STORIES FROM THE PAST

50 years ago

Another Hollywood personality has been added to the Los Vigilantes-Merchants Christmas Parade Saturday, according to Morlin Childers, parade marshal committee chairman.

She is Barbara Anderson, who costars as a detective in the new Raymond Burr weekly TV series, “Ironside.” She will accompany Chris Cary, parade Marshall, to El Centro, and they will be guests of honor at the Mistletoe Dance staged by los Vigilantes Saturday evening in the De Anza Hotel, Calexico.

40 years ago

Spokesmen for three Imperial Valley organizations listed as “affiliates” of National Council for La Raza say they are either not formally affiliated with the group or have taken a neutral stand on the proposed 160-acre limitation.

Their remarks are a result of Alfredo Figueroa’s testimony at last week’s Department of the Interior hearings in Imperial Valley. Figueroa presented a resolution from the group supporting enforcement of the Reclamation Act.

The resolution was passed by unanimous vote by the Board of Directors of La Raza at its meeting of Oct. 7 and 8 in Washington, D.C.

Figueroa submitted the resolution to the hearing board, along with a list of “affiliate organizations” following his testimony. Among the 52 organizations throughout the country listed were Campesinos Unidos, Inc., Brawley, the Calexico Community Action Council, Inc., and Desert Enterprise, El Centro.

30 years ago

The Christmas shopping season started early at several stores in Imperial County as merchants roused sleepy shoppers with big bargains at earlier-than-normal store openings.

Doors opened at 7 a.m. at Kmart in El Centro, and an hour later at Mervyns at the El Centro Center. At the Valley Plaza, shoppers were lured to the stores with promises of hayrides for children. Several retailers predicted the shopping season would be as good or better than a year ago, and one merchant claimed his customers are optimistic despite the havoc on Wall Street in October and a new peso devaluation in November.

20 years ago

To help students see the connection between school and the job market, local businesses are being encouraged to work with schools in implementing “school-to-career” programs by the Imperial Valley Business/Education Coalition and the county’s Regional Occupation Program.

School-to-career is an approach emphasizing career awareness and exploration at an early age. It encourages students to continue upgrading their technical skills beyond high school and college so they can meet the demands of a highly technical modern workforce.