A Hundred Years of Rip and Roarin Rough and Ready By Andy Rogers (1952)(Hathitrust) (117 pages)

RIP ROARING TOWN RROUGH AND . EACY, CALIFORNIA April, 1859 Soceded Voi Federal and State Goverament. Great Republic came to a short end by forgetting to notify the Prosident of the United States of parting of the ways, and wanting tu use the Stars and Stripes to celebrate the Fourth of July of reso. 4+ While waiting for ‘some: kind" soul to send me the’ script: of the play, “Rough: and. Reddy,” —presented by the Mountain Play As-. sociation-on Mount ‘Tamalpais two weeks ago, I may as well reprint the advance commenis. made by Jack S. McDowell ‘in‘his Call Bul: Jetin: column captioned “Memo From Mack.” The historical conClusions drawn are. not new. In fact, they were supplied by The} Trail several years ago: . RUGGED ROUGH AN READY PORTRAYED . CALL COLUMNIST There's quite a piece of ‘mileage between, Mt. Tamalpais, ‘over in Marin, and the diggin's of the Nevada County ‘gold country. Bur the . fact that the Mountcin Play As-" sociation is putting on a show at Mountain Theater gives us a good excuse to talk ‘about Rough and Ready, Calif.” in . Seems the Sunday play is named after Rough and Ready and the plot is laid in the roarin’ town with the wonderful name. Time: 100 years ago. bh ‘The town was settled by a bunch of rugged, Wisconsin pioneers in 1849 and, when the Gold Rush was at its peal, boasted a population of several thousand busy inhabitants. We came ‘across. something the other day and noticed Rough and Ready was referred to as a “ghost town.” .Could be—but it so, the ghost is becoming mighty active! It's true there's hardly a hundred persons living there now, but among them is a Mr. Andy: Rogers. Judging from the p d of Rip-Roaring Towa enrent deine $s caeegemiteen re oreey alot the First Post o¢y, IN SAN FRANCISCQ Ce — erated hy Mr.-Ri Ad his-wit Mrs; -Rogers~is the: peta and ‘that'brings, up something of a Yow, with the. postal “officials in Washinton, D. C.° Rough and Ready’s Citizens Are? ‘Seems: the’ great ‘and: efficient’ brains of the, U. S. ‘postal: system’ sitting. Back .there in Washington with no,romance. and nothing but stamp. stickum in their souls, were. ired by the-name. of the town." “It’s too long,” said the officials. “It will have, to-be either Rough. or Ready.” _ The rough and ready enaracters of'Rotigh and Ready, Calif., would have none of such nonsense. Lec: by Rogers, the. citizenry asserted’ its independence. The villagers held out for Rough’ and Ready. They finally wore thepostal autrorities down. to submission. ‘But that isn’t the first vime Rough and Ready has asserted its independence. On ‘the previous occasion, in 1850, the . town -went whole’ hog. : It seceded from the United States! Seems the town—whieh is about four miles ‘from Grass Valley and was named for President Zachary (Rough and Ready) Taylor — got mighty sore over the influx of New Englanders and irked no end by the federal mining tax. Ke So, in. April of that year, the townspeople formally. and officially issued a declaration of independence and set up the independent Republic of Rough and Ready. literature. Mr. Rogers: has tel warded down here vo the Mountain . Players people, he's .doing a lof! more promoting for his village =. propottionately, at least—than any'. hig chamber 6f commer® is doing for its city. . Activily in Ranpir-omd:, Ready, we'rg,.told, now centers about the Go Secretary of State Overlooked Some Dutics They élected a .president and had a secretary of state, oo, But he sort of fell: down on-the job. He just never got around to setting up diplomatic relations with vhe United States. Infact, he—or somebody — never. did formally gle motity: Washington that the gecceson had-beéy accomplished. “On the other hand; we're not, gure the Republic. of Rough and -Ready_ever notified: the U; 8: that it was un-seceding, either. But the country sort of fell apart when the Postmaster . Rovgh « Ready Nevada Co. . California (Fourth: of Iply_reliédaround that lyear. ‘The citizens: wanted to cele. braté and break out the Stars and \Stripes. They did. And that, it appears, ended. Rough and Ready’s career. as an. independent nation. —— 107 > Yeti’ S, F. CALL-BULLETIN— April WA 1950: Pase B By JACK S. McDOWELL THAT REBEL-LIKE TALK up Inverness way about seceding from’ Marin and forming a brand new, fifty-ninth county, reminds us that the centennial of another secession went virtually unnoticed last week. It was just 100 years ago last Friday that the rip-roarin’ town of Rough and Ready seceded from the United States and became the independent republic of Rough and Ready. And even if the Marin rebellion hadn’t reminded us, Andy W. Rogers did. Mr. Rogers is k d of the p ster of Rough and Ready, Cal., operates the general store there, js the official historian: and chief factotum in charge of reminding people about the little Nevada County village. On the anniversary, Andy not only sat himself down ond wrote us a note headed ‘100 Years After,” but—as he alwegs does—he passed along a couple of yarns from the days when Rough and Ready was a busy, dizzy mining ctty crowded with thousands of red-dicters. Gold Is Whar Y’Finds It! ROUGH AND READY, in its early days, was actually more rough than ready and legend has it that several years passed without a single natural death in the village. All of those who departed this world, so the story goes, did so by means of bullets, knives, accidents or—in the case.of the bad guys—at the end of a hangin’ party’s rope. But our Rough and Ready correspondent of 1950 wants us to know that law, order and religion did come to the town and decency triumphed over evil. But it wasn’t easy. The town’s first sermon, Mr. Rogers reports, took place in a gambling hall, Not by choice, you understand, but by virtue of the fact that gambling halls and saloons were the only available structures in the town.

