La Cañada History: Snakes abound in the foothills

Ten Years Ago

La Cañadans living in the foothills near JPL reported encountering several rattlesnakes in March 2004, with longtime resident Mark Goddard telling of one that was about 7 feet long. The reports prompted the oft-repeated advice from public safety officials: keep a healthy distance from the reptile and call 911 if one strikes you.

Twenty Years Ago

Local developer Gary Zentmyer held a press conference at 1919 Verdugo Blvd. to announce his plans to build a 2,128-seat movie complex in his hometown, on a site formerly home to an automobile dealership. During the event he signed a long-term lease with United Artists Theatre Circuit Inc. Zentmyer said the complex was expected to be ready for use by December 1994.

Thirty Years Ago

Stephen Bauer, a 1976 graduate of La Cañada High School, was selected to be a member of the 1984 Olympic Honor Choir, which would perform at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympic Games held in Los Angeles that year.

Forty Years Ago

Two films, “Cinderella Liberty” and “The Last Detail,” both based on novels written by former La Cañada High School English teacher Darryl Ponicsan, were up for Oscars as the 1974 Academy Awards approached.

Fifty Years Ago

The Candy Garden, a store then located at 927 Foothill Blvd. (where the Town Center sits today) was enticing locals during the spring 1964 season with everything needed to create Easter baskets, including giant chocolate eggs filled with the buyer’s choice of fudge, vanilla or coconut, priced at $1.25 each.

Sixty Years Ago

It was reported in March 1954 that the La Cañada branch of the Los Angeles County Public Library system ranked seventh in volume among the 116 branch libraries in the county. In the 1952-53 fiscal year, the local library had a total circulation of 82,039 according to Leone Loos, who was then its librarian.

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Compiled from the Valley Sun archives by Carol Cormaci