BUTCH WON THE DAY

Clovis Main Street

By Guest Writer Vernoy Willis, CHS '50

When President George H. W. Bush died, the faithful

service dog lay bedside his casket and guarded his

master.  The dog's size and color reminded me of my

dog Butch, who lived like a king.  He had plenty of

meat and bones out of our old grocery store in Clovis.

The store was next to the Twin Cronies Drive Inn at

Commerce Way and Ross Street, where Butch often

snacked from the garbage cans.

One of our best customers was a Native American

family, who shopped in our store on Saturday after-

noons.  They were not only good customers, but

we considered them close friends.

Joe, the head of the family, was a tough looking guy

who loved Royal Crown colas.  One day, during the

week, Joe pulled up in front of our store and ran in

to get a cold bottle of cola.  He was in a hurry and

left his car door open.

Well, this was an invitation for Butch to get a free

ride in the back seat of Joe's car.  Joe grabbed his

drink, jumped into his car, and headed down the old

Grady highway towards home.

A few miles down the road, Butch decided that Joe

needed some company.  He gave a loud bark and

jumped over the back seat. He plopped down next

to Joe and gave him a lick in the face.

Joe hit the borrow ditch and went into a spin, nearly

knocking the fence down.  After gaining control of the

car, Joe brought Butch back to the store with a smile

on his face and a great story to tell. He said he thought

a huge lion had attacked him.

This is one of many stories I could tell about growing up

with Butch.  A few weeks before I came home from the

Navy, someone poisoned and killed him.  I missed his

greeting me at the  door, but I still have all those wonder-

ful memories.

Vernoy Willis      CHS-1950       1st Class Petty Officer

US Navy

15 January 2019