Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/523854
Onehundredyearsago, May 17th it was reported that from 9:30 to 11 p.m., Mt. Lassen was belch- ing fire, dense columns of smoke and ashes several hundred feet above the cra- ter. My father had a stroke, but he tried to tell his nurse the following story, which she had written down for us. "Lyman said he was just a kid (10 years old) on the spring sheep drive to the mountains when Lassen Peak erupted that spring. His father (Hillman), Un- cle Ora Willard and a cou- ple of herders were on the drive. "All either rode horse- back, walked or drove the cook wagon, pack horses too. "They could see the mountain peak blowing smoke; some days light color, some times darker. "They drove the sheep thru the soft, silty dust. The very fine dust, some- times shoe top high from about Wilson Lake to our sheep corrals at Susanville. It was real deep near Ches- ter and the Big Meadows. "The sheep could not find grass. They nibbled on brush and their wet noses collected dust. There was dust on their wool in the early morning when they were wet with dew. The dust on the brush would fall off, in the afternoon winds. "All that summer in the mountains dust was in the air. It fell on our beds, on the ground. We even had Mt. Lassen dust at our place that summer." May5,1926DailyNews Freak Hail and Rain Storm Hits Northern Parts of the County, front page headline. A freak storm, one of the most unusual that ever visited this district, did considerable damage to property and growing crops in the sections from Antelope Valley to Cot- tonwood last night. Rain and hail fell in torrents a few miles east of here, swelling the streams with startling sudden- ness. In some places the storm had the appear- ance of a cloudburst. Above the leaden col- ored clouds moving men- acingly in a direction, part from the south, from which direction the wind was coming, and the oth- ers from the northwest, all presenting a peculiar phenomena. Willard's Sheep Drowned Probably the heavi- est loss sustained in the storm was that of Hill- man and Lyman Willard, woolgrowers of this city, whose band of sheep, es- timated at about 1100 was engulfed in the sud- den rise of Salt Creek, four miles east of Red Bluff. Six hundred of the sheep were drowned, as were 20 head from the flock of Ballard and Soares in the same vi- cinity. The unusual storm de- scended on some farms, lifted in places, doing scarcely any damage to neighboring ranches and swooped down on oth- ers. The hail stripped an apricot orchard near An- telope schoolhouse, leav- ing the trees destitute of even leaves, but did no particular damage to other farms there. Field of Wheat Flat- tened A large field of wheat which Elmer Vestal of this city was raising on the Gurnsey place in An- telope Valley was flat- tened to the ground and probably destroyed. It was reported this morning that County Su- pervisor Alex McCullagh lost at least part of his cherry crop in Oak Park district. Hail fell to a depth of four inches on the Creath Dale ranch in Paynes Creek section, where the storm seemed to center. Bridge Swept Away Seven Mile creek bridge, half way from Red Bluff to Paynes Creek, was washed away by floods, temporar- ily holding up traffic on the Susanville highway. It was expected to have the road repaired so that travel could be resumed this afternoon. May 1926 Daily News Willard Boys to Con- tinue in Growing Sheep Undaunted by the heavy losses they sus- tained recently when hundreds of sheep in their flocks were drowned during a sud- den rise of Salt Creek, a few miles east of Red Bluff, after a cloudburst, Lyman and Hillman Wil- lard of this city will con- tinue in the wool grow- ing business. The older boy is just of age and the younger still a stu- dent, but both have had considerable experience raising sheep and know the business. Their late father, Hillman Wil- lard, was a pioneer wool grower of this county and very successful. (Lyman was 21 and his brother Hillman was 18. In 1926. Lyman had left high school when he was 17 to operate the ranch, since his father died in 1922.) First reports gave the number of ewes and lambs lost as about 600, later being raised to 900. By actual count of the sheep engulfed in the storm, the number was 1,185. The total loss is more than $ 10,000. In the face of this handicap the Willard brothers plan to carry on. They own their own summer and win- ter ranges, being favor- ably situated in this re- spect, and their flocks will grow. May 10, 1926 Red Bluff Daily News Three Girls to Assist Driving Big Band Cattle Three local girls are going to be cowgirls in every respect next week. They will take an im- portant part in mov- ing nearly 3,000 head of the McKenzie-Stover company and Lyon Cat- tle company cattle from winter range in Mill creek and Antelope creek sections to Chester and Plumas county mountain summer range. Misses Thelma McKen- zie, Betty Champlin and Blanche Clement are go- ing to be real cowgirls for a period of more than a week while driving the big band of cattle to the mountains. There will be ten or twelve cowboys with the bunch of cattle. They will be in charge of Ralph