130 YEARS AGO
Hank Monk astonished: Charley Parkhurst, stage driver and acknowledged crack whips died near Watsonville. When the remains were laid out, it was discovered that Parkhurst was a woman. She had been known on the coast for twenty-five years and used to be with Hank Monk a good deal in the early days. When Hank heard the report, he was overcome for several minutes and he gasped for breath and drawled out: "Je-hosiphat! I camped out with Parkie once for over a week, and we slept on the same buffalo robe right along. Wonder if Curley Bill's been playin' me the same way."
Frozen truth: Since the cold snap, the Washoe and Piute Indians have been selling jack rabbits in astonishing quantities. Bill Jackson reports, "You see, the cold snap drove the rabbits into the canyons out of the wind. There were the rabbits - acres of 'em - all huddled together in a bunch, and packed like sardines, and every blasted one of 'em froze stiff as a wedge." Hank Monk corroborates Jackson's yarn, "That's all true what Jackson says, but he hadn't told half. Whenever the sun hit 'em hard they'd limber up, give themselves a shake and skip away for the sagebrush. Little sugar and gin! Guess I will."
120 YEARS AGO
Fire: Dr. Fox discovered that his house was on fire where a stove pipe passed through the wall. He and his wife dressed as hastily as possible and his wife with a six-month-old baby took refuge in Mr. Jellerson's house. The Warrens were the only fire company that turned out. Harry Day kindly tendered the use of his house by Dr. Fox and his family.
70 Years Ago
Babies were born in Mrs. Mae Noonan's private hospital - to Mr. and Mrs. Nick Uhart, a daughter; to Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Curty, a son; to Mr. and Mrs. E. S. Knowles, a daughter.
50 YEARS AGO
"Nevada" Carson, only living relative of Kit Carson, will leave County Club center, carrying greetings from the people of Sacramento to the people of Carson City via the Pony Express trail in a KXTV tribute to the 100th anniversary of the Pony Express. "Nevada" has devoted his whole life to preserving the tradition of the famous ancestor. Although Kit Carson did not ride for the Pony Express, he did help lay out the routes and set up the stations.
20 YEARS AGO
Fire Chief Bernie Season retires from the post of Fire Chief, a post he had held since 1978.
10 YEARS AGO
Leslie and Chad Burson are parents of a daughter born at Carson-Tahoe Hospital. She is the last person born in Carson City in the twentieth century.
• Sue Ballew is the daughter of Bill Dolan, who wrote this column for the Nevada Appeal from 1947 until his death in 2006.