19th century observatory still marking history

Briefs: C.W. Friend's barometer is still on the downward path. The oldest inhabitant does not recollect so disagreeable a month of May as we are having this year. -- Bill Dolan's "Past Pages"

The four telescopes to be unveiled today at Western Nevada Community College's Jack C. Davis Observatory are not the first to sweep the heavens in Carson City.

Charles W. Friend built a domed observatory to house a 6-inch refracting telescope at his 406 E. King St. home in about 1875-76.

While the WNCC telescopes will be housed inside a 2,800-square-foot, million-dollar robodome, being celebrated this evening with a "First Light" ceremony coinciding with a lunar eclipse, Friend's home observatory and weather station have made their mark on history.

Friend, a Prussian-born emigrant, acquired the telescope from the Naval Academy through the efforts of U.S. Sen. William Stewart (whose name graces Stewart Street).

Friend was born in 1835. He and his father caught gold fever and settled in Folsom, Calif. While in California, Friend apprenticed as a jeweler and as an optician. He brought these skills with him and opened a store in Carson City, which he operated until his death in 1907.

Friend sold diamonds, watches, cigars and pianos for his livelihood, but after a decade collecting weather informaton, he became the state's first weather service director in 1887. He worked with the Army Signal Corps to set up weather stations around the state, bringing the total to 37 stations.

"We don't want to forget some of our pioneers and the people who made Carson City unique," said Bob Nylen, curator of the Nevada State Museum.

"When you watch the weather and they refer to records kept in the 1890s, that's Charles Friend. Many people who were alive then remember him as the local jeweler, but he was a true scientist."

Friend had students and assistants who helped him with the observatory and his weather recording.

"Once a student was looking through the telescope and saw what he thought was a comet," Nylen said. "He ran over to the house and woke Friend. Friend came over to see and found the student had seen the new light on in the Capitol dome. Friend had some choice words in German for the student."

After Friend's death the telescope was returned.

"The rest of his instruments were offered to the university, but there was no money to purchase them," Nylen said.

In another story told of Friend, Fred Dangberg, from Carson Valley, asked Friend if he needed to rush to get his hay in. Friend said a major storm was coming in a few days. Others were skeptical of Friend's prediction because it was the off-season for storms, but Dangberg heeded Friend's warning and saved his crop.

In his weather station, Friend had two mercurial barometers placed 7.2 feet off the ground. He had two thermometers placed 8.2 feet from the ground -- a standard thermometer that measured from minus-40 to 140 degrees and a wet bulb thermometer that measured from 20 to 120 degrees.

He was also an amateur seismologist and had a seismograph set up in the basement of the Capitol and recorded the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

His home was on the northeast corner of Stewart and King streets. The home and observatory, torn down sometime between 1907 and 1941, have been replaced by a grassy block named the Charles W. Friend Park. It was dedicated along with a plaque in his memory as part of the 1999 Nevada Day celebration.

If You Go:

What: First Light Ceremony

When: 6 p.m. today (the lunar eclipse begins at 7:05 p.m. and ends 10:17 p.m.)

Where: Sarah Winnemucca Hall at Western Nevada Community College

Cost: $100

What: Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

When: 4 p.m. Friday

Where: Jack C. Davis Observatory

Cost: Free

What: Astronimal Society Tours

When: noon-9 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.m. lecture by Dr. Gerrie Peters

Where: Jack C. Davis Observatory

Cost: Free