In order to celebrate the City of Clovis’s 100th Birthday, a group of city leaders and community-spirited individuals formed a Centennial Committee that will work throughout the year in planning the series of events to commemorate the city’s history and success. The first event that the committee planned was a community birthday party, which was held Feb. 27.
The event took place from 4-8 p.m. at the Sierra Vista Mall and was free for all who attended. Located on the southeast corner of Clovis and Shaw Avenue, the mall provided various attractions, including historic exhibits, food-sampling booths, a drawing for the Centennial Quilt and live music from groups like the Buchanan High School Jazz Band.
Originally founded by Marcus Pollasky, Clovis but was incorporated in 1912, Paul Spraetz,Vice President of the Clovis Historical Society stated.
“The city of Clovis was essentially founded by Marcus Pollasky for whom the main street is named after,” Spraetz said. “He came from the Mid-West and laid out a town site, which is now the city of Clovis, but it was actually incorporated in 1912 after Marcus went bankrupt and headed to the Mid-West again.”
Building the city began with bringing timber down by a flume, but eventually took a more modern turn as automobiles became accessible. The city is engrossed with memorable history and what started as a small town has grown throughout the years.
“Clovis grew from timber brought down by a flume originally, but didn’t work because the flume later collapsed in 1910,” Spraetz said. “Times were changing and by then automobiles would carry timber and grapes were being farmed. It was a super small town for a while, but has really rich history from the olden days. It is definitely a great historical moment compared to some of the cities back east because to California, Clovis would probably be considered old.”
According to Clovis Centennial Committee member Kathy Hamlin, the committee has been hard at work, planning events for the whole year of 2012.
“We’re planning events throughout the year of 2012 because it is Clovis’ hundredth birthday,” Hamlin said. “The actual date of incorporation is today [Feb. 27] and that’s why we’re throwing the birthday party with a birthday cake, cupcakes and everything else.”
Guests were welcomed by Mayor of Clovis Jose Flores, who was followed by a performance by a cappella group Gold Note Chorus (GNC). A Centennial Address and reflections on Clovis were given at 6 p.m. and the Clovis City Council later presented a birthday cake for the city.
One of the things held during the celebration was the “Taste of Clovis” competition, which included 17 participating Clovis restaurants. A limited number of $5-ticket passports for the food tasting were sold starting Feb. 8. Among the restaurants, there was also a VIP room for sponsors who donated money toward the celebration, allowing the event to be free for the public.
“We also have a Taste of Clovis competition with restaurants and a VIP room for our sponsors who donated money so we could do this event almost free of charge,” Hamlin said. “The event is free of charge to the general public and the Taste of Clovis tickets are only $5, so it’s very inexpensive for the public to participate.”
Restaurants included Panera Bread, the International House of Pancakes (IHOP), Rio Grill Brazilian Steakhouse, Red Robin, QN4U and Toledo’s Mexican Restaurant, among several other local eateries.
Former second grade FC teacher Nancy Keck found herself enjoying the special event and trying the variety of foods.
“Well so far I am enjoying this event,” Keck said. “I came here a little early and they started right on time. My favorite restaurant here would have to be QN4U because I really liked their barbecue sliders, and Red Robin’s strawberry lemonade.”
Another attraction in the mall was the Community Room, where historical city items were displayed. Pictures were hung around the walls and different poster boards presented varying aspects of Clovis. The room served as a way to show the history of public works in the city, five-year Water Production Manager Leon Penny said.
“This room is kind of the history of public works, streets department, water department and refuge department,” Penny said. “They are all vital services to the community. Without those things we really wouldn’t have a community. We have demonstrations of what we do, there are pictures and samples for people to look at.”
Despite little mishaps throughout the night, the event attracted a good amount of people and provided an enjoyable time for all, Red Robin Manager Richard Okayutsu said.
“Well for this evening, it was actually a really good turnout and great for all the people in Clovis,” Okayutsu said. “There were some moments of trouble, but you’ve got to expect it with such a big event like the 100th year birthday for Clovis. It was good and we enjoyed ourselves tonight. We were not in the A Taste of Clovis competition and did beverages instead, but I saw some great food out there and I heard that the Indian Grill and QN4U were really good.”
The night ended with the award ceremony for the A Taste of Clovis competition and drawing the winner for the Centennial Quilt raffle drawing. A birthday cake was also cut by Miss Clovis, Kaitlin Kruser, and free mini cupcakes were passed out to the pubic.
Although this was only one of the events that the Clovis Centennial Committee has planned, the special occasion turned out as a success and provided a chance for the public to celebrate the rich history of Clovis.
“It’s always nice to have milestones, something to look forward to and look back to,” Penny said. “A hundred years is a very good accomplishment for a city to be around. Clovis has made some wise choices within that hundred years and hopefully they can look back at that and make even more good choices in the next hundred years.”
For more information, check out Happy Birthday Clovis. For more features, read the Feb. 27 article, Rookie actress awes audiences.
