George McDow, Jr. was born in Susanville in 1910, which that community was the verge on boom times, that never was replicated. George wrote his memoirs about those experience those twenty years. He spent considerable time at Chester  during summer of 1924. George wrote:

“The only store in Chester was operated by Jack Wardlow, who also had a dance hall next-door to the store. On Saturday nights and some holidays he would stage public dances. These attracted a lot of people from Westwood, even some Greenville and Susanville. The law in the area consisted of a Plumas County Deputy Sheriff. He had his hands full on Saturday nights jut keeping the peace, with no time to hassle the bootleggers, who sat in their cars, a few yards away in the dark and dispensed flasks of moonshine to the thirsty dancers, or anyone else who cared to imbibe. I soon learned that by arising early Sunday mornings, I would take a gunnysack, walk along the old split rail fences, which were then along Chester’s Main Street, and I could pick up nearly a sack-full empty flasks. It was not hard to find the town’s chief moonshine merchant. He would pay what I considered a fair price for my collection of empties. This provided me with spending money for fish hooks and occasional ice cream cone.”

Tim

Since it is August, one of my favorite outings is a venture to Plumas Pines Resort on the west short of Lake Almanor, in the area referred to as Prattville. This, Prattville is not to be confused with the original town of Prattville that was destroyed in 1914 to make way for Lake Almanor. This current Prattville had its humble origins  dating back to 1916. It was none other than the forest service who offered 88 lots for a special use permit fee of ten dollars a year..

In 1932, Adelaide and Fred Smith established the Plumas Pines Resort. The Smith’s operated it for the next twenty years. Since that time it has had numerous owners, but its always worthy a visit.

Tim

This is one of those Ebay items I came across. I am not sure what caught my attention the illustration itself, or the description on the reverse. “Lake Almanor, Plumas Co., Calif, is an artificial lake 20 miles long and covers 30,000 acre valley surrounded by heavy timbered mountains affording the finest wild game and deer hunting in the West. Since 1913, after completion of the dam which was begun in 1906, Lake Almanor stores 1,300,000 acre feet of water which contains Rainbow Trout weighing up to 16 pounds.”

While there is no date, these types of color linen postcards were popular in the 1940s and early 1950s.

Tim

Long before Chester’s big July 4, celebration, the first major special event that helped bring awareness to the fledgling community of Chester was a rodeo. In 1920, McKenzie & Stover sponsored the first rodeo in Chester at the Stover Ranch, and it was held there for the next eighteen years. Within a short time it became quite popular, initially attracting about a thousand spectators. As the word spread, by the early 1930s the crowds had swelled to between 2500 and 3000.

If the word-of-mouth advertisement was not enough to entice a person to attend, how could one not go wrong after reviewing this promotional literature of the event? “Cowboys, broncos wild steers, Indians, thrills, action and the shores of Lake Almanor takes on a scene of the old frontier. The wild west days of yore live and breathe in the 15th annual Chester Rodeo Pageant, Sunday July 28.

”Suddenly, like the roaring echo of Mount Lassen, the calm little logging hamlet, banked on either side by the tranquility of pine covered thickets of the Sierras, burst forth in gala Cowboy Rodeo Fashion almost overnight. A Cowboy’s curdling yipes-prancing cow ponies-the whirl of lariats-the snort of wild-steers careening, untamable broncos-strong wooden gates and corrals, wheezing and groaning with impending mass of animal flesh-a cloud of dust cheering grandstands; lack-a-day friends, it’s rodeo time.

”Join the throngs as they sit side by side in the tense moment, viewing the spectacle! Feel the thrills of your favorite cowboy. Give voice to your emotions as a wild bull bites the dust and is tamed to the tune of a husky cowboy’s bull-dogging yodel! Be red-blooded American and rejoice as history of the old wild west repeats itself. Plan now to have the adventure of a lifetime.”

In 1938, Stover & McKenzie held their last Chester Rodeo. It should be noted two years later saw the dissolutioon of that venerable partnership.

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In the early 1900s when Great Western Power Company began the purchases of property at Big Meadows, Plumas County to transform it into a reservoir known today as Lake Almanor, residents and visitors alike found the company was a not a friendly neighbor. Initially, Great Western required a person to obtain a permit to fish and/or camp on their lands. This had to be done at there San Francisco office. In 1908, they changed their policy and prohibited fishing and camping on their properties at Big Meadows.

A correspondent to the Plumas National Bulletin newspaper of June 29, 1908 informed readers that there were places in and around Big Meadows that visitors would still enjoy. The writer noted,  “Among the streams in Big Meadows and adjacent thereto in which it is lawful to fish and on whose banks it is lawful to camp are Hamilton Branch in the canyon before it enters the swamp lands of the east arm of Big Meadows purchased by the Great Western Power Company for a reservoir site..” The correspondent continued since Prattville was the gateway to the National Forest Reserves there were plenty of nearby streams and lakes which visitors could enjoy.

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