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NORTHEASTERN NEVADA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
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Tomasa Argoitia and Balbino Achabal in front of Elko General Merchandise Company, 416
Idaho Street, Elko in the 1950's. The store has remained at the same address for fifty years.
�105
4N4C4BE'S STORE
THE FIRST FIFTY YEARS
BY CAROL HENDERSHOT
May 15, 1987 will mark the 50th anniversary of Elko General Merchandise,
Anacabe's Store, at its Idaho Street location in Elko.1
Why did this store survive when so many others didn't. Owner Joe Anacabe said
it was his belief in three things: honesty, quality merchandise and a friendly
atmosphere.
Joe was born February 12, 1889 at Berriatua, Vizcaya, Spain in the Anacabe
farmhouse . The house stands on land that has belonged to the Anacabes for 2,000
years. The structure itself has burned and been rebuilt at least three times in the last
600 years. It is presently owned by another Joe Anacabe. On a clear day, it is possible
to see the coast of France from the house. The home overlooks the Bay of Biscay. 2
Joe was the sixth child in a family of nine children. He came to New York in 1901
with a neighbor boy named Jaca. Immigrating to the United States was considered a
great opportunity and Joe's family somehow got together the $350 fare for him to
make the trip. He came by ship to New York and then rode the train to Winnemucca,
Nevada. He spoke no English and was only eleven years old. 3
Contrary to popular belief, Basques were not shepherds in the Old Country. Some
of them had never seen a sheep until they came to America. They were, however,
good strong farm boys who was accustomed to hard work. They became excellent
herders in their new country.4
Joe was met in Winnemucca by a cousin with whom he had a contract to herd
sheep. He fulfilled his three-year contract and then went on to other pursuits. He
worked as a buckaroo on the Spanish Ranch, drove the Winnemucca-Boise Stage for
a time and then went into ranching on his own. 5
While ranching near Paradise, Nevada he met Fabiana Guenaga who came from
Ondarroa, Viscaya, Spain, only a few miles from where Joe was born. They had
never met until both were in Paradise.
Joe and Fabiana were married November 9, 1912 in Nampa, Idaho. Their only
child, Frank, was born in 1914 in the Martin Hotel at Winnemucca.6
From about 1917 through 1924, Joe and Fabiana had a ranch in the McDermitt
area. There is still a field there known as the Anacabe Field where he grazed his
stock. 7 Ranching, however, was not to be Joe's forte.
In 1924, Joe sold his cattle to Jack Swisher of Elko, telling him he never intended to
be broke again. He opened his first store in McDermitt with the money from the
cattle sale .8 When he closed the store in 1929, he stated that he had a key to every
building in McDermitt - he owned them all!9
He went to Spain with his wife and son, wanting Frank to go to school in the Old
Country. They stayed two years, then moved to Berkeley, California. After
graduation from the University of California, Frank studied aeronautical
engineering. Joe and Fabian opened a store in Berkeley and stayed for six years. 10
Joe's move to Elko was announced on page one of the Elko Independent on March
26, 1937:
"Joe Anacabe, former resident of McDermitt and Paradise says he will open a
general merchandise business on Idaho Street in the store formerly occupied by H.C.
Stevens Company. His wife and son will come to Elko from Berkeley, California, in
the near future. "
�106
In 1936, Joe, Fabiana and Frank Anacabe.
The building Joe selected for his store had, in the past, several tenants in it
including Warren Ford and the GaietyTheatre.11 Anna Tremewan of Mountain City
remembers playing in the downstairs part of the building when it still had clowns
painted on the walls from its theatre days. As an adult, she worked for H.C. Stevens
in the same building from 1931 to 1936.12
The grand opening of Joe's store was announced in a one-quarter page
advertisement in the Elko Independent, May 14, 1937:
"HAVE YOU HEARD THE NEWS? It's Open House tomorrow, Saturday, May
15 at the General Merchandise Store. Complete Line of goods. Quality at a savings."
The interior of the store was plain and practical. There was a wooden floor and
most of the merchandise was easily accessible. Two silver mirrors, that are still in
used, were in the back of the store. The had been brought from the Berkeley store. A
sliding ladder was, and still is, used to reach the floor to ceiling stacks of goods.
Joe's early advertisements stated, "The finest Cowboy garments money can buy,
at prices you can afford to pay." He also had silk and gabardine cowboy shirts from
95 cents to $7.50. He sold "ten-gallon" hats and neckerchiefs and, for $1.75, a
customer could buy Levi Strauss overalls. 13 The first Levi 501's, so popular now,
probably were sold in Joe's store.
Joe and Fabiana worked together in the store. Fabian also did alterations for
customers. 14 Frank came to Elko in 1950 following a top security clearance career
during World War II with Lockheed Aircraft, owned by Howard Hughes. He joined
his parents in running the store.
Then, on April 16, 1952, Fabiana died following a stroke. She was 59. 15
Joe decided to return to Spain for awhile. He left his sister, Tomasa Argoitia, and
Frank in charge of the store. 16
While in Spain, Joe met Margaret Olabe and they were married there on April 7,
1953. She wore a black wedding dress, very much in style at the time.17
�107
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Joe Anacabe and Margaret Olabe Anacabe on their wedding day, April 7, 1953.
�108
They returned to Elko in the fall of that year. Their only child, Anita Therese,
called Ann by friends and family, was born October 26, 1954. 18
Buying merchandise for a general store was always interesting. Up until the
1940's, the store stocked just about everything, including groceries. Salesmen
couldn't always make it into Elko. They would send suitcases full of material
swatches and Joe ordered yard goods and clothing from the samples by mail. During
World War II, soap was hard to get. A salesman came into town with a truckload of
soap and asked Joe how much he wanted. Joe took it all. 19
Joe had progressive ideas about what people wanted and needed. While in
McDermitt, he contracted with Indian leather workers to make gauntlet-type
gloves. At the time these were not generally known. They had a long cuff to cover
the cowboys' wrists and lower arms, protecting them much as chaps protect legs.
They were an instant success.20
Anita Anacabe Franzoia said, "My father always believed women should wear
pants when they rode. This store carried the first women's riding pants available in
Elko." 21
Trainloads of men came in and needed to be outfitted before going out on the
ranches. The Anacabes lived above the store and Joe opened for them, no matter
what time they arrived. Buckaroos came in from the range and stopped at Anacabe's
first to get outfitted from the skin out. They took their new duds over to Julio
Arostegui'_s barbershop and bath house. 22
Julio charged them one dollar for a shave and haircut and another fifty cents for a
shower; towels were free. The men spruced up and left their old clothes in a pile on
the shower room floor. Donning their new outfits, they went out on the town. 23
During the Depression, they came into town, put everything on their bill and even
borrowed a little cash against the bill so they'd have money to spend. The store
ELKO GENERAL MERCHANDISE CO.
JOE ANACABE, Pres.
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�109
Tomasa Argoitia, left, and Agnes Rockwell.
owners knew they'd pay up as soon as they could. 2•
Joe could size up a person and fit them without measuring. If the pants were a little
long, he 'd say, "You roll them up a little . They'll shrink a little when you wash them.
Looks okay."
With only a third or fourth grade education, he invented his own division system.
No one could beat him for speed and accuracy. 25
Statements were usually mailed out once a year to the big outfits and once a
month to cowboys and herders. Jess Goicoechea of Elko remembers that it didn't do
any good to ask about your bill. Joe got around to it when he could.
"I'd forget I had a bill there, it would be so long. Then it would come.
Handwritten. I never questioned any of the bills. I just knew he was honest and they
were right," Goicoechea explained.
"I took my new boys there because Joe knew what they needed, even if they
didn't," Goicoechea continued. "They could have whatever they wanted and he'd
bill them a month or so later. He knew they came to this country without any
money. He always gave tokens of appreciation, like a pocketknife or a pair of gloves
when they paid their bills. A couple of times, when I paid my bill, he gave me a
heavy winter coat."26
Elkoan Agnes Rockwell worked for Joe from October, 1952 until October, 1956.
"Joe Anacabe was the most honest person I ever met and the nicest person I ever
worked for. He liked it if his employees showed an interest in the business and I
liked to help him order. We'd vie for shirt sales. He ordered what he liked and I
ordered what I liked and we'd see which shirts sold first. He carried basic things -
�110
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Left to right, Blackie Arano, Marie Merkley, Joe Anacabe and Agnes Rockwell in 1953.
bedrolls, shoes, good sturdy clothing, but he liked fancy wool shirts," Mrs. Rockwell
said.
"Joe was thrifty, hard working and as honest as the day is long. He told me when I
left, if I wasn't happy with my new job I could come back anytime," she recalled. 27
Joe loved to talk about coming to America and the things he'd seen and done. He
was interested in everything. He was very health conscious and, for many years, ate
brown rice for breakfast, a steak for lunch, and more brown rice for dinner. No fast
foods were tolerated.
He kept a great deal of reading material in the store. One of his favorite magazines
was an issue of Life magazine that showed diagrams of the human body and how it
functioned . Joe showed this to his friends and customers, explaining it at length and
giving suggestions on how to stay health. Everyone always listened politely, even if
they'd already heard about the subject before from Joe. 28
Joe made a visit to the store fun . It had a friendly atmosphere and was a home
away from home for many homesick Basque boys who came to Elko. There was
always someone with whom to talk and the men sat around a big shortwave radio
and listened to Cuban radio stations which most of them could understand. 29
Pete Amestoy remembers a potbellied stove with a railing around it.
"The heat came to the railing and you could go in and sit with your feet on the
railing and talk, talk, talk. Whole families came in to shop or just visit. Children and
old-timers, too," Amestoy reminisced. 30
One oldster in his 90's, Charlie McNab, came in often, bringing ice cream for
Agnes Rockwell and co-worker Marie Merkley. Casimiro "Blackie" Arano, who
was Dr. Shaw's chauffeur, was another frequent visitor. Blackie also worked at the
Blue Jay Bar and for Pete Amestoy.31
Talk was important because many of Anacabe 's customers didn't speak English
and they needed a gathering place where they might meet someone who spoke the
same language they did. Finding another person who spoke your language wasn't
always easy. There are at least 26 difference Basque dialects.
�111
In 1953, left to right, Marie Merkley, Charlie McNab and Agnes Rockwell.
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Surrounded by merchandise, Margaret Anacabe in the 1960's.
�112
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Anita Anacabe and Whitey in 1961.
�113
In Anacabe's store in 1986, left to right, Margaret Anacabe, Anna Hachquet and Dominica
Arostegui.
For instance, Pete Amestoy is French Basque. He spoke French and French Basque
when he came to America. He worked for time in New Mexico and learned some
Spanish. But, when he came to Elko, he did not speak Spanish Basque or English. He
went to Anacabe's to visit because he knew, sooner or later, somebody would come
in to whom he could talk.
He went there to shop because, "He had the best clothes for the working man,
country stuff, can't get it anywhere else. Western blankets, jeans, jackets."
"Besides," he grinned, "Us Basques stick together!"
Soon after he arrived in Elko, Amestoy bought a blanket and a gray metal cash box
with a lock, from Anacabe's. Thirty-five years later he used the blanket to cover
potatoes in his garden and the cash box is now a tackle box he keeps in his truck to
hold fishing gear. 32
Jess Goicoechea remembers that his "boys" liked to go into Anacabe's for the
atmosphere. Many of them had younger brothers and sisters in the Old Country.
"They got such a kick out of Anita," he said. "She was so little and she spoke such
good Basque. She was just a little thing, wandering around the store with her white
dog. Everyone like to see her and talk to her." 33
After spending many years in the family business, Frank Anacabe died on
September 19, 1976. 34
Joe had died September 30, 1971 at age 82, but his basic beliefs are still evident in
the store today. 35
"We don't have sales," Anita says . "Working cowboys and herders can't make
special trips to town for sales. They just know if they come here, the prices will be
fair. We try to give a good fit and top quality without unreasonable mark-ups and
mark-downs."
�114
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Three generations, left to
Anacabe.
Anita Anacabe Franzoia, Teresa Franzoia and Margaret
"We still get the working cowboy," she continued. "We get very few of the
drugstore type. Some people come in looking for lizard boots and things like that,
but we just don't carry them. We carry oil-tanned leathers, working clothes." 36
Jeff McCormick, T Lazy S buckaroo, is one of many contemporary working
cowboys who shops at Anacabe's.
"I needed a lightweight, warm jacket, reasonably priced. They carry Carhartt bush
jackets which are good quality. I find what I need here," he said. 37
To the old-timers of Elko it must seem like deja vu to go into Anacabe's. Talk, talk
and more talk still goes on. Margaret and her friends gather often to visit.
Once again there is a little girl wandering around, this time with a black dog. She
speaks good Basque and charms everyone. Her name is Teresa Franzoia, born
September 28, 1985 to Anita and her husband, Mike. 38
She and her mother and grandmother are doing business as usual at Elko General
Merchandise, Anacabe's Store, just as her grandfather would have expected the to honestly, selling quality merchandise in a friendly atmosphere.
FOOTNOTES:
1
Elko Independent: May 14, 1937, p.10
• Interview, Anita Franzoia and Margaret Anacabe, February 26, 1986
• Ibid.
• Interview, Jess Goicoechea, May 30, 1986
5
Franzoia and Anacabe, May 26, 1986
• Ibid.
• Ibid.
• Telephone interview, Roberta Munger, May 22, 1986
' Interview, Agnes Rockwell, May 29, 1986
1
° Franzoia and Anacabe, May 26, 1986
II
Elko Independent: December 3, 1937, p.3; telephone interview, Milo Taber, August 21, 1986
12
Interview, Anna Tremewan, May 23, 1986
13
Elko Independent: August 13, 1937, p.3
�115
-- I
Elko General Merchandise, Anacabe's Store, today.
�116
,. Interview, Pete Amestoy, May 22, 1986
Elko Independent: April 17, 1952, p.l
16
Rockwell
17
Franzoia and Anacabe, May 26, 1986
t i Ib,d.
19
Ibid.
20
Ibid.
" Ibid.
22
Ibid.
23
Interview, Julio Arostegue, May 20, 1986
,.. Goicoechea
25
Franzoia and Anacabe, Februry 26, 1986
26
Goicoechea
27
Rockwell
" Franzoia and Anacabe, February 26, 1986
29
Ibid.
30
Amestoy
31
Rockwell
32
Amestoy
33
Goicoechea
" Franzoia and Anacabe, February 26, 1986
" Ibid.
36
Ibid.
37
Interview, Jeff McCormick, February 26, 1986
.. Franzoia and Anacabe
15
SOURCES:
NEWSPAPERS
Elko Independent: selected issues
INTERVIEWS
Anacabe, Margaret and Franzoia, Anita; February 26, 1986, Elko residents
Anacabe, Margaret and Franzoia, Anita; May 26, 1986
Amestoy, Pete; May 22, 1986, Elko resident
Arostegui, Julio; May 20, 1986, Elko resident
Goicoechea, Jess; May 30, 1986, Elko resident
McCormick, Jeff; February 26, 1986, Battle Mountain resident
Munger, Roberta; telephone, May 22, 1986, Elko resident
Rockwell, Agnes; May 29, 1986, Elko resident
Taber, Milo; telephone, August 21, 1986, Elko resident
Tremewan, Anna; May 23, 1986, Mountain City resident
�117
Carol Hendershot
Carol Hendershot was born in Joliet, Illinois and raised in Denver, Colorado. She and her husband,
Jerry, moved to Carson City in 1971 and then to Elko in 1972. He is a land law examiner with the Bureau
of Land Management. She is a part-time telephone operator at CP National Telephone Company. The
couple has three children, a daughter, Marie, and two sons, Jerry and Kerry.
