Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Today we have Facebook.
But there was a time when upstanding citizens settled their differences face-to-face.
That’s what happened 70 years ago this month when a pair of Quay County law officers engaged in a spirited disagreement that media outlets described as a “fracas.”
The trouble, according to The Associated Press, began on June 18, 1950, when Clovis District Attorney Richard Rowley signed off on search warrants for a pair of Tucumcari establishments.
There was evidence that illegal gambling may have been taking place at the Mesa Country Club and the Tucumcari Elks Club.
Quay County Sheriff Bert Jennings was out of town when the search warrants were issued, and so District Attorney Vic Breen decided to help out.
Or something like that.
Breen led the raiding party that led to the confiscation of six slot machines and $250 found inside them, AP reported.
Breen insisted he had no desire to exclude the sheriff from the adventure, but Jennings “took exception to the staging of the raid in his absence,” according to AP.
The sheriff and the DA got together in the sheriff’s office after that. And by got together ...
“Vic and I had a little trouble, and it got a little rough,” the sheriff told reporters.
“It was just one of those things that happens sometimes in this business, and it’s all straightened out now.”
The sheriff said he received “a peck or two on the face” during the altercation.
Breen declined comment, but an eyewitness provided the prosecutor’s version of events.
“The sheriff struck Breen, knocking him down, and attempted to kick him,” the witness said. “Breen got up, retaliated with several blows, and subdued Jennings by pinning him down on a desk.”
Everyone agreed no one was seriously injured.
If two fellows disagreed that strongly on a subject today, they’d probably end up in court, or at least Facebook jail.
But 70 years ago, Breen and Jennings just went back to work.
A simpler time it was.
David Stevens writes about regional history for Clovis Media Inc. Contact him:
