There was time, that Ravendale on the Madeline Plains was more than a wide spot on Highway 395. Like so many locales, it had experienced some interesting times.

One of these accountss involved the Ravendale Elementary School during the 1938-39 school year.  Frances O’Brien had a contract to teach school that year for $1,320.  When the school opened in the fall, six students had enrolled.  The enrollment then dropped to four, and then to two, and by January 1939, there were no students. The trustees questioned whether they were obligated to pay O’Brien’s contract since there were no students. The matter was referred to California Attorney General Earl Warren.  Warren informed the trustees that they had to pay O’Brien’s contract whether she had any students or not.  Warren did state that the trustees and O’Brien could negotiate a compromise.  Whatever transpired is not known.  The school re-opened in the fall of 1939, with thirteen students.  However, Emma Metcalf replaced O’Brien as the teacher.

Seasoned California residents know that not only did Attorney General Earl Warren later became the Governor of California, but he went higher up on the ladder and became the Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

Subscribe

On the Madeline Plains, one just never knows what to expect, especially if it included well-known rancher, John Casey. Seasoned residents are familiar with his many antics, and this particular episode garnered national attention.

The tale began to unravel  when Bill and Florence Anderegg, caretakers of the Dodge Ranch in the eastern section of the Madeline Plains brought 13 Laotians to Lassen Memorial Hospital for medical care. Lassen County Welfare Director Marty Herzog was notified. Herzog in turn contacted the Northern California Emergency Team out of Redding and on September 2, 1976 they visited Dodge Ranch to find 27 Laotian refugees there, who were in dire straits. Fortunately, Vang Song, was the only Laotian that could speak English. The Laotians were bused into Susanville, where they were given additional medical care, clothing, food and shelter. By mid-September the Laotians were transported to a refugee camp near San  Diego, so they could find jobs and sponsors. When John Casey was questioned about the Laotians, he pled ignorance, even though according to Vang Song, Casey was their sponsor from Thailand.

Donate

While Ravendale appears these days as a wide spot one passes through the Madeline Plains, that was not case over one hundred years ago.  An interesting note is that it was a decade after the NCO Railroad built its line through there that a town came into existence. In the early 1910s, the town flourished. In 1914, it formed its own Chamber of Commerce. This was used as a vehicle to promote the town next year at the Panama Pacific Exposition in San Francisco. It met with little success, end of story.

Subscribe

Should you happen to find yourself on the Madeline Plains today stop by the Ravendale Post Office and say hello to Nancy Rendel, Postmaster. On this date in 1910 the post office was established with William B. Edwards as its first postmaster. Times were tough on the Madeline Plains during World War I which depopulated the region. The Ravendale Post Office closed on November 15, 1920, though with good fortune it re-opened on May 19, 1921.

Subscribe!

Termo came into existence with the arrival of the NCO Railroad. The post office was first established on September 18, 1900, with Edmund Welch as postmaster. The post office then was discontinued on August 1, 1908, because the small community suffered from illusion of grandeur that never prevailed. With the arrival of new homesteaders, the post office was once again re-established on September 2, 1915. On January 31, 1989, postal officials from Reno, Nevada inspected the premises. They feared that due to the snow and ice accumulations on the building that it might collapse, creating not only hazard to the postmaster, but to the patrons as well. On February 2, 1989, the post office was officially closed.

Support!

In early 1942, the U.S. Government was frantically evaluating possible sites for internment camps for Japanese citizens in the western states. Tulelake was considered as a site due to the potential for agricultural production using internee labor. In April, 1942, civic organizations in Tulelake, Malin, Merrill, and Klamath Falls objected to locating a camp at Tulelake and instead suggested it be located on the Madeline Plains. However, the government decided on Tulelake, and the possibility of an internment camp on the Madeline Plains was ended.

Information from Forced Farming in America, Agriculture at the Tule Lake Relocation Center, 1942 – 1946, by Michael David Schmidli. Copies available at Margie’s Book Nook

To order, click here.

Subscribe!