There have been stories of fake eruption of Lassen Peak. The granddaddy of all fakes occurred in 1929 when a complete plaster-of-paris replica of Mount Lassen was constructed. Its designer-builder was GeorgeCollins, brother of Lassen Park Superintendent Walker Collins. The mammoth two-ton project was built at Mineral. It was equipped with water pipes, to generate steam like eruption. Completed in August, it was to be Tehama County’s feature display at the California State Fair in Sacramento. All went well with the transport to the capital city. The “mountain” had to be hoisted by crane from the main floor of the pavilion to a second level. During that procedure the rope around the base fell apart, and the mountain came crashing down. As one reporter wrote “Mount Lassen went blewie.” Accordingly, it made its own eruption, or more nearly an implosion, whereby debris from the replica was widely dispersed and the noise of the whole commotion heard several blocks away. In one sense the mission was accomplished, for Tehama County received an unexpected windfall of publicity from its miscued fake mountain eruption display than otherwise anticipated.