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RENO
THE HOLY BIBLE
I quote the following:
"When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it came to pass
that she find no favor in his eyes, because he hath found some
uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and
give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.
"And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another
man's wife."
From the fifth book of Moses, Deuteronomy, Chapter XXIV.
[Illustration: Lilyan Stratton]
A BOOK OF SHORT STORIES AND INFORMATION
BY
LILYAN STRATTON
Author of
"The Wife's Lesson"
"Feminine Philosophy"
Etc. Etc.
SCENIC VIEWS
by
VAN-NOY INTERSTATE COMPANY OF SAN FRANCISCO
1921
Lilyan Stratton Corbin
I dedicate this book to all good husbands and to my own in
particular.....
L.S.
CHAPTER
Part 1. Social and Industrial Life
Part 2. Reno Tragedies
Part 3. Reno Romance
Part 4. Reno Comedies
Part 5. Reno and its People
Part 6. Nevada Divorce Laws
Part 7. Sons of the Sagebrush
I do not guarantee the statements and information contained in this
book, but they are taken from sources which I believe to be accurate.
LILYAN STRATTON.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Washoe County Court House, Reno, Nevada
One of the Court Rooms in Famous Reno Court House
Palisades Canyon Showing Humbolt River
Lovers' Leap Blue Canyon
Truckee River Canyon
Off to Donner Lake
Amid the Snow at Truckee, California
Donner Lake
Truckee River Dam
Honeywood of the Wingfield Stables
Views of Reno's Public Play Grounds
University of Nevada
General View of Reno, Looking N. W.
Wingfield Home
The Truckee from Riverside Drive
Looking North of Virginia Street
Glenbrook
Cave Rock
Lake Tahoe
Lobby of the Golden Hotel
Mt. Rose School
Reno National Bank Building
Interior of Reno National Bank
Elk's Home
Y. M. C. A.
View of Nevada University Campus
Facsimile of Round Trip Ticket from New York to San Francisco
Renoites as Seen by a Reno Cartoonist
Riverside Hotel, Reno, Nevada
Captain J. P. Donnelly, Former State Police Superintendent
Senator H. Walter Huskey
Governor Emmett D. Boyle of Nevada
Governor's Mansion at Carson City
Frank Golden, Jr.
INTRODUCTORY
The magic little word "Reno" makes a smile creep over the face of
anyone who hears it mentioned, as a rule in recognition of the one
thing for which it is known. I have smiled myself with the rest of the
world in the past; in the future my smile will have a different
meaning.
I have lived in Reno. I have felt the pulse of its secret soul, and
have learned to understand its deeper meaning, and it is therefore
that I am able to uphold my intimate conviction in an attempt to
change the world's opinion of Reno and its laws from ridicule to
admiration. And if my book has any reason for being, it lies in this
attempt.
Those whom fate forces to visit "the big little city on the Truckee
River" will find in this book a great deal of carefully gathered
information for which before my pilgrimage I would have been so
thankful, and with the aid of which so much worry and heartache would
have been saved.
This book is not written with any intention whatsoever to propagate
divorce; I want this clearly and conclusively understood, so that
there can never be any misunderstanding.
To me there are three things sacred above all others: the first is
motherhood; the second marriage; the third is the home.
He or she who promiscuously profanes these sacred things is unworthy
of them and must pay the severest penalty.
My book is meant to be an appeal for happiness and health; an appeal
for peaceful homes, happy and contented husbands, happy wives and
mothers of happy, healthy and well bred children.
After all, unhappy and discontented human beings are unfit physically
and morally to produce the best work and the finest healthiest
children. The children are the forthcoming bearers of the world's
burdens and responsibilities. To them belongs the future, and already
too many social problems of the present age are due to the unhygienic
and illogical mating of the human male and female.
The divorce courts should only be appealed to as a last resort, to
free some tortured soul from a life of misery, caused by humiliation,
shame and hatred, the very essence of all evil. When the sacred state
of matrimony becomes so profaned and degraded that it soils everything
it comes in contact with; when even the minds of our children are
poisoned and distorted by the atmosphere, and the last ray of hope has
vanished, only then the hour has struck to ask the law for justice; to
appeal to the judge for redemption for humanity's sake.
Why have I written my book in parts, and why has each part its
individual interest and charm? Because readers may choose any part or
parts that especially interest them. If they are not interested in the
book for the information it gives, they will always find the short
stories and tales of Reno interesting and amusing.
Part 1. Social and Industrial Life: Is written to acquaint the
intended colonist or visitor with every phase of social and industrial
life. This is very important to know for many reasons. First the law
requires that one go to Reno for some other reason than divorce. So
you may go there for instance to become a student; it is a healthful
and therefore a fine place for study. The well equipped university
gives ample opportunity; and if one is taking one's children, which
often happens, it is well to know about the schools. It is well to
have some other purpose in view when joining the Reno Divorce Colony,
and to carry that purpose into effect. Also if one is not blessed with
over much of the goods of this world, one can earn one's way while
waiting. This part contains much information that is practical,
useful, essential and interesting.
The industries are very important. There are plenty of pleasant
positions to be had; plenty of opportunity for business, as you will
learn by reading this part; also many sorts of amusement, so that no
one need be bored. It is best to keep busy; busy people seldom get
lonely; lonely people often are too much in quest of companionship....
Moral, don't play with fire; and if you do get into trouble don't
blame it on the "altitude." Reno's altitude has been somewhat abused
by colonists in the past; loneliness is much more to blame for the
unhappy state of mind so often experienced out there, and loneliness
is mostly the result of idleness.
Part 2. Reno Tragedies: Consists of a few short tales of people who
have been members of the divorce colony. Whilst the comedy part
describes characters who find life is all froth, who skim its surface,
so to speak, those portrayed in this chapter are people who take
existence seriously; who want to drain the cup of life to its last
dregs! If one listens as one reads one can almost hear the steady
heart throbs.....
These are not exactly blue law stories, but as many great authors have
taken the liberty of depicting things just as they found them in real
life, my humble self has availed itself of the same prerogative. These
tragic little tales of the divorce colony should be dear to you as
they are to me; they are most appealing sketches in life.....
Part 3. Reno Romance: Relates the story of a fair Virginian whose
youthful mistake is righted through the Reno divorce courts. The fair
heroine is reunited with her girlhood sweetheart, and they live
happily ever after; a short story depicting another type of Reno
divorce case.
"Let us begin dear love where we left off, Tie up the broken threads
of that old dream."....
Part 4. Reno Comedies: Has been written to give the reader, whether a
would-be colonist or not, a glimpse of the humorous side of the
occurrences in this much-talked-of little city. Happiness after all is
not a question of the place, because "the city of happiness is in the
state of mind." However, any person, place or thing that has not its
funny side becomes rather dull, to say the least, and likewise the
mind that cannot appreciate the humorous side. This part consists of a
few plain tales from the humorous side of the lives of departed
celebrities of the divorce colony, and should be amusing and
entertaining to any reader. Naturally fictitious names have been used.
