Scott Schrantz's Blog

Press release from the Northern Nevada Railway Foundation. The first film has already been shown, but the second one is scheduled for tonight at Piper's Opera House.

The first Railway Reflections International Art Expo starts July 17, 2008, and runs through August 17. It will be a fun time for everyone and will benefit the reconstruction of the V & T Railroad from Virginia City to Carson City. It will start with the Artists and V.I.P. Reception on July 16 at the Nevada State Library and Archives.

The art exhibit features all of the entries and will be on display in the Nevada State Library and Archives from July 17 through August 17. All of the artwork, or copies of it, will be for sale.

The Film Festival will be held every Thursday night during the Art Expo at Piper’s Opera House in Virginia City and will feature railroading films from the past.

“Union Pacific” was originally released in May of 1939 and starred Joel McCrea and Barbara Stanwyck and will be the first film on July 17. We will have Steven Drew from the California State Railroad Museum, which is where a lot of the V&T equipment went to do that film, at the theater to introduce the film and give us some background.

We also have “Breakheart Pass” with Charles Bronson, Richard Crenna, Jill Ireland, and Charles Durning. Larry Jensen is the author of the book “Movie Railways” and will be at the theater to introduce this film from 1976.

Next on the list is “Emperor of the North” starring Ernest Borgnine and Lee Marvin. We may have a surprise guest to introduce this film which was originally released in May of 1973.

“Posse” is also on the list and stars Kirk Douglas, Bo Hopkins, and Bruce Dern. Bo will be in Reno for the Hot August Nights festival and may be at the theater to introduce the film. “Posse” was originally released in June of 1975.

The last movie on the list is “Carson City” starring Randolph Scott, Lucille Norman, and Raymond Massey. It is a story about building the V&T Railroad from Carson City to Virginia City. Yes, they do it backwards but it is still a good movie. It was originally released in June of 1952.

We also have a Railroad Memorabilia Show and Sale scheduled for July 26th and 27th in the Nevada State Library Gallery. Railroad antiques and collectibles will be on display and for sale featuring locks, lanterns, badges, china, silverware, timetables, linens, signs, and much more. Admission is free.

“The Perils of Pusher” is a comedy-melodrama that will be performed by the Misfits Theater Group at the Historic Odeon Hall & Saloon in nearby Dayton, also on July 26th and 27th.

The Governor’s Gala is a black-tie celebration and fundraiser, including cocktails, dinner, and entertainment, to be held at the Governor’s Mansion on August 6.

August 8 is the date for our Golf Tournament and Luau at the Eagle Valley Golf Course. There will be competitive play for golfers (and duffers) during the day and a Luau celebration (everyone welcome) afterwards.

Ales for Rails will be held August 10 in Fuji Park on the south end of Carson City. We will feature beer tasting, barbeque, and bands. It will be a day to relax and have fun. Sponsored by Bodine’s Casino.

Eastern Fare Meets Western Trains will be our last event on August 17 at the Nevada State Railroad Museum. This is the site of the closing dinner that will showcase the area’s 16 Asian restaurants. Lecture and train rides are included.

All of this adds up to a busy and fun schedule for our first Railway Reflections International Art Expo and we are looking forward to seeing as many of you as we can. Stop by and see us if you get a chance and don’t miss this exciting event.

Backyard Traveler: Finding Fallen Leaf Lake

Tucked in the mountains, a few miles west of magnificent Lake Tahoe, is another body of water that just might be, with apologies to Mark Twain, the second fairest picture the whole earth affords.

Called Fallen Leaf Lake, this picturesque alpine lake rivals its larger neighbor in beauty. In fact, if not for a fluke of nature, namely a small stretch of land that separates Fallen Leaf from Tahoe, the area could easily have been another Emerald Bay.

I've been breezing around town checking up on all the construction that's going on now.

The Carson-Tahoe Quail park at the south end of town seems to be mostly done. The sign is up, there are trees planted in the parking lot, and the buildings seem to be finished, at least on the exterior. Now all they need are tenants.

Burlington Coat Factory has been remodeling the old Wal*Mart at Clearview. At least the half of it that they didn't tear down. Here the new facade seems to be mostly done, although the bottom half of the building is still sporting the old paint job.

The Kentucky Fried Chicken on north Carson Street is getting a major facelift. It's so drastic that the restaurant has had to close for the duration.

This project on Curry Street is coming along nicely too. Already the ground floor is done, and it looks like they're starting on a second.

Besides these photos, there is also work going on at the old Harley Davidson building on north Carson (just past the KFC) converting it into a Harbor Freight Tools. And work on the Carson Mall is continuing; I need to stop by there and take pictures of that. And of course the freeway construction is in full swing, as is the repaving job on Fairview.

I know I should be going through all my vacation pictures (4,000 pictures in 10 days. w00t!), but instead I've been going through pictures from 13 years ago. These photos from May of 1995 show the V&T Railroad in Virginia City running in the snow. Yes, it was one of those freak May snowstorms, and as you can see by the photos, it had almost all melted by late morning. But the pictures are still cool.

