In 1919/20 when Fruit Growers Supply Company established its Susanville operation, they of course needed locomotives for its railroad logging operations west of Eagle Lake. They purchased this Baldwin locomotive from the Ocean Shore Railroad that operated a line along the Pacific Coast from San Francisco to Santa Cruz.* Fruit Growers ownership of the No. 32 was brief and they sold it in 1924 to the Red River Lumber Company. In 1944, Fruit Growers reacquired it when they purchased Red River’s Westwood operation. In 1953 the locomotive was scrapped.
*The Ocean Shore Railroad, was not completed with a gap in the middle.
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In 1920, the Christie Brothers—John and James—dissolved their partnership in a general mercantile store in Janesville. John, better known as Burt, had already launched a new career when he purchased the Eagle Lake Resort. For his brother, Jim, he was not quite sure what path to take. In 1921, he opened Christie Furniture at 903 Weatherlow Street, Susanville and continued until his death in 1936.
Eventually, the store moved to 608 Main Street. For several decades it was owned and operated by S.R. “Carl” and Ferne Carlomagno. Christie Furniture store, along with the Murray Insurance were destroyed by a fire on March 20, 1982. The Christie store was never rebuilt, and remains a vacant lot.
Red River Lumber Company like so many other company towns issued scrip—a form of company currency utilized when an employee received an advance on wages. When an employee received scrip, the amount was deducted from his wages. It was basically worthless as it could only be redeemed in company stores. The usage of scrip declined when employees were issued badges. With an employee badge number, the employee or a member of his family could charge anything they wanted from the company store using that number. Those charges were then deducted from the employee’s paycheck.
In November 1923, John Thomas of the Oakland Tribune wrote a complete description of Red River’s operations at Westwood. As to the company scrip he noted, “The company runs a general merchandise and department store, covering a whole block. Here you can buy anything from a paper of pins to a threshing machine.
“All the employees of the big mill trade here, also dad, grandma, auntie and the kids related to the employees. This is the only store in town. The strange part of it is you don’t need money in this store. You use scrip or paper money—not Uncle Sam’s brand of currency, the kind the banks hand out. You procure books of scrip tickets from the office. These scrip books contain five, ten, twenty-five and fifty cent checks, or tickets, and are good in the big store, also the movie show, newsstands and clubroom. I never tried putting scrip in the plate of the church, as I did not attend.
“These scrip books are transferable to members of the immediate family, that is to pa, ma and the kiddies. Grandma buys her darning cotton, uncle buys his chewing and smoking, sis buys her new slippers and the kiddies their candy and chewing gum all with scrip.”
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On the night of May 19, 1915 lava overflowed from crater of Lassen Peak. It was most acute on the northeast side. The lava in turn melted snow, causing a cascade of water, that was soon transformed of a stream of mud and debris headed towards Hat and Lost Creeks.
Around 11 o’clock that night, Harvey Wilcox who had a cabin on upper Hat Creek was first person to witness the catastrophic event. He was awakened by the sounds of horses running past his cabin. He ventured out to see what happened, and in the nick of time barely escaped the mudflow, only to watch his cabin swallowed up by the mud flow. His neighbor, Elmer Sorahan was awakened by his barking dog. He, too, escaped and alerted the Hall family downstream.
This was just a preview of things to come. On May 22, 1915 witnessed Lassen Peak’s greatest eruption.
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The above was an advertisement placed by the Bank of Lassen County. Using lingo from the newspaper writers of the past, for those of the younger set, Armistice Day is now known as Veteran’s Day. What caught my particular attention of this ad, it had only been eleven years since the ending of what was then referred to as the Great War (World War I) and they raised concern that a younger generation were unaware of it, and the sacrifices made.
Great Northern’s Tracklayer entering Big Valley, 1931. Courtesy of Orville Watkins
Yesterday, we explored the Paul Bunyan Prosperity Special. As mentioned everything revolved around the Golden Spike Ceremony at Bieber connecting the Western Pacific & Great Northern Railroads. In all, it was a successful event, though it was dampened by some extremely bitter cold weather.
