I

Note: Seasoned residents may recognize Worley Ranch as a main  designated place for many years on forest service maps, just east of Hogs Flat Reservoir.

In the late 1800s and into the early 1900s the sheep industry played a major role in Lassen County’s economy. In 1906, Lassen County officials estimated 200,000 head of sheep were brought into the county for summer grazing. Many of these outfits came from nearby Tehama County. On February 25, 1902, Adam Crim Worley of Tehama County, purchased 481 acres from John Sites, and established his summer stock range about ten miles west of Susanville on the western base of the mountain, that would become known as Worley Mountain. (This is the mountain one crosses to travel to the south shore of Eagle Lake.) Worley’s son, Jesse C. Worley continued with the family sheep business for some time. In 1909, Jesse married Jeanette Alexander and in 1911, he became associated with his father-in-law’s, Jules Alexander, general store in Susanville. 1942 was a monumental year for Jesse Worley as he closed the store in Susanville. Then on August 17, 1942, he sold the ranch to Bill and Zella Ahern for $3,000.

Tim

In the first half of the 20th century the nations fruit and vegetables were shipped in wooden boxes. There has been much written about the topic, including here. Its counterpart, the picking box has been relegated to the shadows. In the late 1940s and 1950s the wooden crates would be phased out with the conversion to cardboard. However, the growers still preferred their picking boxes that were used in the orchards. In the 1960s, the Fruit Growers Supply Company were still manufacturing the wooden packing boxes.

Tim

In December 2025 a friend of mine attended a stamp collection gathering. He attended in hopes that post card dealers were there. There were a few. He sent me a copy of this postcard, he purchased as it had the Amedee postmark cancel.

While 99.9% could care less about this postcard, for me it was intriguing. There are some that knew Erma Gibson, but not by her maiden name.* She married Clent Haley and they operated the Gibson/Haley ranch near Litchfield for many years. Their daughter, Clara Beth Green taught at Lassen High School. Clent’s brother, Bill, married Verna Tanner, my mother’s first cousin.

The author of the postcard was Tom Ogilivie who was the Lassen County Surveyor for many years. His notation of Norma J. and R.Martin I can explain. Norma Jeanne James, was Tom’s step-daughter and Rita Martin were classmates at Amedee.  It should be noted that Norma’s mother, Gail H.V. James, was the first Purser postmaster, that would later became known as Wendel.

Tim

*Erma’s mother was Clara Litch and her grandfather was Andrew Litch, for whom town of Litchfield is named for.

In letter dated on April 13, 1909, to the Lassen County Board of Supervisors stated from the Red River Lumber Company stated::

“The few remarks contained in the printed leaflet which I enclose herewith will show to a degree the effect of high taxation on timber conservation, or rather what the results will be if the present methods of taxation are continued. A new and serious consideration now confronts us and all causes which and to destroy the forest should be dispensed with, is possible. Any plan that will tend to conserve the lumber supply should be adopted and enforced.

“Lower taxation and other holding expenses will not necessarily increase the profits of the manufacturer, except as the additional amount of lumber  can market from the same land by cutting the timber when the market is right to justify its economical cutting. The gain to the manufacturer in this respect is also a gain to the consumer. The consumer would some day understand this and be thankful for it. The fulfillment of any plan which conserves the timber is what is needed and the final results will most assuredly inure principally to the benefit of the consumer.”

Very truly yours, E.G. Scammon

While daily email malfunction problems unfolded. I learned something new and not about technical computing. I had came across an article a seiche that occurred on Lake Erie. It is an interesting phenomenon where the wind action is great enough to force high waves and expose the lake bottom.

This occurred on Honey Lake as well. It was documented in the the Lassen Weekly Mail of April 9, 1915,  “ A party from Honey Island consisting of Henry Baughman, W.F Snare, and Alex Norwood were in Susanville yesterday. They made the passage from the Island to the mainland in a rowboat and report a very stormy passage. The waves were so high that the bottom of the lake was often exposed and the boat left stranded on the bottom. The party had to wait each time until the wave came back and floated the boat.”

Tim

Dry farming had its origins in the Great Plains since many locales receive from eight to eighteen inches of precipitation annually. The movement grew and spread to the Aird regions of the American West. For land promoters Northeastern California provided a lucrative market for exploitation. Eastern Lassen County with abundant public land available to homesteaders, and proposed irrigation project was an ideal setting.

By 1910, the region had exploded with desert homesteaders. An interesting segment of those were Scandinavians. The lure for them that one  could actually own land was irrisitable   Upon arrival there was a rude awakening to see vast sagebrush lands. Going back to the homeland was not an option. At least these hardy homesteaders had a benevolent Mother Nature on their side with way above normal precipitation. Things can quickly change and this was no exception. Two things happen in 1917, was the beginning of a severe drought, but a far greater impact was World War I.  By the mid-1920s, eastern Lassen County had been depopulated.

As late of the mid-1980s numerous deserted homestead cabins were still standing, but that is no longer the case today.

Never miss a story, click here to subscribe.