It’s a fine weekend morning to be up in the saddle — pals o’ SClarita lore and legend. What’s say we check out some vistas from yesteryear?
Be real careful when you wake up Bill Hart. We’ll take a look at the time he nearly shot someone to death for it. We’ve got two — count them — two nude arrests the same week and a grand opening of a local lake marred by a suicide.
There’s the usual portions of oddballs, killers and gee whiz information to put you head-and-shoulders above your neighbors. Take your morning coffee along in the sissy sippy cups, if you must. We won’t tease you too much. Well. C’mon. We’re burning daylight. Let’s mosey …
WAY, WAY BACK WHEN
PO BIRTHDAY — Up until fairly recently, oh, say, the last 40 years, the isolated Lake Hughes and Lake Elizabeth areas were considered part of the Santa Clarita Valley’s sphere of influence. Back on Aug. 24, 1878, the United States officially established a post office in Lake Hughes.
YES. YOU MAY LIVE IN RATSBURG — In 1890, the community of Ratsberg was founded. It’s where Seco Canyon is today. Newhall Land used to lease out land to miners. On the first of the month, the NL&F foreman John Arnett would ride out to collect the rent. Some of the miners would dash into their claims — holes in the sides of the mountains — so they wouldn’t have to pay him the back rent. Arnett came up with the unasked-for community name, “Ratsburg,” and even commissioned a big, wooden sign for the camp.
OLD ACE OF SAND CANYON — Some of you old-timers will remember, probably with a fond smirk, Ace Cain. He was born in 1902 on the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma and came west to work the movies. Cain had several bit parts in various films, especially Westerns. He even went undefeated in 19 heavyweight fights, quitting after he had broken several bones in his hands. He owned a night club in Hollywood for a while, appropriately called, “Ace Cain’s” and moved up here in 1953 to slow down and start a trout fishing campground and picnic area in Sand Canyon. Cain’s property was notorious for parties, beer drinking and even rumors that one could meet ladies of the evening at his digs. As an old man, he was a colorful figure, dressed in his trademark dapper white three-piece suit and walking stick.
AUGUST 24, 1924
THINGS IN LIFE CONSISTANT? DEATH, TAXES AND VOTER APATHY — Except for the date and numbers, you could pretty much run this story any time over the history of America and the Santa Clarita Valley. Of the 260 registered voters in town, only 82 cast their votes. That’s a little more than 30%. Heck. We’ve had voter apathy twice as bad here locally in recent years.
AUGUST 23, 1926
THE SHERIFF’S DEPUTIES SURE PUT ON THE MILES BACK THEN — Happy birthday to the Sub-Station No. 6. That’s when it opened in Newhall, a century ago this week, under the management of Capt. Stewart. “Stewie” had seven deputies to cover not just the Santa Clarita, but Antelope Valley as well and up to Gorman. And that was before the days when we had radios in the prowl cars, too. The officers kept a sack of nickels in their prowl cars and had to use pay phones to call in or drive by the station to see if the red light was on outside. If it was, that meant someone had called for help and the deputies had to run in and see where the trouble was. Newhall’s new police HQ was at the corner of present-day 6th and Main, today, part of the Canyon Theater Guild’s dressing rooms.
AUGUST 24, 1934
TWO-GUN WAS A LIGHT SLEEPER — One thing you never wanted to do was sneak around the Hart Mansion. On this date, retired silent film superstar William S. Hart was awakened by the sound of one his cars coasting down the driveway. Nicknamed “Two-Gun” from a movie roll, Hart bounded out of bed and grabbed a revolver. Thinking his car was being stolen, he opened fire, shooting at the tires. Just down the hill was the sheriff’s station and the deputy on duty heard the gunfire and rushed to the estate gates to intercept the vehicle. Seems Hart’s servants, Dick Ito and his wife, were going to pick up relatives at the train station and didn’t want to wake Hart by starting the car. Lucky Hart didn’t fire at the car itself. There was a baby inside.
AUGUST 24, 1944
DOGGONE SPITTING IMAGE — Newhall was a village 80 years ago and everyone pretty much knew one another. Or so they thought. Folks kept saying hi to sheriff’s Sgt. Leo Gibbs and were wondering why the guy was acting so strange. Seems his identical twin, Lewis, was visiting.
