George Moore digging out a speeder at Camp 10, January 10, 1952.
Fruit Growers Supply Company’s Camp 10, located in Pine Creek Valley, west of Eagle Lake was a lively outpost from spring through fall, where over 200 people called it home. For a time it could even boast its own voting precinct. Yet, when the logging season ended, Camp 10 was de-populated, except for one lone soul. A caretaker was hired to keep an eye on everything. In the winter of 1951-52, George Moore was Camp 10 sole resident. The position would soon be eliminated as at the end of the 1952 logging season Camp 10 closed for good.
In 1919, the Fruit GrowersSupply Company purchased the Long Ranch just north of Susanville for a sawmill site. Things dramatically changed and Fruit Growers considered using it a winter horse pasture and dairy. Ultimately, the property was leased to Frank O’Kelly who founded Lassen Dairy. The property is now Susanville Ranch Park.
While I do not know the complete history of Lassen Dairy,, while searching through Fruit Growers archives I did find this memo dated: December12, 1934:
“For some time there had been considered a revision of the lease under which the Lassen ranch is operated by Frank O’Kelly. Due to reduced income from dairy products he has been unable to meet the annual $2400.00 annual rental and the Company accepted for 1933, $1800.00 which at least offset taxes and expenses. The Operating Committee had approved the Manager’s recommendation, that rental charged for 1934 be $1600.00, and that a new lease be made with Mr. O’Kelly for five years at an annual rate of $1600.00, such rental to be increased to $1800.00 annually should the retail .price of milk advance to 10 cents a quart.”
In the fall of 1952 when the logging season ended for the Fruit Growers Supply Company’s Susanville operation something peculiar happened. Normally, the locomotives used in its logging operations would be stored for the winter at is Susanville plant to undergo routine service. Not this time, and they were stored at Camp 10. With timber supplies widely scattered, truck logging was more economical, thus it was the end of line for its railroad logging.
Loading logs with a McGiffert, at McCoy Flat, 1952.
In June 1953 Fruit Growers sold its locomotives, three McGiffert loaders and forty-eights miles of railroad iron to United Engineering of San Francisco, best known to naval shipbuilding yard in Alameda during World War II. Fruit Growers did not reveal a price. but the rail removal was a slow process and not completed until October 1954.
Camp 10, 1950. The family cabins can be barely seen in the background.
The dismantling of Fruit Growers railroad logging Camp10 near Pine Creek was a slow process. It was problematic too. Camp 10 was situated on lands owned by Fruit Growers, but Lassen National Forest, too. As Fruit Growers was winding down its long term Pinc Creek Unit timber sale, there was a provision of the Hazard Reduction Plan. Even though Camp 10 was shuttered at the end of the 1952 logging season, and 1953 it was still intact. Fruit Growers sold the majority of cabins that eventually ended up in Susanville as people used them for storage and rentals.
Camp 10, Cookhouse
It was not until the spring of 1954 that Fruit Growers and the forest service reached an agreement as to the demolition of Camp 10. In August Fruit Growers burned all the existing structures but the cookhouse was excluded. According to Fruit Growers’ archives the cookhouse was sold for $500, but the records failed to disclose the buyer.
Fruit Growers Susanville Box Factory as it appeared the day it opened on April 9, 1921—Ed Standard
On April 16 1921, there was dedication ceremony for Fruit Growers Supply Company mill. While the sawmill was placed into operation everything at least from the public perspective was full steam ahead. However, a facility that initially hired 1500 men to operate it would require a lot of work for every component to function. Case in point, and the reason for the mill existence was the box factory not placed interoperation until earlyJune., but was not fully at capacity until September. On brighter note, on June 1, 1921 shipped its first railroad car of lumber. The accounting department must have been pleased that with several million dollars expedpenditures to acquire the timber and built the mll, revenue was finally generated.
Camp A, Fruit Growers Supply Company, located just north of McCoy Flat Reservoir, 1921
When I transcribed this newspaper article in the early 1980s. there was one item just went over my head. More on that at the end of the post.
Lassen Advocate – June3, 1921 – Large cougar prowling in neighborhood of Camp A. A large cougar has been seen several times recently in the neighborhood of Camp A of the Frut Growers Supply Company. The animal has been trying to get at the pigs at the camp and killed several deer. Ray Ashton went out Tuesday with a view of taking shot of the cougar but the heavy rain spoiled his chances and he returned without seeing the big cat.”
Meat Locker/Cold Storage, Cap Harvey, 1947
Logging camp food was legendary. Subpar food could break logging camp operations. Yet, Fruit Growers were raising pigs at a logging camp to feed their workers was news to me. After all there were refrigerated rail cars to transport perishable food items.
Maps like their counterpart photographs add another dimension to the story. It does not matter whether drawn by cartographer or a simple hand drawn its all relative to illustrate a point. Then there is an instance where a map shows the unexpected. The government soil survey of the Honey Lake Valley (1915) depicts a NCO railroad station known as Italy south of Amedee.
The above illustration is the 1920 Cut-over timber map of the Fruit Growers Supply Company near McCoy Flat Reservoir. These maps were done on an annual basis. The Lassen National Forest Service had a similar map, since the timberlands of the forest service and Fruit Growers were co-mingled, that Fruit Growers was awarded a huge timber sale known as the Pine Creek Unit that the duration was thirty years.
The 1950s were challenging times for the Fruit Growers Supply Company., especially with its sawmills. They were faced with dwindling timber supply and equally important the conversion from wooden box to cardboard. There was no need for three mills, each required costly upgrades.
The Fruit Growers’ Board of Directors had an Operating Committee. One their tasks was an annual inspection of the mills and the company’s timber resources. In the fall of 1954, when the Committee arrived at Westwood the hot topic as to wether to keep Susanville or Westwood open. It was the consensus one would have to close.
Fruit Growers’ Susanville mill.
Westwood had an upper edge with recently installed Craveneerplant. The Committee withheld their decision until they returned Los Angeles, but it was apparent that Susanville would close.
After serious consideration it was decided to close Westwood and to build a Craveneer plant in Burney. It was noted Susanville still had sufficient timber resources, so it was spared. In 1955, Sunkist, the parent company of Fruit Growers announced complete conversion to cardboard and the wooden box as a shipping container was relegated to the past. It is interesting to note, that Fruit Growers considered converting the Susanville mill into paper/pulp plant to manufacture cardboard boxes.
Continuing on yesterday’s theme of logging, which back in the day was very labor intensive. A bucker was one saw felled trees into log lengths, normally a thirty-two.
Note: The hilke piler is the featured photograph for May 2026 Calendar. For those that might be interested, my 2027 calendar work file survived the move and it is my desk file drawer waiting for my attention.
In 1925, Fruit Growers Supply Company at its Lassen (Susanville) operation were always looking at innovative ways for efficiency and reduce labor costs at the same time. That year, they installed a Hilke Lumber Piler, the contraption had been invented in 1915 by Seattleite Henry Hilke. The piler was a very efficient means of stacking lumber outdoors. Not only did it reduce the aisle width for stacking of conventional lumber, but the machine allowed to make higher stacks. While a four man crew was involved, the piler could handle up to 10,000 board feet per hour. As one local observer noted: “To those who had never seen the new stacker in action, it is a most interesting and educational sight.”
