We have an interesting few weeks coming up here at Douglas County Historical Society's two museums.
Student Day is Saturday, Sept. 1 where students are admitted free when accompanied by an adult at the Carson Valley Museum & Cultural Center in Gardnerville. Our special guest will be Debbie Byers portraying her grandmother, Mrs. Auguste Hellwinkel, who came to Carson Valley in 1910.
Performances will be at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. in the main gallery.
On Thursday, Sept. 13, the lecture series will feature Stan Paher, noted Nevada historian, author and publisher. Stan started his writing career in 1970 by completing "Nevada Ghost Towns and Mining Camps," a compilation of 670 ghost towns and 710 old pictures which show the towns, the mines and the silver mills in their heyday.
In addition to his own books, Stan publishes other authors who have written about the history of our state. Many of these works would be out of print and unavailable today if it weren't for his publishing company.
Stan's lecture and slide show will be about the first immigrants, Mormon station, the silver discovery in Virginia City and the satellite mining companies in locations such as Dayton.
The evening will include stories and history interspersed. Stan is a knowledgeable and entertaining gentleman; his lecture should be delightful.
Meanwhile, the gift shops in both museums now have the 2008 Entertainment Books on sale for $25. The books have coupons for discounts on everything from restaurants to hardware stores and from florists to ski resorts.
All the businesses featured are located in Reno, Carson City, Lake Tahoe or right here in our Valley.
Sept. 21 and 22 are the dates for the "Curse of the Hanging Tree." Tickets for this spoof on an actual historical event in Genoa are still available at both museums. Seating for each performance is limited, so some performances may sell out early.
And the end of September will bring the annual Candy Dance back to Genoa. The DCHS exhibit committee has taken one of the rooms upstairs in the Genoa Court House Museum and turned it into a remembrance of former Candy Dance weekends.
Don't miss this exhibit as it is on loan to the museum only for a short time.
Finally, for the month of September there is the DCHS Photo Contest. Anyone living in Douglas County is welcome to enter. Just take a photo of what September in Douglas County means to you and submit it to either museum.
A complete list of rules is available at both museums and included on each entry form.
September will not be the only photo contest; there will be one each month for the next 12 months while DCHS compiles enough of your photos to produce a calendar.
There will be 12 winning photos and a 2009 calendar highlighting what is so exceptional about Douglas County. We hope you are as excited as we are to see what everyone thinks about each month in our county.
If you have any questions about anything mentioned here, please call the Douglas County Historical Society at the Carson Valley museum in Gardnerville at 782-2555 or the Genoa Court House Museum at 782-4325.
Visit the Web site at www.historicnevada.org.
And, if you have the time, both museums are always looking for interested volunteers.
-- Contact Ellen Caywood by e-mail at in2my2cats@yahoo.com or at 790-1565.
