STORIES FROM THE PAST

50 years ago

A Brawley Union High School senior will embark on an exploratory expedition to a foreign land this summer.

But it won’t be unknown seas or mountain ranges that he’ll be exploring. It will be a whole culture.

Dennis (Dough) Dahm son of Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence Dahm, Brawley, has been selected by the American Field Service (AFS) to spend the summer in Spain under the Americans Abroad program as the guest of a Spanish family.

What equipment does a student pack for such a safari? Returnees from Spain suggest folk and rock albums, illustrated books such as “Family of Man,” photographs of home, family and town, newspapers, yearbooks and a few choice American recipes.

Boys are advised to leave their bermuda shorts in the closet and girls can forget about bringing two-piece bathing suits, Doug has been told.

40 years ago

The Imperial Valley was well represented last week as the annual AAU Junior World National Wrestling Championships on freestyle and Greco-Roman were staged in Chicago.

Coach Guy Blevins of Imperial Valley College, leading a group called the Imperial Valley Wrestling Club, took five grapplers with him to Chicago.

The local wrestlers came from both the college and high school levels Sponsors were a variety of individuals, businesses and service organizations.

“We mounted a campaign to obtain money to finance the trip,” Blevins related, “and the people of the Valley came through for us, allowing the boys to participate.”

30 years ago

High chairs and toys, as well as walls and ceilings at the Central Union High School Infant Care Center were scrubbed with disinfectant this morning after a case of meningitis was discovered at the center Wednesday.

As a precaution, parents were called and all 12 infants at the center were sent home Wednesday morning, as soon as school officials learned that a 6-monthold infant under the center’s care had been diagnosed as having the disease, said Bev Studer, center director.

In addition, the center was shut down for the summer three days early to allow for the clean-up effort, Studer said. The adjacent day care center for children over the age of two remains open.

20 years ago

Decade-long efforts to bring a county administrative center to Brawley for the county’s northern residents are coming to fruition.

During its meeting Tuesday, the county Board of Supervisors decided to seek bids for the construction or purchase of a building to serve as a location for the new center, which could open as soon as January 1999.

“We’re very excited about getting county administrative office in Brawley,” said Niaz Mohamed, owner of the Bank of America building in Brawley, a site being considered for the center.

“The Northend is going to become more important to the county, and I’m glad the Board of Supervisors is realizing that,” he said.