It was over 50 years ago when I first spotted this ancient, lonely headstone beside the river in New London, Connecticut. The cemetery itself was knee-high in weeds. Modern steel train tracks ran right beside this ancient holy ground. Hoboes who’d hopped off their ride huddled by their warming fires nearby. But even as a […]
W.E. Lindsey: Stone-Carver
Etched in Stone: The Work of W.E. Lindsey It all started out with just a name: W.E. Lindsey — which kept popping up over and over again in old newspaper stories. Lindsey, you see, was a marble cutter. And those old newspapers kept talking about Lindsey installing headstones. Beautiful […]
Three Bullets, Two Julias: Where Everyone Wound Up (Part 4)
Julia Lake’s wasn’t the only life snuffed out by those three bullets fired by an irate wife. (And in case you missed the earlier parts of this story, here’s where you can find Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3!) No, when Julia breathed her last on August 2, 1871, […]
The Story of Kermit Neddenriep
Put July 26th on your calendar. Three-quarters of a century ago on that same date, our community lost a local son. The year was 1944. The place: somewhere near San Romano, Italy. Europe was convulsing in the final, ugly months of World War II. Kermit Neddenriep had been cooped up in a foxhole for several days with his […]
Peters Station on Old Kingsbury Grade
Halfway up Kingsbury Grade once stood an early hotel known as Peters Station. If you were a teamster, this was the place to stop! Situated on a flat spot at a big bend in the trail, Peters Station was a welcome oasis where men and animals alike could eat, drink, and rest from their labors […]
Washoe City: The Cemetery Time Forgot
Tracks through the tall grass say people still visit the old Washoe City Cemetery. But the stories of its dead — and even some of their names — are long-forgotten. Here’s one little-known tale that’s survived: the life of Lorenzo Smith. His family was part-and-parcel of Washoe County’s early history. And you can still find his headstone here, amid […]
A Visit to Lake Shore House
Ahh, Glenbrook. Capt. Augustus W. Pray arrived here in the spring of 1860 with N.E. Murdock, G.W. Warren, and Rufus Walton, when no tourists had yet discovered its pristine beauty. Settling in the lush grasslands beside the lake, Pray and his companions built a log cabin, dubbing the site Glenbrook in a nod to the small […]
Snowshoe Thompson’s Headstone — Stolen??
Well, almost!! Here’s the fascinating tale about how Snowshoe’s grave got capped with concrete — and who’s sleeping in the long-forgotten grave next to him! Snowshoe Thompson, you may remember, exited this life on May 15, 1876 at his ranch in Diamond Valley, California. Just 49 years old, this giant of a man was likely felled […]
Virginia City’s Cemetery
So beautiful – and so many mysteries are buried here! We recently paid a visit to the historic cemetery on the outskirts of Virginia City. Here’s Tip #1: Be sure to bring your camera. (You’ll definitely wish you had one!) And Tip #2: Don’t count on it being a quick visit. If you’re like us, you’ll find […]
Gold Country Roses
Visit a historic old graveyard in Mother Lode Country to see the — roses?!? You bet! Plymouth Pioneer Cemetery off Highway 49 is a cool place to visit, all by itself. But it turns out that this pioneer cemetery’s roses are so special they even have their own Facebook page! (Just type “Plymouth Pioneer Cemetery Heritage Roses” […]
The Secret Life of Eugene May (Part 2)
We left off last week with the secret Eugene A. May had kept for over 50 years: his real name was Henry Head! He’d left his family back in Illinois after an emotional dispute with his step-mother. His own family in Empire may not even have known the truth. After Hank’s death in 1900, his widow, Eldorado, […]
The Secret Life of Eugene May (Part 1)
Eugene A. May was a long-time resident of of Empire, the early mining town east of Carson City. You might say he’s still a resident: his quiet grave is tucked in at the little Empire Cemetery, overlooking the valley. Little did we know when first saw his headstone — but May had a secret life! […]