This is her third article published in the Northeastern Nevada Historical Society Quarterly. Her first, Bing
Crosby and Elko, A Mutual Admiration Society, was printed in the Summer 1984 issue. Hendershot's second
monograph, Dinner Station, was published in the Summer 1985 edition. She has also written several
newspaper articles.
Back issues of the Northeastern Nevada Historical Society Quarterly
always needed as donations.
�
Dublin Core
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Title
A name given to the resource
Northeastern Nevada Museum Quarterly
Subject
The topic of the resource
Collection of the Northeastern Nevada Museum Quarterly journal.
Description
An account of the resource
Quarterly journal of the Northeastern Nevada Museum, located in Elko, Nevada.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Northeastern Nevada Museum
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Northeastern Nevada Museum
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1978-2015
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Scott A. Gavorsky
Rights
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Northeastern Nevada Museum
Format
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.pdf files
Language
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English
Document
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
"Anacabe's Store: The First Fifty Years"
Description
An account of the resource
<p>The Elko General Merchandise Company, known locally as Anacabe's Store, has been an Elko institution for almost 80 years. Operating out of the same location on Idaho Street, the store is a testament both to the Anacabe family and the Basque traditions of multi-generational community.</p>
<p><a title="Anacabe's Store article pdf" href="/omeka/files/original/6decf42d58226cd9e5b799b7786113f0.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Read "Anacabe's Store: The First Fifty Years" as pdf</a></p>
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Carol Hendershot
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<em>Northeastern Nevada Historical Society Quarterly</em> 86.4 (Fall 1986): 104-117.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Northeastern Nevada Museum
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
Fall 1986
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Gretchen Skivington [GBC]; Scott A. Gavorsky [VHC]
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
VHC Deposit Agreement on file:
http://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/items/show/185
[administrator access only]
Format
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pdf; 15 pages
Language
A language of the resource
English
Basques
Community
Crossroads
Elko
NNM
Story
-
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a6c828ec641d4076cd0847665cb3e607
PDF Text
Text
NORTHEASTERN NEVADA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
QUARTERLY
Basque Ranehing Cnl~e
- in the Great Basin
by Mi(ce Laughlin
Forests of Northeastern Nevada
by Thomas J. Straka
••The Most Extravagant Pieturesqneness''
of Northeastern Nevada
by Thomas J. Straka
The Pony Express
150-Year Anniversary
1860-1861
2010 - 3 &4
���������
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b5003e7114f4dccaa2c43c664d06d140
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Northeastern Nevada Museum Quarterly
Subject
The topic of the resource
Collection of the Northeastern Nevada Museum Quarterly journal.
Description
An account of the resource
Quarterly journal of the Northeastern Nevada Museum, located in Elko, Nevada.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Northeastern Nevada Museum
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Northeastern Nevada Museum
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1978-2015
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Scott A. Gavorsky
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Northeastern Nevada Museum
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
.pdf files
Language
A language of the resource
English
Document
Documents such as transcripts, pdf files, legal documents, letters, etc.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
"Basque Ranching Culture in the Great Basin"
Description
An account of the resource
<p>Mike Laughlin traces the history of the Basque ranching culture in the Great Basin area, from early work on the first cattle ranches in the 1870s through the heyday of sheep-herding to the celebration of this ranching tradition in the modern National Basque Festivals.</p>
<p><a title="Basque Ranching Culture article" href="/omeka/files/original/415b15df188cd660640d611f0dcfa8dc.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">View "Basque Ranching Culture" as pdf</a></p>
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Mike Laughlin
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<em>Northeastern Nevada Historical Society Quarterly</em> 2010, 3 & 4 (2010): 38-45
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Northeastern Nevada Museum
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
2010
Contributor
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Gretchen Skivington [GBC]; Scott A. Gavorsky [VHC]
Rights
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VHC Deposit Agreement on file:
http://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/items/show/185
[administrator access only]
Format
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pdf; 9 pages
Language
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English
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
1870 - 2010
arborglyphs
Basques
boarding houses
Community
Crossroads
Elko National Basque Festival
NNM
ranching
sheepherding
Spanish Ranch
Story
-
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1e021109ea91d3888f7eef4fe83763c2
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Text
NORTHEASTERN NEVADA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
QUARTERLY
THE STORY OF MY LIFE
BY MRS. LEWIS SHARP, SR.
CONSTRUCTION OF THE CPRR:
CHINESE L'ttMIGRAlVI' CONTRIBL"'llON
BY HOLLY LAKE
BASqUESIIEEPIIERDERS
BY ELVA AYLESWORTH
94-4
ELKO, NEVADA
�200
Basque tree carvings located high in the mountains of E lko County.
�201
BASQUE SHEEPHERDERS
BY ELVA AYLESWORTH
Over 100 years ago, the Basques began immigrating from Spain and France to
this country . Their determination. ability to work hard , desire to succeed, and
wi llingness to sacrifice in order to attain tomorrow's security , are the major strengths
that enabled the Basque people to immigrate to and succeed in America . They saw
this new land with its sparsely inhabited West and possible business opportunities as
the land of dreams , a place of future financial security. 1 For some, the hope of
financial security was fulfilled in the new land of America and some were able to
enjoy their success back in the old country. For many , the strong determination that
enabled them to endure the sacrifice and hardship of life in the American West was
accompanied by a pain that lingers today.
Land was scarce in the Basque countries : therefore. to stay meant living and
working in the cities. Basque culture taught that rural life was one of " personal
dignity and independence , .. a way of life to be treasured: whereas life for the city
worker was one of hard work under someone else·s direction . In Basque society, the
eagerness to do hard work is greatly respected . However, the Basques prefer to work
for themselves only, even to the exclusion of working for other Basque people. 2
Continually being under another person's authority was seen as a loss of identity and
independence. 3 America, a land where hard work and determination produced
security and freedom, became a dream for many of the Basque people.
Trad ing their berets for hats. they journeyed to the United States, 4 leaving family ,
friends , homes , and culture . They left as teens 5 and some went back as old men , but
almost all left parents, sisters, or brothers whom they would never see again. Close
association with others has always been very important to the Basque people as they
are a remarkably social society .6 Leaving this society to take up the life of a solitary
sheepherder often took more endurance than the average person has.
Due to a famine throughout the Basque country, political unrest, and lack of work
opportunities, the Basques began immigrating into California in the 1850s. 7 The gold
rush attracted them at first ,8 but the insecurity of the mining industry soon
discouraged them. At this time , the Industrial Revolution in Europe caused an
increase in the demand for wool , sheep tallow, and mutton , which required additional
numbers in sheep and sheepherders. 9 The promise of $25 to $50 a month was
attractive enough to entice many of the immigrant Basques to begin the solitary life
of the sheepherder. Some of the Basques had herded sheep in Argentina , 10 and
others had come from families which owned sheep. But for the most part, they
learned their herding skills in the United States.
Fifty years prior to the Industrial Revolution , California's governor at the time, a
Basque man named Diego de Borica , promoted the sheep industry by buying and
distributing sheep on his own to various California ranches. During his term in office
from 1794 to 180 0 , sheep numbers quadrupled , and by 1822, there were more
than 200 ,000 head in the state. 11 By 1860 , investing in the sheep business was the
safest and most profitable venture possible , with a 100% profit per year. 12 This
�202
opened the door for the hard working, success-oriented Basque immigrants. The
large majority of native Californios were cattle ranchers who inherently had a very
low conception of sheep, shying from the task of herding them , so the early
sheepherders were of many different backgrounds, having been brought in from all
over by the gold mines. 13 However, in Los Angeles, City of Dreams, Harry Carr
wrote that by 1887, the Basques were in control of the sheep in California. He
remarked , " Possibly no race with less fighting qualities could have held their own
against the cattlemen .. . , the Basque herders and Mexican cattlemen shot on
sight... " 14
Cattlemen had been accustomed to uninhibited use of the public lands bordering
their deeded ranches , and the arrival of the roving sheep operators was a rude
awakening. Although the itinerant sheepmen were on public ground , cattle ranchers
and land-owning sheepmen openly resented them. 15 The opportunity for future
financial independence prompted many herders to take their wages in live sheep.
This further increased the number of roaming sheepmen with no land base, who
continued to crowd the land-owning ranchers. Friction between the landowners and
the landless continued. William A Douglass wrote, in Basque Sheepherders of the
American West , that the itinerant sheepherder usually moved on after a confrontation with a cowboy about trespassing. Sometimes "tempers flared and reason was
replaced by violence. More than one herder was roped and dragged behind a horse ,
just as more than one buckaroo fell to a herder's .30-30 rifle. " 16 However,
Amerikanuak , written by William A. Douglass and Jon Bilbao, states to the contrary:
"The resort to serious violence was both rare and limited to the particularly hottempered. " 17
Along with the growth in sheep numbers and in the number of sheepherders came
the expansion of crop farming, leaving little room for any of the ranchers or
sheepmen to expand . In addition to that was the increasing hostility of the rancher
and established sheepmen toward the " tramp" sheep operator. As a result of these
numerous hindrances, the itinerant sheepmen began the hunt for new country.
Nevada winters being what they are , cold and risky for raising livestock, these
traveling sheep outfits still preferred Nevada over the crush of the California ranges. 18
Beginning around 1870, sheep were trailed into Nevada until, by 1910, there were
1, 154, 795 sheep registered. Depending entirely on public ground , these early sheep
operators trailed their bands to the southern dry areas in the winter, then back to the
high mountain pasture for the summer. Some bands traveled up to 500 miles or
more making their way from summer to winter ranges , than back again. 19 Sometimes
as many as 10 bands in one outfit would travel together, grazing slowly along the
way . Ten bands of sheep could number between 15,000 and 20 ,000 head,
according to Sarah Bixby in Adobe Days. 20 Ten herders traveled with a herd this
size. but when they were settled on their separate ranges , one herder and a couple
of good sheepdogs could handle more than 1,000 head of sheep alone. Being of a
nervous nature and vulnerable to attack from predators, sheep required constant care,
to the point that sheepherders often slept on the ground with them. 21 The
conscientious herder left nothing to chance in caring for his charges, as his reputation
was on the line in the weight and number of the lambs at shipping time .22
Most herders slept on the ground , using sagebrush for a mattress. Immigrating
from France at age 24. Mrs. Anna Hachquet has resided in Elko , Nevada, for the
�203
.§
u
~
8
E
"
~
"
E
ci,
c
e
§
<(
-
Cl..
i L-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Winter sheep camp for Elko County sheep being driven to winter ran ge
near Hamilton , Nevada .
past 70 years . She is the widow of a successful sheepman and remembers from her
days of cooking for her husband at the sheep camp , " You had to look every day in
the bed for snakes, always you watch for snakes. Oh. yes, I remember that! .. The
snakes liked the cool familiarity of the sage, so even though it made a good mattress,
it had to be checked often fo r visitors . Sixty-five years ago , Jean-Baptiste Ardans
came to American to herd sheep. He recalls an experience of unknowingly sharing
his bed with a rattlesnake . He had just gotten into bed when he heard it slither past
his head . "Oh boy, I jumped' I was scared' I couldn't reach it the first time with my
shovel. .. When he did connect. you can believe he made short work of that
unwelcome guest.
All cooking was done in the open over a campfire, regardless of the weather.
Bread that would put many housewives to shame, was cooked in a dutch oven in the
ground . Frank Lespade , long-time employee of Elko Lumber Company and retired
superintendent of maintenance for the Elko County School District. began
sheepherding at 13 in the country around Currie , Nevada . He states that a fire was
built in a hole dug in the ground. When the fire had burned down and there were
plenty of coals, the Dutch oven containing the bread dough was placed down in the
coals and left for a time. This browned the bread and gave it a crust. Next, the oven
was completely covered with dirt for about an hour while the bread baked . Pete
Amestoy, a herder for 25 years and well known for his bread-making skill , says this
was much better than "town bread. "
Herders today live in sheep wagons which have modern day luxuries, such as a
bed, table , and cupboards. They do not. however, have electricity. plumbing, or
refrigeration . The early sheepherder used a tent or teepee and made do . Transportation for the early herder was a burro or horse . Camp was moved on the back of a
packhorse. 23 Pete Amestoy came to America when he was 17 to herd sheep. He has
�204
been out of the sheep business for about 40 years , but clearly remembers the
harshness of the sheep camp ... It was a terrible life , had tents and used jackasses. Ifs
good now , with cars and trailers. Live like a king. It used to be nothing. "
In the early days the camp tender would resupply the herders once or twice each
month with beans, dried fruit, coffee , and ingredients for bread. When bands
belonging to the same outfit were near each other, the herders would butcher one
sheep together and share the meat, one animal being too much for one man before
it spoiled. 24 In later years , camp tenders came every four to six days, bringing canned
meat, fresh vegetables, pop, and wine along with the usual fare. Frequency of visits
and extent of supplies varied from outfit to outfit. Frank Lespade tells of working with
his dad for Pete Itcaina and being sent to Wells to pick up cases of moonshine. · ·I
was pretty young , but I drove all the way over there by myself, then back to Pole
Canyon (Ruby Valley) where we were camped. " Jean Ardans , nephew of Pete ltcaina
and employed by him for 24 years , laughs as he recalls the five-gallon containers
they were supplied coffee in. He remarked, •·1t was good to haul water in after the
coffee was gone. "
Many sheepmen who employed the herders would hold back their wages for a
year at a time. Some would hold these earnings until the herder quit , even if it was
25 years after he was hired. Pete Amestoy tells of working for several outfits and
only staying a year or two at the longest at each. His answer as to why he moved
around so much was: " Can 't get paid' Shorter you stay, quicker you paid. " Some
herders , trusting years of wages to employer's keeping , lost all when the employer
went bankrupt. Pete Itcaina was one of the many sheepmen who operated on the
wages held back from the herders. He came to America some time before 1900 ,
homesteaded a place between Deeth and Charleston, and became a very successful
businessman by the time he sold out in 1951. Obviously, some of his success came
from being able to forego paying wages to many employees for many years. He
employed 15 herders , including two brothers and four nephews. Jean Ardans , one
of the nephews, drew his first and last paycheck on the same day when he quit after
24 years of employment with Itcaina.
Physical danger was an everyday companion to the herders in the form of
weather, predators, snakes, illness, and injury . The major probiem , though , was
psychological , living with the boredom and isolation from other humans. 25 Numerous
herders were unable to deal with this facet of their occupation. Many quit. Others
remember crying themselves to sleep. Some actually went crazy. The term " Crazy
Basco " was not uncommon or without meaning. In early 1900, an organization in
Boise was formed to supply the return fares for the mentally and physically ill
immigrants .26 Some of the Basque herders killed themselves if they felt they were
going crazy. Others didn 't " catch it" in time. 27 Archer B. Gilfillan, in his book.
Sheep , claims that some think no one can herd sheep even six months and not go
crazy, "while others maintain that a man must have been mentally unbalanced for at
least six months before he is in fit condition to entertain the thought of herding. " 28
There were many herders who toughed it out, "putting in their time" for the
monetary security they would realize after years of loneliness and danger. Unable to
speak fluent English, or for most , any at all , town was not a preferred alternative.
