News

The Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum (PPHM) at Canyon is exhibiting Those Who Came Before Us: The Indian Murals of H.D. Bugbee, which the Clarendon artist painted in the early 1950s. 

The exhibition will include Bugbee’s original thirteen murals for the Museum’s then-Indian Hall, plus three Indian dance murals he added to cycle later, and sketches and studies (some made in the 1920s) for the murals.  Much like Charles M. Russell, Bugbee’s idol-who depicted life on the northern Great Plains in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Bugbee portrayed historic and then-contemporary Southern Plains life, including cowboys, American Indians, and flora and fauna of the region.

At the suggestion of his cousin, cattleman T.S. Bugbee, Harold Dow Bugbee came to the Texas Panhandle from Lexington, Massachusetts, in 1914 with his parents.  He studied at Texas A&M College in 1917 and the Cumming School of Art in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1920.

Advised by cattlemen Frank Collinson and Charles Goodnight, Bugbee rendered the landscape and wildlife of the Texas Panhandle, as well as nostalgic paintings of Indians and cowboys.  Each fall, until the late 1930s, the artist traveled to Taos to paint with his fellow artists “Buck” Dunton, Frank Hoffman, Leon Gaspard, and Ralph Meyers, often packing into the mountains to paint with either Meyers or Dunton.

By the mid-1920s galleries in Denver, Chicago, Kansas City, and New York handled Bugbee’s work.  With the Depression and decreasing picture sales, in 1933 Bugbee turned to magazine illustration, a practice he maintained for some eighteen years.  He did pen and ink illustrations for Ranch Romances, Western Stories, Country Gentleman, and Field and Stream, among others.  Additionally, Bugbee also illustrated a number of significant books on Western history including J. Evetts Haley’s Charles Goodnight: Cowman and Plainsman, William N. Lewis’s Between Sun and Sod, and S. Omar Barkers’ Songs of the Saddleman and others.  He also continued to make easel paintings.

Under President Roosevelt’s New Deal, Bugbee painted the first of five murals for the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum’s Pioneer Hall in 1934.  He later painted additional murals for the Old Tascosa Room in the Herring Hotel; Amarillo Army Air Field (which now hangs at the Smithsonian’s American Art Museum); and a set of murals on Native American life for the Museum.

Bugbee exhibited at the Tri-State Fair at Amarillo annually, the Fort Worth Frontier Centennial Exposition in 1936, the Greater Texas and Pan-American Exposition in Dallas in 1937, and in the annual West Texas art exhibitions at Fort Worth.  He also had numerous solo exhibitions in Texas, including 1930 venues at Amarillo and Clarendon, and exhibited at Taos.  In 1952 Bugbee became the first Curator of Art at PPHM, a position he held until his death. Over 250 Bugbee works – drawings, paintings, and sculpture – are part of the Society’s art collection.

The exhibition will run through September 15, 2001, in the Harrington Exhibit Gallery, and reproductions of Bugbee’s work will be available in the Museum Store.

Five years ago, folks in Clarendon felt like they were in an Internet no man’s land, forced to pay long distance charges to hook up to most service providers. Then Extended Local Calling opened up the phone lines to Amarillo and Pampa, bringing the digital world affordably within our grasp.

Now in 2001, we again find ourselves on the communications frontier as broadband Internet services have not yet found their way to our humble hamlet. As a result, local Internet users are stuck hopelessly in the digital slow lane – poking along at a pathetic 56k bps when all the planets are aligned properly and at 28k or less the rest of the time.

Cable Internet is unknown here. Digital Subscriber Line service (DSL) is also no where to be seen. But hope springs eternal. There is a possibility of attracting a high speed, wireless Internet service to come to town, but to do so we need your help.

An Amarillo-based company wants to know how many folks in Clarendon would be interested in their service. If you think you might be one of those people, then please pick up the phone and call the Enterprise at 874-2259 or e-mail us at Clar1701@aol.com.  We’ll give you all the details.

Constable Jimmy Swinney filed a lawsuit in district court last Tuesday, June 19, over the salary set for him by Donley County.

According to documents in the county clerk’s office, the petition names as defendants County Judge Jack Hall; commissioners Don Hall, Ernest Johnston, Henry C. “Buster” Shields, and Bob Trout; and Donley County.

