150 Years Ago
Heavily fined: Sam Portius, chicken stealer, was ordered to pay a fine of $200 or remain in jail until boarded out at the rate of two dollars per day. He was given a petition for remission of one half the fine with an agreement to leave the city. We heartily wish that every thief in town would take his departure upon like terms.
140 Years Ago
Squibs: Trout are commencing to bite in the Mexican dam. This will be pleasant news to fishermen. The Mint vaults are filling up with new dollar planchets, awaiting the arrival of the dies.
130 Years Ago
Changes in Pyramid Lake: The surface is gradually lowering, while at the same time there seems to be corresponding rising in the waters of Winnemucca Lake. At McCormack’s place, near the Winnemucca Lake slough, a person could easily ford 12 years ago, whereas now there is a width of 100 feet and a depth of 50 feet of water. The Indians claim that the surface of these bodies of water change every quarter century.
100 Years Ago
Sam Davis: The sufferings of Sam P. Davis, one of the prominent figures of Western Nevada, has been brought to an end. The death of Sam Davis removes one of the last of that bright galaxy of luminaries that had much to do with the shaping of the newspapers of the West. He was known best as a humorist and poet, and his writings, such as “The Lure of the Sagebrush,” “Battle Born,” and “The Gleaners,” are recognized works of literature. He was state controller in Nevada and author of the “The History of Nevada.” Sam Davis was born at Branford, Conn., April 3, 1850, and came to Nevada in 1875. In 1880 he was married to Nellie V. Mighels, wife of Harry Mighels, former owner of the Appeal. During the time Davis was editor of the Appeal. The paper, because of its crispy paragraphs and humorous stories, attracted nationwide attention.
70 Years Ago
Nevada State Museum visitors: Miss Elisabeth Dayton, curator at the North Carson Street site, stated 5,423 persons have visited the museum since the first of the year. In the month of January alone there were 2,625.
20 Years Ago
Advertisement: Cinema 50 Discount Theater, $1.50 — “Flubber,” “Senseless,” and “The Replacement Killers.”
Sue Ballew is the daughter of Bill Dolan, who wrote this column for the Nevada Appeal from 1947 until his death in 2006.