We’re going to need a big checklist of items to take along on today’s trail ride through Santa Clarita Valley history. That’d be like a working sidearm, a proper rain slicker and some piano sheet music.  I’ll warn you up front. We’ll be facing desperadoes “Buffalo” Tom Vernon and Tiburcio Vasquez today, along with slave traders, corpses, bisected hobos and the Chinese mafia. We’ll also catch a desperado who got two life sentences — for stealing eggs.  Cripes. That felon should see what egg prices are going for today.  “A” and “hem.”   C’mon. Let’s mosey into the adventures of yesteryear …  WAY, WAY BACK WHEN   TAKE WHITNEY CANYON. PLEASE. — There are so many street and place names, many of their origins lost in the fabric of time. Take Whitney Canyon for instance. A lot of sadness came out of that ravine. John Whitney and his wife homesteaded the property. They lost both of their daughters to diphtheria. Both children are buried in Eternal Valley’s pioneer cemetery.  OUR CHINESE MAFIA MEAT PACKERS — Back in the 1890s, there was the Earl Meat Packing Co., situated in downtown Newhall. While the company was run by a white manager, Lou Ledger, most of its employees were Chinese. A Tong (sort of a Chinese mafia) oversaw the workers, who were mostly ex-railroad builders. An interesting phenomenon occurred about three times a year. The entire work force quit, then, was hired back the next day. Why? The Tong representative got a $1 bonus for every man he hired. Ledger, by the way, ended up being killed by a beautiful señorita. She stabbed him to death on the dance floor.  OUR FIRST SAWBONES — The first doctor to practice in the Santa Clarita Valley was L.B. Lawrence. He opened up an office in the Acton/Agua Dulce area in the 1860s. After he left, it wasn’t until 1896 when the next resident physician — Dr. J.G. McLeod — arrived. His practice stretched from Piru to Lancaster. Talk about how tough it was to make a house call. I also believe that my saddlepal, Gladys Laney, was related to Dr. McLeod on some level. His widow was Mrs. A.G. Thibadeau.  LIFE IN ANCIENT MINT CANYON — In 1912, Walter and Gertrude Baugher left Los Angeles in a wagon filled with all their earthly possessions, leading a flock of poultry. They homesteaded in Mint Canyon, building, at first, a little canvas and lean-to shack, then constructing a rock house. Life in pre-Canyon Country could be hard. A trip to the store meant Gertrude would drive down to Solemint Junction and leave a list of requests. The grocer would send a deliveryman to Los Angeles to pick up the goodies. The Baughers did all right with their 1,700-tree apricot orchard. Within two years, they bought a new car — a Stoddard Dayton. It could go 25 mph, uphill. Gertrude had several jobs, including county librarian. She set up shop in her house and pioneers would drop by her home, day or night, to peruse the newest titles.  AND, WHERE POWELL STREET’S NAME ORIGINATED — There is some debate about whether John Powell was the first judge in the SCV. But he certainly was one of the most remembered. Powell served on the bench for 40 years here, when the valley was one of the wildest and toughest spots in the entire West. He led an amazingly full life, leading troops in seven major Civil War battles. Powell was a famed big game hunter and still holds the record for bagging the largest mountain lion in California. The creature stretched 12 feet, 6 inches from nose to tip of tail. He also shot a rare white wolf in Bouquet Canyon. On his death bed, he recalled the best deed of his life: meeting Dr. David Livingston in 1859. The pair freed 705 slaves from an African camp.  NOVEMBER 16, 1924  LOCAL LIFE, A CENTURY AGO — Today, we complain that there’s too much traffic. A century back, locals were complaining that most of the side streets in Newhall were impassable.   A PRETTY YICKY FIRST DAY ON THE JOB — On this date, Jim Biddison, a 25-year-resident of Bouquet Canyon, was named constable for the Santa Clarita Valley. He replaced Ed Brown, who was murdered earlier in that infamous shootout with Gus LeBrun. Biddison was a former Denver lawman and forest ranger locally. His first day on the new job, he cracked a burglary ring and discovered an unidentifiable corpse up Mint Canyon.  NOVEMBER 10, 1929  OUR FAMOUS AMERICAN TRAIN ROBBERY — This week marked the 75th anniversary of the Great Saugus Train Robbery. On November 10th, “Buffalo” Tom Vernon, an unemployed trick rider and cowpoke, derailed the West Coast Limited at 7:45 p.m. right behind the Baker Ranch (which today is Saugus Speedway).   