Part 5. Reno and Its People: Is meant to give prospective residents or
visitors an insight as to just what kind of place they may expect to
find, and to dispel any fears that the accommodations would not be
comfortable. It will acquaint newcomers with the kind of men and women
one finds oneself associated with in daily life, which to strangers in
a strange land, is most important, I think. Newly arrived colonists,
perhaps lonely and heartsick, will not find it quite so hard to go to
a strange country, if they know in advance that the people are
generous, big hearted and sympathetic; progressive and interested in
all things that stand for the betterment of humanity.
Part 6. Nevada Divorce Laws: Gives the reader any and all information
required to secure a divorce in Nevada; and besides it contains the
opinion of many great thinkers on the question of divorce, coupled
with a plea for universal divorce law. One should find this an
interesting chapter, whether a prospective colonist or not; its
contents, however, are absolutely indispensable for anyone
anticipating divorce in Nevada, and consequently ought to be read most
carefully; more especially so, as for the actual legal advice in this
part, I am greatly indebted to one of Reno's ablest lawyers, Senator
H. Walter Huskey.
Part 7. Sons of the Sagebrush: A few short biographical sketches of
men I met, read about and heard about during my stay in Reno. It is
well to know the kind of men we may come in contact with, both in
business and in a social way; most certainly it is well to know the
type of men we may have to come in contact with in a business way. For
that reason I have written a few little sketches of these men. Among
them are lawyers, judges, mining men, hotel men, politicians and
pioneers. Aside from giving some useful information this part is
interesting for its character studies and its amusing little
incidents.
LILYAN STRATTON. November, 1921.
[Illustration: WASHOE COUNTY COURT HOUSE. RENO NEVADA]
PART 1
SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL LIFE
Dull in Reno? Why no; how can one be bored in this delightful "big
little city," when here you will find a concentration of all the most
picturesque phases of life--a conglomeration of gaiety and tragedy,
humor and drama, frivolity and learning! What a fertile field for the
psychologist and sociologist.
It is wonderfully interesting not always to turn to books only, with
their rigid, lifeless rules and laws; books can only convey to us the
things someone else has learned! Those who desire a real understanding
of human nature's handiwork must work and play on human mountains, in
human fields and human swamps.
Being an ardent student of life and character, I have found Reno
highly interesting and amusing, and dear reader, if you will do me the
honor to accompany me through the following pages of this chapter, I
am sure you too will be interested.
First we will visit the restaurants, cafes and hotels which are
teeming with the vigor of life, vibrant and pulsating; and if you know
and understand human relationship, or wish to, then you may overflow
with sympathy, laugh in conviviality, or perhaps weep in the privacy
of your own room for what is and for what might have been....
The fashionable restaurant is not a large pretentious place,
elaborately decorated, but there is something in the atmosphere which
is not tangible but which we yet can sense. Who are all these people?
and if each told his own story, how tremendously interesting it might
be! Unconsciously, you know that the atmosphere is distinctive; that
things are different; so many interesting personalities grouped into
such a small place is something most unusual.
Over in the corner is a New York banker; his strong, handsome face
marked with character lines and crowned with white hair: the stamp of
long years of struggle in the financial world. See, he is smiling
across the table at his companion, and his face is almost boyish as he
chats and laughs. Such a companion! I wonder what fate has sent her to
cheer the desert city; a modern Cleopatra, even more beautiful than
she of Egypt: a radiant beauty, this dark-eyed queen of the Orient;
ruby lips and teeth of matched pearls; hair black as midnight, and
fires smoldering in dreamy eyes as if in pools of mystery... Bored in
Reno? How could one be?
This is only a cafe such as you might visit in any other city. One
might see the same banker and the same Oriental beauty in a New York
cafe. But there they would not be nearly so interesting; for such
people to be in Reno means either a domestic comedy, tragedy or
romance. Each one is a puzzle, and one finds oneself intent upon
divining the mystery embodied in these personalities, as they come and
go like shadows on a screen.
Now the waiter comes: there is something unusual about him also; one
can't help noticing his big, powerful form as he bends over the table
to take the order; he is a New York chauffeur working his way free
from a nagging wife, so that he may marry a popular society belle. You
can forgive her, can't you, for admiring his handsome physique; a
Greek god he is in spite of his Irish brogue and bad ear for
grammar.... But then she probably does not hear much of that, and
won't if he is wise.
That little woman over there with the carmine lips and black eyes, she
is the wife of a Methodist minister and is here for the "cure" of
course, like the rest. She is going to hitch her matrimonial wagon to
a vaudeville "star" by way of a change! "The very day I get my
decree," she told me.
There comes an interesting couple. I think the woman is Moroccan.
Doesn't she look a barbarous relic with those immense rings in her
ears? You feel that there should be one strung through her nose, too.
There is a story abroad that she is the consort of a well known
millionaire of Chicago; after several unsuccessful attempts on her
part at stabbing him, he is giving half his fortune in alimony to get
rid of her. The other night at Ricks' she threw a plate at a man
because for five minutes he paid more attention to her woman friend
than to her.... A dangerous playmate, methinks!
That charming little lady in a symphony of blue, surrounded by a
company of admiring friends, is Mme. Alice, a Broadway opera star; her
story is very interesting indeed. No, I dare not tell; it is
sufficient that you should know that she is a gentle, sweet little
mother, although she looks a mere girl herself. She has a voice of
unusual quality and dramatic sweetness. I have had the pleasure of
hearing her sing at several concerts which she gave for charity. She
is extremely generous in that direction and always draws a packed
house. She got her divorce while I was out there and passed on like
the other shadows on the screen. The last I saw of her was when she
was singing the "Battle Cry of Freedom" in the Hotel Golden lobby, as
her decree had been granted. Her face was just radiantly happy as she
repeated several times: "I am free, I am free."....
At a table, back in the shadows of the palms by the piano, sits
another interesting little lady from gay New York. She is also a
singer of note and the wife of a well known author. She has taken a
mansion on the banks of the Truckee, and brought along her retinue of
servants. Of course she is beautiful, the golden haired, blue eyed
type, with a complexion like tinted rose leaves....
Who is that lone man at the table just opposite? Ah! that bearded
gentleman with light hair, wearing a black tie; an artist-looking sort
of chap? That is a world-famous portrait painter. I had the pleasure
of meeting him and his beautiful bride at Cannes, Southern France,
some years ago. Yes, he does look rather forlorn; there is a pathetic
droop to his mouth. No, he is not here for a divorce; one of the
exceptions.
He arrived a few days ago from Tangiers; it was while there that he
received by registered post his wife's summons in her divorce suit,
and he took the first ship back to America to fight the suit and to
try to win back his beautiful wife, who, by the way, is also a
talented artist. But alas! Cupid is a stubborn little beggar; though
blind as a bat and not very large, yet he has a will of his own, and
won't be driven or led....
Though the man seated over there is apparently very interesting and is
internationally known as a great artist and an exhibitor in the Royal
Academy in London; though he must have loved his wife very much, to
have traveled half way around the world from the northern coast of
Africa to Reno, in order to try and bring about a reconciliation,
still the beautiful wife has gone on with her divorce, which was
finally granted, though bitterly contested!
And so there he sits as though lingering over the grave of a great
love. Bow down, ye Gods, and weep....