Conmen and prostitutes were only too ready to relieve the herder of his money. 29
There are as many stories as there were outfits. For the itinerant sheepman, traveling
�205
Early photograph of sheep shearing operation. Pete El ia is on the far
right in white shirt.
around with no home base , completely alone except for the short time he enjoyed
visiting with the camp tender, the loneliness could be, and in many cases was,
unbearable. Herders for some of the bigger outfits would pasture their band of sheep
close to other bands belonging to the same outfit during the summer. This relieved
some of the loneliness. For young Frank Lespade , who moved to a sheep camp at
Currie from a Catholic boarding school in California , there were many adjustments
to make. Living and working around 10 other herders, learning to herd sheep,
handle a team of horses , ride a mule, and drink moonshine. Lespade doesn 't recall
loneliness as being one of his problems. He only remembers. "There was work to
do and you did it. ,. Pete Amestoy recollects a much different experience . He was
alone most of the time and remembers the loneliness well . After 24 years of herding ,
Pete moved to town (Elko) and bought the Blue Jay , a bar he ran for 11 years. He
then sold the bar and bought apartments instead. Now, looking back, Pete excitedly
points out. " It was like being in jail! Can 't go fishing! "
Throughout the western rangelands, generations of Basque sheepherders have left
the mark of their passing by carving messages into plaques nailed to trees , the tree
bark or even the handle of a scrub brush. Each year the message is added to with the
date of their stay or just a short note : "This is a sad and bitter life. " Another one
notes, " No good camp. " In the barren , treeless country, a rockpile was built. These
were called harrimutilak, or "stone boys ." This evidence for future herders of
another's presence in this camp was one common way for these men to deal with
the boredom and loneliness. It gave them a feeling of connection , knowing that other
herders would some day see their message , and it was also encouraging to them to
read the words of another who had been there before them. 30 But with the Basques·
desire to work hard , live honestly , and be self-reliant, they eventually earned the
respect of Americans 3 1 and were soon believed to be the best and the most
dependable sheepherders. 32 Elko resident Loyd Sorensen owned and operated a
�206
Old sheep wagon at the Goicoechea Ranch at North Fork, 1970.
sheep business for over 50 years. He hired many Basque sheepherders and claims
they are " honest and efficient workers. Efficient workers, that says it all. ·· Another
testimony to their integrity comes from a commonly held belief by the bankers that
''The word of the Basque is as good as a written contract. ·· 33 Mrs . Anna Hachquet
recently discovered this is still considered true. Upon hearing that her favorite
restaurant was no longer accepting personal checks, Hachquet questioned her
waitress. She was asked: ··Are you Basque?" When hearing the answer: "Yes,· · the
waitress replied that she would take her check.
Of the various people who have herded sheep, the Basques were the most
successful , due to their value of hard work , endurance , and staying with one
occupation. 34 Other people tried herding for a short time , but only the Basque could
see this path to financial security many years in the future . For most people , to say
"sheepherder" is to say ··Basque.·· No other ethnic group has been related to any
occupation so completely as the Basque to the herding of sheep. 35
Beginning in 1862 and continuing until 1934. laws were continually being passed
that hurt the sheepmen, 36 culminating in the Taylor Grazing Act (1934). which
stopped the itinerant sheepmen from using public lands exclusively to produce their
livestock. This also ended the opportunities for herders to start their own business 37
and, with the European economy improving. the Basques no longer desired to
immigrate. The century-long period of the Basque sheepherder had ceased.
�207
When the Basques left their homeland. the intent was to stay only long enough
to earn the capital required for the trip home and a business when they got there. 34
In the early days of the booming sheep industry and plentiful opportun ities. many
were able to go home within 10 years. Later on. the financial security they sought
took longer to find.
A large majority of these immigrants left their country never to return. Money. or.
for some , the willingness to spend it, is one reason. 38 For others, it is the emotional
expense of a return to a home where many loved ones have passed on , and where
" things are so different now.· · For many. the official arrangements necessary for such
a trip and the language barrier that is still there must seem too much to deal with.
Others still firmly state: "Next year , I'll go home next year . · · J G For many, "next year ..
never comes.
After 40 or 50 years , a Basque herder may return to his homeland only to find
that it is not the same place and that he is certainly not the same man. With a
saddened but firm step , he turns back to the America that has claimed him. 39
The percentage of success stories is small of the Basques returning to their
homeland within a few short years after immigrating , as prospective businessmen
happy to remain in the old country. However, as immigrants desiring to make
something of themselves and be recognized in their new country as the honorable
upright citizens that they are , the Basques have ultimately succeeded .
FOOTNOTES
'Douglass, Amerikanuak, Basques in the Ne w World, pg. 128.
" Basques in the West ,, . Sunset Magazine. June , 1976, pg. 64.
3
Douglass, Amerikanuak , pg. 128.
4
Laxalt, Sweet Promised Land , pg . 22.
5
Douglass, Amerikanuak , pg. 263.
6
" Basques in the West ,·, pg. 64.
7
Douglass, Amerikanuak , pg. 129.
8
" Basques in the West ," pg. 64.
9
Douglass, Amerikanuak , pg. 139.
10
" Basques in the West," pg . 64.
11
Douglass, Amerikanuak , pg. 218.
12
/bid.' pg . 223.
13
/bid.' pg. 222.
14
/bid. ' pg. 229.
15
" Basques in the West," pg. 64 .
16
Douglass, Basque Sheepherders of the American West , pg. 9.
17
Douglass, Amerikanuak , pg . 276.
18
/bid. ' pg . 248.
19
Douglass, Basque Sheepherders , pg. 6.
20
Douglass , Amerikanuak , pg. 229.
21
Frank Lespade interview.
22
Douglass, Basque Sheepherders, pg . 43.
23
/bid .' pg. 53.
2
�208
24
Lespade interview.
Douglass. Basque Sheepherders , pg . 59 .
26
/bid .. pg. 29.
27
Laxalt, Sweet. pg. 39.
28
Douglass. Amerikanuak. pg. 298.
29
Douglass. Basque Sheepherders , pg . 101.
30
/bid., pg . 7 .
31
Douglass. Amerikanuak. pg. 259.
32
/bid. , pg. 274.
33
Douglass. Basque Sheepherders , pg . 27.
34
/bid .. pg. 25.
35
Douglass, Amerikanuak. pg. 289.
36
"Basques in the West,'' pg. 64 .
37
Laxalt, Sweet, pg. 40.
38
/bid.' pg. 38.
39
/bid. ' pg. 176.
25
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Amestoy, Pete. Personal interview, March 12, 1993.
Ardans, Jean-Baptiste. Personal interview. March 28 , 1993.
" Basques in the West. " Sunset Magazine , Volume 156, June, 1976: 62-67.
Bradbury, Margaret. The Shepherd 's Guide. Emmaus, Pa.: Rodale Publishing, 1977.
Douglass, William A. , and Bilbao, Jon. Amerikanuak, Basques in the New World.
Reno: University of Nevada Press, 1975 .
Douglas, William A. Basque Sheepherders of the American West. Reno: University
of Nevada Press, 1985 .
Hachquet, Anna . Personal interview, February 10, 1993.
lrigaray, Louis and Taylor, Theodore. A Shepherd Watches , A Shepherd Sings.
New
York: Doubleday and Company, 1977 .
Laxalt, Robert. Th e Basque Hotel. Reno: University of Nevada Press, 1989.
Laxalt, Robert. Sweet Promised Land. Reno: University of Nevada Press, 1986.
Lespade, Frank. Personal interview, March 28, 1993.
Ott, Sandra. The Circle of Mountains . New York: Oxford , 1981.
Sawyer, Byrd Wall. Nevada Nomad. San Jose: Harlan-Young , 1971 .
Sherlock, Patti. Alone on the Mountain. New York: Doubleday, 1979.
Sorenson , Loyd. Personal interview, April 5, 1993.
Editor 's note: This paper was written by Elva Aylesworth for Englis h 102 at
NNCC during the spring of 1993.
�
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Northeastern Nevada Museum Quarterly
Subject
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Collection of the Northeastern Nevada Museum Quarterly journal.
Description
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Quarterly journal of the Northeastern Nevada Museum, located in Elko, Nevada.
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Northeastern Nevada Museum
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Northeastern Nevada Museum
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1978-2015
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Scott A. Gavorsky
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Northeastern Nevada Museum
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English
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Title
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"Basque Sheepherders"
Description
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<p>An history and analysis of the life of Basque sheepherders from the 1850s into the mid-20th century. Particular emphasis is placed on the experience of those in Elko County, Nevada, in the 20th century <span>as recounted in personal interviews with former Basque sheepherders in the Elko area. Interviewees included Jean-Baptiste Ardans, Anna Hachquet, Frank Lespade, and Loyd Sorenson.</span></p>
<p><a title="Basque Sheepherders article" href="/omeka/files/original/3430fad176d478b11bf46a817fcaa032.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">View "Basque Sheepherders" as pdf</a></p>
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Elva Aylesworth
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<em>Northeastern Nevada Historical Society Quarterly</em> 94.4 (Winter 1994): 200-208.
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Northeastern Nevada Museum
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Winter 1994
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Gretchen Skivington [GBC]; Scott A. Gavorsky [VHC]
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pdf; 10 pages
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English
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1850 - 1950
Basques
Community
Crossroads
GBC50
ranching
sheepherding
Story
Students
-
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d2389ed6dbb686ca7d1d758f77cca959
PDF Text
Text
NORTHEASTERN NEVADA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
QUARTERLY
Early Elko - Reminiscences of
George D. Banks
by Edna Patterson
Volume One
Summer 1970
Number One
Dirt Runways - A History of Elko Airpor~
1919-1926
by Howard ffiekson
Volume One
Fall 1970
Number Two
Basque Tree Carvings
by Riehard Lane
Volume One
Winter 1971
Number Three
· The Old Schoolhouses Are Disappearing
by Edith Landon Ba-khelder
Volume One
Spring 1971
Number Four
2001-2
ELKO, NEVADA
.
�64
Northeastern Nevada Historical Society Quarterly
Volume One, Number Three, Winter 1971
Basque Tree Carvings
by Richard Lane
Introduction:
During the past summer I examined numerous aspen groves on the western
slope of the Ruby Mountains between Lamoille Canyon and Mitchell Creek, in the Red
Rock area west of Jiggs, and on the Mountain City and Gold Creek districts of the
Humboldt National Forest. The carvings that were located were always interesting and
sometimes very beautiful. Many persons, including sheepherders, who frequent the
mountains give these carvings only a cursory glance and thereby miss the enjoyme nt
and confrontation by some small evidence of the lives of the strong men who followed
this solitary occupation in the past.
This is a loss to all concerned and especially to those interested in the range
history of the West, for neglecting to consider the actual roles of the sheepherder and
sheepmen distorts our understanding of how the present attitudes and situation came
to be. Aspen carvings are only a small part of the necessary evidence, but a very
enjoyable part.
Several persons have provided valuable assistance in the preparation of this
paper: William Douglass, Luis Garcia, Jess Goicoechea and Richard King.
Basque Tree Carvings
by Richard Lane
Scattered among the aspens in northeastern Nevada are clusters of carvings
etched by sheepherders and camptenders; a legacy for the anthropologist a nd
testimony that thoughts of other people (oftimes females) occupied a good deal of the
lonely herder's time.
The carvings - dating from the turn of the century - provide a glimpse into
those idle moments away from sheep husbandry and camp routines when a man took
knife in hand to leave his successors with evidence of his presence.
Most frequently he simply carved his name and the date. On a few occasions
an artist here and there expressed himself with drawings of women, houses or other
objects. More verbose carvers left complete quotations or cultural stateme nts, evidently
the direct results of frustrations of this often lonely occupation.
The earliest identifiable carvings date from a few years later than the influx of
Basque sheepherders into this area about 1895.
Since there is no tradition of tree carving in the Basque Country, it is likely that
the early herders learned the skill from persons in the United States. To my knowledge ,
no pre-Basque aspen carvings from the nineteenth century are still living. The Basques
and other Iberians were preceded in their occupation by northern Europeans,
predominantlv from the British Isles.
�65
q--oves on the western
ell Creek, in the Red
·eek districts of the
ays interesting and
who frequent the
~iss the enjoyment
---ien who followed
ted in the range
heepherder and
situation came
'lCe, but a very
paration of this
'·ng.
mpse into
man took
'J X
of
ues
Aspen grove with tree carvings.
Museum collection
�66
During the present century Basques and Spaniards have provided most of the
labor on Elko County summer ranges.
The medium which these men have used is a living material that changes in
size, color and texture over the years at the points where incisions were made.
Should the incisions be too wide or too deep, the resulting bark which grows
to heal the wounds will cover so large an area that the intended shape of the carving
may be obscured. There are numerous examples of this error that can be observed.
The appropriate technique for producing clean, narrow lines is a single very light
incision which barely penetrates the surface of the white bark. Though penetration with
the knife into the cambium will doubtless place a stress on the life support system of
the tree, densely carved living aspens exist which surpass seventy years of age. The
surface of a dead tree deteriorates and destroys the carvings.
An overwhelming majority of carvings consist of names and dates (Figure 2):
more rarely, direct statement of Basque ethnic identity and, in the cases of many of
the Spanish Basque herders, farmstead (very rare) or town, province, and country of
origin (Figure 3). The earliest of these which I have located was carved in June , 1903,
and it is just barely discernable (Figure 4). It was spared the depredations of the beaver
that many of its neighbors have suffered.
Jua n L
Muse,.
Jean Arosteguy, 1928 (Fig. 2).
Museum collection
�67
e provided most of the
aterial that changes in
ns were made.
•ing bark which grows
s hape of the carving
liat can be observed.
is a single very light
ugh penetration with
ife support system of
,ty years of age. The
and dates (Figure 2):
lie cases of many of
nee, and country of
rved in June, 1903,
ations of the beaver
Juan Lano, 1921, also shows a province in Spain (Fig. 3).
Museum collection
June, 1903 (Fig. 4).
Museum collection
�68
In a few places herders have made remarkable carvings of human figures
(Figures 5, 6 and 9), animals (Figures 8? And 9?), and buildings (Figure 11) and
geometric shapes (e.g., a star). Some of the women are identified as prostitutes in
either Spanish or Basque. No carvings of sheep have been located.
Occasionally a herder has left a few words of warning on appropriate herding
practices to his successors, exclaimed on the fine conditions of his lambs, or registered
a lament (Figure 12): in Spanish, "el que tiene que estar aqui es par que esta media
loco nose una puta"/ "the guy who has to be here must be half crazy because there
are no prostitutes to be seen." Or on at last preparing to return home to the Basque
country feelings are expressed (Figure 13): in Spanish, "Adios la sierra papa
siempre"/"Good-bye forever, mountain." There is also an instance of an untranslatable
Spanish expletive being directed toward a sheep foreman. The most surprising kind of
item missing from this category is anything referring to conflicts with cattlemen.
Statements occur in either Spanish or Basque, but none in French have been
found. Some Basque speakers inscribe their messages in Spanish.
There are some carvings which often produce a strong, discomforting
emotional reaction in me (Figures 14 and 15) because of odd staring eyes within
unidentifiable shapes.
Carving of human figures {Fig. 5).
M useum collection
�69
of human figures
ngs (Figure 11) and
-fied as prostitutes in
:ed.
a ppropriate herding
lambs, or registered
por que esta media
• crazy because there
home to the Basque
ios la sierra papa
of a n untranslatable
t s urprising kind of
ith cattlemen.
