Before we take off into the back trails of Santa Clarita history, I’d like to ask the 1,247th person in the horse line to please take off the dayglow lime green ski parka and climb into denim or some fabric hailing from an endangered species. This is a Western trail ride and one must be fashion appropriate.

Appreciate it.

Shall we all mosey back into the near-winter of yesteryear? 

WAY, WAY BACK WHEN —

— The population of the Santa Clarita Valley was zero. There weren’t even germs. 

DECEMBER 10, 1919 —

— A cool century and decade ago, the U.S. Census figured out there were about 500 people living in Newhall. Mr. Stein, principal of Newhall Elementary, came up with a nifty homework assignment for his few charges, asking members of the 6th, 7th and 8th grade classes to go door-to-door and find out just how many people lived here. They came up with about the same exact number as from 20 years previous in 1899. Happy Valley had 30 people living there with Placerita adding another 64. Adding them to the rest of Newhall (395), the grand total was — 489. One student eagerly noted that in the near future, “…we can easily count on 500 or more.”

— Southern California Edison was trying to get the SCV hooked up to their modern convenience of household electricity. Baiting the hook, SCE urged folks to give electrical appliances for Christmas gifts. Such things as electric vacuum cleaners, coffee percolators, toasters, waffle irons and, ahem, “vibrators,” were the Game Boys of their day.

— I just enjoyed the Crosstown Cowboys crooning at the Hart Mansionfor Two-Gun Bill’s 145th birthday. Bill Hart’s new movie was playing in San Fernando’s “Cody’s New Theatre.” The oater was entitled, “The Money Corral.”

DECEMBER 10, 1929 —

— We’ve mentioned this before, but it’s still bares witness to small town life. Long before there was a Department of Motor Vehicles, the Southern California Automobile Club registered all vehicles. Locals moseyed down to Doty’s garage in a two-day period from 9 a.m. ‘til noon to sign their cars up.

— The local telephone company doubled. A second switchboard and operator was added. Up until 1960, folks had to call the operator to place a call. We went from 35 phones in 1923 to 200 in 1929. Wow. Adding to that, telephone crews were literally camping out in the SCV, adding new phone machinery and lines. Every spare room in town was letted out to the phone army.

DECEMBER 10, 1939 —

— On this date, famed character Death Valley Scotty paid a visit to Newhall. Scotty promised to donate two mules for our 1940 rodeo.

— The State Highway Department, progenitors of our present-day CalTrans, got their undies in a bunch 60 years back. Seems an entire passel of downtown Newhall merchants, on their own, planted lovely, full-size Christmas trees in front of their businesses up and down Spruce Street (today, San Fernando Road). Jack Warren, head of the local state road office and government Grinch, sent a worker down to yank every last one of the yule trees out and trash them. Seems we didn’t have the proper permits. Signal editor Fred Trueblood composed and printed a front page poem for the occasion. It started out: “If you wish the Christmas Spirit; Get A Permit! If you dare to try to cheer it; Get A Permit! Don’t plant your Christmas tree Where Old Glory used to be Or a man will call to see — Your Permit!”

— State Relief Administration pay-offs — the early version of modern welfare — increased locally. A family of four averaged $36.75 in payments a month. Rough around Christmas but better than nothing…

— Speaking of government programs, nearly every boy working in our local California Conservation Corps program was down with the flu. That totaled out to almost 1,000 lads.

— Elmer Marty, our local sheriff’s captain, came hat-in-hand to county sheriff Eugene Biscailuz (whose uncle lived in Newhall, by the way). Seems Elmer wanted Eugene to pop for another radio patrol car. The Newhall area actually had much larger boundaries than the present-day valley limits. Back in 1939, we were referred to as The Soledad Township with an area covering nearly 1,000 miles. Now that would have made a nifty city…

DECEMBER 10, 1949 —

— A puma was treating itself to a little Christmas cheer over on Atwood Street. The big cat was eating the neighborhood dogs.

— We had one of the coldest nights on record when the thermometer plunged to Fairbanks, Alaska levels — 13 degrees. Pipes burst and water troughs had five-inch thick crusts on them — not good news for all the livestock people living locally.

— Les Shanks, a mountain of a man at 250 pounds, bought himself a teeny-tiny Crosley car. Neighbors swore they saw the thing bouncing 50 feet a hop down Soledad. They said Shanks had the hiccoughs.

— Earl Hatton was sworn in as the first president of the Saugus Rifle & Pistol Club. The SRPC was given its charter by the NRA. 

DECEMBER 10, 1959 —

— King Valentine, the aging patriarch of the Horseshoe Ranch, died. The big hoss came into this world as an unborn foal on Valentine’s Day in 1920 and had lived 25 years on Wm. S. Hart’s Newhall Ranch. Nearly 40 in horse years is a pretty long lifespan.

DECEMBER 10, 1969 —

— We haven’t had large shade trees on San Fernando Road since the 1920s, when a long row of regal eucalyptus were hacked down to make room for the road widening. Forty years ago, an effort was made to plant trees but most of them died for lack of watering by the merchants a few feet away. Cripes. How hard is it to water a tree? It’s not like the merchants had 10,000 customers a day.

— A five-member film crew from L.A. County arrived on Arch Street on this date. They were making a movie about the county tax assessor’s office and what it does. Title of the flick? “Somebody’s Got To Be Kidding.” Art imitates life?

— On the very same theme, local anti-war protesters hired out the Hart Auditorium to hold a peace meeting. Ten people showed.

— The Minnesota Vikings handed the Los Angeles Rams their first loss of the season, 20-13 on this date. It was the Vikes’ 11th straight victory. I mentioned this because the Minnesota quarterback was none other than Joe Kapp, former Hart High basketball great.

DECEMBER 10, 1979 —

— The pie-throwing continued at the West Los Angeles Resource Conservation District. Director Marcus Frishman, in bell-bottomed disco attire, attacked a member of the press (not The Signal because we hit back) during a board meeting. Frishman tried to rip a copy of a letter from the out-of-town reporter’s hand. It was for Frishman’s judge and written by a fellow WLARCD board member, urging that Frishman’s parole for petty theft be revoked and he be sent to prison.

— On this date, my old friend Andy Jauregui was inducted into the Cowboy Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City. Andy was world famous as a rodeo star, impresario and stunt man.

— The abandoned Saugus train station (when it was across the street from the Saugus Cafe) was given a brief reprieve by Southern Pacific’s bulldozers. SP said they’d donate the building to anyone who’d get it off their railroad. George Nigro, who had just bought the old Saugus Elementary campus, wanted the depot on his new school-turned-shopping center property. I guess you all know who won the tug of war…

DECEMBER 15, 1987 —

N On this date, the city of Santa Clarita was incorporated. Happy birthday, city pals and glad you guys are around. 

Well. That pretty much wraps up our blustery ride through time. You folks have a peaceful, content and happy holiday through the madness and until next Thursday, see you back here at The West Ranch Beacon and, until then, vayan con Dios, amigos! 

John Boston is the valley historian. Go out and buy his book, Images of America, The Santa Clarita Valley, published by Arcadia. It’s at bookstores and retail outlets throughout the valley and makes a dandy present. Also be on the look-out. He’ll be coming out soon with a brand new fresh web and blog site, thebostonreport.net very soon.