Well, it is that time of year again, when a few years back I made my debut at Susanville’s now defunct Riverside Hospital. As is customary, this one day I take the day off from regular duties. To make up for my being a slacker, later this week I provide the interesting tale of Tough Old Westwood.
What has nearly become a universal question, is I am asked how I became interested in the area’s history. It was accidental. As a child, I spent a lot of time with my uncle Bob Rea and his best friend, Frank Satica. I was very gullible/naive then and I believed everything told to me. Of course, lots of people had fun with that! One day Frank told me the story of John Best “Buster” McKissick, the World’s First Champion Cowboy who was buried in Secret Valley. For once this sounded way to preposterous to me. Why would someone that famous be buried among the sagebrush and sand?
For once, I questioned this, not be someone’s fool again. So, I started asking around. The tales of McKissick grew larger. I discovered a whole new dimension of the area. When I visited one of McKissick’s relatives, Lena Trumbull, she showed me a photograph of McKissick’s freight team in front of the imposing Amedee Hotel. Well, this place Amedee grabbed my attetionn, from there I learned new tales, such as commercial boating on Honey Lake. Ever since then, one thing had led to another and continues to do so.
As to McKissick’s title, it turned out to be true, dating back to 1876 during the Centennial World’s Fair in Philadelphia. More about McKissick’s exploits in the future.
In days of yore, before Prohibition, it was the County Board of Supervisors who granted liquor licenses. At times it was a contentious issue. In 1907, the County Board granted Ed Driskell’s application to operate a saloon at Hayden Hill. The two largest mine operators there, the Golden Eagle and Lassen Mining Company objected, but the County Board ignored their plea. In retaliation, Golden Eagle, shut down their mine. It should be noted that the Golden Eagle was Lassen County’s largest and most productive mine.
In the early 1900s there was a nation wide movement of forming tree growing clubs to sustain a future supply. Of course, certain regions were in more dire need of trees than others. For a brief movement, there was an attempt to organize the farmers of the Honey Lake Valley for an co-operative effort to do the same. It never went anywhere. Continue reading Tree Growing Clubs
On 10:00 a.m. Sunday, November 15, 1936 at Sacred Heart Church, Rose Agnes Sergi and James Sacco were married. The bridesmaids were Louise Saffores, Concha Larrea and Camilla Alosi. The best man was Marion Larrea. After the ceremony a wedding breakfast was held at the Veteran’s Memorial Hall, with 500 guests. The centerpiece at the bride’s table was a magnificent five-foot tall wedding cake, weighing 250 pounds.
This is a good time as any to remind visitors to this site that there are a wide variety of books available on the region’s history, that can be found on this website. With the holidays fast approaching you might want to share a piece of local history with someone, or maybe give a gift to yourself. To make it simple click hereBooks
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.
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.
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.
It is that time to slowly focus on a new year that is quickly approaching. As usual I have put together a 2019 calendar with a wide variety of historic scenes that I have done for more years than I want to acknowledge. One has three options to purchase calendars:
1) Locally, you can purchase them at Margie’s Book Nook.
2) You can purchase direct online by clicking here
3) You can also email me to place your order, and it will be sent with an invoice.
Thanks