Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
On this date ...
1973: Thousands of people lined the streets of Washington, D.C., for the funeral of 36th president Lyndon Baines Johnson.
Borne on a creaking Army caisson, Johnson was accompanied by his successor, Richard M. Nixon, who followed the solemn procession down Constitution Avenue to the slow beat of muffled drums. Johnson’s body was placed in the Capital Rotunda, where friends and enemies alike gathered to silently pay him tribute.
The funeral later was held at National City Christian Church in Washington, then his body was scheduled to be flown to be buried in a tree-shaded plot about 100 yards from where he was born in the Hill Country of central Texas.
• Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said a peace treaty between the U.S. and Hanoi would be signed in Paris later in the week.
He said the settlement should bring “a peace that heals” to Vietnam, then all of Indochina. A total of 587 U.S. prisoners of war would be released over a two-month period, along with a withdrawal of 24,000 troops from South Vietnam.
• Tucumcari firefighters, under the direction of District Attorney Norman Runyan and state police, set fire to 160 pounds of confiscated marijuana. The pot’s street value was estimated at $80,000.
• City and state police arrested a manager and employee of the Westwind Cafe on East Main Street in Tucumcari and charged them with having illegal gambling equipment. The business’ food permit was suspended.
• The Tucumcari Rattlers basketball team improved to 10-5 overall with an 80-69 victory at San Jon. Tucumcari was ranked ninth in the state, with Portales in the No. 1 slot.