Cathleen Allison/Nevada Appeal May and Ray Walmsley will serve as the grand marshalls for this year's Dayton Valley Days parade. The Dayton Valley Days street fair runs from Sept. 16-17, with the parade at 10 a.m. on Sept. 16.
Dayton Valley Days visitors will have a chance to "pause and ponder" while remembering the town's storied past.
"Pause and Ponder ... from the Schoolhouse to the Museum," the theme of this year's Dayton Valley Days street fair Sept. 16-17 in Old Town Dayton, honors the town's status of having one of the oldest schools in Nevada still on its original site. Many of Dayton's founding families sent their children to the schoolhouse at 35 Shady Lane, and now tourists discover those families when they stop by the building, now a museum.
Along with learning history, the 18th annual Dayton Valley Days attendees will be able to have a rollicking good time at the annual street fair, a fundraiser for the Lyon County Search and Rescue and the preservation of Dayton's historic district.
The event will include a parade, show 'n' shine car show, a fine arts show and sale, train rides, games for the kids, entertainment, crafts, antique dealers and vendors of all kinds.
Art entries must be submitted from 5-8 p.m Sept. 14 and 15 at the Dayton Community Center, 170 Pike St., and vendor arrival is set for 4 p.m. Sept. 15.
Two local residents who represent the area's heritage will be out in the streets enjoying the festival, even as they are honored by the organizers.
Ray and May Walmsley, 81 and 78 respectively, are the grand marshals of the Dayton Valley Days parade, set for 10 a.m. Sept. 16.
The Walmsleys are from an old-time Dayton family; Ray said their roots go back to 1859. He and his siblings all attended the tiny two-room schoolhouse on Shady Lane. Later, they went to the old Dayton High School, which is now the community center on Pike Street.
"Part of the family were ranchers, and my grandfather was a woodcutter in the Pine Nut range," Ray said.
Ray and May are the only Walmsleys left in Dayton now, though a sister lives in Carson City. The Walmsleys have been called the "oldest family living continuously in Dayton."
They are mentioned often in the diary of Emma Nevada Barton Loftus, whose chronicles of Dayton life is a major source of information on the area's past. Ray's father, Zenas, ran a dairy in Dayton, where, as a boy, Ray had to herd cows as well as milk them. Zenas became a justice of the peace in Dayton Township in the 1930s.
Ray's mother, Lela, made butter, cottage cheese, butter and cheese and sold them, along with the milk.
To enjoy the fair, the Walmsleys won't have far to go.
"It's right in front of our house," Ray said. "I like to roam the streets, look at what's for sale and watch the square dancing."
Square dancing is something Ray and May, who were married on June 5, 1947, did for more than 30 years, he said. This weekend, they'll get to do it again.
• Contact reporter Karen Woodmansee at kwoodmansee@nevadaappeal.com or 882-2111 ext. 351.
If You Go
WHAT: Dayton Valley Days
WHEN: 7 a.m. Saturday through 3 p.m. Sunday
WHERE: Old Town Dayton
CALL: (775) 246-1630
Schedule
Sept. 14
• 5-8 p.m. - Art work submissions at the Community Center
Sept. 15
• 4 p.m. - Vendor arrival and set-up until dark on Pike Street
• 4-8 p.m. - Art work submissions at the Community Center
Sept. 16
• 7-10 a.m. - Kiwanis pancake breakfast
• 8 a.m. - Vendor booths open
• 8:30-9:30 a.m. - Gold Creek Show N Shine Sign-up at the depot
• 8:30-9:30 a.m. - Parade sign-up at the Depot
• 9 a.m.-3 p.m. - United Blood Services taking blood donations
• 9 a.m.-4 p.m. - Art show open; art must be picked up after 4 p.m.
• 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. - Boomerang's silent auction
• 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. - Child find
• 10 a.m.-Parade begins at the depot
• 10 a.m.-4 p.m. - Carson Tahoe Wellness Center
• 10:30-5 p.m. - Gold Creek Show N Shine on Main Street
• 11 a.m.-3 p.m. - Old Melodeon Minstrels band
• 11 a.m.-4 p.m. - Adult's and children's games
• 11:30 a.m. - Train rides (all day at various intervals)
• 5-8 p.m. - Street dance with Class Act, barbecue by Daytona Casino on Pike Street.
Sept. 17
• 7-10 a.m. - Kiwanis pancake breakfast
• 8 a.m. - Vendor booths open
• 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Boomerang's junior silent auction
• 9 a.m.-3 p.m. National Guard climbing wall
• 10 a.m. - Pet parade
• 10 a.m.-3 p.m. - Train rides (all day at various intervals)
• 10 a.m.-3 p.m. - Carson Tahoe Wellness Center
• 10 a.m.-2 p.m. - Old Melodeon Minstrels band
• 10 a.m.-3 p.m. - United Blood Services taking blood donations.
• 11 a.m.-2 p.m. - Adult's and children's games
• 3 p.m. - Road Kill Raffle Drawing