Community
This page is made up of four sections:
Click on one of these sections.
| Siskiyou County | City of Mount Shasta | Volunteer Work | Community Stories |
This page is made up of four sections:
Click on one of these sections.
| Siskiyou County | City of Mount Shasta | Volunteer Work | Community Stories |
Click here for a map with local features and towns linked to photos of same.
Siskiyou county is the fifth largest California county in area with a population of only 45,000. More than 60% of the county is public land either national forest or wilderness area. The table below compares the area and population of Siskiyou County to the state of Connecticut:
County Seat:
To learn more about Siskiyou county go to
the "Visit Siskiyou" Web site This is an excellent site that includes a virtual tour of the county.
Location: In southern Siskiyou county, near the intersection of California highway 89
and Interstate 5, about 250 miles north of Sacramento and 60 miles south of the
Oregon border.
Population: 3,400
Elevation: 3,500 feet
Climate: Four seasons. The usual temperature range in the winter is from the 20's
to the 50's. In the summer the range is from the 40's to the 80's. Occasionally it can
sink to the teens in the winter and reach the 90's in the summer. Spring and fall
temperatures are in between these ranges. The average total winter snow fall is about 100
inches, but most of the time one snowfall melts before the next arrives so the
accumulation is never very great. The average annual rainfall is about 37 inches.
For more about Mount Shasta's weather, including a current forecast, see this site's weather page
Mount Shasta: The most massive volcano in the United States and second highest, with
an elevation of 14,162 feet. The change in elevation from that of the town to the
summit of Mount Shasta, only 15 miles distant, is over 10,000 feet. This is one
of the most extreme in the world. To learn more, go to
The Geology of Mount Shasta entry in the "Interests" section.
To see a live or recent photo of Mount Shasta go to
The Amazing Shasta Cam
To learn more about the town and its mountain go to
the Mount Shasta Web site.
The Nearby Towns:There are three other small towns near Mount Shasta City.
Dunsmuir is a dozen miles south on I-5. McCloud is about 15 miles east on highway 89.
Weed is about 10 miles north on I-5. McCloud and Weed, like Mount Shasta City, prospered
as centers of logging and lumber; Dunsmuir was a railroad town. All fell on hard times
in the 1970šs, but are making gradual come backs catering to tourists and retirees. Weed
is the location of College of the Siskiyous (nearby mountains) the only residential junior
college in California.
Click here for a California map locating Mount Shasta
Mercy Care Center: Since November of 1997, every other Thursday we've taken Holly to Mount Shasta's Mercy Hospital
Long Term Care Center to perform her magical "pet therapy." It is by far the most
rewarding work we do each month. A certificate of appreciation reads in part -- "A visit
from you brightens the day, warms hearts, and brings the comfort of home and good friends,
not to mention our little star "Holly" who has danced right into our hearts to stay." You
can't ask for more reward than that. Since August of 1998, Marcy has joined Holly and the
the two of them together create more than double the joy for the residents.
Photo of Holly & Jennie at Mercy Care Center
Library: As members of "Friends of the Library" we help raise funds to supplement the slim budget provided
by the county. We sold raffle tickets for a quilt. Wes designed a Mount Shasta Library bookmark listing the hours and other
information, and talked a local printer into donating the printing. We spearheaded a book
sale when the donation of used books started to overwhelm the storage space. It netted over
$500. Finally, the small group of "Friends" acts as a defacto board of directors for the
local branch, deciding how to spend the funds we raise. It's really a challange to keep a
branch library in a small town in a depressed county going. Fortunately Bill Gates is giving
the Siskiyou county library system a big stack of computers. The Mount Shasta branch will get
4 of them!
Sisson Museum: Wes works two days a month (April-December) as a docent at the Sisson Museum. The
museum displays reveal the history of the city of Mount Shasta. The town, founded
at the location of a long-standing stage coach stop in 1870, was first called Berryvale
because of the numerous wild strawberries that grew in the sandy soil. Soon after the
railroad arrived in 1886, the town's name was changed to Sisson because the land
for the station and town had been donated by Justin H. Sisson. The town took the name
of it's famous mountain on May 1, 1924 and has been Mount Shasta City ever since.
The first week we lived in Mount Shasta Wes needed a hand removing some heavy cabinets
that were mounted high on a wall. Jennie located an agency that helped people find
work and we called them. To make a long story short, that afternoon a tall, pleasant,
willing, gentle man named Victor Martin showed up at our house. He helped get the cabinets down and then
agreed to stay a bit longer and help clean up a wood shed. As he and Wes joined in the
dirty job of shed clean-up it was revealed that Victor's real calling was as a
musician. He played saxophone with several local groups and was an officer of the
Siskiyou Blues Society which put on the Blues Fesitval each year at the Ski Park. As it
turned out he would be performing the following Saturday in Dunsmuir. Jennie and I
attended the performance and were "knocked out" by the amazing musical talent Vic
displayed. When I thought about how he could have injured his fingers taking down the
cabinets and wrestling the wooden pallets in the shed I shuddred. We have been to many
more of Vic's performances and grow more impressed each time with his masterful and
soul-felt rendition of a wide range of music from low down blues to sophisticated jazz.
What is even more important we have become friends.
For photo of Vic Martin in Action, click here.
Area Population Siskiyou County 6,313 sq. miles 45,000
Connecticut 5,018 sq. miles 3,239,000
Mount Shasta City
Websites:Volunteer Work
A Talented New Friend
