Looking back 40, 30 and 20 years ago, the following are excerpts from the Artesia Daily Press from Oct. 1-7.
40 years ago
Oct. 1-7, 1977
The three students who sold the most tickets to the Vocal Instrumental Promoters’ cakewalk were awarded with checks for their efforts. The checks were presented by Bill Ewan, VIP-treasurer. Receiving the checks were first place winner Michelle McFarland, Second place winner Patrick Hardesty and third place winner Belinda Langsten. The students sold 130, 122 and 108 tickets respectively.
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The Kiwanis Club installed new officers and board members Thursday evening at the Artesia Country Club. Installed were John Spradlin, vice president, Eddy Mahfood, treasurer, Fred Collins, board member, Jim Ross, board member, Jerry Hale, president-elect, Rufus Stinnett, secretary, and Gaylon turner, president.
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As reported in the Pinon News: Mrs. and Mrs. Oral Gray and a cousin, Callie George Slater from Truth or Consequences, visited Oza Holcomb, Edith Atkins, W.A. Gage and Mr. and Mrs. Charley Atkins Tuesday of last week. Mrs. Gray is the former Ida Cox reared on Blue Water Canyon and attended school and at Weed in the late 1920s and 30s. She reported her older sister, Ina, lives in Las Angeles, Calif. and her younger sister, Mable, lives in McCall, Idaho. Her only brother, Bill, lives in Truth or Consequences. Two brother Jim, died in April and the other brother Fred died several years ago. Jim’s wife lives in Truth or Consequences. Other persons of the mountain area now living there are: Mr. and Mrs. John Wright, Ross Jones, Mrs. Burl Jones, Tom Mills and Callie Slater who was the former Callie George, daughter of the late Walter George, one time resident of this area. Mrs. Slater reports Elgar George of Hurley has retired. Elgar spent his childhood in the mountains. His mother and brothers live in Alamogordo.
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Bettye Sue Hodges, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Everett Hodges was sworn in to the Army Reserve recently by Col. Harry Blake at the Eastern new Mexico University campus at Roswell. Miss Hodges, a sophomore in nursing, is the recipient of the three-year ROTC scholarship which will provide her with tuition, books and a $100 a month for the next three months. She is to serve four years in the Army after graduation.
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Work began on Main Street today to prepare the light poles for the new Christmas decorations purchased recently by the Artesia Businessmen’s Association. The poles are too short to hang the new decorations on without having to ask trucks to detour off Main, according to Harold Ulrich, of the ABA. The poles are being raised and strengthened to hold the decorations that will be lighted Monday after Thanksgiving.
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Duce Bratcher was the winner this week of the football forecasting contest. He correctly picked all but two of the 20 games listed, and came by the Daily Press offices Tuesday to pick up his check for the first prize — $10.
30 years ago
Oct. 1-7, 1987
By a margin of 2.4 votes to 1, Artesia residents elected Wednesday to adopt an ordinance that will increase the local gross receipts tax by a half cent. “I would have been pleased with any kind of a win,” Mayor Ernest Thompson said, “but you might call it a landslide. It shows that the people have realized what we’re trying to tell them. The people of Artesia are the kind of people who want and deserve the best and we want the best for them.”
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Artesia writers and close friends Catherine Palmer and Toni Haas won four first-place awards between them at last weekend’s Southwest Writers Workshop conference in Albuquerque. Both are members of the Artesia Writer’s Guild. Haas is outgoing chairman; Palmer is incoming chairman. They hope to publish soon.
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There are victories that look like Fawn, Jessica and Donna — and then there are victories that look like Quasimodo. Artesia Football coach T.W. Harvey has said in the past that he’ll take any win, pretty or not. Friday night he apparently got that as his Bulldogs claimed a 7-0 victory over the Alamogordo Tigers at Bulldog Bow. The win upped Artesia’s season record to 4-2 while the tigers dipped to 1-3. Neither team’s offense was doing much marching forward; in fact, each did considerable marching to the rear as penalty flags were being thrown from all directions. Each team eventually collected enough flags to open its own United Nations branch office.
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As reported in the Pinon News: Charles Devine who was reared in this area stopped at the Basil Holcomb ranch Monday morning of last week. He lived on the Basil Holcomb ranch as a child with an aunt, Mrs. Leonard Munson, after his mother’s death. He reported he was thinking of retiring, but had had a chance to start working at Orogrande in the near future. If he did that, he would not retire for some time yet. He and his wife have a trailer home and have been moving where he has a job. But they have some land near Elephant Butte Lake and stary there between jobs. If he retires, they plan to buy a large trailer house and set it on their land. Charles reports Mr. and Mrs. Bobbie Morris, who sold their ranch here and move to Quemado several years ago, are thing of selling their ranch there and moving back to this area because of poor health.
20 years ago
Oct. 1-7, 1997
Navajo Refining will be a very busy place for the next few weeks as some 800 additional workers are there to assist with the refinery’s turnaround. “The best way to explain turnaround is that is like overhauling a car engine,” said Virgil Langford, Navajo Refining vice president. “We tear it apart, inspect it, clean it and make necessary repairs and install new equipment. Then we put it all back together again and take off.”
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The high school football team now has a streak of scoring lots of points and lopsided victories. Artesia ranked No. 2 in the Associated Press poll and No. 1 in the Albuquerque Journal coaches poll, crushed Las Cruces Onate 50-6, at Aggie Stadium Friday night.
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As reported in the Pinon News: Saturday of last week, the Gage boys, Gary and Edd Gage, gathered sheep so they could sell their lambs the same day on the Dulce Stevenson ranch east of Pinon. The boys and their families had lunch with Mrs. Stevenson that day. They included Gary and his wife, Christy and three children, Edd’s wife, Joann and the boys’ sister and husband,. Sarah and Curry Lewis and their two children, Lessie and Willaim from Crow Flat. They all seemed to enjoy the day very much even though the boys worked very hard.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: Looking Back is compiled each week by Daily Press Community Living Editor Teresa Lemon.)