Nevada Legends
KATIE CHRISTY FRAZIER
Native
American Artist and Educator
Born ca. 1891
Native Land Named
“Tizipoona,” Katie Christy Frazier grew up following the old ways, speaking
Northern Paiute, camping at Pyramid Lake, digging camus on the Madeline Plains,
harvesting pine nuts up north and wintering in Honey Lake Valley. At age eight
she attended the state-required, military-style boarding school where Indian
children learned white ways. Katie spent her life preserving Native traditions
and teaching Pyramid Lake children Paiute dances, songs and
language.
PHILIPP DEIDESHEIMER
Inventor
Born
1832
Darmstadt, Hesse While working in Virginia City on the Comstock
Lode, mining engineer Philipp Deidesheimer devised a method of timbering mines
that would shore up the walls so miners could work safely at any width, depth or
length.... Read More »
WOVOKA
Native American
Prophet
Born in Smith Valley around 1856
Wovoka (“wood cutter”) was
the son of a Paiute medicine man. At age 14, he went to live with white rancher
David Wilson, learned English and was renamed Jack Wilson. At age 30, a near
death experience gave Wovoka a vision that native tribes and ancestors would
again live, reign and flourish, without fighting or harming, while the white man
would vanish. He revived the Ghost Dance, folded this vision into it, and gave
tribes hope.
HANNAH KEZIAH CLAPP
Educator
Born
1824 • near Albany, New York
Education pioneer Hannah Keziah Clapp
taught at Union Seminary in Ypsilanti, Michigan and served as principle of
Lansing’s Female Seminary before moving west. She co-founded the private, coed
Sierra Seminary in Carson City, Nevada. Hannah’s graduates became important
Nevada citizens. In 1887, she became the University of Nevada’s first Professor
of English and History and its volunteer Librarian. She grew the library to 6000
books and 5,000 pamphlets
THE ECONOMICS OF
DIVORCE
Nevada's competitive divorce trade increased state revenues
during otherwise bleak economic times. In 1931, the state legislature reduced
the residency requirement to a mere six weeks. Grounds for divorce, with the
exception of insanity, needed no substantiation. People flocked to Nevada,
filling hotels, boarding houses and dude ranches. Even tent cities were erected
to house the overflow. Postcards advertised the divorce trade and Reno became
known as the Divorce Capital of the World.
JOHN SNOWSHOE
THOMPSON
Hero, Explorer and Mail Carrier
April 30, 1827 •
Tinn, Norway
John (Snowshoe) Thompson delivered mail between
Placerville, California and Genoa, Nevada from 1856 until his death in 1876. In
winter, he wore 10-foot skis and used a single long pole that he held in both
hands. He traveled Johnson's Cutoff, a trail marked by John Calhoun Johnson, the
first man to deliver mail over the Sierra's. Thompson traveled without blanket
or gun. Over the years, he saved the lives of seven people.
THE
VIRGINIA AND TRUCKEE RAILROAD
After silver and gold were discovered
in Virginia City, mine owners needed to transport ore to the refineries along
the Carson River, and to bring lumber from Lake Tahoe for timbering the mines.
The Virginia and Truckee Railroad Company was incorporated in March, 1868 and
soon ran from Virginia City to Reno. In the 1870s, the mines were so productive
that 30 to 45 trains ran the rough route daily.
ANN HERBERT
SCOTT
Writer
November 19, 1926 • Chestnut Hill,
PA
Quaker-educated Ann Herbert (Howe) Scott earned her BA in English at
the University of Pennsylvania and her M.A. in Social Ethics at Yale University.
In college she volunteered on behalf of inner-city children and later authored
award-winning childrenís books dealing with ethnic, rural and western themes.
Ann and her husband William Scott moved to Reno in 1961, where she advocated
literacy and developed festivals and workshops promoting it.
EVA
BERTRAND ADAMS
Director of U.S. Mint
September 10, 1908 •
Wonder Mining Camp
Eva Bertrand Adams graduated from Reno High at age
14. Despite having a scholarship to Vassar, she attended the University of
Nevada and later taught English there. Eva joined Senator Pat McCarran's
administrative staff in Washington, D.C. While working in Washington, she earned
a Master's degree in law from George Washington University. President John F.
Kennedy appointed her to be Director of the U.S. Mint, a position she held for
eight years.
