Past Pages for Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2014

140 years ago

Murphy execution (continued from Tuesday). Murphy Declared Sane — he is again respited! The jury before the issue of John Murphy’s mental condition was tried, brought in an unanimous verdict of sanity. The governor has given a further respited to Dec. 29. The fact that he eats and sleeps well under these tremendous trials is a still further attestation of the great firmness of his nerve (continued on Sunday).

130 years ago

The Virginia City ice crop is a dead failure. The trouble seemed to have been caused by the recent storm. The ice was about 18 inches high when it was nipped. The field was planted only a few weeks ago very carefully with the best ice seed obtainable; some sent on by Senator Fair of the Bureau of Agriculture. Senator Jones is the only successful ice culturalist in the state. The soil along Mt. Davidson is well adapted for ice, and in fact that is the only thing it will raise.

100 years ago

Thermometers this morning recorded the lowest temperature reached in this part of Nevada for several years. About town several of the instruments showed a recordation of from 4 to 6 below, while on the prison road it slumped to 10 degrees. At Marlette Lake, the mercury got down to 20 below.

70 years ago

Children of the Orphan’s Home will divide $988 income from $22,861.17 of the Henry Wood Christmas fund this year. Each of the 46 children at the home will have gifts of new clothes and will have a deposit made in their savings account. They will also be allowed $2 each in cash to spend on gifts for friends.

60 years ago

Nevada Highway patrolmen want this for Christmas and throughout the new year: “No dead or dying accident victims to be pried out of crumpled automobile wrecks.”

50 years ago

Yesterday $3,035.35 was handed over by Edwin B. Brown, Nevada Appeal general manager, to Albert Seelinger, Ormsby County school superintendent, to send the Carson High School band to the Tournament of Roses parade on New Year’s Day.

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