A warm and Western howdy to you, saddlepals. We’ve a most interesting trek ahead, what with man-eating grizzly bears, the naming of a district and a little kick-off party for some newfangled neighborhood called, “Valencia.”
All right now.
Everybody up in the saddle, sit tall and give the Stetson one final tug …
WAY, WAY BACK WHEN
WHEN PETE WAS PURINA BEAR CHOW — Not to tempt fate, but in modern Santa Clarita life, about the worst thing that can happen to you is being chased by a dog while bicycling along a paseo. Back on Oct. 17, 1837, Peter LeBeck was killed by a grizzly bear up at Frazier Park. They carved his tombstone on the tree where his remains were found. There has been much speculation as to who Pete was. Some say he was a trapper or mountain man. Others say he was part of a band of outlaws from the New Mexico area which marauded the Southwest. Folks still question whether the town of Lebec had any relation to Pete, who spelt his name differently. Some feel that Lebec was named after a grocer. There is a marker dedicated in 1938 at Fort Tejon. Bark had grown over the original carving and some folks in the 1930s reportedly pulled back the bark to reveal the legacy of the poor soul who wrote his own epitaph.
I KINDA LIKE, ‘LEBECQUE’ — According to Bonnie Ketter/Kane, historian of the Ridge Route Communities Museum and Historical Society, our old comrade, Gen. Edward Fitzgerald Beale may be to blame for the name of Lebec.
Wrote Ketter/Kane: “It is not known for sure when the community of Lebec took its name, but it was no doubt the result of a speech made by Edward Fitzgerald Beale, owner of the neighboring Tejon Ranch. In an April 1888 address at Bakersfield, Beale proposed to lay out a town and divide the lands adjoining it into ‘villa lots.’ This he said would be called ‘Lebecque,’ named for the trapper, Peter Lebeck (as his name was carved above the grave), who was killed by a bear and buried at Fort Tejon in 1837. Beale said, ‘The town will be in the vicinity of the grave, on or near the site of the old military post,’ which would have been on ranch property. Somehow Beale’s proposal never came about; however, a settlement did develop 3 miles south of the fort on property adjoining Tejon Ranch.”
AND WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, WE ALL DRINK — Regarding the above — interestingly, there’s a rather unorthodox society called E Clampus Vitus, which, some feel means “a historical drinking society” and others feel it means absolutely nothing. The jolly group busies itself placing historical markers in out-of-the-way places. The Kern County No. 1866 is called the Peter LeBeck Chapter.
JACK DEMPSEY GOES GOLFING — All right, saddlepals. I’m not going to apologize for taking you so far north because it’s such a beautiful autumn day for a ride. But more on Lebec. Interestingly, they used to have a five-star hotel/resort up the road from us – the Hotel Lebec. It opened in May 1921 and was a favorite getaway of the Hollywood crowd. Heavyweight champ Jack Dempsey was the first to tee off from their golf course. That was in 1925. The hotel amidst the San Emigdio Mountains used to have a baseball team that played against our own Newhall and Saugus teams.
HE WAS ALSO CALLED, ‘OLD CLUBFOOT’ — OK. Maybe I was kidding. ONE MORE tidbit on old Pete. Some thought that the bear that did LeBeck in may have been the monstrous Piebald Grizzly of the Piru, who was called such for his curious facial markings (as if someone hit him in the face with a cream pie). He also had the nickname of Old Clubfoot because one of his paws was mangled in a trap he had escaped. Piebald also had the second nickname of Old Clubfoot because of the mangled track he left after his foot had been caught in a trap. When he was finally shot, killed and weighed, Pie/Foot reportedly tipped the scales at more than 2,350 pounds.
HOW BIG OF A BEAR? — For decades, it was agreed upon that the giant grizzly John Lang shot in the 19th century weighed about 2,300 pounds. Books, newspaper stories and magazine articles for more than a century touted that ton-plus weight as gospel. A letter from Lang to a Los Angeles newspaper of the day recently come to light, correcting the weight to a still staggering 1,600 pounds, and, there have been reports of 19th-century grizzlers hitting the one-ton mark. One wonders now. Did the infamous Pie Bald Grizzly weigh 2,350 pounds?
