminding customers that “women love to get flowers” for Valentine’s Day. “Don’t puzzle over the fact — accept it; and order her Valentine flowers from our gay assortment of fresh cut blooms,” the store’s newspaper ad read. 1946: Officials were working on a plan to make the highway between Clovis and Texico into four lanes. Floyd Kennedy of Portales, the state highway commission chairman, said no details...
On this date ... 1956: A Continental Trailways bus driver was recuperating in a Tucumcari hospital after walking 13 miles through a blizzard to bring aid to 15 passengers of his stalled vehicle. John D. Hearon collapsed just as he reached the community of Glenrio and reported the bus was stuck in drifts. Hearon was being treated for “snow blindness, exhaustion and exposure,” the Clovis News-Journal reported. 1956: Recent snowfall, which measured 13 to 17 inches, was bel...
On this date ... 1937: Ruby Hauenstein, whom the Clovis Evening News-Journal reported “has charge of the sheriff’s office,” had implemented a new system of records for prisoners in the Curry County jail. Her record sheets showed name, date received, date released, days served, charge and disposition for each inmate. 1946: Clovis’ Hillcrest Park Zoo had two more potential lion kings. Queen, a 6-year-old African lioness, had given birth to a pair of male cubs. The father...
Eastern New Mexico University’s president and system chancellor has a new contract. You’ll see no complaints from this space regarding the terms of that deal. James Johnston has proven himself a capable leader over the past 12 months. But the manner in which Johnston’s contract was awarded last week by university regents was sleazy at best. Beyond the flagrant disregard for the state’s Open Meetings Act – the law that requires “public business be conducted in full public view...
On this date ... 1911: Roosevelt County commissioners ordered there be light in the county courthouse. “It is the order of the board that the court house be wired for lighting by the Public Service Co. as per contract to be hereafter agreed upon by the board and Public Service Co.,” the Roosevelt County Herald reported. Terms of that contract were not reported. 1931: Don Foster, previously the “popular, progressive and efficient superintendent of the Floyd schools,” had bee...
Oscar Villanes said he had icicles on his mustache. Kathleen Villanes said she hadn't been so cold since Goliath shut down Clovis for several days in December 2015. Adding to the chill: their Miami Dolphins lost to the Kansas City Chiefs, 26-7, in what The Associated Press said was the fourth-coldest game in NFL history. But it was all worth it for the Clovis couple, who decided last Wednesday it would be fun to travel to Arrowhead Stadium for Saturday's football playoff...
If you feel like you’ve weathered a particularly chilly storm of late, it’s because you have. Sunday and Monday were the coldest days in the Clovis-Portales area in 13 months. The last time we felt temperatures cooler than the single digits registered to start this week was Dec. 22-24, 2022. Those lows were minus-1, minus-1 and 6 degrees, respectively, as recorded at the Agricultural Science Center north of Clovis. The coldest temperature recorded at the ag center in all of...
On this date ... 1956: Clovis Veterinary Hospital at 104 Hull St. offered “complete facilities for your pets.” Services included bathing, boarding, clipping and grooming. Dr. E. E. Kraus could be reached by calling 5442. 1957: Clovis voters elected three newcomers to the City Commission, tossing out three incumbents. Winners were Manzy Simms, Gerry Deming and Ned Houk. Losers included Wayne Clements, Ted Waldhauser and O.G. Potter. 1958: Nita Northcutt was the new pre...
Blowing snow, which led to near-zero visibility, was blamed for more than two dozen vehicle crashes Monday afternoon across Curry County. No fatalities were reported, but at least two people were taken to area hospitals with what Sheriff Michael Brockett termed “serious injuries.” He said one person was reportedly ejected from a vehicle in a crash north of Clovis but he did not know the victim’s condition. The most spectacular crash happened about 3 p.m. outside the port...
On this date ... 1946: The Clovis Kiwanis Club celebrated its 25th anniversary with testimonials about the club’s value from charter members and past presidents. The club’s original charter was presented to Charlie Scheurich, its first president. Eight charter members were still active, according to the Clovis News-Journal: Scheurich, U.S. Sen. Carl Hatch, Joe Wilkinson, Cash Ramey, Dr. Charles O. Warriner, Armand Mandell, E.W. Reagan and Ed Manson. 1955: La Fonda Drive In...
