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INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. — As of today, Incline Village and Virginia City have one thing in common — they both boast a vibrant weekly newspaper. Similarly, both are isolated communities, both rely on tourism for their economic survival and, interestingly, both roost at the same elevation.
Mark Twain wrote glowingly about them both in his second book, “Roughing It,” published in 1872:
“It was not without regret that I took a last look at the tiny flag fluttering like a lady's handkerchief from the topmost peak of Mount Davidson, two thousand feet above Virginia's roofs, and felt that doubtless I was bidding a permanent farewell to a city which had afforded me the most vigorous enjoyment of life I had ever experienced.”
And about Lake Tahoe:
“As it lay there with the shadows of the mountains brilliantly photographed upon its still surface I thought it must surely be the fairest picture the whole earth affords.”
Of course Reno was not born yet and was still known as, “Lakes Crossing,” but there was Carson City:
“I said we are situated in a flat, sandy desert — true. And surrounded on all sides by such prodigious mountains, that when you gaze at them awhile — and begin to conceive of their grandeur — and next to feel their vastness expanding your soul — and ultimately find yourself growing and swelling and spreading into a giant — I say when this point is reached, you look disdainfully down upon the insignificant village of Carson, and in that instant you are seized with a burning desire to stretch forth your hand, put the city in your pocket, and walk off with it.”
Were Sam Clemens alive today, I have to believe he would be happily writing for the North Lake Tahoe Bonanza, the Comstock Chronicle, the Nevada Appeal or the Reno Gazette Journal. Ink was his life's blood.
And while I'm at it, I might like to suggest that the most well intended people in our smaller Nevada communities seem to work either for the local paper or the fire department.
I was saddened to read where Fireman Dave is retiring from the force at Incline Village. They don't come any better than him. I felt like I was saying goodbye to Mr. Rogers…
And the same can be said for Virgil Buchanari up in Virginia City. Now, Virgil is what we used to call in the 1860's, “A regular BRICK!”
Newspapering is an honorable job, and I salute those who have kept the position proper and upright for 150 years in Nevada. From Joe Goodman and Dan DeQuille, to Kevin MacMillan and Angela Mann, they have been chronicling the weekly diaries of our unique communities. I salute them for their long, tireless hours of devotion, and encourage them to help keep us in touch with our neighbors, in case we miss them at the post office.
Joe Goodman, publisher of the Territorial Enterprise, remembered Dan DeQuille with these parting words of tribute: “He was the most winsome of men; no man was ever more honest or conscientious; he was gifted in a hundred ways; he was one of the most efficient and valuable men that ever wore out his life in a newspaper office, and no one who knew him well has ever ceased grieving for him.”
Long live the local newspaper, her publishers, editors and staff…
McAvoy Layne is an Incline Village resident who visits area schools as the ghost of Mark Twain.
Mark Twain wrote glowingly about them both in his second book, “Roughing It,” published in 1872:
“It was not without regret that I took a last look at the tiny flag fluttering like a lady's handkerchief from the topmost peak of Mount Davidson, two thousand feet above Virginia's roofs, and felt that doubtless I was bidding a permanent farewell to a city which had afforded me the most vigorous enjoyment of life I had ever experienced.”
And about Lake Tahoe:
“As it lay there with the shadows of the mountains brilliantly photographed upon its still surface I thought it must surely be the fairest picture the whole earth affords.”
Of course Reno was not born yet and was still known as, “Lakes Crossing,” but there was Carson City:
“I said we are situated in a flat, sandy desert — true. And surrounded on all sides by such prodigious mountains, that when you gaze at them awhile — and begin to conceive of their grandeur — and next to feel their vastness expanding your soul — and ultimately find yourself growing and swelling and spreading into a giant — I say when this point is reached, you look disdainfully down upon the insignificant village of Carson, and in that instant you are seized with a burning desire to stretch forth your hand, put the city in your pocket, and walk off with it.”
Were Sam Clemens alive today, I have to believe he would be happily writing for the North Lake Tahoe Bonanza, the Comstock Chronicle, the Nevada Appeal or the Reno Gazette Journal. Ink was his life's blood.
And while I'm at it, I might like to suggest that the most well intended people in our smaller Nevada communities seem to work either for the local paper or the fire department.
I was saddened to read where Fireman Dave is retiring from the force at Incline Village. They don't come any better than him. I felt like I was saying goodbye to Mr. Rogers…
And the same can be said for Virgil Buchanari up in Virginia City. Now, Virgil is what we used to call in the 1860's, “A regular BRICK!”
Newspapering is an honorable job, and I salute those who have kept the position proper and upright for 150 years in Nevada. From Joe Goodman and Dan DeQuille, to Kevin MacMillan and Angela Mann, they have been chronicling the weekly diaries of our unique communities. I salute them for their long, tireless hours of devotion, and encourage them to help keep us in touch with our neighbors, in case we miss them at the post office.
Joe Goodman, publisher of the Territorial Enterprise, remembered Dan DeQuille with these parting words of tribute: “He was the most winsome of men; no man was ever more honest or conscientious; he was gifted in a hundred ways; he was one of the most efficient and valuable men that ever wore out his life in a newspaper office, and no one who knew him well has ever ceased grieving for him.”
Long live the local newspaper, her publishers, editors and staff…
McAvoy Layne is an Incline Village resident who visits area schools as the ghost of Mark Twain.
