More Memories of Old La Crescenta

A document stored in our archives has notes taken during an interview with Herbert Bathey in the 1950s. Herbert was one of the sons of the Bathey family. They established a ranch in the Crescenta Valley, at the top of today’s Briggs Avenue, in 1883. Last week we covered Herbert’s memories of the routes into the valley. Here, in quotes, are more interesting tidbits from that interview with my own comments in brackets.

“Ray and Edith, the younger Bathey kids, rode to school on burros to La Crescenta. Ray died in 1903 of appendicitis.” [Ray was a teen when his appendix burst here in CV. He was transported all the way to LA in a wagon over rough roads. It must have been intensely painful way to die.]

“The Ketcham kids, Ike and Grace – Grace shot herself in the foot trying to shoot a coyote.”

“Three graves in La Cañada … can’t locate them. Millie Gore, 3, was buried in the valley on the Childs’ or Dunks’ place. Three or four graves are there, now lost. I remember the funeral.” [Be careful digging in your garden!]

[The Batheys found an ancient saw.] “The old saw is about 5 foot 4 inches in length, and has 137 teeth, each about a half-inch high. The handles were made perhaps of Spanish stirrups. It is a ripsaw, hand-forged, used for sawing planks. Father found it in ‘Old Man Canyon,’ so called because of an old man who resided there. He was a real character, chopping wood for a living.

“The canyon divides the Bathey place and the Shields place. [So it would have been Eagle Canyon on the east side of the Pinecrest area.] It was perhaps used by the Spaniards who used Indians to rip the lumber. Herbert found an old stump high up in the hills that had healed over.”

“The Batheys also found three six-pound axes, which they used for wedges for splitting timber. They were dug from the ground. They had been hand-forged.”

“General James H. Shields, a gentleman, dressed to ride to the mailbox.” [General Shields was not a general. It’s unknown how he came to be known by that title. Shields Canyon at the top of Pinecrest is named for him.]

[From an old news clipping:] “Herald Express – June, 1898: Dr. Lyman S. Thompson has returned from Hawaii and with Mrs. Thompson is now enjoying a rest at his ranch in La Crescenta, where they plan to pass the summer.” [A few years later their son Lambert named a new street in honor of his hometown: Honolulu Avenue.)

“In 1888-89[came] a bigger flood than the 1933-34 flood. Water level was 15 to 20 feet high in Pickens. We could hear the rumble for miles.”

“Winds – blew the top leaves from oak trees. Blew the La Crescenta Hotel down. Killed Mrs. Arnold and her daughter. A baby lying between them was saved. The building would have stood if someone hadn’t opened the front door. Ninety-mile an hour wind. Dec. 14, 1887. Hotel was two-story. Mr. and Mrs. Willey, daughter Bertha, Anna and Daisy living there were not hurt. Aiken home had roof blown off, and the family lived under the roof. At school, there were 32 kids before the storm but the enrollment dropped to six or eight after, including George Cryer who later became the mayor of Los Angeles. Present hotel was built in 1888. Much larger.” [True story on the La Crescenta Hotel disaster. It was only a few months old, located on the corner of Foothill and Rosemont, when it was flattened during a terrific Santa Ana windstorm. Many guests were staying there and, amazingly, only two died although many were injured and trapped in the wreckage. It is also true that the collapse happened when Mr. Arnold opened the front door, perhaps causing a change in the interior pressure? And yes, a lot of families fled the valley after the disaster. A new hotel was immediately built on the same site, torn down in 1960.]

Fascinating tidbits from long ago. I’ll find a few more next week.