Past Pages for Wednesday, May 8

140 Years Ago

Playing with fire: Some parties set fire to a crockery crate filled with straw and came near burning up Jake Tobinger’s stable and endangering the Curry Engine House. Those who fired a lot of barrels on the Plaza street side of Mason & Hoff’s old building came near committing arson … There is quite as much misfortune in being burned up for fun as out of malice …

130 Years Ago

The Nevada boom: Many are predicting a boom in Nevada mining properties in the summer. It is the old cry. We live through the winter, hoping micawber [sic] like, that something will turn up in the spring … When spring comes and no boom, we wait for the fall. All our neighboring states and territories are flourishing, but investors are avoiding Nevada …

100 Years Ago

Cleaning the town: Deputy constables swooped down on the redlight district in the three towns of Rochester … Following the raid a number of men immediately left town. The first warning proved sufficient.

70 Years Ago

At the final PTA meeting of the year the following officers will be installed: Mrs. Martha Gleason, vice president; Mrs. Hardies, recording secretary; Miss Bordewich, corresponding secretary; Mrs. A. F. Lawrence, treasurer …

50 Years Ago

Photo caption: Prom theme a secret — Committee workers from the junior class at Carson high school decorate for the social event of the school year. Pictured are Sandra White, Kathy Baker, Bob Weideman, Martha Lompa and Robert Austin.

30 Years Ago

The nation’s unemployment rate is the lowest in seven months, 10.2 percent, but jobless rates for African Americans returned to record levels.

Sue Ballew is the daughter of Bill Dolan, who wrote this column for the Nevada Appeal from 1947 until his death in 2006.