Dues for 2017 are due

CCHS works on a fiscal year beginning January 1 and ending December 31. Dues for 2016 are $25 for single membership (1 vote) and $35 for a family membership (2 votes). Dues are generally due in January of each year.

Annual dues can be mailed to CC Historical Society, 112 N. Curry St., Carson City, NV 89703. A membership form is available at http://cchistorical.org/CCHS_Membership_form.pdf.

The Carson City Historical Society is a Nevada nonprofit organizations.

Carriage House $1000 Challenge a Success

February 18, 2017: The Carriage House $l000 matching challenge to complete the Carriage House is concluded and was a success. As of the Feb. 17, 2017, deadline for providing funds to be matched, $1870.50 was raised. The first $1000 of this is being matched, dollar-for-dollar, by David and Elinor Bugli.

The money raised by this will go for needed items, such as refrigerator, microwave, chairs, and card tables. We thank all who donated to this.

Update on Coins
March 2017

The eleven silver coins, which we recently received from the estate of the late LINDA CHRISTIE, were on display at the March Board Meeting. Ten were CC coins. All were immediately sold to Northern Nevada Coin for the impressive sum of $3,763. ALLEN ROWE gave us a little better price because of our fires, our being a Historical Society, and his realization of our community importance in saving history.

JUDY HANKS gave us a little history on the coins. LINDA CHRISTIE had an uncle serving in the Air Force at Stead Air Base in the mid-1950s. When he visited LINDA, he would take her a coin as a memento of his affection with the proviso the coins were not to be spent, but to be used in her retirement for something special. LINDA and her partner JUDY HANKS decided the coins should be returned to their home - Carson City. We are extremely grateful to LINDA and JUDY for their unselfish decision.

Arbor Day Capital Tree Walk
Friday, April 28, 2017

In 2013 the Carson City Historical Society presented a "walking lecture" on the "History of Trees in Carson City" by arborist Tom Henderson of Healthy Trees. (He is pictured, leading that tour.) We encourage you to join with Tom Henderson for a fascinating tour of these legacy trees on Arbor Day, Friday, April 28th.

Nevada's Capitol grounds include some of the oldest and largest trees in Carson City. According to historical records, trees for planting on the Capitol grounds were purchased in 1876 by George Washington Ferris, who had them shipped from his prior residence near Galesburg, Illinois. The trees were apparently shipped by rail to Sacramento and then to Carson City. Among the trees selected were sugar maple, honey locust, mountain ash and American elms. Mr. Ferris was instrumental in populating frontier Carson City residences with trees. Prior existing cottonwood trees on the Capitol grounds were taken down in favor of more desirable species. It is likely that some of the trees on the Capital grounds today were among those planted in 1876.

The walking tour will begin on the north steps of the Capitol in the afternoon (time to be determined). As parking is limited, attendees may wish to carpool, walk, bike or use public transport. For further information, contact Tom at 775-224-3827.

Reconstruction of Foreman-Roberts House Museum Begins
April 21, 2017

On April 21, the Central Sierra Construction company looked over Foreman-Roberts House to plan their attack on repairs. On April 25 serious work began, an important step forward.

At right, Kyle Whitfield assists Horace Costanza as he cuts a piece of wood for the south porch frame. The south entrance was the part most damaged by the fires last August.

Leisure Hour Club Makes Generous Donation
April 19, 2017

On April 19, 2017, the Leisure Hour Club, Carson's oldest social club, gave the Historical Society $500 towards repairs. We are most appreciative of the club's generosity. You may have seen the picture of the check-passing ceremony in the Nevada Appeal in the Sunday, April 23, edition. Several board members were present as the giant check was ceremoniously passed to our President, Gary Cain, who was seen wearing a tie! We thank the Leisure Hour Club for their generosity.

Emphasis on Early History of Carson City
Seeking Authenticated Items, Documents, etc.

April 2017: The emphasis of Foreman-Roberts House Museum is to showcase early history of Carson City and Ormsby County. We are hoping you, your relatives, or your friends may have authenticated items, documents, or whatever that can be exhibited in the house. Please call Gary Cain, President, 775-885-7643, with information or questions on possible historical items available, or come to the next Board meeting on Monday, May 8, 1:30 p.m., in the Carriage House. This is an advance notice, as it will probably be fall before the Museum is ready to be refurnished. Thank you for your consideration of our request.

