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Page6                            The Signal/Fourth of July                  July 1,1988
                                                                   a
       .. · · · · .. · · .. · · · .. ~ Spirit of Fourths Past ~ · .. · · · · · · .. · .. · ·





       Conrimu:d  from  1"'8'  4
       prizes. A 11 one h:id to do was 10 throw a   pointmenL of his  followers  and  10  the
       dime  ·o th:11  1t landcd and  ·1aycd in one   relief of the  carny  running  the  game.
       of the glass plat  s affixed  10 the heads   When asked why he had quit. the young
       of the  bears.        man  grumped,  "I ran  out  of chewing
                             gum!"
        No one won  un1rl  Dale came along
       and hitched up his pants in trucNcwhal·   Saxonia Park! The very name brings
       lian fashion. He won a bear and people   a tear of nostalgia toanyof us who have
       yelled with glee. I-le won ru . . thcraod a   enjoyed the Fourth of July in  Newhall
       crowd  tarted  to  gather.  He quit after   over the last thirty or so years. Located
       winning  his  third,  much  LO  lhc disap-  on  the  north  end  of Quigly  Canyon












                                                                                     S-p,a/F•PfJ(/fO
                                                    71!.JamlUar "clop clop• q/manlJ ~ ln the: J977 ~ lcd to it
                                                    bdrlg ,--.f the "Plop pfoJ> .Parade.·
                                                  Road in Placeri1a Canyon, it was stancd   blcs. As early as  1927, the Sheriff was
                                                  by a dowmown German Club for polka   prepared  to  send  rcinforcemerus  to
                                                  dancing  and  beet  drjnking.   Ewda Vil.la if need be.  He even put
                                                                        some of them up at Castaic just in.case
                                                    Nothing could mateh  the  Fourth of
                                                  July in lhaL beautiful oak tree setting. IL   they were nccclcd. They weren't W~t
                                                                        is  now  called  Val  Verde  stayed
                                                  was 001 unusual for the Lions Club LO
                                                  feed  2,000  fol.lcs  beef  from  a  pit   peaceful.
                                                  barbecue  dug  days  in  advance.  Ten   However, it might have been a diffe-
                                                  times that many cups of beer and soft   rent story for the Cub Scouts in 1948, if
                                                  drinks were sold. If one listens careful-  it  ,wm:o't  for  sympathetic  Highway
                                                  ly. the suains of western music can still   Patrol  Captain Jack  Miller.  The CUbs
                                                  be  heard  wafting  through  the  IICCS,   found an old Model T rusting in a field~
                                                  inLCnninglcd  with the shouts of happy   They pulled it to one of their member's
                                                  kids  running  sack  races  and  making   backyards and got it running just in time
                                                  themselves  sick  in  the  pie  eating   for the parade. The problem was Iha! it
                                                  contests. 11 was here that high stakes (I   had  no  license  tags  and  no  one  had
                                                  once saw as muchasS4,000on theLOble   thought  to  buy  them.
                                                  in  the  fifties)  poker games abounded.
                                                                         They  knew  that the car couldn't be
                                                   In the  1930s  it was  not uncommon   driven on Lhc sttect without tags but the
                                                  ror  the  County  Supervisors  to  give   kids  didn't  have  enough  money.
                                                  keynote si,c«hcs. Roger Jessup said, in   Captain Miller. hearing of their plight,
                                                  1933, "Of course, you  folks of Saugus   let the word out that he was sorry but his
                                                  and Newhall, know also of the splendid   men would be "too busy up on 99 catch-
                                                  work  being  done  in  Bouquet  Cllnyon   ing speeders Lo  'help' patrol  the par:a-
                                                  which will bring lhouwtds of motorisLS   de." 11.10 kids breathed II sigh of relief
                                                  through  this district 10  reach  Lhe  west   und  rode  in their  Model  T.  For  new
                                                  ·idc  of  lhc  Amelopc  Valley.  Such   comers to the Sun1a Clari1a Valley, old
                                                  improvements. I am sure, meet with the   Highway  99  was  later  replaced  by
                                                  genuine approval of my people." Oh, if   lnstcrsLa1e 5. the Golden State Freeway.
                                                  he  had only known  wha1  he  wrought   Although  the  fir  t "official" parade
                                                                       was  in  1932,  there  have  been  years
                                          $,v,,J  Ul't>o.'O   Law  enforcement  has  had  its  irou-
         The  Oood  Tfmo  Clowiu  cheered  spcotatora  In  the  1972 parade.     Cont&ultd  Dn  ~ 8
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