1916: Sierra Nevada Open!

Shortly AFTER President Woodrow Wilson sent 12,000 United States troops over the Mexico Border in pursuit of Pancho Villa and shortly BEFORE a bomb exploded on Market Street in San Francisco during a "Preparedness Day Parade", killing (10) and injuring (40), my Grandfather drove/delivered a Cadillac over the Sierras to Carson City and brought back another Cadillac to Oakland. Upon his return he contacted the Oakland Tribune to inform them that the passes were generally cleared and ready for travel.

The article pictured above is a clipping that has survived the past 83 years being passed from person to person within my family and box to box housed in various garages in the East Bay. The picture is just a random one of my Grandfather and is not associated with this article. The following are a few interesting portions I've pulled out and provided some observations:

"It befell Keyser's lot to drive it over the mountains, leaving with it at 7:30 o'clock Friday night for Carson, by way of Placerville. The house at Oakland received a telegram from him, dated Saturday morning, at 7:45 o'clock a.m., or a run of twelve hours."

OBSERVATION: 12 hours is a long time, mostly in the dark on probably dicey roads! If it had been me, I would have left in the morning.

On his return trip, "Taking out a stop in Stockton for eating, the running time was exactly ten hours. The mileage on the return trip was 278 miles as he went to Lodi by mistake."

OBSERVATION: I guess the directions and road signs weren't as helpful as they are today. Lodi rather than Stockton? Wish Granddad were around to account for that one.

"He also reports that the road is passable by way of Auburn to Lake Tahoe. There is one small section of snow about 200 yards between the summit and the subway, where a team of horses pull the cars which are now going."

OBSERVATION: Horses? enough said.  

Well just as I started this BLOG, I'll say it again, this sure ain't my Granddad's CA anymore. We all take for granted how easy it is to get up and over the pass/summit to Donner Lake, Truckee and Lake Tahoe. The thought of 12 hour trips, crappy roads and road signs, horses not horse power assisting you over the over summit - truly a ROAD TRIP!

I wonder what my Granddad would think of Tahoe within 3.5 hours, while cranking the Janes Addiction, wolfing down 99 cent cheese burgers and a Starbucks Latte (venti xtra whip, double shot, decaf) in hand with no intention of stopping unless nature calls - oh and gas is $3.15 a gallon! Sounds like a good portion of the adventure has been completely stripped out for us "modern folk". Too bad and I'd like to think he'd agree.

A couple extra pics for to view in detail. Note the old CA Lic Plate with the State Bear on it.