February is more than half over and March is coming. Keep your date book handy because we have a whole lot going on to help you fill it up.
Next week we will start a new contest. We'll ask you a question and you will be able to find the answer inside the Carson Valley Museum & Cultural Center in Gardnerville. When you find it, be the first to give the answer to the front desk docent in person - no phone calls will be allowed. If you are the first, you win the prize.
For our photographer friends, the monthly photo contests are still going on. Right now we're looking for your idea of what really says February in Douglas County. And we are having some glorious weather for photo taking. Take a photo or two and send them in by Saturday, Feb. 27. You can deliver photos directly to the museum or e-mail them to the address below.
March 4 is the deadline for submitting your choice for the Douglas County Women in History project. Nominees need to be women who have lived in Douglas County at some point in their lives and who have contributed to the quality of life here. Call 782-2555 or Helen Chappell at 721-7979 for further information and a nominating packet.
The next Student-Senior Day is March 6. This month we will be featuring our reading play, "Portrait of a Pioneer Lady," written by Grace Dangberg and Bea Fettic Jones. For those homeschooling, this is a dialog about life in the valley during the latter half of the 1800s. This could be a great way to teach your child about life before electricity, telephones, etc. Performances will be held at 11 a.m. and again at 1 p.m. at the Gardnerville museum.
March 11 at 7 p.m. is the next historical lecture. Our speaker will be State Archivist Jeff Kintop who researched the location of old Mormon Station. His conclusions place the old station right where Mormon Station State Historic Park is in Genoa, not one mile north of the town as historical markers indicate.
Kintop will discuss his research and finding during a lecture entitled, "Where the Heck is Old Mormon Station?" Kintop's slide presentation includes a Supreme Court case he uncovered while doing his research. In the case, Joseph Jones vs. John Q. Adams, many of Carson Valley's first settlers testify as to where they were and what they were doing in the 1850s.
The lecture series is free to all Douglas County Historical Society members but we charge $3 per person for nonmembers. This is one more example of how your DCHS membership benefits you as well as your local museums.
For questions, contact the Douglas County Historical Society at www.historicnevada.org or at the Carson Valley Museum & Cultural Center in Gardnerville at 782-2555. Remember, DCHS and its two museums in Gardnerville and Genoa don't receive any regular state or county funding. It's up to our members and friends to help us keep our doors open.
Contact Ellen Caywood at in2my2cats@yahoo.com or 790-1565.