:rang, discomforting
staring eyes within
Carving of human figure (Fig. 6).
Museum collection
Carving of human figure (Fig. 7).
Museum collection
�70
Carving of animal (Fig. 8) .
Museum collection
Carving of an animal? (Fig. 9).
Museum collection
�71
Caroing of a man riding an animal (Fig. 10).
Museum collection
Caroing of a home complete with chimney {Fig. 11).
Museum collection
�72
Notice carved on aspen: "el que tiene que estar aqui es por que esta media
loco nose una puta"/"the guy who has to be here must be half crazy because
there are no prostitutes to be seen. "(Fig 12).
Museum oollection
Carving on tree in regards to returning to the Basque country: "Adios la sierra
para siempre"/"Good-bye forever, mountain" (Fig. 13).
Museum collection
�73
e esta media
Distorted figure (Fig 14).
Museum collection
W
erra
«·
;a
Distorted figure (Fig 15).
Museum collection
-+. --
I
�74
There is, of course, no assurance that all of the items illustrated here and
others upon which my statements are based were actually made by sheepherders or
camptenders. The human and animal figures are difficult to document with certainty
because so few include the apparent signature of the artist. Moreover, to provide but
one example, in one of the aspen groves near Red Rock there are patriotic carvings
in English and of our flag dating from World War I which are intermixed with those
definitely by sheepherders.
The photographs of humans, animals and the house in this article are from
areas which lack any evidence of non-Basque , non-French, and non-Spanish language
carvings. Howeve r, it is possible that there are carvings in Chinese, Japanese,
Portuguese, Italian, one of the Philippine languages, or, perhaps, others, since speakers
of each of these languages did some sheep herding.
The author:
Mr. Lane is a graduate student in the Department of Anthropology at Yale
University. He came to Elko in May, 1969, and has been conducting research o n
sheepherders and the development of the sheep industry in northeastern Nevada fro m
1870. The investigation is being done with the cooperation of the Basque Studies
Program , Desert Research Institute, University of Nevada, Reno. This work will result
in a Ph.D. thesis to be completed in 1971. Prior to coming to Elko he received his
Bachelor of Arts degree from Johns Hopkins University and the degree of Master of
Philosophy in anthropology at Yale.
Northeastern :\"c,
Volume One, :\"um
The Old Sc
by Edith Landon I
Introduction
The Quarter
difficult task of findir
a special interest i
publication.
The museursale as collector's ite
many sets as you wo
In the fo llov..
memories of EDITH
attended.
This is, in nc
northeastern Nevada
and those who would
The Old Sehool
by Edith Landon Bat
Tree caruing of a man's face
Museum co llechon
Ona Sunday.
School being torn dov..
and was probably the
Seeing it being
which have disappear
The ones I kr
attending usually num
Some of the sc.
shuttered windows and
and two rows of hooks.
for the shorter ones.
Several of the
others the stockade type
plank flooring and door<',
teacher's desk and chair .
had built-in inkwells. Th
room. A large woodbox
small bench with a water
nail above. There were
�
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225c8cb68a9c69ca021cd47b27b23e69
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Northeastern Nevada Museum Quarterly
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Description
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Quarterly journal of the Northeastern Nevada Museum, located in Elko, Nevada.
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Northeastern Nevada Museum
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Northeastern Nevada Museum
Date
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1978-2015
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Scott A. Gavorsky
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Northeastern Nevada Museum
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.pdf files
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English
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Title
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"Basque Tree Carvings"
Description
An account of the resource
<p>A summary of Basque tree-carvings in the northeastern Nevada area, based on Richard Lane's investigations in 1969-1970 for his dissertation research. Lane was a graduate student in the Department of Anthropology at Yale University at the time. The article contains a number of photographs of typical types of Basque tree carvings.</p>
<p><a title="Basque Tree Carvings article" href="/omeka/files/original/8eca8cf80d54382b581f8fb7739d4f1e.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">View article as pdf</a></p>
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Richard Lane
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<p>Original Publication: <em>Northeastern Nevada Historical Society Quarterly</em>, 1.2 (Winter 1971)</p>
<p>Reprint: <em>Northeastern Nevada Historical Society Quarterly</em>, 2001.2 (2001): 64-74.</p>
Publisher
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Northeastern Nevada Museum
Date
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1971; 2001
Contributor
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Gretchen Skivington [GBC]; Scott A. Gavorsky [VHC]
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Richard Lane, "The Cultural Ecology of Sheep Nomadism: Northeastern Nevada 1870-1972" (Ph.D. dissertation, Department of Anthropology, Yale University, 1974)
Language
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English
arborglyphs
Basques
Community
Crossroads
Meaning
NNM
-
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8e04ffd6aee998cef50003ac1cc6fb80
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Text
�16
Tents served as temporary housing for the CCC men until permanent wooden barracks were erected at the Lamoille Canyon camp.
CCC
Barracks at the Lamoille Canyon CCC camp. The installation was started in 1934 and
was closed in 1937. The CCC men built the road up the canyon.
program in Cong•ess.
members should ...
the regimentation o·
transportation, tra n
Despite the unfa _
introduced on Nia er
March 31. 4
The program haa and most states haa
1ocated in their sta e
Nevada, like other
Com mittee, in conJu~
d elegation to Congres_
camps."
Nevada Senators Ke--. :
prepared a proposa ·
unemployment. The prreforesting burned-Over
reforesting other parts c
extensive. 5
No specific locatior ·
Russell, Jr. suggested
Chamber of Commerce·
in the Ruby Mountains r
Mountains near Las Vega:.
�17
.,
.~
~
4.:t~~
CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS
ELKO COUNTY: 1933-1942
BY DIANA L. NEEF
~
!
I
~
c 1n 1934 and
J
i
"'
~
~
Today's state of the economy is often compared with that of the Great Depression. There
is a constant search for a method to employ the millions looking for jobs. One method
being considered is to revive Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Civilian Conservation Corps of the
1930's and 1940's. The National Association of Civilian Conservation Corps Alumni is
dedicated to making the " CCC II" a reality. 1
In his New Deal plans the CCC was one of Roosevelt's many experiments to put the
country back to work and get it on its feet economically. Roosevelt's scheme to develop a
" tree army" w as not a unique idea. Many other countries had already employed such a
concept; by 1932 the governments of Bulgaria, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden,
Denmark, Austria and Germany had established conservation camps for their unemployed.
The German Labor Service w as to become the best known of these and the one most easily
compared to the CCC. 2
On March 9, 1933 Roosevelt called an emergency session of Congress to hear and
authorize his program. He asked the law makers to grant him emergency powers and in
return he w ould have 250,000 men in work camps by the end of July, 1933. 3
There w as much opposition to the president's proposal. The similarity to the German
Labor Service threatened the approach of socialism and delayed the passage of the
program in Congress. Also, organized labor felt the corps w ould take jobs that union
members should hold. But, above all, organized labor feared that the CCC would lead to
the regimentation of labor because Roosevelt wanted to enlist the aid of the U.S. Army for
transportation, training and administrative purposes.
Despite the unfavorable reaction to the project by the opposition, Senate Bill S598 was
introduced on March 27, 1933, passed both houses and was signed by the president on
March 31 .4
The program had great public support. Young men across the country flocked to enroll
and most states had delegatic.,, 1s in Washington to increase their chances of having a camp
located in their state.
Nevada, like other states, hoped to participate. On March 30, 1933, the State Relief
Committee, in conjunction with the Reno Chamber of Commerce, met with the Nevada
delegation to Congress about the possibility of securing one of the " labor concentration
camps."
Nevada Senators Key Pittman and Patrick McCarran, w ith Congressman James Scrugham,
prepared a proposal to present to Congress outlining Nevada's need for relief from
unemployment. The proposal outlined some of the work needed to be done in the state:
reforesting burned-over and cut-over areas on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada and
reforesting other parts of the state where lumbering and forest fire destruction had been
extensive. 5
No specific location for the CCC camps had been discussed, so Elko's Mayor George
Russell, Jr. suggested that Elko County seek aid from the reforestation bill. He urged the Elko
Chamber of Commerce to convince representatives of the advantages of including a camp
in the Ruby Mountains in their proposal. This and other campsites, one in the Charleston
Mountains near Las Vegas and one in the Schell Creek Range near Ely, were added to the
�18
Lined up for inoculations at the CCC camp in Lamoille Canyon.
proposal. Later, camps at Dixie National Forest, Nevada National Forest and another Elko
County installation at Gold Creek were added.
Included with the Nevada proposal w as a letter by Scrugham recommending organization of a " prospecting army." This group would be sent over the hills of Nevada and other
mining states under the same terms of employment as the reforestation army except that the
recruits would be placed on a fifty .fifty grubstake basis. The federal government, the
grubstaker, was to receive fifty percent of the net returns from any paying prospects
developed and the locator would get the remaining half. 6
Congress approved Nevada 's request for its numerous camps but Scrugham 's proposition for a "prospecting army" was ignored. The lawmakers appointed Cecil W. Creel,
secretary of the Nevada Relief Committee, as director of the reforestation work in the state.
He would later be instrumental in establishing the many CCC camps in Elko County. Through
his appointment, Creel was to select men for the reforestation and flood control work
camps. Creel stated, on April 13, 1933, " .. .men, ages 18 to 25 will be enrolled starting April
24. The first men will come from Reno and Las Vegas and other points receiving relief." 1
Meanwhile, Elko Chamber of Commerce officials decided that funding to build a road
up Lamoille Canyon and another road through Owyhee Canyon leading to Mountain City
was worth going after. The Lamoille Canyon road was greatly desired by the people of Elko
County who hoped to make the canyon into a w eekend recreation area. Likewise, the
Mountain City road was pursued by people involved w ith a booming copper producer,
the Rio Tinto Mine, who hoped to gain an all-weather highway. The Mountain City project
was later abandoned because of rumors that a railroad was to be built on the same
proposed roadbed.
Harry Bartlett, president of the Elko Chamber of Commerce, telegraphed Creel affirming
that Elko County was indeed interested in getting a CCC camp. On April 17, the county
received confirmation that there would be camps located in the area. They were also told
that over four hundred men would be stationed at the camps. This meant, to the local
people, that over $220,000 would be spent in the coming months. It w as announced in the
Elko Daily Free Press that "the men will come from the crowded cities of the East; Elko
Lieutenants C
County will only b e a
these men will perf()IT""
road and trail building
workers had started a
Elko County had sever
Canyon, Gold Creek, A
Cherry Creek in White P
Jim Meeks of Elko _
graduated from high sc
entire summer for the •
managed to earn only •
didn't have enough mO<'
find a job in the lumre
Herecalled : "lwas wa ·
me why I wasn't in schoo.
O regon to try and earn
because his uncle, the 1oc
only had to stay six man
those days. I went up a
could even read or write
he told me that he cou 1c :
scared me off. But I deciae
later I found myself in E •
"First they sent me to a
There they taught us how •
our shoes and if they d id" •
through the pipeline to 0v·
camps - like the mi lita
"I arrived in Elko in Jan
�19
i
I
!"
I
another Elko
~ i ng organizaada and other
except that the
;1ernment, the
rig prospects
m's proposiecil W. Creel,
in the state.
rity. Through
control work
~ starting April
ing rel ief." 7
ouild a road
_~ewise, the
er producer,
City project
the same
eel affirmi ng
:he county
ealso told
,o the local
i
;
-
i
Q;
a:i
!
Lieutenants Charvez and Rycroft at the Lamoille Canyon CCC camp.
County will only be allowed to contribute ten percent of the men to be enrolled. The work
these men will perform under this plan in Nevada will not mean the planting of trees but of
road and trail building in the national forests. " 8 By May 19 the preparation of the camps for
workers had started and, within a month, actual work had begun.
Elko County had several CCC camps, included were encampments at Tuscarora, Lamoille
Canyon, Gold Creek, Angel Lake and the Hubbard Ranch. Another nearby camp was at
Cherry Creek in White Pine County.
Jim Meeks of Elko was 19 at the time he joined the CCC. He recalled that he had just
graduated from high school and was hoping to continue on to college. After working the
entire summer for the Tennessee Valley Authority on a rural electrification program he
managed to earn only $152. Summer was over and so was his job with the TVA and he
didn't have enough money to start college. He decided to buy a bus ticket to Oregon and
find a job in the lumber mills. 9
He recalled : "I was waiting to get on the bus and a school friend happened by and asked
me why I wasn't in school and I told him I didn't have enough money. But that I was going to
Oregon to try and earn some. He told me that I didn't need to waste money on a ticket
because his uncle, the local CCC registration officer, could get me out west free. He said I
only had to stay six months and I could get out. Six months didn't mean anything to me in
those days. I went up and visited this old wart-healer, was about all he was, I doubt if he
could even read or write. Well, I asked this boy's uncle if he could send me to Portland and
he told me that he could send me anywhere in the world I wanted to go. That just about
scared me off. But I decided that joining the 'Cs' was a smart thing to do and three months
later I found myself in Elko, of all places. 10
" First they sent me to a Louisiana army camp, what they called a conditioning camp.
There they taught us how to make our beds and line up for inspection and told us to shine
our shoes and if they didn't like it we had to do it again. After two weeks there they sent us
through the pipeline to our station. They had asked me to give them my three choices of
camps - like the military they sent me somewhere else. 11
" I arrived in Elko in January, 1940 and the next day they sent me to a place 26 miles south
�· .....--
4429th Company, Civilian Conservation Corps, at Tuscarora on June 12, 1938. First
Lieutenant Robert J. Moore commanded with Robert F. Jameson as project superintendent, Dr. Everill W. Fowlks, camp surgeon, and Aland Forgeon was the camp's
educational adviser.
Tents of the 4429th Company, Civilian Conservation Corps, Camp DG-83 at Tuscarora
in June, 1939.
�22
'
IDAHO
-lr-·-·-·-·-+·-· . ·-·-·-·tmi·-·-·-·-·r-·-·-·~-··u
iT
!
I
Owyhee
Columbial;\-
•Rowland
t.City
fj Jarbidge
eTennessee Gulch
Patsv~ie
Gold.Creek
Wild Horse
•Charleston
; Jackpot
I
Contact
Delano•
1
•
Edgemont•
Cornucopia•
IA
•
Cherry Creek
WHITE PINE
i
•
•
I
CCC CAMPS IN NORTHEASTERN NEVADA
NORTHEASTERN
oe1ng scarec ~
Meeks to1
c
'e5UNey the a·
" In past days
they counted •
corners. It was c
hard as in the s
NEVADA
only three out o
promotions. His
pay added up·::
lived on a farm a
was a first sergea
He recalled,
and learning to '_
standpoint. 15
After discharge
laundry. Eventua
Meeks said, "T"
around; there are s_
there are a lot o When World
He said, "You c
make beds, shines~
CCC and the army
The CCC decl ine:::
agencies, the CCC 'e
then, ironically, Pres to balance the budg
Pearl Harbor was bcr
com pete w ith the rr
months .
Many people wi ~
nation and its young
FOOTNOTES:
1 John A. Salmond, The C .
Press, 1967), p.5
2 Fred E. Leake, R
oosevelt's •
National Association OI' :=
3 Leake, p.1
4 Ibid.
s Nevada Labor Camp 1 S.
s
• Reforestation Aid for ~
1 ·creel in Charge of Refores
• Elko County Allotted 40C
• Jim Meeks, owner of Vog •
�23
; w'ells. It was cold. Being a southern boy I had never seen 13 degrees above zero, much
ess the 13 below temperature on the day I got to the Warm Springs CCC camp. Other than
·-·-·-·-,.-·!U
Jackpot
Contact
Delano•
I
iJ
iA
•
.
