Paula McConnell Pangle, who leads the historic McConnell Ranch family trust, is photographed on an old milk wagon used by her great grandfather, Hardy McConnell, who founded the ranch 110 years ago in the Imperial Valley.

The year was 1908.

Hardy McConnell and his son Leslie were drawn by vast open lands and the great potential of the rugged, undeveloped Imperial Valley. Father and son left Temescal Canyon, near Corona, enroute to settle in the Imperial Valley, driving two teams of horses pulling wagons, hauling farm implements, chickens and leading a cow.

It took fourteen days to cross through the mountains and desert and arrive in Imperial. When they arrived, they went to work turning stretches of sand dunes into productive farmland using teams of horses and Fresno Scrapers.

It was Hardy who founded McConnell Ranch in the Imperial Valley. Today, 110 years later,

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Gregorio A. Ponce, Dean of San Diego State University, Imperial Valley, is pictured on the university’s Calexico campus. Ponce, who was named interim Dean in 2015 and in March 2017 was officially named to the permanent position, has announced a new initiative to bring growth to the local institution, which has two campuses–in Calexico and Brawley.

On Thanksgiving, Dr. Gregorio A. Ponce, Dean of San Diego State University, Imperial Valley, ran an advertisement in the local newspaper thanking his Calexico elementary, middle school and high school teachers, the staff and administrators for their guidance.

He thanked all 60 of them—all by name.

He included a picture of himself in the ad as he graduated from Calexico High School in 1981—beginning a journey that would lead him to the top post of the local branch of San Diego State University.

Just as his parents, Gregorio

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Ed Aranda, president of the local Imperial Valley chapter of the ABATE biker organization, talks about the group’s Turkey Run to help poor families have a Thanksgiving meal. He is pictured outside the Sister Evelyn Mourey Center, an El Centro charitable organization that receives turkeys from ABATE. This year’s Turkey Run will be held Nov. 18.

Ed Aranda sits on his Harley Davidson bike. Dressed in a black leather vest, jeans and a red bandana underneath a cap bearing the name of his biker organization—ABATE—the 63-year-old Imperial resident talks of a 20-year passion of his to serve the community.

November is a special month for this biker.

It is this month in which ABATE Local 38, the Imperial Valley chapter of what is a very large motorcycle organization, holds its annual Turkey Run, an event to provide turkeys to charitable groups and churches throughout the

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