Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
On this date …
1956: Two women, “out looking for their adventurous sons,” had stumbled onto a safe stolen Jan. 31 from the Clovis bus terminal.
Mrs. John Cornell and Mrs. James Patterson found the battered safe along a fence row beyond North Wallace Street west of LaFonda Drive-In movie theater. It was hidden by a “tangle of tumbleweeds,” the Clovis News-Journal reported.
The safe had more than $300 in it when it was stolen. Officials found $7.75 in change scattered on the ground when the safe was located.
As for the young boys, Jeff and Larry, they were at home when their mothers returned from their own adventure.
Police had not identified any suspects in the theft. They said heavy snows early in the month had helped hide the safe after the thieves abandoned it.
1961: A Marshall Junior High School student had submitted the winning name for the new lake at Hillcrest Park. Mike Willmon suggested Swan Lake and received a season's pass to the municipal swimming pool as a prize.
In response, two white swans were purchased from the zoo in Garden City, Kansas, and were en route to Clovis' zoo.
1971: A Clovis man's car had been set on fire twice within the week.
First, Eddie Starkey's vehicle was set on fire while it sat in the parking lot at Aztec Bowl. A vent window was broken and the front seat was set afire, police said.
Three days later, Starkey's car was stolen from his father's residence, taken east of Sugarbeet Road near U.S. 60-84 and burned again.
State police were investigating.
1986: Pharmacies throughout the region had pulled Tylenol capsules from their shelves following the death of a 23-year-old New York woman who ingested two Tylenol capsules that had been laced with cyanide.
Gibson, Highland, Medical Center, Merritt's, Pawol, Roden-Smith, Walgreen's and Revco pharmacies pulled Tylenol capsules in Clovis.
Authorities believe the incident was inspired by a series of poisoning deaths that occurred in 1982 in Chicago, resulting in seven deaths.
Three people died in the 1986 copycat crimes.
The incidents led to reforms in the packaging of over-the-counter substances.
There’s one (sorta) near you …
1971: Allsup 7-11 stores offered lean and tender barbecued beef, chicken and spare ribs.
There were three locations in Clovis - 2504 W. Seventh St., 301 Prince St., and 21st and Thornton streets. The stores were open daily, from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Pages Past is compiled by David Stevens. Contact:
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