The nationally syndicated Zack Hill has been a regular comic strip in these pages since this paper started, but how many of you knew the strip is locally produced? The strip is written by CV historian John Newcombe, who produced the very popular local history film “Rancho La Cañada.” Last week one of the “Letters […]
Our community recently lost one of its pioneer citizens, Charles Bausback. But fortunately, part of Charles will live on, as he left us a huge legacy in his personal memories. When first I met Charles years ago, he seemed to have nearly every day of his past on the tip of his tongue, and each […]
As much as I am passionate about our community’s past, I am more passionate about its future. For those of us that live in the unincorporated county section of La Crescenta, the key to our future is in the hands of the Crescenta Valley Town Council, an elected group of volunteers that is our only […]
by Mike LAWLER An upcoming fun local event is the Crescenta Cañada Historic Home Tour on Saturday, Nov. 6, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. We’re calling it the “Sticks and Stones” tour because the native construction materials used in these early local houses are wood and rock. On this tour we’ll be showing some […]
By Mike LAWLER On Saturday, I organized a tour of the Crescenta Valley Water District’s facilities for members of the Historical Society. I’ve done the tour before, but it always amazes me how much work is done for the sake of clean water. Since much of our water comes from wells on the lower side […]
As a self-proclaimed local historian, I am often given minor historical items that people have collected or that have been found in trashcans. A few months ago I got a call from a friend who told me that someone in an old house near him had recently died, and that a dumpster out in front […]
Treasures of the Valley By Mike Lawler This has been one of the most frustrating weeks I’ve experienced in years. The situation with the “surprise” three-story development on the vacant lot on Foothill across from Ralphs has been exasperating for me and for the community, and potentially life-threatening for the historic tree next door. To […]
It is my ultimate frustration as a local historian to have such a wealth of information on our last two centuries in CV, yet have almost nothing on the thousands of years of human history before that. Our first inhabitants, the Tongva Indians, hunted, camped, established villages, lived entire lives of tragedy and triumph, right […]
It may not surprise you, but Los Angeles has a history of lawlessness. In the period after California entered the Union, from about 1850 to the late 1870s Los Angeles was ruled by outlaws and vigilantes, boasting a murder rate inconceivable by today’s standards. In some years of that period our per capita murder rate […]
I recently got an email from someone inquiring about Verdugo City. Where is it, what is it, and why is it? Most of us have been mildly curious or even amused when we notice for the first time, sometimes after living here for years, that a place called Verdugo City has its own sign on […]