Top of the Sunday morn to you, saddlepals. C’mon. Stretch. Breathe. Take a swig of juice, milk, coffee, or whiskey in a dirty glass (provided you’re over 21 both legally and emotionally) — whatever gets you going in the morning. We’ve several thousand fine mounts waiting down below and best we all get saddled up for our trail ride through local history before the CC&R Police get all huffy about all the pets.
Ahead, we’ve crooks, bowlers and a challenge from sexist Bobby Riggs to a local tennis star. There’s the valley’s longest typographical error, buried pirates’ treasure and a cheapskate robbery.
You know the drill. To double-check and see if you’re properly mounted in the saddle. There should be a head with two pointy ears in front of you. If you see a horse’s patootie and twitching tail directly ahead, chances are you might have to rethink your horse mounting strategy …
WAY, WAY BACK WHEN
WE’VE OFT HAD A REPUTATION FOR BEING QUIRKY — Things like this particular episode don’t help. In August 1845, a large grant of land was deeded to former French sailor, Francois Chari. He jumped ship off Ventura, swam ashore and made a living cowboying in the area for some time before settling Bouquet Canyon. He named his new spread, “Rancho del Buque.” In French, it means, the “Ship Ranch.” American cartographers came around, saw all the wildflowers around and thought that “Buque” was Spanish for bouquet. And that’s where we got the name of Bouquet Canyon, a typographical error sneaking toward its second century.
IGGY HITS THE JACKPOT — On Aug. 24, 1853, Ignacio del Valle, who would become mayor of Los Angeles, was deeded the Rancho San Francisco. That’s half of the Santa Clarita Valley and without a single HOA on the horizon. Not a bad inheritance. I’m guessing in today’s money that would be worth a few billion bucks and then some.
AUGUST 17, 1924
NO SMOKING. LIKE, AT ALL — The fire threat was so severe in 1924, the Board of Supervisors issued an edict, to be enacted in emergencies only, that people could only smoke at home. Back then, and up until the 1970s, most grown-ups smoked EVERYWHERE, from restaurants to schools and hospitals.
IT AIN’T HAY — The price of alfalfa shot through the roof. Due to drastic cutbacks in electricity, which stopped local farmers from operating irrigation pumps, and severe drought, a ton of hay hit the $30 mark for the first time ever. Today, hay, depending on quality, will run you about $150 a ton, a little more, a little less …
AUGUST 17, 1934
JUST GUESSING, BUT THINK THAT WAS PROBABLY LIKE THREE ONE-DOLLAR BILLS …? — A bandit stuck a gun in the ribs of Chester Herrington at the pharmacy and made off with $3 cash from the register. Times were tough during the Depression — three bucks could stretch out to a month’s food …
THAT’S LIKE THE COST OF A 12-PACK OF COKE TODAY — J.W. Doty got in a fresh load of double-axle Ford trucks. Brand new, the big stake beds cost just $485.
LOS CHANGOS MALOS — I mention this more so as a fan of monkeys and not as a historian. I also offer it as a tribute to all local monkey fans, here in the Santa Clarita and off in faraway lands. The following quote was a lead to a front-page column in The Mighty Signal 90 years ago: “‘It won’t be long now,’ said the monkey after he got his tail caught in the lawn mower.” The piece somehow made the tire-squealing transition about the California Conservation Corps men’s camp up San Francisquito Canyon.
AUGUST 17, 1944
THE BIGGEST KABLOOEY IN LOCAL HISTORY — Here we were, still fighting in World War II, and our nerves were kind of jittery. On this date, the Newhall Oil Refinery blew up. Destroyed in the fire were several storage tanks, five tanker trucks, a pickup, the lab, company office and 25,000 barrels of various petroleum products. Forget the smoke — the flames alone could be seen nearly a mile into the sky. Cause of the fire? A vapor leak in one of the lines that drifted into the lab and was ignited by a Bunsen burner. Interestingly, all that carnage and there was about $300,000 in damage. Only one man died and another injured in the epic explosion and blaze. Fraying the nerves further, a couple of days later, two other “empty” tanks blew up. They had not been vented and were filled with heated fumes.
FROM THE “I’D RATHER DIE OF POISONING THAN MARRY YOU” DEPT. — On this date, Mary Diaz attempted suicide by swallowing a capsule of mercury. She had been engaged via the mails to a Texas soldier on the front and had arranged, by correspondence, to marry him. She didn’t want to go through with the wedding and couldn’t tell him her feelings. She fell sick at work on the Bermite factory line and was rushed to the hospital where her stomach was pumped.
AUGUST 17, 1954
MY DAUGHTER’S HOME FROM COLLEGE FOR AUGUST. SHE’S GETTING A HAIRCUT IN BEVERLY HILLS FOR $135. KILL. ME. — Unionized barbers in Los Angeles upped their rates to $2 a snip. Would it happen here? A poll by all the valley’s barbers unanimously cried nay. Seems a buck-fifty for a men’s store-bought clipping was as high as the market would bear out here in farm country.