The hotels also are filled with interesting types; the pretty girl at
the news-stand today suddenly disappeared! Yes, she got her divorce!
In her place is the homeliest man you have even seen, and all the
traveling men look disgusted and buy their papers from the newsboys in
the street. The hotel stenographer has also taken her departure, and
now we see a dainty blonde in place of the statuesque brunette. The
brunette has gotten her divorce and has gone to San Francisco to marry
a millionaire sportsman, so I hear.
The beautiful lady with the sparkling black eyes, between that little
boy and girl, is a violinist. They have the rooms over mine, and for
several months I have heard the patter of tiny feet and childish free
laughter; but I fear the mother does not laugh so much. I have been
told that she lives in constant fear lest her husband come and take
the children from her. In this case, I am told, there is a chance of
reconciliation. I hope so with all my heart!
The tall, handsome old gentleman speaking to her is a retired civil
engineer; very wealthy I believe. He lived twenty-one years with his
first wife who died; after some time he married again, but after one
year of married life he is here for the "cure." He is an enthusiastic
sportsman, a good horseman and very popular.
The Court House is the next place of interest to study character, to
find interesting personalities and new types. You may go over any day
and watch some poor victim's case being tried. If one is doing time
one self, it is a very good way to obtain inside information, though
it is a bit like being at your own hanging..... not exactly, of
course, but enough to make the anticipation peculiarly gruesome. Each
searching question of the judge seems to draw the noose around the
plaintiff's neck tighter and tighter; you will hold your breath: a
word, and the six months' exile and more are all in vain..... Not
until the final decision, "Judgment for the plaintiff," is pronounced
do you heave a sigh of relief.
[Illustration: ONE OF THE COURT ROOMS IN FAMOUS RENO COURT HOUSE]
Each day the divorce mill grinds the steady grist, and it is there
that one has a splendid opportunity of studying personality and
character. The wife who is nagged and abused; the one who is obliged
to support herself and her children; the one who has outgrown her
charms; the luxurious beauty who has spent her husband's fortune and
is preparing to spend another in the same way; the wife who has made a
mistake and found the right man at the wrong time; the wife whose
husband another woman has taken; the wife of a drunkard or a gambler.
The husband who is nagged; the husband whose wife is a spendthrift;
the husband whose wife wins prizes at bridge and neglects her home;
the husband whose wife has deserted him when he needed her most....
Naturally the stories you hear from the "aspirants" are always
plausible; and so they go by, the endless passing show.
Next we will go to dinner; we will dine at the Hotel Golden tonight;
they have just opened their new restaurant, and the food is excellent;
so is the cabaret. There are two beautiful girls, new arrivals, who
sing very well indeed; one is tall and fair and more than usually
interesting. This beautiful girl sings with wonderful expression; a
sweet tender passion, expressing at the same time a great love and a
world of sympathy .... It is said that out of suffering comes
sympathy, out of pain tenderness....
This girl might well burst into fame on the heart throbs of her songs;
they are the voice of a soul which has suffered much, loved much and
has become all tenderness and all sweetness.
Another interesting type whose story will be told at the Court House
in a few months.
There is a violinist who is exceptional also; he draws the bow over
his violin, and low, sweet strains of music come floating to our ears;
then the music will suddenly change to the wild ecstasy of joy which
will compel you to notice the player. When you look at him, you will
know that his soul is not there; your heartstrings will quiver until
the music stops; then you will suddenly find that you have forgotten
to eat, and that the food is cold.... But you ponder on: you wonder
who that artist-dreamer is; he must have been leading his love through
poppy fields, kissing away from starving lips love's hunger, while he
played.... Yes, he is here for the "cure."
After dinner we will go to the theatre. There are several theatres,
but the large productions usually go to the Majestic, which is modern
in every respect and has seating capacity of more than one thousand.
All the New York productions that make the Pacific Coast Tour play
Reno. All the eminent musicians such as Kreisler, Misha Elman, the
Boston Symphony Orchestra, and others, stop here on their Western
tour, and their concerts are always well attended and tremendously
appreciated.
Tonight we will hear the Boston Symphony....
You are surprised at the large ultra-fashionable audience; there are
as many in evening dress as one would expect to see at a New York
first night; here one can't tell the members of the Divorce Colony
from the residents. They are an aggregation of well dressed,
appreciative people, anxious to enjoy the evening's wonderful music.
Dancing is the next in line of indoor amusements; most of the hotels
and restaurants have splendid floors and excellent dance music. At
Wilsonian Hall there is a beautiful ball room, and those who wish to
learn the latest steps will find an expert teacher in Mrs. Wilson who
takes special trips to New York every season in order to become
acquainted with the very latest dances. Her classes and receptions are
patronized by the best people, both of the Colony and City, and are
very interesting and popular.
Those who take their pleasure in life a little more seriously will
find an excellently equipped public library, thanks to Mr. Carnegie.
There is also a very fine collection of books at the University of
Nevada, which is conveniently located in a very beautiful part of the
city. I should like to pay a passing tribute to the University staff.
They are as fine a set of professors as one could possibly desire to
have. I had an opportunity of attending some of the lectures during
the Summer Course and found them exceedingly interesting and well
delivered.
Of special interest to women would be the Century Club, a well
organized body of the best women in the city. They are interested in
home economics, child welfare and improvement of social conditions
generally. They own their own spacious club house, which has a large
assembly hall, lecture room, banquet hall, service kitchen and large
grounds facing the river, with tennis courts and other conveniences
for entertaining.
There is also a Suffragette Club which is known as the Civic League,
and is also instrumental in promoting public welfare. The Mothers'
Clubs or Associations too, are better developed than those in many a
large city; a fact which rather agreeably surprised me and proves how
decidedly progressive are the women of the West.
And now we will have a look round and visit the out-of-door
attractions, which are many and varied. In summer, there is Belle
Isle, a beautiful little amusement park on the banks of the Truckee,
almost in the center of the city and the scene of many jolly
carnivals. The city park is also a pretty little spot, and here are
given many festivals and concerts for the Red Cross and other
charitable organizations. It is a delightful place to spend a summer
afternoon or evening. The gay music, flying colors and beautifully
tinted light among the branches of the trees are all an inspiration to
free happiness. There too it is delightful to sit when all is quiet,
and watch the moonlight on the snow-capped mountains, while the warm
summer breeze stirs the leaves above and the distant rushing waters of
the Truckee float out to you like fairy laughter on the summer air.
[Illustration: PALISADES CANYON SHOWING HUMBOLT RIVER]
Nature has many delightful surprises in store for the new arrival in
Reno; when you have strayed out to Moana Hot Springs and have taken a
refreshing dip, you will agree with me. I thought the water was heated
until a friend explained that it came gushing out of the ground almost
boiling hot and had to be cooled off for the pools. There had been
Jeffries' quarters during his training for the Jeffries-Johnson fight.
From Moana one can see Steamboat Springs; these springs can be seen
from a distance of several miles, owing to the fact that they send a
steady stream of hot steam into the air, which spreads over an area of
a mile or more; it is a strange sight to see this stream ascending
into the clear atmosphere from the roaring regions below. The various
hot springs to me are the most wonderful part of nature's loveliness.