Constable Swinney would not comment on the case. His attorney, Chuck Hester of Canyon, would only say that they expect 100th District Judge David McCoy to recuse himself from the case. Hester said that would be the normal procedure in a case such as Swinney’s to avoid any potential conflict of interest.

County Attorney Pro Tem Kaye Messer said she sees no reason for Judge McCoy to recuse himself and said she would oppose any attempt to have him do so.

Messer met with the commissioners’ court Tuesday and discussed the case in closed session. At press time she said she was preparing the county’s response.

The petition filed by Swinney’s attorneys says the constable’s salary “is unlawful and such conduct is arbitrary and unreasonable on the part of Defendants and constitutes an abuse of discretion.”

Swinney filed as a write-in candidate for constable of Precincts 1&2 on September 7, 2000, and was elected without opposition with 52 votes during the November 7 election, according to published reports. The office had been vacant since 1969.

In December, the county set Swinney’s salary at $3,170. County officials at the time said they based the salary on the number of warrants and citations Swinney would serve for Justice of the Peace Jimmy Johnson. They also said Swinney’s services to police Precincts 1&2 would not be needed based on comments by then Sheriff-elect Butch Blackburn.

The salary for the constable in Precincts 3&4 is $17,146.95.

Messer said Swinney’s attorneys sent a letter of demand to the county this spring seeking a salary equal to the Precinct 3&4 constable’s. The county did not respond to that letter.

A June 19 opinion obtained by Donley County from Texas Attorney General John Cornyn says constables’ salaries are within the discretion of the commissioners’ court but subject to judicial review.

The opinion says a court ruling found that Uvalde County could not limit a constable’s salary because, among other things, the constable knew there was no salary set for the office or the constable’s law enforcement services were not necessary.

The Attorney General also said salaries of constables may differ if the circumstances in each precinct reasonably required different salaries.

“I’m very comfortable with the county’s position,” Messer said.

Swinney’s petition asks the court to command the county set and pay a reasonable salary for his term. The petition also seeks back pay with pre-judgment interest, attorney fees, and punitive damages.

Deputy Kelly Hill with Shekima Johnson and her daughter Aunestie.

Shekima Johnson of Clarendon didn’t think there was any big hurry when she woke up having contractions in the early morning hours of June 6. But just minutes later she delivered her baby into the waiting hands of Donley County Deputy Kelly Hill.

When the contractions started, Johnson’s sister, Lakeva, asked her if she wanted to the call the ambulance. Johnson said “no,” went into the bathroom, then came out and told her sister to make the call.

Hill was patrolling around the Clarendon Public Schools when the dispatcher called that a woman was in labor. Beating the ambulance to Johnson’s apartment, Hill was met by her sister who by that time had seen the baby’s head.

“She told me, ‘You’ve got to get in there!’” Hill said. “I told her the ambulance was on its way, and she said, ‘You just get in there; I’ll watch for the ambulance!’”

Hill arrived on the scene at 4:18 a.m.  Aunestie Alexandria Johnson was born at 4:20.

The deputy had never delivered a baby before, but he has witnessed several births while making runs on ambulances and in hospitals.

“I didn’t do much, although she did try to quit on me when the baby was halfway out,” Hill said. “I told her, ‘You can’t quit now; You’ve got to keep pushing.’”

Hill cleared the baby’s airway and stimulated it to take its first breath. About two minutes later the ambulance crew showed up with an OB kit, and Hill helped paramedic Debra Hill cut and clamp cord.

“I thank him a lot,” Johnson said. “We didn’t know what to do. We didn’t know anything about clearing the airway. He saved my baby’s life.”

Aunestie – pronounced “honesty” – was 21” long and weighed 6 lbs, 6¾ oz. and is in perfect health. She missed her expected arrival date of June 10 by just four days.

Johnson has three other children – two girls and a boy ages two to four. She was in labor with the first two for 12 hours and for six hours with the third. This time she says it only took 20 minutes.

The siblings were staying with their grandmother at the time of the birth, but Johnson’s nieces and nephews, ages six to eight, were present for the delivery.

“It was a big excitement for them,” she said.

Hill, who has been a fulltime deputy for two years and had been a reserve deputy for 17 years, says he’s just glad everyone is healthy.

“Anytime a child is born, it’s an act of God’s nature,” he said. “I was just there.”

