Top of the Saturday morn to you, fellow history trail riders. On this very expedition, we’ll be exploring some interesting back roads.
If we were to assign a theme for today’s trek, it probably would be critters. We’ve got killer frogs, goats in wells and mini-bulls. There’s range wars and compressed dog ranches (you might want to take some scissors, cut out the modifier “compressed” and move it over a smidge), runaway wagons and giant mountain lions.
Those of you at the back end of the posse, when you’re done reading this column, you might want to take the newspaper, roll it up and whack any mega-puma on the nose if he happens to be stalking you …
WAY, WAY BACK WHEN
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WERT! — One of the valley’s most infamous characters, W.W. “Wert” Jenkins, was born back in Circleville, Ohio, on Oct. 12, 1833. The Gabby Hayes-looking character would homestead some land in Castaic and be one of the lead participants in one of the West’s bloodiest range wars. He was also a captain in the California Rangers, the outfit that cleaned up Los Angeles in less than two years. Maybe old Wert should have stuck around on the job.
OCTOBER 17, 1926
THAT’S ONE BIG-ASTERISKED CAT — There sure were some Pleistocene-sized big cats here roaming around in the 1920s. Assistant fire warden Pete Daries bagged a 250-pound male monster north of Castaic. More than 8 feet long from nose to tail. The big cougar charged Daries from about 50 yards away, was shot, got up, charged again and this time, was fatally clipped. It might have been the same big cat that was stalking a pair of local hunters two weeks earlier. The puma was credited with supplementing his venison diet by supping on several Castaic steers.
RUNAWAY HORSES — It looked like a scene from a wild Western on Main Street today 100 years ago. A Los Angeles woman clipped the wagon of E.D. Wilson, sending the local teamster flying. His four horses bolted and were rampaging through downtown Newhall. Sheriff’s deputy Nester managed to climb on board the wagon, crawl onto the pole, grab the lines and rein the horses to a safe stop.
OH, YEAH! THEY LIVE YONDER! — While much of America had been catching on to this concept of house and business addresses, the SCV was slow to follow. Only downtown Newhall and its surrounding residential area adopted the house address system, finishing up mostly by October of 1926. You can blame Southern California Gas for that. They demanded houses have numbers so they could find them. Interestingly so close to Halloween, Signal editor and owner A.B. “Dad” Thatcher drew the number of “1300” for his home abode.
OCTOBER 17, 1936
A THREE-KID SCHOOL — Miss Pearl Whitelock never worried about over-crowded classrooms. In being a bona fide paid teacher of the Los Angeles Unified School District, she is part of Santa Clarita school trivia. Pearl taught all three Willett children on the ranch atop Oat Mountain, separating the Santa Clarita and San Fernando Valleys. The owner of the ranch, W.M. Orcutt, a multi-millionaire who ran the ranch as a hobby, pulled some strings to get the school into the L.A. Unified and paid for Pearl’s salary, room and board.
DOES MILK BURN? — The pumphouse barn at the Dairies Ranch in Lake Elizabeth burned to the ground after a ranch worker tried to start a gasoline pump. Pete Dairies, by the way, was our local fire warden.
BREAKING THE FIFTH WALL — On this date 90 years ago, the Trem Carr Ranch in Placerita moved about a half-mile west to where Melody Ranch is today. Trem Carr’s movie studio would become Monogram Pictures. Reason for the move? Oil wells in the shots …
OUR FORGOTTEN GREAT LITERATURE — Dr. Ruth Odell, professor of literature at the University of Nebraska, was in town 90 years ago. Ruth was researching the background of Helen Hunt Jackson, who wrote one of the most significant books in American history: “Ramona.” The spinstress Jackson had penned one of the most influential novels in American history while staying at the Camulos Ranch.
OCTOBER 17, 1946
THEM SCHMIDTS — Earl and Helm Schmidt opened their private 6-S Airport (named after the six Schmidts). It was 1.3 miles west of Solemint junction, behind the old B&Y Ranch, and a half-mile north of Soledad. It had a 50-foot by 2,500-foot paved runway.
BACK IN BUSINESS BUILDING BOMBS — After being inactive for more than a year after the end of World War II, the big munitions plant announced they would open with a series of peacetime contracts.
OCTOBER 17, 1956
GETTING YOUR GOAT — Big Billy the Goat met the Grim Goat Reaper. The 150-pound head butter fell down a cistern and drowned. Three men tried in vain to revive him, including using mouth to mouth artificial respiration. Big Bill came to briefly, before hemorrhaging from the nose and mouth. I know. I know. Boy howdy, I live by the old code of the West: Lips that touch rusty dog food tin cans shall not touch mine.
