Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
On this date ...
1941: Funeral services had been held for Ann Jennings, one of Billy the Kid’s staunchest defenders.
Jennings, 73, had lived in Roswell and Tascosa, Texas, and knew Billy Bonney well, along with Sheriff Pat Garrett, who shot the Kid at old Fort Sumner.
Jennings had maintained the Kid was only seen as a “bad boy” because of lawmen like Garrett.
Her funeral services were held in Tucumcari. She was buried in Panhandle, Texas.
1952: Clovis police were alerted on two out-of-state stolen property reports, one from Littlefield and one from Muleshoe.
A Lamb County sheriff reported that a Remington adding machine had been nabbed, and described the car carrying the person or persons suspected of making off with it.
Meanwhile, a Muleshoe man called Clovis authorities to report that an accordion and a boy’s jacket were stolen from his car “while it was parked at a church house in Texico,” according to the Clovis News-Journal.
1952: Three of four matches in the Industrial Bowling League at the Playmore Alleys ended in standoffs. Six of the eight clubs won two points each, while in the fourth match Campbell’s Dairy grabbed three of four points from Clovis Printing Co. to vault over the printers into a tie for fourth place. All the other teams remained in their same positions. Bob Murphy had a 571 series, with a 213 high game, to lead Campbell’s team to victory.
1961: Cannon Air Force Base was estimating 5,000 civilians had visited the base for Teachers’ Appreciation Day.
The day was highlighted by the Air Force’s precision flying team, the Thunderbirds.
1962: Eastern New Mexico University theater students were gearing up to present the satire “Teahouse of the August Moon” under the direction of longtime theater professor R. Lyle Hagan.
Thirty-seven students were participating in “one of the largest casts ever assembled for a university theater production,” according to the Clovis News-Journal.
George W. McKinney designed the sets for the Pulitzer prize-winning comedy.
1964: The book “A Texan Looks at Lyndon,” was ordered removed from all Southern Baptist book stores. Baptist officials said the book, which accused President Lyndon Johnson of wide-spread dishonesty, is “totally out of place in a Christian book store.”
1971: Public dancing was declared legal in Clovis, so long as the dance host had a permit and only held dances “on an occasional basis,” Clovis’ city attorney said.
Eloy Garcia had asked the city approve his request for a public dance license several weeks earlier; he was initially denied because city commissioners said an ordinance prohibited public dancing within 300 feet of a residential area.
Garcia’s attorney, Dan Buzzard, researched the issue and determined the ordinance applied only to an establishment that conducted dances on a regular basis.
City Attorney Harry Patton agreed with Buzzard, and Garcia received a permit.
1975: Eastern New Mexico University’s women’s volleyball team was preparing for its season opener against West Texas State University in Canyon.
Coach Frances Anderson said ENMU expectations were high, in part, because of a strong freshman recruiting class.
Freshman spikers for the Greyhoundettes included Tammy Foote of Tucumcari, Michelle Hill of Clovis and Charlotte Smith of Texico.
1977: Bill Welsh, 23, of Portales won the Third Annual Clovis Marathon — for the third time. His time was 2:43.23. George Linn of Santa Fe finished second, 28 seconds behind Welsh. Jeff Collins of Cannon Air Force Base was third in 2:51.09.
1990: Curry County Fair Board members decided the Clovis Fun Dancers would perform one night at the 1991 fair and receive $300.
The dancers had offered a three-night performance package, but board members said it was too early to commit to three nights.
Pages Past is compiled by David Stevens and Betty Williamson. Contact:
