School calendars are constantly evolving. After all many schools fall semesters begin August, when there was a time when the school year dd not begin until after Labor Day.
Lassen High’s Class of 1907 held many distinctions. First it was the first four year class to graduate from Lassen. It should be noted that was the class of 1906, had several graduates that involved a three-year commercial course of instruction. The Class of 1907 has distinction of the latest held graduation being on Friday, June 21, 1907. Those graduates were: Medford Arnold, Jessie Hulsman, Hanchen Lesser, Jeanette Alexander, Kate DeForest, Ruth Hemler, Evelyn Hulsman, Lena Cahlan, Wright Spalding, Percy Holmes and Ralph Taylor.
Standard Gas Station, 900 Main Street, Susanville, 1938-Jere Baker
To be quite honest, today my mind is blank as to what topic to cover, may be it is moving fatigue. So I randomly went to a file cabinet and I just pulled a file. I do not know anything about this Standard Gas Station located on the corner Main and South Union Streets. There was an era when Susanville had nearly twenty service “gas” stations. Hopefully, I will be a bit more creative tomorrow.
Camp 38, Red River Lumber Company, 1922. It was located on the east shore of Lake Almanor. Courtesy of R.S. Pershing
The family dynamics of the Red River Lumber Company is fascinating. While founder, T.B. Walker, in his western expansion was meant that his five sons would be in charge. While that was noble, it did not turn out the way he envisioned. Three of brothers, Clinton, Fletcher and Willis would relocate to California, while Gilbert and Archie remained in Minnesota.
Clinton was the first t arrive in California as he assisted his father with the acquisition of the California timberland. It was Clinton’s first hand knowledge of the California timber, that he would be at odds with his brothers. Clinton was early day supporter of control timber burns. In the 1930s, Red River faced a myriad of problems. In a letter, dated August 10, 1935, Clinton wrote his brother, Archie, about his thoughts of the condition of Red River’s California forest. For posterity is the following excerpt:
“It is regrettable that the house of Walker has no forest man. Kenneth covers the nearest but he seems to be absorbed in the performance of log contracts; our annual fire and insect losses are staggering. A systematic annual light burning at the right season of the year would reduce and ultimately eliminate these sources of loss and the cost would be insignificant as compared to the loss and yearly increasing fire hazard conditions in the forests. Burning by means of power burners on or dragged behind tractors could be done very cheaply and the prospective danger of injuring hollow hulled trees could be eliminated by following the burning with a few shovelers. For the entire period of the Walker family timber operation we have centered our attention largely or almost exclusively to lumber operation. Kilne followed the woods and logging and now Willis is attending to the contract writing in log sales matters but little if any thought is be given to Forest matters. I think the Forest bill Introduced in Washington should be followed up and that a competent forest engineer should be working on our forest matters. We are doing nothing but slash down that wonderful forest and letting the fire and beetles burn and eat us down year by year without raising a hand or a voice to afford protection from these annual staggering losses. ”
Some communities celebrate a founder’s day, the date in which an individual located. It was on June 23, 1854, IsaacRoop set up a trading post on the Noble’s Emigrant Trail. Shortly thereafter, along with his brother Ephraim they constructed a cabin. Roop’s trading post had a home. It is interesting to note that in August 1854 Roop filed the region’s first water right claim to Smith Creek, later to be called Piute. Who was Smith and why stream was designated such is still mystery.
Ready to launch near Milford, 1905. Courtesy of Marge C. Foster
Many of the original Honey Lake settlers had an entrepreneur spirit, while in the throes of an establishing their new found home. One such individual was Nicholas Clark who located on the west shore of Honey Lake, four miles north of Milford. In 1857, his place was an informal stage stop. Taking advantage of Honey Lake, he advertised having two fine boats, whether for fishing or pleasure, equipped with quality fishing tackle. This was the first of many commercial boating endeavors on Honey Lake. It should be noted that in 1881, Clark had the only boat on Honey Lake.
The Gem Saloon, Susanville, 1908. B.R. Zimmerman Collection
The first Trustees of Susanville (now Council) not only had the difficult task of the basic organization of the town, but it was compounded that they did not have any operating revenue. It instituted a business license and the lucrative liquor license fees. After all, in 1900, Susanville had five saloons. Of course, this action did not sit well for some business owners. Not only did litigation ensue, there was a disincorporation movement as well. At the November 1902 Trustees meeting they tabled the matter for calling for special election to disincorporate. They cited there were was no need to incur the expense of the election due to the pending litigation.
