Past Pages Dec. 31

130 YEARS AGO

The State Prison. Observations of the Unfortunates (continued from Friday) Every stage of crime, from the slayer of his fellow man, to the red-handed murderer who kills for gain can be seen in that vaulted room, from which a tomb-like odor greets the nostrils of the visitor peering through the massive iron grated door. There are as many social grades within the four walls as one would find in a small town. The "lifers" are the aristocrats. A visit to the prison will assuredly furnish food for several weeks of thought to a reflective mind.

100 YEARS AGO

The faithful burro is not a very high-priced animal, but a very valuable one to the hardy prospector. They travel over rough trails and become the best of friends. During the past few months several donkeys have been missing from the range, and it is believed they have been stolen. A donkey is worth much more to the man who lost him to the man who stole him, besides, stealing a donkey is a felony in Nevada (Wonder News).

70 YEARS AGO

Mrs. Zoe M. Riley, recorder and auditor of Ormsby County, today received good news that her sister, Mrs. Renie L. Adams, who resides in Honolulu, was unharmed by the Japanese attack on Hawaii. Mrs. Margaret Wheeler Dague passed a few days after her 100th birthday in Redlands, California. Mrs. Dague was the widow of Carson Mint coiner Levi Dague.

50 YEARS AGO

Nevada's 200th traffic fatality of the year went on the books this morning when a woman from Reno died when her car drifted onto a shoulder, left the road and tumbled over an embankment near Wadsworth.

20 YEARS AGO

Nevadans spent almost $6,000 for a hospital stay in fiscal year 1990, ranking the state fifth in the nation and contradicting statements made that progress has been made in reducing high heath care.

10 YEARS AGO

The Stagecoach General Improvement District plan to put "God Bless America" back on billing statements after an avalanche of phone calls, emails and letters.

• Trent Dolan is the son of Bill Dolan, who wrote this column for the Nevada Appeal from 1947 until his death in 2006.