In 1940, Fruit Growers purchased its first fleet of logging trucks for the Lassen Operation (Susanville). Initially, the trucks hauled logs where it was impractical to construct a railroad logging spur. With improvements with trucks and a system of private logging roads, it was just a matter of time, when the logging trucks would make railroad logging obsolete. In 1952, the event happened, and saw the last year of railroad logging of Fruit Growers and Lassen County.
In February, I inaugurated a book-of-the-month, that featured Sagebrush Reflections. After all proceeds from book sales not only help support operations, but help finance future publications, in this case the stories behind the brands of the Pioneer.
It was not that long ago when one of the main components of the lumber industry was the manufacturing of wooden boxes to ship the nation’s vegetables and fruits. The Fruit Growers Supply Company was not your ordinary lumber company. Established in 1907, it is the co-operative purchasing arm of Sunkist. To protect the citrus grower’s interest in securing a supply of woodden boxes at a reasonable price, they went into the lumber business by accident at Hilt, Siskiyou County. With increased citrus production, in 1920 the company expanded and built a mill at Susanville. The demand continued and in 1944 Fruit Growers purchased Red River Lumber Company’s mill at Westwood along with the Burney Tract. Ten years later, the wooden box went by the wayside and the grower’s converted to cardboard.
To learn more about this book and to order simply click here.
In 1919, when the Fruit Growers Supply Company decided to locate its second lumber mill at Susanville, they thought that community would come forth to provide housing for its workforce. It kind of happen. Yet, Fruit Growers with over 1,000 employees for its Susanville operation, was too much for the community to handle. To be able to attract a stable workforce, Fruit Growers only option was to develop its own residential district next to the mill. Those streets all have names associated with the citrus industry, such as Sunkist.
For those not familiar with Fruit Growers, it is a purchasing agent for co-operative then known as the California Fruit Growers Exchange comprised of citrus growers. In 1907, the Exchange coined the brand Sunkist and in 1952, they renamed the Exchange to Sunkist.
Well, can you believe it, it has been one year to the date that the old barn at the east entrance to Susanville was destroyed by a fire. It was built in 1920/21 for the Fruit Growers Supply Company, who were in the midst of constructing their new sawmill/box factory nearby. Continue reading That old barn
Tomorrow marks the return of the farmer’s market in Susanville. Please note the location has changed and it is on Pancera Plaza, Main and South Gay Streets, and not the Susanville Depot. When the big lumber mills were established it was a bonanza to the local agricultural community. In 1924, the Fruit Growers Supply Company purchased the following for its workforce.
| 300 pounds of fresh apricots | 25,000 pounds of apples |
| 500 pounds of asparagus | 5,000 pounds of beets |
| 4,000 pounds of green beans | 21,000 pounds of cabbage |
| 3,540 pounds of cucumbers | 1,270 pounds of sweet corn |
| 10,400 pounds of carrots | 10,500 pounds of cauliflower |
| 2,200 pounds of celery | 5,200 pounds of grapes |
| 12,600 pounds of watermelon | 17,560 pounds of other melon |
| 11,600 pounds ofgreen onion | 50,000 sacks of dry onions |
| 13,400 pounds of peaches | 100 pounds of pears |
| 1,000 pounds of peppers | 13,800 pounds of tomatoes |
| 89,200 pounds of beef | 24,500 pounds of veal |
| 33,600 pounds of pork | 2,200 pounds of turkey |
| 3,860 pounds of poultry | 1,300 cases of eggs |
| 21,800 pounds of butter | 14,220 pounds of ham & bacon |
| 117,500 pounds of flour |
When Fruit Growers decided to establish a mill at Susanville, there were a number of factors to be considered. Due to its size, they had to meet the 1913 Workmen’s Compensation Insurance and Safety Act. At Hilt, Fruit Growers had to establish a hospital and since Lassen County had built a new hospital in 1916, it was initially thought it could handle their needs. However, that was not the case. Continue reading Riverside Hospital
Yesterday’s photograph featured the dynamiting of the Westwood millpond and the freeze of 1949. There was a side affect of that freeze. The freeze reduced California’s citrus crop, and in turn reduced the need of wooden boxes and Fruit Growers box factories in Susanville and Westwood were temporarily closed. In May when the Westwood box factory re-opened, it was only with one shift. Continue reading Westwood’s Rumor Mill
In January 1949, the temperatures plummeted to nearly thirty degrees below zero. The millpond froze. When Red River designed the facility, they placed piping from the powerhouse that forced steam air directly into the millpond near the sawmill. This system was no match for Mother Nature. To keep the mill operating it was necessary to use dynamite to blast loose the logs in the millpond. Continue reading Westwood’s Frozen Millpond
First of all, coming from a family logging heritage, its still hard to fathom, that lumber mills no longer exist in Lassen County.
The two largest mills, Fruit Growers and Red River maintained two type of winter log decks. Usually, normal logging operations ceased in November. Yet, to keep the mills operating throughout the winter, required to have a substantial amount of harvested timber. There was the log deck at millpond, and then a second one out in the woods. The latter was not brought into the mill until spring, since the winter supply was nearly exhausted. The log decks in the woods provide enough ample supply during the transition, since it would take some time when the logging camps opened in the spring, to provide a steady supply to the mill.
Christmas trees had a slow start around these parts. During the 1860s and 1870s the Susanville Methodist Church would put up a community Christmas tree. By 1900, the area no longer a pioneer outpost and with more prosperous times some of the local populous would adorn their home with a tree.
After World War II Christmas trees became a regular holiday adornment in most homes. It also started to become big business. In 1950, Fruit Growers Supply Company implemented a Christmas tree farming lease program. In 1966, they sold over 70,000 Christmas trees for just over $100,000. Between 1950 and 1996 Fruit Growers sold 1,422,158 Christmas trees at an average price of $1.51 per tree.