Happenings: Delightful Events and Troubling Qs from Newhall

There’s a lot going on in Newhall this Saturday. Apart from the usual dealing of drugs, eating of Way Station breakfasts, playing of soccer, revitalizing of Old Town, tagging of walls, visiting of parks, selling of fruit from trucks, drinking of Doc’s Inn alcohol, admiring of murals, hawking of labor, installing of elaborate wrought-iron gates, feeding of Hart Park animals, mowing of lawns, attending of picnics, and receiving of special massages at as-yet-un-busted massage parlors, there will be several special events.

These events are detailed below for your weekend planning pleasure. If you get your timing right, you can go to all of them—I certainly plan to. Events are presented with a series of questions I hope to be able to answer by the weekend’s finish.

EVENT: River Rally & Environmental Expo (click for details!), 8am-11am, free
APPEAL: Watching Claritans attempt to interact with nature in positive way
BURNING QUESTION: Do POTR residences count as trash?

I walk in the Santa Clara River a lot. I’ve always felt that the tires and shopping carts give it a nice, lived in appearance. A few thousand people disagree with me, though, and they’ll be walking the dry riverbed to pick up trash on Saturday morning. (I will be the one fighting to keep it in place.)

Troublingly, I know of at least two POTRs (People Of The River—those who live, sleep and eat in the river wash) dwelling along the stretch of river targeted for cleansing. One of them has two tents and a kitchen table beneath a lovely cottonwood tree. What a fun confrontation it will be when the Girl Scouts and other community do-gooders meet the POTRs. “Hey, that’s not trash, it’s my home!”

This time of year, the river is rusty with the seedheads of California Buckwheat and golden with the flower of Scalebroom (more attractive than it sounds). Why not make things even prettier by picking up trash? The plants--gleaned from the Santa Clara a few days ago--from left to right, are Tree Tobacco (non-native), Butterweed, Scalebroom, and Common Sunflower.

EVENT: Hart Park Anniversary[1] and Excess Freight & Baggage Sale (click for information!), sale starts 8am
APPEAL: Being in a[2] historic place on a quasi-historic day and buying other people’s stuff which is probably old, perhaps historic
QUESTION: Can Leon Worden count?

This week we received the Newhall Gazette. I learned that (1)The William S. Hart Park and Museum will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its dedication on Saturday, (2)There will be an “Excess Freight & Baggage Sale” (i.e., garage sale) at the Saugus Train Station to help restore the Pardee House on the same day, and (3) Leon Worden may lack basic counting skills.

I didn’t get any sense of what manner of events will be commemorating the dedication of the Hart Mansion and property, but it’s a good excuse to visit. I haven’t been to the Hart Museum for nearly a year, so it’s high time for a refresher course.

As for the garage sale thing at the Saugus Train Station, I will go primarily in hopes of encountering a ghost. I will also look at the things for sale and judge the former owners for having bought said things. Pat Saletore was listed as a contact for this event; perhaps a certain purveyor of Daily Briefs could visit and discuss hauntings with her after their spirited (ha! a pun!) electronic exchange over a ghostly fundraiser.

After informing me about these two great events, the Newhall Gazzette led me to question Leon Worden’s counting skills. You see, he wrote “The City Council unanimously approved an ordinance to prohibit the demolition of more than sixty houses and ‘potentially historic’ structures in Santa Clarita.” While there was unanimous approval to send the ordinance to a second reading, only 3 of 5 CC members foolishly approved the final ordinance. This isn’t the first time L.W. has miscounted; he also claimed attendance of 25,000 at the Fourth of July Parade that was clearly attended by only about 7,000. He ought to be confronted with flashcards to determine his counting prowess once and for all.

EVENT: Frontier Days Bar-B-Q Fiesta at OLPH Church, 4pm – 11pm, free (pay for rides & games/food). Click here for more info (click on "Our Fiesta" at bottom of page)
APPEAL: Eating in carnival-like atmosphere while in shadow of salvation factory
QUESTION: Is gluttony a sin when it benefits the Church?

Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church will have its annual barbecue this weekend. I’ve rarely missed a year. Despite being put on by a church, it has minimal religious overtones and is widely attended by the faithful and heathens alike. It’s most fun for those under 12 (games! silly string! churros!) or those over 60 (my old friends who haven’t died yet! margaritas! churros!). Still, I go to eat and people-watch and find it thoroughly enjoyable.

EVENT: Gawk at Madeover Street, any time, information on location/background here
APPEAL: Check out how the Extreme Neighborhood Makeover made Market Street look prettier!
QUESTION: You call this a makeover?

A portion of East Newhall will be the second neighborhood to endure a “Block Party” in the name of making the place more presentable and up-to-code. Since you’ll be in the neighborhood anyways, you should stop by to see how things are looking up…or looking the same.

[1]Hart website

[2]I refuse to do the "an historic" thing that everyone does now. It's thoroughly un-American. And it's immoral.