Westwood Ballpark. Courtesy of the Westwood Museum
During 1938 and 1939 the Red River Lumber Company experienced a lot of labor strife. Due to a strike in February 1939, Red River closed the mill. A unique thing happened at that time, Westwood would soon have a baseball park. What is that old saying when life give lemons, make lemonade.
The mill workers had an abundant of idle time, Jim Travers came up with the idea that they could use some recreational outlet to dispense with their extra energy. On the property they were using as the wood lot was a partially destroyed house caused by a fire some time ago. Travers and Earl Yaber came up with the idea to transform the property into a baseball park, and the other strikers were supportive of the project. The AFL union asked Red River if they could lease the property for that, and the company consented. In no time at all, the volunteers quickly cleared the property, removing the old building and hauled in 200 loads of decomposed granite from Fredonyer Summit to spread over the baseball field. In short order the property was transformed into a ballpark that could accommodate 600 people, along with parking, drinking fountains, rest rooms, an enclosed press box and seventeen flood lights. Nearly 500 men and women contributed to the cause.
Map provided by Hank Martinez
On Sunday, June 12, 1939 the first softball games were held. First up was the Westwood AFL, who lost to Susanville’s Model Laundry by a score of 7 to 8. The next match was between the H.S. Anderson Club and Fruit Growers’ Story Club, which Anderson prevailed in the tight match that went into four extra innings with a score of 14 to 13.
In July 1925, the Susanville Hotel Company hired T.J. Rees, a Fallon, Nevada contractor, to construct a three-story 70 room hotel, on the former site of the Emerson Hotel, on the corner of Main and Lassen Streets. The estimated cost was $300,000. It was interesting to note, that the new hotel opened with little fanfare on April 27, 1926. There were skeptics who considered it a “white elephant” and would never be a paying proposition. A lot money has been poured into the building with little or no financial returns.
On a side note, Rees was in Susanville to construct the Masonic Temple. In the same time period, Rees was awarded construct the American Legion building which was completed on August 12, 1926.
Plowing the Paul Bunyan Road, April 7, 1948—Fred Lendman
While sorting through papers I came across the obituary of Fred. Lendman (1924-2011). Fred was one of many wonderful people that I met during my research journey. In 1949, Fred, a forester by profession, started his career with Fruit Growers Supply Company at Westwood. During the winter months, Fruit Growers assigned Fred a variety of jobs. In the winter of 1950, Fred had the job being the veneer log pond “monkey.” This job required Fred to keep a log supply going into the veneer plant and on occasion he would have to do the dynamite routine to blast the frozen segment of the millpond.
Paul Bunyan Lumber Company, 1953. Courtesy of Fred Lendman
When I met Fred in the early 1980s, he was working for the Paul Bunyan Lumber Company in Anderson. It was at this time, Fred telephoned me about a photograph collection that was bound for the dump. Off I went to Anderson, Fred gave me a box of some 300 8 x10 photographs of Paul Bunyan Lumber Company operations at Susanville from the 1940s through the early 1960s.
Some may find this of interest. This memo from Fletcher Walker, the resident manager of Westwood, the company town of Red River Lumber Company. It was dated May 4, 1916: “The point that is the most disagreeable about the plant is lack of houses to take care of families of the men who are working for us. The woman folks not being able to see that a large family in a tent or in a one room woodshed are not considered sufficient to put them up a house where they can have sufficient accommodations to be comfortable. It costs us about $500.00 counting lumber and labor to put up a four room house and ceiled in the inside. The same building without plumbing and ceiling costs about $200.00 less. To put the town in a reasonably comfortable condition would require 50 more houses and get families out of tents would require another 50, but every dozen houses that we build and get occupied gives us that many more of the most urgent cases and relieves the situation very materially, so as soon as we could see our way clear as to do so, we should start building more houses. On an income basis we should consider several factors, rent paid by the tenant, store, laundry, bakery, etc increased revenue and to have our men housed, for without any question a man spending his evenings and nights under cramped and unsatisfactory living conditions is not in as good condition to do a day’s work as one who is contented, also that the man with families are steadier workers, more loyal and accomplish more than the single men and far less liability of any labor troubles we have.”
