We’ve got a born-again Christian capturing a murdering hitchhiker, hospital skullduggery, various sundry mayhem and a few notes on a grand old Newhall cowpoke, Ben Johnson.
C’mon, dear amigos. Foot up in the stirrup, swing up on that saddle and let’s head into the mystic…
(CAPTION — Former Newhall cowboy and Oscar-winner Ben Johnson was the grand marshal for our Fourth of July parade thirty years back. A local and national rodeo star (his family goes back three generations as champion ropers), Johnson’s first acting job came in the 1940 Howard Hughes’ flick, “The Outlaw.” “I had been making $1 a day on a ranch in Oklahoma when Hughes contacted me and offered $100 a week. Sounded pretty good to me.” Johnson was already known around the movie world because he had been a stand-in for John Wayne, Gary Cooper, Jimmy Stewart, Gregory Peck and Henry Fonda. Johnson was wrangling in one John Ford movie when his quick-thinking saved some cast members from being trampled. Ford was so grateful, he gave Johnson a 7-year contract. Since then, he worked in over 300 films, from Shane to a starring role in “Mighty Joe Young.” He has been inducted into the Cowboy Hall of Fame. Ben died a few years back.)
WAY, WAY BACK WHEN —
— Happy darn birthday to Castaic. The foothill to the Tehachapis was founded on this date in 1915.
— At the nation’s centennial celebration on July 4, 1876, Placerita Canyon “white oil” had folks in Philadelphia oohing and aahing. The opaque fluid burned 100 times longer than regular lamp oil and without hardly any smoke. What can we say. We’re purists out here.
— On July 5, 1914, the most Rev. Wolcott H. Evans was named pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Newhall, where he served in spectacular ordinariness for decades. Pastor Evans was perhaps one of the most influential people in the SCV — not for donations he made or political office or social resume. He was simply a kind and tireless worker.
JUNE 30, 1921 —
— Homesteader Miss Ida Greenfield died in a field in front of her Placerita Canyon cabin. She had started a controlled brush fire to rid the area by her home of grass and weeds. The wind picked up and she was caught in the blaze. Friends found her a few days later.
— We were such a small town back then, when someone bought a new tractor, it was front page news in the local paper. Joe Kidder purchased a new Cleveland discer. Don’t think it’s around town anymore…
JUNE 30, 1931 —
— A local high school-aged boy saved the life, but not the arm, of Charles Woodward. Mr. Woodward was working on a local oilrig when his left hand was caught in a huge gear. It pulled his arm completely off. The lad rushed to the Woodward’s aid, applying a tourniquet to stop the hemorrhaging.
— The old French Village had many incarnations. On this date, it was closed down as a dance hall/eatery and turned into a sanitarium. Later, it would reopen down San Fernando Road as an evening hot spot.
N Record heat pummeled the valley, with daytime temperatures topping the 110 marks.
JULY 4, 1932 —
— While we’ve had parades and picnics here in the SCV before, this date is recognized as the start of the long tradition of having one of the biggest and best 4th of July celebrations in California.
JUNE 30, 1941 —
— This was one of the biggest Fourth of July parades we put on — ever. With World War II right around the corner, patriotism was at a fever pitch. There were dozens of floats, nearly 1,000 horse riders and, overall, thousands of people IN the parade. The big march was followed by the huge picnic at Saxonia Park in Placerita Canyon, where the Foursquare Church is today.
— Two teens died in the oddest motorcycle accident. Henry Ward of Pico Canyon had crashed his bike on Mint Canyon and lay dead in the middle of the road. Chuck Van Buren followed a few minutes later on his motorcycle, ran over the corpse, lost control of his bike, flipped it and died.
— Well. You can’t say we cowboys aren’t creative when it comes to fighting. On this date, on the Gordon Ranch in Mint Canyon, wranglers Jim Reading and Dick Furgerson got into an argument over a missing cow. They started dueling with pitchforks and Reading got a tine broke off in the middle of his hand. When he hopped on his horse to tell the law, Reading took a shot at him and missed. Always hate that when you get impaled with a pitchfork in a stable fight…
JUNE 30, 1951 —
— The Wm. S. Hart High School District released its budget — $509,525. That’s for the whole darn year. About half that went for teachers’ salaries and just $16,000 for administration. This year’s budget for the Hart District is about $163 million, for about 23,000 students. Ten years ago, it was $25 million. Hmm — $509,000. Isn’t that Chief (get it? Indians?) Financial Director Sue Hoerber paycheck?
— I’ll bet some of you would like to take some real estate back with you into the present. Check out this deal — a 4-acre leveled hilltop in the middle of Newhall for just $6,000. You could build a really great custom home in 1951 for around $10,000.
JUNE 30, 1961 —
— For decades, Hart High’s Bob Avant (class of 1957) held all sorts of track and field records. On this date, Avant took the national AAU track meet, beating world record holder John Thomas, leaping 7 feet even.
— It was not a good week for the working man. John McClean died after getting struck with a giant trip hammer. Bill Crocket fell from a 20-foot ladder at Newhall Refining Co. and died not so much from the fall but the impact. And TV repairman Walter Dietz didn’t make it after his repair truck was struck by a semi.
JUNE 30, 1971 —
— Golden State Hospital (it used to sit where the Vons market is at Lyons & Wiley) began construction on this date, 40 years back. Sort of. The issue is rather confusing, but, here goes. The Health Planning Committee had already selected the yet-to-be-built Henry Mayo Hospital as the facility to represent the SCV. But, they had also given GSH a go-ahead to be built, as long as they started construction by July 1, 1971. (Adding to the confusion, before Henry Mayo was Henry Mayo, it was called Lutheran Hospital.) So, trying to keep to the groundbreaking date, some construction guys came out, knocked down some trees (of course), pushed around a little dirt, and poured a one-square foot slab of concrete. Eventually, Golden State would be built. And, like most things in this valley, a few years would pass and it would be torn down.
— I remember a decade ago, the shapely Miss Barstow recently had to give up her beauty queen crown because she defaced a car in front of an off-duty Highway Patrolman. Forty years back, Miss Newhall-Saugus, Debbie Uhey, had to give up hers. Debbie’s reason wasn’t quite so misdemeanor-ish. She got married.
June 30, 1981-
-A Local attorney and born-again Christian Bill Bart was driving home when he spotted a disheveled man, limping along side the road. Bart gave the man a ride, started talking about Christianity and the man confessed to a murder and three other stabbings he had committed. Bart then talked the transient into turning himself in. Bart noted that he picked up hitchhikers all the time so he could witness to them.
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Sure has been nice riding with you folks. See you next Thursday right back here at The Beacon with a brand new Time Ranger adventure, and, until then — vayan con Dios, amigos and happy Fourth of July!