"THE WEEKLY OF STOREY COUNTY"

Virginia City ~ Virginia City Highlands Mark Twain ~ Lockwood Tahoe Reno Industrial Center

Vol. 33 • No. 9 Friday, February 28, 2020 Established 1987 Virginia City, Nevada 89440 50 CENTS The Comstock Dapper Duds at Father- Historical Foundation Daughter Day Awarded $5K grant BY JEN HUNT

BY JEN HUNT

Dads and daughters dering the street and visiting dressed in their best finery shops. The Comstock Histori- being, help us feel proud of visually beautiful. visited merchants all up and At Silver Sadie’s Old Time cal Foundation was recently where we have come from, down C Street last Saturday, Photos, Greg enjoyed a par- Dube “was on the Nevada February 22, 2020, for the awarded a $5,000.00 grant can inspire, challenge and State Museum board for ticularly brisk business, so from the NV Energy Foun- stimulate us, and make us Fifth Annual Father-Daugh- much so that he needed a 10 years and designed the ter Day in Virginia City. dation to support the design- feel healthier. mob Museum in Vegas, he wrangler outside the shop to ing of a new museum, “The For many, museums help designed the Nevada State Brilliant sunshine brought manage the flow of custom- Comstock Foundation Min- them visualize. Many people Museum in Vegas. He's done out all manner of fancy dress, ers and traffic. ing Milling Museum & Visi- have little interest in reading a lot of work on our museum including top hats and canes, It’s definitely a family tor Center,” an 8,800 square about historical events, but in Carson. So he's done work and the occasional mink event, sometimes with joyful foot structure which will be when they can see an artifact all over the state with historic stole. tears. an all-inclusive history of up close, they can't help but structures and museums. He Family Fun Christine from Liquid Blue the mining processes of the empathize with their fel- knows what the heck he's Comstock era. low humans who endured doing,” said Steven Saylor, At the Ponderosa, Gidget tells the story of a past event “NV Energy celebrates whatever historically event Executive Director at Com- said, “This is my favorite where a father and daugh- your continued commitment is being exhibited. Museums stock Foundation for History event. I get to watch all the ter, who hadn’t seen each to protect, preserve, and have the ability to draw peo- and Culture. fathers and daughters get other in thirty years, shared a restore landmark, historical ple into another time period dressed up and wander up long-overdue reunion at the While the site for the and down the street. It’s dance. and cultural properties, and and show that this event museum is still being dis- public locations,” said Lisa actually did happen. such a positive feeling and “Guaranteed tears,” cussed, Saylor is very excited great to see families do that.” Harris, Senior Foundation With the expertise of Mr. for the museum to be made she said, continuing with Administrator for the NV Pete Dube, architect of the a reality and the journey At Things, Things, and another memory. “We often Energy Foundation. Dube Group based out of will start as it should - at the Things, Debbie had similar have three generations. And museums are import- Reno, Nevada, and also a beginning. feelings. After a dreary win- The grandfather brings his ant entities. Museums can highly recognized museum ter, it’s particularly pleasing daughter, and her husband increase our sense of well- architect, the designs are to see so many people wan- Please turn to page 3 Please turn to page 5 COMSTOCK CHRONICLE Friday, February 28, 2020 Page 3 Grant, continued from page 1