Fredericks, fore- man of the McKenzie- Stover ranch range rid- ers. The movement of cat- tle will probably be the largest of any one bunch in northern California. They will leave the coun- try east of Red Bluff next Tuesday morning and it will be six days or a week before they ar- rive at Chester. Jean Barton has been writing her column in the Daily News since the early 1990s. She can be reached by e-mail at jbarton2013@gmail.com. JEANBARTON Remembrances from a century ago VISITUSONLINE FOR MORE INFORMATION Sendus your rants & raves The Associated Press WASHINGTON The U.S. De- partment of Agriculture an- nounced Monday that incen- tives will resume this sum- mer for farmers, ranchers and forest landowners in- terested in growing and har- vesting biomass for renew- able energy. The support comes through the Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP), which was reauthorized by the 2014 Farm Bill. BCAP provides financial assis- tance to establish and main- tain new crops of energy bio- mass, or who harvest and deliver forest or agricultural residues to a qualifying en- ergy facility. Financial assistance is available through BCAP for costs associated with har- vesting and transporting ag- riculture or forest residues to facilities that convert bio- mass crops into energy. El- igible crops may include corn residue, diseased or insect infested wood mate- rials, or orchard waste. The energy facility must first be approved by USDA to accept the biomass crop. Facilities can apply for, or renew, their BCAP qualifi- cation status beginning to- day. $11.5 million of federal funds will be allocated to support the delivery of bio- mass materials through De- cember 2015. Last year, more than 200,000 tons of dead or diseased trees from National Forests and Bureau of Land Management lands were re- moved and used to produce renewable energy, while re- ducing the risk of forest fire. Nineteen energy facilities in 10 states participated in the program. Farmers, ranchers and forest landowners can also receive financial assistance to grow biomass crops that will be converted into en- ergy in selected BCAP proj- ect areas. New BCAP project area proposals will be solic- ited beginning this summer and accepted through fall 2015, with new project area announcements and enroll- ments taking place in early spring 2016. The extended proposal submission period allows project sponsors time to complete any needed envi- ronmental assessments and allows producers enough lead time to make informed decisions on whether or not to pursue the BCAP project area enrollment opportu- nity. This fiscal year USDA's Farm Service Agency (FSA) will allocate up to $8 million for producer enrollment to expand and enhance exist- ing BCAP project areas. Additionally, in accor- dance with the 2014 Farm Bill, underserved farmers are eligible for a higher es- tablishment cost share. BCAP projects have sup- ported over 50,000 acres across 74 counties in 11 dif- ferent project areas. BCAP was made possible by the 2014 Farm Bill, which builds on historic economic gains in rural America over the past six years, while achieving meaningful re- form and billions of dol- lars in savings for taxpay- ers. Since enactment, USDA has made significant prog- ress to implement each pro- vision of this critical legis- lation, including providing disaster relief to farmers and ranchers; strengthen- ing risk management tools; expanding access to rural credit; funding critical re- search; establishing inno- vative public-private con- servation partnerships; de- veloping new markets for rural-made products; and investing in infrastruc- ture, housing, and commu- nity facilities to help im- prove quality of life in rural America. For more informa- tion, visit www.usda.gov/ farmbill. USDA Re st ar t of b io ma ss c ro p as si st an ce a nn ou nc ed COURTESYPHOTO Coyotes have always been a predator for sheep. Lyman Willard and his herders had a successful winter slowing down the coyotes. Smog Check (MOST CARS & PICK-UPS) 527-9841 • 195 S. Main St. starting at $ 29 95 + $ 8 25 certificate SERVICESATLOWERPRICES All makes and models. We perform dealer recommened 30K, 60K, 90K MembersWelcome Areyoumelting? Professional Evaporative Cooler Service & Repair 221 3331 Chimneys • Air Ducts Swamp Coolers • Dryer Vents Residential & Commercial WhiteGloveChimney.com ChocolateIsn'tHappy InTheDesert 1375MontgomeryRd. Red Bluff, CA 530 529-0797 SAVE $70 inmail-inrebatesonour best tires for summer! HITTHEROAD TIRE SALE UP TO SalesendsJuly5th,2015 RUNNINGS ROOFING SheetMetalRoofing ResidentialCommercial • Composition • Shingle • Single Ply Membrane Ownerisonsiteoneveryjob ServingTehamaCounty 530-527-5789 530-209-5367 No Money Down! "NoJobTooSteep" " No Job Too Flat" FREE ESTIMATES CA. LIC#829089 STOVEJUNCTION The TheNorthState'spremiersupplierofstoves 22825 Antelope Blvd., Red Bluff 530-528-2221 • Fax 530-528-2229 www.thestovejunction.com Over 25 years of experience Tues-Sat9am-5pm• ClosedSun&Mon Now Carrying! GreenMountainGrills & Accessories Serving Butte, Glenn & Tehama Counties FARM » redbluffdailynews.com Saturday, June 6, 2015 MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A8