Santa Clarita Valley History In Pictures
> PEOPLE   > HERITAGE JUNCTION

About Betty Houghton Pember.
1980 SCV Woman of the Year; 1985 SCV Historical Society President.


Webmaster's note.

Betty Louise Houghton Pember (April 11, 1921 - Sept. 5, 1992), a third-generation Newhall resident, was named SCV Woman of the Year in 1980 and served as president of the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society in 1985. She is buried at Eternal Valley Memorial Park in Newhall.



Back of 3½x5-inch photograph reads: "Betty Pember as a teenager." Click to enlarge.

Betty Houghton Pember.

Her roots run deep in the Santa Clarita Valley. Her maternal grandfather, William Mayhue, farmed on Newhall Land and Farming Company property at what is now the site of Our Lady of Perpetual Help church. The Newhall Pharmacy was owned by her paternal grandfather, William Houghton. This brought her father, W. Lloyd Houghton, to Newhall in 1919 after serving in World War I. He married Opal Mayhue. Later he was to be Honorary Founding Member of the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society.

Betty was born April 11, 1921, in Newhall at the Hapalan [Hap-A-Lan] Community Hall, formerly her grandparents' general store, at the corner of Market Street and Railroad Avenue. It was a building like many in the West with living quarters in the rear. With no high school here, when the time came, Betty went away to boarding school, coming home only on weekends and summertime. After graduation she lived with an aunt in Beverly Hills, not to return to this Valley as a resident until 1957.

She lives an active life, as attest the many organizations in which she has served: Pocohontas, state chairman of American Legion Auxiliary Girls, Native Daughters of the Golden West, Newhall Women's Club [sic, s/b Woman's], Daughters of the American Revolution, president of Friends of Hart, board member for Committee on Aging, the planning committee for Senior Citizens Center, and once she was Newhall's Woman of the Year. For this Society she was on the first nominating committee, was a charter member, often a Board member and Landmarks chairman.

Undaunted by impaired vision, with an ever-infectious laugh, Betty is a great motivator with the ability to get things done.

View page from Dispatch

Courtesy of Tony Newhall.

MAYHUE, HOUGHTON, PEMBER FAMLIES

WILLIAM & PALLIE MAYHUE

Reynolds Story


LLOYD & OPAL HOUGHTON

thumbnail

Irene Ruiz & Opal Mayhue 1910-1915

thumbnail

Hap-A-Lan Piano

thumbnail

Opal, Jessie Richards, Jessie Nourse Sackrider 7/4/1932

thumbnail

Opal, Newhall Homecoming 7/4/1932

thumbnail

(3) Lloyd Houghton Paintings

Lloyd Houghton Obituary


BETTY HOUGHTON PEMBER

thumbnail

All Honorees List

thumbnail

As Teenager

thumbnail

Mentryville 6/9/1971

thumbnail

With Lloyd Houghton

thumbnail

Friends of Hart Park ~1982

thumbnail

SCVHS Board 1987

thumbnail

Betty's St. Francis Dam Photos

RETURN TO TOP ]   RETURN TO MAIN INDEX ]   PHOTO CREDITS ]   BIBLIOGRAPHY ]   BOOKS FOR SALE ]
SCVHistory.com is another service of SCVTV, a 501c3 Nonprofit • Site contents ©SCVTV
The site owner makes no assertions as to ownership of any original copyrights to digitized images. However, these images are intended for Personal or Research use only. Any other kind of use, including but not limited to commercial or scholarly publication in any medium or format, public exhibition, or use online or in a web site, may be subject to additional restrictions including but not limited to the copyrights held by parties other than the site owner. USERS ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE for determining the existence of such rights and for obtaining any permissions and/or paying associated fees necessary for the proposed use.