Chamber celebrates 100th anniversary

In myth, the Reno Chamber of Commerce got its start after a group of businessmen noticed that hungry and thirsty railroad passengers stuck in town by a blizzard provided an economic bonanza to restaurant and bar owners.

Figuring it wouldn't hurt if passenger trains tarried a bit longer in Reno in all seasons, early-day businessmen organized to make their pitch to the railroad management.

That's one of the stories officials of the Reno-Sparks Chamber of Commerce will be telling this year as the organization celebrates its centennial.

While business owners had been gathering in various civic improvement associations for decades, a chamber of commerce officially was incorporated on April 20, 1903.

The issue that brought the chamber's founders together was a nitty-gritty public policy issue railroad tariffs.

Depending almost entirely on the railroad for their link to rest of the business world, Reno merchants contended that discriminatory railroad fares made it impossible for them to compete with businesses in the big cities of the West Coast.

That battle over railroad tariffs continued for several decades.

In the meantime, Selby Calkins wrote in the Reno Evening Gazette in 1951, the chamber was taking on other civic issues boosting the nascent tourism industry, encouraging construction of better highways and seeking legislation to improve the business climate in Nevada.

The group's involvement in key public debates continued.

Harry York, the chamber's current chief executive, noted last week that the chamber helped establish the Reno Redevelopment Agency in the 1970s, participated in the creation of the Washoe County Airport Authority and the Reno-Sparks Convention and Visitors Authority and wrestled with questions ranging from school bond issues to ReTRAC.

During its 100-year history, the chamber has occupied offices ranging from the old First Interstate Bank Building at North Virginia and Second Street to a 1,500-square-foot A-frame building near Mill and South Virginia.

That tiny building served as a visitors center during the 1960s Olympics at Squaw Valley.

The centennial of the chamber will be marked during the group's Chair Gala this week.

The annual event, which this year will see the installation of Mike Murdock as chairman, will feature a speech by Jerry Brown, the former California governor and presidential candidate who now is mayor of Oakland.