I wish every one  good tidings and hopefully you enjoy holiday surroundings with family and/or friends.

I have not encountered any historical Thanksgiving observance of late 1800s in this region. It should be noted that there were a lot of  New Englanders settled in Lassen County. The above photograph of Folsom Ranch, now the Willow Creek Wildlife Refuge just north Susanville was an example. Orman Folsom, the patriarch, settled in Willow Creek in 1871. He was a native of Maine. Ben Leavitt, the father of the Susan River Irrigation System, also hails from Maine. Two other notables from Maine:  John Doyle, an early settler of Long Valley and for whom town Doyle for and Capt. C.A. Merrill the original promotor to tap Eagle Lake for irrigation to reclaim the sagebrush lands of Honey Lake Valley.

For the trivia minded, it was on October 31, 1939, that President Franklin Rosevelt signed a proclamation that designated the fourth Thursday of day of Thanksgiving. Prior to this, each region or states held their observance at different dates.

Tim

There is a certain segment of population that will be traveling on the highways, byways, lest we forget freeways for the Thanksgiving holiday. A century ago, the California Highway system was still in its infancy. It took nearly twelve years to construct Highway 36 from Red Bluff to Susanville.

One of the major accomplishments occurred on November 25, 1923 with the dedication of the Devils Corral Bridge over the Susan River, some six miles west of Susanville. The $45,000 concrete span made travel a lot easier. In 1966, it was replaced with current bridge.

Happy trails – Tim

Like so many words and/or phrases evolve over the years, and one such one is mentor. Many educational institutions are of the belief that a mentor is of a person that is experienced and a trusted advisor.  I think that is bunk and misleading.

Personally, in my historical research I never had a living mentor. On the other hand I was very fortunate to have a very supportive network of people who nurtured in my endeavors.

In certain ways, Asa M. Fairfield (1854-1926) I considered a mentor. He is best known as the author Fairfield’s Pioneer History of Lassen County.  He was also a highly respected grade school teacher. I, too, was teacher and briefly taught at Lassen College. My students were engaged and classes in many instances extended to well past 11 p.m.–thanks in part of my oldest student Phil Hall.

Anyhow, I am impressed with Fairfield’s  impeccable research of more than a century ago.  Since so many pioneers of the area had moved from the area, Fairfield did track them down, and had a vigorous letter campaign.  I, too, followed that route,  corresponded with numerous second generation pioneers. During that era, I amassed volumes of handwritten correspondence with many who were born in the 1880s and 1890s. Priceless. It should be noted that my first 25 years of research was a done pre-internet. While the internet is a handy tool, I still rely upon primary source documents.

Fairfield and I are also share a a common bond, we were both  disappointed  with our book sales!

Tim