Happenings: Street Re-re-naming Rights County Wrongs

NOTE: Below, Tony Newhall describes and comments on the re-re-naming of San Fernando Road. This story shows us how quickly our own history can be forgotten. The names of places lose their connections to actual people, the way things were fades from memory...you know the drill. It also shows us how L.A. County has never once overlooked, ignored, or blatantly disregarded local concerns.

(Thanks also to Pauline Harte who relayed part of this chapter in SCVistory as a comment in an earlier post.)

The Santa Clarita City Council voted Tuesday night (January 22) to rename San Fernando Road (the portion from Hart Park south to Highway 14) as “ Newhall Avenue .” They voted also to rename the part of San Fernando Road running through downtown Newhall as “ Main Street .” I believe the part of San Fernando Road running north from Newhall to Magic Mountain Parkway will be renamed Bouquet Canyon Road (which makes sense), but I don’t think that’s resolved yet.

Some have decried this renaming local streets as revising history. It is far from it. When Henry Mayo Newhall laid out the town of Newhall in 1876, he named the streets after those in downtown Philadelphia where he worked as a surveyor in 1842. (Check the streets of downtown Philly and you’ll see such names as Walnut, Race, Arch, Spruce, Pine, Chestnut, etc.) H.M. Newhall named the main street through the downtown as Spruce Street . It remained that name for 77 years.

In 1953, the County of Los Angeles Surveying Department moved in and changed the name of three local streets – all without informing anyone here about it. They did this as part of their county-wide street naming and addressing system. Spruce Street was changed to San Fernando Road ; Pico Road was changed to Lyons Avenue ; and the tiny Hill Street was renamed Wayman Street . No one in town knew why they renamed Pico to Lyons ; it wasn’t for Sanford Lyon, the local stage station operator in the 1870s, because he spelled his name without an "s." And no one knew who “Wayman” was; it wasn’t in honor of Walt Wayman who had yet to establish himself in the community. The county simultaneously installed the five-digit countywide address system which haunts us today (you know, "23645," just one digit more than you can memorize).

So the City Council did right. It makes complete sense to eliminate the name San Fernando Road . Now the exit signs on the Highway 14 will read " Newhall Avenue ," and travelers will know they’re entering Newhall, not San Fernando .

This is not revisionist history. It is to right a wrong that was committed 55 years ago.

[1]Mr. Newhall cites the January 7, 1954 front page of the Signal as background for his writing.

Only in SCV: Resolutions on Bags, L.S. Newhall on Name Changes

“Non-binding, unpublicized resolutions are one of the most effective means of governing.”
p. 42 in my book Effective Governing: What Santa Clarita Can Teach the World

The most important issue for tomorrow’s City Council meeting is doubtless Item No. 4 on the Consent Calendar. According to the agenda: “This resolution identifies the City's past, present, and future efforts to promote the use of reusable bags and limit our dependence on plastic shopping bags.” When Santa Clarita’s endorsement of reusable bags is made official, all I can say is expect things to stay the same—and fast!

The issue of street name change is also weighing heavily on the minds of many a Claritan. If City Planners get their way, San Fernando Road will be re-named Newhall Avenue from 5th Street to the 14. Some have consulted business owners along the stretch of road, valley historians, and City staff to see what they think of the plan. For me, however, there are only two opinions that really count: those of the Newhalls and that of San Fernando (anglicized to “Saint Ferdinand”). St. Ferdinand III of Castille, patron of engineers, was unavailable for comment since his earthly life ceased on May 30, 1252[1]. I was, however, able to get a comment from Ms. Lindsey Newhall (yes, that Newhall) who resides in, variously, Beijing and Santa Clarita. While she was unable to speak for the whole Newhall clan, we take what we can get at IHeartSCV.

L.S. Newhall with sign.

Question 1: How do you feel about having San Fernando Road renamed to Newhall Avenue?

I think overall it’s a good idea. That way the exit will be called “Newhall Avenue” and travelers will be more clear that they are coming into Newhall. Besides, San Fernando already has its own valley and I’m a major advocate of anything that gives my name more exposure.


Question 2: How do you feel about the descendants of San Fernando who might be opposed to seeing their forefather’s memory eradicated?

I agree that Saint Ferdinand was a good and upright man, and I do love engineers, but I think his descendants should be satisfied with having their own valley.

[interview ends]

There you have it--Lindsey Newhall thinks renaming San Fernando Road to Newhall Avenue is a good idea. May the fight over the street name be less bloody than San Fernando's 1248 battle for Seville!

