A train, a flag and a statue for the capital

Rarely does a day come along for Nevada's capital city like the one last week on which ground was broken for the Virginia & Truckee Railroad, the statue of Sarah Winnemucca was dedicated and work began anew on the C Hill flag.

The mix of history, pride and progress represented at the three events, which all happened on Wednesday, was enough to turn the most hard-boiled of cynics into a believer in the power of community and persistence.

That's why it's worth taking another moment to salute literally hundreds of people in Carson City and throughout Northern Nevada who persevered to see these projects become a reality.

For the V&T, it's a rebirth of an economic engine of the Comstock which, when finished, supporters expect to deliver a lode of tourism dollars to the capital and Virginia City. From an idea among a lonely handful of railroad enthusiasts nearly 20 years ago, the formal groundbreaking in Gold Hill was a momentous occasion.

The flag on C Hill is also a reconstruction project, and work remains there too. The memorial to the victims of Sept. 11, 2001, should stand for many years as a reminder of the patriotism that swelled then and remains a unifying bond among Carson residents.

Sarah Winnemucca's statue - unveiled during a ceremony that drew some 1,300 people to the state Capitol - provides a link to the national's capital, where a copy stands in the National Statuary Hall, as well as to Nevada's original residents.

It too was a labor of love and sheer perseverance, brought to a spectacular conclusion by sculptor Benjamin Victor.

Each of the three - train, flag, statue - is rich with the symbolism of what it means to be a Nevadan and resident of the capital city. That they crossed milestones on the same day is simply a testament to the people here who push forward every day to make it a special place to live.