Everyone had forgotten about the Butt Lake Dinky by the time workers in dredged up the rusty H. Porter steam locomotive that had been submerged in a reservoir for eight decades. They commemorated the teeny train with a bronze plaque. America is full of memorials for epic battles and soaring monuments and somber cradles of famous historical figures.
The men of E Clampus Vitus β a. In Mono County, a Clampers plaque honors the Legend of June Lake Slot Machines: illegal machines said to have been tossed in the lake in the s and sought by cold-water divers.
In a kind of running theme, the Clampers seem to celebrate a fair number of places overtaken, biblical-like, by water. The group once paid tribute to the town of Prattville, whose original buildings are submerged beneath Lake Almanor. A bunch of Clampers in got a boat and chucked a plaque into the water. The Clampers, according to the Frank C.
According to Clampers lore, their first California lodge was established in Mokelumne Hill in The group parodied the sashes and ceremonies of stuffier and wealthier social clubs, like the Odd Fellows and Freemasons. Chapter presidents hold the ceremonial title of Noble Grand Humbug.
The sergeant-at-arms is the Damfool Doorkeeper. No one knows. The organization today claims 45 chapters in eight Western states and thousands of members. The group is not well-known outside California. Now she gets excited when she spots an ECV bumper sticker or plaque. Perhaps nowhere are the Clampers more revered than in the Sierra Nevada, where they flourished in the small towns and prospector camps during the Gold Rush.
