Nevada can celebrate its history, future

The theme for this year’s Nevada Day is centered around then and now — merging the past with the present.

Leading up to the festivities next Saturday, there are plenty of ways to learn about Carson City’s past as we look forward to the future.

One of the easiest — and most beautiful — ways to take in the city’s colorful past is the Historic Blue Line Trail on the west side.

Featuring notable homes by the city’s early influencers, the tour is available on the Visit Carson City app.

The tour includes a map of more than 40 homes, which was recently updated from featuring about 20 sites, along with a brief description of each stop.

In addition to the map, an audio tour is also available and can be downloaded on any smart device. The audio tour is much more comprehensive than the print version as it is not limited by space.

There are so many interesting histories included that I didn’t know about. Just recently I learned about the Krebs-Peterson house, built in 1914. It’s more popularly known as the Shootist House because it was used in John Wayne’s final movie, “The Shootist.”

What I didn’t know was the original owner Dr. Kreb, an accredited pharmacist, observed the Washoe tribe using a wild parsley-like plant to remedy respiratory ailments.

He devised a more efficient method of extracting the active ingredients from the plant and used this concoction to cure his patients struck by a flu epidemic in 1918.

During the outbreak, more than $10 million Americans died from influenza. Using the sacred herbs discovered by the Washoe Indians, Krebs earned international fame by saving almost all of the hundreds of patients in his care.

You can access the Blue Line map and audio tour by downloading the Visit Carson City app or pick up a map at the Carson City Visitors Bureau, 716 N. Carson St.

And while we’re talking about local Native Americans, another important historical reference point is Stewart Indian School, which served as an Indian boarding school from 1890 to 1980.

To learn more about the school and its history, take the self-guided walking tour of the campus.

Using your cell phone, you can listen to former students and employees of the school tell their stories of their personal experiences.

For more information about the Stewart Indian School, go to stewartindianschool.com.

Lest we forget the present and future of Carson City, a good way to celebrate that this upcoming week is with the open house to mark the completion of the downtown construction project. It will begin noon Friday with a ribbon-cutting in front of the Capitol.

It’ll be a fun way to celebrate the end (finally) of the orange cones downtown while supporting local businesses and their collective vision of the future.

Of course, there are countless ways to honor the Silver State this week, paying homage to its past and honoring its present.

Any way you decide to do it, make sure to wish Nevada a happy birthday.

Teri Vance is a journalist, freelance writer and native Nevadan. Contact her with column ideas at terivance@rocketmail.com.