Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
On this date ...
1956: Police Officer Bill Davis, who had his foot amputated following an on-the-job auto accident, received a “beautiful 17-inch table model TV set” as a gift from friends and business owners.
Davis said the TV had been delivered to his home in Portales and he wanted to thank those involved.
1961: Parmer County’s sheriff was searching for those responsible for swiping more than $300 worth of groceries and cigarettes from the State Line Food Mill.
Deputy Tom Atkins said someone broke through the rear window of the store, backed up a vehicle to the window and loaded it with meat, cakes, bread, candy and 65 cartons of cigarettes.
1970: A Black airman, court-martialed because of his Afro haircut, returned to duty at Cannon Air Force Base to find his hair was now in compliance with new regulations.
Capt. Robert Stewart, August Doyle’s attorney, said Doyle had met with Cannon officials for 2 1/2 hours and learned his haircut was within standards set by the Air Force Manual following a change approved Feb. 18.
The new standard allowed hair to be one-quarter inch in length on the sides and 1 1/2 inches in depth on top.
Stewart said the new regulation pertained to all airmen, not just the Black airmen.
Three months earlier, Doyle said he believed the order to cut his Afro-style was unlawful because it was an expression of his black cultural identity.
A five-member hearing board found Doyle guilty of “willful disobedience of a lawful order” and sentenced him to three months of hard labor and reduced his rank from airman first class to airman basic. Doyle was also fined $180.
Doyle, 21, later told Jet magazine he had learned what it’s like to “challenge the white-oriented system.”
1975: Clovis High School students were preparing for a Nostalgia Day later in the week. Student Council members were planning to wear clothes from the 1950s and attend a sock hop.
1977: A paid advertisement for Weight Watchers proclaimed “a whole new program” and “You’ll love the change.”
1977: Eastern New Mexico University had been selected as a regional evaluation site for the 26th Annual National Contest in Public Discussion.
The judges were Leonard Leary, Timothy Ashmore and Anthony Schroeder, all assistant professors in communications at the Portales university.
Pages Past is compiled by David Stevens and Betty Williamson. Contact:
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