I
DA
oe1ng scared half to death, I managed to survive. 12
Meeks told of his experiences at Warm Springs. His major field work was helping
•esurvey the area.
In past days they just tied something around a wagon wheel and each time it went over
ey counted it. The CCC actually chained and measured exact distances and tried to find
corners. It was quite a chore but they sti II use that survey today. Out west the work wasn't as
ard as in the southern camps. Nevada had a lot of camps but many were summer camps.
In some places they would set up a few tents and a kitchen and go to work." 13
After a short time in field work, Meeks was promoted into office work. He was one of
only three out of 300 men who had finished high school so they were the first to receive
promotions. His job included holding inspections and handing out pay every month pay added up to $30 a month and $25 of that was sent home. Meeks said his parents, who
lived on a farm, always sent his $25 back to him. During his last eight months in the CCC he
w as a first sergeant. 14
He recalled, " You were really in the army, the only thing was that instead of out marching
and learning to fight wars, you were trying to improve the country from a conservation
standpoint. 1 s
After discharge from the CCC, Meeks moved to Wells to marry a local girl and start a
laundry. Eventually he moved his business to Elko where it is still thriving today.
Meeks said, " Thirty of us CCC boys married girls from Wells. Many of the CCC guys are still
around; there are some in Elko and Wells today, there's a casino owner in Carson City and
there are a lot of the old boys at Hawthorne." 16
When World War II started Meeks went into the U.S. Army.
He said, "You could always tell who had been in the CCC - they already knew how to
make beds, shine shoes and stand inspection. There wasn't a lot of difference being in the
CCC and the army." 17
The CCC declined in the years of 1940 to 1942. Like so many worthwhile government
agencies, the CCC fell victim to Capitol Hill power struggles. First, Congress cut the funding,
then, ironically, President Roosevelt pared down the number of men and camps in an effort
to balance the budget and gain votes in the upcoming election. The final blow came when
Pearl Harbor was bombed and the nati on was plunged into war. The CCC simply could not
compete with the military for manpower and all the camps were gone within a period of six
months .
Many people will never forget what the Civilian Conservation Corps did for a troubled
nation and its young men and that is all the justification the CCC needs.
FOOTNOTES :
1 John A. Salmond, The Civilian Conservation Corps, 1933-1942. (Durham, North Carolina: Duke University
Press, 1967), p.5
2 Fred E. Leake, Roosevelt's Tree Army: A Brief History of the Civilian Conservation Corps. (Manassa, Virginia:
National Association on Civilian Conservation Corps Alumni, 1980), p.1
3 Leake, p.1
4
Ibid.
s "Nevada Labor Camp is Sought Under New Sill," Elko Daily Free Press, March 30, 1933, p.1
a "Reforestation Aid for Nevada Sought by Representatives," Elko Daily Free Press, April 6, 1933, p.1
"Creel in Charge of Reforestation," Elko Daily Free Press, April 14, 1933, p.1
• " Elko County Allotted 400 Men Under Reforestation Aid Plan," Elko Daily Free Press, April 17, 1933, p.1
s Jim Meeks, owner of Vogue Laundry, Elko, Nevada; interview on April 14, 1983
1
�24
Ibid.
Ibid.
12 Ibid.
13 Ibid.
14 Ibid.
1s Ibid.
16 Ibid.
17 Ibid.
10
11
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Elko Daily Free Press: "Creel in Charge of Reforestation," April 14, 1933; " Elko County Allotted 400 Men Under
Reforestation Aid Plan," April 17, 1933; " Nevada Labor Camp is Sought Under New Bil l," March 30, 1933;
"Reforestation Aid for Nevada Sought by Representatives," April 6, 1933
Leake, Fred E., Roosevelt's Tree Army: A Brief History of the Civilian Conservation Corps. (Manassa, Virginia:
National Association on Civilian Conservation Corps Alumni, 1980)
Meeks, Jim. Owner of Vogue Laundry, Elko, Nevada. Interview on April 14, 1983.
McClusky, Jack. Editor, publisher, Mineral County Independent News, Hawthorne, Nevada. Interview.
Salmond, John A., The Civilian Conservation Corps, 1933-1942, ( Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press,
1967)
This index of suo
terly in 1983 was co
where mention w as
pages 45-76 are ir :are in the Su mmer s
Eager, Sheepman; 8-
After publi catior
indexed w ith the rras·
the present. The mas
A
airmail station (Elko): • 2 •
Amador County (Ca ,,fcr>
America, 91, 95
American Association cl
American Associati on '-:,
American Legion , 121, • 3·
Antioch (California): 1 4 V
Apache (Indian): 54
Arana Saddle Shop, 79
Arctic Circle: 87
Argentina: 79
iii
j
~
Arizona: 54
Arabian (horse·s name) 6C
Army: 91
Arrascada, Benny, 95
Ashby (family), 56
Katy, 57
_§
§
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: DIANA L. NEEF
Diana L. Neef's article about the Civilian Conservation Corps was an assignment in her
English Composition class at Northern Nevada Community College in Elko. It is her first
published work.
She was born March 5, 1965 in Las Vegas but was raised in Elko. She is a 1983 graduate of
Elko High School. Her parents are Nancy and Jerry Neef. Diana is a freshman at Utah State
University, Logan, where she is majoring in landscape architecture. While in school she
earned a band scholarship and the Knapp Scholarship. She likes sewing, band, traveling,
photography and golf.
The staff of the quarterly and the society board of directors thank the author for the
opportunity to publish and showcase work performed in the field of original research at the
local college.
Lulu: 57
Viola, 57
Virginia: 57
AuAg Company (TuscarO'a
audrtorism (Elko High Scro
Austrn ( Nevada), 3
Australia: 79
B
Da 'Tlril tank: 12
3a zar, Fred: 122
Banks, /ws . George, 149
:ia<mocks (Indian): 54
3.Ynard , Louis, 6 7
5.Ynard , LR. : 7
::d'en, Fred, 51
t>Ys (gold): 11
=oall: 151-155
oasoue, 91 , 93, 95, 103
3.!::e R
ube: 62
'3'"S 103
6t:.Y" 'arnily
Alir e, 87
Beny, 85, 87
�
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66d21f2f11840be4671af7f6e7b09436
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Title
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Northeastern Nevada Museum Quarterly
Subject
The topic of the resource
Collection of the Northeastern Nevada Museum Quarterly journal.
Description
An account of the resource
Quarterly journal of the Northeastern Nevada Museum, located in Elko, Nevada.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Northeastern Nevada Museum
Publisher
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Northeastern Nevada Museum
Date
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1978-2015
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Scott A. Gavorsky
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Northeastern Nevada Museum
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.pdf files
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English
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Title
A name given to the resource
"Civilian Conservation Corps, Elko County: 1933-1942"
Description
An account of the resource
<p>An history of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) operations in Elko County during the Great Depression. Diana L. Neff, a Northeastern Nevada Community College student at the time, tracked the development of CCC camps from the original reforestation camp at Lamoille in the Ruby Mountains to the later camps at Tuscarora, Gold Creek, Angel Lake, and the Hubbard Ranch, and the related camp at Cherry Creek in White Pine County.</p>
<p><a title="Elko County CCC article" href="/omeka/files/original/e86d1991a745914887a0fc04c8182284.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">View article as pdf</a></p>
Creator
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Diana L. Neff
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<em>Northeastern Nevada Historical Society Quarterly</em>, 84.1 (Winter 1984): 16-24
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Northeastern Nevada Museum
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
Winter 1984
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Scott A. Gavorsky [VHC]
Rights
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VHC Deposit Agreement on file:
http://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/items/show/185
[administrator access only]
Format
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pdf/a1-b; 9 pages
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
1933-1942
CCC
Community
Crossroads
Elko County
GBC50
Lamoille
NNM
Story
Student
Tuscarora
-
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0440f96c1b962e8fd108e5792b44dd1c
PDF Text
Text
�12
Elko's Overland Hotel, on Fourth Street, long-time Basque social center. Holbert Family
photograph.
�13
ELKO'S OVERLAND HOTEL
A family, a culture ... and a memory
by Gretchen Holbert
April 3, 1899. Domingo Sabala, a young Basque, only 19-years-old
from Guizaburuaga , Vizcaya, in the Pyrenees mountains of Spain, set
foot on the soil of a foreign land which would eventually become his. He
could barely pronounce the country's name - United States of
America. 1
He did not know, at the time, he would never again see the land of his
birth or the many loved ones he left behind - his mind was filled with
youthful dreams of his new home and a bright, new future.
Continuing his seemingly endless journey , he boarded a massive
"iron-horse" to the West-a country with still rough land and characters.
He was in the company of other young Basque immigrants, part of a vast
influx of an "old country" stripling generation who ventured forth at the
turn of the century to seek their fortunes. Initially, they came in search of
gold and silver but soon found themselves inextr icably involved in cattle
and sheep industries.2
Domingo, who Americanized his first name to Dan, found both ventures in Winnemucca, Nevada, where mining was booming and livestock
flourished. 3
September, 1904. Gregoria Ga rte is from Natcaitua, Vizcaya, made the
burdensome journey across the ocean to join her sister in Winnemucca.
She found a job, learned English and fell in love .4
October 23 , 1907. Domingo and Gregoria were married and journeyed
to Elko to make their new home. 5
In their first years in northeastern Nevada, the Sabalas were involved
in various catt le and sheep operations. They started their family, which
would become a large one.
�14
In 1908, Dan, in partnership with Eulalie Onandia, built a part of his
dream - the Overland Hotel. 6 It would become the second largest Basque hotel in Elko. 7 After a few years, Onandia left the partnership and
Dan's brother, Antonio, took his place. 8
Accommodating a steady clientele, the Overland did an admirable job
within its limited confines. It was a simple edifice of three stories located
on Fourth Street and catered almost exclusively to herders, ranchers and
travelers. 9 The first floor was filled with a cigar counter, bar, lobby, dining
room, kitchen, pantries and maintenance rooms.
Upstairs were 24 rooms-to-let, inclusive of the Sabala family quarters.
The ground floor was originally used as a handball court - a favorite
pastime of the Sabalas and their boarders. 1 0
During the prime of the hotel's operation, many sheep outfits were in
the Elko area . Many Basque boys came to the U.S. to care for these
bands. Nevada's topography and climate were much like their own homeland and the sheep industry flourished, creating a large Basque concentration in the region and promoted Basque hotels to accommodate the
herders. 11 The Basque hotel became the social and business center of
the Basque community, a tradition typified by the Overland Hotel.
Sheep herds were sold in the winter so the young herders boarded at
the hotel in the winter, waiting for spring and a new band of sheep. Some
had no money but remained with the understanding that they would
settle their bill when they went to work. Invariably they did.12
The Overland employed young women from the Pyrenees who came to
the United States sponsored by businessmen, like Sabala, and worked
out their fare. They spoke no English and often arrived in Elko tagged like
packages to insure their safe arrival. 1 3
Basque women, in the early days of the Overland, were paid $25 a
month, plus room and board. Eventually their pay was raised to $30. 1 4
Working as maids and cooks, their days were long and labor-filled . The
cook prepared three meals, washed dishes and maintained the kitchen.
The maids' chores included waiting on tables and making beds. 1 5 Many of
the girls married young Basque men they met at the hotels , so maids were
frequently replaced with new arrivals. 1 6
Linen was painstakingly washed, once a week, in the hotel bathtub
using washboards . All the stoves, used to prepare dining room meals,
burned coal and wood. The stoves also heated hot water. At first, the
Overland was steam-heated by a coal furnace; lighting was by kerosene
lamps, candles and whale oil lanterns. Chamber pots were included with
each room . 1 7
Food was preserved in an icebox, cool box and pantry. Ice was supplied
by the ice house in Carlin, brought in by the" ice-man. " 1 8 The kitchen was
a large, functional assortment of butcher blocks, utensils, sinks and
large storage bins. Milk came from the dairy in Lamoille and for many
years was delivered by wagon by a character named Mary Larson during Prohibition she often delivered liquid of a stronger sort in her milk
cans. 19 Two grocery stores supplemented items family resources did not
provide. The Sabalas had their own milk cows, lamb and beef herds, and
a vegetable garden. 20
Eventually, the "thunder mugs" were replaced with pull-chain type
water closets, the old copper washer with an electric appliance, and the
�15
Gregoria and Domingo Sabala built the Overland Hotel in 1908, operating the hostelry
until the Depression forced them into financial ruin. Holbert Family photograph.
lamps with electricity. 21
During the first few years of operation, the hotel had a running advertisement quoting rates at 25c to 50c for "new rooms." 22 Board and room
were generally one to two dollars during the late Twenties and Thirties.
Drinks at the bar sold at eight to ten for a dollar. 23
In an era of male chauvinism, women were not welcome in the barroom.
However, they were treated to lemonade, grenadine and soda, or, for the
more daring, sherry or panash (half beer and half soda). These concoctions were served to the "fairer sex" in the dining room on special
occasions. 24
Traditional holidays and special festivities were highlights of an otherwise work-oriented year. New Year's Eve was always celebrated at the
Star Hotel and Three Kings ' Feast at the Overland. The proprietors'
birthdays were gala events. Weddings and wakes were both common
celebrations. 25
On these days, everyone was invited to a sumptuous feast-the food was
free, the drinks were not. 26 Dancing was enjoyed after dinner, usually to
live accordion music . Card games and dancing contests were popular.
The Overland also catered to private parties. Dances were organized and
alternated each week at the different hotels. 2 7
In the Twenties and Thirties when there was no Catholic Church to
speak of in Elko, weddings, confirmations and baptisms were often
performed in the lobby of the hotel. Until the establishment of the Arnold
Mortuary, rosaries were said and bodies sometime lay in state there . 20
During Prohibition, Sabala maintained a speak-easy , complete with a
discreet entrance through the alley . The bar was part of a vast underground of illegal drinking places - when the "prohibes" were on their
�16
way to the raid the Overland word was relayed in time to hide the
evidence. 29
Gregoria, through necessity and because of Elka's poor hospital situation, became a practicing midwife. She would bring life into the world by,
using her own words, "rural free delivery." Many contemporary Elkoans
were born in the upper chambers of the Overland. 30
Since the sheepherders were young and foreign to the "odd" American
ways, Gregoria took them under her wing, acting as mother, counselor
and nurse, all wrapped in one compassionate package. They would often
query her at dinner as to the meaning of some English words. Sometimes
she would not know the word from her adopted language, but, always
wanting to please, would make up one to tell the credulous herders. All
around the hotel and later through the Basque community, one of these
contrivances became gospel. This word was "bufalari," which was supposed to mean to expel flatus in English - the young herders readily
accepted her invented word. 31
Church, mortuary and hospital -the Overland owners dealt with major
and minor crises. Such was the case when the nationwide influenza
epidemic hit Elko during World War I. The Overland's halls and rooms
were f illed to overflowing with fifty to sixty stricken people. Gregoria
Sabala Family (left to right) - Ray , Pete, Domingo, Frank, Mary Ann, Gregoria, Sarah,
Augustine and Ann. Holbert Family photograph.
�17
.)t.
