historical

Author and local historian Frank Tortorich will share his newest book, "John A. “Snowshoe” Thompson Pioneer Mail Carrier of the Sierra", a gripping account of the legendary life, legacy, and accomplishments of Snowshoe Thompson.

The author's knowledge and understanding of the Sierra emigration era serves as a background for what he has been able to express in this book. Join us in an amazing evening of history.

Book sale and signing to follow. Join the Friends of the Library in partnership with the Lake Tahoe Historical Society for this event free.

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This summer, the North Lake Tahoe Historical Society and the University of Nevada, Reno Photography Program will be co-hosting digitization day, a one day event where you can bring your historical Lake Tahoe photographs, postcards, and memorabilia in for professional-quality scanning.

Participants will be given free copies of scans on USB drives, and will have the option to donate a digital copy of materials for inclusion in the NLTHS’s databases, contributing to the visual history of Lake Tahoe.

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The Lake Tahoe Historical Society invites the public to their next Fireside Chat and Spring General Membership Meeting on Tuesday, April 19 at 7:00 p.m. at the historic Camp Richardson.

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Are you a museum nut? A mystery lover? If so, the Lake Tahoe Historical Society is holding something right up your alley!

Archivist Marilyn Long will share how to be a historic sleuth. The museum;s collection has 48 years worth of donations, and in some years there have been over 700 items donated, many without a story. Many times, loved ones are going through a relative's belongings after they pass away, offering donations of photos and other things in their collection that they have no clue of origin, only that it is from Lake Tahoe.

For the past six years, fans of Downton Abbey have enjoyed following the lives of the Crawley family and their cadre of servants in the Earl of Grantham's Edwardian country house.

Sunday night, the popular show comes to an end, and KNPB in Reno, the area's public television station, celebrated with a fundraiser inside the National Automobile Museum. Attendees, many of whom were dressed in period costumes, were treated to an advanced viewing of the final episode, gourmet British cuisine and prizes.

Curator Mark Jensen returns to share more stories from Carson Valley's historic Dangberg Home Ranch. Just down the hill but centuries away, the family and its influence is incredibly interesting, and Jensen will tell some tales using the park's historic artifacts, photographs and documents. Join the Friends of the Library in partnership with the Lake Tahoe Historical Society for a multimedia history lesson. Free and open to all.

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It is still too early to know whether enough precipitation will have fallen by the end of winter's wet season to significantly impact the drought, but, snowpack and reservoir storage has benefited from recent storms.

Officials from the Department of Water Resources (DWR) will be making their monthly snowpack measurement near Sierra-at-Tahoe on Tuesday, February 2, but electronic readings taken on January 28 show the snowpack is at 116 percent of average. The statewide water content of 18.7 inches is greater now than on any January 26 since 2011.

Recently, I had the chance to visit the much-hyped Tahoe: A visual History at the Nevada Museum of Art. Located in the hip, CalAve District wedged between downtown and midtown Reno, the museum offers locals to the region a taste of world-class art collections. During events like Art Town (a marathon of a hundred-or-so art related events in Reno during the month of July), the museum offers innumerable pieces from local and global artists alike.

A special holiday treat in South Lake Tahoe will be held on Saturday, December 19 when the public can enjoy the lighted Christmas truck, Santa and Mrs. Claus, latkes and cookies, carolers and tours of the decorated museum and cabin during the Holiday in History Open House.

The annual Lake Tahoe Historical Society event will be held at the museum located at 3058 Lake Tahoe Blvd from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

The Victorian Christmas scene is spread throughout the museum and the historic cabin.

Schedule:

- Free museum and 1930 cabin tours all day.

The winners for the 8th annual Blue Ribbon Awards were announced Thursday night to a sold out dinner and ceremony at Montbleu Resort Casino and Spa. 300 community members attended to celebrate the winners of seven awards that honor exceptional South Shore businesses for their excellence in service, entrepreneurship, tourism and experience.

Author Ellen Osborn will share her book, "Lovely & Comfortable Heritage Lost", giving us a unique history of El Dorado County, beginning with the early days of the gold rush and the first conflicts with the Native American tribes of the region. Her book also traces the evolution of California's Highway 50 from its beginning as the Native American trade trail that became a popular Gold Rush route and explains why it has come to be called one of the most storied and romantic roads in American history.

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Wave action is damaging pipes for Douglas County’s Lake Tahoe Cave Rock water system that are above the surface, thanks to the drought.

Lake residents get their water from the Lake, once famed for its clarity.

But with the surface continuing to drop, Douglas is looking at means to ensure the water keeps flowing.

County Engineer Nick Charles told Douglas County commissioners at a workshop on Thursday that the Lake level was about 4 inches from activating a Stage 2 drought.

