Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
Serving Clovis, Portales and the Surrounding Communities
On this date …
1960: The Rosedale Baptist Church — located between Clovis and Grady in Curry County — had completed its annual “food shower” for Portales Baptist Orphans Home.
The Rev. and Mrs. Porter Arnold took the food to the home and used the opportunity to visit relatives in Portales.
1966: The New Mexico wing of the Air Force Association held its annual business meeting at Cannon Air Force Base.
Speakers included Col. Dick Hale, a former Cannon officer, who told delegates about his experiences in Vietnam.
The enemy, he said, is “a little guy weighing 90 pounds with a bag of rice and a rifle who hides in the jungle.”
1967: George Umberson, director of choirs at Eastern New Mexico University, was putting final touches on an upcoming performance of Handel’s “Messiah” featuring a 400-voice massed choir at the physical education complex arena at ENMU.
Besides Eastern’s choral union, 200 high school students in honor choirs from Carlsbad, Clovis, Hobbs and Roswell were taking part in the performance, all accompanied by the university symphony.
Although previous performances of the “Messiah” at ENMU had been free, adults were asked to pay a dollar and students 50 cents for this performance to help cover the cost of feeding and housing the visiting high school students for the two nights ahead of the performance.
1970: Eight Santa Fe Railway cars derailed about two miles west of Fort Sumner.
One car was loaded with cattle. De Baca County Sheriff H.P. Roy said three cows were injured in the mishap; the livestock were herded into a nearby pasture.
The track was repaired about 7 1/2 hours after the derailment. Santa Fe officials declined to give a cause, but said no people were hurt.
1970: Sears had men’s “perma-press jump suits” on sale for $12.88. Men’s slippers — from cotton corduroy with terry cloth lining to brown vinyl with padded soles — were $3.88 to $4.88.
1971: Most area schools were back in session following a snowstorm, but several events had been canceled or postponed because of the weather.
Some rural counties were still reporting telephone outages.
The Clovis News-Journal weather coverage included a front-page photo of Cindy, a monkey at the zoo, claiming she “wears a resentful look as she wraps her long hairy arms around her body to ward off this morning’s 20-degree chill.”
Cindy and her longtime companion Lucy preferred tropical temperatures, the newspaper reported.
1972: Tom Gossett of Floyd and Wally Waller of Clovis were named as Roosevelt County sheriff’s deputies under newly elected sheriff Odell Smith.
A third deputy, Johnny Paiz of Dora, was also working under Smith, while Sharon Peterson was staying on as radio dispatcher and office secretary.
Gossett had formerly worked for the Clovis Police Department as a patrolman and detective, and had been farming at Floyd. Waller — a Roosevelt County native — had also formerly served as a Clovis police officer.
Smith was scheduled to be sworn in Jan. 1, 1973, replacing Glenn Widener as Roosevelt County sheriff.
1975: Curry County sheriff’s officers and the FBI arrested a convicted killer who had escaped from an Iowa prison two years earlier.
The fugitive, Laverne Lewis Zaehinger, was taken into custody west of Clovis, the Clovis News-Journal reported. He offered no resistance.
1976: Clovis City Commissioner Jim Jacobs had been unsuccessful in efforts to raise the rent on city-owned hangars at the Clovis airport.
His proposals, offered multiple times in recent months, were discussed as commissioners also considered plans to make about $200,000 in improvements to the airport.
Hangar rentals were $37.50 per month.
1984: Gary Singleterry and Paul Barnes were inviting pheasant hunters to Pleasant Hill. Cost was $25 with proceeds benefiting the Pleasant Hill Fire Department.
1990: The SPS Reddy Room at 500 Pile St. in Clovis was the site of an upcoming candy cooking school.
Southwestern Public Service Company’s Home Economist Connie Moyers was leading the demonstration.
Pages Past is compiled by David Stevens and Betty Williamson. Contact:
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