Daniel became one of the many thousands of young men who were caught up in the Civil War. He had joined the Illinois Volunteers, Company ‘C’ of the 144th Infantry which mustered in September of 1864 at Alton, Illinois.

The 144th Infantry never saw battle and served at garrisons in the area near St. Louis, Missouri and at a prisoner of war camp at Alton, Illinois.

These soldiers, who never served on the battlefield and probably yearned to go into battle, suffered greatly. Sixty-nine of them died of disease in the close unsanitary conditions of their assignments. War is never easy.

By July of 1865 the war was over, and the 144th Infantry was ‘mustered out’. Daniel went home to Missouri to his wife, Rebecca, and their children.

By the time Daniel finally made his way to Honey Lake Valley, Rebecca was dead. He was a tired and lonely old man who came west to be near his children.

In Honey Lake Valley, the old widower lived with his son David and his daughter-in-law, Maggie, and their family. Eliza lived with them also, until her marriage.

It was a comfortable life, and he was well cared for by his son, but 1900 was a special year. In August in Susanville, Daniel’s only daughter, Eliza, had married Charles Hennings. The new Hennings family settled in Secret Valley.

In 1900, Daniel Rice Stark was looking forward to the holiday season. With his daughter married and a new baby daughter in his son’s family, it was an exciting time. His gift for himself this year was to visit his newlywed daughter, Eliza, and her husband, Charles Hennings, in Secret Valley.

So, Daniel planned to spend Christmas with his daughter. He decided to walk to her home, and he had it all worked out. He would leave his son’s house and head as straight as possible through the desert, to Secret Valley. It was only thirty miles away.

His family, his friends, and everyone he told of his plans, tried to dissuade him from the perilous trip. It was too far for a man of his age, it was December, and it was cold. But Daniel would not listen. He packed his Yuletide gifts for his daughter, and on December 23rd, left Susanville to fulfill his dream of a wonderful Christmas.

On Monday, the 24th of December, the tired old soldier had made his way about 15 miles from Susanville. Charles Hart was on his way to Secret Valley, driving a wagon, and saw him on the road. Hart went on to his destination and notified Charles Henning that his father-in-law was on the way.

Stark’s worried son-in-law hurriedly hitched up his wagon and went to find his new father-in-law, but to no avail. There was no sight of Stark. Hennings went home and wrote a letter to David Stark, letting him know of the situation. That letter didn’t reach David Stark until Thursday evening, December 27th.

The next day David Stark sent a man with a buggy out to look for his father, but the elder Stark was nowhere to be found. Daniel Stark had simply disappeared.

Meanwhile, Charles Hennings arrived in Susanville and he and David Stark summoned a search party.

On Sunday morning, the search party reached the area and found some of Daniel Stark’s old papers from when he lived in Oklahoma and some carefully wrapped Christmas presents that Stark had carried for his daughter. The presents were blood-stained and torn, signs that though injured, the old man had carried them as far as possible. Unfortunately, the search party found no sign of Daniel Stark himself.

There were several sites where he had started small brush fires and footprints where he had paced around the fires and wandered, possibly trying to keep warm in the bitter cold.

He had apparently stumbled helplessly for quite some time, tripping over rocks and tearing his limbs on barbed wire. Signs were everywhere, but there was no Daniel.

One of the warming fires was seen Thursday morning by Albert Brown who had a ranch nearby along Pete’s Valley Road.

With no sign of the old man, the disheartened search party returned to Susanville. It had been over a week now since Daniel left home, and things were serious.

On Tuesday, January 1st, another party from Susanville, including Frank Cady, Augustus Hunsinger, George Long and James H. Riley tried again. They began their search near the fire that had been seen by Albert Brown.

It wasn’t long before they found what they were looking for. Daniel Stark’s body, face down in a pile of rocks, was there. It appeared that he had fallen and made no effort to arrest his fall. A sharp rock had pierced his temple.

Daniel’s last effort was to see his daughter. He was buried in the Susanville Cemetery.

Mountain Yoga Studio

Mountain Yoga Studio will be offering Spooky Spin at 4:30, chant and sound bath at 5:30 and blacklight tribal Yoga at 6:30. This is a free event. You are encouraged to dress up and bring a friend or you can just stop by and check out what Mountain Yoga Studio is all about. They will be offering a half-off special that night only for a one-month unlimited pass or a ten pack of classes. They will be serving appetizers and beverages as well.

Bottle & Brush Art Bar

Bottle & Brush Art Bar will have drink specials and treats with live music featuring Zach Bouyear between 6:30 and 8:30p.m.

