Years ago in the week of Aug. 14
A man shows his son the cockpit of an Avenger, a World War II plane featured in the Gathering of the Warbirds air show in 1991.
25 years ago in the week of Aug. 14, 1991 WOMAN DIES AFTER BEING STRUCK BY PICKUP — A 78-year-old woman died after being hit by a truck on North D Street Monday morning. At first it appeared that Rose Lew Yick had suffered only minor abrasions to her hands and knees, but in a short time she succumbed to internal injuries. Yick was struck by a pickup driven by Cesar Caceras, 32, in the crosswalk on D Street south of 5th Street. He was southbound on D Street looking for a business, police said. Caceras said he had taken his eyes off the road momentarily, and when he looked back he saw Yick but was unable to avoid hitting her. Madera Police Capt. Charles Dickison said Yick was crossing the street legally.
TEST DRIVE TURNS INTO CAR THEFT — Madera police are looking for a man who took a car for a test drive and never came back. The suspect hopped into a 1978 Ford Granada at Padilla’s Used Cars just before noon on Tuesday. A salesman went along for the ride, but the pair stopped at a nearby station for gas. When the salesman got out of the car at the station, the suspect jumped back into the car and drove off southbound on Madera Avenue. Madera police say neither the man nor the car have been seen since. The man is described at 5-5, 160 pounds, unshaven and wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans.
QUARREL OVER A CIGARETTE LEADS TO BRAWL — The refusal of one man to give another one a cigarette let to a brawl Thursday night, which wound up with two men in jail, Undersheriff Jim Hickman said. The fight began about 10 p.m. at the Bridge Store with 18 to 20 adult Mexican males involved in the melee. A deputy passing by saw the fighting and called for backup. According to Hickman, two of the suspects threw clubs at one of the victims as he ran toward the deputy. Hickman said when the victim reached the deputy, one of the suspects ran over and punched him in the face, and all of the pugilists then ran down the street.
BOARD APPROVES RANCHOS FIREARMS ORDINANCE — Residents of the Madera Ranchos, Bonadelle Ranchos, and Rolling Hills subdivisions will have to put their guns away. The Board of Supervisors this week approved an ordinance including those subdivisions banning the discharge of firearms. According to Board Chair Rick Jensen, there have been problems with dove hunters in and around the homes. Roger Chantel told the board he was interested in knowing if the National Rifle Association had any stand on such an ordinance. Supervisor Harry Baker told Chantel he was a lifelong member of the NRA and was sure the organization would have no qualms about the ordinance.
WARBIRDS COMBINE VINTAGE, MODERN AIRCRAFT OF WAR — Almost 18,000 people thrilled at the sight of about 90 planes during the three-day annual International Gathering of the Warbirds Airshow as vintage World War II bombers and fighters shared the skies with some of their mechanical descendants used in Desert Storm. The “Gathering” began in 1972 through the efforts of World War II veterans Chris De Guitaut and Dennis Awes, who pooled their resources to get the first air show in Central California off the ground. The show was held at Chandler Field in Fresno for 16 years before resident complaints drove the planes into Madera for their antics. This year’s show honored veterans of America’s most recent military endeavor. 50 years ago in the week of Aug. 14, 1966 MINISTER VICTIM OF FEMALE ROBBERS — The Rev. William T. Updike was the victim of two armed women robbers Sunday morning on U.S. 99. The minister was traveling south on the highway when he was waved down by two women sitting in a station wagon parked on the side of the freeway, according to sheriff’s deputies. Updike stopped, and the women quickly got into his car. They told him they had engine trouble and needed a ride to Fresno. As they approached Avenue 7, one of the women “placed “an object” to the back of his head and ordered him to give them his wallet. Updike complied and was left on the freeway as the pair drove off in his 1966 Dodge.
NEW MUSD WILL EMPLOY 486 — The big, new Madera Unified School District will employ 486 persons this coming year to teach, counsel, supervise. feed, and transport its children. Employment of 348 teachers and 138 classified employees is nearing completion now. The district will employ teams of specialists in several fields this year, most of whom will be paid by federal funds and will travel from school to school. New this year will be a traveling foreign language instructor who will work in elementary schools in which staffs are not qualified in this field. Teacher aides will be at work in city schools in low economic areas with underprivileged children.
BOY LEADS POLICE ON WILD RIDE — A 17-year-old boy escaped from the Madera Police Station following his arrest Friday night and led officers on a wild car chase through Madera. The youth was arrested earlier at a dance at the Madera High School tennis courts where police said he was drunk. The arresting officer brought the youth to the police station and was telephoning his parents when he fled the station. The youth returned to the high school to retrieve his car. The police chased the runaway through Madera and down the 4th Street ramp and onto the freeway. The boy repeatedly slammed his car into the side of the overtaking police vehicle before the chase came to a halt just south of the city limits.
MADERANS ART CHOSEN FOR LONDON EXIBITION — Madera artist, Mrs. Beverly Konrath, has been notified that her painting, “The Guest,” has been placed among the winning entries from around the world in London with final judging and prize competition set for mid-October. “The Guest,” not previously displayed in Madera, is an impressionistic interpretation of Christ in the house of Mary and Martha. In the painting, shadowy images at top left depict the women preparing a meal for Christ. Fish, which Christ provided from the Sea of Galilee for the multitude and other food dishes, symbolize the meal under preparation. Mrs. Konrath is an art teacher for the adult division of Madera High School.
SPARK-CAUSED GRASSLAND FIRE SCORCHES 640 ACRES — Flames galloped across 640 acres of grassland, cutting a swath two miles long late Tuesday afternoon northeast of Madera on property owned by Jack Desmond and Will Gill and Sons. The blaze was apparently caused by accidental sparks set off by ranch hands who were working on a windmill in the area. The ranchmen told the Division of Forestry that they were straightening a pipe by beating it with a hammer prior to the blaze. The fire began in several patches and shot across the fields rapidly due to dryness and 10-12-mile-an-hour winds.
