135 years ago
Leo Button, an old Honey Laker who has now taken up his abode at Silver Lake in Oregon, made a visit this week, and brought back with him a wagonload of furs and buckskins.

The furs he shipped to New York and the buckskins he sold to Sears, the Susanville glove maker.

He had also among his wares the pelt of an enormous grizzly, which he captured himself. At sight of the pelt, we felt like climbing a tree. Lee is a very successful hunter and trapper.

85 years ago
For the past week, Susanville has been hemmed in by a forest fire, requiring the efforts of 1,000 men to save a portion of the town from burning. The fire was kept away from all buildings and no property damage resulted inside the town.

The burned area is estimated to be 15 to 20 square miles and the Red River Lumber Company has lost some good timber in the district southwest of Susanville. The entire county is covered with an unusually large growth of grass and weeds which is now as dry as powder. With a stiff wind behind them, the flames ran through the grass as fast as a man could walk.

65 years ago
No grocery stores will be open Sunday beginning next Sunday, July 7, according to an agreement reached this week by stores previously open on Sunday.

Asking the understanding and cooperation of the public, the grocers explained they, too, want a day of rest like other people. They asked people not to forget to do their weekend shopping on Saturday from now on, with no grocery stores open on Sunday.

15 years ago
The recent discovery of a body north of Susanville has turned into a homicide investigation after officials determined the cause of death. On Saturday, June 22, sportsmen discovered a man’s body at the bottom of a canyon on Schaffer Mountain.

The cause of death has been determined as a blunt force trauma to the head. Efforts are being made to discover the man’s identity, including searching missing persons records and examining fingerprint records.

10 years ago
Severe drought conditions in Lassen County prompted the Board of Supervisors last week to unanimously request Governor Gray Davis to declare a state of emergency.

Five years ago
“Not enough water is falling from the sky,” said Supervisor Bob Pyle at a Bureau of Land Management organized meeting on Tuesday evening, June 28.
Pyle’s statement came in response to the question, “Why do you think there may be a lack of water?”

The public meeting, at the fairgrounds’ Jensen Hall, was held to collect comments about proposed water pipeline projects based on applications by the Fish Springs Ranch LLC and Intermountain Water Supply LTD.

Last year
The city of Susanville has had an imposed restriction on water in place since Sunday, June 27, when a mechanical failure in the city’s Well #3 caused problems with the water flowing from Cady Springs, the primary source of water to the city.

Public Works Director Craig Platt said after the amount of damage caused by the mechanical failure, it could be as long as a couple weeks from the date of the failure before the necessary parts are made in order to get the water system back to the operational capacity.
“Obviously we don’t want anything to die,” Platt said. “We don’t want people to stop watering their lawns and flowers. But our top priorities were to make sure we maintained appropriate fire levels for 4th of July as well as providing everyone with their necessary indoor water needs.”