Buffalo Tom had loosened several yards of track behind where Del Taco is today, watch the train flip over, then calmly walked aboard. Posing at first as a train official, Vernon walked among the injured passengers, pretending to help. Then, he pulled out a pistol and proceeded to liberate them of their valuables. He disappeared into the night.   TRAIN NO. 2: THE OLD BAD CHILDHOOD EXCUSE — You might make the case that Buffalo Tom was the product of if not a broken home, a dead one. He was the son of a saloon owner and his mom was Cattle Kate, who ran a brothel in Carbon County, Wyoming (they and Buffalo Tom were part of the story in the box office bomb, “Heaven’s Gate”). Both parents had been hanged while Tom was a boy and he was brought up by Sioux.   Back to the train robbery — it wasn’t hard figuring out who derailed the 5000 series locomotive and the cars behind it. Sheriff’s deputies backtracked his trail to a rail equipment shed and they figured out he crouched while watching the train go by. They also figured out it was Buffalo Tom who derailed the train because he left a piece of paper with his name on it.   TRAIN NO. 3: ONE PERP/TWO TRAIN ROBBERIES — Tom was caught a few weeks later in Wyoming after derailing another train and dropping ANOTHER letter with his name on it plus his intentions to visit a girlfriend/hooker three weeks hence.   He was arrested at the prostitute’s room without incident, tried, convicted and given life in prison. The state of California let him out of Folsom in 1964, a frail and elderly man.  The train wreck site, by the way, became a large tourist attraction for the next week as work crews labored to remove the monster engine and cars and rebuild the wrecked tracks.  TRAIN NO. 4: JUST HELPIN’ — Remember that Vernon, a lost soul wanderer and cowboy, confessed to the spectacular crime and that he acted alone. He would serve nearly 40 years for that robbery. But, five years after the great crime, Jess C. Rumsey confessed that he was the one who wrecked the train and that Vernon was innocent.   Not too many people believed Buffalo Tom’s innocence, especially after his signed confession. But there was a nagging question. How could a small-sized man like Tom move those big railroad track sections by himself? Was Rumsey his accomplice?  TRAIN NO. 5: ‘A-CATTLE OF THE LAW?’ GET IT?!?!?! — About six years before “Buffalo” Tom Vernon drew national headlines for derailing a passenger train in Saugus and robbing the injured and confused passengers, he ran afoul of the law. Or, in this case, a-cattle of the law. Tom defrauded upper Canyon Country ranchers Louis Radmacher and H.E. Slayton of several head of steers. He also stole the milking cow of Mrs. Harry Carey, San Francisquito housewife and movie star. Tom served a little meditation time for his sticky livestock fingers.   NOVEMBER 16, 1934  A MONSTROUS SERIES OF ACCIDENTS — One of the signatures of the great Depression was the migrations of lost souls via the rails. It was often painted as a melancholy albeit romantic pastime. There was the more horrific side to it. William Myers lost an arm hopping off a freight pulling into the Saugus Station. It got caught in one of the wheels. With so many transients passing through the valley on trains, we had many accidents where men lost legs, arms and were even bisected trying to either hop on or off a fast-moving freight.  A BAD EGG — In the days long before the Three Strikes law, R.W. Mitskell got the book thrown at him. He was handed two consecutive life-in-prison terms for hijacking an egg truck.  NOVEMBER 16, 1944  THE GREAT RAINS OF ’44 — On average, it rained an inch every day for five days. Finally, the sun peaked out, but not after roads had been washed out and waterfalls appeared. It was the wettest storm in the valley since 1900. The rare autumn storm canceled the Armistice Day Rodeo at the Newhall-Saugus Rodeo Grounds (later the Saugus Speedway).  A DONALD TRUMP, SANTA CLARITA STYLE — Glendale speculator Joe Baudino bought nine buildings in downtown Newhall from the original holdings of A.C. Swall. Included in the land deal was the world corporate offices of The Mighty Signal, which then was on Spruce (Main Street). Baudino was also a city councilman of Glendale.  DOS SIGNALS DE MIGHTY — Speaking of The Newhall Signal — did you know we had two of them in town at the same time? One was the newspaper and the other was a special gas pumped out at the local refinery and called Nu-Haul Signal.  