WILD HORSE ANNIE
Animal Rights
Activist
March 5, 1912 • Reno, Nevada
Velma Bronn Johnston's
compassion for children and animals grew out of her traumatic childhood with
disfiguring polio. Velma and husband Charlie ran a dude ranch for troubled
children. One morning in 1950, Velma saw an accident involving a truck carrying
wild horses removed from public landsto slaughter. She established special wild
horse refuges, the International Society for the Protection of Mustangs and
Burros and the Wild Horses Organized Assistance.
EMMA WIXOM
NEVADA
Lyric Soprano Opera Singer
February 7, 1859 • Alpha
Mining Camp
As a youngster, Emma Wixom sang in town events like Austin's
Gridley Sack of Flour Parade. At age 12, she studied music and languages at
Mills Seminary in Oakland, California. She perfected her voice in Vienna under
Mathilde Marchesi and debuted as Emma Nevada (in honor of her state) on May 17,
1880 at Her Majesty's Theatre in London. A favorite of Queen Victoria's, Emma
sang in Europe, lived in Paris, and retired in 1910.
DAT SO LA
LEE
Native American Artist
Born ca.1829 • Carson
Valley
Washoe Indian artist Dat So La Lee made her living as a laundress
and cook for miners and their families. Her birth name, Dabuda, means Young
Willow. At age 45, Dat So La Lee began weaving baskets out of willow, a several
thousand year old tradition she learned as a girl. Merchandisers Abe and Amy
Cohn recognized the artistry of Dat So La Lee's work. In exchange for her
baskets, they provided a comfortable life for the artist and her
husband.
JENNIFER HARMAN
Professional Poker
Player
November 29, 1964 • Reno, Nevada
A poker player since age
eight, Jennifer Harman graduated from the University of Nevada at Reno and began
playing professionally. In 2000, she won her first World Series Poker bracelet
in a game she had never played before. She won her second bracelet in 2002. In
2004 she took a year off to have a second kidney transplant. She founded the
not-for-profit CODA, Creating Organ Donation Awareness, to highlight a disease
that also took her mother and her sister.
MARK
TWAIN
Journalist, Novelist, Essayist and Humorist
November
30, 1835 • Florida, Missouri
In August of 1861, Samuel Clemens traveled
to Carson City with his older brother Orion. Clemens tried mining, but instead
earned a solid $25 a week
reporting for Virginia City's Territorial
Enterprise. Signing his stories 'Josh,' Clemens wrote teasing and colorful news
accounts, which shaped him as a storyteller and humorist. He eventually became
known as Mark Twain. In 1864, he left Virginia City after almost engaging in a
duel.
JOSIE REED PEARL
Prospector and
Miner
December 19, 1873 • Evening Shade, Arkansas
At age nine, Josie
Reed began prospecting. At 13, she filed a gold claim in New Mexico, and sold it
later for $5,000. In 1904, Josie married mining engineer Lane Pearl. They
migrated to mining camps in Goldfield and Ward, Nevada. Josie continued
prospecting while working in restaurants and boarding houses. After Lane died in
1918, rugged Josie staked and guarded mining claims in Pine Forest Range. She
built her cabin in Cove Canyon, and lived there 40 years.
MOLLY
FLAGG KNUDTSEN
Cattle Rancher, Poet and University
Regent
September 15, 1915 • New York, New York
Born into New York
high society, Thyrza Benson Flagg (Molly) attended London's King's College,
married three times, and settled in Nevada where she pursued ranching, writing,
and archaeology. Interested in rural education, she joined the University of
Nevada Board of Regents. Molly helped establish the University of Nevada Press,
the Department of Anthropology UNR, the community college system, the College of
Agriculture and the University of Nevada
WUZZIE
GEORGE
Native American Artist
Born ca. 1880 • Dixie Valley,
Nevada
A Northern Paiute whose ancestors were 'Cattail-Eaters,' Wuzzie
George practiced her native survival arts. While her parents worked, Wuzzie
spent her childhood days with Grandmother Mattie fishing, gathering berries,
tules and medicinal plants, making baskets and rabbit skin blankets and hearing
stories of her culture. Later in life, Wuzzie worked with anthropologist
Margaret Wheat to record Paiute customs, and appeared in a Smithsonian
documentary.
GEORGE WASHINGTON GALE FERRIS,
JR.