After the crowds dispersed, tragedy struck. It should be noted, for a portion of the population it was just another work day and this was especially true for those employed by A.B. Guthrie, the construction contractor for the Great Northern Railroad. At approximately 5:30p.m. a railroad work crew were returning to NuBieber. Six men were riding on a flat bed trailer. Out of nowhere came a speeding touring car, which sideswiped the trailer, knocking two men off it—Dan Rogish and Charles McMahon. Rogish was dragged by the car and died from his injuries. The driver who hit the two men, sped away, it was estimated the driver was going 70 miles per hour and was not apprehended.
On November 10, 1931 was a historic day in many ways. A golden spike ceremony was held at Bieber to mark the completion of the Highline/Northern California Extension of the Western Pacific and the Great Northern Railroads.
The next morning at Westwood the festive mood from the day before continued. Red River unveiled its impressive Paul Bunyan Prosperity Special train. This was no ordinary train for it consisted of 171 carloads of manufactured lumber, along with six locomotives and a caboose. The Prosperity Special measured 8,325 feet long—one and six-tenths miles. It was, one of the longest, if not the longest string, of loaded cars ever handled in one train movement at the time. Equally impressive, it was the single largest shipment of lumber products ever made and that came from one plant—Red River. The train contained 4,350,000 board feet of lumber, box shook, plywood, sash & doors, etc.
There was a tremendous amount of logistics involved to make the event happen. Red River had to coordinate with its customers to place their orders at the same time and they had to agree on a specific date. This was a challenge since winter was fast approaching and the demand for lumber would decrease. Yet, their customers supported the effort, and orders came from twenty-one states—ranging from Arizona to Tennessee to New Hampshire. As Arthur Curtis James, Chairman of the Board of the Western Pacific proclaimed, “There never was a train like this before in all the world.” Willis Walker stated: “The movement of this unusual volume of lumber products at this time demonstrates confidence on the part of consumers and indicates that conditions have stabilized and that a considerable volume of building hitherto postponed, will now proceed.”
Three weeks later the train pulled into Castle Rock, Colorado, its final destination. However, when the train arrived in Denver, most of the railroad cars were split up and went to a multitude of destinations.
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The Hog Flat and McCoy Flat reservoirs were constructed in 1889. It was part of a plan engineered by Benjamin Leavitt, who built his first reservoir on the Susan River watershed in 1875, known today as Leavitt Lake. These three reservoirs are owned and operated by Lassen Irrigation District.
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The mine appeared as a late as 1950 on this Plumas National Forest map.
The Plinco Mine was located in the Last Chance area of northeastern Plumas County. Doyle in Lassen County was in part beneficiary of the mining operations due to the access with the Western Pacific Railroad. From the mine to Doyle was approximately thirteen miles.
The initial mine was discovered in 1905 by Joseph Novak of Utah and Orlando McNabb of nearby Milford, an avid prospector. Attempts to develop the mine languished. In the fall of 1915, J.F. Cutler, a Midwest capitalist began an ambitious project to develop the Novak Mine. On November 2, 1915 Articles of Incorporation for Plinco Copper Mine were filed in the State of Nebraska. Cutler stated at that time he had ten men working on shafts and buildings investing some $16,000 in the venture. There does not appear to be much documentation about the Plinco mine. In late August 1919 a massive forest fire, to be named the Ferris Fire ravaged the Last Chance country and destroyed the Plinco Mine buildings. The operation then ceased to exist.
Keefer, on the edge of the Madeline Plains, was one of those lonely stage stations. In 1869, the most direct route to Alturas and Surprise Valley from Susanville followed a most interesting route. The road travelled north to Willow Creek Valley and onward to Horse Lake. It then veered straight north to the Madeline Plains. Let me inform the intrepid explorer, I traveled the route from Horse Lake to the Madeline Plains——its one of those roads you only do once.
On June 3, 1890, James Edward Keefer (1861-1916) purchased this stage station from Herman Knipping for $600. In 1898, the station had already been shuttered, and Knipping was residing at Vina, Tehama County when he sold the property for an undisclosed amount to Mahala Shumway. The station was also known as Knippers, Mud Springs and Long Hollow Camp..
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