Chamber publishes area map

MINDEN - You can walk it or you can drive it, but by all means go take the guided tour using the new Chamber Walking/Driving Tour Map.

Publication of the map was a community effort, brought to the Valley by self-confessed "brochure collector," Laurie Hickey.

"Whenever I travel, I always pick up little brochures," she said. "When I was on a trip to Louisianna several years ago, I picked up a brochure for a small community (Abbeyville) that made me want to go visit there. It gave me the idea to do a similar brochure for us here."

Hickey brought the idea for the brochure to the Carson Valley tourism committee and the effort crystallized into a walking and driving tour map of Minden, Gardnerville, Genoa, and the greater Carson Valley.

n Group effort. Hickey chaired the brochure committee, which included Suzy Stockdale, Stockdale and Crum; Marlena Hellwinkel, Carson Valley Historical Society; Sheila Byington, Town of Minden; Diane Pettitt, Town of Gardnerville; and Barbara Bashor, Carson Valley Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Authority.

Also contributing to the effort, through donations of research, writing, photography, design and production, were Nancy Hamlett, Wynn Maule, Nancy Miluck, Wolf Productions, Inc., Shirley Fraser, Jay Aldrich, Greg Brady Graphics and Shannon Hickey.

The map cost $8,000 to produce, which included $4,000 from the chamber's portion of the the Douglas County room tax, and the $2,000 each from the Towns of Minden and Gardnerville, according to chamber director Dave Bolick.

"Without the donations, it probably would have come to more like $12,000," he said.

n Give it a try. The self-guided tour of historic and recreational points of interest in the four Valley regions includes Minden with 35 stops, Gardnerville with 30 stops, Genoa with 26 stops and the greater Carson Valley from Topaz to Jacks Valley with 48 stops.

If you've ever wondered where historic places like the Dangberg Home Ranch, the Cardinal home, the Champagne house or even the old Record-Courier building are - plus some information on each site, this information is in the new walking and driving tour map.

Free copies are available at the the chamber office, 1512 Highway 395, Gardnerville, (phone 782-8144), the Genoa Courthouse Museum, 2304 Main St., Genoa (782-4325), or the Carson Valley Museum and Cultural Center, 1477 Highway 395, Gardnerville (782-2555).