150 Years Ago
Roads: The condition of the roads in Nevada was never much worse than today. At Gold Hill from the Imperial mine to the Sapphire mill, it is almost impossible to pass with a vehicle of any kind, mud being knee deep and with deep ruts. On the Washoe Grade the teams are blockaded and the roads impassible. Several of the mills in Washoe Valley have closed work on ore. On the Truckee route the mud is exceedingly deep and the coaches of the Pioneer Company barely succeed in making the trip. There is no immediate remedy. (Virginia Union)
130 Years Ago
A needed improvement: The Appeal meets people on the streets who suggest improvements. It struck us forcibly when a number of ladies called to see the editor. The place was strewn with old campaign newspapers twelve deep and the office hadn’t been swept out thoroughly since the Mormon Meadow massacre. It has just occurred to us that there is a vacant room upstairs that the ladies of Carson could furnish with Brussels carpet, plush furniture and a Knabe upright piano. Here the ladies could sit in the afternoon, bring their sewing and read the exchanges.
110 Years Ago
To be hanged: Patsy Dwyer sentenced to be hanged in the Nevada penitentiary for the murder of A. C. Williams, conductor on the Nevada Central railroad, once before killed a man and served a year in the Montana penitentiary for manslaughter. (Reno Gazette)
70 Years Ago
Bike and dog licenses: According to Chief of Police Jack Parker bicycle licenses went on sale yesterday. The dog licenses are selling at $1 for males and $2 for females. Bike licenses are going at 50 cents each.
50 Years Ago
Advertisement: “Walt Disney presents ‘Follow Me, Boys!’ with Fred MacMurray and Vera Miles — Century 21 Reno.”
20 Years Ago
Major disaster: President Clinton declared five Nevada counties as major disaster areas making federal resources available. Senator Richard Bryan said, “It’s just unimaginable. We live in a desert and it is usually dry. You can’t even trace the channel of the Carson River in places due to the flooding.”
Sue Ballew is the daughter of Bill Dolan, who wrote this column for the Nevada Appeal from 1947 until his death in 2006.