A Unique & Eclectic Emporium 122 South C Street ~ Virginia City ~ 775-741-2973

Museum Interior Rendering

“When you go in, it will start out being Nevada’s primary industry in with Abner Blackburn discovering the 1800s, the building of hydroelec- gold in Dayton. He had a pan and a tric power was imperative to the Vir- pocket knife and he went over and ginia City’s economy. started digging in Gold Canyon. Spring in Judy DePuy, in her article Flumes When gold was discovered, every- of Truckee: Using the Power of the to see us one else went over and they started Sierra, wrote, “The reason for the doing it too but they were all headed hydroelectric plants was to replace at Things over to California to the Big Gold expensive, soot-producing coal and strike – some stayed though. And of wood power. By the late 1800s, Vir- & Things course we know the rest of the story ginia City mines were so deep that is 10 years later when they finally they required constant pumping & Things worked their way panning up Gold to remove groundwater. Heat also Canyon, they got up to the mother plagued the mines. The deeper into lode. So, in 1859 when California the earth the mines went, the hotter was going down everybody rushed they became. In some cases the air to the Comstock.” temperature would be 150°F with The museum will focus on the the water reaching 170°F. Steam- Check out our virtual tour on our website equipment they used which were driven Cornish pumps were effec- rockers and pans and what the min- tive for a while but the expense of www.virginiacitythings.com ers were able to accomplish with the the electricity and drop in value of tools they had. These miners used silver forced mine owners to find open pit mining until their lust for cheaper power alternatives.” gold drove them deeper into the “Electricity actually saved the earth. Comstock,” says Saylor and that is “That's why most of them sold out why he wants to include historical, because they didn't have the hard- electrical power memorabilia. “Part ware to do that,” said Saylor. of the museum will be dedicated to Then the museum will focus on the power of mining and milling and the next phase of mining, the deep that will phase into electric.” Hear ye, hear ye. tunnel mining. And this museum is not just the Let it be known far and wide that the 75th birthday of the “We'll move into that phase of hard work of Saylor alone, but a Right Honorable Robert Hardwicke will be celebrated in most excellent it where they started using bigger committee dedicated to preserving fashion on February 29, 2020, at 1300 hours at the Bucket of Blood Saloon. equipment and then later on the Comstock history. massive pneumatic drills so you'll Bob Nylan, curator from the Mr. Robberbarron Halloween will be joined by friends, family, and his see the progression of mining and Nevada State Museum, Garret ever-patient wife Maryann to recognize and honor his profound the Cornish pumps and all of that.” Barmore, curator from the Keck mostly-positive impact. Notably the exceptional meritorious service Another section of the museum Museum, MacKay School of Mines, to the residents of Piedmont and greater Los Angeles, Engineering will also be dedicated to John Mack- Joe Curtis, curator and designer of Department of the USS Vesuvius, and Government of the ay’s efforts to bring electrical power the Fireman’s Museum and the new United States in duties of great responsibility.

up the mountains. Slammer Museum in Virginia City, Bill Watson, curator of the Thun- Sir Ralph Hamswicke is a renowned gentleman of liberal education, In the “1900s,” said Saylor, derbird Lodge, Incline Village, and refined manners, curious frog obsessions, punctilious courtesy, “Mackay and some other guys Don Bergstrom and Johnye Saylor, profoundly expansive vocabulary, and the nicest sense of personal honor. started building a hydroelectric Board Directors of the Comstock Periodic lapses in hygiene aside, Mr. Harpsichord is the soul of tact, patience, justice, fairness, kindness, and charity. power plant down in Reno by Floris- Foundation. ton. So while they were building the plant they were running power to Together with Steven, these tal- It can be said of Roundabout Heartache that the fortunate souls who the Comstock. It took a year to build ented and driven individuals are have had the privilege of his friendship have discovered where spirituality, knee socks, citizenship, date milkshakes, service, eccentric music, radical but they were ready to hook up the excited to see history preserved and presented for public viewing acceptance of attention-seeking rowdiness, and Dead Sea minerals Comstock to electricity because there fit into their enriched lives. wasn't anything left to burn.” because like them, we all want to safe what we can of the history we’re Even back in the 1860s, the need so proud of. Please join us to toast and celebrate this one of a kind person with glasses for electric power was apparent of Chartreuse hoisted towards the heavens. To Sir Phrog! Nostrovia! since the miners were stripping the “We're not just a building. We’re land of trees and coal was expensive. the whole Comstock Historic Dis- The discovery of the Comstock Lode trict, the Landmark District, so we in Virginia City fuel the decision to cover the whole 17,000 acres. So our cross over 40 miles of desert to bring focus is Virginia City, Gold Hill, Sil- electricity into the deepest regions ver City, Dayton, Sutro, and every- of the mining industry. With mining thing in between.”