Well, here it is the day after Thanksgiving and some folks use the holiday weekend to obtain a Christmas tree. A fixture in Susanville for many decades was Beckett’s Christmas trees.  In 1938, Charles Beckett founded the enterprise. Beckett had two locations for growing the trees, one locally on Worley, nee Roop Mountain, just west of Susanville, plus 4,000 acres in Siskiyou County, as well as some leased properties. Beckett stated silvertips were the most popular tree, which referred to as “the Cadillac of Christmas trees.” In the 1970s he sold approximately 40,000 trees annually, with some good years that doubled that figure.

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One hundred years ago witnessed the worldwide flu pandemic. It caught many by surprise, and Lassen County, like so many others were not prepared how quickly it spread, nor how deadly it was. In early October 1918 the flu made its presence in the communities of Susanville and Westwood. On October 10, forty-year-old Lassen County Surveyor, Thad McKay, became the first victim. A week later, Dr. F.H. Shanks, Lassen County Health Officer issued a statement that yes, the flu was prominent, but a mild one, and citizens to take the necessary precautions of any health crisis. Everything changed quickly with the death of Stephen F. Watson on October 17, shortly followed by two more members of the Watson family. By early November there were over 300 cases of flu in Susanville, roughly one-third of the town’s population.  On November 11, 1918, the City held a special session and ordered the closure of the town’s saloons and other public gathering places. The ban was not lifted until November 20, after a decrease in new flu cases.

As a public service announcement, it is not too late to get a flu shot.

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Yesterday, we examined problems with Highway 36 west entrance to Susanville. One of the worst accidents to occur there happened early afternoon of November 12, 1974. Robin Scherbarth was driving a cattle truck on a long haul to Nebraska. The truck hauling 70 head of cattle, had a brake failure and could not navigate the turn, struck the three foot high retaining wall. The weight of cattle shifting causing the truck to jump the wall, did a complete roll over, landing back on its wheels, after it had struck the residence of Ardene Purdy. Scherbarth was ejected from the truck, his injuries were fatal. Amongst the chaos, were the cattle were on loose, some managed to make it over to the Elk’s Lodge to graze on the lawn there. A make shift round up was conducted and eventually the cattle were taken to the old L.C. Smith until another truck could finish the transport to Nebraska. Major damage was done to the living room of the Purdy residence.

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With the construction of present day Highway 36, there was an issue between the State and City of Susanville as how it would enter the town. It was agreed upon to abandon the old route of Prattville Road and North Pine Street.  A new approach was agreed upon to connect South Pine Street. Yet, there were a lot of contentious issues, especially since the State would only construct to the city limit, and the City was responsible for the final approach costs. Furthermore, the City did not like the “S” curve design and considered it dangerous. It was built anyhow, and proved to be an accident prone place.

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The early day dispensers of adult beverages were a creative bunch when it came up with ways to attract customers. In early 1880s, Joe Hale, co-owner of the Pioneer, for a brief time had a bear cub at the bar. Initially, all went well, until the cub grew much larger and had to be turned loose for the safety of Hale and his patrons.

In 1907, B.R. Zimmerman, proprietor of the Gem Saloon, installed a new upright player paino—just not any kind. It was an electric player piano, if no one was available to play it, one just pushed a button and it played  by itself. As one observer noted, “The instrument is a beauty, and should prove a winner in public favor.”

1912, the Blue Goose Saloon, to make its establishment stand out from others—after there were more saloons than houses of worship—installed the town’s first outdoor neon sign. The sign did not have a long life, as the following summer it developed an electric short, which started a fire and burned down a portion of the 600 block in Susanville.

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As the  old saying goes on family businesses, the first generation makes it, the second generation uses it and the third loses it. Of course, there are exceptions, such as the fourth generation wants to do something entirely different. Such was the case with the Knoch family. David Knoch’s two great-grandchildren, Janis and J.D. Worley had no intentions to remain in Susanville. So on November 6, 1956, their mother, Jeanette Worley sold the Knoch Building that had been in her family for three generations to  Tony and Hersoule Legatos for $69,500.

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In February 1935, the residents of Susanville were astir as they watched the new neon sign being installed on the newly constructed Sierra Theater. Purportedly, when the sign was installed it was the largest neon sign installed in Northern California. More importantly, the residents were anxious for the new theater to open. The previous Liberty Theater was condemned by the City in August 1934. The Liberty was torn down in September to be replaced with the current Sierra Theater.

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The 1930s were a financially difficult time for Med Arnold, the grandson of the town’s founder, Isaac Roop. In a desperate need of funds, on October 8, 1936, Arnold put Roop’s iconic landmark up for sale. This in turn spurred a grass roots campaign movement to raise funds.  In May 1937, the City of Susanville purchased it. When the Shasta-Cascade Wonderland Association held its 1937 convention that fall in Susanville, one of its highlights of the meeting was the dedication ceremony of the landmark, with California Governor F.F. Merriam as the guest speaker. In 1974, Roop’s Fort was entered into the National Register of Historic Places.

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