10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 Years Ago from the pages of the Valley Sun

Ten Years Ago

Jet Propulsion Laboratory/NASA announced a logo contest for the 1998 Mars Surveyor orbiter and lander mission. No prize was mentioned beyond “the prestige of seeing his or her creation on the Mars Surveyor ’98 spacecraft, as well as on...T-shirts, coffee mugs, posters and other items.”

Twenty Years Ago

Local tree lovers began closing ranks to prevent removal of 41 mature Australian melaleuca trees from the Foothill Boulevard median between Angeles Crest Highway and Georgian Road. The city had authorized $145,000 to improve the medians, including $30,000 to replace the melaleucas with various other trees.

Thirty Years Ago

It was standing room only in the cafetorium at La Cañada Elementary School for a meeting of the school board, which was considering closing Oak Grove Elementary in the face of declining enrollment. Parents said they didn’t want the school closed and suggested trimming staff, including teachers and administrators, to meet the budget shortfall.

Forty Years Ago

Professional golfer George Bayer, known for his exceptionally long shots off the tee — including one of 430 yards — was featured on the cover of the Valley Sun on Jan. 18, 1968 in advance of competing in the Los Angeles Open at Brookside Park Golf Course. Bayer and his family then lived on Gleneagles Place in La Cañada Country Club Estates.

Fifty Years Ago

Private services were held for Ralph Cornwell, a retired La Cañada service station operator whose remains were found in mid-January 1958, some 20 months after he disappeared while on a hiking trip in the San Jacinto Mountains near Palm Springs. Two hikers found Cornwell’s skeletal remains at the foot of the fourth falls of Tahquitz Creek.