Well. Let’s see. Saddlehorn is facing toward the sky instead of the sprinklers, so that’s a good start. The time vortex continuum seems to be humming happily. It’s Saturday. What say we go on a trail ride through local history?
This morning, we’ve got a most interesting, almost Pleistocene Epoch-like trek ahead, what with mutant wolves, cave-dwelling bandits, and one of my favorite stories: Deer Attacks Man.
Well.
Men.
C’mon …
WAY, WAY BACK WHEN
I CAN’T BELIEVE IT’S NOT BUTTER(field) — Back on Oct. 8, 1858, the historic Butterfield Stage made its first run through the Santa Clarita Valley, coming from Fremont Pass at the south end of Newhall and through San Francisquito Canyon. The stage was greeted in Newhall by a 100-gun salute from all the galoots and yahoos. I’ve always wondered if historians were exaggerating or being allegorical about the 100 guns. Think it would take 25 local pre-NRA types firing pistols with both hands and both feet to make a 100-gun salute …
JUST THINK OF MONA LISA —You’d have to pretty much be a grizzled Santa Clarita Valley history buff to remember the name, Pat Lizza. He was head of Bermite during World War II and into the 1960s. Bermite (next to the former Saugus Speedway on Soledad) was one of America’s foremost munitions factories during wartime. But, prior to 1942, it was a fireworks factory. In fact, the Lizza family went back four generations as fireworks manufacturers in Italy. Here’s the irony. You know where the Lizzas lived in Italy? In a village at the foot of the volcano, Mount Vesuvius. Talk about a big fireworks display … (By the by — the correct pronunciation is “Lisa,” like the girl, not “Lizzz-zuh,” as in “Lizard …”)
OCTOBER 10, 1926
GREAT DARN BAND NAME!! — According to a century-old Signal headline, “The Cave Boy Bandits” struck, robbing several Saugus homes of everything from food to guns & ammo. The youthful trio escaped from reform school, took up living in a Bouquet cave and terrorized the area before being captured. One threatened to murder a small portion of the population.
SPEAKING OF THREE’S, A TRIO OF MAJOR FOREST FIRES — It’s hard to imagine that the whole darn place didn’t burn down. Without airplanes dropping chemicals or state-of-the-art helicopters, the mostly volunteer fire department quelled three major blazes 100 years back.
WE’RE AGAINST SINGEING THE PLACE — The Signal always had a long tradition of clever, poignant and hard-hitting editorials. Signal editor A.B. Thatcher had one of the best editorials (those are official opinion pieces from the paper) a century ago. “Dad” Thatcher noted: “This is Fire Prevention Week. Watch us put out the first fire we see. Next week, we’ll let ’er burn.”
OCTOBER 10, 1936
JUST ONE SHOW PER WEEK — As an example of how rural we were, the big entertainment draw 80 years ago was that the French Village was offering “Talking Pictures” for their weekend entertainment package. The talkies had been around for nearly a decade, but, still, we had to reassure the folks in the boonies they weren’t being tricked with one of those old silent flicks. Imagine the contrast. Today, we can watch literally a hundred movies and video clips a week. In 1936, you had to physically go to a nightclub and watch one movie. Per week …
DEER, 2 – HUNTERS 0 — Ray Biscailuz Sr. and his two sons were on the wrong end of a deer hunt. The trio fired several times at a big buck and missed. The buck chased after them, sending the three up a tree. Ray’s brother was L.A. Sheriff, Eugene. Eugene also organized the California Highway Patrol, recreating it from the ashes of the old State Motor Patrol.
HOG WILD GOVERNMENT — President Roosevelt’s New Deal was meeting with some chuckles locally. Renowned chicken rancher R.C. Gibson visited some friends at Fontana Farms, a huge hog farm operation. The 400-acre spread sold 50,000 hogs a year for market. More interestingly, through new government farm subsidies, they were paid an additional $56,000 for the hogs they didn’t raise.
