Over the next few weeks we will explore some Lassen  College’s history as in May the institution will observe its centennial. Of course there will be features  such as gunsmithing, forestry, Paul Bunyan Days, Willard Hill and groundbreaking for the new campus.

My family has had a long association with the college. My great aunt Olive Farwell Murrer was a member of the first graduating class of 1927. My Aunt Irene Bengoa Purdy Trout was a Lassen College graduate and later was elected a college board trustee. In the mid-1980s I taught a course in Research Techniques in Local History at the college. I also served on the college board from 2011-2020.

If you have a Lassen College story to share let me know.

Tim

There was a lot hard work involved with the establishment of Lassen Volcanic National Park. If it was not for violent volcanic eruptions of Lassen Peak in 1914-15, the park might not have been established. In 1916, when President Woodrow Wilson signed the law to create Lassen, for the most part it was in name only. Congress only allowed an  annual appropriation of $5,000 a year,. It should noted due World War I , Lassen never received a dime. To make matters worse the initial administration of Lassen was handled by Yosemite National Park officials.

Yet, Lassen Park advocates were a persistent bunch and they explored a variety of avenues. Take for instance in 1919, when former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt died, consideration was given to rename Lassen after Roosevelt. Not only would it be a memorial in his honor, but it was considered a venue to overcome its financial dilemma with Congress. On the face it was a worthy idea, but it never happened. By the mid-1920s, Lassen overcame the appropriations barrier, barely.

Tim

A subscriber placed a question on the quarterly Ask Tim post about suggested reading materials of the Native American community. I am working on it. The title above is misleading. While it is designated of the California Indians series, volume five pertains to the settlement of Lassen and Modoc Counties.  It should be noted Garland Publishing market was not mainstream in the sense was geared toward academia and libraries. Since I personally knew Davis, who at that time was the director of the California State Archives, he alerted me to its publication.

Davis, of course, devotes a chapter titled Indian Meets White. Davis provides one with some introspection in  a tragic episode of history. He wrote: “The stakes of the contest were high. Retrospection is wide of the mark  it does not note that, although both races were wrong, many times and more, each showed much willingness to work toward justice as it viewed in those days. Each felt its cause was right and each was determined to let nothing stand in the way of the maintenance of that right. The story is one of the head-on collision of two civilizations, and of the unending struggle for survival.”

Tim

On May 30, 1914, when Lassen Peak awoken from its slumber with its first eruption, it was an attention grabber to say the least. With each new eruption, caused even more excitement. In the fall of 1914, some practical jokers climbed Beckwourth Peak near Portola. According to one report a big “red”fire” could be seen by many. The stunt , of course, was to resemble a volcanic eruption. Some observers swore they actually heard rumbling noises in the mountain.

Tim