The Nevada Appeal page plate from 1971 that was found by NDOT work crews.
Jim Seals with the Nevada Department of Transportation delivered this treasure to the Nevada Appeal on Wednesday. Seals dropped off a plate from the press from July 27, 1971. The metal plate was found by a NDOT worker on the side of the road near one of the many NDOT job sites around Carson City. The metal plate is an image of what would have been the front page and the back page of that day’s paper. The photos at the top of the page are of six candidates for “State Employe(e)s Association queen.” The ad on the bottom of the page is for the Carson Nugget. The full page ad (not pictured) was for Disco Wonderworld promoting a summer clearance sale.
Two things of note to us in the newsroom: The plate is made out of metal (appears to be tin) and today’s plates — we now use four to provide full color in all of our pages — are still made out of metal (aluminum).
And, if you think the cost of inflation of today’s newspaper (50 cents) is high vs. 10 cents in 1971; you would be happy to know a pair of jeans cost $3.99 and a jacket $4.77 in 1971.
If any readers lost the plate, please feel free to call me at 881-1221 or email me at atrumble@nevadaappeal.com and we would love to return it to you, if not we will recycle it with our other plates.
— Adam Trumble
