July 3, 1970 — Members of the Newhall Rotary Club serve pancakes in the Valley Federal Savings parking lot at Newhall Avenue and Fifth Street to kick off the Santa Clarita Valley's annual Fourth of July celebration — held Saturday, July 3, because the fourth fell on a Sunday.

The men in the photo are unidentified, as is the Signal photographer. Bill Kohlmeier, 1968 SCV Man of the Year, was Rotary Club president in 1970.

The day's festivities were orchestrated under the leadership of Davis McLean, William Born and Norm Molgaard of the Newhall-Saugus-Valencia Chamber of Commerce (SCV Chamber predecessor) and included participation from most of the local male service organizations. Chuck Hendrickson, 1969 SCV Man of the Year, chaired the parade. (There was no such thing as SCV Woman of the Year.) The Newhall-Saugus-Valencia Kiwanis Club provided security, and the Newhall-Saugus Optimist Club ran the reviewing stand at the Hart football field where the parade ended. Afterward, the County Parks Department hosted a fair for kids at Newhall Park while grown-ups were invited to a barbecue with adult beverages at Saxonia Park in Placerita Canyon, courtesy of the Newhall-Saugus Lions Club. Capping the festivities was The Signal fireworks display on the Hart High field.

Some things have changed since 1970, some haven't. One big change is that the Rotary Club has women members now. Today, in 2019, as we archive this photograph, the SCV Rotary Club still gets the day rolling with a pancake breakfast in the Valley Federal parking lot (now the ex-Roger Dunn Golf Shop). The parade still starts at Hart Park — although at 9 a.m., a bit earlier than it started in 1970. Instead of ending at Hart High, it turns down Orchard Village Road and ends at 16th Street. The only formal activity afterward is the annual fireworks show staged by the City of Santa Clarita — which didn't exist in 1970.

The Chamber of Commerce no longer organizes the parade; that is done by the all-volunteer SCV Fourth of July Parade Committee under the umbrella of SCVTV, the community's public television channel (which didn't exist in 1970), with support from The Signal (which did), KHTS AM-1220 (which didn't), the City of Santa Clarita, County Parks, the American Legion Riders and several other entities.

One other change since 1970: The cost of the Rotary Pancake Club Breakfast. It has dropped. True, in 1975, when The Signal republished this photograph, the price was $1.50, and today it's $4. However, adjusted for inflation, a $1.50 breakfast in 1975 would cost $7.14 in 2019.