Hallet is second from the right in the front row of this photo taken at the 1937 dedication of Roop’s Fort

As he grew older, he relished relating the stories of his youth to others. Of course, age may have dimmed his recollections a bit, but his stories continued to entertain listeners, and Hallett was a real character.

In December 1937 Hallet was interviewed by a reporter from the Mercury Herald newspaper while visiting his 76-year-old nephew in San Jose. His nephew, C. J. Rogers was an infant when he crossed the plains with the Hallett family in 1862. Now, Hallett seemed to be thrilled to tell his story to a whole new audience.

According to Hallett, he earned the nickname ‘Boy’ from Chief Winnemucca. He used this opportunity to show the reporter a few Paiute dance steps that he had picked up during his youth. Hallett leaped into the air, clicked together his heels and stamped his feet on the floor while his gray-haired nephew clapped his hands.

This was not impeded by the fact that when asked how he was doing at age 91, Hallett replied, “Everything’s going to the dogs pretty fast.” Tall and nimble, Hallett clearly, had a little ‘spunk’ left.

He continued with his tale of meeting the great Paiute Chief Winnemucca. There were stories that the Paiutes were angry and were considering war with the settlers.

A group of the settlers got together and came to Hallett’s father, Isaac, to help make peace with Winnemucca. Isaac Hallett agreed, but he was injured and using crutches, so he sent Isaiah in his place.

Dressed in overalls and unarmed, the 17-year-old Isaiah rode eighty miles to the Paiute camp and smoked the ‘peace pipe’ with Chiefs Winnemucca and Nachez.

It wasn’t long after when some men from Susanville wanted to capture and kill the two Paiute chiefs. Isaiah’s father hid the chiefs in a haystack in an area concealed by a clump of thick willows.

For ten days the men were hidden by Hallett’s father, and the young Hallett was responsible for providing food for them. On one dark stormy night the elder Hallett took the chiefs away to safety.

Hallett was not too happy with the conditions at the time of the 1937 interview. He complained of people’s lust for accumulating money, saying, “People that have it are not putting it to use as it should be.”

He continued, “And I don’t like this automobile situation. Auto deaths are worse than war.”

His feeling on drinking was typical of a man who believed in moderation, “Drinking? I don’t object. I take a drink myself. But to stand up to a bar and pour it down like water in a rat hole is something I don’t approve of.”

Hallett was only sixteen years old when he traveled across the plains with his family. When they arrived in Honey Lake Valley, they were very pleased with the thick green grass for their livestock. He said that “It looked like heaven sure enough.” But that winter the stock got into some poison weeds and the loss of livestock was devastating.

Hallett’s wife, Elsie, died in Litchfield in 1929, and the old pioneer was left to his own devices. He moved in with his daughter Zoe’s family for his safety.

“I guess I’ve lived this long because I’ve always eaten coarse food, lived on hardship and never worried, ” he explained.

Isaiah E. ‘Boy’ Hallett died in Standish on Nov. 22, 1938, at age 92 years, and is buried in the family plot in Janesville.

Cycle class will be at 8:00am with Yoga at 9:00am. You can start taking classes this Saturday. Also returning this month, it’s Fall Back to Fitness BINGO! You can pick up your participating BINGO card at the studio, 2005 Main Street, Susanville.

Joan’s Studio of Dance

Enrollment is underway and classes are filling quickly. Joan’s has classes in Ballet, Tap, Jazz and even Hip Hop, for all ages, and talented and professional teachers who are dedicated to their dancer’s training and success.

I took ballet and tap from Joan when I was a little girl and today my 5-year-old granddaughter has her first ballet class. I would highly recommend checking out their website to see a list of the classes they offer https://www.joansstudioofdance.com/.

You can also contact the studio at 1.530.310.1909 if you have any questions or are interested in enrolling your child.

Lassen Municipal Utility District

Lassen Municipal Utility District will be holding their annual Customer Appreciation Celebration today, September 7th, from 11:30 to 1:00p.m., in the parking lot at the corner of Main and Gay Streets, where LMUD will be moving their main office in the near future.

It’s a great time to catch up with people in our community and have a great meal right off the grill. All of the utility’s customers are welcome to stop by and have lunch.

They will be serving complimentary all-beef hotdogs, cold drinks, chips, and desserts and the first 50 customers will receive an emergency, hand-crank, solar-powered radio.

Don’t forget to sign up to win a $100 Energy Gift Card while you are there.

LMUD Electrical Operations Manager Cort Cortez manning the barbecue

It’s a big party under the tent at the

LMUD Customer Appreciation Celebration

Red Hut Pizza

Red Hut has a brand new sign at their Weatherlow and Main Street location.

WFP Print and Ship

Looking to get rid of clutter, like the years of stored documents in boxes taking up room in your garage? WFP Print and Ship is now offering a shredding service through Shred-It. Your papers are stored in a secured, locked box in the store. When it’s time for pick-up, the papers are shredded onsite as they are loaded onto the truck.

There is a $3 minimum, and the cost is $1 per pound or $40 per banker’s box/50lbs.

Bring your documents to 2850 Main Street Suite 4, in the Windgate Shopping Center by Walmart. Call 1.530.251.0222 if you have any questions.

SitSpot Canine Center

The Family Manners One class will be graduating in mid-September according to Jackie Earnshaw, CPDT-KA and founder of SitSpot Canine Center, where several 2023-2024 classes are in progress.

Enrollment is currently underway for two courses, FUNdamentals of Agility and Total Recall, which are both filling up quickly.

FUNdamentals of Agility provides an introduction to one of the most fun and exciting dog sports that almost any dog can participate in. Total Recall uses games to teach dogs to come when called on the first call.

Call Jackie at 530.257.3161 for more class information or to register for SitSpot’s FUNdamentals of Agility or Total Recall courses.

Sitspot classes are suitable for most ages and types of dogs and are conducted in a safe, secure environment featuring positive motivational methods. Jackie has been proudly serving the Lassen dog community since 2004.

Is something noteworthy happening with your business? Let us know about it! Each Thursday morning, we present a round-up of interesting news from the Lassen County business scene and we want to hear from you. E-mail your business news to Marshel at mcouso@susanvillestuff.com.

Funds raised from the clothing sales go toward Lassen Family Service’s continued commitment to end abuse and support survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault in Lassen County.

The deadline to order your t-shirt is September 17th.

A Lassen High Track meet at Arnold Field in a 1941 Eastman Studio aerial photo.

Lassen High School Opens

September 7, 1940

Lassen High School began the fall semester Tuesday with an enrollment of 442, or 25 more than the peak of last year.

On the faculty are eight new members, including Roy Cochrane, recently resigned from Warner Brothers’ motion picture studio in Hollywood, where he had charge of making sets for many pictures now showing in California and Nevada, including “The Sea Hawk,” “Fighting 36th” and “Elisabeth and Essex.”

Cochrane is to have charge of the newly organized carpentering class, which will do the main structural woke on a new $20,000 shop building designed by Dean & Dean, architects.