Youngest daughter, Lenore, with Gregoria Sabala. Holbert Family photograph.
manned the task force that worked day and night to nurse them back to
health - their efforts paid off, no one was lost. 32
This was a typical gesture of the Sabala family. Dan was one of the
financial , religious and cultural leaders in the Basque community. He
was always concerned about others and was immensely proud of his
Basque heritage. 33
An anthology of Basque families in the western United States published early in the century says of him: "Domingo Sabala has established
himself in a prominent position and is directly identified with the industry
and upgrading of the community (Elko)." 34
From his arrival in America with nothing but the clothes on his back and
a dream he had become one of the most respected and successful of
Elka's large Basque population. He was self-made and had earned his
fortune with hard work. After he succeeded in sending his two oldest
sons to college, Frank to Notre Dame and Ray to Santa Clara University, it
appeared his success in the new land was insured. 35 But, by now, the
nation was in the throes of the Depression - a grim, crucial time.
When the banks closed and the stock market crashed, Domingo lost
everything, right along with most others. __matter of weeks more than
a
thirty years' work was erased from the ledger- he lost his hotel, theatre,
various properties, cattle, sheep, stock and mining claims-and became
In
�18
a mainte nance man at t he Elko County Cou rthou se to support the
family. 36 At age 57 he started all over again, working at assorted jobs ,
including bartender, railroad worker and laborer. 37
His faded dream, the Overland Hotel, was bought in 1938 by Jack
Hunter, who, in turn, leased it to Kenneth Scott. Scott renovated it,
installing a new steam heat system and new furniture. He opened for
business on March 28, 1938, renting rooms and managing the Overland
Bar in a partnership. 38
When Scott gained ownership of the Overl an d, he discovered a large
safe . It contained a col lection of locked compartments whi ch had once
se rve d as safety deposit boxes for patrons during Saba la's management.
The keys had long since been lost so the safe was "cracked," under the
supervision of two bank officials . Since that time Scott has been attempting to locate the owners of long-forgotten doc ume nts, money,
jewels and bonds. At this writing, some of the people still have not been
found. If a Sabero Govia is still alive, and reads this, he may st ill co llect
his deeds, contracts, personal letters and effects from Scott, who is st ill
holding the belong ings .39
After 20 years of operation, Scott sold t he hotel to Red Ellis, Dick
Warren and Sid Winne r in 1957.40 Today, it is an annex of the Commercial
Hotel, part of the Anacabe Building. 41
Domingo and Gregoria gave life to eight children. Two of them, Frank
and Ray, have died and are buried in Elko. Mary Ann Brown , Sarah
Oregon, Anna Tremewan , Pete Sabala, Au gustine Shope and Lenore
Holbert survive.
Domingo and Gregoria began a new life when they came to their new,
strange country and lived to see the realization, and destruction, of their
dreams. They have since died , within two years of one another, but are
still together, side by side, resting in the Elko Cemetery-within a block
of where four of their grandchildren go to school.
Domingo and Gregoria are gone, the Overland Hotel is gone, two of
their children are dead, but memories remain - those whose lives were
touched by the Sabalas remember.
FOOTNOTES:
1
Sol Silen, La Historia de Los Vascongado en el Oeste. Las Novedades, New York , 19 17. p.
319.
2
Adrien Gachiteguy, Les Basques dans L'Quest Amercain. Ezkila, Bordeaux, 1955. p. 85.
3
Lenore Holbert, interview with autho r April 23, 1974.
4
ibid.
5
Silen , La Historia .
6
Pete and Mathilde Jauregui, interview with author April 29, 1974.
7
ibid .
8
ibid.
9
ibid.
lO ibid.
11
Gachiteguy, Les Basques.
�19
Jauregui.
ibid.
14
ibid.
15
ibid.
16
ibid.
17
Holbert.
18
ibid.
19
ibid.
20
ibid .
21
ibid .
22
Elko Daily Free Press: January-June, 1909.
23
Jauregui.
24
ibid.
25
ibid.
26
ibid.
27
An na Hachquet, interview with author May 19, 1974.
28
Holbert.
29
ibid .
30
ibid .
31
ibid.
32
Ha chquet.
33
ibid.
34
Silen , La Historia.
35 Anna Tremewan, interview with author May 20, 1974.
36
ibid.
37
ibid.
37
Kenneth Scott, interview with author May 18, 1974.
39
ibid.
40
ibid.
41
Holbert.
12
13
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Elko Daily Free Press: January-June, 1909.
Gachiteguy, Adrien. Les Basques dans L'quest American. Ezkila, Bordeaux, 1955.
Anna Hachquet, a family friend in an interview with the author on May 19,
1974.
Lenore Holbert, Sabala daughter in an interview with the author on April
23, 1974.
Pete and Mathilde Jauregui, former owners of the Star Hotel , Elko, in an
interview with the author on April 29, 1974.
Kenneth Scott , former owner of the Overland Hotel and Bar, in an interview with the author on May 18, 1974.
Silen, Sol. La Historia de Los Vascongados en el Oeste. Las Novedades,
New York, 1917.
Anna Tremewan, Sabala daughter in an interview with the author on May
20, 1974.
�20
ABOUT THE AUTHOR ... GRETCHEN HOLBERT
Gretchen Holbert, reignin g Miss Elko County and pre-law student at
the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, wrote this monograph about
her grandparents for an English and Rhetoric course at Northern
Nevada Community College. She was one of several local high school
students allowed to take the class.
She was born in Cedar City, Utah, May 7, 1956, and attended
schools in Elko and several communities in Southern California. She
graduated from Elko High School in 1974. The author is the daughter
of Lenore Holbert of Elko and Dr. Robert Holbert of San Diego.
Editor's comments: Family histories are vital facets of total history
offering more personal views and emotions of personalities - those
who make history. The Sabala story relates directly to Elka's Basque
community, an important part of the social and economic structure of
the community.
Gretchen's paper was one of several read at the college and museum
sponsored symposium in 1974- an important and needed source of
Quarterly articles. English and rhetoric students and instructors at the
community college are supplied with a list of subjects from the
museum, most suggested by Northeastern Nevada's resi dent historian, Edna Pat terson. Many of the undergraduates use the
museum's growing research and newspaper files and library while
compiling and writing their papers.
The staff and board of the museum and historical society thank
Gretchen for allowing us to publish her paper.
�
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Title
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Northeastern Nevada Museum Quarterly
Subject
The topic of the resource
Collection of the Northeastern Nevada Museum Quarterly journal.
Description
An account of the resource
Quarterly journal of the Northeastern Nevada Museum, located in Elko, Nevada.
Creator
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Northeastern Nevada Museum
Publisher
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Northeastern Nevada Museum
Date
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1978-2015
Contributor
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Scott A. Gavorsky
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Northeastern Nevada Museum
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.pdf files
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English
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Title
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"Elko's Overland Hotel: A Family, a Culture . . . and a Memory"
Description
An account of the resource
<p>A history of the Overland Hotel in Elko, Nevada, USA, under original owners Domingo (Dan) and Gregoria Sabala from 1908 until 1938. The second largest of the Basque-owned hotels in town, the Overland served as a hostel for new Basque immigrants and one of the centers of the Elko Basque community.</p>
<p><a title="Elko's Overland Hotel article" href="/omeka/files/original/cb3be7c3bae97957c68f710ebe5e7699.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">View "Elko's Overland Hotel" as pdf</a></p>
Creator
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Gretchen Holbert [Skivington]
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<em>Northeastern Nevada Historical Society Quarterly</em> 5.3 (Winter 1975): 13-20.
Publisher
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Northeastern Nevada Museum
Date
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Winter 1975
Contributor
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Scott A. Gavorsky [VHC]
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VHC Deposit Agreement on file:
http://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/items/show/185
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pdf; 10 pages
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English
Coverage
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1907-1957
Basques
Community
Crossroads
Elko
GBC50
NNM
Story
Student
-
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PDF Text
Text
NORTHEASTERN NEVADA MUSEUM
Newton Hunt Crumley
by Chris H. Sheerin
re'-ptbj~ from
1979 Quarterly
It Began in Elko
by AngelA Aguirre (JeBraga)
re-printecf: .ftom 1982 Quarterly
2011-4
NORTHEASTERN NEVADA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
�119
IT BEGAN IN ELKO
Big-Name Entertainment in Nevada
by Angela Aguirre {deBraga)
This story about big-nanie entertainment in Nevada
and its Elko beginnings was published in the
Northeastern Nevada Quarterly in 1982.
It is being re-printed here because this was also an
important part of the history of this area and many
of the present Quarterly readers either did not live
here, were not members, or were not even born when
this story came out the first time.
'J
�120
A hush fell over the opening night audience in the·
Lounge of the Commercial Hotel in Elko as plush
curtains parted. Applause broke out when the tuxedodad orchestra leader raised his battered silk top hat and
asked, "Is everybody happy?"
Big name show business in Nevada started that night
as Ted Lewis asked his famous question and gave his
That successful merging began in 1937 when Newton
Crumley opened the first lounge in the Commercial
Hotel. Although the hotel bar had been open, even
during periods of prohibition, the new addition was
Elko's first sophisticated cocktail lounge. There was a
small dance floor in front of an alcove where three or
four musicians held forth entertaining bar patrons and
dancing couples, The popularity of the room led Newton
The Commercial Hotel, at approximately the time Newt Crumley
started bringing in big-name entertainment..,
Museum photo, donated by Jean Humt:r
jazz band a downbeat. The date was April 26, 1941 . The
Commercial's show room was simply ... The Lounge.
There was no cover charge and no food was served.
Hunt Crumley, son of the hotel's owner, to the idea that
made him the "Father" of big name hotel-casino show
business.
Today, when people think of the Silver State, they see
visions of exotic showgirls, dazzling lights, top-notch
entertainment and that unique magic of gambling.
Through young Newt's activities big time entertainment
thrived in Elko for more than two decades.
Gaming in Nevada was legalized by the 1931 state
legislature, but it wasn't until the 1940s that gambling
and name entertainment joined hands in a winning
combination that would grow into today's huge exciting
industry.
In early 1941 remodeling was completed on a new
show area just west of the old lounge.
Young Crumley contracted the "High-hatted Tragedian
of Jazz," along with his world famous orchestra and
21-member stage revue for an eight-day run. On April
26, Lewis began the parade of big name entertainers to
�121
,.'.;.;;:.~~ I.M . . . .
I
~-j
s
,.tiOIS
DR[ttESTRA
.,, ~ l April 26
:;:r·,·· ~
1-Yr · Through
\
'
:·/ f
'
Plus-
May 3rd
'
His Sciniil. .
~'RHYTHM
rn
RHAPSODY : N REVUE"
Starting Tomorrow at
The Lounge
�122
Elko. The tab was $12,000 per week, a fabulous price- for
a modest-sized city like Elko.
When local citizens heard that Ted Lewis was coming
to Elko, it was too much for them to believe. A rumor
circulated that Lewis would not appear and, if the band
did come, the leader certainly would not be the famed
Lewis himself, but someone posing as him. After his
appearance, someone was heard to remark, "If the former
During the orchestra's appearance, the Commercial's
business was brisk and even Lewis joined in the
gambling. In fact, when he left Elko, he had spent all
he made and departed with the two Crumleys holding
his IOU for a sizeable amount- so large that Lewis
endorsed his contract check in such a manner that he
agreed to a return engagement to square the marker.
Elko appealed to other entertainers. Many show people
stayed in Elko for a week or two
just to have fun. In order to rest
and "get a little Nevada sunshine,"
Sophie Tucker, the famed singer. comedienne, billed as the "Last
of the Red Hot Mamas," came
to town two days prior to her
Commercial engagement. After
her arrival, she met a number of
Elkoans at the Lounge and topped
off the day by going to the movies.
The hotel management also
arranged for her to visit the Petan
Ranch in northern Elko County.
An early picture ofthe Lounge at the Commercial Hotel.
Museum phoco, donated
by Tony Fllen Primeaux
doubting Thomases ofElko heard that Eleanor Roosevelt
was going to broadcast 'My Day' under the Lounge
auspices from the corner of Fourth and Railroad Street,
they'd be on hand to watch the proceedings."
Lewis, his orchestra, and revue had the desired effect.
Former Nevada State Journal editor, Paul Leonard,
remembered the reaction as "electric."
When the show was over, many in the crowd stuck
around in the Commercial's casino that contained a long
bar, a roulette table, a couple of21 tables, a few poker
tables and a simple lunch counter.
Thus, Nevada casino owners discovered that famous
name entertainment set an excellent atmosphere for
gambling, attracted people to the gaming rooms and,
therefore, paid off well in the long run.
Miss Tucker appeared with Carl
Ravazza's popular dance band in
the hotel's "Serenade to Summer."
She made such a hit Saturday
and Sunday nights that it was
announced that there would
also be a show Monday evening.
Ordinarily, no performance was
presented on Mondays; shows ran
from Saturday to Saturday, with a
break on Monday.
Huge crowds quickly made seating difficult on weekend
nights and the Commercial staff began taking fewer
reservations and held them only until 8:45 p.m. Efforts
were made to accommodate patrons on other nights so
there would be more room for dancing. The big bands
took up a large section of the floor. Floor shows in those
days were just that ... "floor shows."
The situation led to construction of a tiered platform
at the north end of the Lounge to afford guests seated
in that area of the night spot a better view of the
performance. Later, a stage was built in the end of the
room.
Many bandleaders of the era wrote one or two hit
songs, but Ray Noble, who came to Elko in July, 1941,
�123
SOPHIE TUCKER in person
with TED SHAPIRO at the piano, appearing at
TI-lE
OUNGE
Glorious Roor Show
in ·
Opening Tomorrow Night
Saturcby, June 21
For
An
8-0ay
Run
�II
124
was, perhaps the only one who achieved equal distiilction
both as a bandleader and composer.
Radio." Together, they presented the "1941 Harvest of
Entertainment."
Next up, just returning from a theatre engagement in
New York City, came Paul Whiteman, "King of Jazz,"
who blitzed Elko crowds during his nine-day stint. This
left the Lounge management wondering where they were
going to "hang" the customers during the Elko County
Livestock Show and Fair.
The seventh "big time" show of the year featured Dave
Marshall and the NBC orchestra during Thanksgiving
week.
Club patrons who got a closeup ofWhiteman for the
first time went away remarking: "He's a real guy," "I liked
his informal way." "You can tell he's from the West."
When Whiteman was first signed to appear in Elko,
it made the front page of Variety, the show business
newspaper. So
astounding was the
news in the night
club entertainment
field, that the
headlines read
"Whiteman Fixed to
Play Stix."
Ending the 1941 list of famous personalities in the
entertainment world, Chico Marx, a member of the
popular Marx Brothers comedy team, starred in the
seven-say Christmas and New Year's Eve celebrations
with a five-act floor show.
Young Crumley had a clause in every contract that
required the star to give at least one free performance for
the children and teenagers of the community. Most of
While in town,
Whiteman, with
the help of the
mayors from Reno
and Winnemucca,
selected the 1941
Miss Elko County
to rule over fair
time festivities.
Headline in the
Elko Daily Free
Press of September
Another view ofthe early lounge at the Commercial Hotel.
