Every so often I am asked about the first Virginia City Camel Race and when it actually happened. It was in the summer of 1960 when the Misfits movie was being shot in Reno and outlying areas. Recently I saw a photo of the 2019 Camel Races that sported a banner above the street in VC that noted the Camel Races were staged from 1959 to 2019. To set the record straight, in … [Read more...]
Remembering the Mapes Hotel
Rummaging through some old files recently I came across a number of articles on the Mapes Hotel. The following probably best describes the iconic building that went down almost 20 years ago. The Mapes stood alone as the symbol of what Reno was for more than three decades. She transformed what was once a honkytonk little cowtown with dark and dangerous gambling clubs into a … [Read more...]
Stead Statue
Like most special events that have existed for more than half a century, this year’s upcoming National Championship Air Races at the Reno Stead Airport again reminds me of the dynamic founder of this 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 … [Read more...]
‘Does Not Compute’
One of my favorite sayings of Star Trek’s Spock was, “It does not compute”. That phrase could well be applied to the number one story of last week about the standoff between cops and a fugitive in Philadelphia. For in that standoff, while the cops were trying to protect innocent civilians in the neighborhood, including children in the neighboring daycare, the citizenry were … [Read more...]
What About Chicago?
While most of the liberal media was fixated on the mass shootings in El Paso and Dayton two weekends ago as usual they failed to report on a typical weekend in Chicago. During that weekend some 52 people were shot and 7 of them died. While this seems to be business as usual as far as the windy city is concerned it is amazing how the liberal media continues to ignore the problem … [Read more...]
Political High Jinks
The much hyped Democratic presidential debates happened again last week. For the most part, the two-nighter turned into a food fight between the ultra-progressive wing of the party and the few moderates who were on stage. On Wednesday night the radicals even attacked the vaunted Barack Obama much to the dismay of candidate Joe Biden. Biden invokes his close association with … [Read more...]
Mueller Meltdown
The most riveting TV last week was the Mueller testimony before two Congressional Committees. While this is being written the day after as the dust settles, it is important to get the two takes on the results from the Democratic side as well as the Republican side. For the GOP, particularly the President, there was overwhelming joy as Mueller failed to give the Donkey Kongs any … [Read more...]
Reno Rodeo Remembered
Since this is the centennial year for the Reno Rodeo it might be well to visit some of the past years of Reno’s signature event. The Rodeo, which features all the competition of that dying breed—the American Cowboy, first began as weekend entertainment on ranches large and small in the Old West and still highlights the skills of Steer Wrestling, Team Roping, Saddle Bronc … [Read more...]