by Susan Couso
Every town needs a city park, a place for citizens to gather and recreate. Not long after Susanville was incorporated in 1900, residents began to think about a park for the growing metropolis. Susanville was getting a bit crowded.
In 1923, as talks to build a park began, a lot of people had ideas. William Harrison had an idea that would solve a lot of his problems. He owned property on the face and top of Inspiration Point, which was not worth the street assessments that he owed.
His plan was to ‘give’ the land to the city if they would just pay off the assessments and pay him a “certain sum” for the land. If not, he would cut the timber and sell it to recoup some of his losses. This plan did not work out for Harrison.
Frank O’Kelly had great dreams for local recreation in 1934. His idea was for the city to purchase 100 acres from Fruit Growers Supply Company. The city would purchase half of the water rights and build a swimming pool, golf course and picnic grounds.
The revenue from the golf course would pay for the maintenance of the entire complex. O’Kelly put a lot of thought and effort into his plan, but it did not work out either.
By 1946, plans were really under way to get a park. It had been established that the best place, which would be near the center of town and easily accessible for all, would be Cy Houghton’s dairy.
The dairy was situated in the meadow just east of Roop’s Fort, with the dairy buildings and the Houghton home on Grand Avenue.
This meadow had a long history for the area, as emigrants would camp there on their lengthy journey from the east into California. The Noble’s Trail goes right through the site.
Mayor Jim Bronson presided over a city council meeting to discuss plans. A park committee was created with members from local service organizations, and the Baseball Park Committee, announced plans to coordinate with the city to do as much as they could to help.
Without the support of the baseball committee, it is doubtful that the park project would have succeeded.
By December of 1946, $3,500 had been donated for the new park. These donations came from service organizations, merchants and individual citizens, and by January 1947, they had gathered $4,500.
Things began to move quickly, and by April, city officials and the Susanville Public Park Committee approved the final blueprints and decided on a name.
The new park was to be known as ‘Memorial Park’. With the final revisions, the plans were in place for tennis courts, a wading pool, a children’s playground, an area for teenage recreation, a handball court, horseshoe courts, a campfire circle, a community or scout building, and of course, a baseball field with grandstands.
By August, the construction of the 72-foot-long grandstand began. There would be seating for 500 people in the first phase, but wings on either side could be built to add seating. Normal crowds at recent games swelled to about 400 people.
The money for the construction of the grandstands came from the Lassen County Memorial Athletic Association, without using any of the park funds.
Even before the park was finished, the local community began using the new site. In 1948, the Lions Club, in conjunction with the Chamber of Commerce, held the first Easter Egg Hunt for regional youth, ages 3 to 12.
On Easter Sunday afternoon, the youngsters flocked to the park to participate in the egg hunt, egg races, three-legged races, and potato races.
Prizes were awarded to the winners. But really, everyone won. The park was a success.
But in April, it was discovered that the grandstands had been built 40′ from the planned location. It was deemed too expensive to move the structure, as most of it would need to be torn down, so they decided to move the entrance from the intersection of North and Adeline Streets to the intersection of North and Adella Streets.
They decided that the tennis courts would have to be moved to the southeast corner of the park.
The excitement was growing as the official dedication was planned for Memorial Day, 1948, with the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars conducting the ceremonies.
They had high hopes that the newly donated cannon would be in place, and the sidewalks completed. But it was not to be and plans for the ceremony were postponed. There was still a lot to accomplish.
The work continued. In June, 1948, the Susanville Elementary School District decided to fund a complete summer recreation program at the park. They hired a full-time recreation director who would oversee a group of volunteers. Even unfinished, the park opened up a lot of opportunities.
In December the Susanville Athletic Memorial Baseball Association gave a check for $700, earmarked for playground equipment and park development. The money had come from the proceeds of last summer’s Susanville Merchants baseball games.
The California State Employees Assoc. donated to the playground equipment fund, and in February 1949, the Susanville Business and Professional Women’s Club held a talent and music show at the Memorial Hall, titled “Fun for You”. The receipts went to the construction of the wading pool. Other donations continued to flow into the project.
Finally, by June of 1949, the park project was mostly complete, and a huge celebration was outlined for the Fourth of July weekend.
The Lions Club planned the celebration in coordination with the Chamber of Commerce, and on Friday, the 1st of July, the Lions Club dance started it all off. The profits from the dance benefited the purchase of new uniforms and music for the City Band.
Numerous festivities followed on Saturday, including two semi-pro ball games. Then, Sunday, the 3rd of July, began with a huge parade with floats and bands snaking through town and ending up in the new park.
There, the park was dedicated to the veterans who fought in World War I and World War II. At last, Susanville officially had a Memorial Park.
Then, in March, 1950, sixteen local merchants kicked in the money to install a new 180,000 watt lighting system for the ball field. It became a class ‘A’ park, the pride of the whole area. There were two banks of 24 lights and two banks of 12 lights.
Also, two new wings were added to the grandstands to bring the total seating capacity to 1,550 fans.
Other upgrades were made at this time too. The improvements were the result of four years of planning and fundraising, after the Susanville Merchants won the Nevada State Championship in 1946.
In July, the American Legion Auxiliary began work to plant a rose garden on the slope behind Roop’s Fort. The garden was in the shape of the Auxiliary emblem, a star in a circle. The roses in the star were designated as a memorial to those who died in the two World Wars.
In 1952, the city planted 12 new trees; 3 weeping birch, 3 fruitless mulberry, 3 silver maple, and 12 firethorn (pyracantha) shrubs.
By 1953, the park boasted over 32 different species of trees. Many of the trees were donated by individuals and organizations, and some were purchased by the city.
The tennis courts were finally built in 1956 with money left to the city for that purpose by local barber Jean ‘Frenchie’ Loumena in his will.
Some of the planned features were never realized. The handball courts and the ‘teenage area’ never panned out, along with some of the other planned features. In 1958, the P. T. A. purchased a small train, which they installed in the park to give rides to children, but after about two years it was deemed to be a maintenance nightmare and removed.
Today, Susanville’s Memorial Park is a testament to inspiring ideas, hard work, and dedication to the future.