Inventor
February 14, 1859 • Galesburg,
Illinois
At age five, George Ferris, Jr. moved to Carson City, Nevada
with his family. In 1881, he graduated in Civil Engineering from Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute and founded G.W.G. Ferris & Co. in Pittsburgh. When
Exposition directors challenged American engineers to conceive a grand monument,
Ferris proposed a giant wheel and was initially rejected. At Chicago's 1893
World Exposition, one million people rode his Ferris
Wheel.
NICHOLAS BENTON ALEXANDER IV
Actor
May
26, 1911 • Goldfield, Nevada
Ben Alexander grew up in California and
began his film career at age five in Every Pearl a Tear. In the World War I epic
Hearts of the World, Alexander portrayed the brother of Lillian Gish's
character. In 1930, he played an amputee in All Quiet on the Western Front. In
the 1940s he worked in radio, and returned to 'on-camera' work from 1953-1959,
starring opposite Jack Webb in the television crime series
Dragnet.
HELEN DELICH BENTLEY
Newspaperwoman and
Politician
November 28, 1923 • Ruth, Nevada
Maryland republican Helen
Delich Bentley served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1985 until 1995.
She graduated from the University of Missouri, worked as a maritime reporter,
was editor of The Baltimore Sun and became a television producer. She served as
chair of the Federal Maritime Commission from 1969 until 1975. Bentley is an
active businesswoman, CEO of her own company, and an international trade,
business and government consultant.
A.E.
CAHLAN
Newspaper Tycoon
April 8, 1899 • Reno,
Nevada
Albert Cahlan majored in electrical engineering at the University
of Nevada. He came to Las Vegas as a teacher, and became a newspaper editor.
Cahlan transformed a weekly journal into Nevada's largest newspaper. He used his
media clout to influence community development and helped streamline the
counting of voter returns so that election results could be shared quickly. He
wrote his editorial column From Where I Sit for 40 years.
ROBERT
COLE CAPLES
Artist
November 26, 1908 • New York, New
York
Robert Cole Caples studied art in New York with Frederic Taubes. He
moved to Reno in 1924, attended the Community Arts School in Santa Barbara
California, and drew Native Americans for the Federal Arts Project during the
Depression. His art distills landscapes to their geographic shapes and
atmospheric essence, creating haunting and masterful works. He was known for his
portfolio People of the Silent Land: A Portfolio of Nevada
Indians.
CHRIS CARR
Professional Football
Player
April 30, 1983 • Reno, Nevada
A two-sport athlete in football
and basketball at Robert McQueen High in Reno, Nevada, Chris Carr distinguished
himself in his senior year as Northern Nevada Player of the Year and Offensive
Player of the Year. In college, Carr was a four-year letter winner at Boise
State. He excelled in the classroom as well, and won the Pat Fuller Memorial
Award for academic achievement. Carr signed with the Oakland Raiders as a free
agent in 2005 and in 2006 was their all-time leader in kickoff
returns.
JAMES E. CASEY
Industry Leader
March
29, 1888 • Pick Handle Gultch, Nevada
James Casey grew up in Seattle
during the Klondike gold rush. In 1907, he borrowed $100 and at age 19 founded
the American Messenger Company. With the motto Best Service and Lowest Rates,
the company delivered by foot, bicycle or motorcycle. Casey employed his brother
George and other teenagers. In 1913, his company merged with Evert McCabe's
Motorcycle Messengers, to form Merchants Parcel Delivery. In 1919, the
company
expanded and became United Parcel Service.
WALTER VAN
TILBURG CLARK
Writer
August 3, 1909 • East Orland,
Maine
Walter Van Tilburg Clark grew up and attended college in Reno,
where his father was University of Nevada president. In 1933, he married and
taught high school English in Cazenovia, New York, and began writing fiction.
Although known for his novel The Oxbow Incident, which eventually was made into
a movie starring Henry Fonda, Clark spent most of his life teaching English at
the University of Nevada, Reno. The success of his novels gained him literary
acclaim and notoriety as a western writer.
ELIZA
COOK
Self-declared First Woman Doctor of Nevada, Suffragist and
Temperance Activist
February 5, 1856 • Salt Lake City,
Utah
The daughter of English immigrants, Eliza grew up in Carson Valley,
where there were no schools. She read a home doctor book, which sparked her
interest in medicine. Eliza entered Cooper Medical College (now Stanford
University) in 1880, received her degree in 1884, and did graduate work in New
York. She practiced medicine in Carson Valley, helped form the Nevada Equal
Suffrage League, and tirelessly campaigned for equal rights and
temperance.
