In a written communication presented to the city trustees at their meeting Monday night, Mayor Joshua Cowell offered his resignation, giving as a reason ill health and his trouble in hearing. Mr. Cowell has been a faithful worker for the city but he has been ill all summer and, as he says, is physically unable to attend to his duties.

With practically every organization in Manteca participating, the Armistice Day program Monday was the most ambitious ever undertaken by the local American Legion Post. Following the services in the high school auditorium, the ceremonies of laying the cornerstone for the new Memorial Hall, soon to be erected by Hope McFall Post No. 249, American Legion, were held with Mayor J. M. Luck making the address.

Work of remodeling the old post office room in the City Hall for use of the local library is expected to get under way at once, the City Council at a meeting Monday night having awarded contracts for the improvements. The sum of $100 was also voted for the Manteca Library Association toward equipping the new quarters with book racks and a desk.

For the second time since his present store was built in 1916, John Mendosa has found it necessary to enlarge his quarters to keep pace with the growth of the community. Mr. Mendosa is now announcing the remodeling of the store room, adding on 35 feet which now gives the room an overall depth of 120 feet.

The Manteca Elementary School Board will meet in a special session next Monday to choose possible plans for the new Golden West School. The members will then present the outlines to the bidding architects later in the evening. This was decided at the monthly board meeting this past Monday night.

Joe Chincarini has been named officer in charge of the Manteca Post Office as a result of the retirement of Postmaster Breen Hildebrand and Assistant Postmaster Harry Carlson, both on the same day, October 31. This has left Chincarini to face the approaching Christmas mail deluge not only with two men less, but with two supervisors less.

Manteca City Councilman Rick Wentworth will seek election to the San Joaquin County Board of Supervisors, his campaign committee announced Friday. Wentworth hopes to serve the 5th Supervisorial District, which includes the cities of Escalon, Ripon, Manteca and Tracy.

At exactly 2:08 Saturday afternoon, a solemn contingent of Marines, Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion members marched to the flag pole in front of Manteca’s newest school and raised the silken symbol presented 22 years ago to a family that, like many others, would never see their child again. A large crowd watched the Veterans Day dedication of Brock Elliott Elementary School, named for the first of 16 Mantecans killed in Vietnam and the first school in California named for a veteran of that war.

The Pumpkin King is going to lead Santa’s big parade in Manteca. George Perry - dubbed the “Pumpkin King” by People magazine for making Manteca the undisputed pumpkin growing and shipping capital of the West Coast - has been selected to serve as grand marshal for the 27th annual Christmas parade on Saturday, December 4. The theme of this year’s procession down Yosemite Avenue starting at 5 p.m. is “Christmas Reflections”.