Susanville’s founder wore many hats, one being an attorney at law. There is the interesting tale when Roop was to take the bar examination for the Nevada Territory. At that hearing, a lawyer from Carson City attempted to provide Roop with some assistance. The bar examination was fairly simple and one of the more difficult questions was the definition of a corporation. The Carson attorney informed Roop that “A corporation is a creature of the law, having certain powers and duties of a natural person.” When Judge Gordon Mott, who presided over the examination asked Roop to define a corporation Roop replied, “A corporation is a band of fellows without any soul of whom the law is a creature, who have some powers and take a great deal many more, and entirely ignore the statutory duties imposed on them.” Thus, with that remark Roop was admitted to bar.

In 1865 Roop was elected Lassen County District Attorney and was re-elected to a second term in 1868. He never served the second term, as he did not post the required bond.

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In education circles there has been a debate brewing over whether cursive handwriting should be taught.

By 1850, Spencerian Script had been widely adopted in schools as well as in the business community. With the advent of typewriters it began to fade away in the early 1900s. By the 1920s, schools began adopting the Palmer Method. It was considered more streamlined, less laborious and faster technique.

Of note, the Spencerian had some quirky traits, which one sees a lot in early documents of Lassen County. A double “s” such as Lassen, looks like a “p.”  This was evident in the short-lived Lassen Post Office in the Willow Creek Valley that only operated from June 19, 1874, to July 14, 1875.  Some records cite it as “Lapen,” due to the penmanship of Edward Bonyman, its first and only postmaster.

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In the summer of 1937, V.R. McClure announced his intentions to tear down the Wrede Hotel and replace it with a restaurant and bar.  For whatever reason, he procrastinated and did not do the demolition until the fall of 1942.

The structure was originally known as Pringle Hall. When it was built in 1898, it was the most substantial structure in the new town of Standish. The downstairs housed Mike Phillips general mercantile store, while the upstairs was a hall, used for a multiple purposes. This is where the initial church services were held until a church could be built. It was also used for dances and various lodges held meetings.

As Standish grew more facilities became available. Frank Wrede purchased the building from James Pringle and expanded it. The upstairs was converted into hotel rooms. The downstairs had a store, restaurant and a branch office of the Bank of Lassen County.

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