1977: A City is Born

A look at the way we were, 34 years ago this week.

Cityhood at Last: Thousands cheered as Lemon Grove became California's 414th city on July 1 amid fireworks, cannon fire and rock concert revelry at Lemon Grove Junior High. The first mayor, James Dorman, and vice mayor, Dr. Robert Burns, were sworn in as U.S. Congressman Lionel Van Deerlin, State Senator James Mills and other notables looked on. Wrote Lemon Grove Review editor Max Goodwin, “After four attempts...it was a perfect night for romance or giving birth to a city.”

Call the Cops: The California Highway Patrol assigned the new city three patrol shifts and five officers in two one-man shifts (day) and one two-man shift (night) at an annual cost of $200,000 (85 percent for salaries,  38 percent for benefits). There were 750 CHP officers available for riot control.

Kindest Cut of All: The County Board of Supervisors vowed to cut property taxes 44 percent in fiscal year 1978, the biggest drop since 1938.

Fido the Barbarian: There were 5,496 county residents who were bitten by dogs in May and June. “Buy a leash,” advised county Animal Control.

Deals on Meals:  Skandia Smorgasbord, 7973 Broadway at Kempf, offered lunch for $2.25 and dinner for $3.45.

The Sweet Science:  The Coliseum, at 15th and 8th Streets in San Diego, featured Eddie “The Animal” Lopez against Charlie “Sweet” James, “Spuds” Murphy against “Dangerous Dan” Johnson, and Fili Moala the Tonga Tiger against anyone. The gong sounded at 8:15 p.m. and reservations were advised.

Compiled by Helen Ofield, president of the Lemon Grove Historical Society, from newspapers archived at the H. Lee House Cultural Center.