At the Susanville Railroad Depot in 1915 ~photo from UNR Reno Special Collections~

On April 11th, a tired but excited Lillian Helmke stepped off the train after a long ride from Fresno. She was arriving in town to meet her intended husband and begin a new life.

George J. Long had written to the love of his life, asking her to meet him in Susanville and become his bride. George worked for the Red River Lumber Company in Westwood and felt that it was time to settle down. The next step in his life would be to marry and begin a family, and he had chosen his perfect mate.

Lillian excitedly sent a telegram back to Susanville. Yes, she would become George’s wife, she said, and she went on to let him know when her train would arrive. She addressed her reply to George Long, in Susanville.

Unfortunately, Lassen County has had an extensive list of men named George Long. Besides George J., there was: George B., George. E. George L., George W., and many more. The telegraph operator gave the message to George Long, but it was not George J. Long.

George Long dutifully drove his automobile to the station to greet the lovely Lillian, but when he approached her with the telegram and asked if she was the woman he was to meet, she replied that she had sent such a message to the man she was to marry, but he was not that man. “You’re not my George Long,” she said.

Fortunately, with George Long’s help, George J. Long was located, and the happy couple rushed off to be married.

Lassen County Clerk George E. Bassett’s office was closed, but he agreed to open it up for the pair and issued a marriage license. Bassett then stayed to act as a witness for the wedding.

Reverend James H. Westervelt, from the Methodist Church was summoned and performed the ceremony and George J. Long and Lillian Louise Helmke emerged as a married couple.

The newlyweds traveled to Westwood exhausted and elated and set up their life there. Eventually the little family moved to the Fresno area where they welcomed a daughter, Elner Deloris in 1916.

George and Lillian lived in the Fresno area for the rest of their lives, and it all began at the Susanville Depot on a fresh spring day in 1914.

Officer reports totaled 127, with a variety of reasons for the report being filed.

There were a total of ninety-seven front desk / counter calls.

There were twenty-six misdemeanor, and eighteen felony arrests in September.

Trustee Area 5

• Janesville Union School District

• Johnstonville Elementary School District

• Richmond Elementary School District

Community members wishing to be considered for a provisional appointment must:

1. Be a resident of one of the school districts listed above.
2. Complete a questionnaire, which may be obtained by contacting Stacy Russell at the Lassen County Office of Education, 472-013 Johnstonville Road, N., Susanville, California, 96130, (530) 257-2197, srussell@lcoe.org. Completed questionnaires must be submitted to the Lassen County Office of Education no later than 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 3, 2022. Applicants are requested to be in attendance at the regular meeting of the Lassen County Board of Education scheduled for Wednesday, November 9, 2022, 4:00 p.m., at the Lassen County Office of Education.

Applications from candidates meeting the above qualifications will be reviewed by the Lassen County Board of Education, and the Board may fill the vacancies at the November 9, 2022, meeting of the Board. Unless a petition calling for a special election, containing a sufficient number of signatures, is filed in the Lassen County Office of Education within 30 days following a provisional appointment, the appointment shall become effective. The appointee shall hold office until the next regularly scheduled board member election, which will be in November 2024.

She has served as the 4-H Representative at the UC Cooperative Extension Office for as long as most of us can remember.

She oversees our local 4-H program and helps implement program curriculum and changes from the State 4-H Office. I am not sure if there’s a 4-H event of a fair that Darcy has missed in the last decade!

She was a 4-H member for nine years and served another twenty-one years as a volunteer leader. She was involved in beef, horse, clothing, community service and wildlife projects.

Darcy’s favorite memory while she was in 4-H was attending the 4-H State Convention and activities. Darcy enjoyed fair time as a kid, as a mother with her two sons Wyatt and Brad, and I’m sure won’t miss seeing her grandchildren follow suit.

The most important reasons kids should join 4-H, according to Darcy, is to learn leadership skills, meet different youth and adults in our community and to have responsibilities large than themselves.

To our lighthouse in every grey sky – thanks for all you do for Lassen County and our 4-H youth Darcy! Welcome to the Lassen County 4-H Hall of Fame. It is our sincere honor!

Photos submitted by: Lassen County 4-H Office Archive & Nickie Dilts

Fruit Growers Mill in the late 1940’s from an Eastman Studio Postcard

Many Register For X-Ray Films

October 6, 1944

More than 70 percent of the employees of the Fruit Growers Supply company registered for the chest X-ray films taken on Tuesday, October 3, under the auspices of the Lassen County Tuberculosis Association, Dr. J. W. Crever, president of the organization, announced.

“In some of the surveys held in industrial plants in other counties as many as 80 percent of the employees have taken the examination,” Crever said.

It is estimated that the X-ray films of only five out of a hundred persons in industry examined indicated the need for further medical attention.

Free chest films will be offered to the high schools in Susanville and in Westwood. The employees of the Red River Lumber company also will have the opportunity of a free X-ray when the mobile unit visits the mill in Westwood.

The cost of the project is borne by the Lassen County Tuberculosis Association, a service made possible by purchase of tuberculosis Christmas seals. The mobile X-ray unit is owned by the California Tuberculosis Association.