Heavens to Betsy Wrage, please. With sugar atop. Will somebody tell me it’s not October already and, worse, it’s the October in the advanced year of 2026? Do you have any idea what that means?
Nothing short that 2027 is somehow around the corner.
Foof and phew.
Good thing we can indulge in some refreshing youth and timelessness on these Signal Saturday mornings with a horseback ride into our local heritage.
This morning, we’ve a terribly entertaining trail ride ahead, what with lost gold treasures, bugs that crawl on your lips while you sleep and kill you (well; Alex Mentry at least); lost mountain lion house cats, the local famous Indian who wasn’t quite an Indian and a herd of actual flying cows.
We’ll even try to find the missing township of Pyramid City and the sexual escapades of a certain local Valencia HOA.
I know.
One mentions, “sexual escapades,” and the temptation is to wiggle uncomfortably in the saddle, isn’t it?
Comes from being too close to city people. It’ll wear off in the next dimension …
WAY, WAY BACK WHEN
THE LOST RANGER FORTUNE — This is one of my absolute favorite stories. In September 1921, a forest ranger found a huge vein of gold in upper Placerita Canyon (just tantalizing inches away from Steve Arklin’s property line today. Just kidding, Steve. Maybe.) The treasure assayed out at $1,700 a ton — that’s fabulously rich for 1920s money.
In the upper watershed of Placerita, the ranger found reportedly found an entire LEDGE of gold, a yard thick, sticking out of the mountain, with a little bit of quartz in it. (How’s that for rich? Gold with quartz in it?) The ranger was due to retire in a couple of years. He used the time to cover the solid gold ledge with dirt and brush, figure out a mining plan and come back right after he retired.
He died a few weeks shy of his retirement. I’m not sure the gold is still there (If I knew where it was, I wouldn’t be writing this column nor getting my rear end sore in this saddle). But, if any of you saddlepals out there know the exact location, I’ll be more than happy to buy you a cup of tea, offer a free year’s subscription to The Signal, nod politely and thank you for its whereabouts …
THE FIRST OF THE GREAT DOWNTOWN FIRES — You’ll recall recently, we had that blasted tragic fire, taking out a block of Downtown Newhall. The Southern Hotel used to sit just about exactly in the middle of the Main & Market Street intersection and was touted in its day as one of the grand hotels of the entire Pacific Coast. Our five-star hotel was around for only about 10 years, burning to the ground on Oct. 1, 1888. One of the reasons why it was built was to entertain oil and mining speculators visiting the area to consider investing. Interestingly, the fire occurred shortly after the death (March 13, 1882) of its creator, multimillionaire, Henry Mayo Newhall. With the loss of the five-star resort and Newhall himself, the population of the valley plummeted.
HOW DID YOU DIE? — There’s much debate on what caused the Oct. 4, 1900, death of famed Pico Canyon oil man, Alex Mentry. His coroner’s report lists cause of death as typhoid fever. Some feel the report was a misdiagnosis, others (our good and expert Dr. Alan Pollack) feel it was spot on.
Mentry’s own daughter-in-law swore that the oilman was in ill health and had been repeatedly being bit on the mouth while he slept. The perp is this awful local creature from the tratoma genus. On the street, the alleged murderer has two names — one disarmingly sweet, the other rather alarming. The beast is called both the “Kissing Bug” or the “Assassin Bug.” It also goes by the moniker of “Bloodsucking Cone Nose.”
It’s not quite an inch long, has this big sucking mechanism coming out of its puss, and, worse, it attacks people at night when they sleep. They sometimes are found in bathtub or sink drains (or Mentry’s bed sheets) and can inflict a painful bite. Or, possibly in Alex’s case, a deadly one. According to the prestigious Ohio State Entomology Department, usually, these bugs are found outdoors (where, when you think about it, most bugs are found). They frequent hollowed-out trees, possum and raccoon dens and are usually near wood rat nests. “Indoors,” the report went on, Kissing Bugs “are found in bedding, floor and wall cracks, under furniture, etc.” I know. Another thing to worry about.
I’ll give the good Dr. Pollack the last word: “… chronic (preexisting) kidney disease would have nothing to do with a bug bite — and neither would typhoid fever, which would likely have come from something he ate or drank. Maybe (the daughter-in-law) associated the bug bite with his worsening condition, but in fact he was suffering the effects of typhoid fever. The bug bite, if it truly occurred, could have been a red herring or coincidence.”
