The Time Ranger | Bandito’s birthdays and earthquake protests

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It just hit me with all the travel time we do every week, what the heck. Daylight saving time was two weeks ago. If you haven’t already, set your clocks up to an hour in advance. If you’re really willful or otherwise, or simply wealthy and don’t care about other people’s work schedules, set it – or back – three or four hours. or days. Nobody looks. Plus you strike me as specific types of individuals.

Runaway PSA aside, we’ve got a fun ride through time, dear Sargons.

There are anti-earthquake protests, anti-quake protests, boycotts of beef and movie stars. We’ve got real estate deals, rodeo queens, and sharpshooters who go off after picnics.

Come on, friends. Should we rein in our ponies in mystic?

way, way back when

WHOLE LOTTA SHAKIN ‘GOIN’ ON – On April 4, 1893, a large earthquake centered in Pico Canyon shook the canyon. Distraught neighbors from Newhall formed a concerned citizens committee and marched to Pico Canyon. They complained to the administration of Mentreville that all the oil drilling in the valley had caused the earthquake.

Merry Christmas, Tippi, you’re no good so-&-so- Tiburcio Vasquez was one of our most famous citizens and certainly one of the most famous of all. I believe he is the only outlaw in the United States to have a school named after him (Vazquez School in Acton). Sing him a few bars of Happy Birthday to him (while holding one hand on your gun, the other on your purse, and borrowing the third to hold on to your wife/girlfriend. The legendary Monterey criminal was born on April 10, 1835, making him an Aries. There is some debate about his exact date of birth. As it were A Spanish/Mexican custom, Tippi gets its name from the Catholic Saint Tiburtius, whose feast day is August 11 (not April).But, Vasquez biographer John Boessenecker wrote in his 2010 book, “Bandito: The Life and Times of Tiburcio Vasquez,” that Tippi’s birthday was April 10. As if somehow you’d get a coupon for a free oil change…

Happy Birthday Mary, You Cutie Pie – We mentioned on a previous Time Ranger trip that in April 1910, Mary Pickford and D.W. Griffith shot the silent epic, “Ramona,” based on one of the most important historically significant novels in American history. Mary, one of the most famous actresses in the history of cinema, celebrated her birthday (1892) on April 8, 1910, when filming at Camulus Ranch.

Oil Calm on the East Front – While we have a hidden memorial on Pine Street in honor of the first commercial oil refinery in the state, this operation first began at the Lyons Brothers Station on April 8, 1874, near present-day Eternal Valley. It will later move to its current location.

Dig ‘ER UP! – On April 4, 1842, Governor Juan Batista Valentín Alvarado y Vallejo (try to get that on a business card) granted local landowner and engineer Francisco López and his partners the rights to mine Placerita Canyon for gold.

April 8, 1923

SIGNAL RIGS AN ELECTION – The Mighty Signal (You have a subscription now, right? If not, call 259-1000) had a sense of humor even in 1923. Newhall was promoting the upcoming third annual rodeo, for the first time, We were going to anoint the first rodeo queen in the history of the valley. The signal printed ballot papers on the front page. At the top we wrote: “This ballot is good for 5 votes.”

We should have been bringing them some water since 2023—in the Local Agriculture column, the author noted how farmers were coping with drought in what is now Canyon Country (still Saugus at the time). The writer suggested that God help those who help himself, and advised the farmers to get busy and start digging wells.

Read a great edit. Do Charleston. – It was a small town and this paper wore too many hats to pay the bills. Besides selling “No Hunting” signs and scratching pads, TMS sold Gravanolas. This is a record player. For young men, this was a device that played records – black vinyl circles in which the music was somehow compressed…

April 8, 1933

HMMMM. Maybe it was Green Jim – On this date, out-of-town hikers enjoying the shade of Wildwood Canyon reported to local police that someone on a nearby hill was shooting at them. No arrests have been made.

Bear for sale. And not illegally. On April 7, 1933, with the repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment, alcohol was sold legally for the first time since 1919. The sign noted that no one was killed while drinking beer. Politicians will now replace the smuggler, Will Rogers quipped.

Sadly we hardly see a horse anymore in Newhall – the old sheriff’s station on high street today & 6th added an old appliance at the front – hitch point. The policemen pointed out that the post was to tie horses from the front, not cars. Hmm. Wondering if our local 2023 modern-day Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s station will follow suit and add a post or two up front. Oh. By the way. This old sheriff’s station is the Canyon Theater Guild’s annex and dressing room.

April 8, 1943

Is there a way to satisfy some acres of land in our cotton bags? – This is a great deal that would be nice to take back with us into the future – 7 acres of land on Newhall Street for $700 per acre.

Cow’s Ear Therapy: A good band name. – We were basically a cattle ranch and farmland 80 years ago. Besides toothpaste and razors, the local Hawley Drug Store also carried essentials for the discerning farmer such as: Blackleg Serum, Bone Oil, Ear Tick Treatment, Fly Scare and Udder Eze (for cows only, please).

