Those Other Acquisitions

Not every book I purchased from the libraries recent sale is a winner with me. While I really love my Doten Journal and the two Don Garate books on the Susanville-Reno connection – one tome – “Tahoe beneath the Surface” – is not so good.

It’s written by Scott Lankford and is about “the hidden stories of America’s largest mountain lake,” — early 264-pages of wordy articles that talk about global warming and other political treatise that I don’t agree with — mixed with tales about Lake Tahoe.

I’m trying – trying – trying.

As for Don Garate – the two books I have in my possession are histories of northern Lassen County. I had never heard of Don Garate before though I do know another Garate, who I once worked for.

The last name is Basque and that might be a dead-give away that this is the same family – but I don’t know for certain. What I do know is what is written on the back of those books:

“Donald T. Garate was born in 1950 and has lived his entire life on the Madeline Plains, being a member of the third generation of Garates to have lived there. He attended the Ravendale Elementary School and Lassen High School and is a graduate of the University of Nevada with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Agriculture.”

“Don has written newspaper articles, family histories and a thirty-page pamphlet in both English and Spanish on the history of the Garate family. He is married and his wife Alice (Nord)… (and) are the parents of five children.”

“He is of Basque descent…mak(ing) his living from cattle and sheep ranching on the family ranch east of Ravendale. Over the years he has ridden for cattle and put up hay on every ranch on the Madeline Plains, making it possible for him to write about the area with familiarity and understanding.”

I had to combine the last couple of parts from both books, as one was published in 1975 and the second in 1982.