Contact / Advertise / Support The Bloom / Submit

The Lake County Bloom
  • ART AND LIT
    • ART
    • LITERATURE
      • POETRY
        • ROOTED IN POETRY
      • FICTION
        • SHORT STORIES
        • THE RED SEDAN by CHANCE MOON
      • BOOK REVIEWS
    • MUSIC
      • LAKE COUNTY MUSIC GUIDE
      • LOCAL MUSICIANS
    • THEATER
  • FOOD AND DRINK
    • RESTAURANTS AND BARS
    • WINERIES
  • HISTORY
    • LAKE COUNTY HISTORY by GENE PALENO
    • LAKE COUNTY TIME MACHINE
    • LOCAL HISTORY
  • COLUMNS
    • HOLIDAY SHOPPING GUIDE
    • EDITORIALS
    • THE NEIGHBOR YOU NEVER KNEW
    • COMMUNITY NEWS
    • ROOTED IN POETRY
    • STRESSLESS CAMPING
    • WITTER SPRINGS CHRONICLES by GENE PALENO
    • WINDOW ON LAKE COUNTY
    • FEATURED LAKE COUNTY BUSINESSES
    • COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE INSIGHTS
    • OBITUARIES
  • CALENDARS
    • THE BIG CALENDAR
    • THE PARTY CALENDAR
  • PRESS RELEASES
  • ART AND LIT
    • ART
    • LITERATURE
      • POETRY
        • ROOTED IN POETRY
      • FICTION
        • SHORT STORIES
        • THE RED SEDAN by CHANCE MOON
      • BOOK REVIEWS
    • MUSIC
      • LAKE COUNTY MUSIC GUIDE
      • LOCAL MUSICIANS
    • THEATER
  • FOOD AND DRINK
    • RESTAURANTS AND BARS
    • WINERIES
  • HISTORY
    • LAKE COUNTY HISTORY by GENE PALENO
    • LAKE COUNTY TIME MACHINE
    • LOCAL HISTORY
  • COLUMNS
    • HOLIDAY SHOPPING GUIDE
    • EDITORIALS
    • THE NEIGHBOR YOU NEVER KNEW
    • COMMUNITY NEWS
    • ROOTED IN POETRY
    • STRESSLESS CAMPING
    • WITTER SPRINGS CHRONICLES by GENE PALENO
    • WINDOW ON LAKE COUNTY
    • FEATURED LAKE COUNTY BUSINESSES
    • COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE INSIGHTS
    • OBITUARIES
  • CALENDARS
    • THE BIG CALENDAR
    • THE PARTY CALENDAR
  • PRESS RELEASES
Jimmy Restani showing off his guns in front of the Loch Lomond Resort. Photo courtesy Madelyn Martinelli.
November 20, 2020  |  By David Wakefield

Memories of the Mayacamas Mountains: The Story of Adams Springs, Loch Lomond, and the Prather Family

Where once stood a kitchen, only an old stove remains. It lays on the ground, flopped on its side, once-white enamel slowly rusting to grey-brown. Sheet metal and tin scatter across the grounds, holding back the scotch broom and blackberry bushes. Bedsprings jauntily poke out of the creekbed, sagged and twisted. Among the debris, a thick piece of handblown glass dating from the turn of the 20th century sits, only a small slice of what once was a gallon jug. The winter sun barely pokes through the hazy sky. It doesn’t look like the map Steve Prather had scribbled on the bottom of a 24 pack of 7-Up a week earlier. His map had squares on it, marking houses and the location of the spring. I look at the torn piece of cardboard in my hand one more time, then look up. There’s nothing here.
Share
Tweet
Share
Pin
Read More
LAKE COUNTY TIME MACHINE
November 19, 2020  |  By Jan Cook

Lake County Time Machine: The Great Labor Saga

In June 1976, county employees rejected an “insulting” pay offer from the County of Lake, and things went downhill from there until the County of Lake and the employees reached an agreement in late January 1979. Employees sued the county. The supervisors were cited for contempt and nearly went to jail. Supervisors and department heads got raises, and then had to pay back some of their raises. Supervisors faced recall campaigns. One supervisor resigned. The Taxpayers Association of Lake County sued the county. Voters passed Proposition 13, which lead to employee layoffs. Two and a half years after the employees filed suit against the supervisors, the battling parties came to agreement. Step into the Time Machine to see for yourself.
Share
Tweet
Share
Pin
Read More
LAKE COUNTY TIME MACHINE
November 12, 2020  |  By Jan Cook

