Past Pages for Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018

150 Years Ago

St. Vallentine’s Ball (sic): The dance-loving community are reminded there is to be a ball this evening at Bryant’s Hotel, Clear Creek. Mr. Watkins, the proprietor of that inn, has made very ample arrangements for having just the very best kind of a time. Let every feller take his sweetheart — his Valentine — and waltz in.

130 Years Ago

Editor Kelly’s Escape: The ladies of Winnemucca will give a leap year ball on St. Valentine’s Eve. A bevy of pretty girls crowded into the sanctum of the Silver State last weekend and tried to coax Editor Kelly to promise to go with them instead of his wife, but he said there would be a war in the camp if he dared to. Thereupon one of the girls, for spite, took the exchange scissors and clipped a lock of his hair. This enraged the editor that he threw the paste cup at her head, missing her and striking the foreman on the side of the head. The foreman was compelled to lay off for two days. The girls ran from the office.

100 Years Ago

According to word received in this city late yesterday, the saloon of Leo Dietrich, at Gardnerville Sunday evening, was the scene of one of the most traitorous demonstrations that has ever taken place in Nevada. Particulars received here state that at the place and time mentioned a crowd of alien enemies and German sympathizers gathered and after the “beer” had been passed around a number of times the imbibers could no longer contain their instincts, and toast after toast was proposed to the kaiser, the German cause and to the sinking of the transport Tuscania. Yesterday the sheriff took away Dietrich’s license and ordered the saloon closed up and stayed until the job was done. (“Treason” continued on Thursday.)

70 Years Ago

For those that already don’t know about it, there is excellent skating now on the city pond in the Valley Park addition near the tennis courts. City Engineer Robert Wikenden said that 2 1/2 inches of ice now cover the large reservoir and that local blade enthusiasts had better make use of it.

50 Years Ago

Gov. Laxalt says he probably will ask legislators to consider a few more items at their special session. One of them will be a measure enabling Reno to annex deactivated Stead Air Force Base.

30 Years Ago

Mandatory drug and alcohol testing rules covering 200,000 railroad workers nationwide, providing for tests after major accidents or rule violations, were declared unconstitutional by a federal appeals court.

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