NOTE(1/22/08): I have received a reminder from Tony Newhall via Lindsey Newhall that part of San Fernando Road was originally Spruce Street (named by Henry Mayo Newhall, no less) until the powers-that-were saw fit to change the name. Thus, I should have consulted spruces as well. Unfortunately, we have no native spruce trees in the area; the only conifer to which I had access was the Community Holiday Tree at HMNM Hospital. The typically jovial tree has gone nihilistic as it begins to accept the fact that it will probably be cut down for the hospital expansion project. It said "What do I care if they change it back to Spruce Street? Trees don't last forever. They don't matter. Nothing does. [muffled sobs]"

[1]Learn more about Saint Ferdinand here

Happenings: Ribbon Cutting Ceremony Showcases $750,000 in Newhall "Improvements"

DESTINATION: DOWNTOWN NEWHALL

“With more parking and a walker-friendly shopping, restaurants, and arts district, Old Town Newhall will soon be a destination location for locals and visitors.[1]” It’s quotations like this that show Marsha McLean to be one of the most astute mayors ever to govern our fair city.

Indeed, most Santa Claritans, if taken to Downtown Newhall, would presume they were at a rather typical strip-mall in the San Fernando Valley, one where liquor, Laundromats, and labor are all just a five-minute walk away. The road running through the area even used to be called San Fernando Road[2]. But McLean and others know that soon, with some changes to traffic and redevelopment initiatives, Downtown Newhall will be that "destination location for locals and visitors" she promises. All we need to do is believe in the plan that, according to The Signal "envisions downtown Newhall as mixed-use, pedestrian-oriented and arts-friendly.[3]"

Store-fronts in San Fernando Valley? No, silly, these are in Downtown Newhall, a place renowned for its "historic points of interest, a community center, Metrolink station and a thriving arts scene.[4]"

TODAY’S EVENT

The City decided to mark the momentous re-routing of traffic, re-striping of streets, and alleged re-vitalizing of Newhall with a morning event. The red, white, and blue balloon pillar marking the site (no doubt leftovers from the Fourth of July Parade) drew unfortunate attention to a sign that revealed three-quarters of a million dollars had been spent on a project to "provide angled parking, calm traffic flow, and shift commuter traffic" (no wonder they had to re-use the decorations). Uniquely, the first step in revitalizing Newhall appears to rely on diminishing the number of cars driving by shops and making parking harder for those that do come.

While the ceremony felt small-town, the budget was anything but.

Barring the P.R. faux pas that was the sign, McLean and other speakers made it seem like much had been accomplished. It was with great pomp and ceremony that she spoke the word “complete” in reference to the re-striping of streets, garnering polite golf applause.

Mayor McLean, left, unintentionally points to Billy's mural, proof that Old Town Newhall is the Seat of the Arts in SCV. Phil Ellis, right, admires a crowd numbering in the tens.

Phil Ellis, Chairman of the Newhall Redevelopment Committee[5], followed Mayor McLean. Holding his composure as a noisy trash truck drove behind him, he tickled the imagination of the audience with promises of what was next for Old Town Newhall. While the prospect of three new murals drew quiet approval, those in attendance could scarcely be contained when they learned that painted trashcans were also on the way. Indeed, it is a trifecta of painting projects--three murals, parking spaces, and trashcans--that promises to make Newhall the hottest ticket in town.

Back-in parking, which requires you to reverse a considerable distance into a spot without quite knowing how to signal your intention to the car that's probably tailing you, will work particularly well when all the new visitors to Old Town Newhall arrive.

While we were welcome to listen in on these speeches, my friend and I couldn't help but notice that we were considerably under-dressed. For, while the event took place beneath a tent in a dirt lot (the dust from which did much to enhance the flavor of the catered melon wedges), there was no shortage of suit-clad officials ready to show their support for slanty parking. A woman repeatedly asked us to sit in the seats under the tent, no doubt to give the impression that the event had garnered more community support than was evident to the three cameras covering the event. We only barely succeeded in resisting her firm requests. The officials, meanwhile, were happy to take a seat and marvel at such curiosities as trash trucks and day laborers, sights with which many of them were unfamiliar. The whole thing ended with McLean--wielding scissors half her height--proclaiming the glorious birth of "Main Street" via ribbon cutting[6].

Today's event has reassured me that revitalization in Newhall is well on its way. After all, the reason wealthy shoppers in nearby Valencia and Stevenson Ranch haven’t been stopping by Newhall all boils down to parking configurations and street names. But now that they can enjoy back-in parking on newly re-named “Main Street”, they’re sure to flock to the area en masse. And best of all, they'll only need to honk on a street corner to get day laborers ready and willing to help them hang their art and other treasures. Once again, our city finds a pseudo-problem and throws money at it to stunning effect.

NOTES:
[1]From a city press release for today's "Ribbon Cutting Ceremony", found here
[2]Now, the decidedly blander "Main Street"
[3] Reina Slutske, "Redevelopment in Newhall a '50-50 Gamble'". From the July 5, 2007 edition of The Signal. The title puts it rather generously.
[4]From the Old Town Newhall website, http://www.oldtownnewhall.com/index.php
[5] Enjoy their plans and promises at http://www.oldtownnewhall.com/city/otn/development/index.php
[6] An entertaining picture can be seen at http://www.mysantaclarita.com