EDITOR:
My prayer to the Lord, Christ Jesus, is that his Holy Spirit will comfort the families of Ted Bacon, the man that died with Ted, as well as the three men still fighting for their lives. May The Lord have mercy on those three men and restore their lives from this tragic accident. The Holy Spirit seems to really move when people say "Yes Jesus," and mean it.
I first came to know Ted around 1953-54. He was knocking on the front door of our home on 10th Street in Minden. It seems that one of Doc and Laverne Pasek's boys had gotten a new BB gun and was hunting birds in their small apple orchard.
Well, he missed the bird, missed the tree, and caused a "ping" sound. This discovery was immediately shared with his two brothers. Ted was very respectful to our mom and talked quietly and low-key. He said not to worry because he was going to replace those old panes anyway. He just didn't want to have to keep coming back.
The old abandoned barn was last used to house the original Nevada Magazine that was published/owned by a man named Crossley. Harry Winkelman and Ted must have forgiven me because they always waved and said hello. There was some leather tanning going on at the house that day.
I first came to know Mrs. Bacon around 1963-64. She and their little girl Kate would always be at the bus stop, around 1:30 p.m., waiting for their son Ned to be dropped off from school (first or second grade, if I remember correctly). There was no doubt in my mind that this was one close family.
I came into contact again with Ted in 2005-08, due to a mutual business interest. During this time of talking and renewing memories of the preceding approximate 55 years, he had a confession about something that interested me. He said that he had received all the glory when in fact a lot of the work was done by a couple named Betty and Jake. His eyes told me that he really liked those people.
Through my dad, I had come to know (or know of) many well-to-do men in Douglas, Lyon, Mono, and Alpine counties. All seemed to be from the "old school" and most seemed to be "old fashioned." Ted allowed me to lightly kid him about this. What I finally realized was that those "old" qualities, traits, disciplines, and teachings that worked when these people were young men, work today "new", and are every bit as successful.
Another thought was that someone should write a book about the "Gentle Men of Carson Valley." They could start on the California side of the state line at Fredricksburg, and zigzag back and forth through the valley to the Carson City line. It would be a hoot and actually a good read.
Yes Jesus...Always.
Gene Pasek
Ruenstroth