Lake County Time Machine: The Great Labor Saga

In June 1976, county employees rejected an “insulting” pay offer from the County of Lake, and things went downhill from there until the County of Lake and the employees reached an agreement in late January 1979. Employees sued the county. The supervisors were cited for contempt and nearly went to jail. Supervisors and department heads got raises, and then had to pay back some of their raises. Supervisors faced recall campaigns. One supervisor resigned. The Taxpayers Association of Lake County sued the county. Voters passed Proposition 13, which lead to employee layoffs. Two and a half years after the employees filed suit against the supervisors, the battling parties came to agreement. Step into the Time Machine to see for yourself.
Share
Tweet
Share
Pin
Read More
LAKE COUNTY TIME MACHINE
November 5, 2020  |  By Jan Cook

Lake County Time Machine: The Great Labor Saga

In June 1976, county employees rejected an “insulting” pay offer from the County of Lake, and things went downhill from there until the County of Lake and the employees reached an agreement in late January 1979. Employees sued the county. The supervisors were cited for contempt and nearly went to jail. Supervisors and department heads got raises, and then had to pay back some of their raises. Supervisors faced recall campaigns. One supervisor resigned. The Taxpayers Association of Lake County sued the county. Voters passed Proposition 13, which lead to employee layoffs. Two and a half years after the employees filed suit against the supervisors, the battling parties came to agreement. Step into the Time Machine to see for yourself.
Share
Tweet
Share
Pin
Read More
LAKE COUNTY TIME MACHINE
October 29, 2020  |  By Jan Cook

Lake County Time Machine: The Great Labor Saga

In June 1976, county employees rejected an “insulting” pay offer from the County of Lake, and things went downhill from there until the County of Lake and the employees reached an agreement in late January 1979. Employees sued the county. The supervisors were cited for contempt and nearly went to jail. Supervisors and department heads got raises, and then had to pay back some of their raises. Supervisors faced recall campaigns. One supervisor resigned. The Taxpayers Association of Lake County sued the county. Voters passed Proposition 13, which lead to employee layoffs. Two and a half years after the employees filed suit against the supervisors, the battling parties came to agreement. Step into the Time Machine to see for yourself.
Share
Tweet
Share
Pin
Read More
LAKE COUNTY TIME MACHINE
October 22, 2020  |  By Jan Cook

Lake County Time Machine: The Great Labor Saga

In June 1976, county employees rejected an “insulting” pay offer from the County of Lake, and things went downhill from there until the County of Lake and the employees reached an agreement in late January 1979. Employees sued the county. The supervisors were cited for contempt and nearly went to jail. Supervisors and department heads got raises, and then had to pay back some of their raises. Supervisors faced recall campaigns. One supervisor resigned. The Taxpayers Association of Lake County sued the county. Voters passed Proposition 13, which lead to employee layoffs. Two and a half years after the employees filed suit against the supervisors, the battling parties came to agreement. Step into the Time Machine to see for yourself.
Share
Tweet
Share
Pin
Read More
LAKE COUNTY HISTORY
October 22, 2020  |  By Gene Paleno

Lake County History, Chapter 106: Beautiful Ladies, Part 1

Thank goodness the ladies today are not under the same courtship pressures as they were in the 1880s. The playing field between men and women is more level. In Victorian times it was a matter of social survival for a woman of 1900 to look beautiful without showing any of the signs of powder and paint make-up. How did they do it? An article by Marilyn Johnson of Lake County gives us some of the answers as to how the magic was wrought.
Share
Tweet
Share
Pin
Read More
LAKE COUNTY TIME MACHINE
October 15, 2020  |  By Jan Cook

