Walker’s Then & Now

October 23, 2016 Tim Purdy 3 Comments

Walker’s was an iconic Susanville institution for nearly forty years. It first started as a small hamburger and shake stand on the corner of Main and Alexander Avenue. It later expanded into a full-fledged restaurant that was popular with the locals and travelers, too. In the 1970s, the City of Susanville made a realignment to Alexander Avenue, and the gas station was moved next door.

For the past several years the building has undergone extensive renovations. There is a lot of speculation what the former Walker’s is going to be reincarnated into. In due time, we will find out one day.

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History

Durbin Nursery

October 22, 2016 Tim Purdy Leave a comment

In 1928, the Lassen National Forest Service leased seven acres from Lassen County on Richmond Road for a tree nursery. It was originally named the Susanville Nursery. The name was changed in 1932, when William G. Durbin, the Lassen National Forest Supervisor retired after ten years on the Lassen. C.W. Corson, a recent graduate of the University of Minnesota has hired to be in charge of it. It was their goal to raise 750,000 of pine seedlings over a five year period. In addition, experiments were done with cedar, fir and sequoia.

The first planting was done in 1930 to assist the reforestation of the burn on Antelope Mountain west of Eagle Lake. In addition the nursery provided seedlings to the various national forest service throughout California. It was unique that it was only large Forest Service nursery in California. In 1936, after the establishment of Lassen College’s Forestry program many of those students worked at Durbin Nursery.

Unfortunately, I do not at this time, have a date when the nursery ceased operation, but it appears sometime in the early 1950s. The property is best known today as Diamond View School.

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History

Anna M. Stiles

October 21, 2016 Tim Purdy 2 Comments

Born Anna Marie Goumaz on July 22, 1839 and was a small minority of German Swiss immigrants to Lassen County. By the 1890s, a second wave arrived, but from the Canton Ticino, better known as Swiss Italians, but that is another story. In 1851, her parents along with nine children migrated to the United States finally locating in Illinois. In 1863, Anna and her two brothers, Philip and Isadore decided to go west and found a new home in the Honey Lake Valley. On March 10, 1864, Anna married rancher Lyman C. Stiles. Continue reading Anna M. Stiles →

History

A winter weather forecast

October 19, 2016 Tim Purdy Leave a comment

A view of Diamond Mountain, from Lassen High School's agriculture fields, 1916. Courtesy of D.M. Durst Collection — A view of Diamond Mountain, from Lassen High School’s agriculture fields, 1916. Courtesy of D.M. Durst Collection

While compiling an article about winter weather for the December issue of the Northern California Traveler, I thought the following would be interest, since Diamond Mountain’s current dusting of snow.

In the local columns of Susanville’s Lassen Advocate of October 22, 1909, the paper reported: “The weather prophets say if the thin coating of snow on the summit of Diamond Mountain lasts any considerable time without melting, we may expect a light snowfall this winter. Some of those weather prophets have been watching this indicator for thirty years or more, and ought to know.” Those prophets were correct in their observation, as it turned out to be a dry cold winter, most of the Honey Lake Valley was fogged in during the month of January.

As to my prediction, ask me in March.

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History

Father Moran’s Quest

October 18, 2016 Tim Purdy Leave a comment

On April 9, 1939, Father Patrick J. Moran during his Easter Sunday service announced his intention that Sacred Heart Parish needed a new church. It was rather dramatic, since Moran had only been appointed to take care of the spiritual needs of Sacred Heart four months prior.

The old wooden church was built in 1892, and it was originally located on Richmond Road, adjacent to the bridge over Susan River. In 1909, the church was moved to the corner of Union and Nevada Streets. However, the years had taken a toll on the wooden frame structure, and many parishioners complained that it was cold and drafty in the winter months, since the only heating was an ornate wood stove.

Moran, in his address, concluded that a new church would be built on the site of the current one. The following year, Moran received Bishop Robert Armstrong’s blessing. Shortly afterwards Sacramento architect Clarence C. Huff was awarded the contract to design the new church.

Sacred Heart Church,on Richmond Road 1905. Courtesy of Sacred Heart Church

However, Moran’s quest would take nearly ten years for it to come to fruition. More about that in a future post.

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History

Missouri Bend School

October 17, 2016 Tim Purdy 2 Comments

The school district was established on February 3, 1879 from the eastern portions of Janesville and Lake School Districts. Shortly thereafter, the residents built a schoolhouse without a bond measure. On May 31, 1884, Leonard Hicks donated the land for the school. On December 17, 1909, voters approved a $1,500 bond measure to construct a larger school. During the early 1950s, voters throughout the County were routinely asked for consolidation of school districts. In 1954, Missouri Bend merged with Janesville. This schoolhouse remains, and for awhile it was used as a private school, but now sits empty.

