You’ll excuse me if I’m still a bit sappy and bursting with pride. But I feel rather lucky to be an American. We’re not perfect as a country or a people, but we’re always looking to be the better version of ourselves. Except for the suspicious lack of horses at the parade yesterday, hope you saddlepals had just a glorious Fourth of July. It’s an amazing country.
But to business at hand.
We’ve some highly entertaining trail riding ahead through the back trails of Santa Clarita Valley history.
Why, there’s … heck.
Stop me from jawing. Hop in the saddle and let’s just gallop at breakneck speed into the time warp continuum.
WAY, WAY BACK WHEN
ME ENCANTA SAUGUS? — Ever see those bumper stickers around town that say, “I Love Jalisco?” Ignacio del Valle, son of Antonio and owner of the Rancho San Francisco (which would later be most of the SCV) was born on July 1, 1808, in Jalisco, Mexico.
THAT CONTROVERSIAL GRIZZLY — John Lang was a rancher, businessman and overall mucky-muck in Canyon Country a century before it was called Canyon Country. Lang even had a train depot named after him, even though he had sold land to the Southern Pacific that he didn’t even own. But what Lang is most famous for is shooting a horrendously large grizzly bear, reportedly on July 7, 1873. The beast had killed and eaten both men and cattle. It was one of two giant bruins that stalked the SCV. (The other was called the Piebald Grizzly of the Piru after his curious multi-colored face; his second nickname was Old Clubfoot after his mangled paw). For many years and authenticated in books, magazines and newspaper articles, our famed Soledad beast that Lang aerated reportedly tipped the scales at 2,350 pounds, stood over 10 feet tall and had a paw print 19 inches in diameter. It would later be stuffed and mounted in a San Francisco museum. Later, it was sold to a museum in London. What makes the bear and this valley (despite what some numbskulls might whisper) world famous is that the creature was the model for an updated model (not the current) of the flag of California.
OSO GIGANTE, PART II — More info came to light recently about Lang’s bear. More than a century later, a Los Angeles Herald newspaper letter to the editor, reportedly from Lang himself, said that the bruin ONLY weighed 1,600 pounds. Lang reportedly wrote the letter two days after he shot it, on July 15, 1875, not July 7, 1873. There have been doubters who have written that grizzlies don’t grow more than 1,800 pounds, but a couple of museums, in opposite ends of the state, have ursis horribilis stuffed and on display that reportedly weighed a little more than a ton. When alive …
OSO GIGANTE, PART III — Then still a mystery is the Piebald Grizzly of the Piru, which reportedly tipped the scales at 2,300 pounds.
OSO GIGANTE, PART IV — After 50 years of writing about local history and teaching it for 20, the first thing I mentioned in my class was the liquid nature of history. I always wondered how two giant bears could eat more people than half the valley’s population then …
‘WHITE’ GOLD, TEXAS T? — America was celebrating its centennial on July 4, 1876. In Philadelphia, a sample of opaque, white oil was wowing the tourists at the Philadelphia fair. This oil was so pure, it burned 100 times longer and much brighter than regular oil. This mystery mineral came from our own back yard in Placerita Canyon. In fact, there still is a “secret” well where the white oil bubbles to near the surface from time to time.
JULY 5, 1925
OUR OLD TESTAMENT FLOODS — Flash floods were a problem through here up until the 1970s, before the Army Corps of Engineers came through to put in flood control. During the Depression, federal workers helped alleviate the problem a little with dams and run-off systems in the higher elevations. But on this date, there was none of that in place. A rare and big July cloudburst dumped a couple of quick inches of rain in Acton down to Mint Canyon. A wall of water a yard high came roaring down and by the time it got to where the Home Depot is today, the Santa Clara was a quarter-mile wide.
THE BIG SHAKER OF 1925 — The huge Santa Barbara Earthquake was felt here, rattling nerves and china cabinets. Hundreds of buildings were destroyed in that coastal town an hour and a half from here. The SB tumbler was later estimated to be between a 6.5 and 6.8 magnitude. Thirteen died and it could’ve been worse. Three men rushed to shut off electricity and gas lines, avoiding what could have been a catastrophic fire. The 25-foot-tall Sheffield Dam, which had been completed just eight years earlier, collapsed, sending 30 million gallons loose.
