Curt Noland, who delivered the Glendale News-Press on horseback, dies at 55

Curt Noland, who grew up in La Crescenta and was featured on a Los Angeles TV station for the novelty of delivering the Glendale News-Press on horseback, has died. He was 55.

Noland died Jan. 17 at his Carlsbad home after a battle with esophageal cancer.

The son of Al and Diane Noland, longtime La Crescenta residents, he attended Valley View School and Clark Junior High School. He delivered the News-Press on horseback in the late 1960s because he said it was hard to pedal his bike up the steep streets of his neighborhood. This led to his being the subject of a “Ralph Story’s Los Angeles” segment on KNXT — KCBS today — as Story exulted in the revival of “the Pony Express in La Crescenta.”

Noland moved with his family to Maryland in 1971, and he ultimately settled in San Diego County, where he oversaw the creation of master-planned communities for a developer. He is survived by his wife, Marlena, and sons Phil, Dan and Andrew, and father Al of La Mesa, brother Eric of La Crescenta, sister Elyse Black of Escondido and brother Bruce of Phoenix.

A memorial service is planned for Feb. 4 at 10 a.m. at Daybreak Church in Carlsbad.

Editor’s note: The author is the wife of Eric Noland, the deceased’s brother.