Santa Clarita doesn’t have a high-quality cultural museum, according to Alan Pollack, president of the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society. But, he says, that’s going to change.  The SCV Historical Society hosted its first-ever History Hops event on Saturday evening at the Santa Clarita History Center in William S. Hart Park in Newhall to raise funds for restoration work there. Projects include the Saugus Train Station Train Museum, the Pardee House Museum and Visitor Center, and the Newhall Ranch House.  “We’re working on building what we hope to be a real professional, world-class museum of local history in Santa Clarita,” Pollack said in an interview at the event. “This is a real legacy that we’re working on.”  As the sun began to go down on Saturday, about 100 people showed up in front of the Saugus Train Station for an evening of entertainment.   It was a back-to-the-1950s event, with a 1956 Chevy sedan and 1957 Chevy station wagon parked out front, the smell of char-grilled burgers in the air, cold beer, a checkered dance floor and the sounds of Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, and Bill Haley and His Comets playing loud.   Attendees grabbed burgers to enjoy on Saturday evening during the SCV History Hops: Back to the ’50s event at Santa Clarita History Center in Newhall. Habeba Mostafa/The Signal Some folks came in ’50s attire. There was a group of women in Pink Ladies outfits from the movie “Grease,” guys dressed in motorcycle jackets and someone wearing a bowling shirt with a vintage Pee Chee folder design on it.   At $50 a ticket and with a raffle to raise more funds, the SCV Historical Society is first looking to put a new roof on the Saugus Train Station and give the place a new coat of paint.   Attendees embodied the 1950s theme on Saturday evening during the SCV History Hops: Back to the ’50s event at Santa Clarita History Center in Newhall. Habeba Mostafa/The Signal According to Leon Worden, vice president of the SCV Historical Society, the old exhibits in the station have been moved out to offer up Southern Pacific and Union Pacific history.   “The big thing is to get that train station open this next year,” he said. “It’ll have interactive displays, video monitors and all sorts of fun stuff to grab visitors’ attention.”  Laurene Weste, a Santa Clarita councilwoman and a member of the SCV Historical Society board of directors, said one of the projects she looks forward to finishing is the Pardee House on the property, which will be a museum of local history with rotating exhibits. That structure is in need of painting and museum infrastructure.  In an interview at the event, Weste spoke about other work that needed to be completed further into the property on the historic Little Red School House, the Ramona Chapel, the Kingsburry House and the Edison House, all actual SCV structures that, years ago, had been moved there.   Weste spoke about the possibility of adding other buildings to the site, creating something like the 1880s-inspired Ghost Town of Knott’s Berry Farm — an old town without all the ghosts.  “Inside, it could be used to teach all the different historic crafts and arts,” she said. “We have the ability to do that here, and I think it would be wonderful for the artisans and great for the kids.”  Weste walked the property pointing out other projects in the works, including the Mitchell Adobe, which the historical society called the first structure in the valley to be used as a school. She echoed Pollack’s sentiments about transforming the Santa Clarita History Center into a one-of-a-kind cultural experience for those who will one day visit it.  “If you don’t know your history,” Weste said, “you can’t figure out where you’re going.”  She stressed the importance of preserving the area’s history. Worden, too, expressed the need.  Pre-pandemic, the center was serving over 40 schools a year, he said, including over 30 Title 1 locations. He added that he looked forward to the day when they’ll get back to doing that.  As Saturday evening progressed, the event DJ started playing Little Richard’s 1956 tune “The Girl Can’t Help It.” Some people made their way to the dance floor and did the twist. And while guests in that moment were going back to the past, they were ultimately there to support projects for the future.  Asked if they thought the event would be a success, Pollack, Worden and Weste all said they’d have to see. But they felt good about it.  For more information about the Santa Clarita History Center, go to SCVHS.org.  Attendees socialized before a night of classic tunes on Saturday evening during the SCV History Hops: Back to the ’50s event at Santa Clarita History Center in Newhall. Habeba Mostafa/The Signal The post Guests travel back to the ’50s to support future museum projects appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.