The start of the 2015 Santa Clarita Cowboy Festival is just a few days away, and from my vantage point in my office at the Saugus Train Station at Heritage Junction, I think we’re about ready.

There are some wonderful people who have done much to make Heritage Junction in Hart Park what we think you’ll come to think of as the Gateway to the History of the Santa Clarita Valley.

First of all there is the vice president of the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society, Cathy Martin, and her husband, Steve. Cathy is the chairperson of the SCVHS Cowboy Festival efforts. Steve came in handy with a truck to haul trash, tools to repair all manner of problems, and a lot of desire to let all y’all know about Heritage Junction.

I don’t want to say we had a lot of trash, but to date we’ve had 80 cubic yards of junk, weeds and construction-destruction debris hauled away. We had collected a lot, and things had gotten a little out of hand. But thanks to a connection Cathy has with some LDS missionary young adults, all of that got taken to the roll-offs and hauled away. “Well done” to all of them. They even spent a few hours stacking bricks and getting all manner of stuff ready.

Just so you know, the LDS kids also washed windows in all of the buildings. They didn’t want a dime for what they did. Their work was done in service with love.

Jill and Randy Brown came ready to do whatever was asked, and before you knew it, the floor of the Newhall Ranch House dining room was made safe. Randy also did some necessary wall repair to improve fire safety in the old home. Hauling more trash and in general just doing their part as SCVHS members was invaluable.

The Historical Society treasurer, Duane Harte, has always been ready with pen and checkbook along with his tools to build fences around the Mitchell Adobe Schoolhouse. Now, all you folks who will have a beer or glass of wine can feel safe and secure.

Barbara Martinelli has kept our normal functions operating on the weekends and also managed to handle school tours while all of the work was going on around her. Having 60-plus kids show up at the same time the old pine trees were being trimmed was a bit of a challenge, but each and every kid stayed out of the way and also got to ring the bell on the engine. She has had a most able partner, RuthAnne Murthy, in being “docents extraordinaire.”

Barbara also heads our Bus Tour on Sunday next at 9 a.m. Take a trip in our valley with Barbara and see historical sights you may not know exist. Tickets are available [here].

Phil Scorza has been working on all kinds of projects, but his efforts are bringing you the entertainers you’ll be listening to next weekend at the Junction. He has a little bit to do with the lighting (like everything) and also the stage set-up. He always shows up and does a job whenever asked.

When you get to the Buckaroo Book Shop in the Pardee House, you’ll find that the floor is covered in cardboard. This is to protect the new floors. But the new paint job and most of the interior work has been the result of efforts by Sue Yurosek. She has, with dogged determination, headed the effort to make the Pardee House our future museum and gift shop. It is about 80 percent complete on the way to a museum, but that work is suspended while the Cowboy Festival takes center stage. Stay tuned for that grand opening later this year.

Sandra Cattell is another who has jumped in and helped when that extra hand was needed.

We’ve got one more person at the Historical Society who has cleared brush, dumped trash, washed and cleaned all manner of places needing it, and also gathered the vendors you’ll be patronizing next Saturday and Sunday. Loren Vallin-Flores is so dynamic a force that sometimes you wonder if she ever sleeps. There has been much for her to do with our vendors, and no matter what, she has made sure we at Heritage Junction are ready.

There are more folks, I’m sure. But these are the ones I’ve seen almost every day for nearly three weeks. I can’t thank them enough, and after you see the results, you’ll be wanting to thank them personally, too.

A couple of outstanding items remain. We need a ramp for folks in wheelchairs at the Newhall Ranch House. I think it would be great if a contractor would step up and build that for the Historical Society. Maybe our local lumberyards could donate the material. We can rent, but wouldn’t it be great to have a new ramp built and installed with the name of the company or individual displayed?

The last outstanding item is you folks. We need you to get your tickets and come see us at Heritage Junction in Hart Park. Remember, when you get off of the shuttle for the Cowboy Festival, just walk through the gates of Hart Park, go to Hart Hall and turn left, getting off of the paved road. Travel on back to 1860, or ‘70 or ‘80 or … you get the idea. Our buildings have been used in the movies since the first filming took place here in the SCV. Come see us.

Tickets to our events can be purchased at www.cowboyfestival.org.

See you at Cowboy.

Darryl Manzer grew up in the Pico Canyon oil town of Mentryville in the 1960s and attended Hart High School. After a career in the U.S. Navy he returned to live in the Santa Clarita Valley, where he serves as executive director of the SCV Historical Society. He can be reached at dmanzer@scvhistory.com. His older commentaries are archived at DManzer.com; his newer commentaries can be accessed [here]. Watch his walking tour of Mentryville [here].