Early version of Ore W. Bercaw's general store, seen here in July 1907. It opened April 25, 1906, on the west side of Bouquet Canyon Road roughly across from the Southern Pacific Saugus Depot (which was located at the southeast corner of Bouquet and today's Drayton Street). In this photograph, there are three people in the doorway, one of whom is Ore's wife, Anna Marie Bercaw.

Ora W. Bercaw's World War I draft card. Click to enlarge.

Ore Bercaw was appointed SP's Saugus station agent in December 1906 (Reynolds 1992:70) and also served as postmaster. As shown, he ran the post office inside his store, whereas previously it had operated inside the depot. For reasons that are lost to history, Bercaw's post office was called Surrey, and the town's name changed to reflect it.

Bercaw built an ice house in 1909 and the two-story Surrey Inn in 1911, as well as a garage, ice cream parlor and home. The name of the post office and the town changed back to Saugus on Sept. 4, 1915.

In 1908, Bercaw, along with Saugus Cafe co-owner Martin Wood and somebody named Osborn, contributed $100 each to build the (first) Saugus School on a section of Charles and Anita Kellogg's farm. It expanded in place until 1978 when it was abandoned and sold to a shopping center developer (26111 Bouquet Canyon Road today).

According to Anna Bercaw's obituary in the Santa Clarita Sentinel, in 1914 the Bercaws also gave the first $100 toward the new Our Lady of Perpetual Catholic Church, which opened that year at the corner of Walnut and 10th Street (Lyons) in Newhall.

The obituary states that the Bercaws ran their Saugus store for 57 years.