Johnson disagrees with his modesty.

“You helped out a lot, and I appreciate it,” she told him. “She would have died if you hadn’t been there.”

Both mother and baby were examined at a hospital and released the next day. They are resting at home and grateful for Hill’s assistance.

Plans are set for Clarendon’s 123rd annual Saints’ Roost Celebration to be held next week, and actor Barry Corbin will lead this year’s parade on Saturday, July 7.

Corbin, who has numerous motion picture and television appearances to his credit, had a regular role on the long-running series Northern Exposure and played the part of Roscoe in the Lonesome Dove mini-series. He grew up in Lamesa, Texas, attended high school in Lubbock, and went to college at Texas Tech University.

Corbin also is a star of stage performances, including the one-man show “Charlie Goodnight’s Last Night,” which he co-wrote with Andy Wilkinson.

This year’s celebration features all the old favorite features, including the Shriners Barbecue, the Depression Lunch, Henson’s Turtle Race, and the Arts & Crafts Fair. A few changes have occurred in this year’s celebration, but there will still be plenty of activities for young and old to enjoy during the three-day celebration.

The celebration begins on Wednesday, July 4, in downtown Clarendon with the Bicycle Parade at 10:00 a.m. Kids can clip the registration form from last week’s Enterprise and mail it to the Chamber of Commerce, or they can sign-up the day of the parade at Eads Furniture & Appliance or the Chamber of Commerce Office. Line up will begin at 9:15 a.m. by the Post Office.

The fun continues on the Fourth at Thunder Junction with the Clarendon Tourism Council. They will serve sloppy joes and ice cream beginning at 1:00 p.m. while everyone enjoys the water slide, go carts, and miniature golf. Kids can pop their own fireworks from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. in a designated area at Thunder Junction. Parental supervision is required. 

The Donley County Horse Club will get Friday started with their Stick Horse Rodeo. The rodeo will be held in the vacant lot across from the Post Office from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. The rodeo is a fun event for all children nine and under. There will be an entry fee of 50¢ per event.

The annual Depression Lunch will begin at 11:00 a.m. inside the Main Street Ministry. The First Baptist Church will help serve the beans and cornbread for a low price. They will also be selling drinks and delicious desserts.

The annual Rodeo has changed this year to a Ranch Rodeo. The competition begins at 7:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday night at the rodeo ground with 24 different teams from ranches around the area.

Local teams include Cook Ranch, O’Brien Ranch, Finch Ranch, Running H Ranch, Matthews/Darsey Ranch, High Card Ranch, Sombrero Cattle Company, Spring Creek Ranch, Hall Ranch, JA Ranch, 3H Cattle Company, I Bar Ranch, Bar W Ranch, Spade Ranch, and the RO Ranch.

Ranch rodeo events will include Bronc Riding, Wild Cow Milking, Calf Branding, Team Doctoring, Team Sortin’, and the Open Wild Mare Race.

A junior calf and steer riding contest for kids ages 4-12 will be held each night along with the calf scramble for kids ages 12 and under. A free $200 beef certificate will be drawn each night. On Saturday night the drawing for the National Finals Rodeo/Las Vegas trip and the custom spurs by Wade Brannon will be held.

The rodeo dance will begin at 10:00 p.m. at the Panhandle’s largest open-air dance floor at the Rodeo Grounds with Young Country Friday and Saturday night. The dance concludes at 2:00 a.m.

The celebration gets in full swing on Saturday morning with the VFW breakfast at 7:00 a.m. at the VFW Hall. The RHAA Ranch Horse Competition begins at 8:00 a.m. at the rodeo grounds. The event is sponsored by McLean Feedyard and Clarendon Outdoor Entertainment Association.

The annual fair on the courthouse square has been moved to the City Park due to construction beginning on the Donley County Courthouse. The relocation lends itself to the new “Art in the Park” designation.

The fair begins at 10:00 a.m. and will wrap up at 4:00 p.m. If you would like to be a part of the action by exhibiting at the fair, contact the Donley County Extension Office at 874-2141 to reserve a space.

The Old Settler’s Reunion will begin at 10:30 a.m. at the City Park. The Shriners will begin serving a delicious barbecue lunch at 11:00 a.m. The annual Lions Club Cow Patty Bingo will be held at 1:30 p.m. also in the park.