SWIMMING THROUGH WORLD WAR II — Harold Bender of Saugus was serving in the Navy at some remote island in the Pacific. He wrote to his mom not to worry. Except for the non-stop rain and the bog he was living in, everything was fine. “It has been definitely proven that an average swimmer can navigate upwards of 100 yards of mud per day.” Just a wild guess, but I’m wondering how many of today’s high school students could tell you what World War II was about, when it happened or who fought in it …
SOME JUST DON’T SURVIVE THE RAMBUNCTIOUSNESS OF YOUTH — Three teenagers were driving through Newhall, pulling an open trailer filled with cages of pigeons. One of the lads had traveled all the way from Frazier Park balancing on top of the crates. When the car hit a bump, the boy was thrown off and killed. Going downhill clutching to a bunch of pigeon cages. Heavens.
AUGUST 24, 1954
CHARLIE AND THE GIANT ROAD KILL — On the way to Antelope Valley in his station wagon to visit relatives, Charles De Vous hit a 600-pound black bear near Beale’s Cut. The poor bruin was broken up badly and suffering. De Vous ended the creature’s misery with a bullet to the head.
MAS KABLOOEY! — On this date, county Regional Planning OK’d an offer by Bermite to expand their munitions plant by adding on another 400 acres.
BEETS ME — On this date, we became a main shipping yard for the California beet industry. Nearly 200 full railroad cars of beets were unloaded in Saugus with another 200 empty cars coming in every day. One train car held about 35 tons of the white tubers. As I’ve oft warned, this WILL be on the final …
AUGUST 24, 1964
MAKING LOCAL BOOK — Here’s some bibliophile trivia for you. For the month of July 1964, the local and only branch of the library let out 5,774 books. I have no idea how any of you saddlepals can ever work that into a conversation, otherwise but especially subtly.
AUGUST 24, 1974
MUST HAVE BEEN THERE FOR THE SWEATSHIRT SALE — This wasn’t your usual Blue Light Special. Sheriff’s deputies responded to a naked man affronting shoppers at the Kmart parking lot. When they got there, the nude man jumped into his Lincoln and tried to flee. He nearly hit the sheriff’s prowl car and smashed into a Pinto. A gun through the window convinced the man to turn off the ignition. He was arrested and taken to sheriff’s HQ where, hopefully, he was given a blanket.
NAKED GUY, NO. 2 — I don’t know if there was a full moon out or what, but we had a second altercation with a nude person and a motor vehicle. A young naked woman was arrested for sitting on the hood of a speeding Corvette racing through Placerita Canyon. Don’t think it was a Master’s University student …
DAM! — Fifty years ago, the $26 million Pyramid Lake opened amid ceremonies atop its 380-foot dam. On opening day, all parking places were taken and thousands filled the lake. The opening was marred when authorities found a car parked on a back trail. Inside, Patrick Reardon of Granada Hills had committed suicide the night before.
AUGUST 24, 1984
RAINOUT IN AUGUST!?!?! — Hard to believe, but the fourth annual Western Walk of Fame (called Western Walk of Stars today) nearly got rained out. In the middle of August. The expected downpour was just a drizzle and several hundred folk gathered to see John Wayne, Clayton Moore (“The Lone Ranger”), Robert Conrad (“The Wild, Wild West”), Dennis Weaver (from “Gunsmoke”) and Clint Walker (“Cheyenne”) inducted.
MY FAVORITE GROCERY STORE NEXT TO PIGGLY WIGGLY — Some of you old-timers will surely remember Country Cousins Market on Lyons. It later changed its name to Phil’s Western Food Queen. On this date, after being open for 20 years, it closed its doors. They lost their lease.
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Good seeing all you folk, new faces and, if not old ones, certainly recognizable ones. Trust to meet up with you back here at The Mighty Signal (259-1000 for subscriptions and if you don’t have one what’s wrong with you) hitching post with another exciting Time Ranger adventure, and, until then — “¡Vayan con Dios, amigos!”
If you love local history and reading about ghosts, myths and monsters, visit Boston’s bookstore at johnbostonbooks.com. Pick up JB’s two-volume set of “MONSTERS” on local horror and macabre …
