Notable Nevadan
» People Julia Wells
March/April 2010
Julia Wells’ story starts like something from a Hollywood tragedy—a child from a broken home, abused and molested, desperately searching for acceptance, turning to alcohol, and fighting with depression. But Wells’ story is, in fact, anything but a tragedy.
The 40-year Nevada resident found strength in religion and fought through these afflictions. Her faith guided her through cancer, poverty, and the loss of four loved ones in a mere fortnight. When Wells’ husband of 30 years, Roger, was himself diagnosed with cancer, she was inspired to write about her struggles and redemption through religion.
Blessed Be is…
» People John Jay Lee
January/February 2010
In August 2008 Senator John Jay Lee of Clark County Senate District 1 (North Las Vegas) was diagnosed with cancer in his spine, neck, and head. Over the following months of radiation treatment, Lee, 54, lost his hair and about 70 pounds. His appearance changed so significantly that he was almost refused admittance to the Legislature at the start of the 2009 Legislative Session.
In the summer of 2009, Lee came across the July/August issue of Nevada Magazine, specifically a backpacking story entitled “King of the Crests.” “That story inspired me to fight,” he says. “I told myself, ‘If…
» People Helen Weimer
November/December 2009
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Helen Wiemer always wanted to be in charge. Didn’t matter what she was in charge of, she just knew she’d be in charge. After a decades-spanning career in retail management, Wiemer has the ultimate in-charge job: she runs the Governor’s Mansion.
And she does it well. Nonprofit groups from around the state use the mansion for hundreds of events a year, morning, noon, and night. Wiemer has served as mansion coordinator for many of the past 20 years. “Governor Bob Miller and his wife Sandy were my first administration,” she says, having spent eight…
» People Q&A with John Ascuaga
September/October 2009
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John Ascuaga, president of John Ascuaga’s Nugget in Sparks and one of the most recognized Basques in Nevada, has emphasized care, quality, and integrity since the casino-hotel opened as a 60-seat coffee shop in March 1955. The mantra has proved successful for the 54-year-old property, which features eight award-winning restaurants.
Ascuaga was born in Caldwell, Idaho, in January 1925. His father, Jose, was a Basque sheepherder from Spain who came to America in 1914. Jose and his wife, Marina, had four children. In 1952, Ascuaga met an important figure in his life: restaurateur Dick Graves.…
» People Jerome “Little” Anthony Gourdine
July/August 2009
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In 1957, Jerome Anthony Gourdine, lead vocalist for The Duponts, joined a Doo-wop group called The Chesters. They changed their name to The Imperials, and the rest is rock ‘n’ roll history. Throughout the years, several members of the group have come and gone, but the lineup of Gourdine, Sammy Strain, Ernest Wright, and Clarence Collins is considered the classic and definitive Imperials. These are the singers that are the best known and had most of the groups’ 1960s hits, such as “Tears on My Pillow” (1958), “I’m on the Outside (Looking In)” (1964), and…
» People Rick Gunn
May/June 2009
Technically, Rick Gunn’s journey began (and ended) on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Philosophically, it began much sooner, when his dad took the training wheels off his purple Schwinn Stingray, and he discovered the freedom of pedaling. “I found something in that simple act of motion, atop that simple machine of rubber and steel, that brought me back to myself,” Gunn told an audience of about 100 at Reno’s McKinley Arts Center in March. The center was one of many stops on a tour in which Gunn shared images from his recent three-year, 25,811-mile bicycle journey around…
» People John Harrah
March/April 2009
In Nevada the name Harrah is associated with casino success. Equally synonymous, albeit less known, is the family’s tie to motor sports. Whether it’s on a snowmobile, motorcycle, or 730-horsepower V-10 Dominator desert racer, John Harrah loves going fast. “You can compare it to jumping out of an airplane,” he says. “But you have that rush for hours.”
In November 2008, Harrah and his racing team, Speed Technologies, won the SCORE Baja 1000, considered by many the holy grail of desert racing. “[Winning Baja] was huge,” he says. The team holds top finishes in a plethora of other…
» People Q&A with Katharine Jefferts Schori
January/February 2009
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Katharine Jefferts Schori has touched many lives, and given the unassuming way she’s acquired her leadership positions in the church, one might say it was her destiny. While enjoying a successful career as an oceanographer, she had a fellow Episcopal Church member ask if she’d ever thought of becoming a priest. Then another. And finally another. “It was a shocking enough experience that I paid attention,” Jefferts Schori says.
Some years later, while on sabbatical, she traveled the Western states, and one of her many stops happened to be
» People Q&A with Willy Vlautin
November/December 2008
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In 1996, the now-defunct No Depression magazine announced that Willy Vlautin, co-founder of the Richmond Fontaine band, had “relocated to Portland from the musical wasteland of Reno, Nevada.” Although the Reno native has not returned to the Biggest Little City to live, the Northern Nevada burg is far from a wasteland to Vlautin given how it has shaped his career.
More than a decade after he left Nevada, Vlautin’s music has received high acclaim for its unique alternative-country sound, and his back-to-back novels, The Motel Life and…
» People Q&A with Barbara F. Vucanovich
September/October 2008
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Barbara F. Vucanovich, the first Nevada woman to be elected to federal office, was an “Army brat.” Born at Fort Dix, New Jersey, in 1921, she spent her early years at various Army posts where her father, Tom Farrell, was stationed. Her school years were spent in Albany, New York.
Elected in 1982, Vucanovich was the first woman member of Congress from Nevada and the first female to represent the Second Congressional District. Vucanovich served on the defunct Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, important to Nevada because it decided public policy on resource issues,…
» People Q&A with Rossi Ralenkotter
July/August 2008
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If you were to name Las Vegas’ most influential movers and shakers, Rossi Ralenkotter, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), has to be on the short list. The 61-year-old Ralenkotter recently marked 35 years as an executive with the tourism agency, four years as CEO. The quasi-governmental agency hopes to attract 39.8 million visitors during 2008—and keep them happy.
Ralenkotter’s story is not all about crunching numbers. He and his agency invented the catch phrase, “What happens here, stays here,” which has become a worldwide phenomenon. The humorous…
» People Q&A with Paul Laxalt
May/June 2008
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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,…
» People Q&A with Wally Cuchine
March/April 2008
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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…
» People Q&A with Linda Dufurrena
January/February 2008
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…
» People Q&A with Don and Carol Shanks
November/December 2007
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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…
» People Q&A with Guy Rocha
September/October 2007
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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…
» People Q&A with Bobby Julich
July/August 2007
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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…