TAKING THE RIFLE AWAY. THAT’S A START … — On this date, Basil McNamara died of complications from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. McNamara had tried to commit suicide a few weeks earlier. His rifle was impounded by local sheriff’s deputies. He seemed to be on the mend. Basil felt peachy enough to stop by the sheriff’s station to reclaim his rifle.
AUGUST 17, 1964
“FIFTEEN MEN ON A DEAD MAN’S CHEST … (YOU SUPPLY THE YO-HO-HO’s” AND THE BOTTLE OF RUM — Sixty years ago, folks started frantically digging up the Santa Clarita Valley. The Signal’s then-Publisher Scott Newhall launched a contest where his son, Tony, buried what the pirates used to call a “piece of eight.” You supply the “Aargh …” The silver coin was minted in honor of Ferdinand VII, King of Spain and Emperor of the Indies. The coin was stuck inside a wooden casket. It was a big circulation-boosting contest and the winner would be given $500 for the coin’s return. The trick was finding it. Obtuse clues were offered and as the contest wore on, folks were digging up neighbors’ lawns, in the riverbeds and even in the parking lot of Magic Ford, which would be at Main and 6th in Downtown Newhall today …
AUGUST 17, 1974
GERALD FORD STIFFS THE SCV CHAMBER — On Aug. 8, 50 years ago, Richard M. Nixon became the first president of the United States to resign. The local significance? Vice President Gerald Ford was scheduled to speak before 10,000 people at CalArts on Aug. 9. The problem was there was no longer a vice president Ford. He had to stay in Washington and become the next commander-in-chief. The impact was rather large here. Bands, fireworks, color guards, armies of security details and support staff had to be canceled at the last minute. Local merchants who stocked up on extra goodies found themselves, well, overstocked. The Chamber of Commerce had about $2,000 in debts it had incurred for Ford’s visit. There were many small ways in which Nixon’s embarrassing debacle affected the valley. His picture was promptly removed by all of the local post offices and government agencies. Postal employees noted that there had been numerous requests to take Nixon’s photo down long before he resigned.
PRESIDENT NIXON? THE SIGNAL WANTS TO KNOW IF YOU HAVE ANY LAST REQUESTS — Signal editor and epic editorialist Scott Newhall published another one of his most excellent op/ed pieces. He noted, in an above-the-fold front-page editorial, that no tear should be shed for Nixon. “Richard Nixon deserves no pity — only justice. He is and always has been a tortured human being, whose craving for the cheers of the mob and whose hunger for the stroking of his White House courtiers was so unbearably intense that they destroyed him in the end, and poisoned everyone around him.” Scott also delicately pointed out that if Señor Tricky Dick had been head of a South American nation, he would have been long ago “… propped up against an adobe wall and shot.”
ANOTHER FAMOUS NO-SHOW! — Hart High tennis coach Joann Santasiere made top bid at the Boys & Girls Club Auction to play Bobby Riggs. The famous sexist tennis star earned fame for challenging Billie Jean King. At the time, Riggs was a $20-an-hour tennis pro at the Tropicana casino in Las Vegas. He gave no reason for canceling his match with the local coach.
A COLD & FLU SYMPTOM ONE RARELY HEARS ABOUT — A quick-thinking neighbor and local sheriff’s deputies helped avert possible tragedy. The local officers received this call from a 15-year-old boy: “I’ve got a loaded .38 and I’m going to shoot my brother because I’m sick with a cold and he won’t leave me alone.” When the deputies arrived, they found the brother and young girl had fled the house and told a neighbor of the threat. The neighbor went into the house and found the kid sitting in the living room with the pistol cocked. When she took the gun from him and tried to release the hammer, the pistol went off. The boy confessed that he had removed the slug from the bullet a few days earlier. Still. Cold or not, the kid got arrested for suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.
AUGUST 20, 1974
ALL DOWNHILL SINCE THEN? — Here’s one of those (or, “them” if you’re from Palmdale) landmark dates. Happy birthday to Valencia. The community was dedicated with some humble homes off of Lyons Avenue. Back then, they sold for $25,000. They have increased in value over 20-fold.
AUGUST 17, 1984
KILLER CORRIDOR CLAIMS CARTOONIST — State Route 126 truly earned its nickname of The Highway of Death. In just the first eight months of 1984, 22 people died in car accidents on the stretch of road from Castaic to Santa Paula. Twenty years back, five more died and 11 injured in wrecks. One of the fatalities was famed New Yorker cartoonist, Virgil Partch.
PERFECT TIM — On this date, Newhall’s Tim Roderick bowled his fifth perfect “300” game. He notched the honor at Santa Clarita Lanes. Me, I have trouble breaking 100.
• • •
Surely appreciate the company, dear saddlepals. Stay cool and hydrated. How about we put all our problems aside next weekend and do some sightseeing in the Santa Clarita of yesteryear? Until then — “¡Vayan con Dios, amigos!”
It’s summer reading time! Got a great novel for you — “Adam Henry.” Visit Boston’s bookstore at johnbostonbooks.com and also pick up JB’s two-volume set of “MONSTERS” about history, local horror and the macabre …
