It was an ice skating accident which resulted in the last drowning in Honey Lake. On January 24, 1915, a skating party was held on the northwest shore with approximately 175 people in attendance. Continue reading An Ice Skating Tragedy →

In the mid-1870s, Susanville was still a one horse town with less than 300 inhabitants. Yet, for a time two newspapers were published there. The first to compete with the Lassen Advocate was the Lassen County Journal that operated from 1874-1875. It was succeeded by the Lassen County Farmer.

This newspaper made its debut on January 1, 1876. The Farmer was published by two experienced newspaper men from Reno—J.G. Law and William Lewis. The paper provided the best local news coverage the area had ever experienced. Making a living was another story. By December, Law had departed leaving Lewis behind. Lewis, too, would soon depart and return to Reno. He noted, “Running an opposition paper in one of these mountain counties is about as neat and easy a way to starve to death as can be imagined.”

However, Lewis was able to find a successor in Susanville resident Thomas H. Dawson. However, Dawson would soon learn how difficult it was to make a living and after six months the newspaper folded. The Modoc Independent newspaper of Alturas relayed the fate of Dawson’s plight: “The editor’s wail is pitiful. He says that during the six months which he has run the paper only twelve subscribers paid their subscriptions.”

On a personal note, I can relate to the above. Some times I have pondered that I made it this long, but I manage some how to cover the costs.

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Last week we delved into the Wolfskill family’s influence on the citrus industry. By the 1880s, in one way it was flourishing and in others floundering. The growers were producing great quantities of fruit. That fruit was in great demand back east. The development of additional transcontinental railroad lines provided access. Refrigerated railroad cars delivered the fruit in good condition. The problem was actually selling the fruit!

Haphazard distribution, unscrupulous agents and disastrous prices were threatening growers’ livelihoods. Brokers, upon whom the growers were dependent, worked on a commission basis with agents in the East. Growers paid a handling fee of fifty  cents a box—whether or not the oranges sold. They had no control over where the fruit was sent. As a result, some markets were flooded with citrus while others left waiting. It was a marketing nightmare.

Cooperatives provided the answer. Several small groups of growers banded together to market their fruit. Some, like Claremont Fruit Growers Association, did their own marketing. Others, like Pachappa Orange Growers Association, pooled their fruit instead of competing individually.

The financial depression of 1893 forced these growers’ associations to meet and discuss how they could work together to save their industry and to agree on a uniform marketing strategy. This was no easy task. They were, after all, competitors. Initially, they could not even agree on a meeting place, but finally settled on Los Angeles. In the the end it was successful.

The foundation was laid to stabilize the Southern California citrus industry. On August 29, 1893, a regional marketing cooperative was formed combining seven organizations into the Southern California Fruit Growers Exchange. It evolved to accept lemon growers, and citrus growers to the north to become the California Fruit Growers Exchange to reflect its broader membership.

In 1907, the Exchange created  a subsidiary cooperative, Fruit Growers Supply Company. Fruit Growers, is a purchasing  co-op to supply member growers to buy bulk supplies from fertilizers to nails, then needed for wooden boxes. Since only members of the Exchange   reaped the benefit of Fruit Growers, was an enticement for other growers to join the Exchange.

Next Week: One More Hurdle: A Brand New Name

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