Top of the morning to you all, saddlepals. C’mon. Let’s climb out of those condos and overpriced mansions you bunkhuggers. It’s time for a brand new trail ride into the yesteryear of Santa Clarita.
Ahead we have a local world record for the most teens arrested and some epic treks by locals. There’s — well.
Let me cut to the chase.
Slip an Army helmet atop your Stetsons and O’Farrell’s and Bailys. We’re going to witness the day the United States Air Force actually attacked the good ol’ SC of V.
With rockets.
Hundreds of them.
Motivated?
WAY, WAY BACK WHEN
NOW THAT WOULD SIMPLY MAKE A GREAT BOLO TIE — I’m guessing you’d get a severe neck strain using this as bling, but on Aug. 15, 1849, the biggest recorded gold nugget ever found in this area was plucked from Santa Feliciana Canyon. It weighed 8 pounds.
LET THERE BE OIL! — Back on Aug. 14, 1875, Charles Mentry of later Mentryville fame began drilling for oil in Pico Canyon.
AUGUST 22, 1926
STAMP OF APPROVAL — The Newhall Post Office was improved. They rearranged the boxes so it seemed like there was more room. A century back, there was just the one office, with about four dozen boxes. Today? We’ve got 25 post offices (approximately), each with hundreds of mail boxes people rent. In 1926, it cost just 2 cents for a first-class stamp (or, 36 cents in 2026 money). As of July 12, 2026? A first-class stamp costs a whopping 82 cents.
THERE’S MONEY IN SHOW BIZ — The LaSalle Ranch was one of Hollywood’s bigger Western movie ranches in its day. Frank used some of the income to build a brand new home — “nine rooms, with closets,” Frank boasted. Frank had Fox Studios in part to thank for the influx of cash. They were building an extensive movie village on his acreage, complete with a main street and several cottages.
WHEN DRIVING WAS A MAJOR ADVENTURE — We’ve mentioned all the landslides by the old Newhall road tunnel (under where Sierra Highway is today, south of Eternal Valley). A Mr. Schiller was nearly killed when his Model T was nearly engulfed by a 50-ton avalanche of dirt and rocks. He and his wife escaped injury by just speeding up and seeking safety in the tunnel. The explosion of dust caused them to crash into the side wall though.
THE 1926 SCV POPULATION EXPLOSION — If you’re an old-timer, this will have a bittersweet touch of humor for you. The Signal noted that we were gowing through a “big growth spurt.” Two homes were being built at the north end of town. Wow. Two. No offense to newcomers, but I sure like that rate of growth for today …
AUGUST 22, 1936
THERE’S BIG MONEY IN BREAKING THE LAW — Judge Kennedy’s court was probably the biggest industry in the Santa Clarita Valley during the Great Depression. Being the center of both the national and county forest services, handling part of Wayside Honor Rancho and administering a hefty business of traffic tickets on the interstate, Judge Kennedy tried 1,000 cases every month, along with other administrative services.
OK. A CHAIR IS A CHAIR IS A CHAIR — It’s no longer a school (it’s the shopping center on Bouquet next to the former IHOP) but, on this date, Saugus Elementary held the grand opening of their new schoolhouse. The “new” campus had four classrooms and an auditorium, along with their own well. I suppose you could say local school district obfuscation began with the unveiling. School officials listed something called: “movable opera seats” for the auditorium. I think that’s bureaucratese for “folding chairs.”
THE CHOO-CHOO/OIL BIZ — Southern Pacific made improvements to the original well they drilled in 1875 on Pine Street.
AUGUST 22, 1946
FINDING THAT LIQUID LUBRICANT — Shell Oil hit a big gusher in Railroad Canyon 80 years back. The well found an 80-foot-deep reservoir about a mile underground.
MORE LUBRICANT POSSES — Across the valley, in Val Verde, wildcatters were still battling the gusher on Barnes No. 7. It had been erupting uncontrolled for more than a week, shooting 75 million cubic feet of natural gas into the local atmosphere — every day, for two weeks. That’ll make you cough …
AUGUST 22, 1956
WHEN OUR ARMED FORCES BOMBED THE SCV — This is my absolute favorite story of Our Government Gone Nuts. Seventy years ago, the Santa Clarita Valley was attacked by the Navy and Air Force. That’d be OUR Navy and Air Force. It started with a drone plane being launched from Point Mugu Naval Base for some routine testing. The pilotless craft quickly grew a mind of its own and refused to respond to remote controls on the ground. Soon, it was weaving up, down and sideways over the populated SCV. In comes our armed forces to the rescue.
From Oxnard Air Force Base, two F-89 Scorpion fighters were launched to shoot down the drone — over the populated area of the Santa Clarita Valley. GET THIS — the two jets fired a total of 208 Tiny Tim rockets, completely missing the slow-flying plane. This is not to say the rockets didn’t hit something.
Shrapnel started dozens of brush fires all over the valley, some right next to Downtown Newhall.
Two electricians, J.C. Babbitt and J.R. Johns, were sitting inside their pick-up in Placerita Canyon when they decided to sit under a tree to finish lunch. Good thing. Rocket fragments went through the bed of the truck and windshield. Ranches, oil fields, houses and electric lines were struck. Part of the valley was without power and the California Highway Patrol had to set up roadblocks to keep traffic away from the one-sided firefight. An army of firefighters was dispatched to quell all the blazes. Luckily, it was a pleasant summer in the low 90s and the blazes didn’t spread. Nearly 1,000 acres burned.
