A reader wanted to know about the grave of Charles Crawford which inscribed on his tombstone “killed by Indians, May 21, 1858”. I will put together information about him and his gravesite, the Lake Cemetery, the oldest cemetery in Lassen County. Its my desire to go there a take current photographs, part of my recovery tour.
As to place names, I have done a lot on this topic. Alaska Canyon in the Madeline country has intrigued me as to why it was so named. In addition, its one place that I have never been to. Another Madeline Plains name is that of Skeleton Flat (Section 26, T 36 N R14 E, MDM). According to some, its origin were a result of the Pearson Massacre that occurred near Amedee in 1868. The Pearson Massacre was the last major Indian/White conflict in the region. It was followed by numerous campaigns by the settlers to exterminate any Indians associated with the Massacre. As the story is told, a posse encountered Indians there and killed them. The skeletons, and later scattered bones, could be seen for many years after the event.
Hi Tim,
My name is Michael. I live just beyond Leavitt Lake.
My question is, what is the meaning of the name of Wooden Peg Ranch, on
Termo Rd. (or Grasshopper Rd.) Not sure I spelled it right. But that seems to be the sound of the name.
My guess is the original owners were Woodrow & Peggy… something. Am I close?
Yes. Peg Woodrich was my PE teacher in 6th,7th and 8th grades at Kennedy Jr. High in Cupertino, CA. She and Mr. Woodrich opened up their working ranch to use girls in the summer. We would work the ranch half the day (bailing hay, gathering eggs, slipping the pigs, delivering calves etc.) and the other half of the day we got to groom, saddle and ride whichever horse had been matched with us based on our skill level. Most kids came for 2 weeks. I stayed from 4-6 weeks .
Now, this was in the 80s. We were out there pretty much u supervised, drinking non-pasteurized milk straight from the teeth and risking our lives doing something dangerous every five minutes but it was Heaven. On. Earth.
And we all survived. When our parents eventually showed up to get us we would put on a horse show. One, in which my crazy horse jumped a gate, skidded out and landed on top of me (gently cushioned by the huge pile of manure I landed upon).
Every Wednesday we would ride bikes about 6 miles to Termo (population – 3 at the time) where we would buy candy soda and more candy, mail letter home and call our parents collect from the only pay phone until you hit Susanville (home of Men’s Prison!).
One summer we built a one room cabin, gathering stones that we built a foundation from a single stone at a time. When the time came, Peg paid an electrician and a plumber to teach us those skills as well.
Magical, that place. Wood-N-Peg Ranch deserves to be a historical landmark. It certainly is in the hearts of the kids who passed through 40 years ago.
Elmer and Nellie Williams owned that ranch before it became known as the Wood N Peg ranch. I believe Peggy was a neice of theirs and her last name was Woodrich.
Yes. Peg Woodrich was my PE teacher in 6th,7th and 8th grades at Kennedy Jr. High in Cupertino, CA. She and Mr. Woodrich opened up their working ranch to us girls in the summer. We would work the ranch half the day (bailing hay, gathering eggs, slopping the pigs, delivering calves etc.) and the other half of the day we got to groom, saddle and ride whichever horse had been matched with us based on our skill level. Most kids came for 2 weeks. I stayed from 4-6 weeks for many summers.
Now, this was in the 80s. We were out there pretty much unsupervised, drinking non-pasteurized milk straight from the teet and risking our lives doing something dangerous every five minutes but it was Heaven. On. Earth.
And we all survived. When our parents eventually showed up to get us we would put on a horse show. One, in which my crazy horse jumped a gate, skidded out and landed on top of me (gently cushioned by the huge pile of manure I landed upon).
Every Wednesday we would ride bikes about 6 miles to Termo (population – 3 ) where we would buy candy, soda and more candy, mail lettes home and call our parents collect from the only pay phone until you hit Susanville (home of Men’s Prison!).
One summer we built a one room cabin, gathering stones that we built a foundation from a single stone at a time. When the time came, Peg paid an electrician and a plumber to teach us those skills as well.
Magical, that place. Wood-N-Peg Ranch deserves to be a historical landmark. It certainly is in the hearts of the kids who passed through 40 years ago.