Pages past — Sept. 30

On this date …

1973: The body of a Muleshoe man was found in Bull Lake, not far from where the amphibious plane he was riding in crashed five days earlier. Larry Dale Bynum, 26, and Morgan Locker, 57, were practicing takeoffs and landings in a high wind. Locker, who was piloting the plane, swam the half mile to shore, the Clovis News-Journal reported. Locker said Bynum survived the crash but drowned before he could reach the shore. Bull Lake was west of Littlefield in Lamb County.

1956: Frank Foster, a Clovis school teacher, received national recognition in the September edition of “The American Rifleman,” the official publication of the National Rifle Association. Foster, who lived at 600 Rencher, had a small gun shop behind his home where he repaired, built and remodeled guns. He captured the magazine’s attention with his development of a special mount for a telescopic sight on a custom-built rifle.

1942: Roosevelt County peanut farmers were preparing to harvest an estimated 10,000 acres of crops. The display buildings at the county fairgrounds would be used to temporarily store the harvest until shipping. Government officials had agreed to purchase the crop at $82 per ton for the oil nuts and $131 per ton for the allotment crops.

Yummy …

1956: Clovis’ Silver Grill restaurant served a Swedish smorgasbord from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. every Sunday with 45 items to choose from. “Relax and be gay — eat out today,” was the restaurant’s slogan.

Good times …

1969: Edd’s Bar, 38 miles north of Clovis and three miles north of Grady, was open noon until midnight, including Sundays, with dancing nightly.

Pages Past is compiled by Clovis News Journal Editor David Stevens. Contact him at:

[email protected]