Lake County Time Machine: The Great Labor Saga

In June 1976, county employees rejected an “insulting” pay offer from the County of Lake, and things went downhill from there until the County of Lake and the employees reached an agreement in late January 1979. Employees sued the county. The supervisors were cited for contempt and nearly went to jail. Supervisors and department heads got raises, and then had to pay back some of their raises. Supervisors faced recall campaigns. One supervisor resigned. The Taxpayers Association of Lake County sued the county. Voters passed Proposition 13, which lead to employee layoffs. Two and a half years after the employees filed suit against the supervisors, the battling parties came to agreement. Step into the Time Machine to see for yourself.
Share
Tweet
Share
Pin
Read More
LAKE COUNTY HISTORY
October 8, 2020  |  By Gene Paleno

Lake County History, Chapter 104: The Chinese Pioneers, Part 1

In Lake County, men searched in the heavens and dug in the ground for discovery and for wealth. Gold and quicksilver were discovered in California in the 1850s, but nobody thought overly much about the Chinese. They worked in the Lake County Cinnabar mines, and they worked hard.
Share
Tweet
Share
Pin
Read More
LAKE COUNTY TIME MACHINE
October 8, 2020  |  By Jan Cook

Lake County Time Machine: The Great Labor Saga

In June 1976, county employees rejected an “insulting” pay offer from the County of Lake, and things went downhill from there until the County of Lake and the employees reached an agreement in late January 1979. Employees sued the county. The supervisors were cited for contempt and nearly went to jail. Supervisors and department heads got raises, and then had to pay back some of their raises. Supervisors faced recall campaigns. One supervisor resigned. The Taxpayers Association of Lake County sued the county. Voters passed Proposition 13, which lead to employee layoffs. Two and a half years after the employees filed suit against the supervisors, the battling parties came to agreement. Step into the Time Machine to see for yourself.
Share
Tweet
Share
Pin
Read More
LAKE COUNTY HISTORY
October 1, 2020  |  By Gene Paleno

Lake County History, Chapter 103: The Stargazer

James Lick and his associates, John Fraser and Richard Floyd, helped create the Lick observatory. They were amazing men. Two things stand out; Lick’s drive to know more about our universe and Captain Floyd’s role as a Confederate pirate in the Civil War.
Share
Tweet
Share
Pin
Read More
October 1, 2020  |  By Jan Cook

Lake County Time Machine: The Great Labor Saga, Part 9

In June 1976, county employees rejected an “insulting” pay offer from the County of Lake, and things went downhill from there until the County of Lake and the employees reached an agreement in late January 1979. Employees sued the county. The supervisors were cited for contempt and nearly went to jail. Supervisors and department heads got raises, and then had to pay back some of their raises. Supervisors faced recall campaigns. One supervisor resigned. The Taxpayers Association of Lake County sued the county. Voters passed Proposition 13, which lead to employee layoffs. Two and a half years after the employees filed suit against the supervisors, the battling parties came to agreement. Step into the Time Machine to see for yourself.
Share
Tweet
Share
Pin
Read More
September 24, 2020  |  By Jan Cook

Lake County Time Machine: The Great Labor Saga

In June 1976, county employees rejected an “insulting” pay offer from the County of Lake, and things went downhill from there until the County of Lake and the employees reached an agreement in late January 1979. Employees sued the county. The supervisors were cited for contempt and nearly went to jail. Supervisors and department heads got raises, and then had to pay back some of their raises. Supervisors faced recall campaigns. One supervisor resigned. The Taxpayers Association of Lake County sued the county. Voters passed Proposition 13, which lead to employee layoffs. Two and a half years after the employees filed suit against the supervisors, the battling parties came to agreement. Step into the Time Machine to see for yourself.
Share
Tweet
Share
Pin
Read More
LAKE COUNTY HISTORY
September 16, 2020  |  By Gene Paleno

Lake County History, Chapter 101: The Bartlett Springs Fire, Part 1

20 September 1934, the Lake County Bee reported Bartlett Springs Resort was destroyed by fire. It was a bad fire. Fifty buildings were torched. Only the heroic efforts of hundreds of CCC boys, called to battle the blaze, kept the mountains around the Resort from burning. The Resort was above Nice, northwest, and twelve miles from Clear Lake. The road to that forlorn memory twists and turns like a peripatetic snake. To reach Bartlett Springs, the intrepid traveler must climb into Lake County’s higher mountains to an altitude of nearly forty-five hundred feet. He must pass over Bartlett Mountain’s summit at about four thousand feet. He will pass Pinnacle Rock and then Little Pinnacle on his left; both also close to four thousand high. Finally, as the road runs beside the South Fork of Bartlett Creek, the traveler may heave a sigh of relief. The last stretch to the springs levels out. Once there, the traveler will be in the center of what once were some of the most important mineral springs in Lake County.
Share
Tweet
Share
Pin
Read More
LAKE COUNTY TIME MACHINE
September 16, 2020  |  By Jan Cook