DAN DE QUILLE
Writer and
Humorist
May 9, 1829 • Knox County, Ohio
In 1857, William Wright left
his family in Iowa and ventured west to prospect for gold. He wrote articles on
mining for California newspapers. After hearing about the Comstock Lode, Wright
moved to Virginia City. He worked at the Enterprise newspaper, writing under the
pen name Dan DeQuille. His articles, stories and books captured the grit and
spirit of western mining. In 1863, Mark Twain worked under DeQuille's editorial
supervision.
FREDERIC J.
DeLONGCHAMPS
Architect
June 2, 1882 • Reno,
Nevada
Educated as a mining engineer at the University of Nevada,
Frederic DeLongchamps began his brilliant career in 1907 as an architect in
partnership with Ira W. Tesch. Though he had no formal training, he became
Nevada's most prolific architect, designing nine courthouses, many state
buildings and the Nevada Buildings for the Panama-Pacific International
Exposition in 1915. He was the only person to serve officially as Nevada State
Architect.
EILLEY ORRUM
BOWERS
Entrepreneur
September 6, 1826 • Scottish
Lowlands
Eilley Orrum Bowers helped settle the Washoe Valley. When her
Mormon husband was called to Salt Lake City, she moved to Johntown and ran
boarding houses for miners. Eilley became known as the Queen of the Comstock and
owned property on the Lode. She remarried to Lemuel S. 'Sandy' Bowers. They
became two of the region's first millionaires, and built the famous Bowers
Mansion, considered the ultimate resort.
FREMONT
CANNON
The University of Nevada, Reno's Wolf Pack and the University
of Nevada, Las Vegas's Rebels have been rivals since 1970 in the Battle for
Nevada. The winner of this intrastate football competition paints the wooden
carriage of a replica howitzer, the 545-pound Fremont Cannon, their school
colors, and displays it until the next annual game. The cannon is the largest
and most expensive college football trophy. Built by the Nevada Mines Division
of Kennecott Copper Corporation, it resembles one that explorer John C. Fremont
hauled west.
JOHN C. FRÈMONT
Explorer and
Politician
January 21, 1813 ï Savannah, Georgia
In 1888, Second
Lieutenant John C. Fremont of the Corp of Topographical Engineers began
surveying the West. Married to Jessie Benton, daughter of Thomas Hart Benton, he
led expeditions through the Oregon Territory, the Great Basin and the Sierra
Nevada Mountains. The first European American to see Lake Tahoe, Fremont saved
Kit Carson's life and became an American Civil War general, California senator,
Southwest Pacific Railroad owner and Arizona Territory
governor.
WILLIAM F. HARRAH
Businessman and
Casino Owner
September 2, 1911 JOHN C. FRÈMONT South Pasadena,
CA
During the Depression, mechanical engineering student William Harrah
left UCLA to work several family businesses, including a hot dog stand, a pool
hall and a bingo-style, Reno (or Circle) Game, which he turned into a
$50,000-a-year business at age 23. In 1937 he opened Harrahís Casino in Reno,
ran honest games and treated customers and employees fairly. Harrah helped
create the Nevada Gaming Control Board and the Gambling
Commission.
JAMES HULSE
Writer
June 4, 1930 •
Pioche, Nevada
A writer of philosophical and historical breadth, James
Hulse's historical works appeal to multiple audiences. Hulse has been a news
journalist, teacher, scholar and social activist. He graduated with a Ph.D. in
history from Stanford, University and taught at the University of Nevada, Reno.
His longstanding and popular book titles include The Nevada Adventure (which has
seen six editions), and Forty Years in the Wilderness: Impressions of Nevada
1940 - 1980.
WILLIAM P. LEAR
Inventor
June 26,
1902 • Hannibal, Missouri
Prolific inventor William Lear owned more than
100 patents for electronics across three industries. At age 20 he founded Quincy
Radio Laboratory, and designed car radios and amplifiers. His radio compass,
autopilot and automatic landing systems for aircraft aided Allied victory in
WWII. In the 1960s, he formed Learjet, and also invented the eight-track tape
player. In 1967, Lear bought land in Reno near a deserted airbase, hoping to
produce a pollution-free automotive engine.
