November 19, 1969 (12 pages)

cs * ‘ 9 Pun nee SSPE CHES 6 0 OOD eA Ee ee oe beter tee ay PERTODICALS SECTION CAL. ST. LISRARY Serving the communities of Nevada City, Grass Valley, Red Dog, You Bet, Town Talk, Glenbrook, Little York, Cherokee, Mooney Flat, Sweetland, Alpha, Omega, French Corral, Rough and Ready, Graniteville,North San Juan, North Bloomfield, Humbug, Relief Hill, Washington, Blue’ Tent, La Batr Meadows, Cedar Ridge, Union Hill, Peardale, Summit City, Walloupa, Gouge Eye, Lime Kiln, Chicago Park, Wolf, Christmas Hill, Liberty Hill, Sailor Flat, Lake City, Selby Flat, Grizzly ‘Hill, Gold Flat, Soggsville, Gold Bar, Lowell Hill, Baurbon Hill, Scotch Hill, North Columbia, Columbia Hill, Brandy Flat, Sebastopol, Quaker Hill, Willow Valley, Newtown, Indian Flat, Bridgeport, Birchville, Moore's Flat, Orleans Flat, Remington Hill, Anthony House, Delirium Tremens. _ NUMBER 44— VOLUME 49 10 Cents ACopyPublished Wednesdays, Nevada City WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 1969 The Sounding Board 100 years of Nevada County HAVE YOU FOLLOWED THE CURRENT MOON JUNKET AS CLOSELY AS YOU DID THE FIRST TIME THE-UNITED STATES LANDED A MAN ON THE MOON?. eas : . MANUEL PELAYO, Nevada City tavern employe: "I haven't hada chance to because I have been working afternoons and evenings --the last time I took a day off to watch it.” Be. GEORGINE. WASLEY, Nevada ‘City Branch Bank of America: "No--really I am sorry to have to admit it, for I ded follow the other closely.” IRENE ARBOGAST, Nevada City housewife: "There didn't seem to be as much about it_on television) and in the newspapers." WILLIAM GIGLER, Nevada City: "I didn't watch either on television I am never home," Grandaddy of all storms isolated Sierra’sin 1890 The grandaddy of all storms in the eentury of recorded history of Nevada county struck in January and February of 1890, immobilized arrival and departure of goods and supplies, and cost the life of -amail carrierwho attempted to snowshoe through to Washington. Recollections of Indians indicate that once in the generation preceding the coming of white man to the Sierras there was a snow that totaled nine feet, probably the pie ~1842 when the.Sacramento Valley Wi > : The year 1852 saw two feet of snow plague the Argonauts and for 38 years Nevada City was relatively free of the white stuff. The Transcript of 1890 tells of persons grown to adulthood who never saw enough snow in the city to permit learning the joys of sledding. The storm burst the night of Jan. 18, 1890, with a fall that ranged from three to five feet. Lighter falls had been intermittent since Jan. 5, Before the storm spent its fury on Jan. 26, six feet fell, blocked all roads, isolated the city, threatened it with food shortage, and effectively stopped Nevada County Narrow Gauge railway traffic from Jan, 12 to Jan. 31. “ Chinooks melted away the snow and life was normal in February -until the 19th and Nevada City awoke to four feet of the blasted white stuff on the earth, Of course the narrow gauge was immobile and remained so until March 2 when spring came to end the weary battling. Severest calamity of the storm was the day when the little village of Washington ran out of an important necessity --beer. A local brewer ordered a custom -built sled from a local foundery and the great drought was ended three days later. Nevada county suffered one of its greatest tragedies in the opening days of that severe winter. Malcolm "Doc" McLeod, 28, helping John Grissell carry mail to Washington, perished inthe snow one-half mile from their destination, His body was returned to Nevada City in a dramatic expedition by the local National Guard company. His funeral was the first in the city without a wheeled vehicle, _ McLeod and Grissell left the community of Bloomfield at 2 in the afternoon of Sunday, Jan. 5, on snowshoes, Each carried 20 pounds of mail on his back, The route planned was between eight and nine miles, . The two men made good time to Relief Hill where they ate their lunches. Within two miles of Washington McLeod began to weaken. A strongly built man, McLeod had suffered a leg injury a few months earlier that is believed to have caused his weakening. Grissell urged McLeod on and they reached the Governor Thompson cabin on Jefferson creek about nightfall. Thompson said he had neither