As a public service announcement on Saturday, June 8, kicks off the Farmer’s Market in Uptown Susanville on South Gay Street. It is a wonderful oportunity to do some alternative shopping and a side benefit of some socializing, too.
I have been tinkering around with doing some guided Susanville Strolls during the Farmer’s Market. Quite honestly, I am a bit behind on plotting out some of the walks. It is not due to lack of interest, but other matters seem to creep in and disrupt my good intentions. If anyone is interested, just let me know.
Gay Street, looking north, 1864. Courtesy of Gilbert Morrill
There are many different ways to see the country. These Eagle Lake boaters were checking things out back in 1906. Courtesy of Lola L. Tanner
There are a handful posts that I repeat each year, and for good reason. With summer weather upon us, it is an ideal time to check out the many wonders that surround the residents of the Lassen Region. I hope this editorial from the Lassen Advocate of June 21, 1929 will inspire you to explore the wonderful country around us.
Know Your Country
If you were wondering what to do with your weekends this summer, have you ever given any thought to the fact that you don’t know your own county and the wonderful lake and mountain country immediately contiguous.
Within a few hours of Susanville there are numerous beautiful lakes as well as some beautiful streams and excellent camping spots.
How many have been to Drakesbad and to the top of Mount Lassen? How many have been to the ice caves near Eagle Lake and Wilson Lake?
There are many trips that can be taken from Susanville in the morning returning the same evening and traversing in the meantime a lot of new country that you have never seen before. Beauty spots near a mountain stream with clear sparkling water are numerous where one may have their picnic lunch.
Try and see your own neck of the woods this summer. You will find many a pleasant day in store for you.
In the 1980s, the forest service considered Gallatin House at Eagle Lake surplus property and wanted to demolish it. More about this later. Anyhow, the property is now part of of Camp Ronald McDonald at Eagle Lake. This Saturday and Sunday they will be holding their 26th Annual Memorial Day Pancake Breakfast from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. It only cost five dollars for all you can eat breakfast. Proceeds benefit Lassen County Kids Camper Scholarship Fund.
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 May, 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.
Something a bit different than the usual where are we question. This seasonal stream is highly visible to any one who travels south of Susanville on Richmond Road. It should be noted that in drought years it does not flow at all.
The 1931 Fake Eruption of Lassen Peak. Courtesy of the Plumas County Museum
Well, folks I finally did it, and succumbed to my own “Pandora’s Box” so to speak. You the reader are the beneficiary. I am delving into all kinds of archival records that I have not inspected in years.
There is the tale of Long Valley resident, Cary Sturgess, a mathametician who was half-albino, straight down the middle—which there is supporting documentation. Some interesting material surfaced about Viola Roseberry’s Native American basket collection of the early 1900s and how much she was paid to display them at San Francisco’s 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition. I hope that if I dig a bit deeper, to locate material of the Eagle Peak Ski Area near Doyle of the 1970s.
On March 1, 2015, I launched an ambitious program to do a daily blog seven days a week. I know crazy, seven days a week, 365 days a year. For the most part I have delivered, though there have been a few bumps in the road. In the back recesses of my mind, there were the goals to enthuse, educate and explore readers to expand their horizons.
Enthuse – One of the best examples to introduce people to region and get them excited is the annual Sunrise Summer Solstice Tour at Belfast. Attendees are enlightened and excited to learn more about the region.
Educate – Equally, important and this post contains an unusual words that begin with the letter e. To visit a site, but are not informed, is an injustice. Once a person is informed, it provides a whole new perspective.
Explore – Back in the 1990s, the Bureau of Land Management archaeologist and myself conducted prehistoric/historic tours. It was a popular venue. The current resource manager of the Eagle Lake Office of Bureau of Lonely Men informed me, he was enthusiastic about future endeavors, but it would be a solo endeavor on my part. The bottom line, was during those tours, it was the goal educate the participants and encourage them to do some exploration on their own, with an emphasis to respect and protect sites a person my visit.
There are numerous remnants scattered over a large territory of this failed million dollar enterprise. The first person to identify, will receive a 2020 Purdy’s Private Reserve Calendar.
Main entrance to the Susanville Cemetery, February 8, 2015, after the windstorm.
Today, marks the fourth anniversary of the launch of this website. It had a rocky start, when an extremely severe windstorm hit the region, knocking out the power. For some, the electricity was out for eight hours, for others nearly three days. In any case, since then, it has been an interesting learning curve for me.
Member Login has been the most frustrating feature, that has a mind of its own, and has not wanted to work. A perfect example occurred on September 1, 2015. That particular post, I had blocked from the public, so subscribers would have to login to view. Lo and behold, the post remained blocked, but the login feature did not work, so it was blocked from everyone. I set up the experiment a few weeks earlier, though when the day arrived I was in the hospital with a fractured hip, and was in Nevada hospitals long enough that I could have applied for residency! Anyhow, I have spent the last several weeks tinkering with it, to no avail.
Why the Member Login is important, in my opinion. It is the paid subscribers whose support helps maintain the site, and certain features should only be available to them. Once the Walking Guide Page is up, it will be a members only feature, thus to provide an incentive for non-subscribers to join. There are some historic films that I would like to make available, which again would subscribers only.
Then again, I could just scrap the Member Login, and just continue as is. Of course, I am open to any suggestions you might have.
Horse Lake Station, 1915. Courtesy of Nevada Historical Society
In 1996, the Union Pacific Railroad received permission to abandon an 85 mile segment of railroad from Wendel to Likely. Since then it has been converted into another “rails to trails.” It should be duly it was the NCO Railroad that initialy constructed the line and in the 1920s it was acquired by the Southern Pacific Railroad.
The Horse Lake Station later siding was established in the early 1900s by the NCO. It was so named after Horse Lake, located five miles to the west. An interesting footnote in its history. In 1913, the Shumway Post Office at Horse Lake was closed. In 1916, Horse Lake residents attempted to re-establish the post office and have a mail drop off at the NCO’s Horse Lake Siding. The postal authorities denied the request. They stated they did not need a mail drop off as there were only four permanent families residing in the area. In addition, it was cited, the NCO was an unreliable operation, with irregular train service, and since there was no attendant there, there was no way the mail could be protected. In 1961, the Southern Pacific abandoned the siding.
Foundation remains of the Horse Lake Siding, January 27, 2019. Courtesy of Anna Stewart
