Now try not to act like too much of a country rube on this morning’s trail ride through local history. But we’ve got an entire passel of celebrities riding with us this morning: David Hasselhoff, James Dean, John DeLorean and ol’ Two-Gun Bill Hart.
We’ll be celebrating the anniversary of the California Lotto and meet the valley’s first big winner.
And, bonus, doggone it, it’s just a darn beautiful day to be on horseback.
Shall we mosey into the mystic?
WAY, WAY BACK WHEN
FORGET SAN FRANCISCO, LOS ANGELES OR SAN DIEGO — It was Newhall that had perhaps the plushest hotel in California. The posh Southern Hotel, built by Henry Mayo Newhall and located where the middle of Main Street and Market Street is today, burned to the ground on Oct. 1, 1888, just about 10 years after it was built. Every once in a while, we hear rumors that, with the beautification of Downtown Newhall, someone’s going to bring back The Southern. Until then, we’ve still got the Santa Clarita Motel …
DEATH BY KISSING BUG — In the year 1900, on Oct. 4, pioneer oil driller Alex Mentry died from the bite of the local insect, plecia neaurotica. The creature has two infamous nicknames: “The Kissing Bug” and the “Bloodsucking Cone Nose.” It’s about an inch long, has a huge beak and attacks people when they sleep. It’s usually found outdoors, but has been known (like in Alex’s case) to be found in carpets or bedding. Alex was the oil pioneer who founded our historic oil village, Mentryville. Tough about those Mentry men. His father was shot to death while walking toward Newhall. Some say his ghost still haunts Pico Canyon. There go the property values …
OUR LONG-FORGOTTEN GOLD MINERS, COTA & BERMUDEZ — On Oct. 2, 1843, Francisco Lopez, the mining engineer/rancher who discovered California’s second-oldest significant gold discovery in 1842, was awarded a large land grant (Rancho Los Alamos) in Piru. While the history books credit Lopez for that first mineral discovery, there was another, earlier gold “strike” in 1820. Members of the San Fernando Mission “discovered” that Mexican miners had been extracting gold from San Francisquito Canyon for years. Also, old Spanish records indicate Lopez was joined by two friends in the discovery — Manuel Cota and Domingo Bermudez. While they were on the original petition to the governor of California, Lopez and a fourth gentleman (sorry, can’t find his name yet!) were on the grant. Cota and Bermudez were the forgotten prospectors of Santa Clarita Valley history
OUR LONG-FORGOTTEN BOULEVARD — Sierra Highway, before it was such, was called The Lincoln Highway.
OUR LONG-FORGOTTEN INDIAN MAIDEN — Speaking of, before Val Verde was Val Verde, it was called Ramona Hills in the 1890s after the alleged birthplace of the Indian princess of the same name. The tract was divided into 1900 lots.
OCTOBER 4, 1925
GOING TO THE MOVIES IN 1925 — Reports of movie houses showing up in the valley before the American Theatre’s arrival in 1941 abound. Records of silent movies exist showing at the old Hapaland Hall, the Newhall School and French Village, along with an actual movie house up Mint Canyon. On this date, C.E. Vogel and J.M. Stoddard reportedly leased the brand new Newhall Elementary auditorium to show first-run silents.
HELPING THE QUAKE VICTIMS — I guess we wanted to take care of our own more. The valley set a goal to raise the odd figure of $169 to send to earthquake victims in Santa Barbara. We fell short, raising just $29.75. And no. Jim Ventress didn’t donate the 75 cents.
OCTOBER 4, 1935
A MILLION YEARS LOST — There were approximately 34,000 traffic fatalities in America in 1934. The Signal printed a story about how the Auto Club calculated that figure added up to over 1 million years in lost human lives.
OCTOBER 4, 1945
PRESIDENT HOWELL? — Apologies to all you young schools, but here’s some more Hart High trivia. The first-ever high school ASB president in the valley was Eugene Howell.
FROM 1,500 TO A HANDFUL — Bermite was one of the country’s top munition plants during World War II. But when the war ended, company president Pat Lizza cut the work crew of over 1,500 to a skeleton crew of just a few workers. Lizza flew to Washington to lobby for more contracts and got his wish. Bermite would reopen with a crew of about 350 people to start. Bermite would be one of the valley’s top employers for decades.
SEPTEMBER 30, 1955
JAMES DEAN’S LAST MEAL … IN SAUGUS — Possibly the brightest comet to soar briefly through Hollywood’s sky was James Dean. The young actor made only three films: “Giant,” “East of Eden” and “Rebel Without a Cause” — all of them in the same year of 1954. He was the only actor to be nominated, posthumously, for two Oscars. Seventy years ago, Dean died in a fiery car crash in Central California on Sept. 30, 1955. But, he had his last meal in the Santa Clarita Valley shortly before. For years, the rumors had been denied. But, in Dean’s 1956 biography by Bill Bast, the author wrote that Dean “stopped for lunch at a cafe in Saugus.” In another bio more recent, “The Mutant King,” by David Dalton, he writes: “They (Dean and friend) drove along the Ridge Route, stopping at Tip’s Diner for something to eat. Jimmy had a glass of milk.” I spoke with Tip’s waitress Audrey McInnis years ago. She said Jimmy had milk and a slice of apple pie. Carmen Cummings, retired manager of Tip’s at the time of Dean’s visit, reported in 1985 to The Signal vividly remembering Dean’s fateful stopover at the restaurant where Marie Callender’s would later be built. There’s a McDonald’s there now.
OCTOBER 4, 1955
THE CASE THAT WOULD NOT DIE — Almost a decade after he died, the estate of famed silent film star William S. Hart — after court case after court case after court case — was still being contested. His son, Bill Jr., lost another round and Superior Court Judge Jesse Frampton denied the offspring’s motion to void his father’s will. Frampton ruled that Los Angeles County was entitled to the inheritance and that the land and fortune should be handed over.