SMOKY WOULD’VE BEEN GROWLING BIG TIME AT PAUL — Paul Kodt was arrested by Constable Biddison on this date for leaving a campfire unattended in the national forest and polluting a stream. Adding to his embarrassment, Kodt, by the way, was the local Boy Scout master.
NOW YOU SADDLEPALS PUT AWAY THE CHECKBOOKS — Alas, we can’t take land back with you into the 21st century. How do you like this price? A local rancher was selling all 330 acres, close to town, with a house, a couple of barns, hundreds of oaks, water and a few oil wells. Asking price? Just $15,000 for the whole shooting match. That much land today would probably go for about a quarter of a billion — and that’s with a Buh-buh-buh-buh-buh “B …”
JULY 5, 1935
WONDER IF THEY GOT NEW HYMNALS — The estate of George Freeman was finally settled. He had a complicated trust that was finally settled after a serious time in court. The beneficiary of his estate ended up being a surprise: the Presbyterian Church in Newhall got all his fortune.
WONDER HOW THEY’D FEEL ABOUT $10-A-GALLON GAS? — Locals, along with the rest of the state, were up in arms over a series of new state taxes and increases. A dreaded 2.5% sales tax was implemented by California. Due to near riots, the state decided to hold off on taxing foods. Still, a local farmer pointed out with all the various taxes, including gasoline, the average worker was paying $100 a year in taxes. That’s a big piece of the pie when you consider a lot of common folk weren’t pulling in five bucks a week.
JULY 5, 1945
VOICE OF THE PUBLIC. WELL. SOME OF THEM. — On this date, voters in the Saugus School District voted 63-6 to pass a $75,000 school bond. Hmmm. A total of 69 votes? That sounds like a modern-day election in Santa Clarita. The money was used to improve Saugus Elementary School, which, today, is the shopping center just south of IHOP.
FIGHTING FIRES LOCALLY — The little Soledad Township (that’s what we used to be called in the 1930s and ’40s, among other things) tried to get their own fire district. Local chief Pierre Davies had some sobering numbers for locals, who had hoped to lower their fire insurance rates with a hometown fire department. A new building, fire truck and salary would put the start-up costs in the low six figures.
SMALL TOWN WITH LOTS OF ED BROWNS — Now I don’t know if this was THE Mrs. Ed Brown, or which THE Mrs. Ed Brown, for that matter. But on this date, a Mrs. Ed Brown, living up Railroad Canyon in a small cabin, was arrested for firing her shotgun into the ground near where some children were “playing.” We had two Ed Browns of note. One was the first editor/publisher of The Signal (he died in 1920). The other was the widow of the sheriff, who was shot to death in 1924. Then, it could be a whole new different Mrs. Ed Brown. Couldn’t tell you yet. If any of you saddlepals have any insight, just sort of trot to the head of the posse and share your thoughts …
JULY 5, 1955
GETTING LOST IN CANYON COUNTRY — The Lloyd Baker family of Canyon Country had some odd visitors to their ranch 70 years back. Two men had walked miles, looking for help. Seems the Los Angeles pair had taken their families for a Sand Canyon picnic. Instead of going home the regular way, they took an obscure fire trail, got lost and their car broke down when a rock busted the oil pan. A rescue posse was quickly formed and went to retrieve the women and children, including a 17-month-old infant. When the rescue crew arrived, they found everyone safe and asleep, bundled up in the car.
IMAGINING DOING THIS TODAY — Before local trash pickup and even garbage disposals in most homes, folks out here burned a good portion of their trash. A rare few of our older homes out here still have these old-fashioned incinerators. Back on this date, you could only burn trash between the hours of 6-10 a.m.
MAKING AN APPEARANCE IN NEWHALL BEFORE HE DIED — “East of Eden” was playing at The American Theater. The young star, James Dean, would later have his last meal at Tip’s up here and die in a car crash in Central California.