The line up for the parade will begin at noon two blocks west of the City Park. The parade route will be from the baseball fields on Seventh Street to Kearney, then up Kearney to Third Street, west to Jefferson, and then back to the ball fields. Deadline for the parade entry forms is Friday, July 29. For more information on the parade, call 874-2421 or 874-3412.

Henson’s annual Turtle Race will be at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. Sign-up your turtle at the store from now until the race day. After the kids race their turtles, the VFW will raffle their shotgun.

The Texas Press Association recognized The Clarendon Enterprise for its community service efforts during the TPA’s 122nd annual Summer Convention last Saturday in El Paso.

The local newspaper won the Community Service Award in the weekly division based on its coverage of the restoration of the 1890 Donley County Courthouse.

The contest was judged by the New Mexico Press Association. Other winners for community service were The Madisonville Meteor (second), the Westlake Picayune (third), and the Hansford County Reporter-Statesmen (fourth).

“We were very pleased to receive this award,” said publisher Roger Estlack. “Our paper remains dedicated to seeing the courthouse restored to its former glory, and we want to thank County Judge Jack Hall and the commissioners for their dedication to this project and for working with us to communicate the news to local citizens.”

Previously, the Enterprise has been recognized by Preservation Texas and the Panhandle Press Association for its work on the courthouse project.

The local paper was also recognized in four categories in Division 8 of the TPA’s Better Newspaper Contest. The Enterprise received second place in Advertising and fourth place in Feature Writing, News Writing, and General Excellence.

Division 8 includes papers with circulations between 1,201 and 2,000. Last year, the Enterprise competed in Division 9 for papers with circulations of 1,200 or less.

“As our paper grows, the competition gets stiffer,” Estlack said. “We’ll just have to kick it up a notch to keep bringing home the state awards.”

More than 180 newspapers submitted 1,078 entries in this year’s Better Newspaper Contest. The top newspaper in Division 8 was the Benbrook Star.

Clarendon’s Mac Stavenhagen hasn’t had very good luck with pickup trucks lately.

Stavenhagen’s old pickup was wrecked on March 29 when the partially loaded fertilizer spreader he was pulling started fishtailing, spun the lightweight Dodge truck 180 degrees, and flipped it over on its top.

Stavenhagen replaced that truck with a ’94 Chevrolet only to have it stolen from his home last week.

Donley County Deputy Bruce Burrell was on patrol about midnight last Thursday when he saw a suspicious subject near Duckwall’s variety store, according to Sheriff Butch Blackburn. The deputy circled around behind the store with his lights off and discovered ’94 Chevrolet pickup parked there.

Burrell called for assistance, and Chief Deputy Randy Bond picked up 17-year-old Daniel Curry and took him in for questioning. Curry confessed to stealing Stavenhagen’s pickup and was planning to go to Pampa in it, the sheriff said.

Curry remained in the Donley County Jail at press time on a charge of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, and Blackburn said he will face a June 21 grand jury.

Curry is already under indictment for breaking into the vocational agriculture building at Clarendon ISD on April 8, a crime to which he also confessed.  He was out on bond when he stole Stavenhagen’s pickup, Blackburn said.

“I was very fortunate to have recovered [the truck] so quickly,” Stavenhagen said. “I went to bed about 11 p.m. and had gone outside just before that. I didn’t notice if it was gone then.”

The sheriff’s department called Stavenhagen about 12:30 a.m. to say they had found his pickup, he said.

“I’d like to thank the sheriff’s department for being on the ball. They prevented me from losing the truck.”

Sheriff Blackburn commended Deputies Burrell and Bond for their quick action on this case.

The Clarendon Board of Aldermen heard from two citizens during their regular meeting last Tuesday, June 12, who each plan to make improvements in the city.

Bill Cornell addressed the board regarding his plans for a new farm and ranch supply business to be built at US 287 and Orpe Street.

Cornell, the local Purina Feed dealer, told the council he hopes to have his business open before Christmas. He asked the city to maintain Orpe Street in order that he and his customers can have access to the new store. The aldermen agreed to maintain the street after Cornell’s building is erected.

Dr. John Howard addressed the board regarding his plans for a new clinic and asked the city to abate his taxes.