Shown at right is Abraham Curry, Founder of Carson City.

Hattie Hale Robert's Typewriter Repaired
Thanks to the Hamiltons

Bud, Jean, and Ken Hamilton (Hamilton Business Machines) repaired Hattie Hale Roberts' typewriter which Hattie used during her employment with the State Legislature. The typewriter is shown with its cover. It is a Smith Premier model #2. The keyboard is unusual in that the capital letters are in three rows of keys on top and the lowercase letters are in the lower three rows of white keys. Another feature of the typewriter was that the typist could not see the letters being printed on the page as he or she typed.

We send a big thank you to the Hamiltons for their service! This is a wonderful donation by long-time members.

Special Board Meeting on Collections and Acquisitions
Monday, July 3, 2017

The CCHS Board will have a special Board meeting on Monday, July 3, 2017, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon, to discuss and take action on collections and acquistions.

From 9:00 to 10:00 a.m. the Board will hear a presentation by Gail Allen, Collections Manager at the Douglas County Historical Society, who has agreed to meet with us to review collections policies, present cataloging techniques, and help us decide on the focus for the Foreman-Roberts House Museum going forward. She will also demonstrate how to properly handle the items we will be sorting through.

From 10:00 a.m. to noon, the Board will start to review and sort through the many boxes and items currently in the Carriage House with the goal of determining what will go back in the Foreman-Roberts House and what will not. We will start to catalogue and create an inventory of our items. Several active volunteer members have been invited to assist in the process. If you are interested in being involved, contact Debbie Lane at 775-841-4456.

First Yard Sale of 2017 is planned
Saturday, July 8, 2017

The first yard sale of 2017 will be Saturday, July 8, 2017, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and 14 vendors have requested space, according to Nina Spradlin. Inside the Carriage House, we will be selling items from the Foreman-Roberts House including the A.B. Chase organ, a fainting couch, metal folding chairs, and miscellaneous items. Come see what is for sale, make offers, and donate. Any help in the Carriage House, as well as visiting the vendors, will be appreciated. Vendors will offer antiques, collectibles, jewelry and crafts. The Foreman-Roberts House is located at 1207 N. Carson St., Carson City.

We will have a second Yard Sale on Saturday, Aug. 5. Call Nina at 775-882-4726 for information or to reserve a space.

Jim Thorpe Video Collection in Carriage House
July 2017

Many of Jim Thorpe's video tapes have a new home in the Carriage House starting this month. Over a span of many years, Jim video recorded numerous meetings, lectures, ceremonies, sporting events, Nevada Day parades, concerts, and other events in Carson City, mostly on VHS and Super VHS tapes. In an April 8, 2014, interview, Jim claimed to have about 4000 tapes, some of which were personal ones which he did not wish to share with the public. However, most of them were of Carson events, and he kept an index of his recordings on a series of yellow legal pads. We are storing about 1072 of these tapes and the index that Jed Block acquired for CCHS from Jim before his death, and we hope to eventually obtain some of his other tapes related to Carson City history from his family. The tapes are not necessarily well organized at this time, but they reflect a wide range of interesting topics.

A sample of tapes from one randomly selected box includes the following: Nevada State Museum tapings of "Slot Machine History by Marshall Fey" (1999), "Mammoths of the Black Rock Desert" (1999), "Native American Basket Collection" (1999), "Historic Archeology of the Carson City, US Branch Mint" (1999), "A Cowhand's Song: Crisis on the Range" (1999), "The Lives of Nevada's Women in History" (2000), "The Silver Service of the Battleship U.S.S. Nevada" (2000), and "200 Years of Doll Makers and Their Art" (2000); a Leisure Hour Club taping of "The School Bond Issue" (2002); a Nevada State Railroad Museum tape on "Snowbound Streamliner" (2000); and a Carson Middle School tape on "Flag Retiring Ceremony & Veteran Commemoration" (2002).

It will not be an easy process to properly handle this legacy of Carson City history. The likely first phase of dealing with these tapes is to organize them and do a proper inventory. Because of the unstable nature of the VHS media, we eventually want to transfer many of these tapes to more modern and stable media, such as hard drives.

