Our last story followed the life of Lorenzo Smith, whose family settled Pleasant Valley in 1856. At the time the Smiths arrived, there was no Washoe City yet. But that soon changed. The site had all the important amenities to fuel Virginia City’s thriving mines: abundant water from the nearby lake; convenient road access; and available timber on the […]
10 Best Sierra History Books
Here are some of our very favorite books about Sierra history. Okay, we confess — we could easily add a few dozen more (perhaps that’s our next list!) Nonetheless, we challenged ourselves to come up with just ten of our favorites. We hope this list will spur you to check out a few great Sierra […]
Old Carson Valley Creamery (Part 2)
The new Carson Valley Creamery proved a lucky thing for teamster Fritz Dangberg, who met his wife as a result of driving butter and cheese to Carson City. Other locals, too, were drivers for the Creamery. Dick Bartel collected milk from farmers in the East Fork area; Dolph Dressler picked up milk cans around Genoa; and Herman […]
Memoir Writers: How to Create a Get-Organized Tool Kit
Writing a memoir or oral history? You’ll find it helpful to put together a Memoir Writer’s Tool Kit ahead of time! What to include?? Here is a list of tools in my own kit: things I’ve found especially helpful for memoirs/oral histories. And the good news: they’re all small enough to keep in a handy […]
True Crime 1895: the Sarman Murder
The murder of 57-year-old Anna Sarman rocked Carson Valley in 1895. Anna and her husband, Fredrick, were living on the old Ferris Ranch about four miles south of Genoa, Nevada. Like so many local ranchers, the Sarmans originally hailed from Germany; they’d arrived in the Valley in 1882 and had lived peaceably there for a dozen […]
There Really Was a “Claire” behind Clairitage
Claire Marie Christy Dale adored historic buildings. Well, one historic building in particular: the old brick railroad station in New London, Connecticut. Our growing-up memories include ever-changing stacks of reports, letters, and newspapers spread out on the dining room table — all of which had to be moved before any meal could hope to be eaten. The […]
Ancient Survivor
We were driving home through the mountains recently when Rick suddenly swung the car around. “Look at that!!” he exclaimed, pointing. “That” turned out to be the largest sugar pine either of us had ever seen, towering 150 to 200 feet in the air. What a survivor! Rick estimates this ancient tree at over 300 years […]
Leek Spring: Where the Wagons Rested
If you’re a fan of Calif. Highway 88, you’ve probably seen the sign for Iron Mountain Road. It’s a pleasant back-country drive — and also a route with a great bit of history. As the road’s alternate name (“Mormon Emigrant Trail”) implies, this was roughly the route blazed by the Mormon Battalion in 1848 on […]
Memoir Tips: 3 Places To Start
A student in my Memoir class recently asked for some tips before interviewing her parent for a family history. It’s a common dilemma: “Where do I start??” There’s no one-size-fits-all answer, of course. But here are the suggestions I sent her – I hope they help you, too! (1) People: One easy place to begin is […]
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 […]