MAC & THE MEATLOAF? — After 15 years, the MacDougall Cafe at the junction of Highway 99 and Sepulveda closed, a victim of progress. The new freeway traffic bypassed an eatery whose parking lot had always been full. MacDougall had also owned the Saugus Cafe for a while, been the local judge and operated another hot spot in Chatsworth called White Sands. We’re recalling that wasn’t one of the secret cheap fillers in Mac’s meatloaf. A little trivia: Although Mac was our judge, he had tried, unsuccessfully, to pass the bar exam. He finally did so after numerous failures.
AND, IT HAD THE WONDERFUL WORD, ‘INDIANS,’ IN IT — On this date, the new Hart High fight song was introduced at the Carpinteria football game. The tune was a smash. Hart lost, 13-12.
OCTOBER 4, 1965
CAL ARTS MOVES TO THE BOONIES — On this date, the California Institute of the Arts announced it would be moving to the Santa Clarita Valley — and not to the present-day site near Interstate 5. The original location for CalArts was on 38 acres of the Disney Ranch in Placerita Canyon. The first classes were to be held in 1967. CalArts was formed three years earlier with the amalgamation of the Chouinard Art Institute and the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music, along with a monstrous helping hand from Walt Disney. The Placerita location, however, would continue to this day to be a filming ranch.
CAL ARTS & HISTORY REPEAT — A certain Time Ranger, who was a Hart High student, and, his best friend, Phil Lanier, both applied to CalArts when it came up here. CalArts lost both their applications and wouldn’t get back to their inquiries. In 2021, the Time Ranger’s daughter applied and was accepted to CalArts, but they lost her application for housing and neglected to tell her that she could only take one class because it seems her particular department imploded and there was only one faculty member left and they had stopped the mentoring program. This was a month before she was supposed to start. The Time Ranger’s offspring ended up, at the last minute, getting a full ride to a snooty art school in New York, much to the delight and lament of the Time Ranger.
ANOTHER SAD DAY IN LOCAL EDUCATION — On this date, coin-operated vending machines replaced the hot meals served fresh at the valley’s only high school (Hart) and two junior highs (Placerita and Sierra Vista). Despite all the PR hoopla from the district, the food was about 412% less desirable than roadkill.
OCTOBER 4, 1975
HERE’S AN AG TIP FOR THE YUPPIES IN DOWNTOWN L.A. — Ready? Try watering. The county continued to rack up the bad brownie points with Santa Clarita. The Road Department planted dozens of Chinese pistachio trees in Canyon Country in an attempt to beautify the area, then promptly neglected to spritz them with a drop of water. They all died. Then, the same county (Los Angeles) went in to trim some beautiful and leafy 20-year-old pine trees in a Castaic residential neighborhood and chopped them down instead. Knuckleheads …
OCTOBER 4, 1985
FREE FIRE DEPT. CABLE — We’ve had more than our fair share of the planet’s dumb criminals, but this caper from 40 years may take the proverbial cake. Firefighters at the Newhall station on San Fernando Road (Railroad Avenue, today) were staring at the rafters, wondering what all the commotion was. Rather adept at climbing, a couple of the firefighters went up to the roof to find Grayr Moussa Grayr monkeying with their TV cable. Mr. Grayr came right out and confessed: He was pirating. The firefighters called their pals the sheriffs and arrested the hapless thief.
THIS ONE’S FOR YOU, LIISA — This has absolutely no historical value whatsoever, but I’m putting it in for my pal, Liisa Lee, Tom & Colleen’s daughter. On this date, David Hasselhoff was in town, shooting a TV episode of “Knight Rider.” Liisa — yup; two I’s — is the world’s biggest David Hasselhoff fan.
NOT RELATED TO SEYMOUR BUTTS — OK. Sorry again. This isn’t history, but you saddlepals should know we had a real estate agent working the valley in 1985 named — I’m not making this up — Bobbie Pins.
BACK WHEN $5,000 WAS WORTH SOMETHING — It was heralded as the silver bullet that would solve the state’s education woes. On Oct. 3, 1985, the California Lottery was born. A little trivia for you. The valley’s first “big” winner was Ray Barnes of Sand Canyon. He drew a winning $5,000 ticket at the Thrifty Drug Store in Saugus. When asked what he’d do with his fortune, the 25-year-old sales rep said: “Maybe I’ll buy a car or rent a limo for the weekend. I’m going nuts! I love to gamble!”
WHAT’RE THE ODDS? DeLOREAN CAUGHT SPEEDING? — Boy, howdy. Here’s some trivia for you. The very day he was indicted on a variety of new charges from a federal grand jury, car maker and accused drug dealer John DeLorean was stopped by local California Highway Patrol officers for speeding through Newhall. He was cited for pulling a trailer while doing 70 in a 55 mph zone.
• • •
So if Ray Barnes is still in town, he’s buying breakfast. This surely was a particularly amazing trek into yesteryear. Me and the horse are still shaking our heads over the DeLorean/Dean visits. Well. Don’t mind saying, we’ve got more interesting treks ahead into one of America’s most interesting historical areas. (That’d be us, the Santa Clarita Valley.) Looking forward to seeing each and every one of you next weekend at The Mighty Signal hitching post with another exciting Time Ranger adventure, and, until then — vayan con Dios, amigos!
Local historian and the world’s most prolific satirist/humorist John Boston will be soon launching a new eclectic bookstore and multimedia/commentary website on writing — johnboston-books.com. You can pick up his various local history books where books are sold online. Look for “Naked Came the Novelist,” his long-awaited sequel to “Naked Came the Sasquatch,” coming this fall.
