'Portrait of a Pioneer Lady' returns for Student-Senior Day

Have you entered your nomination for the Women in History presentation on March 28? The deadline for entries is March 4. Call 782-2555 to get information and an application.

Also coming up fast is the end of the February photo contest. Even though we have finally gotten a flake or two of snow, you may have other ideas on what February means in Douglas County. Whatever you chose, snap a photo of it and get it into the museum or to the e-mail address below by 4 p.m. Feb. 28.

If you loved our "Hotel Minden" melodrama and wanted to see it again, you can. Rebecca Dixon, videographer and our leading lady, recorded the performance and DVD copies are available through her at (775) 445-0909. We suggest a donation of at least $10 per copy as Rebecca is donating any proceeds from the DVD to the museum because it was a fundraiser.

Here is some melodrama trivia for you: An average person works 2,000 hours each year. Forty hours each week for 52 week equals 2,080 hours. If you take away 80 hours for two weeks vacation, you have 2,000 hours. All the work that went into putting on the melodrama totaled approximately 2,000 hours, or one year's worth of work.

And here is a sign of the economic times. This year there were four 50-50 raffles. Each winner received 50 percent of the monies collected selling raffle tickets at that performance. Of the four winners, only one returned the money to the museum, supporting this major fundraiser. Almost all of the previous years' winners returned the money they won to help support our museums.

Saturday, March 7, is Student-Senior Day. We will be presenting two performances of our reading theater, "Portrait of a Pioneer Lady," by Grace Dangberg and Beatrice Fettic Jones. This is an oral history transcribed by Grace Dangberg, daughter of the character Mrs. John Dangberg, and Beatrice Fettic Jones, daughter of character Gene Fettic. This 30-minute play will be performed at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. with admission free for all students accompanied by an adult and all seniors.

The March 12 lecture series will feature Sue Ann Monteleone from the Nevada Department of Cultural Affairs. Monteleone is registrar for the department of history at the Nevada State Museum in Carson City. She will speak about Dat So La Lee, renowned Washoe basket maker.

If you have any questions about anything mentioned here, please call the Douglas County Historical Society at the Carson Valley Museum & Cultural Center in Gardnerville at 782-2555. Visit our Web site at www.historicnevada.org. Remember, DCHS and its two museums, the Gardnerville museum and the Genoa Court House Museum, 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.