9, 1941, declared"
Museum photo, donated by Tony & Ellen Primeaux
'41 Fair Looms as
Biggest in Show's
these shows were held in the Hunter Theatre. He insisted
History." People were attracted here from all sections of
upon, and enforced, a policy that all these shows be on a
Nevada and neighboring states to see Whiteman and his
level "to which you could bring your children." Anyone
orchestra in downtown Elko.
offering off-color entertainment soon found his contract
It is putting it mildly to say that the entertainment
cancelled. Special performances were also presented at
world was agog over the fact that city the size of Elko was
the Old Folks Home and Nevada Industrial School.
so privileged to see big names appear one after another.
In 1942 after the nation entered World War II, the
Ted Fio Rito and Getrude Niesen followed Donald
economy was booming and the American public became
entertainment hungry. The Commercial's shows, during
Novis as the next Lounge attractions. Rio Fito was
the war, were taken to Wendover Air Base, Utah, for the
a world-famous composer and Niesen was billed
as "America's Sweetheart - Star of Stage Screen and
men who were stationed there.
�125
'The Greatest Name in American Music"
and
HIS ORCHESTRA
McEachern
•
Howard
•
•
0
at
'.f'BB £0UNGB
I
9 Day~~f.!'!*!.,2c~~~gh 14
�126
The Commercial Hotel continued its "big-name" policy
after the war and was joined by its rival directly across the
railroad tracks through downtown Elko, the Stockmen's
Hotel. Once the Mayer Hotel, the 102-room building was
bought by R.C. "Red" Ellis and A. C. Bigham who changed
the name to the Stockmen's. They opened a lounge in
August, 1946, to take advantage of the county fair crowd
around Labor Day. A few weeks later, on October 4, the
name of the room was changed to the Roundup Room and
opened with "Hi" Davis and his orchestra, with Ann Triola,
a singing comedy star. The Andrini Brothers rounded out
the show.
Following the first show were stars Margaret Whiting, Burl
lves, Alfred Drake, Rex Allen and Tennessee Ernie Ford.
Elkoans and their visitors never had it so good as when the
In 1946, another hotel, the Ranchinn, was built and
opened by young Crumley. Elaborately dedicated on
December 18, the "super motel," one of the first ever
built after the war, had a second-floor club room, and
elegant bar and cabaret, fine Chinese food and the
highest gambling limits in town.
Tex Ritter, "America's Most Beloved Western Star,"
and Henry Busse, the famous "Hot-Lips Trumpet
Man," entertained at the Commercial's Christmas
show to honor the Ranchinn's opening.
The Intermountain West's biggest professional rodeo
came to Elko in 1948 and the First Annual Silver
State Stampede was not exclusively a local show;
it was also sponsored by several casinos in other
Nevada towns. Bing Crosby, Elko's Honorary Mayor,
rhe Stockmen's Hotel, the second establishment to feature big-name entertainment in Elko.
Museum photo
Crumleys and Ellis were in competition; and the prices were
right- there was never a cover charge or minimum. Hotel
patrons saw the most beautiful floor shows in the world.
Entertainment was fabulous, hard to believe - and it didn't
cost more than a drink or rwo at one of the hotels. All this
was offered at a time when drinks were 25 cents apiece!
officially opened the celebration that featured the
nation's foremost riders, ropers, bulldoggers and arena
entertainers.
Top attractions were booked into the local nightspots.
The Rocky Mountain Playboys performed in the
�127
Now Play"ng
•
1'U DAJiiCDfG
01'
Bill
�128
Roundup Room while The
Lounge featured stage and
screen favorites, Professor
Lambert and Pinky Lee, in its
"Stampede Revue," In short,
according to the Elko Daily
Free Press, "no expense had
been spared, no stone left
unturned and nothing was
left out" in order to make the
Stampede a success.
In 1951, a movie premiere
was scheduled to be held in
Elko and elaborate citywide
preparations began for the
three-day festivities. Fifteen
thousand windshield stickers
1he opening ceremonies for the new Ranchinn drew a
were pasted on vehicles
big crowd, considering it was in late afternoon in December.
entering town: "We are coming
1he dignitaries, including Governor Pittman and Bing Crosby,
back for the World Premiere
were on the balcony, addressing the crowd in the parking lot.
of 'Here Comes the Groom."'
Museum photo
Store fronts and windows,
street lamps and "public
conveyances" were derorated to give the entire community
More than a hundred Hollywood celebrities, newsmen
a holiday atmosphere. The eyes and ears of the nation were
and political dignitaries arrived in chartered planes at the
focused on Elko when the premiere showing of Paramount
Elko airport. Their coming was witnessed by the largest
Picture's "Here Comes the Groom," starring Elko's
gathering of people in the history of the city.
honorary mayor, Bing Crosby, was held.
The huge celebration began with the
CBS coast-to-coast radio broadcast of a
street show from a platform in front the
Hunter Theatre featuring all the stars,
several media people, Utah governor
J. Bracken Lee, Nevada governor
Charles Russell, Nevada Congressman
Walter S. Baring and Elko Mayor Dave
Dotta. A giant stage show of stars was
held in the Hunter Theatre later that
evening starring Bing Crosby, Alexis
Smith, Dorothy Lamour, Cass Daley,
Jay Livingston, Ray Evans and Connie
Bosswell and the Cass County Boys.
The entertainers then appeared on
the stage at the Rainbo Theatre. The
showing of the film took place later
that evening.
1he Ranchinn, after a new sign was put in place and the
gate andfence had been removed from
he front ofthe parking lot.
Museum photo, donated by Pete & Dawn Ormaza
Almost ten thousand dollars were taken
in from the premiere. The money was
turned over to a fund for constructing a
new million-dollar hospital for Elko.
�129
1ha Comm
ElllO, _
�130
The general opinion of many was that this had been the
"biggest and most elaborate movie send-off since "Gone
With the Wind" in Atlanta," and that "Here Comes
the Groom" represented the greatest "entertainment
package" in Crosby's career, including "Going My Way,"'
He won an Oscar for Best Actor in 1944 for his role in
"Going MiWay."
Ellis sold the Stockmen's Hotel to Dan Bilboa Sr.,
J.B. Dollard and VJ. McGee, all of Boise, Idaho, on
December 30, 1952. By 1955, young Crumley decided
to look for new fields of action and had sold the
Commercial to Harrigton Drake. The sale did not go
through and Red Ellis purchased both the Commercial
Hotel and Ranchinn.
Entertainment in Elko continued to be first rate. Such
stars as Nelson Eddie and Jeanette McDonald, Anna
Maria Alberghetti and the original Sons of the Pioneers
performed.
Wayne Newton sang in Elko when he was just 12-years
old. Because of his age, he was escorted to and from the
stage.
Vikki Carr first came to Elko in 1959 with The Pars.
After playing only a short time at the Commercial, a
misunderstanding arose and she left the group. Being
19 then, she took a job at the front desk of the hotel
and became acquainted with Eileen and "Dutch"
Holdren who be~ame her "adopted parents," Miss Carr
moved in with the Holdren family and later returned
to entertaining at the hotel bar. From the Commercial
Hotel, she moved to the Ranchinn with the duo, Knight
.,
A banquet during the grand opening of the Ranchinn. Newt Crumley is at the
microphone, with Ida Pittman, Governor Vail Pitmann,
and Frances Crumley, to his left.
The large cake on the table was made in the shape ofthe new hotel
Museum photo, donated by ]tan Hunrer
�131
�132
and Day. After that engagement, she left Elko but
returned to stay with the Holdrens in 1960 and 1961.
She often cleaned house, fixed meals and even mowed
the lawn during her visits.
Advertising has always played an important role in
attractive visitors to see big name casino attractions.
Thomas C. Wilson, in Nevada magazine, said, "In Elko,
where big name showbiz began in Nevada, there has
always been keen competition between the two leading
casinos. Billboards for the Stockmen's Hotel featured an
eye-grabbing bull in a strong highway campaign from
the Utah border to California. Scores of signs featured
the huge bull. One night a group of friends of the rival
Commercial Hotel drove across the entire state painting
the cattle brand of the Commercials owner on the side of
every Stockmen's bull. It meant nothing to tourists, but
provoked belly-laughs in every Western cowtown.
Exact prices paid for special entertainers are closely
guarded secrets, but in the forties, Ted Lewis was paid
$12,000 a week. From the mid-fifties to the mid-sixties,
the Commercial Hotel's entertainment budget was
$600,000 a year. Today, its budget is under $275,000
annually. The biggest and most expensive shows have
always been booked during holidays and county fair
time.
In Elko, shows have mostly been promoted locally,
though advertisements were run in Salt Lake City in
the 1950s through the 1970s.· Some commercials now
appear on the three Salt Lake television stations. Ellis
A crowd in front ofthe Hunter 1heater, awaiting the arrival ofthe movie stars
for the world premier ofHere Comes the Groom.
Museum photo
�133
Get Your Tickets Now at Dupont Pharmacy and
Hunter and Rainbo Theatres for -
World Premiere
Mayor Bing Crosby's
I
Bing and All-Star Cast IN PERSON
*
Monday, July 30
ENTIIE PIOCUDS TO lLKO'S
NlW COUNTY HOWITAL FUND
Hunter and Rainbo Theatres - Elko, Nevada
�134
Shortly after the hotel opened, a swimming
pool was installed in the middle ofthe
front parking lot. After several years, it was
removed because the parking spaces were
needed. This picture shows the Ranchinn sign,
reflected in the pool.
Museum photo, donated by Earl & G~nevieve Frannen
About the Author
7he following was written in the 1979 Quarterly about the author,
Angela Aguirre.
says he now employs around 250 people and spends
about $1.5 million annually on advertising.
Appearances of top-ranking performers cost their
sponsors hundreds of thousands of dollars for a week's
engagement. Such prices, the lack of proper facilities
and policy and ownership changes in Elko's leading
casinos brought an end to the "big name" era and
the entertainment center has migrated to the two
metropolitan areas in the state. Although big time shows
are gone from Elko, the memory of where it all started
in Nevada remains, and the city will always hold, with
pride, the title of where it all began back in 1941.
Angela Aguirre is presently attending the University
of Nevada, Reno, and is in her second year of business
administration. She is
a member of the Ad
Club and Delta Delta
Delta sorority and is
studying with a scholastic
scholarship.
Her monograph about
the start of big name
entertainment in Nevada is
her first published work.
She was born in Elko
in 1962, attended local
schools and grduated
from Elko High School in
AngelaAguirre, 1982
1981 where she actively
participated in band,
cheerleading, student government, German Club,
Honor society, Girls State delegte, Homecoming Queen,
Cathoiic Young Group and recipient of the Triple "E"
award, Nevada Insurance Education Scholarship and
Phyllis Carter Memorial Scholarship.
Angela's parents are Frank and Louise Aguirre of Elko.
Editor's note:
In 2011, Angie is married to joe deBraga and they are the
parents of two sons, Thomas and justin. She is the Director
of Continuing Education and Community Outreach for
Great Basin College and previously was with the University
ofNevada, Reno Extended Studies in Elko for 15 years.
�
Dublin Core
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Title
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Northeastern Nevada Museum Quarterly
Subject
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Collection of the Northeastern Nevada Museum Quarterly journal.
Description
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Quarterly journal of the Northeastern Nevada Museum, located in Elko, Nevada.
Creator
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Northeastern Nevada Museum
Publisher
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Northeastern Nevada Museum
Date
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1978-2015
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Scott A. Gavorsky
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Northeastern Nevada Museum
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.pdf files
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English
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Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
"It Began in Elko: Big-Name Entertainment in Nevada"
Subject
The topic of the resource
The early history of national big-name entertainment acts in Nevada, focusing on the role of Elko.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Angela Aguirre (de Braga)
Source
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Northeastern Nevada Museum Quarterly 2011, no. 4, pgs. 119-134
Publisher
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Northeastern Nevada Museum
Date
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1982
Contributor
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Scott A. Gavorsky
Rights
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<p>VHC Deposit Agreement on file:<br />http://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/items/show/185<br />[administrator access only]</p>
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pdf file
Language
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English
Community
Crossroads
Elko
entertainment
GBC50
history
NNM
Story
Student
-
https://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/files/original/de0832fbaf8af01861afcbb5b7f7ce66.pdf
2cbc05682f29fc8a7213184d84106ab0
PDF Text
Text
.,,;
.
.
.. ...
.
.
.
/"':
1916 .SNOWSTORM AT DIVIDE
BY SHYRLE E. HACKER -
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ELKO, NEVADA
�NORTHEASTERN NEVADA
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ackpot
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Cherry Creek
WHITE PINE
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�NORTHEASTERN NEVADA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
~UARTERLY
90-2
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
OFFICERS
Dr. Moms F. Ga llaghe r
President
Dr. Thomas K. Hood
Vice President
Mrs. Mae Steninge r
Treas urer
Mr. Howard Hickson
Secretary to the Board
MEMBERS
Mr. Robley Bums. Jr.
Dr. Thomas H. Gallagher
Mr. Norman Glaser
Mr.
Mr.
Mr.
Ms.
John W. Griswold
Ernie Hall
Jack E. Hull
Cydnee McMullen
Mrs. Karen Wilson
MEMORIES OF JACK CREEK
1925-1935
BY MARY URRIOLA SMITH
Mrs. Edna B. Patterson
Trustee Emeritus
HERE, WHERE IT'S SAFE ...
EDITORIAL BOARD
1916 SNOWSTORM AT DIVIDE
BY SHYRLE E. HACKER
Mr. Ted Liably
Ms. Cydnee McMullen
Mr. Chris Sheerin
QUARTERLY STAFF
Howard Hickson
Edi tor
Lynn Rubel
Assistant Editor
EDITORIAL POLICY
The Nort heastern Nevada Historical Society solicits articles relating to history. pre-history. or natural history of northeast Nevada for
publication in the Q uarterly. Any aspect of area history is considered suitable for submission to the Editorial Board . Its members select
the content of the Q uarterly .
Originality of subject. potenti al general interest , research and sources of information. and interpretation of material are criteria for
publication. Ideal length is 20 to 30 typewritten. double-spaced pages, but any manuscript will be considered. Good quality photographs
of the subject are encouraged. All rights remain with the authors . Manuscripts are subject to editing if required to fit the format and writing
style used in the Quarterly . Editorial Board members and the editor decide amount of payment to authors .
The Editor of the Quarterly uses the Associated Press Style Book for a guide in capitalization, abbreviation, punctuation, spelling,
numerals and usage.
Articles submitted for Editorial Board consideration should be addressed to, Quarterly Editor, Northeastern Nevada Museum, 1515
Idaho Street or Post Office Box 2550. Elko. Nevada 8980 1·2550.
The Quarterly is published by the Northeastern Nevada Historical Society and Museum and they assume no responsibility for
statements or opinions of the authors .
Copies of the Quarterly are sent to members of the Historical Society. Additional copies may be purchased at the Museum's Galleria
Bookshop or by mail order.
�30
(
Urriola children, left to right: Louis, Steve, Joe, Mary, John and the ever-present dog, Reno.
�31
MEMORIES OF JACK CREEK
1925-1935
BY MARY URRIOIA SMITH
Ysidro Urriola's family moved to Jack Creek during the late summer of 1925.
A bachelor ranch worker lived in the main house , on the location of the present
Jack Creek Resort. Our family moved into a two-story house across the road and
southwest of the main house .
This house had been the home of one of the Woodward families who owned
the ranch before it was sold to Joe Saval-the owner at that time.
The house had four bedrooms, two up and two down. There was a large living
room and a spacious kitchen . One small room, probably designed for a bathroom ,
had no plumbing at all. To our delight, we found there was a dumb waiter which
served the upper floor. To our dismay, the basement contained three to four feet
of water constantly. The source of this water was a mystery. I suspect the house
was built on a spring. There was no water plumbed into the kitchen either. All
household water was carried from Jack Creek, across the road.
