Gold Lake

Gold Lake has been a part of our lives ever since Philo Haven prospected for gold near there in 1851.  Our family owns property on the lake, complete with a cook house, houses with electricity and water, and many semi-permanent tents for sleeping.  I have been attending family reunions almost every summer since I was a child, as have my father before me, and his father as well.  We swim, fish, hike, and catch up on our extended family's comings and goings.  It is our favorite family tradition. 

Some random snippets:

• James Mason Haven 1827-1905) practiced law in Downieville and in San Francisco.  Before then he and his brother Philo Haven had a gold mine and also ran a saw mill at Gold Lake in the 1050's.  The part of the building where the gold was separated from the quartz was still standing when great-grandson Don Edwards went to Gold Lake in 1917.  A family fable was that James and Philo made enough money in the gold mine to buy two vacant lots in downtown San Francisco.  Don's brother Tom and he thought the two lots had skyscrapers on them, and the always intended to ascertain whether or not they still had some claim.  James Haven was reputed to have kept a rental cabin near Gold Lake where he kept several female North American Indians, for purposes I have been unable to determine.

• Early days at Gold Lake with Pop (as related to his son, Don Edwards):  "Pop went to Gold Lake about 1920 or so on the train, when the locomotive turned over and lay on its side.  After that or maybe in spite of it, our family in the 20's always went to Gold Lake by train.  The Western Pacific Railroad had a station in Fremont, and we would get there early and wait impatiently for the sound of the whistle.  Tom told me (dumb little brother) that it was much more fun in the upper berth, so I missed the views of the Feather River country on the line that left us off in Blairsden.  There, Pop arranged for a local garage owner to drive us to Gold Lake, some 17 miles.  There was the beginning of a camp at the head of the lake, where the resort is now; there was Grandma's cottage, and was in attendance for several summers.  The camp was run by a Mrs. Perry, whose husband Tom was an off-and-on gold miner who had a small camp in Gold Valley.  Pop and I hired horses one day and rode to Gold Valley to fish.  We ran into several rattlesnakes until Tom came out and took care of them.  We were told the story of a woman was hanged in Grass Valley, but I don't remember the details. 

• Mary Amanda Haven (1853-1938) was deeded a plot on the northern end of the lake as a campsite.  Retained nine acres when it was saved from PG&E by the Forest Service when it purchased most of the several thousand acres sold to PG&E by her husband Thomas Haven.  At the time there was no resort.  Built a cabin along with other buildings when grandson Don was about 7 years old.  Owned the parcel until her death, leaving it to her son Leonard.

• I ain't never been skunked.  Back in the '30's a woman who lived alone in a cabin not far away always used to stop by the Gold Lake compound on her was to get supplies.  She claimed to have never failed to catch a fish when she set her mind to it, or, in her words, "I ain't never been skunked".  Whitney Wright, on the Bellamy side of vthe family, and friends of Pop and Gay-Gay [our nickname for Pop's wife Clara], once followed her out and saw her catch a fish in the swamp, so she may have been telling the truth.

• When Don Edwards first came to Gold Lake as a child, he stayed at the Gold Lake Lodge, which still exists today.

• Len Edwards and his wife Inger survived the Great Lightning Storm of 1998.  Half way up the jeep path they huddled under a tree while lightning struck all around them.  Len: "The tree saved our lives."

• Erik Edwards is the co-holder, along with his father Len, of the record for the number of consecutive frisbee catches (well over 100) between the shore and the floating dock.

• Don Edwards and his brother Tom once found an Indian dugout canoe sunk in Gold Lake.

• Leonard Perry Edwards, 3rd oldest of siblings.  Given title to Gold Lake at the death of his mother.  On his death, left it to his daughter Patty.  First to organize the annual Gold Lake Snipe Hunt.  Unfortunately, despite many such hunts, no snipes have yet been caught.

• Martha "Patty" Twist.  Received Gold Lake from her father at his death.  Upon her death left it to her two sons.  Known for her spirited renditions of "My Darling Clementine" around the campfire.  First (and only one) to spot, on the slopes of Indian Head Peak, the elusive two-legged side-hilled canuty snipe.

• The Johnson Gang.  In the late '80's, two young men were roaming all through the area, breaking into cabins, robbing, living on the lamb.  They hit Gold Lake one year, stealing pots and pans from the cook house, as well as Pete Twist's Johnson outboard motor (hence the name of the gang).  Later, while hiking on the ridge trail, Tom and others came across a huge campsite, with carpets, several cars, pots and pans, etc.  Later, police found Pete's outboard in the bushes nearby.  They were brought to trial in Downieville.  Pete testified to the ownership of the stolen outboard; another woman swore that several of the liquor bottles were hers.  The two men were convicted.  The Johnson Gang was no more.

• Gold Lake was Bitty Don's favorite place in the whole world.  He wrote an essay on Gold Lake, remembering the breakfast bell, the beach scene, the family gatherings.  He was the first person to spot the Gold Lake Boogie Monster, and, thanks to his warnings, was able to dissuade cousins Rachael and Dana from going outside their tent when the Boogie Monster was about.

• Dana Edwards first visited Gold Lake when he was less than two weeks old - believed to be a Gold Lake record.

• In 2007, at the age of 7, Thomas Twist was the youngest person to walk the Mr. Elwell trail.

• In 2006, at the age of 3, Nathaniel Phillips caught two fish, the youngest  ever to do this.

• Peter Twist has the record for the youngest person to swim the full length of Gold Lake: Pete did it in 1989, at the age of 9.  Allison, his sister, swam with him, and Bitty Don accompanied them by boat.

• Allison Twist was the youngest person ever permitted to take the outboard motor boat out alone.  In order to obtain this permission, Allison had to take a written test.  Sample question: Describe the proper procedure for starting the boat's engine.

• Despite rumors to the contrary, and in stark contrast to the many hours spent holding a fishing pole with a line in the water, there is as yet no known documented case of Bob Twist ever having caught a fish in Gold Lake.  Perhaps he should have used the fish finder he and brother Tom gave to their father Pete for his birthday some years ago?

• Pete Twist is the only person to climb Indian Head in his bedroom slippers.  Someone asked him the start of the Indian Head trail, and Pete just kept going until he found himself at the top.

• The Jet Ski Shooting Incident.  Several years ago a Berkeley Professor (department unknown) was camping just up the beach from the resort.  When several jet skis came buzzing by, the Professor started shooting at them with a rifle (Tom Twist thinks it might have been a semi-automatic).  Someone phoned the police, who arrived both by land and by lake.  The Professor was temporarily handcuffed to the split rail fence near the septic tank.  Tom believes he was given a ticket and then released.

• The Holly Meadow Couple.  Back in the 50's a couple used to spend their summers in a cabin by Holly Meadow, so remote that they had to pack in all their provisions.  One year they decided to spend the winter there as well.  During that long, cold winter the husband died.  The woman put him out in the snow and wrote "HELP" in the snow, but no one noticed her sign.  Fortunately, she herself survived the winter, and was able to pack out in the spring.  Tom Twist visited her several years later.  He remembers she had a small gold mine on her property, and that she had a radio and would listen to the Giants baseball games (she was a big fan).

• Sam Edwards, while hiking the Pacific Crest Trail (which passes right past Gold Lake), timed his arrival to coincide with the annual Gold Lake family reunion.

Here are links to further Gold Lake information:

The Gold Lake Romance (1850)

Gold Lake Journal (1916)

Gold Lake Family Reunions (1988, 1993, 1997, 2000, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024)