A three-inch downpour on April 11, 1954 brought severe flooding throughout the Lovington area. Here we see a 1953 Pontiac with a 1954 Lea County plate wading through the waters. The storm was accompanied by huge hailstones that were said to have killed numerous cattle and sheep in the area. Courtesy David L. Minton
.jpg)
Three well-dressed ladies and a Scottie prepare to load up in this circa 1951 Cadillac Fleetwood for a road trip to parts unknown. The number 24 prefix on the 1954 license plate tells us that the car is from Guadalupe County (Santa Rosa area). NMplates collection.
A whole slew of cars (and one truck) parked on W. Washington St. in
Lovington, all with 1954 Lea County license plates. The Holder & Ross building
is at far right. Courtesy David L. Minton.
This 1953 Ford Customline 4-door sedan from Bernalillo County was photographed in 1954 as its unidentified owner contemplated the power plant under the hood.
Jack Prichett gassing up his well-worn Chevrolet pickup in Humble City, N.M., while on a milk run in 1954. Courtesy David L. Minton.
A circa 1952 Nash Rambler 2-door Greenbriar station wagon mired in the aftermath of Lovington’s May 16, 1954 flood. The car’s mud-covered 1954 passenger car plate was revealed as the waters receded in front of the KLEA radio station studios. Courtesy David L. Minton.
Irma Shockey of Tijeras Canyon, antiquing in Sedillo, 1954. Courtesy Rick Holben.
"Dan on his scooter," Curry County, 1954. Note 1954 truck plate on Chevrolet pickup behind the Cushman motor scooter. Author's collection.
This photo of Lea County Sheriff Jewell G. McAdoo and his nine
deputies was taken in 1954, an era when the members of the Sheriff’s
Office supplied their own patrol cars, all of which have 1954 “civilian”
license plates. Left to right are: Sheriff Jewell McAdoo, 1953
Oldsmobile; Jake Fort, 1954 Pontiac; James Robinson, 1953 Hudson; Ivan
Read, 1954 Mercury; Elmer Turner, 1953 Chevrolet; Bill White, 1952
Oldsmobile; Joe Price, 1953 Pontiac; Les Villars, 1953 Chrysler Windsor;
Stanley Flint, 1951 Dodge Coronet; L.N. Yantis, 1950 Buick. Courtesy
David L. Minton.