Recently Mike Cole wrote in the comment section of Susanville Helipad:
“1972 was the first year for Bieber Helitack. I was a firefighter on the crew. The guy in white shirt was our pilot, fresh out of Vietnam Nam, his first name was John ( can’t remember his last name). Next up is FC Jack Waters, FAE Jack Perdue, and FGT (FC) Dave McNamara. We were issued nomex jumpsuits, before firefighters had nomex. I retired from CDF in 2006”
Thank you Mike, Tim.
With passage of the Volstead Act, i.e, prohibition certain businesses had to change to survive. Established in 1863, the Pioneer Saloon was one of them. It no longer dispenses alcohol, but it had its lucrative card games to fall back on.
Tim
P.S. – Still in search of a home.
As a rule, I I avoid Native American sites due to their sensitivity. However, some sites are well known and are routinely visited by many, and that is the case of Tommy Tucker Cave,
The cave was a significant archaeological site excavated by archaeologists from the University of California from 1949 to 1951. The cave is located 200 feet above the Honey Lake Valley floor. It was named for Thomas “Tommy” Tucker (1895-1918), a Madiu from Big Meadows (Lake Almanor), and the second person from Lassen County to die in World War I. One can read Francis Riddell’s complete report here.
Of note this somewhat a personal neglected hindsight. Riddell and I were friends, and on his twice annual visits to Susanville, at that time, he stopped by for a visit. Of course, we always had a lot to talk about. As the cave is attributed to the Paiutes, the one question I wanted to ask Riddell, why was it named for a Maidu individual?
In 1890, when NCO railroad’s terminus to be known as Amedee, no one knew, that initially it would become boom town. With the influx families, in the spring of 1892, residents of Amedee petitioned the Lassen County Board of Supervisors to establish a school. The Board denied it. Not to be defeated, the residents opened a private school in September with an enrollment of eighteen students. The residents again petitioned the Board to approve a new district. The Board granted it on January 27,1893, and appointed L.W. Brubeck, E.C. Brown and C.D. Hemmenger as trustees. Continue reading The Original Amedee School
While it is fairly common knowledge that the City of Susanville was named for the town founder’s daughter, Susan Roop, who later married Alexander T. Arnold. Many assume that the Susan River that flows through the community would also be named after Susan Roop. However, that is not the case, because the river was so named, prior to Isaac Roop’s arrival on the scene.
During the years 1851-1852, William H. Nobles located a new emigrant road from Shasta, California to Lassen’s Meadows, Nevada. This road passed through the Honey Lake Valley. Nobles named the Susan River for his wife, Susan Parker Nobles. While we know a lot about Susan Roop Arnold, very little is known about Susan Parker Nobles. She resided in Minnesota for the majority of her married life, moving to California when her husband, Nobles, died in 1876.
This falls under the category of Why They Came Here. Recently, Jeanne Baldwin sent me this inquiry:
“I found your name on a list as I was looking for information about Prattville. I am researching a family that was located in Prattville in the beginning of 1903 and wondering what the community would have had to offer to a small family that had been living in San Francisco. The man was a merchant and not a miner so some business opportunity must have been made available to have him move his family to Prattville. What was Prattville like? Do you have any thoughts about this?
Since the 1850s, the region has always been referred to as a junction to Beckwourth Pass and the Sierra Valley. It has been told that emigrants in the 1850s, when they arrived at this spot, shouted “Hallelujah” whey they saw Beckwourth Pass—at 5228’ its the lowest pass over the Sierra. In 1932, Orville Stoy took up an 80-acre homestead there. Stoy built a gas station and it became a popular stop, known as Hallelujah Junction. In time, a bar, restaurant and motel were constructed. There was even the “Hallelujah International Airport” that consisted of a couple of airplane hangers and a runway that was an abandoned stretch of Highway 70. In 1973, the State of California purchased Hallelujah Junction. It was obliterated for the construction of the four-lane freeway from there to the Nevada State line. In 1991, a gas station and convenience store was built at the junction of Highway 395 and 70.
If this post is disjointed, because my thoughts are out of control. However, I was served eviction notice yesterday, to leave the premises by Sunday night, April 12. Long story, for another time.
The old Baxter property on Miller Road, next to the cemetery, sound appealing, it being cozy. The agent, Cheryl Holmes,, unfortunately we have not been able to contact
If you have any short term and or either long term housing please contact as soon as possible.
If you do not hear back me, I have jury duty duty today.
Tim
Twice in Lassen County’s history there have local militia units of the California National Guard. The last time was during World War II. Initially, there was to be one large unit for Lassen and Modoc counties. That plan was neither feasible or practical and was dropped.
A new strategy was drafted. Inside each county, especially in large rural counties like Lassen, several local militia units would be formed. There duties were to protect the area in case of enemy invasion. Their involvement was confined to the boundaries of the county. Uniforms, guns and ammunition would be provided to each unit. They would also be trained in guerilla warfare. In Lassen County it fell upon the Farm Advisor (T.S. Brown) to organize these units.
On May 20 1942, the first organization meeting was held in Susanville. Local units were created for Susanville, Bieber, Doyle, Janesville and Standish. By the first of June, the Susanville Militia had 70 members. It became known as Thomas Tucker Militia—named after Thomas Tucker the first casualty from Susanville in World War I. Fortunately, this volunteer force never had to be activated. At the conclusion of the war, each individual’s enrollment in the militia was automatically cancelled.
P.S. – Still in search of a home.