On February 17, 1874 the County of Modoc was created from the eastern section of Siskiyou County. It should be noted that in 1864, Lassen County laid claim to Surprise Valley, that is a story for another time.

On Saturday, July 6, is Fandango Days in Alturas, and they plan on celebrating Modoc County’s 150th birthday. I was delighted to hear this years’ Grand Marshall is Maxine Madison. Maxine and I go way back, and I first met her, she was working as Superior Court Clerk. When Iris Turner retired Modoc County Clerk, Maxine ran for that office and won! There was a time when I made numerous research trips to Modoc, and most of that time was spent in the Modoc County Clerk’s Office. Of course, Maxine and I had many an entertaining discussions whether it was the board of supervisors, elections or the courts. So congratulations to Maxine and Modoc County.

Tim

The big news locally is the Rainbow Family Gathering the 4th of July week just north of Antelope Lake. As they usually do, they select rural locations where by their shear numbers overwhelm local law enforcement etc. The easiest way to access the encampment is via Janesville Grade. What happens remain to be seen.

In 1984, the Rainbow Gathering occurred at Camp One Spring on the Modoc National Forest and near the Lassen-Modoc county border, not far from Blue Lake. This was their 16th annual gathering. It was estimated that between 22,000 to 28,000 Rainbows were in attendance–more than the population of Lassen County at that time. That gathering was marred by a horrible event in which Anne Figueroa of Oakland, “freaked out” and threw her baby into a campfire.

Currently, the Rainbow Gatherings are not as large as in the 1980s, and estimates range between 7,000 to 10,000 this coming week.

Tim

In February I received a request from Mark Hakvoort of Hollands Kroon, in the Netherlands. Their goal is to remember the
aircraft and crews perished there during World War II. You can learn more from their website here 

Hakvoort wrote: “We are searching for the grave of the USAAF pilot and his family at the Lassen Cemetery. B.A. Pollard was killed in action on 9 April 1944 in the Wadden Sea. His aircraft crashed / ditched in the cold sea water. The body of Pollard was washed ashore near the village of Hippolytischoef. His plane was the P-51B Mustang code 43-6761 C3-R. In the war he was buried at the “Zandburen Cemetery”. After the war his body was moved to the US assembly cemetery in Margraten. And later again moved back to the USA and re-buried at the Lassen Cemetery in Susanville.”

Benjamin Pollard was one of eight children born to  Silas and Frances Pollard. The family appears to moved around a lot and Benjamin graduated from high school at Beesville, Texas. By 1941 the family had located in Lassen County. Their daughter, Thelma  graduated from Lassen Union High School in 1942. When Silas Pollard received notification of his son’s death in August 1944, the family was residing at Herlong. Silas passed away in 1955 in Susanville and the family purchased several plots at the Lassen Cemetery near the VFW Section. Buried there are Silas, Frances, their son Martin and daughter Thelma. One family member, Arabelle Lauren resided in Susanville for a number of years. If anyone has information about the family, Mark and I would like to hear from you. The foundation plans to hold a memorial for Benjamin Pollard in October.

Tim