GIVING A HOOT — Local Western film legend, Hoot Gibson, sent his team, the Colts, to compete in the world-renowned Buddy Rogers Polo Tournament. Gibson used to own the Saugus Speedway, back when it was a rodeo ground. One of our world-famous local movie stars was given the nickname, “Hoot,” as a teen because he worked for the Owl Drug Store. Hoot’s birth certificate name was Edmund Richard Gibson
OCTOBER 10, 1946
LOTS OF LOCAL STAR POWER — On this date, the movie, “Smokey” was playing at the old American Theatre in Newhall. The star of the film was actually, “Mist Shot,” a local horse. Mist Shot was owned by my pall and Hall of Fame cowboy, Andy Jauregui, and local movie studio owner/rancher, Fat Jones. Another star of the flick? Ben Johnson. Ben lived in Newhall for a time, competed at the big Newhall-Saugus rodeo and who, one day, would win a best-supporting Oscar for his performance in “The Last Picture Show.”
OUR KIDS’ EDUCATION? WHO CARES! — Amazing that this is a problem as old as schools themselves. The brand spanking new William S. Hart board of trustees reported that they were facing an acute building crisis. And again, the public showed their disinterest. A dozen people — including the board — showed up for the emergency meeting to solve the problem.
OCTOBER 10, 1956
HORSIN’ AROUND — It wasn’t that long ago that every other person in the SCV who owned a Stetson was involved in cutting horse competition. Long before it was so popular, Newhall’s Bob Hadley and his partner, Smokey Joe, were one of America’s best cutting team.
HART BEATS VALENCIA, 14-7 — Nope. Not THAT Valencia — Valencia High of Placentia.
WONDER WHAT HAPPENED TO THE BENGAL LANCERS, 1-THROUGH-76? — Folks in Agua Dulce had just been complaining about a late heat wave and now, they were pulling out their long johns. They were also milling around Vasquez Rocks, where the TV series, “77th Bengal Lancers,” was being filmed. A huge outpost was constructed.
OCTOBER 10, 1966
A LITTLE SIGNAL TRIVIA FOR YOU — Our Oct. 3, 1966, issue was the first Monday Signal ever printed. It marked the first time that The Mighty Signal started publishing thrice weekly — Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Previously, The Signal was a bi-weekly, coming out on Thursday and Sunday.
LOCAL HUBBA-HUBBA GAL MAKES GOOD — One of my dearest pals on the planet, Eugenia Weston, made the front page. Eugenia Balsamo then and a sophomore at Hart, Eugenia was busted for wearing a mini-skirt to school. The test for skirt length was to have girls kneel on the ground. If their skirt touched Earth, they wouldn’t be sent home to change. Of course, if there wasn’t a parent home, the offending young lady had to spend the rest of the day, out of sight, in the nurse’s office. Apparently, the fashion faux pas didn’t hurt Eugenia’s career. She went on to become one of Hollywood’s top make-up people and founded the world-famous Senna Cosmetics. She lives in Placerita Canyon with her husband, uh, Daryll? Delroy? Damian? Donovon? Whatshisname …?
“HALF-ASS VICTORY?” REALLY? — The fourth annual Frontier Days kept a short-lived tradition going. Back then, the Canyon Country festival had a two-day burro race through the back canyons — including a leg on Sierra Highway. Can you imagine? Stopping traffic on Sierra Highway today for a mule race? There were 40 entrants and first prize was $200. The Signal dryly noted that competing newspapers, the Canyon Country Reporter (out of business) and the Record (defunct) shared sponsorship of the winning creature. Quoth The Signal: “The Frontier Days burro race on Saturday showed the winner to be an animal whose right side was sponsored by the Canyon Country Reporter and the left side by the Record. Each of the sponsors thus won a half-ass victory.”
THE OLD SUICIDE CROSSING — You old-timers might remember when they rerouted traffic from old Highway 99 to the new Golden State Freeway. Back then, there wasn’t that hill and overcrossing of Lyons Avenue. The intersection going to an empty Pico Canyon (no Walmart, no Stevenson Ranch) was relatively flat with a stop sign. You pretty much had to have a sports car — and a lot of luck — to make it safely across. In the first week, there were four accidents, including when a truck sliced a camper in half, injuring seven.