WHEELER-DEALER — Ever wonder where the name, Wheeler Road comes from? It was named after H.V. Wheeler, the surveyor of the original 532 acres of the Atwood Addition to Happy Valley.
OCTOBER 18, 1925
TAKING ON THE PETS — The equivalent today is to be sitting in the Newhall Park bleachers next to Harrison Ford and Tom Cruise. Back on this day, 100 years ago, the world’s most famous person, Tom Mix, and friend and fellow actor Harry Carey were on hand to root for Carey’s Saugus semi-pro baseball team. That was back when there were about 500 people here — in the entire valley. The Carey Indians (some were actual Navajo) took on the Wilmington Pets. That’s short for Petroleums, oddly enough, in the plural.
OCTOBER 18, 1935
DEATH ON THE NEW HIGHWAY — With progress comes the price. Folks were touting the fairly new and modern Weldon Canyon/Highway 99 (The Old Road today). But with the smooth asphalt came increased speeds. Three people, in three separate accidents, died along a 5-mile stretch this week in 1935.
LAX IN THE SCV — Little Newhall International Airport (near where Granary Square is today) averaged about 80 landings a month. Our airstrip earned the title because we flew a couple of mail runs into Mexico monthly. Interestingly? Just three years later, a state bond measure was passed by Sacramento to expand Newhall’s airfield and create Los Angeles International Airport here. World War II came along and LAX ended up being built in Westchester.
GAS WAR — Normally, gasoline was about 17 cents per gallon. It dropped to about 12 cents at a couple of stations. That just makes me smile — filling up that 25-gallon truck tank for just 3 bucks! Of course, annual disposable income in 1935 was less than $500. Some industry analyists predict that because of the difficulty to do pretty much anything in California, we just might lose 40% of the state’s refineries and gas might climb to $8 a gallon — or higher in some places. Bet that’ll make you saddlepals take more rides back into history with me just to get away from the pump …
SHOUTING FIRE AT A CROWDED RODEO — The Santa Ana winds ravaged the Southland and the Santa Clarita along with it. The Hoot Gibson Rodeo Stadium (later, the Saugus Speedway and soon to be another high-density housing/shopping project) was partially destroyed by fire. About one-third of the bleachers originally erected by “Cowboy” Bob Anderson were consumed. Local wrangler Goober Glenn reported that a passing motorist’s cigarette started the blaze. Ain’t that a just perfect cowpoke name? Goober Glenn?
OCTOBER’S MEAN FIRE SEASON — Meanwhile, a fire in Sand Canyon was quickly put out by ranchers, firemen and volunteers. Giant blazes were consuming thousands of acres over the mountains in dozens of communities.
LIVE, NUDE COWBOYS? — Back then, “Triple X” didn’t have a pornographic connotation. Still, in 1935, The Mighty Signal had to make a correction. We falsely printed that a new dude ranch had opened up in Mint Canyon. Small problem. It was the Triple A, not the Triple X. Fine just so’s everyone keeps their clothes on …
OCTOBER 18, 1945
BURNT BREAD — Not too many good ways to go but trucker Raoill Austin of Downey picked a pretty bad one. His big semi-trailer lost its brakes coming down the Grapevine in Castaic. Austin tried to find some uphill spot. to aim his runaway truck. Instead, he flew into a culvert. His cargo smashed into the cab and Austin was pinned under tons of loose, burning wheat.
NAMED AFTER OUR MOST FAMOUS CITIZEN — On this date, the high school trustees met to unanimously vote to name their new district after legendary film star, William S. Hart. The silent film star was deeply touched. “I am proud and grateful that the people of this valley have seen fit thus to honor me,” Hart said. “My only regret is that my years prevent me from taking a more active part in its organization. It is my humble hope that the boys and girls will be just half as proud of the name of their high school as I will always be of them. God bless them!”
THE BIG BEE BROUHAHA — The Redmond family up Mint Canyon sued Pasadena apiarist William Downs for $1,996. Downs had left nearly 100 stands of bees near their ranch without any water. They swarmed to the nearby Redmond ranch, killing many animals and stinging the family severely.
