Tahoe Tales of Bygone Days and Memorable Pioneers

About the Book

The manuscript is a collection of short stories that were originally prepared as part of a radio program that began in the early 1980's as a summer informational and educational program for Tahoe area residents and tourists. Between 1982 and 1985 the author presented more than one hundred radio tales about Tahoe’s history and the environment over Tahoe radio station KTHO AM-590. Lane returned to the radio airways in 1995, this time with radio station KOWL AM-1490, and has since broadcast more than two thousand tales (“Don Lane’s Tales of Tahoe”). The manuscript is a distinctive mixture of stories about the events, large and small, that shaped and changed the region, and simple stories about the people that once lived in our region during the past 150-years. Stories about pioneer men and women, gold-seekers and adventurers. Tales about the unique characters; the famous like the Donner’s, Mark Twain, John Sutter and James Marshall, and John Fremont, along with the powerful and the forgotten. The manuscript weaves serious history with light-hearted tales with a minimum of editorializing, as the emphasis has been on maintaining historical integrity and authenticity. The stories, gathered from old journals, archives and historical records are both entertaining, and educational. And hopefully too, this manuscript will contribute to an increased awareness of our regional history and a greater appreciation for those people that have been lost inside the pages of history.

About the Author

Don Lane has spent over thirty years with the US Forest Service at Lake Tahoe. Responsible for the management of all National Forest campgrounds, wilderness and backcountry areas within the Tahoe Basin, he has instructed courses at the Lake Tahoe Community College on Tahoe natural history, recreation and forestry management, and also lectures at the college’s wilderness institute on regional history. Author of scores of articles on Tahoe area history, Lane frequently gives community presentations on Tahoe history, and also hosts a daily radio feature on KOWL-AM 1490. Called “Don Lane’s Tales of Tahoe,” it focuses on Tahoe’s colorful history.