A case dismissed
Last week I made the proposal that among the many things common throughout history—love, hate, religion etc.—one in particular is a constant: crime. I went further than that and stated...
All Stories
Encounter at a barricade
Lake County’s history is full of records of armed robbery and foul murder. I’m sure police detectives will correct me, but it seems from a historian’s perspective that motives for...
The travels of an artifact
It’s admittedly a rather unremarkable artifact. Even a close inspection doesn’t really make it any clearer as to what it is, although the yellowing glue and color of the spruce...
The beginnings of transatlantic flight
The Wright brothers, Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart—these are the names that have been incised into our national memory, the pioneers in American aviation. Their exploits embody the daring individuality that...
Rise and fall of the wool industry
Cattle were not the only animals to be raised in large numbers by early Lake County farmers. In fact, just as they were adventurous in choosing different crops to sow...
Lake County farming, part 2
In my last article I introduced the grand sweep of agricultural history in Lake County; introducing to modern readers Lake County’s small farmers of yesteryear. Now, let us switch to...
The challenges of farming early Lake County
Lake County is, always has been and always will be an agricultural county. The only significant exports that this county has produced have been agricultural goods. After all, it is...
Seaplane traffic and ‘Mother Anne’
It’s difficult to determine just when the first seaplane made its watery landing on the surface of our lake, but one of the earliest photographs we have of these planes...
Lake County’s lone farm labor strike of the ‘30s
After several years of contentious labor riots up and down the state of California, farmers looked to the harvest season of 1936 with a justified sense of foreboding. Lake County...
Depression labor struggles in Lake County
“They’s a lot of fellas wanta know what reds is.” He laughed. “One of our boys foun’ out.” ... “Fella named Hines—got ‘bout thirty thousand acres, peaches and grapes—got a...
