View from the Past

100 Years Ago

Phone Improvements. Manager G. B. McFarlin is making quite a change in the telephone lines about town in connection with the installation of the new switchboard. About 2000 feet of cable will be used, mainly along Williams Avenue, thus doing away with the mass of wires used at the present time.

Churchill County Eagle, July 1, 1916

Off For Stillwater. The hospitable people of Stillwater have made extensive arrangements for the big free barbecue on the Fourth, and an elaborate program of contests and events been arranged, in addition to the literary program. The whole county is invited and a royal welcome is extended.

Churchill County Eagle, July 1, 1916.

75 Years Ago

He fears that both his professional and social careers have been blasted following the loss of the little finger on his left hand in an accident on the job, says Bill Thompson, miner at the Summit King Mines. “When at the mine I use my fingers counting. I get up to nine when I ought to have ten and have to start all over again. Nine isn’t divisible by two. I am now trying to work out a new system of mathematics based on another kind of decimal system. That’s bad all right, but look what I’m up against socially. How can I go to teas now that I can’t crook my little finger at the right curve when I lift my cup?” The Fallon Standard, July 2, 1941

The new city well drilled near the center of town has developed a supply of water that is believed to be sufficient to take care of a town of 10,000 population. During the final tests the draw-down in the 14-inch casting was only 3 feet and 6 inches when pumps were lifting 1,600 a minute. This left a 36-foot 6-inch lift to the surface. Capacity of the two wells north of town serving the city for several years has been around 700 gallons from a lift of 172 feet, barely enough to satisfy summer-time needs of Fallon’s present population of two thousand.

The Fallon Standard, July 2, 1941

50 Years Ago

Pioneer Days and the 8th Annual Kiwanis Rodeo begin with games, dances and a greased pig contest at the Fairgrounds… Approxiately100 invitations were placed in the mail setting the stage for a double ribbon-cutting ceremony tomorrow. Guests and the general public will watch Miss Churchill County, Lois Ann Lewis as she wields the scissors on the green ribbon stretched across the entrance to Churchill County recreation beaches. During ribbon-cutting ceremonies boating enthusiasts will parade their craft around the face of Lahontan. Miss Lyon County will be snipping the copper ribbon opening the Silver Springs beaches where the Reno Water Ski Association will perform. The assembly will view the new boat launch facility.

Fallon Eagle-Standard, July 1, 1966

From the Past….Stories from the Churchill County Museum Archives, researched and compiled by Cindy Loper and Margo Weldy, Churchill County Museum assistants.