Karen Bonnett

Photos (2x2-inch negatives, Kodak Safety Film) by Cheryl(?) Riley / The Signal.

April 1968 — Karen Bonnett sits behind her desk in the front office of The Newhall Signal on 6th Street. An avid equestrian who lived in Sand Canyon, Bonnett was the newspaper's receptionist from at least 1965 until about 1969.

The front office was located in the current Unit A (front left unit, facing) of the Perkins Court complex, aka "red Signal buildings," at 22508 W. 6th Street, Newhall. According to former publisher Tony Newhall (pers. comm. 2019), this unit served as the front office from 1963 until 1986 when the new owner, Morris Newspaper Corp., moved the paper to Creekside Road in Valencia.

Tony Newhall writes: "Karen is sitting almost facing the front counter where customers would come to visit the editorial staff, or to buy subscriptions or to place classified ads. Karen is facing almost due west in this photo."

Note the antique cash register on the counter behind her at right, against the back (east) wall.

Meanwhile in 1968, The Signal was still using the Trueblood building next door at 22504 W. 6th Street — until it burned down January 4, 1969. It was rebuilt, and the Newhalls eventually used it again.

The Newhalls leased both buildings — 22508 from A.B. Perkins (and his heirs) and 22504 from the heirs of the late Signal owner Fred Trueblood Sr.

Signal Staff Mugs: Back in the days of film, when they returned to the office from a photo assignment, Signal photographers frequently "finished off" an incomplete roll of film by shooting candid photos and mug shots of other Signal staffers. Little did they know the fruits of their impromptu tomfoolery would one day become treasured historic images.