In case you missed the first installment, you can find it here. The newspaper had two eras—the Tremain and Cooks. On March 16, 1911, Fred C. Sefton purchased the Lassen Weekly Mail from J.M. Tremain for $3,000 and the transition was in earnest. Sefton’s news coverage was far superior than Tremain.
A fire, too, again shaped the newspaper. On October 9, 1911 the printing office of the Lassen Weekly Mail was destroyed by fire. Sefton moved to a new location on South Gay Street in the rear of the Bank of Lassen County building, where it remained until 1934. But that was not the only change on the horizon. In June 1913, Robert M. Cook purchased the newspaper. Cook, who was also attorney, worked in the newspaper trade in Philadelphia. But what he desired the most was to own a small town newspaper, and headed to San Francisco as a base for his quest.
It was a family affair operation, as his wife, Katherine and their two sons, Kenneth and Don were involved in the newspaper one way or another. In 1918, a women’s page was added, with Katherine in charge of that department. In 1922, “Weekly” was dropped from the masthead, and now the paper simply known as the Lassen Mail.
The good times would only last so long. On March 30, 1933, Robert M. Cook passed away after a couple of years of health issues. There was no question he was the guiding force behind the paper. A year later the family leased the newspaper to D.J. Makepeace. The newspaper struggled and in the spring of 1937, Ross Draper publisher of the Lassen Advocate acquired it. Draper continued with Mail, until December 1938. At that time it was merged to be the Lassen Advocate-Mail. When 1940 arrived, the Mail was dropped from the title.
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