CCHS 501(c)(3) Status Restored
Aug. 10, 2017

We are happy to report that the Carson City Historical Society's 501(c)(3) status with the IRS has been restored! Donations made to CCHS are now deductible for IRS purposes.

We appreciate the efforts of Mike Williams, our new Treasurer, and of Jed Block for helping us to achieve this goal.

Annual Ice Cream Social
Saturday, August 12, 2017

The annual CCHS Ice Cream Social is Saturday, August 12, 2017, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. (new time this year) at the Foreman-Roberts House Museum, 2107 N. Carson St., Carson City. Free entertainment will be provided by the Millennium Bugs. The Carson City Historical Society sponsors this event.

Enjoy ice cream and other refreshments for only $3. Exhibitors will be at the event to discuss their projects and interests.

The Ice Cream Social is during the second weekend of the Jazz & Beyond Carson City Music Festival. For more information about the festival, go to JazzCarsonCity.com.

If you have questions, contact Gary Cain at 775-885-7643.

Preserving Carson City History
by Debbie Lane, Second VP, CCHS
Published online 8/25/2017

The history of Carson City is replete with wonderful stories about local places and people, such as the Capitol, the Carson Mint, the Nevada State Children's Home, the Nevada State Prison, the Chinese who lived and worked here, Carson City residents and Nevada founders who created and shaped Nevada history (such as Abraham Curry, William Stewart, Charles W. Friend, James Nye, Duane Bliss, Hannah Clapp, Judge Clark Guild, and many others), the impact of the Comstock Lode, the V&T Railroad, the Corbett-Fitzsimmons fight (see picture), and on and on. We want the CCHS to tell these stories!

The arson fires at the Foreman-Roberts House last year created an opportunity for the CCHS Board to rethink and clarify our organization's mission and collections policy. As we regretfully returned some of the contents of the house to their rightful owners (such as the Nevada State Museum) and moved the rest to the Carriage House for storage, the Board decided to align our collections policy more closely with our stated mission: "Éto collect, preserve and present the history of Carson City for research and educational purposes for the public at large." To this end, we have researched collections policies of other historical societies, had a speaker come talk to the Board about collection approaches, and subsequently decided to take a fresh approach to the Carson City Historical Society's future focus in the Foreman-Roberts House.

A committee has been formed of several Board members and interested members to review each of the items we have moved to the Carriage House to assess the "Carson City connection" of each item. Is it somehow connected to Carson City history? Where was it made? How did we acquire it? Would it help us tell a Carson City story? Items that do not seem to fit these guideline are being considered for sale or return to the original donor, if we have that information in our files. The items that we know fit our mission will be cataloged and marked and placed back into the house when it is ready. This group of volunteers has been hard at work over the summer, and we thank everyone for their time and commitment to this tedious but vital work!

If you see we have items for sale, know that each one has been carefully reviewed and assessed for its "fit" with the Historical Society's purpose. Thank you for your support of our efforts.

Second Flea Market of the Summer
Saturday, September 16, 2017

The Carson City Historical Society's second and last flea market (yard sale) of the summer will be on Saturday, September 16, 2017, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Come find that special item from one of the 12 vendors who will be offering antiques, collectibles, crafts, and jewelry.

The sale is in the Foreman-Roberts House Museum park located at 1207 N. Carson Street.

(Note: This event was originally scheduled for Aug. 15.)

General Meeting Scheduled
for Sunday, September 24, 2017

You are warmly invited to attend a General Meeting on Sunday, September 24, 2017, at 1:30 pm, at the Carriage House. No reservations are necessary. After a brief business meeting, there will be a walk-through of the Foreman-Roberts House so you can see, hear, and hopefully not smell smoke from the fires. Repairs to the Foreman-Roberts House will be pointed out.

We are looking forward to seeing you on the 24th.

Dolls and Teddy Bears Sale
Saturday, October 7, 2017

CCHS is hosting a Dolls and Teddy Bears sale on Saturday, October 7, 2017, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m in the Carriage House. If you have dolls or teddy bears in very good or excellent condition to donate for the sale, please call Paula at 775-887-8865.

We need helpers to make this sale a success. Perhaps you can donate a couple of hours?

The event it free.

