Lassen Community College — a valuable and vital source of higher education for untold legions of local students for 100 years — celebrates its anniversary this Saturday with a Concert on the Green featuring two homegrown bands — classic rockers Forgery and Susanville’s own Label 22 recording artist Caleb Montgomery — at 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 16 on the lawn near the cafeteria and the old bookstore.
The college invites alumni, students, staff and the entire community to celebrate this milestone. Attendees are encouraged to bring their own chairs or blankets to sit on the grass.
“The college realizes there are a lot of events going on that day,” said Julie Johnston, LCC’s Public Information Officer, “the Courage Triathlon and other things in the community. We’re just really excited, and we’re hopeful that after the Courage Triathlon people will come up to the campus and enjoy some music. It’s free admission. There will be food trucks and craft vendors. The Lassen College Foundation will have a booth selling beer and wine.”
Many local residents will remember the Concerts on the Green the college offered in years back.
“We’re just having a nice, relaxing, fun afternoon with music,” Johnston said. “We really appreciate our community, and their support of the college and helping us to continue to grow … We picked two local bands, a ltttle bit of everything genre wise. Something for everyone, hopefully.”
According to a college newsletter, “This event isn’t just a concert — it’s a reunion, a homecoming and a celebration of the many lives shaped by Lassen College over the past century. Let’s honor the legacy, celebrate the present and look to the future together.
What a difference a century makes
Just imagine 100 years ago, August 1925 —World War I was a recent memory, Calvin Coolidge was our president and the Great Depression was still four years away. We had prohibition, women had just attained suffrage and the Indigenous people finally attained citizenship. My, how things have changed in 100 years. Those alive in those days would sure have a hard time recognizing how the world has grown.
LCC came into existence May 4, 1925 as the Junior College Department of Lassen High School. It had 24 students, and only about half finished the school year. Today, 1,507 full time students attend LCC. Back then, the college offered only one degree. Today students can earn one of 70 degrees plus a large range of certificates.
“We’ve come a long way from that one room that we started off in at the old high school campus on Main Street,” Johnston said. “We had one actual class available for people to take. We’ve grown a lot and changed a lot.”