TREES HAVE FEELINGS, TOO, BOB — The Newhall Land & Farming Co.’s Bob Hunt didn’t make any points with the Sierra Club for his public comment on his company’s removal of hundreds of mature cottonwood trees. “They’re dirty, and the branches keep falling down.” Those darn dirty trees …
WHERE WOLF? THERE WOLF. — Lots of folks were startled by Little Wolf, a not-so-little tame wolf who ran away from his owners, the DiSesso family of Saugus. Ol’ L.W. had a rather scary Halloween face with a disfigured snout about 3 inches longer than a normal wolf’s. The beast was found wandering through Dean Homes.
WHAT’RE THE ODDS? — It rained the first week of October in 1926, 1936, 1946, 1956 and 1966.
OCTOBER 10, 1976
NO BUSHEL BUT A PECK — Academy Award-winning thespian Gregory Peck made the SCV home for a short period. Peck was at Indian Dunes, filming the classic, “MacArthur.” That’d be about the famed World War II general, not the lost Shakespearean tragedy. The shoot caused a lot of rubber-necking. Motorists on Highway 126 were wondering why not only were there palm trees all over the place, but why it was raining in the middle of a sunny day.
WHO IS A TALL DARK STRANGER, THERE? — Meanwhile, at the other end of the valley, James Garner of “Maverick” fame was the guest celebrity at the Saugus Speedway.
WONDER IF THE PATIENT WAS STEVE MARTIN IN ‘LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS’ — This doesn’t come up every day. I don’t think it comes up every century. But, on this date, 50 years ago, a local masochist paid a visit to Saugus dentist Randall Carter, complaining of headaches. The patient wanted Dr. Carter to yank out each and every one of his teeth, which were healthy. Dr. Carter refused to do it, insurance or not.
OUR BOYS IN THE BIGS — A few years earlier, Mike Wolf, Jack Uhey and Bob Walk were just typical SCV kids, getting dirty, disliking girls and playing baseball. The three all signed Major League Baseball contracts 50 years ago after graduating from Hart.
HOW COME NO ONE’S EVER NAMED A CAR MODEL, ‘THE PADRE?’ — One of our most memorable Catholics, Father Henry Banks, died on this date. The good priest was born on July 15, 1910, and was appointed pastor of Our Lady of Perpetual Help in 1954. During his service, he saw OLPH grow from serving around 300 families to 3,000. I remember he used to not take good-natured kidding very well about “Father Banks’ Used Car Lot.” Back then, folks would park cars with for sale signs on the adjoining church property on Lyons, where Aldi’s is today.
NOT A BAD IDEA. SOMEBODY OUGHT TO TRY IT SOME DAY. — Flo Arklin brought lots of smiles by driving Blue Barrel’s beat-up pick-up truck in the Frontier Days parade with the slogan, “ARKLIN FOR CLEAN GOVERNMENT.”
¿COMO SE LLAMA? — Not every day you hear over the police scanner: “Unidentified llama loping down on Magic Mountain Parkway …” Sidney, a big ol’ black male llama, escaped from Magic Mountain and caused quite a traffic jam. Good publicity for the Happy Hump, though …
OCTOBER 10, 1986
YOU CAN BANK ON IT — On this date, future city mayor and congressman, Howard “Buck” McKeon, chairman of the board of Santa Clarita National Bank and his fellow execs got the go-ahead to start the second branch of their bank by the Comptroller of the Currency. I should go back and drop in some punctuation on that first sentence but I’m not gonna …
THE FAMOUS STREAK — With a loss by East St. Louis a half-continent away, on this date, Canyon High’s football team held the longest winning streak in the nation. The Illinois squad lost to Granite City, 17-14, ending a 44-game streak. Meanwhile, Canyon trounced Notre Dame, 28-7. The Cowboys at that point were 42-0 and they extended The Streak to 46-0, finally losing a heartbreaker to Antelope Valley. Remind me not to get into a stare contest with my pal, Coach Harry Welch …
• • •
Muchas gracias for the ride-along and good company. I’ll be showing up next weekend back here at The Mighty Signal hitching post with another exciting Time Ranger adventure into local history. Hope you’ll ride along, too. Until then? ¡Vayan con Dios, amigos!
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.
