Pages Past: June 25

linkOn this date …

1970: A raid at 915 Axtell St. in Clovis netted police about 1.5 ounces of marijuana and resulted in the arrest of three men.

All three suspects pleaded innocent and bond for each was set at $1,000.

Police had been to the residence earlier in the day looking for a fugitive. While that lead didn’t pan out, authorities saw the suspected marijuana while they were on the premises. They obtained a search warrant and returned at 10:10 p.m., a detective told the Clovis News-Journal.

1965: A drag racer who just a month earlier set a national quarter-mile speed record, was found dead in his car on Thornton Street in Clovis.

Rats Radecky, 25, was a six-year Air Force veteran stationed at Cannon Air Force Base.

A police officer found him at 3:30 a.m. after noticing his parked car’s left blinker was signaling. A vacuum cleaner hose was attached to the exhaust pipe of the vehicle, leading into a front window, the Clovis News-Journal reported.

The death was ruled a suicide.

Radecky in May had set a record in his 1962 Chevrolet Defender III at the Carlsbad drag strip. He traveled 101.80 mph in 13.72 seconds, the CNJ reported.

1955: Mrs. J.C. Hughes of 820 Calhoun in Clovis was admitted to Memorial Hospital after suffering a broken ankle. The injury occurred when she slid into a base playing softball in Lazbuddie.

1935: The Mothers’ Club of Portales was meeting at 8 each Thursday night at the high school. Vanessa Flemming was the club president.

Members were working on a quilt cover they hoped to sell in the fall. “The weekly exchange of recipes has helped in these busy days of planning,” according to a society news column.

It’s their business …

1950: Santa Fe Café at 108 S. Main in Clovis offered meals for 49 cents, according to a newspaper advertisement. The phone number was 9921.

Pages Past is compiled by Editor David Stevens. For more regional history, check out his weblog at:

www.highplainsyesterdays.com