Lake County Time Machine: The Great Labor Saga

In June 1976, county employees rejected an “insulting” pay offer from the County of Lake, and things went downhill from there until the County of Lake and the employees reached an agreement in late January 1979. Employees sued the county. The supervisors were cited for contempt and nearly went to jail. Supervisors and department heads got raises, and then had to pay back some of their raises. Supervisors faced recall campaigns. One supervisor resigned. The Taxpayers Association of Lake County sued the county. Voters passed Proposition 13, which lead to employee layoffs. Two and a half years after the employees filed suit against the supervisors, the battling parties came to agreement. Step into the Time Machine to see for yourself.
Share
Tweet
Share
Pin
Read More
LAKE COUNTY HISTORY
September 10, 2020  |  By Gene Paleno

Lake County History, Chapter 100: Aunt Hester’s “Medicine”

“The pools at Seigler Springs are inside a great building. There is a warm pool, a cool pool, and a hot. It is the fashion to enter the warm, then the hot, and finish up in the cold. Stone steps lead down into the water. Every person seems to be having a relaxing time. There is a group of men in one corner. They are discussing bear fighting and cockfighting. Another group is enthusiastically looking forward to a boxing exhibition to be given at Harbin Springs nearby. The ladies chat about needlepoint, babies, and the impossible task of keeping domestic servants. With the lowered voices, they talk about the interesting fact that the waters of Witter Springs are supposed to cure a social disease. ‘Well,’ I tell Aunt Hester, ‘When you consider that most of us know someone, who has gone there… Well, it certainly opens the room for conjecture.’ “
Share
Tweet
Share
Pin
Read More
LAKE COUNTY TIME MACHINE
September 10, 2020  |  By Jan Cook

Lake County Time Machine: The Great Labor Saga

In June 1976, county employees rejected an “insulting” pay offer from the County of Lake, and things went downhill from there until the County of Lake and the employees reached an agreement in late January 1979. Employees sued the county. The supervisors were cited for contempt and nearly went to jail. Supervisors and department heads got raises, and then had to pay back some of their raises. Supervisors faced recall campaigns. One supervisor resigned. The Taxpayers Association of Lake County sued the county. Voters passed Proposition 13, which lead to employee layoffs. Two and a half years after the employees filed suit against the supervisors, the battling parties came to agreement. Step into the Time Machine to see for yourself.
Share
Tweet
Share
Pin
Read More
LAKE COUNTY TIME MACHINE
September 3, 2020  |  By Jan Cook

Lake County Time Machine: The Great Labor Saga

In June 1976, county employees rejected an “insulting” pay offer from the County of Lake, and things went downhill from there until the County of Lake and the employees reached an agreement in late January 1979. Employees sued the county. The supervisors were cited for contempt and nearly went to jail. Supervisors and department heads got raises, and then had to pay back some of their raises. Supervisors faced recall campaigns. One supervisor resigned. The Taxpayers Association of Lake County sued the county. Voters passed Proposition 13, which lead to employee layoffs. Two and a half years after the employees filed suit against the supervisors, the battling parties came to agreement. Step into the Time Machine to see for yourself.
Share
Tweet
Share
Pin
Read More
August 26, 2020  |  By Jan Cook

Lake County Time Machine: The Great Labor Saga

In June 1976, county employees rejected an “insulting” pay offer from the County of Lake, and things went downhill from there until the County of Lake and the employees reached an agreement in late January 1979. Employees sued the county. The supervisors were cited for contempt and nearly went to jail. Supervisors and department heads got raises, and then had to pay back some of their raises. Supervisors faced recall campaigns. One supervisor resigned. The Taxpayers Association of Lake County sued the county. Voters passed Proposition 13, which lead to employee layoffs. Two and a half years after the employees filed suit against the supervisors, the battling parties came to agreement.
Share
Tweet
Share
Pin
Read More
LAKE COUNTY HISTORY
August 20, 2020  |  By Gene Paleno

