Saturday is Student Day at museum

Tomorrow is the first Saturday in November, otherwise known as Student Day. This time Miss Clara Ritger of Genoa will portray Billie Jean Rightmire, our Douglas County Historical Society historian. Hans Meyer-Kassel, the world famous artist who lived in Genoa, was a neighbor of Billie Jean when she was a young girl. Like all young kids, Billie Jean loved to fish. Come find out what a world famous artist and a young fisherman have in common. Performances are at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. with guided tours of the museum at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m.

Thursday, Nov. 8, is the next lecture series. Terri Geissinger, Bodie area historian, guide and Chautauquan, will portray Lottie Johl, an immigrant to Bodie and a woman with a checkered past. Lottie's story is woven with hope, joy and tragedy and should make for an interesting evening. The performance starts at 7 p.m. in the downstairs meeting room of the Carson Valley Museum in Gardnerville. Admission is free.

After the lecture, the Main Street Bookstore will be open to peruse books on Bodie, soiled doves and famous gold mining towns and camps. There is a section devoted to local and Nevada authors. Featured are books like Bob Ellison's "First Impressions," Nyle Norton's "Pinenut Chronicles" and Miki Trujillo's "Why Can't We Talk?" There are books for all interests.

The museum also has files of old photographs, some of which we have identified and others we haven't. The photo in this column came to us from a gentleman who lives in Genoa. If you have any idea who these men are and why they are posing for this photo, please call DCHS at 782-2555 and let us know. If you can identify old Douglas County photos, call to make arrangements to view photos from our files. And if you have old photos, please allow us to make copies of them to preserve the history of our county.

Bring us your photo and enter the photo contest showing what you think of when you think of November in Douglas County. Do you see a table laden with turkey and all the trimmings? Or, do you see bare tree limbs and smoke wafting out of chimneys? The winner will be featured in this column, the DCHS 2009 Calendar and will receive a one year membership to the historical society. Runners up will also be featured in the calendar. The rules are simple:

-- The contest is open to all Douglas County residents.

-- Submissions will be accepted until Nov. 30 at the Carson Valley Museum.

-- Photos can be black and white or color, no smaller than 4x6 and no larger than 8x10. The photo needs to be original, not previously published and printed, not on disk.

The winners of the October contest will be announced in next week's column.

If you have any questions about anything mentioned here, please call the Douglas County Historical Society at the Carson Valley Museum in Gardnerville at 782-2555. Visit our Web site at www.historicnevada.org. And if you have the time, the museum is always looking for interested volunteers.

-- Contact Ellen Caywood

at in2my2cats@yahoo.com

or 790-1565.