LEGENDS RENO-TAHOE
OPEN
Since 1999, the world's best golfers have competed in northern
Nevadaís only PGA TOUR stop: The Legends Reno-Tahoe Open. This event draws 132
PGA TOUR professionals together in competition for a $3 million purse. The
tournament is operated and managed by the Reno-Tahoe Open Foundation, whose
members include RED Development, the Eldorado Hotel Casino, MontrÍux Development
Group, Reno-Sparks Convention & Visitors Authority, NV Energy and EMPLOYERS
Insurance Group.
GREG LeMOND
Professional
Cyclist
June 26, 1961 • Reno, Nevada
Cycling and the name Greg LeMond
are synonymous. In 1982 he won a silver medal at the World Cycling Championship.
In 1983 he became the first American to win a road cycling World Championship.
In 1986, he became the first American to win the Tour de France. LeMond missed
the race in 1987 and 1988, as he was recovering from being shot in a hunting
accident. His passion for cycling triumphed when he again won the Tour de France
in 1989 and 1990.
JOHN WILLIAM MACKAY
Capitalist
and Entrepreneur
November 28, 1831 • Dublin, Ireland
After
immigrating to New York City in 1840, John William Mackay later began mining the
Sierra Nevada foothills. In 1852, he partnered with three fellow Irishmen in
Virginia City. They reworked the Comstock Lode, and in 1873 struck the 'big
bonanza,' an ore body worth $100,000,000. Mackay opened the Bank of Nevada in
San Francisco, became a railroad director, dismantled the Jay Gould/Western
Union communications monopoly and founded the Postal Telegraph
Company
MAURICE McLOUGHLIN
Professional Tennis
Player
January 7, 1890 • Carson City, Nevada
Nicknamed The California
Comet, Maurice McLoughlin was the American West's first male champion tennis
player. In 1913, he became the first American singles finalist at Wimbledon.
McLoughlin blasted opponents with his powerful serve and controlled the court
with his overhead volley. He won the singles at the U.S. Championships in 1912
and 1913. From 1912 to 1914, he and partner Thomas Bundy claimed the doubles
title as well. In 1914, he earned the title World No. 1
Player.
ALBERT A. MICHELSON
Scientist and Nobel
Prize Winner
December 19, 1852 • Strelno, Prussia
In 1854, Albert A.
Michelson's family came to America, lived in New York and San Francisco, and
eventually opened a dry goods business on the Comstock. Michelson finished high
school in 1870, and lobbied for an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy at
Annapolis. He graduated there on May 31, 1873 and afterwards taught at several
universities. Recognized for his work in physics, in 1907 he became the first
American to win the Nobel Prize.
MINING THE
COMSTOCK
At the Comstock mine, the treasured ore lay deep below
unstable ground. Mining it challenged engineers and technology. Flooding, heat,
poison gasses and ore transport were troubling issues. Entrepreneur Adolph Sutro
built a tunnel running from Virgina City six miles southeast to Dayton, Nevada
which drained and ventilated the Comstock so miners could bring out the ore.
Timber to shore the mine was rafted either across Lake Tahoe or down the Carson
River to nearby lumberyards.
NEWTON H.
CRUMLEY
State Senator, University Regent and
Businessman
February 3, 1911 • Tonapah, Nevada
A University of Nevada
graduate and U.S. Army Air Corp pilot/colonel, Newton Crumley owned the
Commercial Hotel in Elko. In 1941, he initiated the idea of drawing casino
crowds with big name performers. He hired greats such as bandleader Ted Lewis,
Jimmy Dorsey, Lawrence Welk and the Andrews Sisters. Crumley owned hotels in
Elko and Reno, and served as state senator from 1954 - 1958 and on the
University of Nevada Board of Regents.
LUTE
PEASE
Cartoonist
March 27, 1869 • Winnemucca,
Nevada
News editorial cartoonist Lute Pease joined the Newark Evening
News in 1914. His distinguished 40-year career there earned him the 1949
Pulitzer Prize. His winning cartoon (titled 'Who, Me?') dealt with Union issues.
It showed United Mine Workers of America President John L. Lewis standing with a
pickaxe behind his back in front of a broken window marked 'Coal Strike.' A
blackrobed figure named 'Court Order' points blame at the labor
leader.
