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La Cañada History: Once upon a time you could fish at Devil’s Gate Dam

 Lake at Devil's Gate Dam, Pasadena, 1959
Unidentified boys fish in the lake at Devil’s Gate Dam 60 years ago this month. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory can be seen in the background.
(La Cañada Valley Sun)
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Ten Years Ago

Trevor Bell, a 2005 graduate of Crescenta Valley High School, pitched his first major league baseball game in Anaheim on Aug. 12, 2009 as a member of the Los Angeles Angels.

Twenty Years Ago

Ground squirrels found carrying sylvatic plague prompted the Los Angeles County Health Department to temporarily close the Switzer Falls picnic area in the Angeles National Forest 6 miles north of La Cañada. The concern was that fleas could transmit the bacterial infection to humans, causing the bubonic plague.

Thirty Years Ago

The Voyager 2 spacecraft had its closest encounter with Neptune, bringing scientists and reporters from around the world — as well as sitting Vice President Dan Quayle — to La Cañada Flintridge to celebrate the occasion at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

Forty Years Ago

La Cañadan Dave Morris, the 1978 U.S. intercollegiate champion, was preparing to carry his hometown’s hopes in the sixth annual World Frisbee Disc Championship at the Rose Bowl. Morris was one of 120 qualifiers entered in the competition.

Fifty Years Ago

A 1966 Lincoln Continental that had lost its brakes careened downhill on Angeles Crest Highway and slammed into a business complex on Foothill Boulevard. No one, including any of the sedan’s three occupants, was injured in the spectacular Sunday afternoon crash, which wrecked L’Art Carnival art gallery at 962 Foothill Blvd. and smashed a wall separating the gallery from Flintridge Garage at 964 Foothill.

Sixty Years Ago

The dusty, dirty Devil’s Gate Dam area that today is the subject of a four-year “big dig” project to haul away tons of built-up debris, had an entirely different look 60 years ago this summer. Devil’s Gate Lake was then deep enough for local youths to enjoy fishing there.

Compiled from the Valley Sun archives by Carol Cormaci.

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