The Air Force didn’t issue what you’d call an apology, more of a terse explanation, noting that the F-89’s had high-tech electronic sighting and that the drone was going so slow, it was ineffectual. “Actually,” the report noted, “they had less of an optical aiming system than was available to pilots in World War I.”
Comforting.
This part I love.
Both lieutenants, one of the pilots was Richard Hurliman. The other was Hans Einstein. That’s using your noodle there, Einstein. You too, Dick.
FAREWELL TO FIGHTING BOB — “Fighting” Bob Clark died on this date, just missing his 80th birthday. He had been one of the West’s last frontier federal marshals and was the former sheriff of Ventura County. He had been given some credit for settling the great Castaic Range War between ranchers W.W. Jenkins and his neighbor, Bill Chormicle (in which somewhere between 22 and 27 men were killed). There is some debate to that part of his resume. Jenkins, an old man in the 19-teens, had been shot by a young cowhand, Billy Rose. Still. “Fighting” Bob had quite a track record, bringing peace to part of the Arizona territory. Sheriff Eugene Biscailiuz had presented him with a rare badge with the No. 1 issued. Bob was noted for his signature black cowboy hat with the giant brim. He spent his final years building a dream ranch house in the hills of Ojai.
THE BIRTH OF SENSELESS PALMDALE BASHING — On this date, neighboring Palmdale nixed a vote by a 4:1 ratio to incorporate into a city.
AUGUST 22, 1966
YOU CAN’T GET THERE FROM HERE — Here’s something 99.99999999% of the world will never see. “Deacon” Brown, a tunnel inspector for the Metropolitan Water District, was making his rounds in the giant pipes. At one intersection of the 15.5-foot concrete underground waterway in Glendora, he found a sign with a direction arrow: “Castaic Reservoir, 57 miles.”
AS SMOKY THE BEAR ALWAYS USED TO SAY, ‘PICK UP YOUR BALLS’ — There have been many a tall tale about the dedication of golfers. Forty years back, a foursome at Big Valencia continued to play as several fire engines raced by to put out a brush fire next to the course. Several firefighters battling the blaze slipped and fell in the hills on lost golf balls. None were injured. Not making this one up …
THE BIG BRAWL — Same day, local lawmen were called to quell to a brawl at Rivers End Park in upper Soledad Canyon. An organization of 60 gay men and women had rented the park for a party, not informing the owner of the name or purpose of their group. When the owner asked them to leave, the brouhaha ensued.
AUGUST 22, 1976
WAGONS, HO!!! — Billie Fedderson, her brother Chris and neighbor Jeanette Heckel all had an interesting commute. The Hasley Canyon youthful trio started on the Bicentennial Cross-Country Wagon Train ride. It actually consisted of five separate trains, leaving from different points and ending up in Philadelphia.
BIKERS, WHEAT FIELDS & AMERICA’S BICENTENNIAL — Meanwhile, Charlotte McDonald took a different route to celebrate the birth of this nation. The Canyon Country woman rode her bicycle 4,238.3 miles through snow storms and swamps, over mountain ranges and deserts. She was part of the national Bike Centennial. With all her gear, her Schwinn weighed 55 pounds. That’s a load. Her group actually pedaled 135 miles in one day. She confessed: “When you’ve seen one wheat field, you’ve seen them all.”
WHEN WE WERE ALMOST A COUNTY — “The Five Little Kings,” is what Signal publisher and chief editorial writer Scott Newhall called the Board of Supervisors. He had worse words for them when they threatened to sue to stop the formation of the SCV into its own government, Canyon County. Alas, our own sanctuary would be defeated at the L.A. general elections, twice, despite no foreseeable impact.
LITTLE JULIE & HER HIGH HORSE — Speaking of The Mighty Signal, tip of the Stetson goes to little Julie Budd. Fifty years ago, she was named this paper’s top delivery person of the year. What’s so special about that? Julie threw your community newspaper from atop her horse, Sabrina.
A RARE & NICE AUGUST DAY — Wish we could bottle the weather from this week 30 years ago. It was in the mid-70s with clean, crisp air. Must have been global cooling.
AUGUST 22, 1986
THE MURDER PARTY — A birthday party in Val Verde ended in brutal double homicide. Gang members from the sleepy rural community clashed with rival gang bangers from Pacoima. It ended with a Val Verdian shooting a Pacoima man in the face at point blank range with a shotgun, then firing into the crowd. In turn, he was savagely beaten to death with sticks and clubs and dragged.
OUR ONGOING TEEN PROBLEM — Local sheriff’s deputies got refreshingly serious with the problem of wild parties. After a series of drunk teen accidents, our boys in brown arrested 57 — count them — 57 teens in two separate wild drinking parties. The lawmen even used a helicopter in the raids on the “watering holes” out in distant washes. I believe 57 is still an SCV record. Ask Cameron Smyth if he has an alibi … (:- )
• • •
Once again, thanks so much for the company, dear saddlepals. See you in seven, back here at The Mighty Signal hitching post for another fun trek in our valley’s rich history. Until then? ¡Vayan con Dios, amigos y mantente fresco estos días de agosto!
Visit John Boston’s bookstore and eclectic online store with unique gifts for readers and writers at JohnBoston-Books.com. Lifelong SCV resident Boston, with 119 major writing awards and nearly 12,000 columns, is the most prolific humorist and satirist in world history.
