Students at Stewart Indian School Leaning sewing in about 1900.
Wednesday
150 Years Ago
Unless Virginia (City) does something in the matter of erecting a theater, our prospects for many good theatrical performances are very light. Since the destruction of Piper’s Opera House many companies have canceled their dates.
140 Years Ago
In brief: Ball playing on Carson Street where passers-by are liable to be struck in the eye by a soggy ball is getting to be quite a nuisance.
130 Years Ago
Novelty: London has a strange novelty in the shape of a cab moved by electricity. The three-wheeled carriage driving along without any visible motor may be stopped and directed apparently with little effort and runs at the rate of a mile in three minutes.
120 Years Ago
Local news: Visitors from Gardnerville announce great activity there in preparation for the celebration on the 4th and 5th of July. The bicycle team is especially active and have every confidence of defeating the Carson City team.
70 Years Ago
Advertisement: “Sky-Vue Drive-In Theatre, just north of Carson City. Adult admission 65 cents; children under 12 free – Snack bar. ‘Blackbeard the Pirate’ with William Bendix and Linda Darnell and ‘Look Who’s Laughing’ with Lucille Ball, Edgar Bergen, Fibber McGee, and Molly.’
30 Years Ago
Clampers: The members of the Julia Bulette Chapter 1864, E. Clampus Vitis, Virginia City, will be dedicating a monument at the local cemetery to a unique early-day mining fraternity, Mary Jane Simpson, a mule who worked in the mines of the Comstock. Little is known of her ancestry, but those who worked with her said her mother was a thoroughbred mare of one of the first families of Kentucky and her father descended from the finest stock of Spanish Andalusian asses.
Thursday
150 Years Ago
Presbyterian picnic: The picnic of the Presbyterian Sabbath School of this place will take place at Simons’ Ranch in Washoe Valley. It will be a joint picnic with the children of the Presbyterian Sabbath School of Virginia (City).
140 Years Ago
The festival: The Episcopal festival at the Opera House cleared about $75 after paying all expenses. Considering that there was such a call from stockbrokers for mud just about that time the result is very gratifying to the ladies who managed the affair. There were pleasant evening refreshments and dancing.
130 Years Ago
Fast time: Rivalry between the stage lines to Lake Tahoe has given tourists faster time than ever before. The stages with six horses on each group and down the grade on the dead run, reminding one of the old days of the Placerville stage route. It was worth a dollar a minute to sit alongside the driver and spin along at the rate of ten miles an hour. There is also no toll gate on the road now, and travel is larger than ever.
120 Years Ago
Loaning decorations: Reno has sent to Virginia (City) for use in the Comstock carnival all of the decorations that were used in this city on the occasion of President Roosevelts visit. These decorations, the cost of which amounts to many hundreds of dollars, will help the old town to dress-up for company on the Fourth. (Journal)
70 Years Ago
Advertisement: “Tahoe Drive-In Theatre Stateline Hwy 50, California. ‘Stan Martin and Jerry Lewis in Hal Wallis production, ‘Scared Stiff’ and ‘Silver City’ with Ed O’Brien and Yvonne DeCarlo.”
30 Years Ago
Elvis Presley and peanut butter: He was born in Tupelo in 1935: Cornbread, fried okra, greens and occasional squirrel were common foods. When Vernon Presley went to prison for check forgery, his wife and son lived on grits and cheese for three years. What young Elvis loved most was peanut butter and crackers, and peanut butter and mashed banana fried in margarine…
Friday
150 Years Ago
Mint explosion: The bursting of an air chamber in the refinery department of the Mint caused a loud report and created a lively sensation among the employees at work in the room. The cylinder was driven by the force of the explosion through the plastering and lath of the ceiling but was stopped by the joist and door above. No one was hurt.
140 Years Ago
Fourth of July: Virginia (City) is going to have a booming celebration on the Fourth. Fifty thousand flags will be used in decorating the town.
130 Years Ago
Where did it go? Cole Atherton was missing his horse and buckboard but learned that the animal was seen on its way to Genoa. Cole sent the sheriff after the outfit and the man driving was found to be M. Cohn’s blacksmith. He called in the morning and said: “The box wants his horse hitched up.” The man at the yard thought “the box” meant Atherton and hitched up the wrong horse. They are now trying to figure who pays the sheriff’s expenses.
120 Years Ago
Rich strike: It is reported a rich strike has been made at Peavine about 6 miles from Reno. A ledge of free gold bearing ore 60 feet wide has been struck.
70 Years Ago
Street name changes: The first street west of Carson St. is known as Ormsby south of King, but Curry north. It is proposed that this be renamed Curry for the entire length. Both names refer to pioneers who developed Carson City, but the city trustees feel that Ormsby is already honored by having the county bear its name.
30 Years Ago
Smoke detectors: The board of supervisors adopted the 1991 Uniform Building Code that requires smoke detectors in every sleeping quarter of a new home. The city also makes compliance a requirement for approval of a home improvement building permit that costs more than $1,000.
Sue Ballew is the daughter of Bill Dolan, who wrote this column for the Nevada Appeal from 1947 until his death in 2006.