While many may hike past Lily Lake to get to a myriad of trails going through Desolation Wilderness, I took the trail to go the historic Glen Alpine Springs. Even though my walk was mid-day on October 13, I passed many other hikers on the two-mile hike, all enjoying the warm, un-fall like weather.

Even though I've lived in South Lake Tahoe for 36 years, I'd never gone past Lily Lake. Wanting to get to the springs before winter, there was no time like the present to finally accomplish that task!

This is the second year the Lake Tahoe Historical Society has put on a Chautauqua, yet many people are unsure of what one is.

Chautauqua was a very popular adult education movement in the United States during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Named after Chautauqua Lake where the first was held, Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s.

Former US President Theodore Roosevelt was quoted as saying that Chautauqua is "the most American thing in America."

A busy Labor Day weekend starts Friday, with a plethora of activities for locals and visitors alike. There are fireworks, music, car shows, runs, boat races, a farm-fork festival and much more to enjoy.

Heavenly Village Days on Labor Day Car Show goes through the weekend with a sidewalk sale, trophies, and a poker run. It costs $40 to show your cars, trucks and motorcycles. Brought to you by Good Samaritans Safe Ride. September 4 - 7, 2015.

Nevada Gunfighters will be performing in a free presentation at the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park on Saturday, September 26, at 10:00 am.
Nevada Gunfighters bring the old West to life with drama, comedy, historical portrayals and live action tales. Period dialog and authentic costumes, along with props and backdrops enhance their productions. As an added benefit to their presentations, the audience is educated in gun safety.

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The first major historical art survey of Lake Tahoe and the Sierra’s infamous Donner Pass takes an ambitious trip through two centuries, highlighting the roles of Native Americans and railroad barons and the tourists and scientists trying to halt the loss of clarity in the azure waters.

“Tahoe: A Visual History” opened Saturday at the Nevada Museum of Art, featuring more than 400 objects by 175 painters, photographers, architects, basket weavers and sculptors. Arranged chronologically for the most part, it combines culturally and historically significant creations with contemporary works.

In what many locals was hoping wouldn't be the case, the Barton Ranch in South Lake Tahoe is set for demolition.

Family members who own the land and the buildings have spent years trying to get to this point in order to remove what they say is a dangerous set of buildings that have caused problems with vandals and vagrants.

On Tuesday, employees of Allied Environmental, Inc of Shingle springs were on site to remove asbestos in preparation for demolition.

The year was 1946. The President was Harry S. Truman, "It's a Wonderful Life" was in the theaters and a stamp cost three cents. It was also the year the Tahoe Trout Farm opened in South Lake Tahoe.

This business, located off of Lake Tahoe Blvd on Blue Lake Avenue, was the topic of the South Lake Tahoe Planning Commission's meeting on August 13.

In an effort to "Clean Up Highway 50," the City's sign ordinance is meant to get rid of the blight and unattractive signage that visitors and locals see each day they travel the main artery through town.

The Friends of the Library, in partnership with the Lake Tahoe Historical Society, is excited to welcome back author, Mary Jo Sonntag. Her new presentation answers questions about the early pioneers to our area: What was pioneer life really like? What diseases did pioneers experience?

Her award-winning book, "Write, If You Live to Get There" tells the true story of her ancestor’s westward migration from Vermont to Tahoe through a series of family letters spanning more than 120 years. Interesting, informative and open to all.

Book sale and signing to follow.

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The Lake Tahoe Historical Society is bringing historical characters back to life in their "Chautauqua at Lake Tahoe 2015" on September 20 at 5 p.m. in the Valhalla Grand Hall.

Experience Mrs. Tevis, John Muir, Yank Clement, Julia Bulette, Charley Parkhurst and Kit Carson as you've never imagined.

Last year's sold out event in the Boathouse Theater was so successful the Historical Society decided to move into a larger venue and add dinner to the evening.

Chautauqua presenters Dana Lee Fruend, Yvonne Sullivan, Janet Baker and Judy Quinlan will portray Nevada pioneer women “Nellie Mighels Davis”, “Elizabeth ‘Lizzie’ Kincead”, “Whilhelmina Springmeyer” and “Hannah Clapp” in a free presentation at the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park on Saturday, August 15, at 10:00 am.

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Chautauqua performer Lisa Bommarito will present “The Extraordinary Life of Eilley Orrum Bowers” at the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park on Wednesday August 5, at 6:30 p.m. The event is open to the public and free to attend.

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Unless someone comes forward with the manpower, location and money needed to relocate the historic Barton Ranch Complex at the "Y", it will be torn down. Barton family members were granted the approval for demolition during Monday's Tahoe Regional Planning Agency (TRPA) special hearings officer meeting.

The public has 21 days to file an appeal to the decision or the TRPA can approve the demolition.