Lake County History, Chapter 97: A Perilous Beginning

This next cheerful travelogue may lighten your spirits. The author, Marilyn Johnson, took everything in easy stride, including her slightly inebriated Aunt Hester. Ms. Johnson’s description deserves recognition, if for no other reason than she takes us back to that day as if we made the trip with her. Her marvelous incite and awareness of things around her, and her ability to impart her impressions with the written word is almost too fine. The reader might have the sneaking suspicion Ms. Johnson fabricated this tale. It is too perfect. Whether a genuine experience or a work of fiction, Kudos to Ms. Johnson.
Share
Tweet
Share
Pin
Read More
LAKE COUNTY HISTORY
August 13, 2020  |  By Gene Paleno

Lake County History, Chapter 96: Coming Home

Lilly’s tour through the West in America covered her with money, and Lake County was already becoming known as a good wine country. She met Freddie Gebbard, a wealthy American playboy and man about town. Handsome Freddie lavished the beautiful Lilly with attention. They wanted to be married, but divorce was not possible. Unable to divorce Edward Gantry, a Belfast shipping merchant, Lilly purchased the Guenoc Ranch in Lake County to live with Freddie, her real love. She ignored the scandal, and since California was known for its liberal views, California is where Lilly set her sights.
Share
Tweet
Share
Pin
Read More
LAKE COUNTY HISTORY
August 5, 2020  |  By Gene Paleno

Lake County History, Chapter 96: Coming Home

Lilly’s tour through the West in America covered her with money, and Lake County was already becoming known as a good wine country. She met Freddie Gebbard, a wealthy American playboy and man about town. Handsome Freddie lavished the beautiful Lilly with attention. They wanted to be married, but divorce was not possible. Unable to divorce Edward Gantry, a Belfast shipping merchant, Lilly purchased the Guenoc Ranch in Lake County to live with Freddie, her real love. She ignored the scandal, and since California was known for its liberal views, California is where Lilly set her sights.
Share
Tweet
Share
Pin
Read More
LAKE COUNTY HISTORY
July 29, 2020  |  By Gene Paleno

Lake County History Chapter 95: Lillie Was a Lady

Lillie Langtry deserves a special place in Lake County’s history. She wasn’t here long, but during the brief time she lived in Lake County, she became a legend. Her dazzling beauty, her electrifying personality, the story of her life, and what she did for Lake County, is still remembered.
Share
Tweet
Share
Pin
Read More
LAKE COUNTY TIME MACHINE
July 29, 2020  |  By Jan Cook

Lake County Time Machine: Plane Crashes

During World War II the US government established military airfields around northern California including a number at places such as Orland, Oroville, Redding, Siskiyou County, Marysville, Santa Rosa and Novato. Novice pilots trained in hastily-constructed planes over Lake County, which led to emergency landings and crashes in Lake County. In those days Lake County had a number of small airfields scattered around, such as Polk Field near Upper Lake. Planes from both the army and the navy crashed in Lake County.
Share
Tweet
Share
Pin
Read More
LAKE COUNTY HISTORY
July 22, 2020  |  By Gene Paleno

Lake County History Chapter 94: The Dashiell Affair

One story about a Confederate sympathizer is typical of the hard feelings that remained after the Civil War. The Santa Rosa Press-Democrat reported on what happened to southern sympathizers in Lake County. On the 20th of April, 1865, six days after Lincoln was assassinated, a company of soldiers, dispatched from Fort Wright and under the command of Captain Charles Douglas, were given orders to arrest any ‘Johnny Rebs’ that expressed glee at the news of the assassination. They took the road into Potter Valley on 1 June, to receive written complaints from residents that heard any expressions of glee over the assassination. Ranchers, loyal to the Union, reported such expressions they heard from certain of their neighbors, and, upon receiving the report, the soldiers took off to arrest the culprits.’
Share
Tweet
Share
Pin
Read More
Newer
12…7
Older

SIGN UP FOR THE BLOOM WEEKLY

SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER

SIGN UP FOR THE BLOOM WEEKLY

Contact Us / Advertise / Submit / Privacy Policy

Terms of Service / Disclaimer

Copyright 2020 Lake County Bloom

X
X