50 Years Ago – Cecil the Sea Serpent the venerable “underseer” of Walker Lake made a dry land venture all the way to Carson City to help celebrate the state’s 103rd birthday and was awarded a wonderful birthday gift first place trophy in the category of community entries in the Nevada Day Parade.
10 Years Ago
• Jetway Motors, based in Fallon, leased property in Hawthorne to make a used vehicle sales lot. This week several vehicles have been brought in and placed on the lot. “We will have a great selection of vehicles, cars, and trucks for immediate sale to our customers,” stated JR, sales lot manager. This sales lot was located between the Pizza Factory/Safeway store and the Shell Station. (Currently the Family Dollar store.)
• Harvey’s Old Nevada Pizza went under new management. Zeke and Cyndi Reed have been working at establishing a new feel to the old business. The couple has been hard at work, with friends and family, freshening up the place, but promise to continue to make fresh and delicious pizza that Old Nevada is famous for. They reopened Nov. 1 for lunch.
• Art and DeVona Scott of Hawthorne were one of the many houses getting into the Halloween Spirit for the upcoming Trick-or-Treaters.
20 Years Ago
• The Mineral County Sheriff’s Department Honor Color Guard was chosen to lead the 1997 Nevada Day Parade in Carson City.
• Hawthorne Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2313 of Hawthorne honored Carol Munger, a well-known teacher at the Hawthorne Primary School, as the first “VFW Teacher of the Year” award.
• Every year prior to celebrating Nevada Day Committee sponsors a poster contest depicting the Nevada Day celebration. The students that won awards from the Hawthorne schools were David Ziegler of the Hawthorne Middle School and Crystal Avery a student at Mineral County High School.
30 Years Ago
• Announcement was made that 156 housing units in the Babbitt area of the Hawthorne Army Ammunition Plant would be open for bidding to those who wishing to acquire the buildings. The real estate division of the Army Engineer District in Sacramento was in charge of the program to dispose on the housing units.
• A Women’s Night Out was held at the Hawthorne Speedway when all the drivers for the evening were woman. Beth Donahue won the fast time trophy; Gayle Geerdes was winner of the Jalopy Class trophy; winner of the Hobby Stock trophy dash was Connie Ellis. Trophy boy for the evening was Bill Durand.
• The Walker Lake Auto Racing Association also had a special “trick or treat” for local youth, when they invited everyone to come and visit their “haunted house” at 411 Fifth Street (across from the former Independent-News) in Hawthorne. Everyone had a great, but spooky, time.
40 Years Ago
• The Nevada Fish and Game Commission raised the limit of Cutthroat trout that could be caught daily at Walker Lake from three to five, and at the same time removed the minimum size limit of 15 inches.
• Mineral County Commissioners approved a lease of a parcel of land at the Hawthorne Airport Industrial Park to the Tahoe Cutting Tool Company after that firm submitted the only bid.
• A bill to permit Mineral County to purchase more than 2,540 acres of land over a period of five years was passed by the Senate.
50 Years Ago
• Members of the Hawthorne Water Ski Club were presented trophies during the annual NAD Picnic at Walker Lake. Winners were: Toni Johnson, first place in the Women’s Slalom; Lonnie Hines, 2nd place in Women’s Slalom; Jack Roark, first place in the Men’s 8-Mile Ski Race; Gladys Roark, first place in the 8-Mile Ski Race and Buster Heckman, third in the Men’s Slalom Race.
• The Hawthorne Parent Teacher Association was reactivated for the 1967-68 school year.
60 Years Ago
• The Babbitt banking facility was classified as an official branch of the Security National Bank of Reno. Previously it was classified as a government agency.
• An estimated 1,080 persons received Salk polio inoculations during a clinic held at the Hawthorne Elementary School. Dr. Norman Baker Smith, county physician, assisted by a team of Washoe Medical Society physicians performed the task of inoculating the people, and was assisted by county health nurses Pernina Carraher and Mildred Preston.
70 Years Ago
• The Hawthorne Navy Day celebration was the largest in the history of the community.
• Charles Tiller of Hawthorne published formal notice of his intention to circulate a petition seeking to have Hawthorne City disincorporated.
• The Serpents football team, coached by Henry “Lefty” Mayer, was tied with Reno for first place honors in conference play when they defeated Lovelock 19-14 in an exciting game. Members of the team that year were: J. Walker, W. Barmore, B. Rhinehart, R. Richie, Arenas, Peterson, F. Barcellos, Garvey, Davis, Ferris, McKenna, Williams, R. Kreimeyer, Perry, Cannif, Joe, Billman and Moore.
80 Years Ago
• Frank Johanningmeier was appointed by Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction Ray Killian to fill the vacancy on the board of trustees of the Hawthorne School District No. 7. Vacancy was created when Mrs. June Phillips resigned.
• New intake was installed at Rose Creek Dam, one of the Navy’s sources of supply of water for the ammunition depot and “flushing” of Cat Creek Dam was completed.
• County commissioners approved additional 17 residents for old age pension, bringing the total in the county to 41.
• Many visitors toured Hawthorne Naval Ammunition Depot on Navy Day, Oct. 27, including local school children and students from Yerington and Smith Valley who were brought to Hawthorne by bus.
• Ralph G. “Tex” Myers resigned as clerk in charge of the Mineral County WPA office to take a position at the CCC camp at Fallon.
• Mining activity at Rawhide included the sale of the W. H. Leonard tungsten property to Black Rock Mining Co. which operated a tungsten mine near Bishop, Calif. and the exchange of tungsten claims between George A. Thayer and Mills Alloy, inc., operating as Nevada Scheelite Co.
