SMITH PEAK
Plumas County - Plumas National Forest
July 2, 1936: "P. Morton was here over the week end from Smith's Peak, in the Delleker section, where he is engaged in putting up a lookout station for the forest service." (Plumas Independent)
July 16, 1936: "The construction crew now erecting the new forest lookout at Smith Peak will move about Aug. 1 to Mt. Engles, to build a new lookout there." (Feather River Bulletin)
September 3, 1936: "The new lookout on Smith Peak, overlooking Portola, was completed last week and is in operation." (Feather River Bulletin)
August 26, 1943: "Lois R. Olds of Yuba City is on Smith Peak." (Feather River Bulletin)
July 20, 1944: "Mrs. Harry Kelley left here Saturday for Smith's Peak where she will be stationed at the lookout station for the remainder of the season, She was accompanied by her young grand son, David Cook of Sacramento." (The Plumas Independent)
September 31, 1944: "Mrs. Mary Jo Kelley is home this week from the Smith's Peak Lookout having some dental work done." (Plumas Independent)
October 19, 1944: "Mrs. Harry Kelley returned home Friday from the lookout station at Smith's Peak, where she had served as a fire guard during the summer season." (Plumas Independent)
July 12, 1945: "Mrs. Harry Kelley left here recently for the Smith Peak Lookout Station. This is Mrs. Kelley's third season as a fire guard." (Feather River Bulletin)
June 20, 1946: "Peter Grafton of Reno, Nev., the highest graduate in his class at the high school there, is stationed on Smith Peak. This is his first year there." (Portola Reporter)
June 17, 1948: "The Rev. and Mrs. Frank Van Zant of the Methodist church in Jamestown went on duty as lookouts in the Smith Peak station June 1. The Rev. Mr. Van Zant, in addition to being the pastor of the church is founder of the Veterans' co-op in Stockton and president of the Delhi Playground association." (Portola Reporter)
August 19, 1955: "Serving as a fire lookout in the Plumas National Forest is an exciting job, according to Mrs. Emma Kolb stationed on Smith Peak five miles north of Portola.
Mrs. Kolb witnessed one of natures wonders within calling distance of the lookout last Thursday morning, following which she telephoned this report to Claude C. Cooper, chief fire dispatcher for the Plumas Forest:
"A weird sort of cry woke me at a few minutes before six this morning. Stepping out on the catwalk, I saw below me several deer dashing out of a cherry thicket. Jaybirds were sounding a loud warning, and a big doe with two little fawns came out of the brush, stopped and all looked back. It was then that I heard a bleating type of cry and a loud thrashing in the brush interspersed by deep throated growls.
"The doe guided her two fawns to a safe place and then ventured back into the cherry thicket to investigate, but it was but a second or two until she came bounding out. The disturbance and noise from the thicket was such that I was certain I was hearing and almost in sight of a bloody battle between a buck deer and a mountain lion. At one time I could hear distinctly above the crashing brush a loud cat-like hiss following a gutteral vicious sounding growl. Then all of a sudden it became quiet."
"The leader of the little band of deer which feeds in the cherry thicket is a fine three point buck. He was missing this morning when I watched the evacuation of the deer from the thicket, and just ten days ago, I witnessed a mountain lion sunning himself in the rocks below and within a stones throw of my lookout quarters. So, while I did not actually see the struggle. I am positive it was between this mountain lion and the three point buck, and unfortunately, it ended as usual in victory for the big cat."
Mrs. Kolb has asked that a state hunter be sent to Smith Peak in hopes that the offending lion may be eliminated before he again gets hungry." (Reno Evening Gazette)
Mrs. Kolb witnessed one of natures wonders within calling distance of the lookout last Thursday morning, following which she telephoned this report to Claude C. Cooper, chief fire dispatcher for the Plumas Forest:
"A weird sort of cry woke me at a few minutes before six this morning. Stepping out on the catwalk, I saw below me several deer dashing out of a cherry thicket. Jaybirds were sounding a loud warning, and a big doe with two little fawns came out of the brush, stopped and all looked back. It was then that I heard a bleating type of cry and a loud thrashing in the brush interspersed by deep throated growls.
"The doe guided her two fawns to a safe place and then ventured back into the cherry thicket to investigate, but it was but a second or two until she came bounding out. The disturbance and noise from the thicket was such that I was certain I was hearing and almost in sight of a bloody battle between a buck deer and a mountain lion. At one time I could hear distinctly above the crashing brush a loud cat-like hiss following a gutteral vicious sounding growl. Then all of a sudden it became quiet."
"The leader of the little band of deer which feeds in the cherry thicket is a fine three point buck. He was missing this morning when I watched the evacuation of the deer from the thicket, and just ten days ago, I witnessed a mountain lion sunning himself in the rocks below and within a stones throw of my lookout quarters. So, while I did not actually see the struggle. I am positive it was between this mountain lion and the three point buck, and unfortunately, it ended as usual in victory for the big cat."
Mrs. Kolb has asked that a state hunter be sent to Smith Peak in hopes that the offending lion may be eliminated before he again gets hungry." (Reno Evening Gazette)
July 6, 1961: "Mrs. Myrna Bailey left last Friday for the Forest Service fire lookout on Smith's Peak. Her husband, Jim, will be with her for several weeks. This is Mrs. Bailey's second summer as the Smith Peak lookout. Last summer her husband was stationed across the valley from her on Mill's Peak lookout." (Portola Reporter)
May 30, 1963: "Mrs. Verna Bailey has gone to Smith Peak as lookout for the summer." (Feather River Bulletin)
July 30, 1970: "Red Dolby, the Forest Service lookout on Smith Peak, had a legitimate excuse when queried as to why the Tuesday morning weather report from the station was late. Seems a mama bear and her two cubs were between Dolby and the weather station and he gave the family plenty of time to amble on their way before making his daily temperature check." (Portola Reporter)
June 10, 1971: "Red Dolby made the 7688' ascent of Smith Peak to begin his summer-long watch as fire lookout for the Plumas National Forest.
Dolby, along with all other Forest Service lookouts within the Plumas, attended a brush-up course in Quincy recently." (Portola Reporter)
August 28, 1975: "Veteran Red Dolby mans Smith Peak." (Portola Reporter)
October 13, 1977: "Services were held Tues, in the Portola Memorial Hall for Franklin 'Red' Dolby, who died Thurs., Oct. 6 at Eastern Plumas District Hospital. Interment followed at Whispering Pines Cemetery.
A Portola resident for 30 years, he was a lookout operator at Smith Peak and a charter member of the Calpine Elks Lodge. Dolby was also a veteran of World War II." (Portola Reporter)
A Portola resident for 30 years, he was a lookout operator at Smith Peak and a charter member of the Calpine Elks Lodge. Dolby was also a veteran of World War II." (Portola Reporter)