Howard said the present health clinic has grown from three fulltime employees to eight fulltime-equivalent employees since his arrival. He has purchased land south of the Medical Center Nursing Home and intends to break ground this summer on a new 5,000 square foot facility on that site.

The board discussed Howard’s plans and agreed the new clinic will be an important addition to the city. The aldermen voted to give the doctor a tax abatement for a period of ten years. The vote was 4-0 with Alderman Bob Watson abstaining. Watson said he was in favor of the new clinic, but being new on the board, he didn’t feel he knew enough about the abatement process to vote.

Roger Estlack presented a proposed advertisement for the city to be run in the Pioneer Edition of the Enterprise. The board approved the ad.

Don Stone spoke regarding the property at 217 E. Third Street, which burned a couple of years ago. Stone said the building was unsafe and the yard needs work. The board voted to hold a public hearing regarding a dangerous structure and notify the owner as prescribed by Ordinance No. 306.

Alderman Watson was appointed to the Clarendon Economic Development Corporation board.

City Superintendent Jim Roberts reported on the progress of the water grant and the recycling grant. Carolyn Blackerby reported on the summer reading program at the library.

The property at Wood Ave. and Jackson St. was discussed, but no action was taken as no papers were provided by the property owner or his attorney as requested previously be the board.

Donley County began the process of redrawing precinct lines last Friday in the Courthouse Annex.

The commissioners’ court met in a called session with a citizens advisory committee and Bobbye C. Hill, an attorney from Wheeler who was hired by the county to oversee the redistricting.

Unlike many rural West Texas counties, Donley grew in the last ten years. The 2000 federal census found a total of 3,828 people here, an increase of more than 3.5 percent from the 1990 census.

The growth was centered in the City of Howardwick, which more than doubled its population from 205 to 437 people.

Howardwick lies entirely within Precinct One, and the lakeside city’s growth has created an imbalance with the other three precincts. Precinct One has 223 more people than the next largest precinct, which is Precinct Two with 935, according to information presented Friday. Precinct Four has the lowest population with 843.

Hill said precinct populations under the law should be split as evenly as possible to insure everyone is equally represented and that their votes count equally. The overall deviation between the precincts needs to be less than ten percent.

One solution discussed at the meeting as being the simplest would be to put part of Howardwick in Precinct Four, taking population from the largest precinct and moving it to the smallest.

The alternative would be to try to move people out of Precinct One by redrawing the precinct lines in Clarendon.

One advisory committee member said that precinct lines are confusing enough in Clarendon without redrawing them, and another said that since growth in Howardwick is where the problem lies, the solution should be in Howardwick also.

Pct. One Commissioner Ernest Johnston will get input from Howardwick on the issue facing his precinct.

Precincts Two and Three are within tolerances with their populations, but moving Clarendon’s business district from Precinct Four to Precinct Two was discussed. The move would not affect population but would allow downtown businesses to file certain small claims actions with the justice of the peace court in Clarendon rather than travel out of town.

Hill said she hopes to have the redistricting completed by the middle of July. She will hold one more meeting at some point with the citizens committee before submitting a plan to the commissioners for approval.

Sue Church, County FCS Agent

The new site of the annual Arts and Crafts Fair in Clarendon will be the City Park located at the corner of Kearney and 6th Street on Saturday, July 7th.  The hours of the event will be from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.  The relocation lends itself to the new “Art in the Park” designation.

Artisans have reserved booth spaces to sell birdhouses, bits, spurs, buckles, interior decor items such as floral arrangements and painted wood signs, cookbooks, purses, t-shirts and more.  Additionally, there will be homemade ice cream, baked goods and several raffled items such as a trip to Las Vegas, a microwave, and a quilt.

The Art-in-the-Park event will be held in conjunction with many other activities taking place in Clarendon throughout the day.  The VFW will host a breakfast for the public from 7:00 to 10:00 a.m.   Along with the Art in the Park, the city park will be the site of an old settlers’ reunion, a barbecue sponsored by the Shriners, and the Lion’s Club Cow Patty Bingo.  Following the annual parade at 2:00 p.m., a turtle race will be held downtown.  In the evening will be a Cowboy Ranch Rodeo and dance at the rodeo grounds.

If you would like to be a part of the action in Clarendon by exhibiting at the Art in the Park on July 7th, contact the Donley County Extension Office at 874-2141 to reserve a space.  You’ll be glad you did!