Pages past — Aug. 20

On this date ...

1975: Curry County Fair officials had announced a new event for the fair scheduled next month: a tractor pull.

Joe Roark, one of the event organizers, said about 40 tractors and drivers were scheduled to compete.

The idea was for tractors to pull weighted sleds.

1962: A Cannon Air Force Base pilot was killed when his plane collided with another Cannon plane whose pilot ejected to safety.

“Apparently the two planes sideswiped as they were preparing to land in formation about 9:40 p.m. Monday following a three-hour air-to-air refueling mission,” the Clovis News-Journal reported.

Capt. Joseph N. Briggs, 28, was a decorated F-100 pilot who three months earlier had taken a CN-J reporter with him on a practice run.

Briggs’ funeral was held in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Survivors included his wife and three children, ages 7, 5 and 3.

1945: Staff Sgt. A. B. Munsey, son of Mr. and Mrs. W.E. Munsey, was on furlough in Portales.

He had served 28 months as a platoon sergeant in the European theater.

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

www.highplainsyesterdays.com