Classic Newhall Hardware Relics Donated for Future Museum Display

One of the largest donations to the Santa Clarita Valley Historical Society collection was made recently, when Newhall Hardware’s former owner, Vic Feany, decided to paint his house
The store, which opened in 1947, was Feany’s home away from home from the day he started working there in 1978 until it closed in 2008. What wasn’t merchandise came home with him, and for 16 years, the family lived surrounded by signs, special displays, pictures – so many pictures – cabinets, scales, cash register, and much more. But when it was time to paint, Vic decided it was time to donate.
It took three trips with a truck to bring everything to the Saugus Train Station in the History Center and currently, items are being carefully itemized and catalogued for future display in the History Center’s museums.
“Newhall Hardware was very important to me,” Feany said. “It was heartbreaking to me to close that piece of history down. We were there at the right time; early on dealing with ranches and farms, and the town was growing. You knew your customers and they knew you. It was kind of humbling to have earned those people’s respect.”
A Newhall boy from the beginning, Feany remembers life in what used to be a small town. He started out fixing bikes for Holiday Hardware and soon became a manager. He worked there for 8 years before he introduced himself to Newhall Hardware founder/owner Don Gugliemino, who hired him on the spot. Feany bought the store in 1998. Business leaders encouraged him to move the store to the Valencia side of town, where it was sure to succeed, but he resisted.
“That probably would have been a good decision to run a successful store, but that would destroy the history,” he said.
Vic was exceptionally proud of the store’s inventory; , not only were there items everywhere you looked, there were things like wrenches and sockets and blocks and tackles that you couldn’t get anywhere else. Those items saved many a contractor or movie crew time and money. He’s happy that the artifacts donated will become teaching tools for generations to come.
But some of the most important stories aren’t told with artifacts – after the 1994 earthquake, the store in chaos from the shaking, there was Vic with first responders and building owners combing through piles with flashlights to find parts or batteries or whatever would get people back on their feet. The store was there in times of need for community members whose homes were destroyed by fire, or whose families suffered personal tragedy. Seldom did this generosity come to light, but it was the heartbeat of the business.
Soon after taking over the store, Feany joined the Newhall Redevelopment Committee, an advisory group to the City Council on rehabilitating the area and attracting new businesses, where he served until it disbanded in 2011. And often, on weekend mornings, you would see Feany and a handful of his workers on their knees scrubbing the terrazzo and bronze saddles on the Walk of Western Stars, simply out of community pride.
After closing the store, Feany worked in a few places to keep his skills up and learn some new ones, but during the pandemic, he found himself unemployed and took it as a sign to look after his health and seriously think about retirement.
“Now I’m catching up on all my home repairs,” he said. “I have a couple of old trucks I get to play with every day. For me, right now, life is great.”
To learn more about local history, visit www.scvhs.org. 

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