October 23, 1974 (8 pages)

i iY the communities of Nevada City. san funn. North Bloomfield, Humbug. Relief Hill. Washington, Blue Tent, babare Meadows, Cedar Rider. Ut Hill. Peardale HAL Liberte Hill. Suitor Flat. Lake City, Selby Flat, Crisels Hill, Gold Flat. Swcgerille, Gotd Bar, Lowell Hill, Bourbon Mall, Scot k Hal Grass Fallev. vied Dow. Toun Valle: Glenbrook. Lath Yark, Cherokte. Mooney Flat. Sweetland. tpha. Omesa, French Corral, Rough and Reads, Summit City We alloupa, Goure Exe. Lime Kiln, Chicago Park. M oll, Christmas L. North Columtia, Columbia Hill, Brandy Flat. Sebastopol. Qualer Mill. Billi’ Valley, Newtoun Indian Flat. Bridgeport. Birchville. Moore's Flat, Orleans Flat, Reminston Hill, Anthony House, Delirium Tremens. Graniterille, North VOLUME 49 Wednesday. Oct. 23,1974 10 Cents A Copy ‘Heap big snow’ Mother Nature's revenge By PHYLLIS L. SMITH Some self-styled weather prophets hereabouts say that this winter will eclipse all previous winters in its over-all ferocity. Well, they, weren’t around these parts in 1890, that’s “for certain sure’ as the New sometimes say.— The storm hit on the night of January 18, 1890 with a snowfall that averaged about four feet; and before it abated.on January 26th, more than six additional feet came tumbling down, virtually isolating the County. Roads were blocked in every direction; the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad was stopped dead on its tracks from January 12 until January 31. -’ (hen, some chinooks melted most of the snow and life returned to fairly normal for most folks until February 19.when Nevada City residents awoke to four feet of that dadblasted white stuff agen oi gp to immobilize the railr once more.this time until March 2nd! One of the great calamities of that particular season struck a dire blow to the village of Washington.it was snowbound and suddenly ran out of beer! A wholly untenable situation for any covey of mortals. But some three days later, a custom made sled from a Nevada City foundry ended that terror in Washington Town with a load of the mouthwatering brew. A great and-tragic loss was sustained in the death of Malcom ‘‘Doc” McLeod, 28, who was helping John Grissell carry the U. S. Mail down to Washington. He perished in the snow and his body was returned to Nevada City in a dramatic expedition by the local National Guard Company. McLeod’s funeral was well attended, and was the first ever -to be ‘held in the city without a jsingle wheeled vehicle in the procession, His cortege numbered practically every man in town and a few of the womenfolk were also seen walking demurely behind the main body of “mourners” to the cemetery. As history tells it, McLeod and Grissell left Bloomfield at about 2 pm. on Sunday, Jamuary 5, 1890 on snow shoes. They. were each carrying about 20 pounds of mail in backpacks. The route, which they knew very well, covered about nine miles. The men stopped for a light snack at Relief Hill and then, when only two miles from the villagé of W: McLeod collapsed from effects of a leg injury sustained two months earlier. At about midnight, he just “slipped into oblivion’ and Grissell plodded on, arriving in Washington around 2 o’clock the following morning. There he broke the news to a group of . miners hastily assembled. They organized a search party 5 numbering 15, including a Dr. Freeman, and made their way back to the scene. There they found McLeod breathing his last. They tenderly placed him in a sled and started back to Washington, but arrived there with a corpse. During the storm snow had to be shoveled from rooftops in the business sections of Nevada City and Grass Valley, and in the former community it brought eight. to ten foot heaps of the white stuff onto the narrow, winding streets and byways. Traffic was truly at a standstill. Stocks in the stores dwindled and many men were recruited to the’ job of snow shoveling for incredibly high pay for those old days. When the snow did stop, the season’s fall was recorded as 4 feet in town and 20 feet at © Rock Creek Bridge! After the February storm, © snow was piled to heights of 15 and 20 feet on Broad, Commercial and several other downtown streets in Nevada City. And, at one time during the. height of the second snowfall, Frank Taylor drove a team of eight mules and three horses over to Colfax and managed to bring back one ton of foodstuffs for local stores. Hardly a drop in the big, empty bucket.butas a t “token” it did raise morale considerably. Surely it was the Greatgranddaddy of all storms and a conversation piece for many, many years. Fire destroys mill Flames totally had involved a shake mill on Idaho Maryland Road when the Gold Flat Volunteer Department arrived near 5 a.m. Monday. Jack Meier, chief of the department estimated damage at between. $20,000 and $25,000. He said the fire was not controlled until 9 a.m. Details are unknown at this time. ~ The Gold Flat chief put out a call for mutual aid and three units. from .the California Division of Forestry and three from the Ophir Hill Department responded. In another fire Saturday.near the Lone Grave on Highway 20 a. 19-year-old California Youth Authority ward ©. from Washington Ridge was injured. -A CYA spokesman said the youth was wounded in the ankle FIRE DESTROYED a shake mill building on Idaho-Maryland Road near Grass Valley early Monday morning. A mutual aid call by the Gold Flat Fire Department brought assistance from the California Division of Forestry and the Ophir Hill Department to help control the blaze. by an accident involving an ax. The CYA ward was reported to be in satisfactory condition today at Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital. The blaze, which. started from abandoned camp fire, blacked a quarter of an acre of ground cover ;and slash, according to a spokesman for the Tahoe National Forest. Units from TNF and CDF plus a hand crew from’ Washington Ridge put down the fire. PTeS6 VO OlNaHYEOYS NOILOIS STYOTAOTUSS . AUVEEIT ALVIS Cl-9T-S

