"BEER CAN ALLEY AND SANTA FE DIP"

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CLOVIS REMEMBERED
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by Richard Drake, guest writer

With little to entertain ourselves while growing up in Clovis, we on occasion did some dumb things. One that comes to mind was the drive down Beer Can Alley over the Santa Fe Dip. In the southwest part of town, Thomas Street ran south past the stock yards. I think the street is now called Martin Luther King Blvd. It was a dirt road with a big ditch. This little-used road was perfect for a joy ride. It was something that we learned from our upper classmates. One of the girls in our class remembers being taken for the ride by two senior boys.

The ride always started by dragging Main Street. When that became tiring, someone would suggest "doing the dip". As many kids as possible crammed into a car and headed west. The driver would go as fast as possible down the dip in the road and up over the other side. If the car was going fast enough, it would become airborne. It was just like riding a roller coaster. WHAT a thrill.

The father of one of our classmates had a new Cadillac and she would drive it very fast. She was probably the fastest driver in our class, a regular dare devil behind the wheel. We believed she could drive so fast that the car would go four to five feet into the air. Some of the kids would actually hit their heads on the roof. Since everyone would get bounced around a lot we always wanted a "tight pack". At least four in the front seat next to the driver and six in the back seat. Remember that this was the fifties so the girls sat on the boys laps. That of course added to the excitement.

Looking back, it was a dangerous thing to do. If a car was coming from the opposite direction, it would be impossible to see it until your car was in the air. We were teenagers so the thought never occurred to us.

Another one of the good drivers would take his father's pickup for the ride. On night the truck body came down on the shocks in an awkward angle. OOPS! The driver was deathly afraid to go home with a truck that traveled at an angle down the street. The group drove slowly back into Clovis until a service station with a vehicle lift was found open. The mechanic on duty was able to use a long iron lever and get the body straight. What a relief.