food—norfuel and the two men continued onwards, The two men had abandoned their snowshoes somewhere between Relief Hill and Jefferson Creek and floundered and lost their way several times. Grissell carried “the stricken man, but at about midnight McLeod collapsed and slipped into oblivfon. Grissell left McLeod and continued into Washington, Dr. Freeman and Grissell returned and found McLeod still breathing. He never regained consciousness and died while being taken to Washington. ' Company C, local unit of thé National Guard, organized a party to return their comrade's body to Nevada City for interment. Under command of Corporal Levi Nicholson, Privates Alex McCambridge, Chris Gailbraith, M. A, Baugh and Thomas Jones snowshoed to Washington. The party left here Tuesday morning at 10 o'clock and by nightfall had reached Central House where they stayed overnight. They left at § a.m., the next morning and four hours later were in Washington. The corpse was laid out at Mitlerlick's hotel. The party spent the balance of the day resting for the return trip and building a sled of two long snowshoes tied together with iron standards and topped with boards. McLeod's body was sewed into a sack and lashed onto a board. The detail of five men, augmented by seven Washington men, took the sled out of the mountain village at 7:50 a.m., Wednesday and braced to pulling four abreast up a long three mile grade. Jones went on ahead of the party at White Cloud hill and when the toilers pulled into Central House they had a hot meal waiting. Four of the Washington men accompanied the detail into Nevada City. G. W. Jones met them with a sleigh at Snow Mountain ditch and transferred the body tothe sleigh and it was quickly brought ot the county seat. The snows of 1890 were nightmares to Charles Kidder, the Nevada County Narrow Gauge railway magnate. The man was out with his shovelling crews almost continuously but at one point during the winter got back at his supercilious brothers on the Central Pacific for their continuous contempt of his little road. When the second great snow came in February, Kidder got his track cleared over Kress Summit an (continued on page 10)

cs * ‘ 9 Pun nee SSPE CHES 6 0 OOD eA Ee ee oe beter tee ay PERTODICALS SECTION CAL. ST. LISRARY Serving the communities of Nevada City, Grass Valley, Red Dog, You Bet, Town Talk, Glenbrook, Little York, Cherokee, Mooney Flat, Sweetland, Alpha, Omega, French Corral, Rough and Ready, Graniteville,North San Juan, North Bloomfield, Humbug, Relief Hill, Washington, Blue’ Tent, La Batr Meadows, Cedar Ridge, Union Hill, Peardale, Summit City, Walloupa, Gouge Eye, Lime Kiln, Chicago Park, Wolf, Christmas Hill, Liberty Hill, Sailor Flat, Lake City, Selby Flat, Grizzly ‘Hill, Gold Flat, Soggsville, Gold Bar, Lowell Hill, Baurbon Hill, Scotch Hill, North Columbia, Columbia Hill, Brandy Flat, Sebastopol, Quaker Hill, Willow Valley, Newtown, Indian Flat, Bridgeport, Birchville, Moore's Flat, Orleans Flat, Remington Hill, Anthony House, Delirium Tremens. _ NUMBER 44— VOLUME 49 10 Cents ACopyPublished Wednesdays, Nevada City WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 1969 The Sounding Board 100 years of Nevada County HAVE YOU FOLLOWED THE CURRENT MOON JUNKET AS CLOSELY AS YOU DID THE FIRST TIME THE-UNITED STATES LANDED A MAN ON THE MOON?. eas : . MANUEL PELAYO, Nevada City tavern employe: "I haven't hada chance to because I have been working afternoons and evenings --the last time I took a day off to watch it.” Be. GEORGINE. WASLEY, Nevada ‘City Branch Bank of America: "No--really I am sorry to have to admit it, for I ded follow the other closely.” IRENE ARBOGAST, Nevada City housewife: "There didn't seem to be as much about it_on television) and in the newspapers." WILLIAM GIGLER, Nevada City: "I didn't watch either on television I am never home," Grandaddy of all storms isolated Sierra’sin 1890 The grandaddy of all storms in the eentury of recorded history of Nevada county struck in January and February of 1890, immobilized arrival and departure of goods and supplies, and cost the life of -amail carrierwho attempted to snowshoe through to Washington. Recollections of Indians indicate that once in the generation preceding the coming of white man to the Sierras there was a snow that totaled nine feet, probably the pie ~1842 when the.Sacramento Valley Wi > : The year 1852 saw two feet of snow plague the Argonauts and for 38 years Nevada City was relatively free of the white stuff. The Transcript of 1890 tells of persons grown to adulthood who never saw enough snow in the city to permit learning the joys of sledding. The storm burst the night of Jan. 18, 1890, with a fall that ranged from three to five feet. Lighter falls had been intermittent since Jan. 5, Before the storm spent its fury on Jan. 26, six feet fell, blocked all roads, isolated the city, threatened it with food shortage, and effectively stopped Nevada County Narrow Gauge railway traffic from Jan, 12 to Jan. 31. “ Chinooks melted away the snow and life was normal in February -until the 19th and Nevada City awoke to four feet of the blasted white stuff on the earth, Of course the narrow gauge was immobile and remained so until March 2 when spring came to end the weary battling. Severest calamity of the storm was the day when the little village of Washington ran out of an important necessity --beer. A local brewer ordered a custom -built sled from a local foundery and the

great drought was ended three days later. Nevada county suffered one of its greatest tragedies in the opening days of that severe winter. Malcolm "Doc" McLeod, 28, helping John Grissell carry mail to Washington, perished inthe snow one-half mile from their destination, His body was returned to Nevada City in a dramatic expedition by the local National Guard company. His funeral was the first in the city without a wheeled vehicle, _ McLeod and Grissell left the community of Bloomfield at 2 in the afternoon of Sunday, Jan. 5, on snowshoes, Each carried 20 pounds of mail on his back, The route planned was between eight and nine miles, . The two men made good time to Relief Hill where they ate their lunches. Within two miles of Washington McLeod began to weaken. A strongly built man, McLeod had suffered a leg injury a few months earlier that is believed to have caused his weakening. Grissell urged McLeod on and they reached the Governor Thompson cabin on Jefferson creek about nightfall. Thompson said he had neither food—norfuel and the two men continued onwards, The two men had abandoned their snowshoes somewhere between Relief Hill and Jefferson Creek and floundered and lost their way several times. Grissell carried “the stricken man, but at about midnight McLeod collapsed and slipped into oblivfon. Grissell left McLeod and continued into Washington, Dr. Freeman and Grissell returned and found McLeod still breathing. He never regained consciousness and died while being taken to Washington. ' Company C, local unit of thé National Guard, organized a party to return their comrade's body to Nevada City for interment. Under command of Corporal Levi Nicholson, Privates Alex McCambridge, Chris Gailbraith, M. A, Baugh and Thomas Jones snowshoed to Washington. The party left here Tuesday morning at 10 o'clock and by nightfall had reached Central House where they stayed overnight. They left at § a.m., the next morning and four hours later were in Washington. The corpse was laid out at Mitlerlick's hotel. The party spent the balance of the day resting for the return trip and building a sled of two long snowshoes tied together with iron standards and topped with boards. McLeod's body was sewed into a sack and lashed onto a board. The detail of five men, augmented by seven Washington men, took the sled out of the mountain village at 7:50 a.m., Wednesday and braced to pulling four abreast up a long three mile grade. Jones went on ahead of the party at White Cloud hill and when the toilers pulled into Central House they had a hot meal waiting. Four of the Washington men accompanied the detail into Nevada City. G. W. Jones met them with a sleigh at Snow Mountain ditch and transferred the body tothe sleigh and it was quickly brought ot the county seat. The snows of 1890 were nightmares to Charles Kidder, the Nevada County Narrow Gauge railway magnate. The man was out with his shovelling crews almost continuously but at one point during the winter got back at his supercilious brothers on the Central Pacific for their continuous contempt of his little road. When the second great snow came in February, Kidder got his track cleared over Kress Summit an (continued on page 10)