Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities

Pages past, March 19: Snow covers blooming flowers

On this date ...

1950: B&J Drug Co., at 104 NW Colorado in Portales, was preparing for its half-century sale. Advertised deals included electric hair dryers for $4.49, Pangburn’s chocolates for $1 and phonograph records for 39 cents.

1955: E. Sweet, who operated the state-recognized Billy the Kid Museum on Highway 60, estimated 10 parties per day were stopping to remember the West’s most infamous outlaw.

Sweet was disappointed the Kid’s gravesite south of town was covered in weeds and brush. “It’s a shame they’ve let it go like they have,” he told a reporter. “Why that grave is the greatest attraction this part of the country has.”

1960: Barry Morgan of Portales was among 23 Baptist students from throughout Texas selected for summer missionary work. Morgan, a student at Wayland Baptist College in Plainview, would be spending his summer in Jamaica. He was a senior math major.

1961: Susan Hayward, Julie Newmar and James Mason were starring in “The Marriage Go-Round” showing at the Tower theater in Portales.

“It’s all about the most hilarious proposition a wife ever had from another woman: ‘Could I borrow your husband for a little while?’” read a newspaper promotional ad.

1961: Snow began falling a few hours before the first day of spring and covered blooming flowers and fruit trees while forcing drivers off the roads.

Portales received 6 inches of snow overnight and the region saw a low of 26 degrees.

1962: Two Roosevelt County 4H club members showed first-place lambs in the South Plains Junior Livestock show. Linda Jeffries of Dora showed the winner in the fine wool heavyweight division. Bennie Peterson of Portales showed the winner in the medium wool division.

1966: Carl Scott, pastor of Central Baptist Church in Clovis, had been selected to give the baccalaureate sermon for the 57th graduating class of Clovis High School.

Graduation was scheduled for 7:30 p.m. May 22 at Marshall Auditorium.

Scott, who had also delivered the baccalaureate speech in 1959, had preached in Mexico, Canada and France.

He came to Clovis in 1956.

He was scheduled to speak before 375 graduating seniors, including his daughter Judy.

1967: Trans-Texas Airways was encouraging travelers to “Come fly with us” out of Clovis in addition to Texas cities.

TTA out of Clovis offered direct flights to Albuquerque.

Eastern New Mexico residents wanting to fly to Los Angeles could leave Clovis at 10:35 a.m. and, after making a connecting flight with Trans World Airlines, arrive in LA a little after 3 p.m. the same day.

1992: Clovis/Curry County Chamber of Commerce members agreed to look into “avenues for a larger role” in producing the Clovis Music Festival.

Chamber board members said Vi Petty, the event’s driving force to honor her late husband Norman Petty’s career, had been ill for several months and was unable to lead the annual project.

Vi Petty died three days later, on March 22, 1992. She was 63.

The Chamber is the primary promoter of the music festival that continues today.

Pages Past is compiled by David Stevens and Betty Williamson. Contact:

[email protected]

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