Past Pages Sept. 26

130 YEARS AGO

Temperance entertainment: The ladies of the Temperance Union will provide entertainment at the Carson Opera House with Master Phil Mighels delineator. In order to protect the performer, the chairs will be nailed to the floor.

120 YEARS AGO

Rough on the Preacher: A couple got married at Pizen-Switch in Mason Valley and according to a time-honored custom of the country, the cowboys came in from all directions to shivaree the pair. Rev. Van Deventer married the couple. The groom conceived the idea of escaping the torments of the tin horns and horse fiddlers so he hired a man to steer the cowboy band to Van Deventer's lodging instead of his own. The band reached Van Deventer's and opened up a most infernal din. Rev. Van Deventer was considerably worked up over the serenade and concluded that it was some sort of retribution on the course he took against the Lottery bill.

70 YEARS AGO

Advertisement: Carson Theater - "Return of the Invisible Man."

50 YEARS AGO

One of the most valuable individual coins to be offered for sale on the west coast is a rare Carson City mint 1876 cc 20-cent piece. It will be put up for bid at the 27th semi-annual convention of the California State Numismatic Association. Its approximate value $12,000 ... only 14 known specimens.

10 YEARS AGO

Nevada's poverty rate increased slightly in 1999, while it dropped 11.8 percent in the rest of the nation. Nevada's poverty rate ranks 29th in the nation.

• Sue Ballew is the daughter of Bill Dolan, who wrote this column for the Nevada Appeal from 1947 until his death in 2006.