Sunrise on the Murry Ranch in Pleasant Valley. A 1958 Case tractor surrounded by 110 acres of fresh grass hay bales. photo by Kevin Karl Like clockwork, four days per week I embark on the 42 mile (round trip) commute from Virginia Foothills to the Tourism office in Carson City via route 395. And while I could probably cover the trek with my eyes closed, I still find myself taking the time to stop and experience all of the unique elements and people along this historical Nevada route. Recently I’ve noticed that most of the ranches are in a transitional phase, cutting their grass pastures and then running out bales of hay. There are two parts of this seemingly simple mechanical process that have tugged at my heart-strings for as long as I can remember. OK, three. Just the fact that...

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Artists are special people. They create works that you and I, mere mortals, can only wonder at and admire.Mike Williams poses with one of his duck decoyds. Photo by Jay Aldrich

With that in mind, I felt especially honored to attend the 28th Annual Governor’s Arts Awards in Las Vegas March 27 when Mike Williams, a Walker River Paiute from Fallon, was given the Excellence in Folk and Traditional Arts award. Mike was profiled in Nevada Magazine in 2004, and the story I wrote was used as supporting information for his nomination. I represented the magazine at the event, as it was the publication that gave me the opportunity to introduce this remarkable artist to readers.

Mike makes tule duck decoys as his ancestors did on the shores of ancient Lake Lahontan thousands of years ago. He harvests the tules (also known as bulrushes)...

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Dempsey in Nevada: A book by Guy Clifton about Jack Dempsey’s life in Nevada.I dropped into Reno’s Barnes and Noble over the weekend to say hi to a past editor of mine—Guy Clifton, who is getting a lot of buzz over his recently published hardcover, Dempsey in Nevada. Guy was sitting at a table with a cup of coffee, stacks of the book, and a pen. He talked with many admiring fans; that is to say fans of his and fans of Dempsey’s.

Heavyweight champion of the world from 1919-1926, Dempsey, also known as the Manassa Mauler, got his start in Nevada as a teenager. He “rode the rails” to Reno, hanging on beneath a train from Salt Lake. He fought in mining camps such as Tonopah and Goldfield, in Reno and Ely, and lived for a time in Reno and Wells....

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