10 Years Ago

  • In a drastic departure from recent practices, the Mineral County School District Board of Trustees denied three requests for inter-district transfers and tabled discussion on a fourth until more information about the request was brought forward.
  • The Mineral County Council on the Arts shuttered its Hawthorne Art Center after it discovered it could not meet the conditions of its lease, a letter presented to the school board during the Sept. 5, meeting.

20 Years Ago

  • A bill containing $4.6 million in federal funds for programs to clean polluted air and water has passed the U.S. Senate Committee and is expected to be on the Senate Committee and is expected to be on the Senate floor soon. The bill approved $300,000 In funds to help Walker Lake Working Group continue fighting for Walker Lake. The funds will be used to help with technical support and legal assistance in gaining water for the lake.
  • Marjorie Crabill in Gabbs, was the first recipient of a Lifeline unit in town.
  • William Stinson and mother Brenda Stinson both were successful in their Mineral County hunts. Will harvest a pronghorn antelope on the last day of hunting season. Brenda harvested a Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep. She was only one of six sportsmen and women to receive this type of sheep tag for the year. The 300 pound ram was unofficially scored at 1772/8 points.
  • Ken Chase, local resident, shared the stars which would be visible in the September sky. He stated that the teapot and the great square of Pegasus were just two in the night sky.
  • DZHC employees worked an impressive 1,721,870 hours without a lost workday injury.

30 Years Ago

  • Because of new regulations governing the cost of treating surface water, Cory Canyon water supply line was discontinued from Hawthorne water supply. With the construction of the new pipeline and wells in the Whiskey Flats area, most of Hawthorne’s water came from this source.
  • New student body offices at Mineral County High School were elected. Serving as president was Joe McQueen, Mike Isom vice president, Spring Theisen, Secretary, Kari Emm. treasure, Sarana Jackson student representative and Tana Grulli, head cheerleader.
  • A new ordinance was adopted by the county to abolish a seven member Public Lands Committee to serve the interest of the county.

40 Years Old

  • Leonard “Slug” Erickson of Hawthorne was credited with accomplishing a rescue mission and preventing a possible tragedy at Walker Lake when four people were rescued from a drifting boat near the north end of the lake after two of their companions spent more than two hours swimming to shore to seek help. Erikson took his boat to the lake at the request of the sheriff’s office and when locating the raft, rescued the passengers just as a big wave hit the boat and it went down .
  • Hawthorne Serpents played a tough football game against the White Pine Bobcats, and lost by a score of 6-0 in the final minutes. Performers for Hawthorne were Bubby Beavers, Dion James, and Dee Lawrence.

50 Years Ago

  • Opening and dedication ceremonies were held for the Mineral County Sheltered Workshop at the former Babbitt Clinic
  • In order to protect Hawthorne’s watershed area in Cory Canyon, the Mineral County Commissioners ordered the area to be closed to entry except for official business. The board stated the action was necessary in order to prevent vandalism and possible contamination of the water and the danger of fire being started in the canyon,
  • Mr. and Mrs. Conrad Kirsch, members of the Walker Lake Boat & Ski Club, took third place in the Stock Outboard Motorboat National Championship in the 20-horsepower division held at Willard Bay near Salt Lake City.

60 Years Ago

  • A. R. Nelson, Mineral County pioneer, turned the first shovel full of earth for the new Mt. Grant Hospital. Nelson was a member of the hospital board when the campaign for new facilities was started years ago and was active in the campaign in which the board successfully carried the bond issue approved by the voters in 1960.
  • A reward of $25 ( $191 in 2913) was being offered by the Mineral County Horseman’s Association for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person guilty of shooting a valuable calf at the local arena.
  • Fifty women were employed at the Rockingham sleepwear Plant which was located in a surplus building at the Naval Ammunition Depot.
  • A thunderstorm that quickly produced a downpour of cloudburst proportions struck the area south and west of Hawthorne. The rush of flood waters did some damage to the Lucky Boy road and also in the Cory Canyon area.

70 Years Ago

  • The Serpents pulled a surprise by defeating the highly ranked Spark Railroaders 12-6 in a football game played in Hawthorne.
  • Mineral County High School and the Hawthorne Elementary School planned to open with an estimated total of approximately 1,650 students, a new record high.
  • Young and Smith Construction Co. in Salt Lake City, Utah won a contract to build 14 miles of highway from a point north of Basalt to the junction of U.S. 95 and Nevada 10 south of Mina, at the cost of $188,000 ($1.7 million in 2013).

80 Years Ago

  • The headline on the September 8, 1943 issue of the Independent-New reads, “Italy Accepts Unconditional Surrender”. It was the official announcement that the Italian government had capitulated to the Allies last Friday under pending armistice terms of unconditional surrender…. Indications are, however, that the Germans still in Italy may attempt to resist allied invasion of the north. To weaken this resistance and possibly to disrupt planned withdrawals from Italy by the Germans, the Allies are reported to have bombed Rome at noon today, striking at the rail center.
  • Although complete figures were not yet available, it was estimated that the cost of the recent 25-day grand jury would total between $6000 and $7500. An interim report was filed which included numerous suggestions to improve utilities and a “lack of harmony among officials” was criticized strongly.
  • Hunters were denied extra gasoline rations for hunting trips.
  • Yerington Lions defeated the Serpents 25-9 in a football game.

90 Years Ago

  • Mineral County High School enrollment of 47 students was two fewer than the high of 49 in 1939.
  • Dick Pledge returned from Carson City where he loved to vote to ratify the Twenty First Amendment to the U. S. Constitution which served the purpose of repealing the Eighteenth (Prohibition) Amendment. Forty delegates from all counties in Nevada assembled in convention. Vote to repeal was 9-0 with one delegate absent.
  • J. C. Compton of Oregon and Basalt Rock of California submitted a successful joint venture bid of $50,628 for a contract to oil 22.22 miles of Highway 95 between Dutch Creek (Barlow’s Ranch) and Schurz.
  • Dante Rocco, from Dayton-Hawthorne-Mina, won a second round technical knockout victory over Jimmy Farren (aka Billy Maher) of Reno in the boxing card that was part of a Labor Day Celebration Hawthorne. Gino Del Porto of Yerington won another kind of victory when he caught— and held onto the greased pig which he took back to Yerington. Jessie Del Porto edged out Jo Gerbig for first place in the girl’s foot race.