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History

Where are we? – Fleming Unit F&G

October 16, 2016 Tim Purdy 1 Comment

A view of the Skedaddle Mountains from the picnic area. September 28, 2016

In 1944, the Fleming Ranch adjoining Honey Lake was sold to the State of California and converted into the Fleming Unit, Wildlife Refuge, which the State had also acquired the nearby Dakin ranch.

In 1890, John James Fleming (1871-1941), a native of Scotland, came to the United States to Modoc County where he engaged in the sheep business. On October 5, 1910, John J. and his wife, Ora Lee (Moulton) Fleming, purchased the Honey Lake ranch from D. Grant and Edith Beale for $1,000. Fleming, along with his brother Robert, purchased extensive land holdings throughout Lassen County—in 1924, they purchased the Stanford Summer Range that consisted of 1,900 acres. In 1942, Ora Lee Fleming, then a widow, and Robert Fleming began the liquidation of their vast holdings—35,000 acres of rangeland and 6,000 acres of farmland.

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History

Your Topic

October 15, 2016 Tim Purdy 2 Comments

On a quarterly basis, I ask you, the reader, if there is something you would like to learn more about or maybe its something you heard but question its validity. So here is an opportunity to participate. I will do my best to answer any questions. It should be noted, it may take awhile for the answer to appear as a post. The primary reason, many of the daily posts are done nearly a month in advance. So by the time you read this, I am already working on posts in the middle of December. Whatever the case may be, I look forward to hearing from you. Of course, it should be noted that paid subscribers requests receive priority. In addition, you can always send an request at any time. Such is the case with the Bayley Creek Sawmill on the north side of Fredonyer Peak.

The topics readers wanted to learn about from the last inquiry are a wide range from Cy’s Dairy, and Grabel’s Hole and forthcoming in December are Willard Hill and Roxie Peconum.

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History

Susan River Ranch

October 13, 2016 Tim Purdy Leave a comment

Some ranches retain their names long after the original owners sold. A perfect case is the Bare Ranch at the southern end of Surprise Valley. In 1880, Thomas Bare sold the ranch, though all these years it is still known by his name.

The Susan River Ranch appellation does not have that enduring name. The property located on Johnstonville Road a few miles east of Susanville. It was originally a part of the Bangham Ranch. In 1948 the property was acquired by Dale Soule. Construction of the house began in 1950 and over the course of time additional buildings were constructed. However, in time the property was too much for the Soules who had other business interests in Susanville to tend to. The next owner was Lawrence Holland and he owned until his death in 1969.

In 1973, Ray and Elberta Fraley purchased the ranch, who had spent many years in the Standish district. It was ideal for Ray as it just the ideal size for a semi-retirement ranch to raise his registered herd of Red Angus cattle. After Ray’s passing in 1979, Elberta sold the place. Its been through a number of owners over the years, though its no longer referred to as the Susan River Ranch.

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History

Hackstaff – Lassen County

October 12, 2016 Tim Purdy Leave a comment

Known today as Herlong, and was the one-time junction of Nevada-California-Oregon (NCO) and Western Pacific (WP) railroads. In 1915, Stanley G. Rayl arrived on the scene. When Rayl petitioned to establish a post office, he proposed the name Rayl—the NCO opposed it. Charles Moran, President of the NCO, wanted the post office named Hackstaff—in honor of his mother-in-law, Clara Hackstaff Adams. After five months, the Postmaster General decided upon the name of Rayl, instead of Hackstaff. This delighted Robert M. Cook, editor and publisher of the Lassen Weekly Mail, Cook wrote: “ The NCO wanted a monument to an uncle of the wife of Moran, the New York capitalist behind the NCO. Hackstaff was never in Lassen County and no one here knows anything about him.” When Rayl left in 1921, he assigned the postmaster duties to Cyrus Helman. Those two men had a disagreement and fought that battle in court. In the end, the Rayl post office closed. On March 18, 1922, the Hackstaff Post Office was established with Helman as postmaster. It did not last long and the post office closed on December 30, 1922. In 1927, Hackstaff’s meager population was wiped out when the WP moved its section crew to Doyle. The location continued to be known as Hackstaff until the Sierra Army Ordinance Depot was established in 1942.