Saturday
150 Years Ago
Johnny Meder: Johnny is a botanical creature who has sandwiched a lot of roses, geraniums and fuchsias between his porter-house steaks and lambchops and will sell the same at rates to gratify the feeblest purse.
140 Years Ago
A Carson numismatist: Dr. Lee received five bronze medals from the Philadelphia Mint. They are admired as specimens of art. He has a coin with the head of George Washington with the inscription: “The Constitution is Sacredly Obligatory Upon All;” another bears the date Sept. 2, 1861, of the first oath of allegiance to the U.S., taken by the officers and employees of the Mint; the Grant medal with a bust of Grant and the reverse has the word, “Let us Have Peace,” and the Lincoln medal is dated 1862. Around the bust of Lincoln are the words, “Abraham Lincoln, president of the U.S….”
130 Years Ago
Advertisement: A bright advertiser said as to advertising methods: “The goat eats the posters, the waste basket gets the circulars, the ragmen secures the hand bill, but the newspapers are saved and read by the people.”
70 Years Ago
40 & 8 trains to visit Carson: Joseph J. Adduci, chef degare of voiture 258 of Carson City will have locomotives from California, Oregon and Nevada voitures in Carson City to give children rides around town. These American Lion 40 and 8 locomotives and boxcars will stop here before going to Reno.
60 Years Ago
Four-wheelers to petroglyphs: Twenty-three vehicle loads of Four Wheel Warriors trekked across rugged terrain from Carson City to Lagomorsino Canyon some 10 miles southeast of Virginia City to observe the Indian petroglyphs inscribed on volcanic rocks. The group also discovered active wood ticks and killed one small rattlesnake.
Sunday
150 Years Ago
May Day Dance: Mr. Geo Clifton, the blind musician is here, and he proposes to give a dancing party at Corbett’s Hall, May 1. He needs what he can make out of this undertaking. The price of admission is only 50 cents. We hope he may be liberally patronized, for he is stone blind and worthy of any assistance he may obtain.
140 Years Ago
Local notes: John Sweeny has just purchased ranch, and the other day, he attempted to sow some popcorn already popped.
130 Years Ago
Old Time Prospectors: Nevada has a few of the old time prospectors. Those who used to tramp over the hills with their burros in front of them have vanished and gone from sight. The prospector today rides a bicycle forty miles and back; sleeps between sheets and takes a bath before going to bed. What Nevada needs at the present time is indefatigable prospectors who goes too crazy over a speck of gold and who does not prospect with field glasses. (Pioche Record)
70 Years Ago
Salk vaccine recalled in west: The government banned use of the Salk polio vaccine produced by Cutter Laboratories of Berkeley, California, pending investigation of paralytic polio cases among at least six children inoculated with it in mid-April. No polio was reported in Nevada shots.
60 Years Ago
New coliseum: Governor Grant Sawyer dedicated the Reno’s new Centennial Coliseum and called it “one of the most beautiful facilities in the world.” Cost was $6 million. He went on to say it was “a symbol of the continued growth and prosperity of the Reno-Sparks area.”
Monday
150 Years Ago
Roll of Honor in the Carson Public School for the Month ending March 26, 1875: First Grade – Laura Berry, Annie Martin, Stella Gates, Emma Elrod, Mollie Kittrell, Virginia Chedic.
Second Grade--Sallie St. Clair, Emma Chedic, Emma Colton, Virginia Bollen, Albert Adams, John Beam, Mamie Ferris.
Third Grade – Laura Wilmott, Mary Starkey, Lottie Pierce, Eva Singerland, Dora Van Sickle, Mary St. Clair, Emma Linn, Willie Hunt, Della Waters, Kate Burton, Mary Dow, Ella Starling, Mamie Davis…
140 Years Ago
News from Vansickle: A dispatch was received from Capt. J. C. Kelly, El Paso, Texas, stating that he had seen Vansickle. Vansickle purchased a ticket under the name off J. P. Smith and said he was going to Oshkosh, Wisconsin to see his mother. Vansickle has a sister and other relatives living at Oshkosh.
130 Years Ago
All sorts: Leslie Bell is now renting bicycles at 25 cents an hour and expects a lot of new ones to arrive soon.
The bloomer bicycle costume for ladies appeared on the street. Miss Irwin was the young lady who made the sensation.
70 Years Ago
Atomic test flopperoo [sic] for Civil Defense observers: Operation Cue-to test the ability of American communities to withstand an atomic attack was unofficially redubbed “Operation Mis-Cue because fickle weather continued to delay the test. The nuclear detonation on Yucca was postponed three times. The atomic device will not be fired atop its 500 foot tower if there is any chance radiation might endanger area residents.
60 Years Ago
Sawyer-Brown Frog Duel: The third frog jump-off at the Centennial Frog Jumping Jubilee at Angels Camp, California between Governor Grant Sawyer and Governor Edmund C. Brown will feature Nevada’s entry, “Paiute Pete,” who leaped to victory over Brown’s entry “Rocket” in last year’s event with a jump of five feet one inch.
Tuesday
150 Years Ago
Doc Benton’s Stages: Hank Monk who is the conductor is billed for the regular season’s work to and from Lake Bigler (Tahoe). The coaches will make the round trip each day. They leave here on the arrival of the morning train from Virginia City and leave the Lake after the arrival of the steamers from Tahoe City.
140 Years Ago
The Roller craze: Scenes and incidents at the Opera House – The fever has set in and getting more pronounced every day. The floor is a mass of whirling people, sweeping around in the opposite direction to the hands of a watch. They range from six-year old misses to people who are on the blind side of forty.
130 Years Ago
All sorts: The Virginia & Truckee Railroad Company will grant a half-fare rate to anyone along the line of the road who desires to attend the lecture at Reno on May 17th of Susan B. Anthony and Rev. Anna Shaw.
70 Years Ago
Births: Mr. and Mrs. Cameron Batjer are parents of a girl weighing 7 pounds 10 1/2 ounces born at Carson-Tahoe Hospital.
60 Years Ago
Photo caption: Loren Greene, “Bonanza” show star, will be one of several entertainment personalities taking part in the Nevada Crippled Children’s benefit show at the Centennial Coliseum in Reno.
Sue Ballew is the daughter of Bill Dolan, who wrote this column for the Nevada Appeal from 1947 until his death in 2006.