Carson City looking north from the top of the Capitol building in 1871.
Saturday
150 Years Ago
Police court: Judge Witherell held an interesting séance. First came a man who asked to be immortalized under the somewhat overworked name of John Doe. He had been drunk and has given way to the strange hallucination that he himself was a street sprinkler. His Honor, being a Justice of the Peace, fined him $15, which he rustled round and got it antied.
140 Years Ago
Immense lunch: Captain Avery will serve a royal lunch, cooked under his personal supervision, consisting of eastern clam chowder, sauerkraut, Boston baked beans and everything else to woo the epicure palates.
130 Years Ago
Shot: J.F. Dewitt arrived here from Pyramid Lake with several shots in his neck. He said he was shot by C.W. Pearl. Both were working at Callaghan’s ranch and had a falling out.
110 Years Ago
Talking films at the Grand: The long heralded Talking Pictures of Kinetophone, the invention of Thomas Edison, will have its last presentation at the Grand. The audience sits in absolute silence as the pictures are flashed upon the screen, and the voice of each character is heard with as much clearness as if the players on the screen were actually talking.
70 Years Ago
Advertisement: “Carson Theater—'The Vanquished’ with John Payne and Jan Sterling. You’ll never forget Buck Grayson and the woman who loved him…”
Sunday
150 Years Ago
Drunken gas: The Maxim Gas Company failed to connect in the early part of last evening, and upon inquiring at Mr. Harris’ we were as good as told that the gas was drunk. By the looks of Frisbie’s window about 6 o’clock, there were a lot of candles to get to bed by. We have known a good many gassy drunks in our time; but this is the first instance of a drunken gas. It wasn’t any laughing gas, drunk or not drunk, but a very dull, blue and gloomy gas when in its worst stage of inebriety and helplessness.
140 Years Ago
A half mile long sea serpent (England): It was seen going down the Bristol Channel in England at about 25 miles per hour, a marine monster, half a mile in length. Accounts from Cornwall says the monster’s head was clearly seen. It left a grease trail. It comes by cable in London that it is the agent of the home Fenian organization.
130 Years Ago
Death of Mrs. Hy Downs: Susan Downs died at her residence near the Lakeview Tunnel. Her death was caused by the bursting of a blood vessel in the brain. Dr. Guinan was sent for but on arriving he said her case was hopeless. She had been married less than a year, and her unexpected death is a severe blow to her husband. She was forty years of age and came here from Santa Cruz. Her father, John Haines, was one of the oldest settlers in Santa Cruz.
110 Years Ago
Capitol: Work on the capitol addition is delayed because of the inability to secure stone masons. Work was resumed this morning with a small force of men. Government work on the big dams at the present time is attracting most of the masons in the state.
70 Years Ago
Photo caption: Running hands over the face of president Eisenhower, Helen Keller, famous blind and deaf leader in movement to aid handicapped, “feels” the famous Ike smile. She is pictured with her long-time companion in rehabilitation work. (International)
Monday
150 Years Ago
Death of earliest settler: Mr. Cyrus Adams, once the proprietor of the Penrod House (later called the Adams house, corner of Telegraph and Carson streets), was taken while attending to the duties of his hotel. He has a chill and high fever while attending the duties of his hotel. At the end of the third day, he became delirious and died. Cyrus Adams was born at Enosburg, Franklin County, Vermont in 1820, and came to California in 1859 and to Nevada in 1860. He leaves a wife and five sons. He was 53.
140 Years Ago
St. Peters: The ladies of St. Peters Episcopal Church intend on holding their pleasant parties at the Opera House at which due notice will be given through the papers.
130 Years Ago
Cushion tea: The ladies of St. Peter’s Guild will give a cushion tea for the benefit of the Rectory Fund, at the residence of Mrs. Belknap Saturday. The public is invited.
110 Years Ago
Advertisement: “Drink ‘Tahoe’ Lager Beer. It now speaks for itself. Brewed from the finest malt and hops on the market, and the purest water in the world. Carson Brewing Company, Carson City.”
70 Years Ago
Hatchet: Osage and Cherokee Indians have buried the hatchet after 115 years of “warfare.” Some 10,000 persons gathered to witness the treaty ceremony—burying the ole hatchet which, according to Indian lore, makes the treaty legal.
Tuesday
150 Years Ago
The ball: Messrs. Richey & Williamson will have a ball at Empire. They have already described that abode of Terpsichore. It will be filled with soft, entrancing notes of delicious melody and inspired feet will bound away like the springs in a jumping jack. The love light of a hundred pairs of eyes will fire the hearts of gallant youth worse than mustard on a sandwich.
140 Years Ago
In brief: The water in the Carson River is rising.
The Arlington House has treated its parlor to a brand-new brussels carpet.
130 Years Ago
All sorts: Jim Meder will handle the mechanical effects for the moonlight waltz at the debut ball of the Carson Home Orchestra.
110 Years Ago
Old time pony rider: Wm. Taylor, Old Bill, was in town this afternoon. Bill was one of the old-time pony express riders, who are getting scarcer as time passes. In the early 1870s he was one of the men who carried the lightning mail to the southern camps, Bodie, Aurora, and Wellington. When the escaped convicts murdered Billy Poor between Carson and Genoa, Taylor was to have been the rider on the route that day. Mr. Taylor, though 63 years of age, is as spry as many of the younger generation.
70 Years Ago
Bride haven: Mothers with small daughters should move to Nevada now. The 1953 school enrollment figures in other states show that there are far more girls in school than boys. The reverse is true in Nevada. There are 19,438 boys to 18,277 girls. The majority holds true in all of the 17 countries of Nevada.
Sue Ballew is the daughter of Bill Dolan, who wrote this column for the Nevada Appeal from 1947 until his death in 2006.