OCTOBER 18, 1955
SHE WAS ONE, TOUGH COOKIE — A Bouquet burglary ring was cracked, ending a months-long hunt for the perps who had been raiding cabins in the upper canyon. The gang leader came up with a thorough recon effort to find out when people wouldn’t be home. The five members were all taken to juvenile hall. Their leader, and the youngest of the bunch, was a 13-year-old girl.
PEOPLE. GEEZ. THERE OUGHT TO BE A LAW AGAINST SOME OF THEM. — On this date, someone abandoned a puppy in a locked car in Castaic. The little creature was nearly half-dead from starvation. Sheriff’s deputies rescued the canine and nursed him back to health.
OCTOBER 18, 1965
AND THE YUPPIES CAME SWARMING IN — With much fanfare, The Newhall Land & Farming Co. made their public announcement of the creation of Valencia. The housing project started off with some pretty tall ideas. It was first going to be connected via a string of lakes and canals. Freeway underpasses would be done in exquisite tile murals and skyscrapers and open space were plentiful. The original concept of the community was to break away from our enslavement to the automobile and traditional suburbia and create an environment where people interacted in shopping areas, open spaces, parks and paseos. And, well, canals, too. The original designs called for people to paddle around a series of connecting waterways, like Disneyland’s It’s a Small World, except without the tracks for the canoes. World-famous architect Victor Gruen was responsible for the idea here. About 700 mucky-mucks were at the Valencia Golf Club for the ceremony.
THE SIGNAL CONNECTION — Then-Signal owner and publisher, Scott Newhall came up with the name, Valencia. He was inspired by the community’s similarities to Valencia, Spain, but didn’t know until years later that the first European to enter the Santa Clarita Valley, in 1769, Gaspar de Portola, was born in Valencia, Spain …
OCTOBER 18, 1975
FRIENDS? REALLY? — Morton Wildbaum died from a drug overdose on this date. The Los Angeles man’s body was found near Frenchman’s Flats north of Castaic and police speculated he was dumped there by friends. The old line comes to mind — “With friends like that, who needs enemies?”
OCTOBER 18, 1985
THE LOTTO CRAZE BEGINS — The California Lottery enjoyed a soaring popularity in its first month. The month’s last Lotto drawing found 80 million tickets sold — or, about three for every Californian. Originally, 34 cents of every dollar was supposed to go for education. Dr. Joseph Share, a child psychologist for the Saugus Union School District, noted: “Growing up in an environment where luck and chance replace hard work can encourage gambling and have a generally negative effect on a child’s attitude.” Funny. According to state test scores, throwing all those billions of dollars at students hasn’t seemed to help much …
ADIOS, SOLIE PAUL — One of our most colorful citizens, Tex Williams, died of cancer on this date 40 years back. The bad-gravel-road-voiced crooner cut over 100 singles and was perhaps most noted for his hit, “Smoke, Smoke, Smoke That Cigarette.” He began his singing career at age 5 as a banjo-playing entertainer. He moved to Newhall in 1960 after the notorious Bel Air fire destroyed his home. Williams opened the Tex Williams Village on San Fernando Road and the night club was popular for about five years. Williams retired from public life after that. His friend and manager was Country Hall of Fame musician and producer, Cliffie Stone. Tex was actually born in Ramsey, Illinois, in 1917. He was 68 when he died. You could say his father really liked his mother because Tex had nine brothers and two sisters. Tex was in a band with his father and brothers and used to yodel — at a rather high-pitched level. His voice changed dramatically as a teen and he developed that famous bass tone. He got his stage name in 1938 when a promoter put together a trio he named Oakie, Arkie and Tex. He kept that name the rest of his life. You might, too, if you were born with a name like Sollie Paul. He is remembered on Newhall’s Walk of Western Stars.
• • •
Well amen, boy howdy, we surely covered a lot of ground this trail ride, didn’t we? Looking forward to seeing all y’all back here at The Mighty Signal hitching post next weekend with another exciting Time Ranger adventure. Until then? Cuídate de los Santa Anas y vayan con Dios, amigos!
Local historian and the world’s most prolific satirist/humorist John Boston this month will be launching johnboston-books.com. You can pick up his various local history books online. Look for “Naked Came the Novelist,” his long-awaited sequel to “Naked Came the Sasquatch,” coming this fall.