i iY the communities of Nevada City. san funn. North Bloomfield, Humbug. Relief Hill. Washington, Blue Tent, babare Meadows, Cedar Rider. Ut Hill. Peardale HAL Liberte Hill. Suitor Flat. Lake City, Selby Flat, Crisels Hill, Gold Flat. Swcgerille, Gotd Bar, Lowell Hill, Bourbon Mall, Scot k Hal Grass Fallev. vied Dow. Toun Valle: Glenbrook. Lath Yark, Cherokte. Mooney Flat. Sweetland. tpha. Omesa, French Corral, Rough and Reads, Summit City We alloupa, Goure Exe. Lime Kiln, Chicago Park. M oll, Christmas L. North Columtia, Columbia Hill, Brandy Flat. Sebastopol. Qualer Mill. Billi’ Valley, Newtoun Indian Flat. Bridgeport. Birchville. Moore's Flat, Orleans Flat, Reminston Hill, Anthony House, Delirium Tremens. Graniterille, North VOLUME 49 Wednesday. Oct. 23,1974 10 Cents A Copy ‘Heap big snow’ Mother Nature's revenge By PHYLLIS L. SMITH Some self-styled weather prophets hereabouts say that this winter will eclipse all previous winters in its over-all ferocity. Well, they, weren’t around these parts in 1890, that’s “for certain sure’ as the New sometimes say.— The storm hit on the night of January 18, 1890 with a snowfall that averaged about four feet; and before it abated..on January 26th, more than six additional feet came tumbling down, virtually isolating the County. Roads were blocked in every direction; the Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad was stopped dead on its tracks from January 12 until January 31. -’ (hen, some chinooks melted most of the snow and life returned to fairly normal for most folks until February 19..when Nevada City residents awoke to four feet of that dadblasted white stuff agen oi gp to immobilize the railr once more..this time until March 2nd! One of the great calamities of that particular season struck a dire blow to the village of Washington..it was snowbound and suddenly ran out of beer! A wholly untenable situation for any covey of mortals. But some three days later, a custom made sled from a Nevada City foundry ended that terror in Washington Town with a load of the mouthwatering brew. A great and-tragic loss was sustained in the death of Malcom ‘‘Doc” McLeod, 28, who was helping John Grissell carry the U. S. Mail down to Washington. He perished in the snow and his body was returned to Nevada City in a dramatic expedition by the local National Guard Company. McLeod’s funeral was well attended, and was the first ever -to be ‘held in the city without a jsingle wheeled vehicle in the procession, His cortege numbered practically every man in town and a few of the womenfolk were also seen walking demurely behind the main body of “mourners” to the cemetery. As history tells it, McLeod and Grissell left Bloomfield at about 2 pm. on Sunday, Jamuary 5, 1890 on snow shoes. They. were each carrying about 20 pounds of mail in backpacks. The route, which they knew very well, covered about nine miles. The men stopped for a light snack at Relief Hill and then, when only two miles from the villagé of W: McLeod collapsed from effects of a leg injury sustained two months earlier. At about midnight, he just “slipped into oblivion’ and Grissell plodded on, arriving in Washington around 2 o’clock the following morning. There he

broke the news to a group of . miners hastily assembled. They organized a search party 5 numbering 15, including a Dr. Freeman, and made their way back to the scene. There they found McLeod breathing his last. They tenderly placed him in a sled and started back to Washington, but arrived there with a corpse. During the storm snow had to be shoveled from rooftops in the business sections of Nevada City and Grass Valley, and in the former community it brought eight. to ten foot heaps of the white stuff onto the narrow, winding streets and byways. Traffic was truly at a standstill. Stocks in the stores dwindled and many men were recruited to the’ job of snow shoveling for incredibly high pay for those old days. When the snow did stop, the season’s fall was recorded as 4 feet in town and 20 feet at © Rock Creek Bridge! After the February storm, © snow was piled to heights of 15 and 20 feet on Broad, Commercial and several other downtown streets in Nevada City. And, at one time during the. height of the second snowfall, Frank Taylor drove a team of eight mules and three horses over to Colfax and managed to bring back one ton of foodstuffs for local stores. Hardly a drop in the big, empty bucket..butas a t “token” it did raise morale considerably. Surely it was the Greatgranddaddy of all storms and a conversation piece for many, many years. Fire destroys mill Flames totally had involved a shake mill on Idaho Maryland Road when the Gold Flat Volunteer Department arrived near 5 a.m. Monday. Jack Meier, chief of the department estimated damage at between. $20,000 and $25,000. He said the fire was not controlled until 9 a.m. Details are unknown at this time. ~ The Gold Flat chief put out a call for mutual aid and three units. from .the California Division of Forestry and three from the Ophir Hill Department responded. In another fire Saturday.near the Lone Grave on Highway 20 a. 19-year-old California Youth Authority ward ©. from Washington Ridge was injured. -A CYA spokesman said the youth was wounded in the ankle FIRE DESTROYED a shake mill building on Idaho-Maryland Road near Grass Valley early Monday morning. A mutual aid call by the Gold Flat Fire Department brought assistance from the California Division of Forestry and the Ophir Hill Department to help control the blaze. by an accident involving an ax. The CYA ward was reported to be in satisfactory condition today at Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital. The blaze, which. started from abandoned camp fire, blacked a quarter of an acre of ground cover ;and slash, according to a spokesman for the Tahoe National Forest. Units from TNF and CDF plus a hand crew from’ Washington Ridge put down the fire. PTeS6 VO OlNaHYEOYS NOILOIS STYOTAOTUSS . AUVEEIT ALVIS Cl-9T-S