RIP ROARING TOWN RROUGH AND . EACY, CALIFORNIA April, 1859 Soceded Voi Federal and State Goverament. Great Republic came to a short end by forgetting to notify the Prosident of the United States of parting of the ways, and wanting tu use the Stars and Stripes to celebrate the Fourth of July of reso. 4+ While waiting for ‘some: kind" soul to send me the’ script: of the play, “Rough: and. Reddy,” —presented by the Mountain Play As-. sociation-on Mount ‘Tamalpais two weeks ago, I may as well reprint the advance commenis. made by Jack S. McDowell ‘in‘his Call Bul: Jetin: column captioned “Memo From Mack.” The historical conClusions drawn are. not new. In fact, they were supplied by The} Trail several years ago: . RUGGED ROUGH AN READY PORTRAYED . CALL COLUMNIST There's quite a piece of ‘mileage between, Mt. Tamalpais, ‘over in Marin, and the diggin's of the Nevada County ‘gold country. Bur the . fact that the Mountcin Play As-" sociation is putting on a show at Mountain Theater gives us a good excuse to talk ‘about Rough and Ready, Calif.” in . Seems the Sunday play is named after Rough and Ready and the plot is laid in the roarin’ town with the wonderful name. Time: 100 years ago. bh ‘The town was settled by a bunch of rugged, Wisconsin pioneers in 1849 and, when the Gold Rush was at its peal, boasted a population of several thousand busy inhabitants. We came ‘across. something the other day and noticed Rough and Ready was referred to as a “ghost town.” .Could be—but it so, the ghost is becoming mighty active! It's true there's hardly a hundred persons living there now, but among them is a Mr. Andy: Rogers. Judging from the p d of Rip-Roaring Towa enrent deine $s caeegemiteen re oreey alot the First Post o¢y, IN SAN FRANCISCQ Ce — erated hy Mr.-Ri Ad his-wit Mrs; -Rogers~is the: peta and ‘that'brings, up something of a Yow, with the. postal “officials in Washinton, D. C.° Rough and Ready’s Citizens Are? ‘Seems: the’ great ‘and: efficient’ brains of the, U. S. ‘postal: system’ sitting. Back .there in Washington with no,romance. and nothing but stamp. stickum in their souls, were. ired by the-name. of the town." “It’s too long,” said the officials.. “It will have, to-be either Rough. or Ready.” _ The rough and ready enaracters of'Rotigh and Ready, Calif., would have none of such nonsense. Lec: by Rogers, the. citizenry asserted’ its independence. The villagers held out for Rough’ and Ready. They finally wore thepostal autrorities down. to submission. ‘But that isn’t the first vime Rough and Ready has asserted its independence. On ‘the previous occasion, in 1850, the . town -went whole’ hog. : It seceded from the

United States! Seems the town—whieh is about four miles ‘from Grass Valley and was named for President Zachary (Rough and Ready) Taylor — got mighty sore over the influx of New Englanders and irked no end by the federal mining tax. Ke So, in. April of that year, the townspeople formally. and officially issued a declaration of independence and set up the independent Republic of Rough and Ready. literature. Mr. Rogers: has tel warded down here vo the Mountain . Players people, he's .doing a lof! more promoting for his village =. propottionately, at least—than any'. hig chamber 6f commer® is doing for its city. . Activily in Ranpir-omd:, Ready, we'rg,.told, now centers about the Go Secretary of State Overlooked Some Dutics They élected a .president and had a secretary of state, oo, But he sort of fell: down on-the job. He just never got around to setting up diplomatic relations with vhe United States. Infact, he—or somebody — never. did formally gle motity: Washington that the gecceson had-beéy accomplished. “On the other hand; we're not, gure the Republic. of Rough and -Ready_ever notified: the U; 8: that it was un-seceding, either. But the country sort of fell apart when the Postmaster . Rovgh « Ready Nevada Co. . California (Fourth: of Iply_reliédaround that lyear. ‘The citizens: wanted to cele. braté and break out the Stars and \Stripes. They did. And that, it appears, ended. Rough and Ready’s career. as an. independent nation. —— 107 > Yeti’ S, F. CALL-BULLETIN— April WA 1950: Pase B By JACK S. McDOWELL THAT REBEL-LIKE TALK up Inverness way about seceding from’ Marin and forming a brand new, fifty-ninth county, reminds us that the centennial of another secession went virtually unnoticed last week. It was just 100 years ago last Friday that the rip-roarin’ town of Rough and Ready seceded from the United States and became the independent republic of Rough and Ready. And even if the Marin rebellion hadn’t reminded us, Andy W. Rogers did. Mr. Rogers is k d of the p ster of Rough and Ready, Cal., operates the general store there, js the official historian: and chief factotum in charge of reminding people about the little Nevada County village. On the anniversary, Andy not only sat himself down ond wrote us a note headed ‘100 Years After,” but—as he alwegs does—he passed along a couple of yarns from the days when Rough and Ready was a busy, dizzy mining ctty crowded with thousands of red-dicters. Gold Is Whar Y’Finds It! ROUGH AND READY, in its early days, was actually more rough than ready and legend has it that several years passed without a single natural death in the village. All of those who departed this world, so the story goes, did so by means of bullets, knives, accidents or—in the case.of the bad guys—at the end of a hangin’ party’s rope. But our Rough and Ready correspondent of 1950 wants us to know that law, order and religion did come to the town and decency triumphed over evil. But it wasn’t easy. The town’s first sermon, Mr. Rogers reports, took place in a gambling hall, Not by choice, you understand, but by virtue of the fact that gambling halls and saloons were the only available structures in the town.