You know you want to see all 38 pictures at Flickr.

Remember Carson City, NY? The Carson City and Indian Village tourist attraction in upstate New York? The place is closed now, but Flickr user Gigi Elmes snuck onto the property and found that the buildings are still standing. See all the photos here.

I'm finally back from vacation. And after nearly two weeks away, there are a lot of virtual newspapers piled up on my Google Reader porch. So I decided to just plow through the hundreds of articles of local news, and put up a list of the ones that caught my eye.

• Ridin' the rails, old-school style | NevadaAppeal.com
• City puts pressure on raceway owner | NevadaAppeal.com
• Washoe Valley fire | NevadaAppeal.com
• Campaign signs a small but important matter | NevadaAppeal.com
• Summer means time for farmer's markets across the region | NevadaAppeal.com
• Book excerpt about the Comstock: 'Dare to shoot the flume' | NevadaAppeal.com
• A town 'infected with rough characters' and good lager | NevadaAppeal.com
• A mining company's holes | NevadaAppeal.com
• Bone discovery found on state, not federal land | NevadaAppeal.com
• Will the real Benjamin Green please ... sit down | NevadaAppeal.com
• Upcoming historical events | NevadaAppeal.com
• A history of orphans in Carson | NevadaAppeal.com
• Fresh berries from the farmers market make delicious, nutritious eating | NevadaAppeal.com
• It's time to start paying attention to candidates | NevadaAppeal.com
• First impressions are lasting ones | NevadaAppeal.com
• V&T commission to sell rail cars | NevadaAppeal.com
• Budget cuts kill NDOT maintenance projects | NevadaAppeal.com
• There's no perfect solution for Carson River Canyon access | NevadaAppeal.com
• Help serve up Carson City's Sesquicentennial with style | www.rgj.com | Reno Gazette-Journal
• Park Cattle Co. moves ahead with massive development | www.rgj.com | Reno Gazette-Journal
• Local arts supporter Comma Coffee gets a face lift | www.rgj.com | Reno Gazette-Journal
• Drivers negotiating roundabouts make interesting maneuvers | www.rgj.com | Reno Gazette-Journal
• County commission rejects 'Hillbillies' star's casino sign | www.rgj.com | Reno Gazette-Journal
• Empire of cool | www.rgj.com | Reno Gazette-Journal
• Capture a day in the life of Carson Valley on Aug. 22 | RecordCourier.com
• Recordcourier.com photo contest | RecordCourier.com
• 3 hurt when rig slams into Holbrook trailer park | RecordCourier.com
• Witnesses describe destruction at trailer park | RecordCourier.com
• Driver, victims of trailer park accident identified, witnesses sought | RecordCourier.com
• Burglaries at 3 homes in Johnson Lane | RecordCourier.com
• Hard times when business improvises best | RecordCourier.com
• Bike Carson > Blog Archive > Waterfall Fire - Four Years Later
• Waterfall Fire 2004 - a set on Flickr
• News Carson City > Blog Archive > Another big party bash down at Fridays at 3rd!
• News Carson City > Blog Archive > Downtown 'Oldtown'� Carson City buzzin' with activities on Saturday mornings.

Now, you all behave. I'm going to be out of town for a couple of weeks, until July 19th, and I don't want to see any shenanigans around here. Be good while I'm gone!

15 bonus points if you can guess where we're going.

I'm getting about damn tired of all the smoke around here. Not as tired, though, probably, as the firefighters in California are.

There were three Carson City history articles in the Nevada Appeal yesterday. They had Part 2 of A traveler's impressions of Carson City, written by Caroline M. Churchill in the 1870s. There is also an article about the first days of the Virginia and Truckee Railroad, with a look back at how the newspapers covered the progress of the railroad as it was built. The first photo on the page is labeled wrong, though. It shows Locomotive #20, The Tahoe, and says it's #80 (the highest the V&T ever got was #27). It also says it's now on display in Virginia City, when the Tahoe is actually in Pennsylvania right now. #18 is in VC.

The last "bonus" article is one on one of the founders of Carson City, B.F. Green. Previously there were no known photos of Green, and nobody thought one would ever be found. But then an armchair historian in Carson City managed to track one down, in the care of some descendants in Wisconsin. So the Nevada Appeal printed the photo, one where Green is sitting in a portrait studio with a few of his relatives. The paper circled his face and everything so you could pick him out, but there was one problem: the paper identified the wrong guy!! Read through the comments for the corrections to the paper's captions, sent in by Joni Vella of Wisconsin.

Even though the housing market has taken a tanker lately, a few developers are still willing to put some investment into the town. Here on Curry Street work is continuing on this condo development, which I believe is called Westwood Knoll (they took down the sign, so I need to dig through my picture archives and find it). So many other announced projects have been canceled around town, but at least one is pushing forward.