Here one may watch lonely colonists and native maidens dive and play
in the water whilst listening to their laughter. An early morning dip
in the pool and a swift canter back to town will start your blood
tingling; clear the city-cramped lungs and fill them with Nevada's
fresh invigorating air. It will make one feel like a two year old and
add ten years to one's life.....
Ricks, the famous road house, and training quarters of Jack Johnson,
the black champion prize fighter, is within walking distance of Reno.
Its chicken dinners have helped to make the place famous. There are
private rooms for those who seek seclusion, a splendid dance floor,
and I am told that here the mechanical pianos grind out waltzes, one
steps and fox trots, whilst glasses clink far into the night and
parties of colonists make merry.
Farther on is Laughton Hot Springs, another popular bathing resort.
This place is mostly patronized by motorists and equestrians and is
more fortunate than the others in its location. The little rustic
hotel is built in the cosiest nook, just at the bend of the river; the
fine old trees bend their graceful branches over the rushing waters in
which the majestic mountains reflect their wondrous beauty. Here one
may obtain private dressing rooms and bathing pools, or a party of two
or more may have a number of dressings rooms opening onto the same
pool. The water in the pools changes every fifteen minutes. I am told
there is a continuous inflow and overflow, which empties out into the
river.
What a wonderful spot to build a modern structure with beautiful steam
rooms, modern dressing rooms and marble bathing pools, in place of the
crude board sheds which rather spoil the natural beauty of this place
of many charms, where one may bathe in the hot springs pool, fish in
the river, wine, dine and dance! What more could the soul in exile
wish for?
If you wish for seclusion, seek a tranquil spot on the banks of the
river; dream to your heart's content, watch the silvery moonbeams play
among the branches and sparkle on the river, and listen to the sighing
of the summer wind. I know of no place near New York endowed with so
many of nature's charms.
Fishing in the river is good, but fishing in the mountain brooks and
streams is much better, and one can take a pack-horse, ride up over
the mountains and discover places which look as though they dropped
right out of a picture book.
Rubicon Springs is such a place; a quaint old hunting and fishing
camp, where a few nature lovers hide away from; the world every summer
and really "rough it." I caught there some of the finest mountain
trout I have even seen; I also saw a party of men bring in a very fine
deer one afternoon, a feat which caused quite a little excitement
among the guests.
This isolated spot cannot be reached by automobile, it being about
fifteen miles from the main road over a rugged mountain trail.
There is certainly everything to be wished for in the way of out-of-
door amusements in and near Reno. There besides motoring, riding,
fishing, hunting, swimming and dancing are the tennis courts and the
golf links. The Golf Club gives many interesting tournaments and is
one of the social centers in summer for the elite, as is the race
track where one may meet the world and its wife. The track is good and
the horses as fine as one can see anywhere, all of which helps to
render this sport most fascinating.
[Illustration: LOVER'S LEAP BLUE CANYON]
Talking of horses reminds me of one of my never-to-be-forgotten rides
to Laughton Springs. Those who have never seen a Nevada sunset, while
riding over the Sierras at the close of day, can have no conception of
its wondrous beauty. I will try to tell you about it.
We started one evening at a brisk canter over the swelling foot hills
along the Truckee River, whence we could see Mt. Rose lift its stately
head, clothed in royal robes of crimson and purple which half revealed
and half concealed its snow-capped peaks and pine-clad grandeur.
As we rode over the mountains which tower above the rivers and the
greenest valleys, a storm came up; storm clouds dark and threatening,
the most imposing I have ever seen. In a short while the storm passed
over and the last rays of the setting sun shone on three mountain
peaks across the river and valley. It is impossible to imagine a more
exquisite display of colors. I think it must have been like the light
that shines on a happy mother's face when she holds her love-child in
her arms. And then a rainbow encircled the illuminated mountains, like
a beautiful filmy halo about the head of the Madonna, while beneath
lay the Truckee; its water like silvery veins and sparkling gems,
glistening and trembling in the golden light. And stretching away to
the north and east lay the sagebrush plains, wrapped in the silence of
a dying day and illuminated with the sheen of God's promise of a to-
morrow to come..... A wonderful picture: Nature's own masterpiece!
The motor trips are the next in line of outdoor amusements and these
trips will afford one the splendid opportunity of seeing, apart from
the unexcelled scenery, the numerous places of interest. First, Carson
City, the Capital; the State Penitentiary and the Government Indian
School, also the Indian homes and reservations; you will find them all
interesting. Carson City was founded in 1858 and was named after Kit
Carson, the famous scout. The capital is thirty miles from Reno,
fourteen miles from Lake Tahoe and twenty-two from Virginia City.
[Illustration: TRUCKEE RIVER CANYON]
The elevation of Virginia City is six thousand feet above sea level.
There you may don skin garments and go down three thousand feet in a
mine on the famous Comstock Lode. The heat in some of the mines is so
intense it is impossible to stand it for more than a few minutes at a
time.
There is so much of interest in these famous old mining camps and in
the strange freaks of nature. Here are the numerous hot springs and
Pyramid Lake, an enormous body of water forty miles out in the desert,
which possesses no apparent outlet although the Truckee flows into it.
And apart from that, the development of agriculture and irrigation is
interesting.
I will try and describe some of my motor trips through Nevada and
California.
One fine Sunday we set out on an automobile trip to Virginia City over
the great Gieger Grade, which has become so famous through the
wonderful Comstock Lode from which over seven hundred millions in gold
and silver have been extracted. The ride was most exciting, and the
magnificent scenes unrolling themselves continuously upon each swerve
round a sharp curve or a dangerous bend, just held us all enthralled.
Often I was reminded of Switzerland, and then as I gazed, more and
more enraptured by the delirious orgy of multi-colored hues, and
looked at the precipitous ascent we had made; at the heights we had
yet to climb, and at the undulating peaks that stood like an army of
sentinels guarding us on every side, I forgot I was in the land of
Nevada. I had drifted into an Arabian Night reverie, and not till the
forty horse-power winged horse suddenly lost its equilibrium and gave
a most ungainly lurch, not till then did I redescend to earth. While
the incapacitated horse partook of first aid to the injured, I got out
and gathered some of the prettiest little flowers I have ever seen;
all the more marvelous because nature takes care of them in some
mysterious way which we cannot understand, since rain is practically
unknown in Nevada. There was the beautiful spotless desert lily; the
delicate desert violet, the fascinating yellow blossom of the pungent
native growth--the sagebrush--and many others.
[Illustration: OFF TO DONNER LAKE picture shows a dogsled team]
My next motor trip was from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara; there the
scenery compares with that of Nevada as an exquisite water color
compares to a grand old oil painting. We went spinning along over a
perfect road from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara, and I felt that
America might well be proud of this wonderful state. Surely none other
possesses such a variety of climate, or such a variety of beauty.
