As promised, here is the story behind the coronation.

On September 24, 1902, Miss Lena Long won a lively contest to be crowned Queen, which was part of the festivities of the first Lassen County Fair to be held in ten years.

The coronation was a highlight of the fair, which began at 10:00 a.m. Queen Lena I and her attendants rode in decorated carriages from South Gay Street to Main and then to the head of Main Street where the new bandstand had been erected. When she arrived at her throne the Lord Mayor, E.V. Spencer performed the Crowning Ceremony. It was reported that, “Queen Lena as she sat on her throne looked the ideal Queen. Her robe, one of the most handsome money could procure, could not have been worn by a more lovely woman. Tall, stately, of the brunette type of beauty, Queen Lena is one of the most handsome of California’s fair daughters and as every one knows, California contains more lovely women than any spot on earth. “

The conclusion of the coronation was followed by a street parade. In the evening a reception and dance was held at the Emerson in honor of Queen Lena.

Lena later married Fred D. Hall and spent most of her life on their ranch near Standish. She passed away in Susanville in 1946.

It is never too late, subscribe today and enjoy tomorrow with daily notifications. You can also surprise someone with a gift subscription

Only two structures were built on this lot. The first was the residence built in the mid-1870s, and that structure stands today at 250 South Roop Street.

In the 1920s saw the invasion of chain stores to Susanville. They were met with mixed reaction. No matter what your opinion they were here to stay.

In 1939 the residence was moved to its current location to 250 South Roop Street.  It was replaced with the current structure which when completed housed Susanville’s first Western Auto. Business was so good it had to move to larger quarters on Main Street.  Since then it has a few different occupants. For many years, it was the office of Dr. C.I. Burnett. It was also the dentist office of Dr. Frank  Packwood. In 1979 for a brief period it was the home of the Lassen County Times. Since then it has been the office of Carol Curry, CPA.

It is never too late, subscribe today and enjoy tomorrow with daily notifications. You can also surprise someone with a gift subscription

Susanville’s Knoch building has endured a lot since it was first constructed back in 1893-94. The building’s location on the northwest of corner of Main and Lassen Street was originally occupied the local Masonic Lodge. The town’s horrific fire of 1893, where a majority of its business district was destroyed, including the Masonic Lodge, changed its landscape.

The Masons determined like the proverbial phoenix embarked on an ambitious plan to rebuild. The two-story native stone was dedicated on July 4, 1894.  The $20,000 structure was more than the Masons could afford and seven months later looked at options to dispose of it. One of the biggest creditors was David Knoch who lent the Masons $7,650.  Knoch, a Mason himself, offered to forgive the debt in return the Masons would deed the property to him. A lot of contentious wrangling took place, but in 1898 Knoch became owner of the property, and it remained in the family until the 1950s when his granddaughter Jeanette Worley sold it.

It is never too late, subscribe today and enjoy tomorrow with daily notifications. You can also surprise someone with a gift subscription

Yesterday, we examined the route out of Susanville’s western boundary. For some odd reason, I must have transportation issues on my mind.  To leave town to the south, required crossing the Susan River. Just like how Pine Street at one point became Prattville Road, the same name change occurs wherein South Weatherlow Street ends on the north side of Susan River and after one crosses the bridge, the route becomes Richmond Road.  The wooden bridge crossing the river was a contentious issue between Lassen County and the City of Susanville once the railroad was constructed. Back then, the river served as the southern boundary of Susanville. The wooden bridge could not support the heavy freight arriving at depot on Richmond Road.  It took some time for the two entities to agree to split the costs for a new bridge.

It is never too late, subscribe today and enjoy tomorrow with daily notifications.

One subscriber wanted to know the history behind this plant, which is also known as the Susanville Bottling Works. I must confess a lot of ignorance, as to specific dates, etc, so this will be updated when new material surfaces.

The original bottling works was established around 1914 by H.W. “Pop” Wharton. It was located at 906 South Alley between South Weatherlow and Union Streets. The building, painted a chocolate brown, is still there and converted into apartments.

In 1923, Howard L. McMurphy took over the complete operation. It was an interesting and lucrative time to be in soda business  with Prohibition. It saw not only the local production of Coca Cola, but a local line of the Mt. Lassen brand of sodas.

Sometime in the late 1920s or early ’30s a new plant was constructed at Main and S. Sacramento Streets. For many the star attraction was the large picture window on Main Street, where people on the street could watch the assembly line of the sodas being bottled.

In 1967, Phyllis McMurphy Beard dissolved the Susanville Coca Cola Plant and the local production of sodas ceased.

For five dollars a month by subscribing, you can receive a daily email on that day’s topic, and in doing so, help preserve a bit of history.

It is always amazing how fast time marches on.  It was back in April 1978, when Bank of America announced plans to build a new bank on the corner of Main & Gay Streets for $500,000. This was to replace the existing bank on Main Street that had only been built seven years earlier at a cost of $413,000. It was the latter building when it was constructed that got the community in an uproar, as Bank of America torn the original two-story landmark bank on the corner of Main and Gay Streets for a parking lot.

Note: This article originally appeared on April 19, 2015. I am selecting some early posts, to fill in while I am on the road to recovery. For five dollars by subscribing, you can receive a daily email on that day’s topic, and in doing so, help preserve a bit of history.