Benjamin R. Zimmerman came to Susanville in 1874, at the age of 14. The first trade he learned was making harnesses. The next thing, he has graduated to saloon operator. This he soon discovered was a very lucrative business. All was well, until 1919 and the Volstead Act, better known as prohibition put an end to his business and so he opened a restaurant. Zimmerman died in 1943 in Susanville.
Fast forward to January 2011. A classified ad appeared in the local newspaper about a box of old photographs that the person thought might be of Susanville. Several people alerted me so I answered the ad. The gentleman I spoke to informed me he was helping a friend clean out an old barn in Richmond, that was going to be torn down. That is where he found the box and kept it to find it a home. We had a long discussion, and the impression he left with me, it was a small box, but he would send it and I told him I would reimburse him his costs. Time went by, and I called again. This continued for several months. Finally, he said he shipped it and it cost $60 via UPS. It turns out it was a two-foot square trunk. The photographs were from the Zimmerman family. There are two items impressive about the collection. The majority were photographs I had never seen before, like yesterday’s Freak Party. Equally important, is the majority of the photographs are identified. A portion I had processed and the rest I stored away in a box. I recently retrieved that box, so that is why you are seeing Zimmerman photographs.
What a really cool, important find.