EVERYONE WHO LIVES IN SPIT, CA, RAISE YOUR HAND — You “A-plus” history students know that Saugus, California, was named after the birthplace of the spectacularly vibrant land baron Henry Mayo Newhall. The name of “Saugus” comes from the Pentucket tribe of the Algonquin nation. As the story goes, there was a miscommunication from some Pilgrims in the 1600s. The Pilgrims and Indians were standing on a sandy spit of beach. The Puritans wanted to know the Indian name for the general — not specific area — they were in. Chief Montowampate thought he meant where they were standing and said, “Saugus.” The river there was also called, “Saugus,” which is too bad. The Algonquin name was more beautiful falling off the tongue: “Abousett.” How does the “Abousett Cafe” sound?
MY HOW WE’VE GROWN — The first census of Los Angeles “city” was performed in 1836 — 190 years ago. Some 2,228 noses were counted. Of that total, 553 were “Domesticated Indians.” “Foreigners” counted were 46 and of that number, 23 listed themselves as: “American.” In 1850, the city of L.A. had their first election and 377 total votes were cast.
OCTOBER 3, 1926
WHEN HUNTER BECOMES THE HUNTED — W.W. Penhorwood and Ray Warren were out deer hunting when they spotted a rather large male cougar on a ledge about 100 yards ahead. They saw the big cat silently pounce to the trail in front, trailing the same buck they were after. After following the mountain lion for about an hour, they realized the puma had disappeared, backtracked and was tracking them. The men decided discretion was the better part of valor and hiked back to civilization.
TEXT ME IF YOU SEE SMOKE? — We take communication for granted in these modern times, when one can make a cell phone call across the world instantly. Oliver Lopez used to man the old wooden giant watch tower atop of Oat Mountain. His lonely job was to search for wildfires. When he spotted smoke, he would call down to one of several forest stations. From there, a motorcycle sheriff’s deputy (or Army motorcycle rider) would speed to get help.
TEXT ME IF YOU NEED MULES? — Much as I used to love The Signal’s classified section, I can’t recall seeing an ad like this in decades: “Herbert E. Ball: Just Remember, I have a few MULES THAT WILL WORK.” We were such a small town, there was no need for Herb to list his address or telephone number. I guess you just moseyed over to his ranch and set up an appointment.
PUT UP YOUR DUKES! — Speaking of technology, today we have at our fingertips literally hundreds of venues for sports and entertainment. A century back, locals organized “radio parties” to listen to the Tunney-Dempsey heavyweight fight.
LET THEM EAT CAKE — Signal editor A.B. “Dad” Thatcher lamented: “The housewives forgot how bake bread a few years ago. Now they are forgetting how to make cake. About 10 cake wagons seem to be making this territory.” And that was long before the Helm’s bakery vans. Remember the sweet smells from those beloved deliverers of doughnuts?
OCTOBER 3, 1936
SPARX CAUSES SPARKS? — The hapless driver with the unusual last name lost control of his car — twice — speeding downhill into Castaic and fell over a 1,000-foot cliff. Miraculously, Mr. Sparx not only survived, but also managed to climb up and hike for help. He lost control of his car the first time when he picked up a teenage hitchhiker and let the kid drive while he slept in the back seat. The teen in question was never found. Uh-huh …
OCTOBER 3, 1946
HERE. HAVE A FREE PARK. — Locals got the first glimpse of the proposed Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Park (that’s its official name). Thank Newhall Land & Farming Co. for the donation of the 15 acres, swimming pool, trees and buildings.
NAME TWO THINGS THAT BOUNCE — Owner of the Newhall Garage George Brooks didn’t just deal with rubber tires. He dabbled in rubber checks. He was found guilty of writing bad checks. Seems George was having trouble paying distributors and employees.
FLYING COWS? — You bet. Today, MacMillan Ranch is a tony enclave for millionaires in Sand Canyon. Up until about 60 years ago, it was a working ranch. I know. Used to work there. Ben Driscoll was foreman and attended the National Dairy Association convention in Ohio. Accompanying him were seven rather heavy-set ladies. They were MacMillan’s entries for milking cows. All eight of them flew on the same plane and no. They didn’t watch a movie …
OCTOBER 3, 1956
MORE EXPENSIVE THAN WALMART PERFUME — Just 20 years back, we were breathing a sigh of relief because gasoline has “dipped” to $2.69 a gallon — down 60 cents from the summer highs. Today? It’s more than $6 a gallon at various local SCV stations. Back in October 1956, regular went for 32 cents. That’s a gallon. Not an ounce. Gas was cheaper in L.A. at 27 cents. At that price, I could fill up my big, giant truck for $8 and have enough left over for four McDonald’s dinners …
DON’T THINK BIG BILL WOULD RECOGNIZE THE PLACE — His ranch house next to the former Saugus Speedway is long gone. In his day, “Big” Bill Bonelli was a major player in California politics. He was also on the lam, hiding in Mexico, from powerful enemies, including Gov. Goodwin Knight. The mega-rancher, who had spreads all over the southwest and Mexico, had also been director of the State Board of Equalization. There, he uncovered all sorts of monkey shines involving liquor licenses, politicians and owners of a certain giant big city newspaper. Trumped up charges were brought against him and Bonelli simply hopped on one of his planes and lived primarily in Mexico for 17 years. He would eventually not only be cleansed of all charges, but also issued a rare apology by the IRS and California for their role in making him a refugee. On this date, Bonelli wrote Gov. Knight, asking for a fair and impartial trial. Knight denied the request. How about that in America?