RAILROAD LABORERS
Chinese laborers built
America's first transcontinental railroad line across Nevada and over the
Sierras. They came from California gold rush country and Canton Province. Using
picks, shovels, black powder, and steady labor, they lay seven to 10 miles of
track a day. When the Central Pacific Railroad finally linked with the Union
Pacific in 1869, 12,000 Chinese were suddenly out of work. Thousands walked 800
miles back to San Francisco, but four thousand became miners in Tuscarora,
Nevada, making it the state's largest Chinese community.
BASQUE
SHEEPHERDERS
Nomadic Folk Artists
Sheepherding once
played a key role in the state's development. In 1900, 2.5 million head of sheep
grazed Nevada land, mostly tended by Basque immigrants. The historical record of
these sheepherders is etched in groves across northern Nevada high country, and
on Reno's Peavine Mountain. As the sheep grazed, they carved their names, dates,
images, messages, symbols, and thoughts into the Aspen trees. They also left
behind cabins, ovens, cellars, and stone cairns marking
boundaries.
RAYMOND I. 'PAPPY' SMITH
Casino
Owner
April 30, 1887 • Addison, Vermont
Raymond Smith made his way in
the world at age 14 working odd jobs. He began operating a roulette wheel at
country fairs. His reputation for running a fair game earned him a fair profit.
In 1936, he sent son Harold to Reno, and Harolds Club opened for business. Smith
and his two sons finally had a permanent home for their traveling 'carny' show.
In 1952, Harolds was the nation's largest gambling house. Smith rewarded his
community's support with generous donations to organizations and
causes.
JOHN SPARKS
Rancher and
Governor
August 30, 1843 • Winston County, Mississippi
John Sparks
joined the Texas Rangers in 1861, and protected settlers from the Comanche. His
passion for cattle ranching and opportunity led him to establish a series of
ranches in the west. Sparks invested in a Georgetown, Texas bank, and by 1883
controlled 6% of Nevada's land. His huge open-range cattle operation suffered
catastrophic losses during the harsh winter of 1889-1890. Sparks turned to
politics and was elected Governor of Nevada in 1902.
TY
COBB
Journalist
September 21, 1915 • Virginia City,
Nevada
Although named after baseball great Ty Cobb, Tyrus R. Cobb
approached sports from another angle - - a typewriter keyboard. Tyís career in
journalism began at age 13 as assistant to the editor for his Reno Boy Scout
troop's newspaper. He graduated from the University of Nevada in 1937 and worked
for the Nevada State Journal as a sports writer and sports editor. His popular
sports column Inside Stuff ran 20 years. He also wrote more than 2000 articles
for his column Cobbwebs.
SESSIONS S.
WHEELER
Writer
April 27, 1911 • Fernley,
Nevada
Sessions Samuel 'Buck' Wheeler earned his bachelors and masters
degrees from the University of Nevada, Reno. He taught at Reno High School for
30 years and served as Nevada's first State Fish and Game Commission director.
Wheeler wrote books about Nevada's great natural beauty, exploring topics such
as the Black Rock Desert, Pyramid Lake, and Nevada outdoorsmen. In 1963, the
University of Nevada awarded Wheeler the Distinguished Nevadan
Award.
BIRD MAY WILSON
Attorney, Suffragist,
Rancher and Stockbroker
May 20, 1865 • Sandoval, Illinois
The first
woman to practice law in California federal courts, Bird Wilson moved to
Manhattan, Nevada in 1906. She became the seventh woman admitted to the Nevada
Bar, and helped found the Goldfield chapter of the Daughters of the American
Revolution. Nevada's first female stockbroker, Wilson tirelessly campaigned for
women's rights, wrote and published 20,000 copies of the pamphlet Women Under
Nevada Law, and lobbied to protect women and children
SARAH
WINNEMUCCA
Native American Rights Advocate and Author
Born
ca. 1844 • Humbolt Sink, Nevada
Paiute Princess Sarah Winnemucca, whose
Indian name Thocmetony means 'Shell Flower,' was a translator for the U.S. Army
during the Bannock War and for her people when they were forced onto the
reservation. She became the first Native American to hold a copyright and
publish a book in English. Her story Life Among the Piutes chronicles her
people's first 40 years in contact with the white race. She traveled the U.S.
lecturing about the Paiute culture.
