He was a big man with a large moustache and outsized energy. Born in 1874 in Villa de Maya, Spain, Julian Maisterrena was a Spanish Basque who came to this country at the age of 19 with his pockets empty. Julian worked in sawmills and as a sheepherder, and tucked his meager salary away. Before […]
Civil War Fashion
Women’s fashion during the Civil War was really something. Dresses ran the gamut depending on the woman’s imagination — and whether she was wealthy enough to afford a high-end sewing maven to craft clothes for her. It was, after all, a time of war. So even women’s dresses often took on a “military” look. But […]
Alpine County’s First D.A.
We stumbled across the grave of Robert Marshall Briggs the other day in St. Patrick’s Cemetery in Jackson. It was a familiar name from Alpine’s early days. And that led to a story about a bandit, a hanging, how Mono County got its beautiful courthouse — and Alpine County’s very first D.A.. Robert M. Briggs […]
This Charming Markleeville Cottage Has a Story
One glance, and you just know this Markleeville cottage has a story! And quite a story it is. In 1864, this was the site of the Empire Meat Market, owned by a butcher named M. Peltier. To help promote sales, Peltier hired Augustus T. “Gus” Lee to run a meat wagon peddling his meat to outlying communities […]
Markleeville’s Oldest House?
This charming cottage may hold a giant secret: it just could be Markleeville’s oldest surviving original structure from its Silver Rush heydays. We know that the home is over a century old – photographs show it in 1905, when it served as the residence of George and Nellie Koenig. (George owned a bar known as Koenig’s Exchange, conveniently located […]
Silver Mountain City’s Stone Jail
If you’ve ever traveled California’s lonely Highway 4, you may have seen these mysterious stone ruins. They’re one of the few tangible remains of Silver Mountain City, Alpine County’s original county seat. This was the county’s jail, built in 1867 and built to last! Eighteen-inch outer walls were hewn from the volcanic cliff east of […]
Fredericksburg Cemetery Tale
Fredericksburg Cemetery It’s a tiny gem of a cemetery, nestled on the eastern shoulder of the great Sierra Nevada. It’s also the last remaining vestige of the once-thriving ghost town of Fredericksburg, one of Alpine County’s earliest settlements. Since its first burial in 1895, Fredericksburg Cemetery has become the final resting place for many Alpine pioneers — and remains home to […]
Lute Olds’ Nine Lives
Think you have problems? Carson Valley pioneer Luther Olds most likely has you beat. Among the disasters in his disaster-prone life: A “row” took place at his residence in 1858 in which women were said to be hanging out the windows in horror and several men were stabbed in the arm, back, and hand. Olds […]
Charles Fiske
Charles Fiske (or Fisk) was born in Vermont in 1813, and operated a store in Old Town, Maine for many years. He and his wife, Mary Ann (Eaton) had 13 children. Charles’ older brother Royal was a merchant in California, and although Charles wrote that he wished to see “fancy places,” he felt he […]
Black Bean Succotash
It’s summer . . . and time for picnic-on-the-back-porch fare! This quick and easy recipe takes just minutes to prepare, and uses all the good things of the season: fresh corn, cilantro, avocado, and of course, tomatoes! If you have a sous-chef in the household, put them to work crisping the corn tortillas while you […]
Food Fun
I’ve always loved vegetables. But spiralizing them adds a new dimension to cooking. I haven’t had so much fun with food since my sisters and I engaged in a cookie dough-throwing contest! (Mom did not approve). Spiralizing makes vegetables just plain fun. Good food is beautiful — and doesn’t this just look good enough to eat! For the recipe, click Here. […]
The Unsung Founder of Markleeville
Poor Jacob Markley. A century and a half after his death, the man who bestowed his name on the town of Markleeville remains mostly a mystery. Still, a few details of his life remain: Markley was born March 6, 1821 in Dundas, Ontario, Canada and emigrated to Virginia in his youth. In the late 1840s […]