SOMEHOW, THEY MANAGED TO HAVE HORSES AND NO ONE WAS HURT — Apathy was blamed for “postponing” the 1955 Fourth of July celebration. At an April meeting to plan the Fourth of July, there were only two people present. Actually, Newhall had missed the parade and festival for two years in the 1930s, picking it up again in 1939. And then, there was no parade during World War II. Problem in ’55 at the time was that the same people kept doing all the work and they just got tired. But, came the Fourth of July and a group of old-timers, led by the Truebloods (who ran The Mighty Signal) held an impromptu and certainly illegal by today’s standards parade. They marched down what was then called San Fernando Road, carrying the American flag (and one Confederate one). There were 12 of them. Soon, as they marched down the street, people ran out of shops and stores and houses and joined them. Trucks and cars followed along as impromptu floats. Neat color of a small town: The sheriff was driving the opposite direction of the illegal parade (no permits). He took off his hat and blocked his vision so he wouldn’t see it.
JULY 5, 1965
DICKIE WAS A MIGHTY INDIAN AND THEN SOME — On this date, Hart High grad Dickie Suggs was the 41st player chosen in the Major League Baseball draft and the first choice of the Kansas City Athletics.
CIVILIZATION ARRIVES; WE GET A DRIVE-IN — Newhall Land announced they leased land on Soledad to build one of the state’s largest drive-in movie theaters — The Mustang. Originally, it was supposed to accommodate 1,200 cars.
RE: THE ABOVE? — Actually, we already had a poor excuse for a drive-in, The Corral up in San Francisquito Canyon. Some of the worst movies ever filmed were shown up there.
AN UNAPPRECIATED GENIUS OF A MENTOR — Here was a truly dark day in William S. Hart Union High School District history. They fired one of the best teachers ever to draw breath. Marvin Alexander, despite protests by hundreds of students, teachers and parents, was fired by a rather cement-headed group of trustees. The English teacher died a few years after that, some say of a broken heart.
JULY 5, 1975
WAR IS HELL. EVEN IT’S A SITCOM — On this date, “M*A*S*H” star Wayne Rogers and his family were in a car accident here. Rogers was involved in a collision involving two big rigs — a diesel fuel truck and double-rig carrying carrots — in Valencia. Besides Rogers (who played McIntyre on the classic, which was filmed out here) was his wife, Mitzi and their two children, Laura and William. Also with them was Jacqueline Falk, 9-year-old daughter of actor Peter Falk. The group was treated for various cuts, contusions and bruises, then released. The group went back to Beverly Hills by taxi. That must’ve cost, even in 1975 money …
THE HIGH COST OF MAIL — It’s not so much that the U.S. Postal Service raised their box rental fees. It was the staggering amount. Prior to this day, it cost $3.40 a year to rent the smallest mailbox. With the issuing of an edict, the price jumped overnight to $14 annually. (SIDEBAR: Back in 1975, the Castaic Post Office still had a hitching post in front. A hitching post, for you newcomers, is that wooden thing that looks like a goal post to which you tie your horse.) I don’t have anything remotely approaching the size of a refrigerator, but I pay more than $300 a year for my P.O. box. Highway. Robbery.
JULY 5, 1985
MISSED HIS OFFRAMP — It must have been a heck of a sight if you were headed south on Highway 14. Mike Miller, a pilot who had just taken off from Agua Dulce, suffered engine problems. He flew low, tipped his wing and some heady motorists gave him space to land in front. Then, they helped him push the little two-seater to an offramp. Miller was unhurt. Highly unusual — SoCal motorists allowing anyone the right-of-way.
SHOULDA GOTTEN THE GAS CHAMBER — A Granada Hills man was fined $1,300 and sentenced to 30 days in jail for kicking a dog to death. The motorcyclist said he was mad at the creature for running across in front of his bike on Soledad Canyon Road. His motorcycle hit the dog and he then finished him off. Judge H. Keith Byram told Terry Lane Dinwiddie he was lucky. Had the dog been a purebred owned by someone, the biker would have faced much stiffer felony charges instead of just a misdemeanor.
HOSPITAL TO GROCERY STORE — Forty years back, Vons opened its third market in the valley, this one on the site of the old Golden State Hospital at Lyons Avenue and Wiley Canyon Road.
• • •
You folks have yourselves a splendiferous Fourth of July weekend. See you back here at The Mighty Signal hitching post, and, until then — vayan con Dios, amigos!
Local historian and the world’s most prolific satirist/humorist John Boston hosts an eclectic bookstore and multimedia/commentary website at johnlovesamerica.com/bookstore. Pick up his two-volume set on SCV ghosts, maniacs, murderers and monsters about America’s most-haunted town — the Santa Clarita Valley — and other books.