THE JACKASS
EXPRESS
The first U.S. mail service between California and Salt Lake
City began in 1851. For $14,000 per year, Absalom Woodward and George
Chorpenning contracted with the government to deliver monthly. The firm's
mail-carrying mule train was known as the 'Jackass Express,' or 'Jackass Mail.'
The first trip left Sacramento May 1, 1851, and struggled over the Sierras to
reach Carson Valley. Here a mail station was established, around which the town
of Genoa, Nevada grew.
BEN PALMER
Horse and
Cattle Rancher
Born ca. 1826
Ben Palmer was an entrepreneurial black
man who arrived in 1853 from Missouri, where he had been a slave. Palmer settled
in Carson Valley and laid claim to 320 acres. His sister Charlotte's white
husband David Barber claimed 400 acres. Together they sold grazing rights to
emigrants, cut grass for winter feed, and became respected horse breeders and
cattle ranchers. Although he was one of the largest taxpayers in Douglas County
in 1867, Palmer was not allowed to vote until after 1870
ROBERT
HASLAM
Pony Express Rider, 'Pony Bob'
Born January 1840 •
London England
Pony Express rider Pony Bob held records in speed,
stamina and courage. In March, 1871 he carried Abraham Lincoln's inaugural
address to California in just seven days and 17 hours. Lincoln's words sealed
California's loyalty to the Union. He also made the longest ride - 380 miles
roundtrip - forced by Indian attacks on stations and reluctant riders. Pony Bob
once rode headlong into a party of Native warriors, who let him pass because of
his bravery.
THE PONY EXPRESS
St. Joseph,
Missouri to Sacramento, California
April 3, 1860 to October 28,
1861
In 1859, Senator Gwin of California expressed to W.H. Russell of
Russell, Majors and Waddell (a firm operating the Overland Stage Line from the
Missouri River to Salt Lake City) his desire for a speedier delivery of letters.
Thus began the semi-weekly Pony Express delivery, whose operation included 500
mostly half-breed California mustang horses, 190 relay stations (29 in Nevada)
and 80 riders. Riders faced immense danger for $120 in pay per
month.
PROGRESS AND THE PONY EXPRESS
Pony Express
mail, from Missouri to California, arrived in 10 days, cutting overland stage
delivery time by more than half. Postage rates began at $5 in gold per
half-ounce, which was reduced to $2.50 and then to $1.00. Letters needed to be
sealed in envelopes bearing 10-cent postage per half-ounce. On October 24, 1861,
the Pacific Telegraph (strung along the Pony Express route), began sending
messages by wire, and put the Pony Express out of
business.
ROBERT LAXALT
Writer
September 24,
1923 • Alturas, California
Growing up in a Carson City hotel run by his
mother, Robert Laxalt led a storied life. He studied his Basque heritage in
France and Spain and worked as a journalist for the Nevada Appeal, Nevada State
Journal, United Press International, and the Wall Street Journal. Laxalt helped
found the University of Nevada Press and UNR's Center for Basque Studies. His
numerous writings on Basque life in America make him a voice for Basque
immigrants
JEDEDIAH SMITH
Explorer and Mountain
Man
January 6, 1799 • Bainbridge, New York
Teenager Jedediah Smith
joined a fur-trading expedition to the Rocky Mountains led by William Ashley.
Thus began a series of adventures that made Smith a celebrated leader in forging
Western Expansion. He was the first American to cross west over the Continental
Divide, to journey through the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and to open the coastal
trade route from California to Fort Vancouver. Smith was also the first white
man to cross the future state of Nevada. In 1871 he perished in an Indian
attack.
BRISTLECONE PINE
Pinus
Longaeva
Bristlecone Pines may be the hardiest and longest living of all
trees. In 1964, a tree name Prometheus was found to be at least 4,900 years old.
The Bristlecone grows just below the tree line in the high elevations of places
like Great Basin National Park. Harsh weather and a short warm season can twist
it into amazing shapes and cause it to grow slowly, which makes its wood dense
and able to resist pests and disease.
LAHONTAN CUTTHROAT
TROUT
A dietary staple of the Paiute, the predatory Lahontan
cutthroat trout once flourished in Pyramid, Walker and Tahoe lakes. A record
catch in 1925 of this large fish was a 39-inch-long, 41-pound cutthroat. The
mining camps consumed one million pounds of the trout annually between 1860 and
1920. Overfishing, inbreeding and the damming of spawning runs brought the
species to near extinction. Pyramid and Walker Lakes were restocked with a
smaller strain from Summit Lake.
