Wednesday
154 Years Ago
A wild time: A young friend and member of the assembly was sauntering along a back street when he was suddenly startled by a brickbat coming through a window. He was inexpressibly shocked when a woman in a dishabille and with a six-shooter in hand asked, “Mister, have you any caps?” With coolness he took off his hat and replied: “No, madam; but you can have my old hat.”
145 Years Ago
Logging at Lake Bigler (Lake Tahoe): The loggers of Lake Bigler expect to harvest and thrash out a crop of 15 million logs in the summer. The force expects to get through in time to appear at the Capitol when Legislature meets.
135 Years Ago
Virginia City Opera House roof fell in: The roof of Piper’s Opera House fell in and the whole thing went to the ground floor leaving the theatre a complete wreck — six feet of snow on the roof.
115 Years Ago
Rumored strike: It is rumored on the street that a very rich strike has been made in Ramsey where Carson people own property. The mill there is grinding out bullion from the Ramsey Comstock (east of Carson).
60 Years Ago
Restricted testing: The Atomic Energy Commission said improvement had come despite being restricted to underground testing. And the government implicitly served notice on the Soviet Union that it has completed preparations to resume atmospheric tests on short notice under the limited test ban treaty.
Thursday
154 Years Ago
Advertisement: “Carson Theater. Grand Vocal and Instrumental Concert! Saturday, Feb. 4, 1871. Benefit tender to Professor A. Farini, Kingly volunteered and assisted by Miss Lou Tufly, Mrs. Sauer, Mr. Davenport, Mr. H. Sharp, Mr. C. Mayer, Miss F. Abraham, Prof. Sauer, Mr. J. Meader, Mr. R. H. Lindsey, Mr. Turner, and several ladies and gentlemen from the Virginia Choral Society! Admission $1 reserved seats, 50 cents extra.”
145 Years Ago
A novelty in canaries: Is there any such thing as a red and green Canary bird? The editor never saw a Canary bird that color, but at a fancier’s exposition in Boston there were Canary birds of many colors, especially green and red. These birds were artificially colored much the same as circus horses are stained with spots and stripes to make them more attractive. Mrs. Holland assures the writer that she read a receipt in a London paper showing how to change the color of the feather. Red pepper is mixed with the bird’s food and the plumage sprouts afresh, but instead of being yellow, it is green with red sprout and a subdued shade of lilac. Mrs. Holland tried it, and it worked and changed the plumage of one bird. Unfortunately, the bird got out and was eaten by a cat. She is trying the dye method again.
135 Years Ago
The Genoa flood: The river above Springmeyer’s was blocked with ice and over-flowed and advanced over bridges and fields. A boy rode to Springmeyer’s to warn him, and he realized the danger and sent half a dozen boys on horses to drive his stock from the low pasture. A wall of ice five feet high was advancing with the rapidity of a trotting horse and pursued them 30 feet until they reached high ground — the river was never so full.
At Empire a dozen or more families have moved out, one family with a very young baby remained all night in the barn, the river is banked up with ice from 4 to 10 feet high for three miles. Many houses are flooded with four feet of water. At 12-mile house the bank of ice and slush is over 20 feet high.
115 Years Ago
Got the fever: George and Will Reading of Wellington who spent a week in Los Angeles during the airflights, threaten to take the engine out of their auto and put it into a flying machine.
60 Years Ago
Check artists: In the first 28 days of 1965, $6,000 worth of bad checks were written. In 1964 merchants lost $22,000 due to bad checks.
Friday
154 Years Ago
How is it? John Rosser found an increase of two in his family, a male and a female. They were not twins, but both the children are looking remarkably well, and John is very proud of them.
145 Years Ago
Part I: The Chinese New Year: The China New Year is upon us. The temple of the God’s is already redolent with effluvia of stinking punk and roast pig.
Giving the devil a deal: The Appeal reported called at the Chinese temple. As he approached the gospel mill, his ears were saluted with the explosion of booms and firecrackers. After the exploding of several thousand crackers, a bomb went off with a dull boom and sent fragment flying high in the air. The ceremony is for the purpose of exorcising the devils that interfere with the services. (continued)
135 Years Ago
The Genoa snowslide: A small snowslide occurred in the canyon above Joseph Davis’s place but did not come down far enough to do any damage to the town. The Golatt and Van Sickle water pipe was smashed and covered up by the slide. A number of families are getting their chief water supply from snowbanks in their back yards. (Courier)
115 Years Ago
Smallpox at Lovelock: The Indians of Lovelock are reporting 10 cases of smallpox. One death has resulted, and several are seriously ill. Every precaution is being taken to prevent the spread the disease.
60 Years Ago
Woman has cigarette troubles: Cigarette smoking can cause more than a health problem. A Carson woman was having a cigarette problem when the ash of her cigarette fell on the seat of a vehicle she was driving, and she sat on it. Her car went out of control as she wrestled with the burning coal, and she struck two parked vehicles while her own car bounced onto the sidewalk. Investigating officers, Sg. Robert Steenis and Patrolman Frank Jones charged her with careless driving.
Sue Ballew is the daughter of Bill Dolan, who wrote this column for the Nevada Appeal from 1947 until his death in 2006.