Southwest Sierra #73 — Sleepin’ John

As a kid, I didn’t interact much with the elders in Alleghany, but Sleepin’ John lived at the corner of Main and Miners Street near the school. The house is now known as the “Dandelion House” thanks to the bright mural that graces the side facing Miners Street. In its previous incarnation, the house was painted barn red with white trim. John sat on the front porch whenever the weather was amicable. On our way home from school, if we passed close enough for him to grab our attention, he liked to tell us stories.

I only remember one of those stories, and it was his story. He told us that when he was in the war he had contracted “African Sleeping Disease”. He said that if he got excited, he would fall asleep. “Imagine working underground, finding gold and bam you’re asleep!” I’m sure our eyes were as big as saucers when he told us this story. According to him, this was why he was known as “Sleepin’ John” and it was also why he couldn’t work in the mines. He was retired when I knew him. I’ve since learned that he was a member of the Sierra County Road crew before retirement. His co-workers would have been Chet Davis and Al Hope. When he wasn’t referred to as “Sleepin’ John” he was Johnny Bach. He rented the house from Etta Casey.

I did some online research to see if what he told us kids makes sense, and this is what I found: African trypanosomiasis is an insect-borne parasitic infection of humans and other animals. Commonly known as African Sleeping Sickness, it causes many flu-like symptoms initially but later can cause sleep disorders, thus its common name. “Infected individuals experience a disorganized and fragmented sleep-wake cycle. Those affected experience sleep inversion resulting in daytime sleep and somnolence, and nighttime periods of wakefulness and insomnia. Additionally, those affected experience episodes of sudden sleepiness.”Evidently in John’s case, getting excited caused him to fall asleep. The disease is fatal if left untreated. If any of my readers know more about Mr. Bach, I would love to hear from you. I can be reached at: raebell44@gmail.com or PO Box 919, Alleghany, CA 95910. I don’t have a picture of Johnny Bach to share but decided to share a few photos from the time that he worked for the County, including a photo of his co-workers Al Hope in tractor and Chet Davis standing. Photos courtesy of undergroundgold.org.