Deal at Any Price – We got a huge price increase for signing up for The Mighty Signal. A one-year subscription jumped from $1.50 to $2. Did I mention that after 80 years, you can still get a subscription by calling 259-1000. (I’d kill it to get that number in my cell, except for the part of having to take all those subscription inquiries…)

April 7, 1950

happy Birthday to me. I was born in a tree…

April 8, 1953

Michael Havick for free!! — On this date, Professor Mike Havik made the front page of this newspaper the hard way. The 6-year-old was trying out the boyhood “Does this fit in my head?” Mike stuck his head through the slats of a wooden chair while attending first grade at Newhall Elementary. His teacher tried to free Michael, but his howls only increased. A cleaner is called in and after working a small hammer and chisel, Michael is set free.

The Legend of Eggplant 9 – Nine, Count M, nine local agricultural workers were injured in a traffic accident. Every member (nine of them) of the baseball team was riding in — get this — the front seat of one pickup truck when it was the back of another. All nine were hospitalized with a variety of injuries.

April 8, 1963

Heath is destined for great wealth – what began as a life with a silver spoon ended with a gunshot wound. Frederick Edward Goddard, 74, was born into a wealthy English family that had made a fortune in industrial equipment. After his father died, Goddard was raised by his uncle, left the family business, and ended up fighting for the Canadians in World War I, doing a series of odd jobs until semi-retirement. He was the owner of the Sierra Pelona Inn in Mint Canyon when he committed suicide on this date.

All smiles with smiles – how hungry are we for entertainment? Smiley Burnette, Roy Rogers’ amazing sidekick, was the guest of honor at the grand opening of Federal Trailer Sales in Mint Canyon on this date.

April 8, 1973

Oh big spender! – All-time great tipper award goes to my old Sergipal and City character, Andy Martin. On this date, while having lunch with work friends, Andy mainly enjoyed the company and a cup of coffee at Bob’s Big Boy. He left his wallet with $194 in cash and 10 credit cards.

HMMMMM, Bobby. You look familiar… – Okay. So sometimes our signal crew isn’t quite on the ball. On this date, one of our correspondents was covering a local movie shoot. A company was shooting the $3 million adventure movie “The Outfit” à la Bouquet Canyon. In between scenes, our reporter has a conversation with a cute bald guy. The Signal employee made small talk, asking the stranger if he had seen the Academy Awards the night before. The man said politely, “I should have been there.” Later, our ignorant reporter asked who the comrade he was talking to was. It was Robert Duvall. Bobby (I can call him Bobby because we’re both in showbiz) was not only the star of the movie our reporter was covering, but rather had been nominated the night before at the Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor and was up for Best Supporting Actor. an actress.

Sadly, We Canada are getting off the ground—the most common question to the cast and crew of “The Outfit” was, “With all the land you have here, why are all the houses piled together?”

Running out of gas – As the valley grew so rapidly, we witnessed a not-so-new phenomenon: the lack of gas. Many stations were out of stock, and some wouldn’t allow filling. In fact, we had bouts of running out of petrol every decade from the beginning of the 20th century when they used to take it out of wooden barrels until the 1940s when it was strictly rationed during World War II.

Running out of meat – In protest of the high cost of beef, local housewives have joined a national boycott by not buying meat. All the local markets, from chains to small butcher shops, felt the pinch. A meat cutter in Canyon Country noticed one day that he only had two customers.

April 8, 1983

Still Sassy, ​​40 Years Later – One of the things I’ve always loved about Scott Newhall’s writing is its timelessness. Scotty wrote these wonderfully slashed front-page editorials that have frightened, enlightened, and entertained thousands in this valley.

Scott’s article, “Very Bad Taste,” appeared on April Fool’s Day in 1983 and was about how much shamelessness there was in the field of public dissent. Here are his comments on the protesters of his time:

“Surely this is the age of enlightened democracy, when every man is supposed to be a king and personal opinion is regarded as an inalienable right. But does this great humanist theory necessarily give license to every loud messiah, self-anointed, to go about the city braying like a donkey and bore the world to death With demonstrations, hunger strikes and shouting nonsense over the most ridiculous notions?”

We can replay Mr. Newhall’s op-ed 40 years later and it will be perfectly valid. Unfortunately, maybe more than that…

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Thanks again for your company in these little adventures on Saturday, dear saddlers. You are good medicine. See you next weekend again here at The Mighty Signal Connection Center for a ride back through SCV history. Until then, I wish you all a hearty vayan con Dios, friends!

Like SCV history? Visit johnbostonbooks.com. Order volumes one and two from John Boston’s super exciting “SCV monsters, ghouls, ghosts, and Bigfoot” and all our local paranormal stories. Great as gifts. Please leave a review…

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