STORIES FROM THE PAST

50 years ago

Although generally pleased with the extension of the cotton field plow-up date to Jan. 1, growers hope for a further extension of Jan. 15, according to Charles (Cap) Provost, cotton broker for Cook & Co. at Brawley.

The first extension was obtained by County Agricultural Commissioner Claude M. Finnell from the state Department of Agriculture.

Finnell personally informed the state Director of Agriculture Earl Cole how heavy rains at the peak of harvest halted picking and harvesting and that cooler weather was holding back full maturity. Provost said yesterday that only 41,487 bales of Imperial County cotton had been ginned through last Friday, slightly over half of this year’s estimated harvest.

40 years ago

The El Centro Building Department issued over $3 million in building permits during November to send the city soaring over its previous yearly high.

Thirty-nine single-family dwelling units in El Centro Acres behind Kmart on LaBrucherie Road accounted for most of $3,078,049 issued in building permits during November. Half a million dollars in permits were also issued for an apartment complex on North Waterman Avenue.

The valuation put the year-to-date total at $13,473,459, which shatters last year’s record year valuation of $9,201,896. The November monthly valuation is the highest since September 1973 when $3,142,780 in building permits were issued.

30 years ago

Four Valley runners turned in outstanding performances in the recently completed Junior Olympics National Cross Country Championships in Raleigh, N.C. The best of the bunch was Holtville’s Javier Ramos. A student at Pine School, Ramos finished 10th in the 10-years-and-under Bantam Division.

The Bantams run three kilometer races at the national level and Ramos was timed in 11:30. The top 25 finishers earn medals — there were better than 200 runners in the race — and Ramos brought one back to the Valley.

20 years ago

OCOTILLO — A father and his son from Coronado were rescued after being lost in the desert north of here for nearly 15 hours over the weekend after taking a wrong turn on their motorcycles. Officials with the Sheriff’s De Anza Rescue Unit said Greg Hansen, 50, and his 13-year-old son attempted to take a shortcut late Saturday night through the desert. Instead of spending the night with the rest of their family in Ocotillo, the two spent a wet night in the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.