La Cañada History: 4-H club starts at St. George’s Episcopal Church
Ten Years Ago
A memorial tribute was held at La Cañada Presbyterian Church for John Kelsey, the retired choral director at La Cañada High who died at the age of 64 after a nine-month battle with cancer. Kelsey, who joined the local high school’s staff in 1964, remained there until his retirement in 1998 and was lauded for his ability to coach superior singing performances out of his students.
Twenty Years Ago
La Cañada Flintridge resident Brad Holland, former NBA star, UCLA basketball coach and head basketball coach at Cal State Fullerton, was the keynote speaker for the March 26, 1993 Community Prayer Breakfast, sponsored by the Crescenta-Cañada Family YMCA and the Kiwanis Club of La Cañada.
Thirty Years Ago
Longtime La Cañadan Jean Kennedy Schmidt was honored in Washington, D.C. during special ceremonies for the National POW-MIA Day observance at the Pentagon. An Army nurse serving in the Philippines during World War II, Schmidt among those taken prisoner by the Japanese in 1942. She spent 38 months in the Santo Tomas internment camp before her release.
Forty Years Ago
Eighteen boys and girls ages 9-17 joined La Cañada’s new 4-H Club, which was organized by Mr. and Mrs. James Brenner of Commonwealth Avenue. The group held its meetings on the first Saturday of each month at St. George’s Episcopal Church.
Fifty Years Ago
Four firefighters were treated for smoke inhalation and one for an eye injury after battling a major residential fire on Meadow Grove Place. It was reported that a faulty furnace in the home’s basement that had recently been serviced was the source of the blaze, which destroyed most of the interior and furnishings.
Sixty Years Ago
The La Cañada branch of the American Red Cross was the first in the greater Pasadena area to exceed its goal in the 1953 fundraising drive, bringing in a total of $11, 765 from about 1,500 contributors.
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Compiled from the Valley Sun archives by Carol Cormaci. Follow @CarolCormaci on Twitter.