Hardly do I dare attempt a description of all this magic scenery. It
seemed a dream to me; just color everywhere. Green valleys and
turquoise skies; snow-capped mountains and rosy sunsets. For many
miles we wound round and round the mountain side, through orange
groves, laden with golden fruit, tucked away in the emerald green
foliage, and fruit orchards abounding with spring blossoms. And then
we came to the Pacific Ocean which stretched far out into the
infinite, reflecting the rose-colored sky just at sunset. The dream of
it all is still with me. I could hardly realize that a week before I
had been flying through the pure white sparkling snow in the same
state; and yet, here I was only a few hours away.... One sojourning in
Reno should not miss a trip through California while in the
neighborhood of that glorious state. San Francisco is only a day's
journey by rail, and the trip is truly worth while.
Reno is not without its out-door winter sports; it has the advantage
of being only thirty-six miles from Truckee, California. While flowers
are blooming and birds singing their spring songs in Southern
California, the Snow Queen reigns at Truckee in the mountains, six
thousand feet above the sea. Here people from San Francisco and other
large cities gather to indulge in winter sports, such as skiing,
tobogganing and sleighing, and many professionals go there to display
their art in skiing and skating; the Switzerland of the West, I would
call it. It was all too fascinating and too beautiful: six feet of
snow everywhere, and everything sparkling white in the sunshine.
[Illustration: AMID THE SNOW AT TRUCKEE, CALIFORNIA illustration shows
a dogsled team]
Once I started out to see Donner Lake, which reposes between Summit,
the highest point on this trip across the Great Divide, and Truckee.
We were in a sleigh drawn by a team of huskies: real Alaskan dogs. I
have ridden pretty much everything from a broomstick to a bronco, but
this was my first experience with huskies. I thought it was going to
be hard work for the dogs, but they frolicked about in the snow with
their pink tongues out, showing all their teeth as though they were
laughing in fiendish glee and enjoying every moment of it.
Truckee is only about thirty-three miles from Reno by automobile, and
the distance by train is thirty-six miles, so there should be no
excuse for not visiting this American Switzerland.
Another point of information which I discovered and think will
interest you quite as much as it did me, was that most all the great
moving picture companies go to Truckee to take their Alaskan scenes.
And now whenever you see a beautiful arctic picture on the screen, you
will realize that you are not looking at the frigid regions of Alaska,
but at the glories of California.
The Snow Queen knows, however, that when she tires of her realm of
snow, a really, truly fairy land awaits her only a few hours distant,
where she may play Fairy Queen and wander through fields of golden
poppies, filling her arms with spring blooms, in beautiful Southern
California.
In Reno itself moonlight skating parties on the river and the
University pond are popular also. Dull in Reno? Absurd!
Nevada is necessarily a mining state. Apart from the $700,000,000 in
gold and silver taken from the Comstock Lode, Nevada's mines have
supplied the world with thousands of tons of other materials, such as
lead, zinc, etc., and thus when one thinks of the industries in
Nevada, it is quite natural to think of mining first. There it is in
the air. Everywhere you are confronted with specimens of ore: in the
offices of mining companies, in your lawyer's office, on the doctor's
desk, on your friend's dressing table, next to the Bible in the
minister's home. A chubby baby will gurgle and coo over a piece of
this polished rock, and hold it in a little pink fist; old, white
haired men will feebly finger a rough specimen streaked with green and
amber. The spell of Nevada.....
Walk out over the desert or ride over the hills, and as far as you can
see, the sides of the mountains are perforated with holes made by
prospectors; thousands and thousands of them, every one representing a
hope. A promoter will take a piece of this beautifully colored rock
and explain to you about the percentage of gold or copper it contains,
the cost of extracting it and the enormous profits to be made; a
friend will show you a marvelous specimen and explain that he or she
owns a half interest in the claim which is sure to turn out at least
half a million..... Then you will perhaps think of Robert Service's
"Spell of the Yukon" and you will understand the enthusiasm and spirit
of optimism.
After all, why should they not be enthusiastic and optimistic? The
whole state is piled high with mountains which look just like the ones
in which so much gold and other valuable minerals have been
discovered; if they are the same on top, why are they not the same
below the surface?
Tell us, you opal colored mountains of Nevada, what stores of precious
treasures are you guarding from the greedy hand of man and how soon
will you throw open another door of your treasure house?
After having lived in the West and visited the mines and talked with
the old-timers, I can easily understand the fascination of prospecting
and mining, and why, in spite of all the hardships it entails, so many
have become enslaved by the spell of it.
The Crystal Saloon, at Virginia City, was built during the days of the
first great boom, and on its register are many names of famous people.
Under the year 1863, I saw written the following: "Clemens, Samuel L.,
Local Editor of Territorial Enterprise..." Mark Twain!
The old-timers will tell you stories about Mark Twain's adventures in
Nevada's mining camps almost as funny as those he himself wrote about
in his book "Roughing It."
In the register of the Washoe Club, organized in 1875, are the name of
Thomas A. Edison, Fred. Grant (son of General Grant), and many other
famous names.
[Illustration: Donner Lake]
I have been informed of a new discovery in connection with the native
plant, the sage-brush. I am told there are splendid prospects for the
development of potash and denatured alcohol from the huge sagebrush
fields of the state.
The principal business of Reno consists of banks, hotels, shops and
restaurants. The shops do the city credit; they are up-to-date and
well kept, and you will find almost every kind of shop. The electrical
stores display every new electrical device on the market. The
stationery shops are equally well equipped; the candy stores most
tempting and excellent in every way, and the music store, hardware,
drug, corsetiere, gents furnishing, shoe, fancy goods and department
stores, the hair dressing parlors and florist shops are all up-to-date
and as fine as you could find in any city twice Reno's size. The
grocery stores and butcher shops and markets are of the finest. These
places employ hundreds of people and the department stores send their
buyers to New York and Paris.
Reno has two daily papers, namely, the "Evening Gazette" and the
"Nevada Journal." The "Nevada Journal" belongs to the Associated Press
and has its private telegraph wires by which it receives the news
direct.
The hotels and apartment houses are always well filled. They are up-
to-date, well kept and flourishing; the cafes are constantly being
enlarged. The real estate business is also progressive; one may rent
splendidly furnished houses, or modest cottages, or apartments at very
fair prices. There I first saw the automatic elevator, the kind that
you ring for and that runs down by itself and opens its own door; then
you get in, press a button at the number you wish to get off at, and
the elevator runs itself up to the floor indicated, stops and opens
its door. The same apartments have beds that fold up automatically
into the wall, leaving nothing in evidence except a beautifully
paneled mirror.
The Reno Commercial Club, which was founded in 1907, is made up of a
body of the representative men of the state, who are organized to
encourage educational and social intercourse, and to aid in social and
material up-building of the city and state.
Its executive board is as follows: Charles S. Knight, H. H. Kennedy,
Tasker L. Oddie, B. Adams, Fred Stadtmuller, R. L. Kimmel, E. H.
Walker.
The Club's efforts are continually directed toward the encouragement
of new enterprises, the securing of capital for new industries and
investments; the dissemination of literature regarding the resources
of Nevada; the building of good roads and cooperation with other
states for a national highway; the immigration of settlers upon the
agricultural lands of the state, more intensive farming, expansion of
dairy interests, fruit growing and other agricultural industries.
