How Memorial Day is celebrated locally has changed over the years. In the early 1900s, a service was held at the Methodist Church. Then a procession led by school children, followed by members of the Benton Post of the Grand Army of the Republic (Union Civil War veterans). At the cemetery the children would assist in the decorating graves. Actually, it was the G.A.R. that started the movement to decorate graves and for many decades it was known as Decoration Day.

Donate!

Say What? In 1968 this Act was approved by Congress which moved certain holidays from when traditionally observed, to a Monday to create three-day weekends. One of the victims was Memorial Day in my opinion. Prior to this everyone observed Memorial Day on May 30, with the ritual of going to the cemeteries placing flowers, etc. Over time, people began to spread out going to the cemeteries over a three week period, if it all. And that is my two-cents worth!

In 1914-15, B.F. Loomis became a widely known  photographer for his stunning photographs of the Lassen Peak volcanic eruptions.  Loomis was fortunate since he operated a hotel at nearby Viola, a short distance from the peak. Loomis would become an ardent supporter of Lassen Volcanic National Park. In 1926, Loomis purchased 40-acres near Reflection Lake, which at that time was not inside the park. In 1927, he built a museum of native stone and reinforced concrete. The museum served two purposes.  One, it allowed him to showcase his famed photographic collection of the Lassen Peak eruptions, previously on display at his hotel at Viola. The second it served as a memorial to his only child Louise Mae, who died in 1920. In 1929, he donated the property to the park, which in turn the park gave him a life estate to the museum property.  So if you find yourself at the north end of the park, stop by and check out the museum.

Donate or Subscribe

When the Mad Trapper arrived in Lassen County he used an alias. It would not be the first or last time, and even when he died it took authorities some time to put together his identity.

On May 21, 1921, Charles Johnson was loitering about the Sierra Packing House slaughterhouse, just north of Susanville.  The next minute he was gone, and so was a saddle horse that belonged to the  packing house.  Sheriff Church enlisted the aid of Henry Baughman, a noted tracker. Three days later, when Johnson was near Hayden Hill, he had caught wind that the authorities were looking for him. He turned the horse loose and sought refuge in a cabin, but Church and Baughman found and arrested him. There would be total of three jury trials to convict him for horse stealing, the first two the jury could not reach a verdict. He was sentenced to seven years in prison, but would only serve a year.

Subscribe or Donate

Albert Johnson, better known as the Mad Trapper of Rat River, of Canada’s Northwestern Territorties is a compelling story.  In the bitter winter of 1931-32 Johnson eluded the Royal Canadian Mounted Police for forty-eight days in a running battle that ranged over 150 miles north of the Arctic Circle, in temperatures that averaged forty below zero. He was finally killed in shot out on February 17, 1932 on the Eagle River, Yukon Territory.

So, dear reader, you are probably wondering why I am writing about an incident in Canada. Before Johnson became known as the Mad Trapper, he had a little foray in Lassen County before moving north. That incident we will examine tomorrow.

Subscribe or Donate