Still time to enter March photography contest

This warmer spring-like weather must agree with you photographers. We have already received a few photos for the March contest. You still have plenty of time to snap a picture of what March in Douglas County means to you and get it in to the museum before the March 31 deadline. Right now photos of lower heating bills might be what we love most about March.

Saturday, April 5, is our next Student Day at the Carson Valley Museum & Cultural Center. Cowboy poet Ken Gardner will be giving lessons on how to write cowboy poetry at 11 a.m. and again at 1 p.m. This is one of those events adults are going to love, but whether or not you bring the kids, don't miss Ken's informative and humorous talk. Ken's book, "Sleepin' in the Bunkhouse, Rhymes from Ranch and Range," is available in the Main Street Bookstore.

The next in the museum lecture series is 7 p.m. Thursday, April 10. A panel consisting of Guy Rocha and Carol and Martin Griffith will discuss "The Search for Spofford Hall: How Nevada History is Built." I have done a little research and discovered that Spofford Hall was not a building, but a person.

Andrew Spofford Hall was born in New York, but wound his way west, possibly arriving in Gold Canyon in the early 1850s. Hall's Station was a way station located on Gold Creek at the mouth of Gold Canyon. Rocha and the Griffiths have researched and found 1850 U.S. Census data showing that Andrew Spofford Hall lived in Gold Canyon at that time.

Did he own Hall's Station? Did Dayton exist before Mormon Station? Come to the lecture to find out. This lecture promises to be another exciting chapter in the debate over which was Nevada's first settlement - Dayton or Genoa.

All kinds of events are planned in May. First, the Genoa Court House Museum reopens for the summer season. The annual Douglas County Historical Society membership meeting is 7 p.m. May 15. All members need to plan to attend since this meeting will set the direction for the historical society for the next few years. Up for election are the offices of president, vice president and secretary. Your input is critical.

A couple of weeks ago we talked about DCHS membership. Yes, you do receive benefits, but more importantly, you have a direct say in how your museums are run, what they represent and where they head in the future. Remember, DCHS and its two museums do not receive any regular state or county funding. It's up to our members to help us keep our doors open.

Membership is not only easy, it's reasonable. A family membership for parents and students 17 and younger is only $40 for the whole year. Membership for a senior couple, 65 years and older, is $30 for the year. Go to our Web site, www.historicnevada.org and click on the DCHS link on the left. Then click on Membership or Membership Application. Applications are available at the main desk of the Gardnerville museum as well.

If you have any questions about anything mentioned here, contact the Douglas County Historical Society at the Carson Valley Museum & Cultural Center in Gardnerville at www.historicnevada.org or 782-2555. And if you have the time, the museum is always looking for interested volunteers.

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