Reflections of the Past

10 Years Ago

• Oscar Berry, Rocky Peters, Davonte Bonner, Anthony Montoya and Tony Hewitt showed off two boats the constructed in Mineral County High School Woodshop and Carpentry class.
• Barley’s Sports Bar held a sandwich fundraiser to help Chris Milks on his quest to Europe for “People to People”.
• Mt. Grant Mat Rats traveled to Carson City for the last folkstyle tournament. Treven Wachsmuth, Chance Kellison, Taylen Wachmusth, Jr. Carman and Josh McKinney all placed.

20 Years Ago

• The Mineral County High School Lady Serpents won their seventh straight AAA zone basketball title by defeating the Yerington Lions, 81-52. Members of the team were: Stephanie Belzer; Zee Boehlke; Cierra Cammarata; Amanda Holland; Delicia Jernigan; Jessica Meier; Ashlee Orndorff; Sidney Orndorff; Kimberli Scott; Amanda Stinson and Emily Wilson.
• Over 400 adults and youth registered for the annual President’s Day Weekend Fishing Derby sponsored by the Mineral County Chamber of Commerce at Walker Lake. 121 boats were launched on Saturday from Sportsman’s Beach with several others launched from other areas of the lake as it was a fine day for fishing. On Sunday it was a different story, only 22 boats were launched because the high winds prevailed. All in all it was a great derby.

30 Years Ago

• Renaie Schuler, a senior at Mineral County High School was selected to complete in the AEG Olympic Nationals Scholarship Typing Contest.
• The 20 millionth ounce of silver was poured at the Candelaria Mine.
• New fire trucks were purchased for the fire departments in Mina and Walker Lake.

40 Years Ago

• A fish plant was made at Walker Lake by the State Department of Wildlife assisted by volunteers from Hawthorne and the Walker Lake community. A total of 1,500 pounds of cutthroat trout were obtained from the Lahontan Fish Hatchery at Gardnerville and 2,000 pounds from the federal hatchery at Lake Mead.
• Hawthorne was tied with Yerington for first place in conference standings after defeating Stewart 91 to 61 and Fernley 85 to 53.

50 Years Ago

• Vane Day, former Justice of the Peace in Hawthorne and columnist for the Independent-News died at Mt. Grant General Hospital at age 75.
• The Serpents defeated Fallon 59-57 in an exciting basketball game and also defeated Yerington 85-59 to end the regular season in a tie for first place in the AA conference with Fallon.

60 Years Ago

• The Mineral High Serpents won over the Yerington Lions 64-56, but lost to the Manogue Miners 54-49.
• Sons of the Golden West were featured in the El Capitan lounge with the Hollywood Square Dancers to appear for one night only.
• Uncle Vane Day said: “A friend who had reached a ripe old age reminded to me the other day, “The principal objection to old age is that there’s no future in it.” I can hardly sympathize with this sentiment. While one finds company in himself, his friends and associates and in his pursuits, he cannot feel old with no future, whatever his age may be.”

70 Years Ago

• Former U.S. Senator Tasker L. Oddie died in San Francisco at age 79. Oddie had served as governor of Nevada and had invested heavily in mining property at Lucky Boy here at Hawthorne. He was the man responsible for having Hawthorne sleeved as the site for the Naval Ammunition Depot. Oddie’s bid for a third term was unsuccessful when he lost to Pat McCaran in a close race in 1932 when Democrats enjoyed a “landslide” riding on the coattails of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “New Deal”.

80 Years Ago

• The county commissioners authorized Jack Bretthauer to proceed with work of refinishing the walls and ceiling of the upper story of the courthouse with stucco material to replace aging wallpaper that was “disappearing little by little.”
• County considered filing a lawsuit to collect $535.94 from Wm. P. Neil Co. for rental of the county’s tractor to Neil Company to use its contract work at the naval depot. County claimed that the contractor used the tractor 171 ½ hours at agreed rental rate of $3.12 ½ an hour.
• Interior of the high school gymnasium was lined with plywood and composition board to provide more warmth in the building during winter basketball season.
• The California legislature adopted a resolution urging Congress to appropriate funds to construct a highway connecting the ammunition depot in Hawthorne with various locations in California.
• The Luning Hotel, a landmark of the boom days of that town, burned to the ground along with two other buildings in a night fire. The hotel was built in 1915 by A. Frediana of Roseville, Calif., who still owned the structure that had been leased to the Wells Cargo Trucking firm.
• The MCHS Serpents defeated Dayton 37-15 to chalk up another conference win. Mineral High and Dayton girls game ended in a 14-14 tie. (No overtime in girl’s games). The Serpents also won 36-19 a Fernley while the MCHS girls downed the Fernley girls 24-12. The Hawthorne grade school also won, 19-5, over the Fernley youngsters.
• Shea & Beebe, road building contractors from Los Angeles, took a sub-contract from the Wm. F. Neil Co. to build roads at the naval depot where facilities were being added under Neil’s $1 million contract.

90 Years Ago

• Three hundred men were employed by various contractors engaged in the construction of the naval ammunition depot north of Hawthorne. “Head count” was made from payroll records of various contractors.
• James M. Fenwick, former office manager of the Hawthorne News, was in charge of the business census in Mineral County, part of the 1930 population census.
• Mineral High boys defeated the Tonopah “Goofs” and the MCHS girls defeated the Tonopah High girls.
• Tonopah Mining Co. suspended operations following defeat of the silver tariff measure by the U.S. Senate.
• Harry Springer and associates won a long-standing lawsuit over title to Brucite mining property north of Luning. Springer and associates had been sued in district court in Tonopah.