UNUSUAL CHP GUARD DUTY — A routine traffic collision on Highway 126 unveiled valuable cargo. One of the drivers was a gem merchant and had more than $100,000 in diamonds in the dented and popped-open trunk. You know how much $100,000 in diamonds would be worth today? More than $456 billion. Welp. That might be a bit high, but it’d be much more than $100,000 …
OCTOBER 3, 1966
PC — George Kinsey owned a huge ranch numbering in the thousands of acres north of here. He formed the Pyramid Land Development Co. and instructed them to build a brand new town complete with a hospital, stores, houses — you name it — smack dab next to Pyramid Lake. Kinsey foresaw it being its own recognized city. Dr. Hung Wo Ching, planning director, noted that Pyramid City, “… will be a complement to Southern California.” Kinsey had to wrestle with Sacramento, which had other plans for the area. They wanted to use a good chunk of it for their water project. Unless they built it underground and were lousy at advertising, I don’t think the metropolis ever got built. Anybody recall seeing it as they mosey up and down I-5?
MISSING KITTY — Gordon Meredith reported that Tanya ran away. Tanya was neither wife, child or dog. It was a kitty cat, of sorts. A big one. Tanya was a full-grown mountain lion who was the man’s house cat and lived on Kansas Street in Newhall. The gentle puma, who was actually born in Ecuador, ran away during a movie shoot. After everyone spent a full day trying to find her, they forgot to check back at Meredith’s movie ranch up in Agua Dulce. Tanya had broken into the ranch house and liberated two chicken dinners the staff had left on the table. When the posse came back, there was Tanya, asleep on the kitchen floor.
NICKEL-A-SCOOP — Thrifty Drug Store opened on this date 60 years back, at the corner of Seco & Bouquet. Boy howdy, I worked there selling ice cream with the teen beauty, Susie Topping.
OCTOBER 3, 1976
BAD DAY FOR GORDON — First, Mr. Nesmith’s Nissan broke down in Castaic. The Santa Ana visitor left it at a garage to be fixed, then walked over to rest at the edge of a culvert. They speculated he lost his balance, fell backward and landed 10 feet down on his head. Poor Gordon died.
CAN’T SEEM TO RECALL THE PALM TREES — Out-of-towner Arnie Mazon got $24,000 from the county to plant, of all things, palm trees and bottlebrush plants in the SCV. They died, too.
HE WAS FROM THE PASTA TRIBE — Iron Eyes Cody was grand marshal of our 14th annual Frontier Days parade. Known as “The Crying Indian” from the ecology commercials, Cody made a life’s work in the motion picture business playing an Indian. It turns out the self-professed Cherokee, who was appointed by the National American Indian Commission by Supervisor Baxter Ward, wasn’t actually a Native American. He was Espera DeCorti, born on April 3, 1904, in the small town of Kaplan, Louisiana. His parents were Sicilian immigrants. Iron Eyes DeCorti died back in 1999 at the age of 94.
OCTOBER 3, 1986
NOT LOST IN SPACE AT ALL — Forty years ago, Saugus Boy Scout Brian Collado made the papers. He met John Glenn, who, in 1962, became the first American to orbit the Earth. At 77, Glenn would later become the oldest man in space in 1998.
ROOFING TILES & GROUP SEX — What started over a disagreement over roofing shingles ended up in a nasty court fight between a local couple and their Valencia Hills Homeowners Association. The HOA said the family couldn’t put up a certain roof (despite approval from the HOA “Architectural Committee”) and sued the couple for $200,000 in punitive damages for disobeying the CC&Rs and demanding they replace the roof. The couple’s lawyer cross-filed, using an “unclean hands” doctrine, claiming the HOA was guilty of group sex and drug abuse. Ahhh, life in suburbia …
• • •
See all y’all in seven. Until then? ¡Vayan con Dios, amigos y compra unas botas de vaquero nuevas!” (Just to save The Signal copy desk a little extra leg work, that translates to, “Ride with God and let’s go buy some new cowboy boots!”)
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.
