Local historian Joyce Cox is currently researching the history of the Reno-Sparks Chamber of Commerce. For my part, I will attempt to cover events from 1959 to 1971. Prior to the hiring of Judd Allen in ’59, the Reno Chamber of Commerce was a typical one for a rather small community such as Reno was in those days. With its limited budget, it had little more to publicize … [Read more...]
Irma, Hillary, Camels & Cornwell
Watching the destruction wrought by the mother of all hurricanes, Irma, brought back memories of far lesser tropical storms and the one hurricane I witnessed during my 4-year tenure at a high school in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. During that memorable hurricane, we adventurous youth went out to the Florida Beach to assess the wind and watch the surf begin to boil. We stayed … [Read more...]
Tennis Tidbits Two
Since this is being written on Thursday of last week, it is unknown what the final outcome of the US Open Tennis Tournament will be. For me personally, most of the drama was eliminated with the startling upset of Roger Federer by Juan del Potro. Since Federer is my all-time favorite tennis player, eclipsing Jimmy Connors, I felt that his game plan as relayed by the commentators … [Read more...]
Stead Statue
Like most special events that have existed for over half a century, this year’s upcoming Reno Air Races again reminds me of the dynamic founder of that event. His name was Bill Stead, who happened to be a very close personal friend of Charles Mapes and he was an avid private pilot and hydroplane driver. Scion of a large ranching family, I had first met Stead at the Thomas C. … [Read more...]
‘One Hump or Two?’
Every year when the Virginia City Camel Races roll around, I usually encounter a raft of statements that Bob Richards was the father of the Camel Races. My response is always the same, that there was no actual Camel Race in Virginia City until 1960. Although Bob was a gifted editor of the Territorial Enterprise, whether his fictional story of a faux Camel Race in 1959 was … [Read more...]
Entertainment Guides
Noting the paucity of ads in the August 10 edition of the Best Bets Entertainment Guide, I was moved to recall some prominent local entertainment guides of the past. The first one I remember was a pocket-sized edition put out by long-time artist Stew Walters. It was called Fun Dial and it contained a wealth of information on the rather meager entertainment of the era. The … [Read more...]
Adios Compadre
The recent passing of Jake Highton creates a very large void in the Sparks Tribune. The erudite, voluble Highton’s writings were a benchmark for other columnists. Although my first encounter (written) with Highton was not very salubrious, as it concerned our differing views on the legitimacy of the Reno Media Press Club, it was soon forgotten. When Highton became aware that … [Read more...]
What happened?
Word came recently that Hillary Clinton has authored a new book entitled, “What Happened” If she is still in doubt about what caused her defeat in the 2016 Presidential election, I would recommend she read a book entitled, “Shattered”. That book is a 400+ page meticulously researched tome by authors Jonathan Allen and Amie Parnes. Its sub-title is “Inside Hillary Clinton’s … [Read more...]