Over the years I have met a wide variety of folks who have made the pilgrimage to the Lassen region to learn more about a family ancestor who resided here. Equally important for many is to see the lay of the land.
On many occasion they will bring with them interesting family mementos or documents. In one instant, I was literally overwhelmed what the grandsons of William B. Dillon had in their possession. It should be noted that their grandfather came to Hayden Hill in the early 1880s and died there in 1898. What these two men had were two issues of a handwritten newspaper “Town Talk” from Hayden Hill. These kind of documents are extremely rare.
There were two issues, with the first one published on April 7, 1884. The second issue, released a week later, the name was changed to Talk Town. The contents were rather whimsical in nature. Such commentary as “Snow fast disappearing” and “There was a social at the Hotel last evening. The music both instrumental and vocals was good.”