Lots of time to yawn and stretch on the trail and we can get coffee and doughnuts on the other side of yesteryear because, well, frankly, it’s cheaper and tastes better.
(Photo caption: — On this date, 30 years ago, Santa Clarita’s own cowboy Montie Montana and his wife, Elly, were preparing to meet a very special host — the Queen of England. Montie was asked what he planned to say to Elizabeth. His answer: “Howdy, ma’am. Sure nice to see ya. Got any vittles in the house? Some grits and gravy?” Montie never did quite make that speech, but he is famous for — to the horror of the Secret Service — roping president Dwight David Eisenhower.)
WAY, WAY BACK WHEN —
— There were lots and lots and lots of oak trees, wide open spaces and things were very, very quiet.
MAY 19, 1921 —
— On this date, Sgt. T.J. Fowler crash-landed his Curtiss biplane on a Saugus potato field. His craft became unbalanced and Fowler nearly made a perfect landing. At the end, the nose lurched forward and the propeller busted off. Fowler missed old Newhall International Airport (near where Granary Square is close to McBean today) by just this much…
— Our town hall burned to the ground on this date. Mrs. William Mayhue, wife of the ag magnate, awoke before dawn with the flames flickering in her bedroom window. The alarm was soon sounded and the volunteer fire fighters from Newhall and Saugus rushed to the scene. But the old Conrad’s Hall, built in 1908 by Charles Conrad, quickly burned to the ground and firefighters turned their attentions to keeping the other neighboring buildings doused with water. Conrad had just sold the building to a Mr. A. Culver two months earlier. What made the fire suspicious was that it was the third hall to burn to the ground within the last 18 months. Another Conrad hall burned to the ground in 1919 and the dance hall in Honby was torched. Add to that, there were two pool hall fires around that time, bringing the total to five suspicious fires involving entertainment complexes. I’ve told the story before of a jealous young man who laid claim to a beautiful young gal. Story was, he hated her having a good time and kept burning Newhall’s hot spots.
MAY 19, 1931 —
— Southern Pacific was celebrating summer vacations and offered the strapped-for-cash railroad riders a special offer — a penny a mile to any destination.
MAY 19, 1941 —
— Clarence Compton, conscientious objector to military service, had been brooding about any service with the military. While he could not take another’s life, he took his own, committing suicide via monoxide poisoning in a distant canyon.
— Just a few months before we would be at war with Germany, Saxonia Park in Placerita Canyon, held a German fest. Multi-course dinner, games, refreshments and dancing were just 40 cents.
MAY 19, 1951 —
— A Los Angeles drag racer, in his souped-up coup, set a track record at the old 6-S Ranch strip in Canyon Country, burning up the quarter mile and hitting 115 miles an hour.
MAY 19, 1961 —
— There were a rash of burglaries to hit the SCV 40 years back this weekend. The crooks had tastebuds for an odd menu. The bad guys made off with everything from booze to — get this — 150 used generators from the old Barker/Nochester Garage in Mint Canyon. What on earth do you do with 150 used car generators?
MAY 19, 1971 —
— Ah, kids. Four 16-year-olds were arrested for a string of 47 burglaries here. A lot of spare change and cash added up to over $1,000.
— On this date, Ida Edwards died. The Val Verde woman made headlines two years earlier. When she returned home from Oklahoma, she discovered the county had “accidentally” condemned and bulldozed her home. For a while, she had to live in a pup tent donated by Boy Scouts. A group of citizens and Newhall Land passed the hat and built her a brand new house.
— Cost of mailing a letter went up — to a dime. Ouch.
— Judge Adrian Adams administered the wisdom of Solomon in this verdict. Ruling on a case in which a couple had been charged with disturbing the peace and quarreling with neighbors, Adams ordered the pair to write a 500-word essay on the topic: “How Mahatma Gandhi Would Have Solved The Problems of My Neighborhood.” The defendant, Mrs. Flo Harsla, was to write the tome on how she’d make her block a better place. The Harslas, who had children 8 to 19, were found guilty of starting quarrels ranging from cursing to fisticuffs.
— A plague of Old Testament proportions struck thd SCV 30 years back. Cinch bugs by the hundreds of thousands invaded the valley, getting into everything from people’s hair to their pancakes. One Valencia housewife complained that she had to literally sweep her bed before going to sleep. The Ag. Dept. sadly noted that about the only thing short of building a moat around your home (the little crawlers don’t like water) was to wait them out. Cinch bugs are migratory and only stay in one spot for a maximum of two weeks.
— Some of you oldtimers will remember this — the Jaycee Fair opened up on this date, 40 years back. It was an old-fashioned carny attraction, with rides and games no ordinary human could win. They had a battle of local bad garage bands, greased pole climbing contests, hog calling and a yo-yo and beer-drinking contest. It drew over 50,000 people. We don’t have the fair anymore. We don’t even have Jaycees…
MAY 19, 1981 —
— On this date, Saugus superintendent James Foster tried to close Valley View elementary. Reason? Not enough kids, too much overhead. VVE had only 175 students enrolled although the campus was built to accommodate 500. The move was called, by some, “Foster’s Folly.”
— There was a big protest rally at Canyon High. About 100 students gathered to voice their displeasure over an administration ban on those high-riding, curve-exposing “Dolfin” short-shorts on girls and the “Sex Wax” T-shirts on boys. Adding to the theater, asst. principal John Schirmer confiscated two rolls of film from a newspaper photographer. John later gave the film back.
— CalArts held their 11th annual graduation and, as usual, it was a hoot. One graduate, upon receiving his diploma, jumped into a magic box and had friends push swords through. Another accepted a diploma in handcuffs, giving CalArts president Bob Fitzpatrick the key to release him. Another had an ax in her head and fake blood — a joke on budget cuts. Yet another gave a two-word speech: “Beat Julliard!”
— — —
Thanks so very much for the company, saddlepals. I look forward to riding with you again next week here under the warming glow of The West Ranch Beacon with another exciting Time Ranger adventure. Until that time, vayan con Dios, amigos!
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