Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
On this date ...
1971: Violence erupts again in Tucumcari with the murder of District Attorney Victor C. Breen as he prepared to step into his car this morning to go to work. The car was parked in front of his home, 2319 S. Fifth, when a sniper armed with a high-powered weapon gunned him down. The incident happened around 8:15 a.m. today.
“Police set up roadblocks surrounding Tucumcari, but reported no arrests as of mid-day.
“Breen, who became district attorney in 1951, was struck in the back and he died instantly.” — Tucumcari Daily News.
(See story in this edition about Breen’s assassination.)
• The Tucumcari boys basketball team began its season with a 71-65 victory over the Boys Ranch Roughriders on Friday. Bruce Wooldridge and Billy Bob Taylor each scored 12 points to lead the Rattlers. Leslie Bell, Alex Cordova and Brian Priddy each scored nine points for THS.
• White’s store in Tucumcari set up a mailbox for children’s letters to Santa. “Address your letters: North Pole, c/o White’s, Tucumcari, N.M.”
• The Safeway market in Tucumcari was selling Miller and Coors beer for $1.20 a six pack and Sunny Brook blended whiskey for $5.35 a quart.
• The Odeon Theatre was screening a film version of Emily Bronte’s novel “Wuthering Heights,” starring Timothy Dalton and Anna Calder-Marshall.