The Commercial Club is always obliging in extending the courtesy of
its information bureaus in matters pertaining to the affairs of the
city or state. Write to it!
Nevada has made very broad strides in the direction of agriculture
owing to its irrigation development. The Easterners somehow have an
idea that Nevada has made very little progress since pre-historic
days; that the West is still wild and wooly and consists of cow-boys,
cattle ranches and rattle-snakes; but this impression is very
erroneous. The picturesque cow-boy is practically a thing of the past,
and so is the highwayman; the picturesque stage-coach with its four to
six teams is almost forgotten; and I did not see one rattle-snake
during all my exploits in the mountains and over the deserts. What has
become of all those historic things which we so closely linked with
the wild and woolly West of the past? They have retreated into
oblivion before the great wheel of progress.....
It is a mistaken idea to imagine that because Nevada is such a
mountainous country it is unsuitable for agriculture. There are many
broad green valleys, flourishing and producing splendid farm products.
This of course is the astonishing result of artificial methods of
irrigation. Alfalfa and potatoes are Nevada's greatest crop; wheat,
rye, oats and other cereals are also grown. Some of the ranches have
splendid orchards consisting of pears, apples, plums, cherries, etc.,
and the production will undoubtedly increase as greater irrigation
developments are introduced.
[Illustration: Trucker River Dam]
What irrigation will do for the parched deserts of the West remains as
yet to be seen, but when I stop to consider that all the famous spots
of California owe their beauty almost entirely to irrigation, then I
dare predict great things for the desert states.
In a 1918 issue of the United States Geographical Survey Press
Bulletin is an article which is particularly interesting for the
possibilities it suggests at once to the reader for the utilization of
waters. It reads as follows: "'Underground Water in Nevada Deserts.'
"In Nevada the bedrock forms a corrugated surface consisting of more
or less parallel mountain ranges and broad intervening troughs that
are filled to great depths with rock waste washed from the mountains.
These great deposits of rock waste were in large part laid down by
torrential streams and are relatively coarse and porous. Because these
deposits are porous the rain that falls upon them and the run-off that
reaches them from the mountains sinks into them, and the valleys in
which they lie are exceptionally arid. These deposits, however, form
huge reservoirs in which the water is stored and in which, to the
limit of the capacity of the reservoirs, it is protected from
evaporation. So well is this water hidden that its existence was not
suspected by many of the early travelers, and even today long desert
roads on which there are no watering places, lead over areas where
ground-water could easily be obtained.
"In a desert valley, even where no wells have been sunk, it is
generally possible to ascertain and outline the areas where ground
water lies near the surface and to make an intelligent forecast of the
depths to water in other parts of the valley. If a sufficient number
of observations are made, it is also generally possible to form a
rough estimate of the quantity of water that is annually available in
such a valley and to predict to some extent the capacity of wells, the
quality of the water, and the cost of recovery."
To anyone familiar with Nevada, there are dozens of such desert
reaches which must instantly suggest themselves to the mind, and it is
interesting to speculate, not altogether idly, on how advantage might
be taken of such conditions. The Bulletin particularly speaks of one
of these areas:
"In an investigation recently made by O. E. Meinzer, of the United
States Geological Survey of the Department of the Interior, in Big
Smokey Valley and adjacent area near Tonopah, Nev., the character of
the vegetation and other surface criteria show that the ground-water
stands within ten feet of the surface over an area of 130,000 acres.
The measurements made indicate that tens of thousands of acre feet of
water are annually contributed by mountain streams and by rainfall to
the underground reservoir, and that about the same quantity of ground-
water is annually discharged into the atmosphere through the soil and
the plants in the shallow water areas. It was estimated that in an
area of 240,000 acres the ground-water lies within 50 feet of the
surface and that in an area of 335,000 acres it lies within 100 feet
of the surface. Detailed maps were made showing the location and
extent of these areas."
Nevada, because of its peculiar geographical and climatological
situation, will always need to irrigate its land to produce crops.
Where irrigation waters are available, the soil has proved abundantly
fertile, but Nevada has been handicapped by a lack of water for these
very soils which would be capable of producing the best crops.
If, perhaps, underlying those fertile though now arid areas there is
such a reservoir of untapped waters as the Bulletin describes, there
must instantly occur to the mind the question: "Cannot these waters be
made available?"
Elsewhere in Nevada great arid areas have been reclaimed by tapping
such underground reservoirs and raising the waters to the surface for
irrigation purposes with gasoline motors, where they have not flowed
of their own accord, in artesian wells. Nevada has not ventured far
into this field because it has not felt the necessity. But why wait on
necessity? Why should not Nevada attempt to reach this water? It could
easily do so and so add much valuable fertility to the state's already
important resources.
Of course, if these new irrigation resources of the state were to
become sufficiently utilized, then there would seem no reason why
Nevada should not be one of our best agricultural states.
The Truckee River is a splendid asset to Reno. Fed by the eternal
snows of the Sierra Nevadas, with a fall of 2,442 feet between Lake
Tahoe and Pyramid Lake, it affords a water power equalled by few
rivers in the U. S. A. Its power plants now supply light and power for
all near-by mines; Mason Valley, Youngton, Virginia City and the
Comstock Lode; yet these power stations do not generate one-tenth of
the power that could be obtained. It is said that it would easily be
possible to develop 40,000 horse-power within five miles of Reno.
This means that Reno has great advantages as an industrial center, and
as water power is known to be low in cost and as there is an immense
quantity of iron ore in the state, it might eventually be considered a
fine place to manufacture war supplies, especially for use on the
Pacific Coast.
The Southern Pacific Shops are at Sparkes near Reno and are of great
advantage to Reno merchants. These shops do the general repair work of
the Salt Lake Division of the Southern Pacific; they employ between
five and six hundred men at an approximate payroll of $125,000 per
month.
The Verdi Lumber Company near Reno employs from 350 to 400 men in its
mills, box factories and logging camps, at a monthly payroll of
approximately $25,000.
In addition to these industries there are the Reno and Riverside
mills, and large stock yards and packing houses. Nevada is a noted
stock growing state for great droves of sheep, hogs and cattle;
Nevada's beef is famous throughout the United States.
Reno, as well as all Nevada, is proud of the world-famous Wingfield
racing stables, and not without reason. Mr. George Wingfield is a
great connoisseur of horseflesh and has spared neither pains nor
expense in order to add the best thoroughbreds to his stock. Even as I
write, the news reaches me that an expert has left for England to
purchase for Mr. Wingfield four mares and a stud, Atheling, a great
English favorite.
[Illustration: Honeywood of the Wingfield Stables]
At present Mr. Wingfield has in his stables about 75 horses. I had the
privilege of visiting them some time ago, and made the acquaintance of
some of his prize yearlings. They were wonderful animals, just as fine
as any I have ever seen, and I think I know and understand horses
pretty well. There is one, Honeywood, a beautiful stallion, who was
the winner of the Cambridgeshire stakes at Newmarket, England, in
1911. I don't think I have ever seen a more beautiful animal.
The fact to be deplored is that the Federal and State Legislatures are
not taking sufficient interest in the reforestation of Nevada; they
should enforce the planting of two or three trees for every one that
is felled. I believe some such law is now in force in the state of
Washington and elsewhere. Near the big mining camps in Nevada around
Reno, the mountains have been literally stripped of all their trees in
the development of the mining industries. It has been a case of: "All
Take and No Give."
