Virginia City High grads will find a familiar site

Some old and some not-so-old Nevadans will be gathering this weekend in an attempt to have a little fun, but more importantly to keep memories and traditions alive in the 21st century.

The semi-annual rally of Muckers will take place this weekend on the hill. It's a tradition that has gone on for longer than I can remember -- 1966 -- and that's the point of a new Web site being created by the alumni association with the help of Dan Nevin.

Dan is a member of Virginia City High School's class of 1971. He works as an administrative assistant for the Carson City Fire Department and as the Web administrator for Carson City. My dad is a 1959 graduate and was co-captain of the 1959 championship basketball team.

When finished, Dan said I'll be able to open the site, click on the Senior Class link and see what I looked like before I got old.

OK, so maybe I'm a bad example for this since I still get carded on a regular basis.

The site is going to be a collection of the past and present and will, at least in the beginning, take visitors back to the class of 1900. Dan said maybe one day he'll go back even further.

"I'm not anywhere I need it to be to go out and say 'come visit,'" he said Monday. "It definitely is a work in progress at this point."

The work though won't be done until the last class graduates from VCHS.

"As we graduate classes they get added in there," he said. "It is one of those things that will never be done. If you say 'Web site done,' you're wrong. But it's getting there."

He said he'll be ready for mass visitation in the next few months or so. I'll let you know when it's up.

"It's going to be good," he said.

In the meantime, he's looking for old photos and for help doing research for the site.

"It's not just my project. It's for the benefit of everybody," he said.

To reach Dan, e-mail him at danevin@charter.net.

In addition to the Senior Class feature, the site will include a place for alumni to register and check up on other alumni.

Then there's The Legend, a collection of newspaper articles and team photos from the 1950s forward, including a story on the Mucker teams' winning streaks in the 1960s and again in the 1980s.

Dan said he is excited about the page on the Fourth Ward School. The page includes comments from members of the class of 1936, the last class to graduate from the historic school.

He said, "It's great because there are comments from some of the old timers, Bill and Margaret Marks, Johnny Zalac, some statistics about cost and how it was built and all that."

Some other features will be a site -- Warriors -- including those who have served in the military.

"It'll be mostly a listing of folks, hopefully with pictures," he said. "They used to, when I was a kid, have pictures up in the Sazarac, now the Pondo, of those who served in WWII. They went somewhere. I hope not in the dump."

There is also an In Memoriam site for those alumni no longer with us.

The Reunion page came about with the help of Lola Gallagher, whose collection of old alumni gatherings gives past attendees a chance to "see some old pictures of themselves."

For those who want to brush up on their language skills, Dan said the site is "available in nine different languages for anyone who is really interested."

There is also a place for the Hall of Famers. I'm not a member of the Hall of Fame so I don't know just what it takes to make it there. I never hit any home runs in my time, though I did take state in track. Maybe that's enough?

Kelli Du Fresne is features editor of the Nevada Appeal and a member of the class of 1984.

IF YOU GO

What: Virginia City Alumni weekend

When: 6 p.m. Friday at the Fourth Ward School honoring those in classes ending with a 1 or 2.

Saturday:

Tee time for the golf tournament is 9 a.m. Spaces are limited. Call 847-0498 to reserve a space. Virginia City Alumni Association luncheon at 11:30 a.m. at the Fourth Ward School. Followed by a dinner dance at 6 p.m. in the Mackey Room of the Delta Saloon.