Museum hosts conference on Nevada history May 16-17

RENO - The Nevada Historical Society will host the Sixth Biennial conference on Nevada History at the Museum, 1650 N. Virginia St. May 16 and 17. The theme for this year is The Silver State at the End of the Twentieth Century. Previous conferences have featured scholars dealing with many critical issues of our past, but this gathering is the first that deals with our history from a contemporary point of view.

Among the issues to be explored are the history of ranching in the Truckee Meadows and the relationship between ranching and urban development by Susan Imswiler, University of Nevada Oral History program. This session will also feature a presentation by Mary Larson, Getting on Down the Road: Making a Living at Rodeoing, Then and Now, a study of cowboys and cowgirls as well as a commentary on the significance of rodeos as tourism promotions in Reno and Las Vegas.

The session on Nevada Politics will feature a lecture by Dr. Richard Siegel, Political Science Department, University of Nevada, Reno, On Becoming a Normal State, a focus on the genesis and prognosis of recent and contemporary social problems. Nevada's water controversies will be placed in historical perspective by Bary Dahlbert, The New Deal Federalizes the Truckee, and Brad Lucas will deal with a recent issue, the May 5, 1970 Governor's Day Protest at the University, an event many of us remember. Another Look at the Stout Affair, an early 1950s controversy over academic freedom by De Kilele will complete this session. This is another issue many Renoites may recall.

There will also be a session on law enforcement featuring Frank Adams on Nevada men who have died in the line of duty, Phillip I. Earl on the first two Indians executed by the Nevada State Prison, Two For the Gallows: The Saga of Joe Ibapah and Indian Johnnie. The history of Las Vegas will be the subject of a session by Fran Campbell, Community College of Northern Nevada, on Helen Stewart's Visions, Hopes and Concern for Turn-of-the-Century Las Vegas. DeAnne Beachley of the same institution will speak on The Mesquite Club and the vision of Las Vegas. Helen Stewart was the valley's most prominent early-day settler and the Mesquite Club, still functioning today, was the city's first female social and civic organization.

The same session will feature Michael Green, Community College of Southern Nevada, on Nevada History and Historiography: The Two Elliotts, a comparative study of the work of the late Russell R. Elliott and that of Gary Elliott, a contemporary scholar. There will also be a lecture by Elmer Rusco, a contemporary scholar, The Chinese and Nevada Partisan Politics, 1861-1890, and two programs on Nevada's Native American Heritage. Nevada's brewing industry will be featured in a program by Robert Nylen, Nevada State Museum, and Eric N. Moody, Nevada Historical Society, Something Old That's New Again: The Revival of Nevada's Brewing Industry at the End of the Twentieth Century.

Schedules for other lectures and programs are available from the Nevada Historical Society at 688-1190, ext. 0. Reservations are not necessary for the conference and there is no charge to the public.