Carson City Past Pages for Thursday, July 11, 2013

140 Years Ago

Hank Monk, stagecoach driver, stopped in to the Appeal to say that it was “a very dusty day on Lake Bigler.” “You mean to say that there was a strong wind on the lake we suppose,” said our reporter. “Wind ain’t no name for it,” said Monk, “The white caps ran away up to Spooners’.” We confess that they would have struck up that high, but we suppose they did — or Hank wouldn’t have said so.

130 Years Ago

Barometer: Jim Townsend found that a gin bottle can be made to serve as a barometer. When the gin clouds up, bad weather happens and when the gin is clear, fair weather happens ...

120 Years Ago

Gloomy look at Austin: The bottom dropped out of silver market, and the Austin Mining Company closed down. Two hundred men are unemployed. The rumor is that the fewest men possible to keep the property intact would be put on at $2 and $2.50 per day. To have a miner with a family live in Austin on $55 to $70 per month is difficult, if not impossible.

70 Years Ago

Rations: Canned good rations will be cut for the next 12 months. Civilians will have to get along on 37 percent less canned fruits and juices and 21 percent less canned vegetables ...

50 Years Ago

Current best sellers: Fiction — “Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour — An Introduction,” Salinger; “The Sand Pebbles,” McKenna; “Fail-Safe,” Burdick and Wheeler; “Seven Days in May,” Knobel and Belley; “The Moon-Spinners,” Stewart.

30 Years Ago

A 1983 Nevada Appeal readership survey indicates a feature gathering a large number of “read often” votes are “Pages from the Past” column by Bill Dolan ...

Sue Ballew is the daughter of Bill Dolan, who wrote this column for the Nevada Appeal from 1947 until his death in 2006.