Newspaper pages reveal concerns of a growing city

In the few days left before the Great Depression, in August 1929, the talk on the front page of the Carson City Appeal had to do with getting people here and having a suitable campground. A front page column by "The Notary" said "It is a case of stepping into the ranks of modernism as the day of the rickety flivver and sleeping on the ground has passed."

You could buy a new Ford at Pozzi's for $525. Madame Lenaux was to be located in Carson City in 10 days; she was the one that knew all, revealed hidden secrets, present, past and future.

The well had been brought in at the Orphan's home at a depth of 585 feet. It was expected to produce some 1,500 gallons per minute, more than enough for the home. The well was a big deal and is today as Carson suffered for years with periodic droughts.

George Sanford Jr., was improving. He was seriously injured in an auto accident at Tahoe in which two other boys were killed.

The local editor's remarks reflected the slow news week: "We expected to have a marriage and a notice this week. But a violent storm prevented the wedding and the doctor being sick himself, the patient recovered and we are accordingly cheated out of both items."

Graveled roadways were once considered the ultimate in comfort. That year's paving program promised some 500 miles of reconditioned, or oiled roads within the state. "This is a record hard to duplicate," said the Appeal.

The state plant quarantine service was on the attack. The puncture vine was found in Reno and attempts were being made to eradicate it. A noxious weed, it made life miserable for all.

William B. Gillis died at the age of 90. A reporter for the Territorial Enterprise, he served during mining's heyday with Mark Twain and Dan de Quille. He was known for his book "Memories of Mark Twain."

Pete Amodie and Charles Thiex were back from their vacation to Vancouver to find out more about the "dry question." The roads were the best in Oregon and Washington. The two agreed that if they had to move, it would be to Portland, which was a much better city than any you would find in California.

Some 57 percent of cars sold in Ormsby County then were Fords, a record. Twenty two cars were sold.

Virginia City authorities were putting down the lid on curio hunters. "The dignity of Virginia city, once the metropolis of Nevada and queen mining city of the world, has suffered an affront which authorities declare will not be overlooked."

It appears that over-enthusiastic relic seekers were roaming buildings in the once-grand mining camp and removing items, even from private homes. The warning was issued following the temporary disappearance of a 50-year-old witness chair from the courtroom of the Storey County courthouse from behind the railing that enclosed the judge's bench. When the visitors left, the chair went with them. Sheriff T. L. James apprehended the chair as it was going over the divide to Gold Hill.

"The parties who had violated the traditional Comstock hospitality were on their way over the divide to Gold Hill when the identity of the piece of furniture in their car was made known. They were required to retrace their journey and personally restore the chair to its place at the right of the jury box."

The incident was just one in a series of annoyances for Virginia City residents who found visitors taking relics as if they were their own. One Virginia woman was quietly sewing in the rear of her home when she was disturbed by someone rummaging through her front room. Confronted, the "guests" beat a hasty retreat, saying they "were just looking for relics."

The first woman prisoner in the state penitentiary for a number of years became a resident and guest of Warden Penrose. Annie Gomez, serving two to 20 years for arson from Esmeralda County, was sentenced by Judge Walsh. Warden Penrose had made quarters available and no special provision was made for the woman.

While excavating for clay for the new state well, workmen uncovered a grave of a man generally known as "uncle" who died many years ago. Many folks remembered him as being a friend of the Gardner family and when he passed he was buried on the hill behind the home. The man was removed to a safer resting place.

The circus was in town. In an age where radio was the only outside entertainment other than movies, live entertainment was a big deal in Carson. The attraction with the Cole Bros. Circus was a collection of women riders not seen by any other circus in the world. Featured was Miss Dixie Baldwin, one of the 20 leading horsewomen in the world.

From the front-page column, "The Notary" on the condition of Labor Day weekend:

Here we are around to Labor Day again. This means that September is here; that a frost may sweep in any night and cut down the favorite flowers or vines, it generally happens every season, just as the melons are ripening or the tomatoes seem to be a quantity production. One may fool himself, but it can't be done to Mother Nature. Take a look at the ripeness in the Virginia Creeper, or go to the hills and see the pinenut cones breaking open. Then there is a hundred yards or more of swallows teetering on the telephone wire while the doves are ready to migrate. A flock of ducks passes over and excites every hunter who would sight a gun. The people forget the late spring and tell of the hot summer. Labor Day, however, is a reminder that the season is shortening and that wild life is being plumed or furred for the frost that is behind the hills.

There is a report from local Indians that the trees are full of cones, but aren't ready yet for picking. A sign that we just may have a few more weeks left of summer.



• Trent Dolan is the son of Bill Dolan, who wrote a column for the Nevada Appeal from 1947 until his death in 2006.