STORIES FROM THE PAST
50 years ago
Robert V. Liggett, assistant city editor of The South Bend (Ind.) Tribune, has been named managing editor of The Imperial Valley Press and The Brawley News. He replaces Ben Johnston, who resigned recently to accept an editorial position with the Memphis Commercial Appeal newspaper in Memphis, Tenn. The announcement was made today by J.R. (Dick) Fitch, general manager of the papers.
Liggett, who is married and has five children, has worked for The Tribune more than 18 years. Prior to that he was on the staff of The Ypsilanti (Mich.) Daily Press while he was attending Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti. He started with The Tribune as a copy editor but was named bureau manager of the paper’s Benton Harbor-St. Joseph, Mich., office in 1951. After four years there he was made Michigan state editor. In this capacity he supervised two news bureaus and 30 correspondents.
40 years ago
A watermelon field after the final harvest is no picturesque place. Broken up and spoiled watermelons must be more attractive than feedlots to flies, because they’re there en masse. The heat of the day decomposes the fruit of the vine. Weeds of every kind strangle the plants not watered in weeks. But despite it all, a harvested watermelon field is a very popular places. At any time of the day, at any field where the “No Trespassing” sign and the armed guard have been removed at least three truckloads of “watermelon gleaners” can be found on any field.
Watermelon gleaners gather the fruit left by official field crews. “We’ve got to watch out for those guys,” said Claude Finnell, Imperial County Agricultural Commissioner. He said some watermelon gleaners even try to sell their scavenged booty.
30 years ago
State officials have started a preliminary evaluation of seven new sites for locating a prison in the south end of Imperial County. Monday was the deadline for filing new sites. Jeannette Tighe, project manager; Berund Beutenmuller, a senior environmental planner, and Geoff Marmas, an engineer, all with the state Department of Corrections, examined three sites around Calexico on Monday with Alejandro Armenta, the county’s chief probation officer.
“This is just a preliminary look, we really couldn’t say (anything about the sites),” Tighe said. Right now, all they are doing is seeing the locations and sizes of the sites, she said.
“We have no preference at this point. We’re pleased to see more sites. We want to have EIRs (environmental impact reports) on the south end for geographical diversity, as it is most likely to ensure a viable site at the end of the EIRs.”