May photo contest winner announced

The May photo contest is over and we have another outstanding winner. Andi Van Berkum's great shot of baby goslings is our winner and Wendy Francis is our runner-up. As usual, the winning calendar pages will be on display at the main desk of the Carson Valley Museum & Cultural Center in Gardnerville throughout June.

Saturday is Student-Senior Day at the Gardnerville museum. All day long students, accompanied by an adult, and seniors, 65 and older, will get into the museum free of charge. At 11 a.m. and again at 1 p.m., Laurie Hickey will portray Clara Hawkins, wife of Genoa Pony Express relief rider Theodore Perry Hawkins.

After Hawkins' experience as a Pony Express rider, he homesteaded a 160-acre ranch south of Markleeville. He married Clara Woodberry Martin on Nov. 4, 1874, and fathered nine children. Theodore and Clara Hawkins are buried in the Genoa Cemetery.

Now on display in the Main Street Bookstore are works from Carson Valley Art Association artists Beth Bosman, Pam Brekas, Nancy Kilberg and Mechele Johnson. CVAA will have other artists exhibited monthly through August. The Main Street Bookstore is open during regular museum hours and before and after the June 12 lecture series.

In anticipation of the Pony Express re-ride that passes through the area on June 19, the Douglas County Historical Society's free lecture on June 12 features Larry McPherson talking about the original Pony Express and this year's re-ride from Sacramento to St. Louis, Mo. For an estimated time of the mochilla exchange in Woodfords, call the Genoa Court House Museum at 782-4325.

Also on June 18 and 19 from 5 to 7 p.m. the Young Chautauquans will be performing at Mormon Station State Historic Park. Bring the whole family, a picnic dinner and enjoy these talented young people portray the likes of Walt Disney, Audrey Hepburn and Joan of Arc. Mike Maloney will be the emcee and will provide music. Admission is free.

June 21 and 28 are the opening dates for the summer swap meets. Applications for booth space are at www.historicnevada.org. Whatever you plan to sell, you will have excellent Highway 395 visibility and you won't have to sit in your garage all day. If you don't plan to sell anything, come on out anyway and see what your neighbors have available. The swap meet will be open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

If you have any questions about anything mentioned here, please call the Douglas County Historical Society at 782-2555. Visit our Web site at www.historicnevada.org. Remember, DCHS and its two museums do not receive any regular state or county funding. It's up to our members and friends to help us keep our doors open.

n Contact Ellen Caywood at in2my2cats@yahoo.com or at 790-1565.