STORIES FROM THE PAST
50 years ago
Members of the Calexico city administration, City Council and Economic Development Commission toured industrial sites Thursday as city officials continue present plans of attracting industry and jobs.
The tour of three firms – American Homes Industries Inc., Valle Verde Inc. and KAMARA Inc. – was set up by the EDC and the Calexico Chamber of Commerce. American Homes was selected by the Calexico Housing Authority to erect 100 units in the Calexico area this fall. The Kennedy Gardens project of 299 homes also has awarded the housing construction to the American Homes people.
The projected date of operation by American Homes has been put off because of finalizing of contracts and plans with Calexico area officials and corporate heads in Bakersfield.
Sources at the American Homes site now settling at Pruett Road, north of Highway 98, said much of the equipment has arrived and operation should begin soon.
Members of the Calexico City Council were concerned with discussing the recent plans of the Valle Verde people to construct a $70,000 building adjacent to the American Legion field. Jim Hogan, controller for the operation in Los Angeles, discussed the provisions of the contract with the city concerning the construction of the building.
Valle Verde is an operation of the Jet Set Co. that specializes in woman’s outer coats.
Hogan explained the company is concerned over the fact the city would not include an option to buy in the contract for the land. “You people (the city) could offer us the land to buy at any time, but if we didn’t approve you could turn around and sell it out from under us,” Hogan said.
Councilman Jerry Patton contended if the company held the property, then they could lease out the building at any time to someone else, and if the building was used for a warehouse, then the city had defeated its purpose in creating jobs.
40 years ago
Only a few weeks ago, George Watson was blind. Yet today he can see quite well. It happened from one moment to the next, without treatment. Something just popped, as he told a friend. “For about four years, I had not been able to see much,” he said. “It had come upon me gradually, through the years. I could see a little, but very little it was. And I had to walk slowly, with the help of a cane. Legally blind, you might say, I was.”
One day, he had gone down to the corner of Euclid and Imperial Avenue in El Centro to get a haircut, and when he was walking back to his mobile home on Euclid, he had stopped by the Donut House for a cup of coffee. “So I drank my coffee.” The 83-year-old Watson said, “and started home, west on Euclid. And suddenly, I could see cars up the street, could see without any trouble.”
“He told me something suddenly popped,” said his friend, Mary Noblitt. “At Knott’s Berry Farm recently, he couldn’t get up to the sidewalk without help.”
Dr. David Price, El Centro optometrist, said he had heard of a few similar cases, but had never come across one himself.
“Perhaps there had been some pressure on the optic nerve,” he suggested.
“I don’t know if I stepped on a stone or what,” Watson said. “But suddenly, there it was. You know, I worked for the railroad for 48 years, and they never found out that I was seeing double.
Now perhaps I’ll go to a doctor to tell me what really happened.”
20 years ago
Sports fans, music fans and looking-for-a-good-deal fans are invited to attend the 34th annual Brawley Boys & Girls Club Auction on Sept. 30.
The silent auction is the biggest fundraising event the club stages. The auction was started in 1966. Three years ago the Brawley Police Athletic League, the Brawley Parks and Recreation Department and the Boys and Girls Club joined forced in an attempt to provide more funding and activities for the community’s youth. Judy Chilcott, executive director of the club, said the auction and other fund-raising events, donations and federal and state grants fund the activities the club provides for youths.
She said the club has averaged $40,000 in income from fundraisers for the past five years, which is more than some larger cities.
“The community has always been very supportive,” she said.
Karin Morgan, city parks and recreation director, said about the auction, “It’s a fun opportunity for people to come and have a fun way to contribute to the community,” she said. “It’s essential to crime prevention; it’s essential to a healthy way of life, and it’s essential to the quality of life in the community,” she said.
“Brawley is a gifted community. It has wonderful support,” she added.
Brawley PAL Director Chris Eaton said, “This community has always been supportive, more than I’ve ever seen anywhere else, so I’m real proud to be a part of all of this.”