Merry Morsels

Merry Morsels will be offering delicious goodies like caramel apples, cake pops, fudge and some new treats. They will have a buy one, get one half-off special on treats and free cake pops. Add boba to any Redbull free during the event and take $3.00 off your purchase if you are wearing a costume or if you make a pumpkin donation to Frosting Families.

They will be serving drinks, unique treats and cake to celebrate their fifth anniversary and owner, Heather Arter’s birthday.

Back County Boutique

Join Back Country Boutique at the Freaky Friday Midtown Bash from 4:00 to 7:00p.m., at 2055a Main Street. The Back Country Boutique is celebrating their one-year anniversary and will be cooking up some Back Country Grub. In their parking lot you will find craft and food vendors, a costume contest, scavenger hunt and more family friendly fun.

Piercings by Ronnie

Piercings by Ronnie will be offering 20% off piercings all day and 30% off spooky jewelry at 10 North Fairfield.

Lassen Axe

Lassen Axe will be running a $15 bash. That means you get 30 minutes of play for $15 between 4:00 -7:00p.m., on Friday the 13th. You will be automatically entered into their bullseye contest. The most bullseyes in 30 minutes wins. Details for the contest are at Lassen Axe, located at 55 S. Sacramento. Call 1.530.250.6670 for more information.

Lassen Creations

Lassen Creations will be selling their cool custom products like keychains, earrings, sweaters, t-shirts, jewelry, and headbands. Tumblers are $15 and you can register to win a tumbler or a t-shirt in the big raffle. If you bring a costume to donate to Frosting Families then you get $3 off your purchase. They will be serving sparkling water, bottled water, soda and izzie drinks.

Amaiya’s Magical Treats

Amaiya will be at Merry Morsels with her yummy treats and it will be the return of her magical loaded apples, definitely a customer favorite.

ChaCha’s Tacos

ChaCha’s Tacos will be in the parking lot at Back Country Boutique with their regular taco menu, their warm cheesy quesabirria tacos and their home-made drink, witches brew horchata.

Some of the other businesses that will be participating in the Friday the 13th Midtown Bash include Millwood Florist & Nursery, Susan River Realty, Tea of life, Fable of the Table, LHolloway: Be Creative and Supreme Graphics.

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.

Looking for a Small Venue to Rent? Monticola Club Offers a Perfect Solution

Have a special event coming up and wondering where to have it? The Monticola Club House at 140 South Lassen Street could meet that need with 1,500 square feet of indoor space able to fit 170, a fully equipped kitchen and it is also handicap accessible.

“The venue is perfect for celebrations and memorials of any type such as showers, birthdays, anniversaries, teas, receptions, meetings, conferences, trainings, holiday get togethers, fundraisers, presentations, celebration of life and other activities,” explains Monticola member Lorene Guffey.

The fully equipped kitchen includes utensils, plates, cups, saucers, coffee and hot water pot. There are also padded folding chairs and both round and rectangle tables.

“You not only get the perfect event venue, but rental money is an important source of revenue for the non-profit Monticola Club, 501(c)(3). The Club was started in 1912 as a service organization formed to provide local women ways to improve the quality of life in our community.”

Over the years these are some of the various local activities or support provided by the Club:

• Food Baskets
• Water for River Clean-up
• Fire Victim Support
• Senior Support
• Beautification Projects-trees, flowers, Penny Pines reforestation
• Library support
• And of course, college scholarships.

To view the Clubhouse or for more information, please contact the building manager, Patty Davie, at 530-257-9220.

The prescribed burn is designed to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfire associated with high fuel loading. It will improve firefighter safety and effectiveness in the event of a wildfire.

The burn will also help prevent wildfire damage to natural resources and communities within the Wildland Urban Interface, where homes are near public lands.

Looking back towards town from near Leavitt Lane in the early 1940’s

~ Lassen Historic Society photo ~

Potatoes Stolen in Field

October 12, 1940

Authorities here are cooperating with Merle Baker and some 25 Boy Scouts of Troop No 58, under his leadership, in a search for a Lassen County potato thief.

The boys planted early in the summer a half acre to potatoes on the Frank Bangham ranch, three miles from Susanville. They expected to harvest about 35 sacks from the sale of which they planned to buy uniforms for several poor boys and put the rest into equipment.

When Baker and his Scouts went to harvest the crop early this week, they were able to gather only 4 ½ sacks from a few scattered hills, overlooked by the thieves.