A view of Nevada's past from its geographic center

By Ruby McFarland

For the Appeal

To break the winter blahs, the Historic Society of Dayton Valley is offering a lecture at the Dayton Senior Center at 7 p.m. Thursday. As usual, there will be refreshments as well as a program you will enjoy. Last year's lectures proved to be a huge success and we are continuing to find interesting people and topics. The best part is the lecture is free.

Our guest speaker this month will be Elizabeth Rassiga, owner of the Leland House in Austin, Nev. Elizabeth has been involved in the preservation and restoration of Austin for some time. The people of Austin are adamant about preserving their past.

Elizabeth divides her time between her home in Reno and her property in the geographic center of Nevada. She bought her first property in Austin when a red brick house dating back to 1864 came up for sale.

The house is a charming example of housing in the early days of Austin. It was in perfect condition and had a lot of great details reflecting the Victorian Era.

She has lived in the house for seven years, but the lure of other historic buildings led her into buying a wreck of a building with lots of history.

It is along the main drag of Austin directly across the street from what used to be the county courthouse. It is called the Leland House. The building was constructed of adobe brick with 200 flattened tin cans for the roof that has lasted more than 140 years.

A Nevada resident for 22 years, Elizabeth has taken the time to study the history of Austin. She will present a slide show, "Views from Leland House," which will incorporate the history of Austin. She is proud to present her stories along with original first-person documents she has collected.

Elizabeth will dress in 1860s attire, as will many of the Historical Society of Dayton Valley members. It promises to be a fun evening and very entertaining, so keep your calendar open. We would love to see you.

Wednesday's meeting of the Historical Society of Dayton Valley will be noon-1:30 p.m. held at Makin' Coffee, E. Pike Street and Highway 50 East.

The Dayton Museum is located on Shady Lane and Logan in Old Town Dayton. The Web site is daytonnvhistory.org. Group tours are available. Call 246-5543, 246-0462 or 246-0441.

• Ruby McFarland has lived in Dayton since October 1987, she serves as a board member of the Dayton historical society and a docent at the museum.