MAS DEMS — In the 1956 election, there were 508 more Democrats registered here than Republicans. On the bright side, there wasn’t a single communist. Yet …
OCTOBER 17, 1966
UP AND OVER — The Lyons-Highway 99 deadly intersection claimed another victim. A bewildered woman got T-boned trying to cross. Odd happenstance. I was just telling my daughter, Indiana, this week about that intersection. In 1966, the intersection was a flat section of country. Eventually, state highway engineers would bring in millions of tons of dirt and create a mountain freeway overpass that’s still there today. It’s the Interstate 5 freeway.
SAUSUS, SAUGUS. WHATEVER IT TAKES — Meanwhile, the state highway folks put up a road sign at the intersection, noting that the non-existent town of “NEWHALL-SAUSUS” was just 2 miles east.
OUR FORGOTTEN PARK — For years, Val Verde has been the red-headed stepchild of Los Angeles County. In 1925, a gem of a park called Eureka Villa was constructed, complete with a merry-go-round, slides, swimming pool and all manner of recreational equipment. For decades, it had been a mecca for Southern California’s African-American families and a weekend place to be. In 1966, with hardly any staff, much of the park wasn’t even being watered and the grounds were under severe disrepair.
OCTOBER 17, 1976
SATAN OFF THE I-5 — Sheriff’s deputies investigated a grisly find and possibly tie-ins to satanic worship. A 14-year-old girl riding her horse near Calgrove Boulevard discovered the decapitated remains of a goat, some chickens and bizarre ritual insignias.
WHEN WE STILL HAD CATTLE RUSTLERS — Meanwhile, just down the road, two 650-pound prized Angus bulls were rustled. Teofilo Alcantar found tire tracks and a hole in the fence. Smart money was the bulls didn’t drive themselves away.
IS THE ANSWER, ‘YOU CAN’T GET THERE FROM HERE?’ —Supervisor Baxter Ward and much of Los Angeles County’s bureaucracy weren’t too popular in the SCV, especially during our drive to become Canyon County (in case you didn’t notice, it failed). The former KABC news anchor drew rolled eyes during a press conference when he was asked a question about widening Highway 126. “Where’s Highway 126?” the supe replied.
YOU WOULDN’T WANT THIS FROG IN YOUR THROAT — Originally imported from South Africa in the 1940s for pregnancy tests, the notorious African clawed frog was soon banned as a threat to Western United States species and habitats. Named for its dark sharp claws, the frogs secrete a slimy, smelly substance, which drives away most predators. Bonus, it eats just about everything, including The Newhall Land & Farming Co.’s beloved spiny stickleback fish. State Fish & Game organized a safari to hunt the beasts, living in the ponds around Vasquez Rocks.
OCTOBER 17, 1986
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JUNIOR — The Santa Clarita Valley Jaycees celebrated their 25th anniversary. In case you’re wondering, “Jaycee” stands for, “Junior Chamber.” I remember being a kid, the local organization used to hold a big weekend fair, one of the biggest events in town.
INDIANS BEAT THE INDIANS — How about those ‘boys? They notched their 43rd win in a row with a 21-3 over the Indians. That’d be the Alemany native Americans, not the ones from Hart.
BUT BULL AIN’T ON THE MENU — This was one of those Suburbia Historical Landmarks. El Torito opened 40 years ago. The first two months, it was the top producing eatery in the chain of 187 across 25 states. The popular Mexican restaurant today only has 21 restaurants. “Torito,” by the way, means, “little bull.”
THE LEGENDARY PARAGRAPHIST — That Scott Newhall. He sure could write editorials. Note his opening lead from “A Vision of Hell,” a front-page opinion piece on out-of-control trucks: “Like an Indian mahout high up on the back of his big bull war elephant, young Rony Jordan was high up at the wheel of his monster International big rig, headed south, nursing his cargo of vegetables down the long grade from Tejon Pass.” Three people in three separate vehicles died in that Interstate 5 crash, prompting yet another Signal editorial about truck accidents. Scott had a special and understandable ax to grind with teamsters. His young daughter was killed by a runaway truck in San Francisco.
THAT SURE WORKS OUT TO MORE THAN A BAG OF DOGFOOD A MONTH — I’m not sure if this is a record, but Leo Grillo of Agua Dulce sure must have been close. Leo owned 600 dogs and cats on his 2.5-acre spread. That works out to 240 dogs per acre. While Grillo operated the place out of the goodness of heart and no animal was found to be mistreated, the Board of Supervisors demanded he close his place down and turn his hordes over to Animal Control. The neighboring residents complained about the smell and racket, claiming Grillo was running a kennel without a license and with the wind blowing in the wrong direction.
• • •
Thanks so very much for the companionship on this glorious fall day. I’m going to mosey back to Scared o’ Bears Ranch, shake off the trail dust, watch a little football and take a nap. Been experimenting with a Velcro cinch and teaching the rabbits how to de-saddle the pony. Hope it works. See you next weekend with another exciting Time Ranger adventure, and, 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.
