Museums hold fundraiser,September photo contest

The 2008 entertainment books are on sale for $25 at both museums. The entertainment book offers discounts at restaurants, retail stores, groceries, movie theaters, with savings up to 50 percent off dining and 70 percent off travel.

The entertainment books also benefit our Douglas County Museums. As many of you know, our museums receive no money from either the state or the county. Our operating funds come solely from donations and fundraising efforts such as the sales of these books.

Thursday, Stan Paher will be the featured speaker for our lecture series. Stan has made a career out of researching and publishing the history of gold and silver mines and towns in Nevada. His lecture features a slide show with commentary, quips, stories and some of his own adventures in mapping out the locations of these Nevada treasures. Join Stan at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Carson Valley Museum & Cultural Center in Gardnerville. After his lecture, he will answer questions and offer some of his many books for sale.

The annual Candy Dance weekend is Sept. 29 - 30 where Genoa's population soars as people come from all over the west to see the craft fair and buy homemade candy. The Genoa Court House Museum is open for both days of the Candy Dance Craft Fair and has featured artists and craftsmen on the front lawn with their wares. If you are taking in all the wonderful vendors at the craft fair, stop by the Genoa Court House Museum to see the new Candy Dance exhibit and the local artists. The museum is open daily from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. until Oct. 7. They are closing early this year for some needed repairs and upgrades.

Congratulations are due to the DCHS Exhibit Committee and Laurie Hickey for their exhibit at this year's Nevada State Fair that took third place and won $100 for the historical society. Using the fair's theme, Spirit of Nevada, the exhibit was built around the origins of Douglas County, the pioneers and the ranches. In addition to a backdrop featuring a map of some of the original landmarks and a timeline with photos dating from 1827 to 1864, the exhibit included the farm boards and history of most of our original ranches. The exhibit is Douglas County: Where the Spirit of Nevada Began.

Laurie and the exhibit committee plan to install the exhibit in the Gardnerville museum in January so all of us who live in Douglas County can see it. I will let you know in this colum when it will be open for viewing.

Finally, please don't forget the photo contest. Now that it is actually September, all you need to do is to snap a picture of your favorite image of September in Douglas County and enter it at either the Carson Valley Museum in Gardnerville or the Genoa Courthouse Museum in Genoa. The photo doesn't need to be professionally done, just truly representative of September in our county. Enter anytime Sept. 17-28. Good luck!

If you have any questions, call the Douglas County Historical Society at the Carson Valley Museum & Cultural Center in Gardnerville at 782-2555 or the Genoa Court House Museum at 782-4325 or go to 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.