Harry Coleman possessed that wonderful “can do spirit” trait. He came to Susanville to manage Fruit Growers Story Club. In 1925, he became the post commander of the Thomas Tucker Post of the American Legion. Yet, it was previous year, that Coleman and four other post members made their ambitions known. In 1924, they attended the annual State Convention of the American Legion in Santa Cruz. They were not only there to promote Lassen County, but to put their bid in to become the host city for the 1926 convention. Initially, locally Coleman and company had a lot of critics who were skeptical about Susanville being a convention city. After all, it involved being host to some 2,500 people—more than double the town’s population.
The local Legionnaires began their campaign and traveled to various post throughout the state to obtain their support. In the beginning of 1925, four cities were in contention, including Susanville—the others being San Francisco, Santa Rosa and Stockton. By spring, San Francisco withdrew its bid and supported Susanville.
Their advertising campaign was called “Watch Our Smoke” a reference to Mount Lassen’s famed eruptions. One of their many selling points was how the community was joined together to build a new three-story hotel for the convention—and that is how the Mt. Lassen Hotel came to be.
Next month, more on their campaign.