Mike Morris said last week he wants four more years as Clovis’ mayor. He’s expected to sign up for the job on Tuesday, and he may have some competition. Misty Ponce, a regional manager for the Girl Scouts, said Saturday morning she is “thinking about” joining the race. “Right now I’m just doing research so I can communicate the experience to the girls and hopefully get them involved in it,” she said. Ponce said she has no issues with the job Morris has done. “Absolutely n...
More than a dozen states now, including New Mexico, have pending legal challenges that could remove Donald Trump from their presidential primary ballots. I am no fan of the reality TV star with the big-government leanings, but voters should decide whether he’s president again, not a few politically motivated judges. The courts are trying to decide whether Trump violated the anti-insurrection clause in the 14th Amendment. If his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, incident at the U.S. Ca...
The man charged in connection with a Dec. 29 hit and run death told police he did not know he’d hit anyone – until he read about the death of Matthew Gibbs on Facebook two days later. Collin Guthals said he initially left the intersection where his truck had been involved in a crash, but then returned and he did not see anyone or anything that night. “Collin claimed he did not know anything about the accident until he seen it on Facebook,” court records show. “Collin...
Matthew Gibbs loved Cruella de Vil, Darth Vader, anything Disney, anything Star Wars, and Harry Potter. "He never met a stranger. He talked to everybody," said his father, David Gibbs. "He'd just made a down payment on his own apartment. He didn't have a car." Matthew, 24, was walking to his job at the Allsup's at 14th and Norris streets a little before 11 p.m. Friday night when he was hit by a vehicle, authorities believe. More than two hours later, a passing motorist saw...
On this date ... 1946: A California man was killed near Cryder, about 11 miles west of Melrose, when his 1940 Buick collided with a truck. Officials said John Lee Hunt was identified only by his papers on him that included a draft classification card. Three hitchhikers riding with Hunt were slightly injured and treated at the hospital in Fort Sumner. Two men in the truck were not injured. 1951: Montgomery Ward, located at 307 Main in Clovis, was hosting its annual January...
If eastern New Mexico's top news of 2023 had to be summarized in one word, that word would be fire. House fires took the lives of six people in Clovis – four adults on Jan. 12 and two young children on May 3 – while a Sept. 3 fire at Walmart may have been the most economically significant blaze in Clovis' 116-year history. The year's first tragedy happened just after 2 a.m. on Jan. 12 at 511 N. Wallace St. Neighbors said they could hear people inside the house screaming for...
On this date ... 1940: A Portales woman had added airplane to her long list of travel modes. Fannie Black, 90, said she had wanted to ride in every vehicle imaginable. “She lives near the Portales municipal airport where students fly daily, and felt the desire to get her feet off the ground,” said Leon Jones, a Portales merchant who made Black’s flight dream come true on Christmas Day. After her airplane trip, she listed other ways she’s traveled: ox carts, ox wagons, horse w...
On this date ... 1940: A.J. Whiting, 68, a pioneer cowboy, railroad worker, retail store owner and city manager, died in Clovis Memorial Hospital from pneumonia. Whiting came to Clovis in 1910 after he grew tired of cow punching for the Endee Cattle Co. He worked for the railroad as a firefighter. He later opened a variety store before he was appointed Clovis’ city manager. He retired from the city to work as district manager for the New Mexico Utilities Co. His obituary, p...
Remains of a Portales soldier killed during World War II are coming home. The Defense Department Accounting Agency announced last week that Army Pvt. Homer J. Mitchell, 20, was accounted for in July. His remains are scheduled to be buried in Portales on April 26, according to a DoD news release. Portales learned the news that Pvt. Mitchell was missing in action in late December 1944. On Dec. 29, 1944, The Portales Daily News reported: "Mr. and Mrs. Roy Mitchell received a tele...
A man shot when he broke into a Clovis home on Dec. 4 is facing charges of breaking and entering, police said Monday. Records show Judas Naranjo was critically injured after he kicked in a door in the 200 block of Rosa Boulevard and was shot by the homeowner. Naranjo, 21, was recently released from a Lubbock hospital, but is still recovering from his injuries, Clovis Police Capt. Robert Telles said on Tuesday morning. Police said a warrant for Naranjo’s arrest was obtained o...
On this date … 1862: Washington Ellsworth Lindsey was born in Belmont County, Ohio. He moved to New Mexico Territory in 1900, settling in Portales where he opened a law office. Lindsey and John Brown Sledge formed the Portales Townsite Co. and sold lots from 1902 to 1911, according to the New Mexico office of the state historian. Lindsey became Portales’ first mayor and was New Mexico’s third governor. The statue outside the Roosevelt County Courthouse honors Lindsey, who i...
