By Charly SHELTON

Clue name: Our First Library. And the clue is: If a student proved contrary/send him to our first (stand-alone) library/Soon, with practice, reading score/among the City we did soar.

Hint 1: Look on the south side of a street called * * * Kilmer plus Pied* * * *. Hint 2: Flockhart played * * * * * McBeal. Find the first stone foundation east

of a long one of these on this street.

So VAL Kilmer plus PiedMONT, so Valmont Street in Tujunga. And Callista Flockhart was Ally McBeal in the ’90s, so look for the first stone foundation east of a long alley on Valmont Street. That leads to 7208 Valmont St., a stone foundation with an older wooden building just east of a long, unnamed alleyway. This was the site of the first library in Tujunga.

Now take a picture.

So went Saturday, driving from site-to-site as guests played the game of Chasing History, hosted by the Little Landers Historical Society of Tujunga. Part treasure hunt, part motor rally, part photo contest and part history tour, this unique event brought together the best of all those worlds to make a very fun afternoon.

After receiving instructions and team assignments at Bolton Hall, attendees set out across the Crescenta Valley and into the San Fernando Valley on a hunt through four different areas – La Crescenta/Tujunga, Shadow Hills/Sun Valley, Sunland and Lake View Terrace. In each district, there were four locations to find through clues like the above mentioned. Locations ranged from the Le Mesnager stone barn in La Crescenta where gentleman bandit Tiburcio Vasquez would watch to see if he was being pursued by a posse as he fled into the mountain trails to one of the remaining air raid sirens in Sun Valley left over from the Cold War to the prop house in Shadow Hills that made Captain America’s shield and Thor’s hammer, Mjolnir, for the feature films.

Once each clue was deciphered and the team arrived at the Chasing History location, everyone gathered for a picture at the site, which was sent back to headquarters as proof of the riddle being solved. These pictures were very clever in most cases and judges chose as most creative the best photos for each of the four districts.

At the end of the day, all the teams met up at McGroarty Arts Center for a taco dinner and the chance to share stories of the rally. Winners were named for the photo contest as well as for the most sites visited and most creative team placard, which was held in each team’s pictures. Team 10, a father and his two children dressed in dog masks, visited the most sites throughout the event – 15 out of 16 sites. Team 9 won two first place positions for the most creative photo in Shadow Hills and Tujunga/La Crescenta. By the end of the evening, all teams walked away with a prize from the prize table for an award from either the photo contest, the sites visited or the creative placard.

The event was a fun and creative way to learn more about the area.

For more information on other upcoming events by the Little Landers Historical Society, visit LittleLandersHistoricalSociety.org.

  Charly Shelton