Historical society wishes a happy New Year to all

It's time for us at Douglas County Historical Society to wish you a happy and healthy New Year. It's time for us to thank you for all you have done to make this a successful year for us and for the museums.

There are just a few days left in 2008. If you haven't already been, you might want to get into the Carson Valley Museum & Cultural Center in Gardnerville to see this year's Christmas trees and vote a time or two for your favorites. You might also want to get into the Main Street Bookstore to see what's on sale. Now would be a great time to pick up some See's Candies for your New Year's festivities.

Now is also the time to make sure you have your copy of the DCHS 2009 calendar. When we started the photo contests for this calendar, 2009 was so far away. Now it's just next week.

Next week is also the deadline for entering the December photo contest for the 2010 calendar. Bring photos into the Gardnerville museum or e-mail them to the address below by 4 p.m. Dec. 31. 

Jumping into 2009, Jan. 3 is the next Student-Senior Day when our guest speaker will be Ralph Chizek who will talk about ancient Hebrew pictographs. As usual, admission is free to all students accompanied by an adult and all seniors. Mr. Chizek will speak at 11 a.m. and again at 1 p.m.

Starting Jan. 16 and continuing until May 14, Mr. Chizek will be offering a watercolor class from 10 a.m. to noon at the Gardnerville museum. An accomplished artist, Mr. Chizek will be teaching watercolor technique. The Jan. 16 class will deal with what materials will be needed for the class.

Our lecture series continues in the New Year on Jan. 8 at 7 p.m. Mark Jensen will be speaking about the Dangberg Home Ranch. Tours of this most important historical landmark are now available and very reasonably priced. The lectures are free to the public and the Main Street Bookstore is open before and after each lecture.

Upcoming in February will be this year's melodrama, "Minden Hotel." Tickets are now available for the performances which will be Feb. 6-8. The cast this year is the best yet. This column will bring you candid shots from the rehearsals and weekly updates. Plan to buy your tickets soon. We always sell out early.

If you have any questions about anything mentioned here, please call the Douglas County Historical Society at the Carson Valley Museum & Cultural Center in Gardnerville at 782-2555. Visit our Web site at www.historicnevada.org. Remember, DCHS and its two museums, the Gardnerville museum and the Genoa Court House Museum, do not receive any regular state or county funding. It's up to our members and friends to help us keep our doors open.

Happy New Year!

n Contact Ellen Caywood at in2my2cats@yahoo.com or at 790-1565.