And now we come to "Divorce" which, if not actually an industry, can
all the same easily pass for one, for there is no doubt but that the
influx of prospective divorcees, of both sexes, contributes a goodly
portion toward the financial welfare of Reno. Not only do hotels,
restaurants, cafes and shops reap an abundant harvest from the luxury-
loving wealthy colony, but even real estate prospers, as many
"aspirants" rent cottages for the "season."
Lawyers are kept busy all the time; the banks are opening new accounts
for every patient who comes to town, and therefore on more mature
consideration, why should we not call it the "Divorce Industry"?
After all, what's in a name?
[Illustration: Views of Reno's Public Play Grounds]
RENO HAS ALL THE ADVANTAGES OF A BIG CITY WITH NONE OF ITS
DISADVANTAGES
The following is a reprint of a circular prepared by the Reno Chamber
of Commerce:
Location--Reno is situated in Western Nevada, twelve miles from the
state line, and on the borderland of the lofty Sierras and Nevada
plateau. The city lies in a fertile valley through which the beautiful
Truckee flows, and is surrounded by high mountains.
Area of Reno--Three square miles.
Population--Power company, telephone company and school census show
over 15,000; government census, 12,016.
Elevation--4,500 feet.
Climate--Winters short, moderately cold and open, with very little
snow. Cool, dry, delightful summers, with cool nights, allowing
refreshing sleep. No thunderstorms, hail, fogs or earthquakes. Average
number of days without a cloud in the sky, 195; partly clouded, 105;
and cloudy, 65. Doctors prescribe Reno's sunshine, dry atmosphere and
altitude for health.
Railroads and Rates--Three railroads enter Reno; the Southern Pacific,
the Western Pacific and the Virginia and Truckee, affording the city
transportation facilities enjoyed by few Western cities. At the
present time Reno enjoys full terminal rates or better for goods
shipped from Eastern points and the distribution rates to the Nevada
and Eastern California territory are also very favorable. All three
roads furnish ample freight handling and side track facilities.
Highways--Reno is the center of the highway system of Nevada, and an
important station on three transcontinental highways; the Lincoln
Highway, the Overland Trail and the Pike's Peak Ocean to Ocean
Highway.
City Government--The government is a municipality with a mayor and six
councilmen elected by popular vote. Appointive officers are city
clerk, chief of police, chief of fire department, city engineer and
city health officer. The city attorney is also elected.
Industries--Reno is not an industrial city, but may be termed the
office of the big industries of the state. Its biggest industries are
a packing plant, machine shop and foundry, soap factory, planing
mills, brick plant, flour mills and railroad yards.
Financial Strength--The six banks in Reno have a total capitalization
of $1,745,000 and total deposits of $14,782,751.92. Total resources
amount to $18,363,651.94. The clearings average $4,500,000 monthly,
indicating that Reno does a business of a city at least twice its
size. Of the six banks, three are national.
Tax Rate and Indebtedness--The tax rate of Reno, including state,
county and city taxes, is $3.55 and the bonded indebtedness $433,000.
Jobbing Center--Due to its central situation Reno is the jobbing
center for the territory of Nevada and Eastern California. Reno has
several warehouses and wholesale grocery, automobile supply, produce,
tobacco, building materials, hardware, bakery and confectionery store.
Cost of Living--The cost of living is about the same if not lower than
in the Middle West and Western communities. The surrounding country
supplies Reno with wholesome and cheap food and Reno's location on the
main lines from the East and California enables the merchants to sell
imported goods at a reasonable figure. One person can live well on $75
a month and the average family of five lives on $150 a month.
Housing Conditions--Like most of the cities of the country there is a
shortage but not an acute one of apartments and small homes in Reno.
However, the amount of building done in Reno this year was almost
three times that of any previous year, and the housing problem is
expected to be solved by the summer of 1921.
Health Conditions--The clear, dry air, altitude and sunshine of Reno's
climate are especially beneficial to health, and persons with lung
trouble find relief in Reno. There are no tenements or unsanitary
conditions and the city health authorities enforce the laws strictly.
Dairies, restaurants and bakeries are inspected regularly, and no
refuse is allowed to accumulate in streets or yards. The water supply
is pure.
Labor Conditions--Labor conditions are good in Reno, which is the
shipping point for the labor of the mines, lumber mills, ranches and
construction camps of the Nevada and Eastern California territory.
There is always work to be found in the trades and unskilled labor
markets. The supply of office and store positions is about equal to
the demand. There are no strikes or other quarrels between employer
and employee in Reno. The trades are on a union basis.
Schools--There are five grammar schools, a kindergarten, business
college, high school and university in Reno. Plans are now being
perfected for the establishment of a junior high school which will
take care of the eighth grades and freshman high school classes. The
scholarship standard is high and the best laboratory and playground
facilities are offered. The teachers are paid salaries above the
average, enabling the schools to maintain an efficient teaching force.
Churches--There are twelve churches as follows: Baptist,
Congregational, Presbyterian, Episcopal, Christian Scientist,
Lutheran, Methodist, Methodist Colored, Roman Catholic, Salvation
Army, Seventh Day Adventist, Spiritual.
[Illustration: University of Nevada]
Hotels and Apartments--Reno has excellent hotel facilities with three
large, first-class hotels and forty smaller hotels and apartment
houses.
Clubs and Civic Organizations--Headed by the Reno Chamber of Commerce
there exists a live and aggressive group of civic and other
organizations in Reno. Enumerated they are the Rotary Club, Lion's
Club, Woman Citizen's Club, Italian Benevolent Society, G. A. R.,
Women's Relief Corps, Nevada Bankers' Society, Nevada Historical
Society, Nevada Livestock Association, Nevada Mine Operators'
Association, Reno Clearing House Association, Nevada Highway
Association, Y. M. C. A., Y. W. C. A., American Legion, Veterans of
Foreign Wars, Red Cross, Salvation Army, Reno Grocers' Association,
Reno Automotive Dealers' Association, Washoe County Medical Society,
W. C. T. U., Spanish War Veterans, Washoe County Farm Bureau, Washoe
County Tax Payers' Association, Truckee Meadows Water Users and Washoe
County Bar Association, Twentieth Century Club, Reno Nurses'
Association.
Fraternal Organizations--Ancient Order Foresters, B. P. O. E.,
Fraternal Brotherhood, F. O. E., I. O. O. F., Daughters of Rebecca,
Knights of Columbus, Knights of Pythias, Ladies of the Maccabees,
Loyal Order of Moose, Masonic Orders, Modern Woodmen of America, Royal
Neighbors, U. A. O. Druids, Woodmen of the World, Women of Woodcraft.
There are four lodge buildings maintained by the Elks, Masons, Odd
Fellows and Woodmen of the World.
Public Buildings--Reno has many imposing public buildings, among them
the county court house, city hall, public library, post office, Y. M.
C. A., high school building, churches and university buildings. A new
post office and Federal building is contemplated, and $100,000 a year
is being spent on new buildings at the University.
