The Sacred Heart Church will hold its annual St. Patrick’s Dinner this Saturday, March 16 at Monsingor Moran Hall from 4 to 7. Costs: $20 for Adults; Children 6 to 10 $15 and those under six free.
This annual event started in 1917. The menu, of course, has evolved over the years. For decades the traditional corned beef and cabbage was never served. In 1974, Father William Storan was appointed the parish priest. In 1975, he requested that corned beef and cabbage be placed on the menu and that the church would slowly phase out spaghetti and roast beef.
Purdy’s Garage, date unknown. Courtesy of Margaret Purdy
Some one wanted to know about the history of Susanville’s T&A Lounge located on the corner of Main and Sacramento Streets. In 1939, my grandparents, Ira and Margaret Purdy bought the Main
Street frontage between Sacramento and Spring Streets. My grandfather had a gas station and garage on the corner of Main and Spring Streets. Ira sold the vacant lot on the corner of Main and Sacramento to Tony Tonin and Al Surian—hence the name T&A. It was a short lived partnership, but Surian’s son, Gino, still owns the establishment.
My apologies for using a photograph of Purdy’s Garage instead of one of the T&A. I am still in that transitory period with issues transferring scans, hopefully the transition is just a few months away.
In June 1927, the Lassen Advocate reported how “Fort Weatherlow” was threatened by fire. The reporter new to the area, was not aware that while the historic structure located on Weatherlow Street, was known as Roop’s Fort.
Fast forward nearly a century later, though Susanville has no newspapers, there are some online news outlets. Some of these outlets are staffed by people new to the area. No problem with that. However, when they occasionally come up with new names for established landmarks, that make me cringe.
This 1923 photograph of the north end of Eagle Lake, shows a lack of juniper trees.
The following is an excerpt from article that appeared in the Los Angeles Times on February 11, 2024.
“In parts of California and much of the Great Basin, land owners have declared war on pinyon pines and juniper trees, clearing them from rangelands with chains, bulldozers, saws and herbicides. At the same time, the trees are drawing increasing interest as a source of renewable energy — such as in California’s Lassen County, where 150,000 tons of the trees are fed into the Honey Lake Power Plant each year to generate energy for customers including San Diego Gas & Electric.”
Last week, I went through the process to upload newly scanned photographs. I came across this particular one, of the south side of the 700 block Main Street, Susanville, which was not scheduled for any story. A lot of changes have occurred. The former Spalding Drug building was destroyed by fire in 2005. At the far end of the block, the Pioneer, Grand Cafe and what was formerly known as the State do not appear in this photograph since those changes occurred in 1920 and 1934.
The former Spalding Drug building, i.e, 710, 712 Main Street, Susanville, January 7, 2005.
This site was launched on February 5, 2015. Two interesting events back in February 2015. One was the demolition of the Roosevelt Swimming Pool in Susanville. Then, on February 5 there was wild wind storm that in my opinion was very memorable. I never seen so many trees blown down by the wind.
Main entrance to the Susanville Cemetery, February 8, 2015
Of course, the web hosting service wants renumeration, and with a very substantial fee increase to boot. Ouch! The bottom line, I renewed for another three years.
In the Ask Tim segment earlier this month, this question was posed:
“My question to you would be what is the most interesting thing you have discovered in all your years of historical research and/or being a lifelong resident of the area.”
Before I elaborate any further, let me state one item. While we live dramatically different from our ancestors of 150 years ago, human behavior has not changed.
The salt works, January 1980.
At this time I will focus on physical historical sites. That alone is a challenge. So here are some runner ups. The remnants of Skedaddle Dam is a sight to behold. It is impressive, considering the dam washed away in 1892. Buffalo Salt Works in the Smoke Creek Desert, that dates back to 1864, is unique. What give its special appeal is how the salt over the years transformed the foundation of the wooden vats into somewhat mystical gnarly forms. Very special.
Sunrise Chamber, 2015, Belfast
Then, of course, is the sunrise chamber on the summer solstice at Belfast.
The site I have in mind, is of course exceptional and had no idea what to expect, until I saw it. It is a combination prehistoric/historic site, with a unique water feature that is so obscure that it does not appear on USGS maps. I have never photographed it, so a spring expedition is in the works before the reveal, but not its location.
Mess Hall, Secret Valley CCC Camp, 1936—C.H. Bennett Collection
On a quarterly basis, I ask you the reader, if there is something you would like to learn more about or maybe its something you heard, but question its validity. So here is an opportunity to participate. I will do my best to answer any questions. It should be noted, it may take awhile for the answer to appear as a post. The primary reason, many of the daily posts are done nearly a month in advance. So by the time you read this I am already working on posts for the middle of February, or at least I should be. Whatever the case may be, I look forward to hearing from you. Of course, it should be noted that paid subscribers requests receive priority. In addition, you can always send a request at any time.
During the winter months, I spend some time cataloging documents and photographs. A tedious chore, but one that has to be done. With that in mind, I came across two 1947 photographs of the aftermath of the fire that destroyed Susanville’s Hotel Mt. Lassen. Since the cement walls were structurally sound, the hotel was rebuilt.
Hotel Mt. Lassen, 1947
The Hotel Mt. Lassen has now been closed for well over a decade. The current realtor has a firm asking price of $1.7 million. Last summer, I happen to had a discussion with a building contractor who inspected the hotel on the urging of the realtor. It was the contractor’s opinion that it would cost at least $3 million to put in back into operation. With inflation since then, the cost is probably higher. It appears the hotel will sit vacant for a long, long time.
Every year has its high and lows. Personally, the beginning of the year was off to a rocky start. There was, of course, the never ending winter weather that did not cease until early May, that did not help matters. In March, came the computer malfunctions and I appreciated those readers who provided me with assistance. But to make up for the computer issues, that month I received C.H. Bennett’s photograph albums when he was the Company Clerk at the Secret Valley CCC in the mid 1930s.
In June I was able to experience some wonderful outings including the Smoke Creek Desert. This particular trip was significant to visit Edward Laird’s grave. The outing was exceptional with not only cool weather, but at the end ofJune that country’s vegetation was still very green.
The last half of the year, was hardly smooth sailing. November was a sad moment when the community and my personal close friend Noreen Frieling passed away. I, determined with Nor’s spirit, needed an attitude adjustment in December. It was the perfect dose of medicine.
I am ready for 2024 to spread good cheer to all throughout the year. Shucks, believe it or not I already have about half of the 2025 calendar done. Happy New Year to all.
