STORIES FROM THE PAST

50 years ago

Mexican American customs officials met Tuesday in Calexico to discuss mutual problems facing the Calexico-Mexicali border crossing.

U.S. Customs Assistant Commissioner of Administration Robert Dickerson was the spokesman for the Washington, D.C., officials. Garcia Panyaqua, Assistant Customs Commissioner for Mexico, was the spokesman for the Mexico City based officials.

The main item of discussion was the Operation Cooperation fight against the smuggling of narcotics from Mexico into the United States. Before the meeting, Dickerson and Panyaqua – along with the directors of the ports of entry, Robert Poley (Calexico) and Melina Swarez (Mexicali) – had spent some time discussing the “back-up” at the port entrance as a result of the individual vehicle search for narcotics.

It has been pointed out the seemingly main cause of long waits is due to inadequate facilities, according to Earl Roberts, Calexico Chamber of Commerce representative. Roberts made it clear Calexico businesses were suffering because people did not want to spend time in line.

Prince Pierson, Calexico city manager, submitted a plan by the City Council proposing the building of a temporary facility until the permanent facility is constructed, which will not begin until 1972.

“We would like authorization to place a gate in the fence,” Pierson said.

The proposal asks for a crossing at the Heber Avenue access which would be 400 feet east of the present facility.

40 years ago

At least six persons suffered minor injuries in a multiple-vehicle collision today when drifting smoke from a field fire obliterated visibility on Highway 86, just north of Keystone road.

The California Highway Patrol said the accident occurred about 12:15 p.m. when an unidentified motorist reportedly stopped in the middle of the smoke cloud, causing a chain-reaction collision involving six vehicles.

A passing motorist said the drifting smoke blanketed the area near Twin Bridges, south of Holly Sugar and visibility was “dangerously close to zero.”

A spokesman at Pioneers Memorial Hospital said five persons, including three adults and two children, were treated for minor injuries and released. A sixth victim was reportedly en route to the hospital by ambulance at press time.

CHP said the smoke from the field fire was carried into the area by winds blowing from the east. One source said it is against county ordinance to burn fields when there is a possibility that smoke will hinder visibility on any county roadway.

30 years ago

A trailer recently used as a homeless shelter in Los Angeles now sits empty in the back lot of the Salvation Army in El Centro. It is empty except for a few ash trays full of cigarette butts and broken hangers on the floor. Its walls and roof are in desperate need of repair, as are its filth-covered toilets and sink.

It is hard to imagine small children will soon learn, play and nap in the trailer while their parents are at work. But the Salvation Army has undertaken an ambitious spring cleaning project to get the facility ready by September, when it plans to open a new pre-school program.

With a lot of optimism, the Salvation Army hopes to complete the cleanup in time for a summer program. But none of this will become reality if the community doesn’t pitch in to help, said Marilyn Wright-Rich, youth program coordinator for the Salvation Army.

“We sure need the community’s backing,” said Wright-Rich. “We need plumbers, electricians, carpenters. I would like to get started immediately.”

In addition to volunteers, the Salvation Army needs about $10,000 to renovate the trailer and build a playground. Equipment for the playground, and kid-size tables and chairs also are needed.

A playground facility is required by the state before a pre-school can open, Wright-Rich. “If anyone can donate time, money or materials for the pre-school, we need help real bad,” she said.

20 years ago

“Oliver,” the smash Broadway musical opening tonight for the first of three performances in the Palmer Performing Arts Center in Brawley, is a celebration of the talent of Imperial Valley youth.

The cast is big and predominately young, mostly between the ages of 5 and 12, with the two lead roles carried admirably by Kathleen Kelley of El Centro as Oliver and Megan Strahm of Holtville as the Artful Dodger, a sharp-witted slum gamin. Both are comfortable on stage and have voices of remarkable timbre and projection.

“Oliver” is a musical version of the Charles Dickens classic, “Oliver Twist,” placed in early 19th-century London. It is the story of a young orphan boy introduced to a life of crime and rescued from it only by a deathbed confession of a woman who possessed a locket that held the secret of his true identity.

A remarkable aspect of “Oliver” the play is how closely it follows the original Dickens plot, a rarity on both stage and screen. It is abbreviated, of course, in both plot and numbers of characters for purposes of stage brevity, but the storyline remains basically true to the original.

A highlight of the first act is the charmingly performed duet, “Consider Yourself Part of the Family” by Kathleen and Megan as the latter welcomes his new friend into the fraternity of thieves led by a miserly master criminal, Fagin, played by George Scott.

And in the second act, Nancy, a Fagin gang graduate and still a hanger-on, sings the hauntingly lovely ballad, “As Long as He Needs Me.” She sings of her love for Billy Sykes, played by Bob Nelson, another Fagin follower. Though he is a bully who ends up murdering her, she confesses that “I’ll do anything; I’ll go anywhere… as long as he needs me.”

Nancy is played by DeAnn Hilfiker, whose background in the theater is obvious by her acting and whose voice is outstanding.