Leslie Smith was born in 1893 in the Washington Colony area of Fresno and came to Clovis at the age of 6. He attended Clovis Elementary School. At the age of 14 he quit school and started work at the L.W. Gibson Grocery store. He joined the National Guard in 1916 serving in Arizona protecting small border towns from Pancho Villa raids.
After his service in WWI he worked as a clerk for the C.S. Merriman store (formerly Gibsons)
He opened Smiths Grocery Store in the late 1920's on Fifth St. in Old Town Clovis. He closed the store in 1942 due to government restrictions of WWII, (ration stamps). He was a maintenance foreman at Friant Dam where at this time he bought a 33-acre ranch and raised cattle. He was a charter member of the Clovis Rodeo Association and was Grand Marshall of the 1961 Clovis Day Parade. He also had the gift of a "Witcher" also known as dowsing or devining. He had a gift of finding oil and water this way.
Leslie was married to Nola Dewees in 1921 and together they raised 3 children. He passed away in 1978.
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