150 Years Ago
Wintry: A severe frost pretty effectually destroyed vines, the highest mountain peaks received a fresh coat of snow, Carson and Eagle Valleys received a slight sprinkling too, and Gold Hill had a heavy hailstorm.
130 Years Ago
Painting ’er Red: Authorities took a Spanish woman into custody who had been drunk, disorderly and threatening to cause the streets of her neighborhood to run with the blood of her enemies. She will appear before Judge Witherell.
110 Years Ago
Mark Twain: Steve Gillis, the sage of Jackass Hill (near Angels Camp) received a gift from his old-time friend, Mark Twain, in the shape of 25 handsomely bound volumes of the great humorist’s work. Each book was autographed, “To Steve Gillis, with the unabated love of his oldest friend.” Some say that since Twain has grown rich and famous he had “forgotten” all of his old friends in Nevada and California. (Jamestown Magnet)
100 Years Ago
Metropolis (now a ghost town): Professor Campbell who has been at Metropolis where the people of that community are tilling their soil, tells us that the potato crop will be enormous this season with 165,000 bushels sold and shipped. Part of these potatoes were raised from the dry farm method. (Elko free press)
70 Years Ago
Liquor: Found guilty of disposing wine to an Indian, a young man in Reno was sentenced to three months in county jail and ordered to pay a fine of $1--Guilty of the charge, following a trial by jury.
20 Years Ago
Howard Hughes: The safety of shipping nuclear waste was questioned by Howard Hughes in various “secret” documents found after his death. The documents revealed demands on the former Atomic Energy Commission from Hughes, his scientists and Gov. Paul Laxalt for information about the underground nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site. He was not worried about nuclear testing, but about large explosions and environmental impacts.
Sue Ballew is the daughter of Bill Dolan, who wrote this column for the Nevada Appeal from 1947 until his death in 2006.