THOMAS K.
DYE
Web Comic
April 18, 1969 • Reno, Nevada
Thomas
Dye began creating cartoons in 1984. The current resident of Seattle, Washington
has brought characters and comedy to life with strips such as Pet Sounds,
Newshounds, Something Happens, and the online graphic novel Manifestations. His
work is influenced by such classics as Hanna-Barbera's Tom and Jerry and Charles
Schulzís Peanuts. Dye also admires D.C. Simpson, Bloom County, and Monty Python.
Honoring his muses, Dye has been an actor, musician and
novelist.
LAKE TAHOE
22 miles long, 12 miles
wide, 72 miles ofshoreline, 1645 feet deep, fed by 63 tributaries, daily
evaporation = 330 million gallons
For centuries, the Washoe people spent
their summers fishing, hunting and holding sacred ceremony a 'Da-ow-a-ga,' or
'edge of the lake,' which explorers heard as 'Tahoe.' The discovery of the
Comstock Lode in 1859 brought masses of people who cleared Tahoe's forests to
timber the mines. Gambling arrived in 1944, along with the need for hotel
accommodations. Today development is balanced with Native wisdom for preserving
one of the world's cleanest lakes.
JOE
MARVEL
ProRodeo Hall of Fame Champion
June 26, 1955 • Battle
Mountain, Nevada
Joe Marvel loves ranching, riding and rodeos. His
father Tom taught Joe and brothers Mike and Pete how to break colts on the
family ranch. As a high school senior in 1973, he won state and national saddle
bronc riding titles. In 1974, Marvel won the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo
average title. He became a world champion in 1978 at age 23 and in 1979
qualified for the Wrangler NFR for the fifth and final
time.
SCOTT MENDES
Professional Bull
Rider
July 4, 1969 • Visalia, California
Scott Mendes began riding
steers at age five. Raised in Reno, he qualified for the Nevada High School
Rodeo Association finals at age 15. In 1988, he got his PRCA permit and reached
rookie status the same year. In 1992, Mendes started the Professional Bull
Riders association with 19 other pro riders. He won the NFR world championship
in 1997 and soon founded a not-for-profit ministry to help young rodeo riders
make sound life choices.
PYRAMID LAKE
188 square
miles, 29.8 miles long, 8.7 miles wide, 356 feet deep, 99.5 miles of
shoreline
Once the deepest point of ancient Lake Lahontan, Pyramid Lake
in Washoe County is fed by the Truckee River. Water leaves the lake only by
evaporation. With no outlet, this endorheic lake accumulates minerals and has a
salinity of 1/6th that of seawater. Explorer John C. Fremont named the lake for
the large tufa formations, such as Anaho Island and Needles. Fish species
include the Cui-ui lakesucker, the Tui chub and the Lahontan cutthroat
trout.
RENO AIR RACES
The Reno Air Races were first
organized and held in 1964 by Bill Stead at Sky Ranch, between Sparks and
Pyramid Lake. Today, the worldís fastest motor sport occurs over five days in
September at the Reno Stead Airport. From high performance aircraft to World War
II fighters, all compete in multi-aircraft, multi-lap races. Courses range
between three and eight miles, and planes exceed speeds of 500 miles per
hour.
PATTY SHEEHAN
Professional
Golfer
October 27, 1956 • Middlebury, Vermont
At age 13, athlete
Patty Sheehan was among the countryís top junior snow skiers. Focusing her
passion for golf, she won Nevada State Amateur (1975 ñ 78) and the California
Womenís Amateur (1977 ñ 78). As a pro, Sheehan swept the green with three LPGA
victories (1983 ñ 84, 1993), two U.S. Opens (1992, 1994) and one Dinah Shore
(1996), her 35th career victory. She also won the 1986 Samaritan Award and the
1988 Charles Bartlett Award for unselfish contributions
to
society.
SPARKS NEVADA
Once home to Native Washoe,
the region was settled by European Americans in the early 1850s. They promoted
western expansion by swapping out the tired livestock of California-bound
emigrants with fresh stock to carry them over the challenging Sierra Nevada
mountains. Named after state Governor John Sparks, the city grew in 1904 with
the building of a new Southern Pacific Railroad switchyard and with Reno's 1950s
housing boom. A local joke tells that Reno is so close to hell one can see
Sparks.