SCVHistory.com CN8201 | Wm. S. Hart's 1981 ''Western Walk of Fame'' Awards Transfered to Hart Museum Friends, 1983.

January 10, 1983 — Betty Pember (left), president of the Friends of Hart Park and Museum, and Samuel Jones of the L.A. County Parks Department receive plaques and scrolls from Jerry Heidt, president of the SCV Historical Society, who has been cut out of the photograph (by whom or why, we do not know. It looks like the photo might have been in a fire. See full photo in the Signal article below).

The awards, from Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich and state Sen. Ed Davis, honored William S. Hart upon his induction into Newhall's Western Walk of Fame (later renamed Walk of Western Stars) in November 1981. The awards had been presented to the SCV Historical Society at that time ostensibly because the Historical Society existed then. The Hart Friends group missed by just a few weeks, incorporating in December 1981.

Now, in early 1983, the awards were transfered to the Hart Friends for display in his Newhall mansion. During this period the Hart Friends group managed Hart's home in Newhall and his collection of artifacts. The Friends provided docents who led guided tours of the mansion, and they raised funds for the restoration of Hart's home. The latter task proved daunting. Over the next few years, Pember and the Friends would work with Supervisor Antonovich to secure county funding to hire a curator from the Museum of Natural History to catalog and preserve the artifacts in the mansion. In 1987, at the Friends' request, NHMLA assumed operational control of the mansion and its collection.

Today (2019) the Friends primarily raise funds to provide amenities for the park and museum that are outside of the county budget. One thing hasn't changed since the 1983 Signal article was written: "Money is no longer easily available through Los Angeles County."

In the photograph above, we see William S. Hart's rifle rack and one of his old Navajo rugs with a "whirling log" design. The duplicate photos of the Hart Mansion on the "Friends of Hart Park" sign are the cover photo from Pacific Telephone Company's local 1982 directory. (Note to young people: Once upon a time, the phone company published an annual directory, aka "phone book," listing the phone numbers and addresses of individuals and businesses. Relatively few people were "unlisted.")

Click to enlarge.

Gerald Heidt, president of the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society, on Monday presented two plaques to the Friends of Hart Park.

They will hang in William S. Hart's historic Newhall home.

The plaques originally had been given to the SCVHS on the occasion of the first Cowboy Walk of Fame ceremony in 1981, when Hart was honored, along with Gene Autry and Tom Mix, with bronze markers on San Fernando Road.

One plaque is a post humous award with the Los Angeles County seal, presented by Fifth District Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich to honor Hart, who was born on December 6, 1870 [sic: 1864] and died June 23, 1946.

The second is a resolution, signed by State Senators Ed Davis and David Roberti representing the Senate Rules Committee, stating that whereas, "the prestigious Cowboy Walk of Fame in Newhall serves to preserve for future generations their Western heritage ... and

"Whereas, Among the first to be honored with a bronze engraved saddle is William S Hart, cowboy and star of numerous western films including the first full-length western, 'The Squaw Man' [sic: Hart portrayed "The Squaw Man" on stage but not in film]; and

"Whereas, In 1921, he bought the Horseshoe Ranch in Newhall, and upon his retirement in 1925, he began construction of La Loma de Los Vientos, 'Hill of the Winds' Mansion, which was completed in 1928, and stands as a landmark throughout the Santa Clarita Valley; and

"Whereas, His mansion was filled with Bill's Old West memorabilia, paintings from such noted artists as Charles Marion Russell, James Montgomery Flagg, sketches by Frederick Remington, and many Indian artifacts, especially Indian rugs and beadwork; and

"Whereas, Mr. Hart willed the mansion to Los Angeles County and today the home is open to the public and registered as a California historic point of interest, and

Click to enlarge.

"Whereas, His concern for the youth of Newhall and their need for entertainment caused him to provide the town's first theatre, the American Theater, now the American Legion Building, and in recognition thereof, the town's first high school was named after him and subsequently the district became the William S. Hart High School District;

"Now therefore, be it resolved by the Senate Rules Committee, Senate Rules Resolution 1103."

Hart, who loved the Santa Clarita Valley and gave generously of his time and effort to the people in the community, left the heritage of his home and ranch to be enjoyed, by the public, free, down through the years.

The Friends of Hart Hark is a group of local citizens who have formed a nonprofit organization to raise funds to help restore the Hart mansion. Money is no longer easily available through Los Angeles County.

Guided tours through Hart's home are given from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, and from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.