Summer winds down and fall season begins

  Do you remember what we were doing last January? We were buying our tickets and heading out to see "Hotel Minden," the latest of the Douglas County Historical Society melodramas. We had record crowds for that event and we preserved it on video.

Saturday, Oct. 3, is the next Student-Senior Day and the featured program is the viewing of "Hotel Minden" as recorded from live performances last January. The showings will be at 11 a.m. and again at 1 p.m. If you missed the original, here is your chance to see the melodrama everyone talked about. And if you saw the original, here's your chance to see it again. Come join us.

Since that's the October program, today we'll deal with some trivia surrounding the original Minden Inn which still sits on Esmeralda Street, but is now used as local county offices. In its heyday, it was quite the destination hotel.

During the 1920s, '30s and '40s, the Minden Inn was the getaway destination for some of the biggest names in Hollywood, including Clark Gable, Jean Harlow and Douglas Fairbanks. Some historians place the 1955 marriage of Clark Gable and Kathleen (Kay) William Spreckles at the Minden Inn.

Our version of the "Hotel Minden" does not feature Hollywood mega-stars, but we do have great local talent playing such characters as Johnsen Lane, Dusty Rhodes, Carson Valli and Stefany Waye. Bart Black and Buffalo Jill lend color while Lily Langtree makes a cameo appearance. Rounding out the cast are Wynn Haven and Willie Mucca. As you can see, missing "Hotel Minden" would be a crime.

Also coming in October is Haunted Weekend, Oct. 22-25. New this year is the Haunted Minden Ghost Walk on Oct. 22. Tours depart from the CVIC Hall on Esmeralda Street at 6:30, 7:30 and 8:30 p.m. The Haunted Gardnerville Ghost Walk on Oct. 23 departs from Gardnerville museum at 6:30, 7:30, and 8:30 p.m.

The Haunted Genoa Cemetery Tour on Oct. 24 departs every 15 minutes at the Genoa Cemetery starting at 6:30 p.m. until 8 p.m. As you stroll through the cemetery you will meet several pioneers from Nevada 's past. Guided tours for the Haunted Genoa Ghost Walk depart from the Genoa Courthouse Museum on Oct. 25 at 10:30 and 11:30 a.m. Call DCHS at 782-2555 to see when tickets will be available.

For any questions, contact the Douglas County Historical Society at www.historicnevada.org or at the Carson Valley Museum & Cultural Center in Gardnerville at 782-2555. Remember, DCHS and its two museums in Gardnerville and Genoa don't receive any regular state or county funding. It's up to our members and friends to help us keep our doors open.

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