Sowing Seeds, Planting Ideas

The Old Gym Playhouse in Gardnerville was almost full Sunday with people gathered to remember some of Carson Valley's founding women.

The Carson Valley Historical Society organized the event, in which 12 women were honored with the theme "Sowing Seeds, Planting Ideas."

Catharina Bertha Cordes Lundergreen, who was born Feb. 19, 1895, was remembered by her granddaughter Mary Nagel for giving birth to six children at her ranch in Mottsville.

Cordes Lundergreen could kill rattlesnakes that threatened her children, canned fruit after fruit-buying trips over the Sierra, made clothing out of feed sacks during the Great Depression, stored food in an earthen cellar below the kitchen, and hosted wonderful picnics in Woodfords canyon.

"Those picnics always included delicious fried chicken made from a recently killed rooster on the Mottsville ranch," said Nagel.

Cordes Lundergreen died Oct. 10, 1978, in Carson City at the age of 83. She had 10 grandchildren.

Five of the women honored are very much alive. They include Irene H. Marshall, who, at 70, is known as a builder.

Deborah Byers described Marshall's construction of a two-car garage, a brick chimney and -- along with stained-glass projects and sculpture -- the barn in the Barn Again display at the Carson Valley Museum and Cultural Center next to the Old Gym.

The "remembering women" crowd moved over to see her handiwork after the ceremony.

Marshall designed and built the structure from old barn wood in the valley. She put it together in her yard, numbered each piece, then took it apart again so it could be moved into the museum.

"It was just like a traditional barn raising," said CVHS president Leola Tucker.

Ethel Cordes Shacht, who lived from 1905 until 1985, was remembered for being a responsible and hard-working public servant. She was elected as Douglas County auditor and recorder for seven terms --Ea total of 28 years. In her first election, she walked the roads of Carson Valley, introducing herself to folks, because she had no car. She was elected 538 votes to 256. She studied for and got her driver's license at age 56.

Shacht's daughter Patty Cordes Myers got a laugh from the crowd when she described a lesson from her mother in taking responsibility for her actions. She described skipping class at the Douglas County High School, which is now the Carson Valley Museum, to go joy riding in a tan Studebaker.

She and Marlena Neddenriep, Irene Haase, Janelle Glock, Myllie Cordes and Evelyn Nelson borrowed the car from Emily's father -- high school principal Henry Nelson -- without permission.

While the other girls got notes from their mothers excusing them from school, Patty's mom told her, "You got yourself into this now you can get yourself out."

Cordes Myers was forced to write a 500-word essay on the "effect of comic books on modern youth" as punishment.

A representative of U.S. Senator Harry Reid presented each of the honored women or their representative with an award certificate.

"These women are the heart of the families, and they've made such a great contribution to the state of Nevada," she said.

For You Information

For more details about the Carson Valley Historical Society, call 782-2555