Notable Nevadan
Q&A with Paul Laxalt
Nevada-born senator recounts his bike-racing, water-drinking Carson City days.
Senator Paul Laxalt was raised on politics. Born in Reno in 1922, his family later moved to Carson City. Laxalt’s father herded sheep in the Basque tradition, and his mother ran a popular restaurant, the French Hotel, near the U.S. Mint (now the Nevada State Museum, six blocks from the state Capitol). It was at the restaurant that the youngster was captivated by conversations between Senator Patrick McCarran and his political cronies.
Laxalt, a republican, served as Carson City’s district attorney and later was elected Nevada lieutenant governor. He became governor in 1967, around the time he made friends with California’s freshman Governor Ronald Reagan, and was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1974. Laxalt fulfilled two terms (1975-87). Currently, he is president of Washington, D.C.-based The Paul Laxalt Group, a government consulting firm.
The Santa Clara University graduate comes from a family of eight and has raised six daughters and a son. Although he now lives in Virginia with his wife, Carol, he remains rooted in his home state. He visits Nevada every August to spend time with family and friends in Carson City and relax on family property at Marlette Lake in North Lake Tahoe.
Laxalt spoke with KTVN Reno news anchor Erin Meehan Breen in January.
Q&A with Wally Cuchine
Eureka mainstay preserves the state’s history and collects it, too.
We Nevadans are proud of our rugged rural landscape. Others say “desert” while we describe the rainbow of colorful rocks and invigorating aroma of sagebrush.
We’re a proud people, but none more so than Wally Cuchine, a longtime Eureka resident. Cuchine is the unofficial cheerleader of rural Nevada, singing the praises of small-town living. Officially he is the director of Eureka County Facilities. He runs the Eureka Opera House and Eureka Sentinel Museum and is serving his 12th year on the Nevada Humanities Board of Directors. The Nevada System of Higher Education named him a Distinguished Nevadan in 2006 for his extensive contributions to the arts, and he arguably owns the state’s largest individual collection of Nevada art. Not bad for a small-town guy.
Cuchine spoke with Nevada Commission on Tourism’s Bethany Drysdale in November.
Q&A with Linda Dufurrena
The pioneer of Shooting the West talks photography and ranch life.
A fiery Nevada sunset, horses galloping through a glistening snow-covered field, and a lamb “kissing” a rooster on the beak are just a few unique moments Nevada photographer Linda Dufurrena has captured in a manner that is as exciting as if you are seeing it in real time.
Dufurrena lives on a sheep and cattle ranch 75 miles northwest of Winnemucca between Pine Forest Range and the Jackson Mountains with her husband, Alex (Buster), their three sons and daughters-in-law, and six grandchildren. Dufurrena and her husband are the first generation to own the ranch, although Alex Dufurrena Sr. immigrated from the Pyrenees (between Spain and France) and owned ranches outside of Denio, near the Nevada-Oregon border, in the early 1900s.
In her book, Fifty Miles From Home, Dufurrena shares her knack for shooting those fleeting moments of everyday ranch life under distinctive lighting conditions. With accompanying text by her daughter-in-law, Carolyn Dufurrena, the two women convey a heartfelt and picturesque account of ranching traditions and life in the West.
Dufurrena, a long-time Nevada Magazine contributor, spoke with editorial assistant Audrey Greene in November.
Q&A with Don and Carol Shanks
The rural Nevada activists haven’t learned to say, “No.”
Don and Carol Shanks of Pioche describe themselves as “gross underachievers.” Hardly. The couple is submerged in activities, projects, and committees that promote their rural economy. They are involved with the Pioche and Greater Lincoln County chambers of commerce, Pioneer Territory, Lincoln Communities Action Team (LCAT), Lincoln County Trails Coalition, the Lincoln County Golf Course, and the Pioche Heritage Plays.
“The Shankses are invaluable to the rural tourism effort for the State of Nevada,” says Larry Friedman, Nevada Commission on Tourism’s (NCOT) deputy director of sales and industry partners. “They give unselfishly and care about the entire state. Their contribution cannot be overstated.”
Q&A with Guy Rocha
Nevada archivist believes the truth matters.
Nevada State Archivist Guy Louis Rocha is passionate about uncovering the truth. In addition to his two books and many articles and book reviews, Rocha has written the “Historical Myth a Month” column for the Sierra Sage for 11 years—the column appears on the Nevada State Library and Archives Web site, nevadaculture.org—and his biweekly myth-busting column has appeared in the Reno Gazette-Journal since 2000. Rocha is in his sixth year as a rotating host for the “High Desert Forum” on KUNR 88.7 FM, Reno’s National Public Radio station.
California born, Rocha grew up in Las Vegas and graduated from Clark County schools. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University in New York and a master’s degree from San Diego State University and did post-graduate study at the University of Nevada, Reno. In July, he received the 2007 Award of Merit for Leadership in History by the American Association for State and Local History. Rocha spoke with Nevada Magazine editor Joyce Hollister at his Carson City office in June.
Q&A with Bobby Julich
Cyclist seeks redemption in the 2007 Tour de France.
Reno resident Bobby Julich’s Tour de France résumé epitomizes the topsy-turvy nature of professional cycling. In 1998, he stood on the podium after finishing third overall in the world’s most prestigious road race. Last year, a horrific crash robbed Julich of an opportunity to achieve his lifelong goal, to win a stage of “Le Tour” and wear the famed yellow jersey.
From July 7 to 29, the 35-year-old Julich, a Team CSC rider who earned a bronze medal in the 2004 Olympic individual time trial, hopes to compete in what could be his last Tour de France. In the near future he will give up the travel-weary life of a pro cyclist to devote more time to his family, wife Angela and daughters Olivia, four, and Chloe, nine months.
Julich grew up in Colorado and has owned a home in Reno since 1999. In April, while he spent time at his second home in Nice, France, Julich spoke with Nevada Magazine associate editor Matthew B. Brown.