La Cañada History: 9-year-old La Cañadan catches ‘Ugliest Fish’ in June Lake contest

Ten Years Ago

More than 32,000 people turned out for the 2007 Open House at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, just days before the lab reported that its robotic rover named Spirit, then in Mars’ Gusev Crater, had found the strongest evidence to date that there was once water on the Red Planet.

Twenty Years Ago

Rich Wheeler was introduced at a meeting of the La Cañada school board as the new head football coach at La Cañada High School. Wheeler stayed at the helm of the program until the end of the 2008 season.

Thirty Years Ago

On opening weekend of the 1987 fishing season at June Lake, 9-year-old Sharon Illian of La Cañada won the award given to the person who caught the “ugliest fish” in the Monster Trout Contest.

Forty Years Ago

It was announced that La Cañada High School senior Janet Foley would be crowned “Queen of La Cañada Flintridge” during the Gold Rush Ball, held in conjunction with the 1977 Fiesta Days celebration.

Fifty Years Ago

Descanso Gardens developer Manchester Boddy, who had lived in La Cañada for 27 years before retiring to a ranch in San Diego, died at the age of 75. Coming to the Foothills in 1927, Boddy at first resided in the upper Alta Canyada area, where he purchased a natural spring property in Hall Beckley Canyon as a water source for Descanso Gardens, which he later developed.

Sixty Years Ago

Plans to establish a Southern California Edison office in La Cañada were announced. The new office would occupy one of two suites that would be built at 929 Foothill Blvd. ,and, said SCE’s district manager, would boast “electronic year-round climate control air conditioning and have the latest design in fluorescent lighting fixtures.”

Compiled from the Valley Sun archives by Carol Cormaci.