Inside glimpse of Carson City’s historic Wungnema House available

The Foundation for Carson City Parks & Recreation (FCCPR) is holding an Open House at the Wungnema House in Mills Park Sunday, April 23, from 2 to 5 p.m. The building is accessible by the Park entrance on Saliman Road, opposite the high school. Admission to the open house is free.

This will be an opportunity to learn about this historic building, about Native American history and culture, and about the Foundation.

The Foundation will also be hosting an Open Houses on May 28 (Memorial Day Weekend) and other dates later this year. A special Open House will be scheduled on Wednesday, July 12, 2017, immediately following the FCCPR Community Service Awards ceremony at 5:30 p.m. at the Wall of Honor located at the entrance to the Marv Teixeira Pavilion at Mills Park.

The Foundation maintains the historic Wungnema House under a lease from the city. A family of Hopi stone masons, the Wungnemas, built this 1000 square-foot house in 1948. Burton Wungnema, Burton’s father Earnest, and Burton’s wife Pearl, built their home on what was then the eastern edge of Carson City. The Wungnema House is representative of the distinctive masonry work seen in churches and homes built by Burton and his father around Carson City and Lake Tahoe from 1925 to 1955. Examples of their work can be seen at various locations in Carson City, including at the Stewart Indian School.

Founded in 2015, the Foundation is a non-profit member-driven 501(c)(3) organization created for charitable and educational purposes related to parks and recreation in Carson City. It is dedicated to bringing together members of the Carson City community to encourage and enable public support for the continuing enhancement of Carson City’s parks and recreational facilities.

The Foundation provides an umbrella under which various organizations and citizens can come together to explore innovative ways to promote and facilitate their activities. It assists organizations with similar goals to promote and meet Foundation’s fiduciary objectives to help manage and protect monies raised by members for their projects. Currently the Foundation is providing assistance to projects for the restoration of missing headstones in Lone Mountain Cemetery, for improvements at the gun range at Flint Dr., for development of a disc golf course on Flint Dr., and for maintenance and improvements to tennis courts in city parks.

The Foundation welcomes new members and is interested in individuals who can assist with fundraising, newsletter, publicity, special events, recruitment, and park clean up. Annual membership is $25.00. For further information, call David Bugli at 775-883-4154 or visit the website http://CarsonCityParks.org.