Resident determined not to miss daughter’s wedding

Ten Years Ago

A man armed with a handgun robbed the La Cañada branch of Washington Mutual Bank and escaped with an undisclosed amount of money. The robber paused to write his hold-up note in the teller’s presence, then handed it across the counter to her.

Twenty Years Ago

Lutheran Church in the Foothills celebrated its 45th anniversary by honoring its founding pastor, Dr. John Stump, and his wife, Christa. Stump served the church from 1947 to 1959.

Thirty Years Ago

Winds gusting to 100 mph battered the foothills, knocking trees across power lines and causing outages to 26,000 Southern California Edison customers. The 210 Freeway had to be closed for a few hours as the wind also overturned several trucks and trailer rigs.

Forty Years Ago

George Rybak was installed Worshipful Master of La Cañada Masonic Lodge No. 739, and was reported to be the first Czechoslovakian refugee from the Communist regime to hold the position in a California Masonic Lodge. Rybak escaped his homeland in 1948.

Fifty Years Ago

The sound of a loud, wailing air raid siren that startled residents from La Cañada to Altadena came from a facility installed near Sugar Loaf Drive by the county Civil Defense Office.

It turned out there was no enemy aircraft overhead; the alarm, which sounded at 6:15 p.m. and blasted for at least five minutes, was caused by a mechanical failure. So many concerned residents call the local sheriff’s station for information that its switchboard was jammed for about half an hour.

Sixty Years Ago

Dr. Rodney Lilyquist of Woodleigh Lane, recuperating at a Glendale hospital following an operation on his spine, was determined not to miss his daughter’s wedding.

He hired an ambulance to drive him to the North Glendale United Methodist Church, where he was rolled up the aisle on a stretcher to participate in the ceremony.

The wedding united Carla Lilyquist with Wallis I. Benson.