EWE, GROSS — In 21st century life, most of us don’t have this on our monthly chore list. But sheep dipping was a regular feature of rural life — especially if you owned sheep. Newhall Pharmacy doubled as a vet supply shop, selling sheep dip, cattle bacterins and serums. Talk about one-stop shopping …  NOVEMBER 16, 1954  AN UNINTENDED SUICIDE VICTIM — Leaded gas and a lack of will to live was the cause of death of two out-of-towners. In separate suicides, one forlorn man and one lost woman ended their lives by extending hoses from the exhaust pipes into their car interiors. The woman took her pet dog into the hereafter with her. It was the second time in local history where a woman committed suicide in such a fashion, with her dog dying in the back seat.  SIGH. WISH I COULD WIN THAT AWARD TODAY. — Simpler times back then. On this date, the Junior High Girls League voted Kathleen Scannell and Sharon Hall as having the Best Hair in school.  NOVEMBER 16, 1964  WHAT!?!?!?! LIBERACES LIVED HERE? — Hard to believe, but the dapper George Liberace, brother of the famed and flamboyant pianist, owned a restaurant — in Canyon Country. It was called Liberace’s Carousel. On this date, he gave a free meal to his 10,000th customer.  RE: THE ABOVE — There’s no truth to the rumor that Bob Kellar showed up, pretending he was the 10,000th customer …   ADIOS TO OUR FIRST ALCALDE — On this date, Edwin Allen Smith died. He was captain for the local California Highway Patrol station and, a bit of trivia, was Newhall’s first honorary mayor.  NOVEMBER 16, 1974  SASQUATCH & NBC NEWS — Santa Clariticus Bigfooticus continued to make the news. This time, TV’s Channel 4 anchorman Jess Marlow ventured out to the back canyons of our valley with video crews to search for the alleged giant hairy ape man. Neither Channel 4, The Mighty Signal nor the teams of Sasquatch hunters crawling through our valley were able to capture the beast.  PIGEON POOPIES — In the 19th century, one of our public enemies was the common pigeon. The birds were killed by the millions. A century later, Santa Clarita was battling the same problem. Seems there were benches originally designed for people, at the Valencia Civic Center. Problem was, pigeons kept landing on them in great number, leaving their little white calling cards. It was rather humorous, recalling all the county mucky-mucks wandering around the center, trying to find a place for a bench where the pigeons wouldn’t land.  WHEN WE WERE ALMOST CANYON COUNTY — There hadn’t been a new county added to the state since 1911. That’s when Imperial was formed. Local attorney Dan Hon and other leaders spearheaded a movement to create Canyon County — a brand-new government that would incorporate the greater borders of the Santa Clarita Valley — or, about 850 square miles. Back then, that figure covered everything from Gorman to Acton with everything in between, or, the boundaries of the William S. Hart Union High School District. Canyon County would later be on county initiatives. Both times the measure failed at the polls, passing locally about 65-35 and failing countywide at about the same percentage.   NOVEMBER 16, 1984  NEW YORK COP GOES ROTTEN — Lynn Ranstrom became romantically involved with a New York man. The pair returned to murder Lynn’s husband in the driveway of his Wayman Avenue home. Ranstrom and her lover, ex-New York City cop Dan Bianco, were arrested. Bianco had flown from the East Coast, rented a car, drove to Newhall, used a silenced .22 caliber pistol to kill Justin Ranstrom, then flew back to New York.  FUTURE PRESIDENT OF BOREDOM — After Ronald Reagan was elected in a landslide, there were already whispers about who the Republicans should groom for the White House. When the elder George Bush was suggested, then-Signal Editor Ruth Newhall, in her gossip column, “MIMI,” wrote: “Now THAT sounds totally boring …”  • • •   Must be the time-traveling because I can’t believe we’re already back to the Here-&-Now of present-day Santa Clarita. What say we get together again back here at The Mighty Signal hitching post with another exciting trail ride through the rich back canyons of SCV history and lore. Until then? “¡Vayan con Dios, amigos!”   Santa Clarita’s John Boston is the most prolific humor writer and satirist in world history. His new multimedia site and online store, johnlovesamerica.com, launched on Halloween. Pick up JB’s two-volume set of “MONSTERS” on local horror and macabre …  The post The Time Ranger | Murdering Cops, Bigfoot, Buffalo & Tibby V appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.