Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Old Postcard Wednesday--Mt. Shasta from Sisson

 

Almost three years ago, I published a post containing pictures I had taken when I spent a night in the City of Mount Shasta (formerly Sisson*). I titled it nice place to visit but you probably can't move there and closed with these lines (followed by a short video of the news report I mentioned):
It's one of those places that is very hard to leave. I entertained fantasies of moving there. Do you do that, truly see yourself living in a different place once you've spent even a little time there?

Along that line, this news report Wednesday evening fascinated me. According to new Census reports, Americans aren't moving. In fact we haven't stayed put in these numbers since 1962.............

Well, I am here to tell you that I still think living in the Mt. Shasta area would be a wonderful lifestyle, and that a blogging friend of mine has recently proven that at least some Americans are moving again and that you can move there! Kathe W and her husband retired last month to a town nearby Mt. Shasta and her A Snap a Day blog has some great images of those first wondrously-exhausting-but-so-invigorating days in their new, already much-loved home.

This post is my housewarming gift to them, with all good wishes for decades of good health and cheer under the protection of glorious Mount Shasta.

               ~~~

The Mountain
  by: Emily Dickinson

The mountain sat upon the plain
In his eternal chair,
His observation omnifold,
His inquest everywhere.

The seasons prayed around his knees,
Like children round a sire:
Grandfather of the days is he,
Of dawn the ancestor.

               ~~~


From every window in their home, a beautiful view!


Beethoven: The Consecration of the House overture (Házavatás nyitány) 
Hungarian Philharmonic Orchestra; Zoltán Kocsis


_________________________________

*A little background on the old postcard. Note that the view is titled Mt. Shasta from Sisson. I had never heard of a town named Sisson so looked online and was interested to know that it was one of the names given to the City of Mount Shasta in earlier days. From Wikipedia:
. . . The site of present-day Mount Shasta City was within the range of the Okwanuchu tribe of Native Americans. During the 1820s, early Euro-American trappers and hunters first passed through the area, following the path of the Siskiyou Trail. The Siskiyou Trail was based on a network of ancient Native American footpaths connecting California and the Pacific Northwest. The discovery of gold at nearby Yreka, California in 1851, dramatically increased traffic along the Siskiyou Trail and through the site of present-day Mount Shasta. Pioneer Ross McCloud built one of the first lumber mills in the area, near the site of the present Sisson Museum. The completion of a stagecoach road between Yreka and Upper Soda Springs in the late 1850s led to the building of Sisson's Hotel, as a stop for weary travelers, and as a staging ground for adventuresome tourists intending to climb Mount Shasta.

The 1887 completion of the Central Pacific Railroad, built along the line of the Siskiyou Trail, brought a dramatic increase in tourism, lumbering, and population into Mount Shasta. This early development continued to focus on tourism and lumbering. The early 1900s saw the influx of a large number of Italian immigrants to Mount Shasta and neighboring towns, most of whom were employed in the timber industry.

The area where the town later grew up was known first as Strawberry Valley, and then as Berryvale. With the arrival of the railroad, the town was given the name Sisson, California, after prominent land owner Justin Sisson. The name was changed to Mount Shasta City in 1924. . .




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17 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have been following Kathe's move too and have been struck by their sense of adventure.

Obviously the economic climate everywhere is preventing people from moving at the same rate that we used to - and of course whenever we make a BIG move we all vow NEVER to do it again.

I remember though my first move on my own ... everything I posessed comfortably fitting into two suitcases. Sometimes when I look at everything in my attic I long for that simple time again.

mythopolis said...

I love these old cards composed and colored so as to make any place a Shangri La. They incite the urge to wander.

Stickup Artist said...

It's probably too expensive and risky to make big moves these days. If you have to sell a home, forget it. Ff you're just graduating college, you probably have a big loan to pay off and might even have to move back with parents. But it is fun to dream... I was just tonight watching something on Netflix that takes place in Seattle, imagining it would be a cool place to live. Nice backstory on Mt. Shasta.

PS: I've been living at the foot of a big mountain for 3 years now, and I'm still a little startled every day!

Lydia said...

jane.healy~ In many ways I long for that simple time you mentioned. I love that quote (don't know who said it): "Barn burnt down. Now I can see the moon."

Mythopolis~ I know. The colors even bleed into the border of the card, further stretching that wanderlust.

Stickup~ A little startled every day, are you? That is cute. But I know what you mean, as I lived at the foot of a big mountain in middle and high school. It was amazing.
I don't know the particulars, but it appears that Kathe and her husband may have been able to sell their former home in a great area in Oregon, but if so their luck is not the norm. I've told my husband that we might as well adjust to the fact that we will live in this house for a long, long time. Real estate is not moving in our area and it could take a long time.
When you mentioned those just out of college I thought what a challenging time into which they are coming of age.....

Kathe W. said...

Lydia- you are so sweet to post this amazing postcard for us...we beleve we were meant to be here because we put our house on the market and it sold in two days on December 3rd last year.
Luck of the Irish or something (our buyers had been searching for their perfect new home for months and she is an artist from Ireland and he's from Scotland). We had found our new home in the summer but could not make an offer til our house sold. Miraculously it waited for us. Making this enormous move after being in our home almost exactly 22 years has not been simple since we downsized some, but not enough. Ah well. We are slowly finding new homes for our not needed belongings and so enjoy seeing this gorgeous mountain Nt Shasta to the east and Mt Eddy to the west. It's rather magical here.

Lydia said...

Kathe~ I know it is rather magical there! It will be so wonderful watching the seasons and your lives change via your blogs.
The story of the sale of your home reminds me so much of my mother's move from Reno, where she had lived for 35 years, to Oregon. She fell in love with Silverton while on a visit with me when I lived in Salem, said "I'm going to retire at 62 instead of 65," went home and put an For Sale by Owner ad in the newspaper in Reno, sold the house in less than a week, returned to Silverton the following weekend and found her dream home and bought it! (The biggest difference between your luck story and hers is that hers happened in 1979 when the economy was different, making your story the best I've heard in a long time!)

Owen said...

Looks like a simply lovely place... that is what is missing in the Paris area... no mountains. Is there any danger of eruptions though ?

Lydia said...

Owen~ It really is special....but then so is Paris, right?
Mt. Shasta is listed as a "potentially active" volcano. Here is a fact sheet.

susan said...

I know at least one Canadian-American who hasn't stopped moving yet. I loved Mt Shasta for it's myth and mystery as well as its extraordinary beauty. I hope too your friends will be happy there for a very long time.

Lydia said...

Testing italics and bold html tags.

Lydia said...

susan~ Hmmm. Does this mean that you are considering another move? If you decided to return to Portland I would welcome you with open arms, my friend!

Don't Feed The Pixies said...

what really struck me with the postcard was the tiny community at the base, dwarfed by the mountain - a reminder of mankind's insignificance in the face of nature

Lydia said...

Pixies~ Beautifully said. The community has grown, but not significantly, since this old postcard. You truly feel the power of the mountain even walking down the sidewalks...

Hattie said...

Shasta is fascinating. I am going to look up the Indian legend about how it and the mt. that is now Crater Lake blew up simultaneously and the poeple saved themselves by standing in the lake.

Lydia said...

Hattie~ Interesting legend! Shasta seems to have stimulated the imagination down through the ages. There is definitely something special about that mountain!

Brian Miller said...

nice...i pine for mountains like the ones in that card....and that small town as well...i live in the mdist of mountains now, but in a much backward town...lol

Lydia said...

Brian~ Thanks. Your comment makes me wonder where you live! I have never lived in a backward town...at least yours is in the midst of mountains (some redeeming value)!

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