Jan Perry Memorial
Posted: Oct. 26, 2017

Many of you remember Janet Perry who passed away two years ago. At Jan's passing there was no service or way for us to express our feelings about Jan and all the work she had done for the Carson City Historical Society in the more than 30 years she was a member. Recently the local Presbyterian Church has installed and dedicated a memorial/recognition walkway on their property. Jan was a member of the church for more than 30 years. Bricks can be given in memory/recognition. The Society's Board of Directors would like to have a brick in memory of Jan installed to recognize her many contributions to the Society.

The Board is donating $100 for the brick, and we are asking for contributions from some of her friends in the Society. A suggested amount of no more than $25 is being requested so that all who wish can participate. The price of a brick is $250. Please make out checks to CCHS with "Jan Perry" in the memo line and send them to 112 N. Curry Street, Carson City, NV 89703.

The walkway is a very nice addition to the community. It is on the east side of the church's multipurpose building facing Nevada Street. If you have an opportunity to visit, check it out. We will notify all of you when the brick for Jan is installed. If you have any questions, please call Mary DeFelice at 775-882-0916.

Nominations for Board
Posted: Oct. 26, 2017

A Nominations Committee was formed at the Oct. 9, 2017, Board meeting to develop a slate of Board candidates for 2018. The committee includes Debbie Lane, D.D. Spencer, and Loretta Williams. After holding discussions with current Board members, Debbie will create a list of candidates for next year to present at the Board meeting on Nov. 13, 2017, and to elect at the membership meeting on December 3. In the meantime, if you have any questions or comments, please contact Debbie at 775-841-4456.

Senior History Projects Sought
Posted: Oct. 26, 2017

Vice President Debbie Lane is encouraging Carson High School (CHS) senior students to do senior projects on the history of Carson City. She is particularly interested in their selecting a history project for the Carson City Historical Society. She recently made the following inquiry to CHS faculty: "Might there be a senior interested in doing a Carson City history project? There are many interesting historical stories in this area (we have many ideas!) and we would love to work with a current senior to produce an exhibit on one of these stories for display at the Hisorical Society's house museum on N. Carson Street." Debbie further notes that if such a student were to come forward, she would be willing to mentor him or her with the teacher's help. So, please, if you have any budding historians in your family or circle or friends, head them in our direction.

Enjoy the Nevada Day Parade
Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017

Chairs on the Carson St. porch of the Foreman-Roberts House will be available to members and friends to sit in during the Nevada Day Parade on Saturday, Oct. 28, 2017. The parade starts at 10:00 a.m. The parade itself actually starts at William St., two blocks south of the Foreman-Roberts House Park, but you can still see many of the entries from the porch. Various divisions of the parade will be setting up, from south to north, on E. William St. (those involving horses), E. and W. John Streets, Fleischmann Way, W. Park St., E. Park St., E. and W. Adams Streets, W. Long Street, Adaline St., and Bath St. So, the porch will be a good location for observing Divisions 4 through 10. Parking may be limited in the area.

Christmas Party and General Meeting at the Bliss Mansion
Sunday, Dec. 3, 2017

You may have already received an invitation, by mail or email, to our December 3, 2017, party at 1:00 at the Bliss Mansion, 608 Elizabeth Street, Carson City. (Please note that the time was originally set for 2:30 to 4:30, but that has been changed.) The cost is $30 per person which includes a light buffet lunch and a wine bar. We will dine to the entertaining music of "Squeek," a well-known pianist, and Larry, a banjo player, both from Virginia City. Following lunch, Dr. Michael Fischer will give a lively and informative historical presentation that will leave you enlightened and entertained. In the past he has portrayed H.F. Dangberg and Gov. John Sparks in Chautauqua style. And, we will be electing next year's officers for the Board, giving a year-end report, and conducting a bit of other business.

Please be sure to RSVP to Paula Cannon at 775-887-8865 by November 27! You may pay when you arrive, but a final count to the caterer is needed by 11/28. If you make a reservation and don't attend, we will still need to pay the caterer, so please come if you have made a reservation. Thank you!

Office Nominations for the incoming Board are as follows:

• Debbie Lane, President
• Loretta Williams, 1st Vice President
• Bonnie Nishikawa, 2nd Vice President
• David Bugli, Secretary
• Kiyoshi Nishikawa, Treasurer
• Mary DeFelice, Membership Chair