Theatres--Reno has four first-class theatres: The Rialto, Majestic,
Grand and Wigwam. The first is a combination vaudeville and picture
house and during the show season the best road shows are brought to
Reno by the management and staged there. The other three are motion
picture houses which secure the highest class films to be had. Their
combined seating capacity is over 5,000.
Publications--Two daily newspapers, five weekly journals, and three
monthly journals are published in Reno. The Reno Evening Gazette and
the Nevada State Journal give full Associated Press reports.
Parks and Playgrounds--The city maintains two parks and one
playground, and there is a playground at each of the public schools.
Wingfield Park is a recent acquisition given the city by George
Wingfield and consists of a beautiful island of over two acres,
situated in the Truckee river within three blocks of the business
district. The city is now improving this park and connecting it with
the playground on the shore. The playground has three tennis courts,
swings, and teeters and is used constantly during the year. In
addition to the municipal parks the children of Reno have all outdoors
to play in.
[Illustration: Wingfield Home]
[Illustration: General View of Reno, Looking N. W.]
Hospitals--There are three hospitals in addition to the county
hospital and the state hospital for mental diseases. The St. Mary's
Hospital is also a training school for nurses. With a staff of thirty-
three physicians, these hospitals are well able to take care of any
emergency and the most expert treatment can be obtained in Reno.
Libraries--Reno has a Carnegie Library, University Library, county law
library and the high school library. The Elks Club, Y. M. C. A. and
Chamber of Commerce maintain reading rooms.
Telephone--The Bell Telephone Company of Nevada furnishes telephone
service in Reno with 3,729 stations in the city. Of this number 1,725
are business phones and 2,004 residence phones. The rates are lower
than most cities on the coast. The company plans to spend $300,000 in
Reno the coming year in a new building to house its exchange. Long
distance communication with most of the points in Nevada is also
provided.
City Water Supply--The city water supply is taken from the Truckee
river by the Reno Power, Light & Water Company, twelve miles west of
Reno, and is of the purest quality. It is snow water and is treated by
a purification plant near the outskirts of Reno. Two large reservoirs
store the water and give it ample pressure for distribution. A monthly
rate of $2.75 for an unlimited supply of water is charged each
residence. This allows for irrigation of small gardens and lawns.
Gas and Electricity--Gas is manufactured by the Reno Power, Light &
Water Company and distributed to nearly every home in the city through
thirty-one miles of mains. The minimum rate is $1.10 a month and
averages $2 per 1,000 cubic feet. Electricity is sold by the same
company for light and power purposes from three hydro-electric plants
on the Truckee river. For domestic uses the electricity is sold at
seven to two cents a kilowatt hour, and for power at a minimum of five
cents a kilowatt and as low as two cents for large users.
Street Cars--The Reno Traction Company has five miles of track in the
city and connecting with Sparks, three miles to the east. Cars are run
on the half hour during the day and on the hour at night until 12:30
a.m.
City Paving--Reno now has six miles of paved streets with five
additional miles on the program for 1921. There are forty miles of
sidewalks covering practically the entire city.
Sewers--Rena has thirty miles of sewers emptying in the river at a
point below the city.
Shipping--The railroads entering Reno do a large business in the local
yards, and Reno's importance as a distributing center is growing
rapidly as shown by the following figures: Imports 1915, 155,000 tons
of freight; imports 1920, 207,000 tons of freight. Exports, 1915,
45,000 tons; export 1920, 89,000. Several trucking lines also operate
out of Reno to surrounding points and handle a large tonnage which it
is impossible to estimate.
Building Activity--The building permits issued for 1920 totalled in
round numbers $300,000, which is twice the figure of last year.
Contemplated Civic Improvements--The city council is working upon a
comprehensive plan of civic improvements which includes paving work
already mentioned, landscaping the river banks west of the Virginia
street bridge, and improvement of Wingfield Park. A new bandstand
costing $5,000 is being completed in the city park and close to
$100,000 is being spent in purchasing an aviation field and building a
hangar. A free tourist camp ground is to be modernly equipped.
Building and Loan Associations--There are two Building and Loan
Associations in Reno. The Union Building & Loan Association and the
Security Savings & Loan Association. Both offer material assistance to
the home builder on long payment plans.
Fire Department--The equipment of the fire department is valued at
over $75,000, and consists of the most modern fire-fighting apparatus.
High speed motor trucks which can reach any point in the city within
three minutes after the alarm is sounded, are used, and twenty-four
men man the trucks on the platoon system. The department has a record
of efficiency and the loss by fire is very low in Reno.
Police Department--Reno also has a very efficient police force of
fifteen men. An identification bureau and emergency hospital is
maintained by the police department. Only sixteen burglaries occurred
in Reno in 1920, and eight of the perpetrators were apprehended.
Eleven robberies were reported and six apprehended.
Reno Chamber of Commerce--The Reno Chamber of Commerce is an
organization of 1,300 members employing a managing director, a
secretary and a traffic manager on full time. These men maintain a
credit bureau, mining information bureau and traffic bureau, and are
carrying out a program of civic improvement and state development. The
rooms occupy the fourth floor of the Reno National Bank Building in
the heart of the city, and are used by some thirty organizations as a
civic center. The business and community life of Reno revolves around
the Chamber of Commerce.
[Illustration with caption: THE TRUCKEE FROM RIVERSIDE DRIVE]
[Illustration with caption: LOOKING NORTH OF VIRGINIA STREET]
Aviation Field--The municipal aviation field consists of some sixty
acres of land one mile south of the city, and is headquarters for the
aerial mail service. The county is building a hangar costing $30,000
and the government stations over thirty men at the field. Two mail
planes arrive each day and are repaired and overhauled at the field.
In the event of the mail service being extended to Los Angeles and the
Northwest, Reno will be the point at which the mail transfers are made
for these points.
University of Nevada--The University of Nevada is located in Reno, on
a beautiful eminence overlooking the city. It is an accredited
university offering for study all the regular courses for
matriculation and bachelors degree in mining, agriculture, arts and
sciences, civil engineering, electrical engineering and mining
engineering. The teaching and scientific staff number 75 and the
registration, 465 students. The state is expending $100,000 a year on
new buildings at the University and it costs $170,205 a year to
maintain from state and federal funds. Laboratory service is afforded
the mining, agricultural and stock raising industries of the state and
the University is looked upon with great pride by the citizens of
Nevada.
Fishing and Hunting--The country surrounding Reno abounds in game and
fish and outdoor life is the fashion. The streams and lakes are all
well stocked with game trout and a good basket of trout can be caught
in the Truckee river within the city limits of Reno. Deer, grouse,
sagehen, rabbits, coyotes and wildcats are plentiful on the ranges and
can be reached within a few hours from Reno.
Valley Farming--The valley in which Reno is located contains some
30,000 acres of fertile land, and is especially suited to the raising
of garden truck, fruits, chickens and grains and grasses. There is a
ready market for all the produce that is raised in the valley. A small
farm of a few acres can be obtained within a mile of the city for a
reasonable figure, and a good living earned in spare hours after work
in the city.