History

It seems unlikely that the California Gold Rush would spawn Nevada’s first Jewish synagogue. Yet, that’s where Temple Emanu-El’s story begins.  Jewish merchants from the East Coast and Europe joined the mass migration to California in the late 1840s, seeking prosperity as suppliers of goods and services just as they had done back home. When The Comstock Lode hit in 1859, hundreds of merchants headed east to Nevada, settling at what was then called Fuller’s Crossing, a hospitable location for receiving merchandise from San Francisco. Arrival of the Central Pacific Railroad in 1868 made the community—now renamed Reno—an economic hub, and the Jewish community was there to stay. 

In the 1860s, Virginia City was a rough and tumble mining camp, with 24-hour hustle and bustle. Men swarmed the streets and saloons, while miners labored deep within the tunnels underneath the town. The loud, constant clanking metal of stamp mills and jarring explosions echoed throughout the valley and mountains. It was a dangerous place, where rope and cable sometimes broke, sending cages full of miners falling to their deaths. Many an accident or fire in the mines or city left children as orphans.  

In 1961, eager movie buffs filled theaters across the country for the debut of "The Misfits." Shot entirely on location in and around Reno, the movie had all the makings of a blockbuster. Directed by John Huston and written by Arthur Miller, it starred Clark Gable and Marilyn Monroe, with Eli Wallach, Thelma Ritter, and Mont­gomery Cliff sharing the bill. The story was based on Nevada reality. In 1956 Miller, seeking a divorce, spent his six weeks' resid­ency in a cabin near Pyramid Lake. While there he met three Nevada mustangers who impressed him as being "the last three unreconstructed originals in the United States."

The 500-foot tall, 520-foot in diameter High Roller—located on The Las Vegas Strip—is the World's Largest Observation Wheel. It features 28 glass-enclosed cabins, travels one foot per second, takes 30 minutes for a complete revolution, features more than 2,000 LED lights and 112 cables, and runs parallel to Las Vegas Boulevard. The Strip superstar was built at a cost of $300 million by Caesar's Entertainment. 

Impatient, impetuous, and occasionally infuriating, Lydia Adams-Williams was all those and more. The word shy, however, was definitely not included in that list.

On a quiet day in March 1926, businesses in Las Vegas shuttered their doors. Local schools closed for the day and the federal post office was deserted, for most of the city’s residents were attending the funeral of Helen Jane Wiser Stewart. The homage paid to Stewart by the city she helped create would have surprised the unassuming and frail woman. But the legacy of her strength, character, intelligence, and spirit was evident to all who knew her, and it continues to inspire today.

Another Round of Bad Boys The Wild West saw more than its fair share of criminal capers. BY RON SOODALTER Once again, we step out into the dusty street to face down a handful of early Nevada’s baddest bad guys. For those who have read the first two installments of the Outlaws of Nevada trilogy, […]

In 1910, the penalty for stealing (or kidnapping) a girl in Nevada was five years in prison or a fine of $2,000, while anyone convicted of stealing a horse could be imprisoned for 14 years. At the same time, if a U.S. woman married a foreigner, she lost her citizenship. Another law during the early 1900s, this one concerning community property between a husband and wife, allowed a man to sell or will community property without the consent of his wife. And finally, any wages a woman earned while living with her husband were not deemed her property unless her husband allowed her to use the wages, which were then considered a gift from him.  The rancor felt about the above-noted laws being created without any say from female constituents was growing, and the cry of “taxation without representation” was reborn. While that sentiment was enough to ignite the American Revolution, it sparked little fire with the male citizens of the young nation. It took until 1920 before half of the citizens of the U.S. were granted the right to vote. But the fight began long before.