Governor honors 'Patty' with proclamation

Alice Brockway sent me a copy of a commencement program she has from Carson City High School's June 1914 graduation.

Back then, the eight graduates celebrated an entire week of observances, kicking off with the Baccalaureate Sermon on Sunday morning and wrapping up with the Senior Class Play on Thursday and commencement exercises on Friday night.

They followed up the ceremony with the senior spread, which I can only imagine was a dinner.

Alice said she obtained the program about 20 years ago at a garage sale. She found it inside a book about ghost towns she'd purchased.

"It just fell out," she said. "By the time I got around to returning it, the people were gone; they'd moved away."

The graduating class consisted of Harry Charles Day, Gladys Fuchs, Elvina Heidenreich, Clara Eloise Hoopes, Edyth Jeanette Johns, Franklin Henry Morrison, Adele Cutts Norcross and Alice Towle.

The class flower was a dark red rose and the class color was dark red. The class motto reflected that of the state of Nevada, "All for our country."

There were five members of the faculty. W. J. Hunting was the principal and also taught math. F. T. Hamill served as vice principal and taught science and "manuel training." I figure it is really manual training, which I imagine is some sort of physical education. Mary L. Jamison taught German and Latin, Rowena Glass taught English and history and J.E. Richards taught shorthand.

Rev. Lloyd B. Thomas gave the invocation and the Hon. George A. Bartlett was the commencement speaker.

Alice said the program is a small booklet with printing on three pages.

Christine Baker says she is feeling much better after her bone marrow transplant and says she could be ready to go back to teaching at Carson Middle School next fall.

"The doctors said I could give it a try," she said Friday. "It's got a lot to do with stamina, and how it goes through the summer. But I am planning to go back to school. I've missed it a lot."

Christine's brother was the donor for her transplant. She has myleodysplastic syndrome, which is a result of the chemotherapy used to fight the multiple myeloma she was diagnosed with seven years ago.

She left for Stanford in January and returned about a month ago. After she returned, she and husband Tom had to drive back over the Sierra for a weekly check-up.

But after a short time, doctors told her she just needed to come back every three weeks and now she is up to six-week checkups.

"I think Tom enjoys the fact that he doesn't have to drive down to Stanford every week," she said.

"I've done so very well," she said. "Better than they anticipated. Whenever I have a checkup, the doctors and nurses just smile when they come back."

A reader of the Nevada Appeal for 22 years, Max Kuerzi of Dayton's Mia's Restaurant knows what we've published about the recent effort to eventually turn his establishment into a restaurant.

So, it always surprises him when people come in and tell him they thought they read he was closed.

Mia's is still open and still serving up the schnitzel.

Max said it will be at least two years before plans to convert the restaurant come to fruition. There's a lot of stuff that can happen over two years that might prevent it.

Friends and family gathered Thursday to say farewell to 22-year veteran Nevada Welfare Division investigator Charlotte "Patty" Wilson.

Charlotte, 56, died May 24 of a recurring heart condition, according to brother-in-law Paul Payne.

About a month before she died, Charlotte received a proclamation from Gov. Kenny Guinn on her retirement.

The governor signed the proclamation declaring May 31 a day in honor of Charlotte on April 17.

Carson Valley Days sparks some memories for those with roots in Douglas County.

For Jennifer Hollister, who grew up in Genoa, it's the memory of walking through the freezing cold as a child in the parade.

"Just as we got even with Sharkey's, it started to snow," she said. "Needless to say, they canceled the fireman's water fight."

Kurt Hildebrand is managing editor of the Nevada Appeal. Call him at 881-1215 or e-mail him at hildebrand@nevadaappeal.com