Weird Crescenta Valley My newest book on the weirder aspects of our local history is now available, called “Weird Crescenta Valley: Historical and Natural Oddities.” I tend toward the darker sides of history anyway so a selection of weird stories is right on the mark. The chapters are as follows. Weird Supernatural – My favorite! […]
Just The Facts, Ma’am I would say I am a bit of an information junkie. Not that I need to have quick information at my fingertips for life’s typical questions. I don’t. Sometimes I actually prefer to just wonder about things, like we used to do before phones became more than a calling device. But […]
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 […]
Congress is Creating New Jobs, Economic Growth and Cost Savings in California’s 28th District On Thanksgiving, California families will come together for good food, good company and meaningful reflection on all that we are thankful for as 2022 comes to a close. It’s been another challenging year. While the economy has rebounded from the […]
Rains and Drought Earlier this month, drought-stricken Southern California experienced fantastic rainfall, the kind that lowers air pressure, creates that lovely white noise and makes people want to take a nap. Still, even with some areas receiving as much as four inches of rain, drought conditions have only slightly improved in the region. In other […]
Early Memories of La Crescenta Last week I featured some memories of one of the earliest settlers in the valley, Winifred Bathey. The Bathey family first came to the valley in 1883, applying for land at the top of Briggs Avenue. After a few years of splitting their time between the Crescenta Valley and Los […]
The Ancient Bridge Across Pickens Canyon In the late 1880s, a heavy wagon bridge was constructed across Pickens Canyon high up near Briggs Terrace. We have info about the bridge from a letter that pioneer Winifred Bathey sent to the local paper in 1966. The Bathey family moved to La Crescenta in 1886 and established […]
Goodbye October, Hello November! *Rain Makes Everything Beautiful*! The Crescenta Valley Town Council’s annual pancake breakfast on Nov. 5 was a success! We had a wonderful time starting early on Saturday morning at 5:30 and continuing to 1:30 p.m. Thank you to all our volunteers who made our event so very special; we couldn’t […]
Reach Deep, California Welcome to California, the sanctuary state for everyone! Everyone? Thanks to “progressive” policies, any woman from another state, where abortion is illegal, is welcome to come to California where luckless taxpayers will foot the bill for some or all of the medical procedure. Ka-ching! Any homeless individual – excuse me, unhoused person […]
Connection To Rockhaven This story is about two independent-minded women in my family – my maternal grandmother Martha Adele and my great-aunt Margaret, her sister-in-law. During WWII when their husbands went off to war both ladies supported the effort at home. Martha worked locally at a munitions plant in a “Rosie the Riveter” type […]