Hop vines surrounded the front porch. The living room walls were covered half
with green burlap and partially with floral wallpaper. The ceilings were of
decorative metal squares. (These would be an antique dealer's joy today). There
were hardwood floors throughout. The front dormer window upstairs looked out
over an expanse of the ranch.
I was only four years old when we lived there. Although we were poor in
creature comforts, the only deprivation we felt was that our dad was away so
much. He worked as a camp tender for several sheep bands on the range. When
he came home it was a celebration. He would tell us about his travels and the
people he saw. I'm sure my mother had much to tell him, too, of making a home
for three lively children-four, six and seven.
Our bachelor friend from the big house across the road finally left. He might
have been encouraged by three mischievous children who thought it fun to mix his
salt and sugar, to put vinegar in his milk and many other naughty pranks. He knew
who was responsible, but did not tell our mother.
When the main house was available, we moved there. My dad had leased the
ranch . He put up the hay and fed it to Joe Saval's cattle in the winter. He wanted
most of all to be with his family. To augment their income, my parents opened a
small general merchandise store. Stock consisted of men's work clothing, canned
foods , basic staple groceries, and some household needs. Bootlegger whiskey and
home-brewed beer were sold over the bar. My mother rented the upstairs rooms
to travelers. Our new house had four bedrooms upstairs and two down.
My mother prepared meals for the roomers and passers-by. I remember she
prepared and served meals for a survey crew of 20 men for several weeks. They
placed elevation markers in the area. They were embedded in concrete and are still
there.
My mother was famous for her fried chicken, jelly rolls, and cream puffs. She
prepared and served meals for visitors at the Spanish Ranch and Tuscarora.
�32
Woodward house in the summer.
�33
Out front, next to the bunkhouse, my dad installed a gasoline pump. It was the
type of pump which showed ten gallons of gasoline in a glass cylinder at the top.
After a sale, it was refilled by rocking a lever back and forth. Motor oil, tire
patches and boots for tires were also for sale.
My parents learned to be merchants and business people the hard way. Having
known hard times, they were suckers for a hard luck story and were cheated many
times. They finally did learn to get cash up front in order to survive the Great
Depression.
Once , they heard that an individual who owed them money was leaving the
area . My mother urged my dad to get what he could from them by approaching
them face to face. My dad came home with a chagrined expression, a saddle
blanket, a lariat, and a German Shepard puppy named Reno.
As time went on, none of the family felt anything but well-paid, as Reno grew
up to be our buddy and playmate. He was a superb watchdog and warned us of
someone approaching long before they were seen. He was also an excellent cattle
dog and my dad often remarked that Reno was as good as two other riders in
cutting cattle and rounding up strays. Our milk cows were used to him and
sometimes would move too slowly to suit him so he bit their tails. We had
bobtailed cows to milk, which was not all that bad if you have ever been
tail-switched while milking.
My older brother, Joe, started school in Independence Valley. He had difficulty
learning to speak English and master the three R's. My mother, with a tenth grade
education from Spain, also attended school to learn to speak English.
At Jack Creek, the school was a mile away toward the south. It was a one-room
school, with one teacher and all grades. Joe started second grade and John began
as a first-grader. The following year I attended school for the first time. This made
nine students, which made the school board happy and, I suspect, created a
monumental challenge for the teacher.
This brave lady's name was Miss Cahallen. I don't remember much about her
except that she went away for the Christmas holidays and brought us the red
measles. She was quite ill, but continued to teach part of the time. Every child in
the school had the measles at the same time. Home remedies were shared via the
party line telephone.
Jack Creek was isolated, especially in the winter. Because of the remoteness, we
were not exposed to the communicable diseases most common with school
children. However, we three , along with our cousins, Steve and Louis, had
whooping cough that first winter in Jack Creek. Our aunt was in Elko undergoing
medical treatment, so the cousins were staying with us.
Della Van Norman 's mother, Mrs. Pattani, was a good friend of my mother's.
To cheer a bunch of sick kids, she sent her sons, Joe and Jules, to play their
guitars for us . They wore Halloween masks, which made quite an impression once
our fear wore off. It was an unforgettable experience for a four year old!
My second year in school, the new teacher, Imogene Warder, came to board and
room at our house . She was a beautiful, vivacious blonde. She and a young
brunette teacher from the Spanish Ranch school kept things lively in Jack Creek.
Miss Warder was an excellent teacher. She taught the extras as well and insisted
that all of her students learn good penmanship. During the long winter months we
all did simple embroidery. (I still have towels my brothers and I stitched.) She gave
us our first real religious training. This worked out well, as all the families were
Catholic. That spring, several of us made our First Communion.
Miss Warder led an adventurous life, touring Spain and several other European
�34
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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~---~__:_~~~~~~----'---~~II
Teacher Imogene Warder.
�35
countries. She also wrote books about these experiences. On Foot Through
Andorra is one. While my brothers and I were attending Elko County High School,
she appeared as part of a lecture tour doing assemblies in high schools. It was an
exciting time for all the Urriolas to have a happy reunion with her. We have kept
in touch with her these sixty-plus years. She now lives in Lafayette, Indiana, and
is writing about her life in Jack Creek.
Whenever I hear 'from Miss Warder, she mentions the dances. We had a windup
phonograph which had record storage underneath and was a good-looking piece
of furniture. The dances were usually held in our large living-dining room. We had
the records "Lights Out March," " Under the Double Eagle March," Strauss Waltzes
and a fox-trot entitled "Just a Little Bit Bad." The latter was a favorite and became
badly worn. Food was a necessity and the midnight feeds were enjoyed by all.
Then the dancing went on for a couple of hours longer.
Thomas Eguilior played accordion by ear. He made many social gatherings
special with his lively tunes. For dances, he never appeared to tire, sometimes
playing for four to five hours into the small hours of the morning.
Not all of our teachers loved to dance . Miss Schutt lived with us, too. Dancing
was against her religion, so she boycotted them. Later on, she moved a chair into
the middle of the dance floor and just sat there. This did not bother the dancers.
They just danced around her. Miss Schutt was a good teacher and later married
a college professor in Oregon.
Several of our resident teachers married local men. One was Florence Meyers
who married George Meyers from Midas. Mary Divine, after a tempestuous
courtship, married a local man, Joe Machado. Helena Achabal had already married
Pio Achabal before she taught in Jack Creek.
Rose Sherman was a favorite of mine. She also boarded and roomed with us
and had a steady beau, George Hansen. The local people tried to get them
married off all year, but it didn't happen until the term was over. She was
well-versed in Indian lore and history of Owyhee and Mountain City. I believe she
still lives in the area.
The reason the teachers played such a special role in the life in Jack Creek was
that the population changed very little and these special ladies brought some of the
outside world into our midst. They enriched our lives in many ways and helped
these shy Basque children to become productive citizens.
Winters came early at that 6500 foot elevation. Often, we were snowed in by
Thanksgiving. Some winters, fence posts were completely covered with snow. We
had one pair of skis and my brothers took turns skiing the downward slope toward
school. My older brother also climbed to the top of the mountain behind our house
and skied down . He only did it once. He was lucky no bones were broken . In fact,
we were a healthy bunch and, in spite of all the things we did, never had a broken
bone.
When the snow was extremely deep, my dad would hitch a team to a sleigh
that carried us and our teacher to the school. Once road tracks were established,
we all walked to and from school. Some of the children rode horses. None of them
had more than three miles to go to school.
Getting the mail through was a big project in winter. In summer, we had daily
mail , except Sunday. The schedule was three times a week in winter. Often, my
dad helped out with fresh teams when the driver got stuck on the Chicken Creek
Summit. There were no snow plows. If a snow drift was in the way a shovel was
used. The stage driver had to be a hearty man. In one way or another, he did get
the mail and passengers through.
�36
Ysidro hitching up buckrake.
�37
The Snider brothers, Bill and Abe, and their father, Ben, were from Missouri.
They were unusual characters who drove the stage from Elko to Deep Creek for
many years. The Mountain City stage met them there for the exchange of the mail
bags . The Sniders then picked up mail along the way back by way of Tuscarora
where our post office was. The Sniders, like their slow drawls, were never in a
hurry, but were quite dependable.
The Deep Creek station was manned by Dick and Lena Young. They were a
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�38
short, rotund couple. Lena spoke with a strong Gennan accent and Dick adored
her. My mother tried to visit with Lena on the phone but, with their Basque and
Gennan accents, communication was difficult. The Youngs had no children of their
own, so they made a big fuss over my brothers and me when we saw them.
Dick's brother, Dean, lived in Independence Valley. He was the proud owner
of the first radio in the area. He invited our family to come and listen to it. We
took turns with the earphones, listening to some faint voices and an operatic
soprano. Dean told us that this was the voice of Madame Schuman-Heink.
My father could hardly wait to get a radio. It was at least two years before he
had saved enough to buy an Atwater-Kent, It was placed on a table and attached
to a storage battery on the floor. It was good to hear what was going on in the
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Mary and John in front of the bunkhouse with store sign.
�39
world. We also enjoyed programs, such as "Amos and Andy." The original soap
opera, "Myrt and Marge," was a must. All was fine until the battery went down
and then it had to be charged to have reception again.
Winter feeding of stock was a daily job. We always enjoyed the bright sunny
winter days when the air was crisp. We rode out on the hay rack on runners to
load from the haystack and scatter the hay to the cattle. My dad had to do the job,
regardless of the weather-whether in a blizzard or 30 degrees below zero.
Any emergency in winter was handled with careful planning and great stamina
against the elements.
One cold winter day we received word, by phone, that Mrs. Garat had died at
their ranch at White Rock. Toward evening, the three sons arrived with their
mother's body. We gave them sandwiches and coffee after they fed and watered
their horses. They especially needed to warm up before continuing the 60 miles
to Elko. We children were awed knowing that someone no longer alive was on the
sled outside.
The Garat brothers were very sad, but handled everything with utmost, loving
dignity. They left with a moon to light their way, carrying their beloved mother to
her final resting place. It was well into the second day before they reached Elko.
Unless there was real need, my father made only two trips to Elko each year.
Those journeys were in spring and fall, mainly to stock up on merchandise for the
store. Most of our shopping was done with Montgomery Ward and Sears, Roebuck
catalogs. Many hours were spent dreaming through the pages. I also remember the
National Bellas Hess and Alden's as delightful wish books.
Spring usually came late, but was most welcome. Often, it was still muddy from
melting snows when school was out. There was a multitude of jobs to do on the
ranch-mending fences, shoeing horses, repairing irrigation ditches, and driving the
cattle to the high ranges. It wasn't long before irrigating started. There was never
time for idleness.
In the spring, large bands of sheep came through headed for the mountains.
Herders dropped off the orphan lambs ("leppees") for me to raise . I bottle-fed
them until they were turned out to pasture. I loved each one and always had a
good cry in the fall when the bands of sheep came our way again to head for
wintering on the desert, taking my "babies" with them .
Summers were short, but pleasant, with the many visitors coming through. Indian
students came from their high school in the western part of the state, returning to
Owyhee and Duck Valley Indian Reservation. In just a few months, they were on
their way back to school at Stewart.
I had only one dress. It was bought too large. The second year, it nearly fit,
and the third year it was getting too small and practically worn out. For everyday
wear and school it was bib overalls for boys and girls alike . My mother did try to
make me look more feminine with attractive blouses, but mostly I wore shirts my
brothers had outgrown. I never really cared . I played mostly with my brothers and
cousins and did not want to be singled out as a girl.
We did many risky things while playing-jumped off sheds and climbed trees. We
explored all the nearby hill country.
Once. we found a hot spring where a whiskey still was operating. No one was
around. Thousands of yellow jacket wasps swarmed around the corn mash. The
jumble of pipes and tubes were turning out the "white lightning" that sold for two
to three dollars a gallon. We were afraid to tell what we had seen. Our parents
could tell that something was bothering us and eventually it all came out. We were
admo::1ished to not go back there or to tell anyone else. It was during Prohibition
�40
Urriola family, 1928.
�41
and distilling spirits was serious business.
We created our own entertainment, usually harmless. Once, however, we swiped
some Prince Albert and Bull Durham tobacco and a large supply of cigarette
papers and matches and decided to try smoking. We were very inept at "rolling
our own" and nearly succeeded in burning down the barn. Punishment was severe
for my brothers, but I escaped with a scolding and a reminder that nice girls did
not do that. It must have made an impression-I have never smoked to this day.
Jack Creek was full of fish and we had many visitors from Elko try their luck.
Their success was often augmented by my brothers who could catch fish very well.
The late Harry Gallagher and the late Newt Crumley made visits to our home.
Mother cooked for them and they always had their limits to take home.
In the fall , some men used our corrals for holding the mustangs they had
rounded up. They shipped them away for chicken feed and dog food . Often, there
were some beautiful horses among them and I would dream of having one of them
for my own. Our horse, Snowball, was a gentle, white horse with a pink nose. He
was so placid, that as many as four of us would get on at once. He would walk,
but getting him to trot took a lot of urging. My brothers rode a blue roan, who
was semi-gentle . Whenever I got on, he got rid of me by brushing against fence
and gate posts.
Most of our neighbors were south of us . The exception was Charlie Butler, the
ranger at Jack Creek Station in the canyon. Charlie was a bachelor with gray hair
and moustache. Every summer, he had young ladies come to stay with him. They
all referred to him as " Uncle Charlie" and each was introduced as his niece. It was
never the same one twice. My mother provided him with milk and eggs. He shared
garden produce with us. Charlie raised wonderful strawberries.
The next ranch south belonged to the W.T. Jenkins Co. My uncle Manuel was
the foreman . Cousins Steve, Louis and Tia Balbina (Lauriana) made up the family.
They lived frugally and worked extremely hard. My uncle always raised a productive
garden.
One year, Mormon Crickets infested the place. Manuel surrounded the garden
with every kind of metal he could find to prevent the crickets from invading the
garden. He and the family beat on pans and kettles to make a lot of noise until
the insects changed direction and the garden was saved. Everything else in their
path was eaten as they went on their way.
The crickets went right over our two-story house and down the other side. Some
fell into our chimney and into our wood stove. We had to shovel them out and
destroy them.
The next ranch was the Balbino Achabal place. He was a large man, who knew
no strangers. His wife was a tiny, frail lady named Emerdehilde . They had two
children . Pio and Adelina . Adelina was probably eight years older than me. She
loaned me her old Tru e Story and True Romances magazines. I read them by
flashlight after going to bed.
To the southwest and off the main road was the Lee Reborse ranch. Lee and
Verna had two sons, Lee and Clyde. They were good with horses and usually in
the process of breaking broncs. It was easy to see a small rodeo anytime at their
place.
Vicente Bilbao and his wife Paula had the next ranch . They, too , had a small
store and bar. Their place was dubbed "Vincente's" and our place was "Credo's" .
There were three children-David, Thomas and Lucy. She and I were the only girls
attending our school. Vincente did a lot of trapping of coyotes.
�42
One year, a camptender discovered a den of baby coyotes, and brought us one.
The pup did not have his eyes open yet. We fed him with a bottle. He grew into
a delightful pet, except that he retained many of his wild instincts. He killed
chickens right and left, so my dad put a muzzle for him. He then turned his
attention to my lambs and practiced knocking them down. He didn't do them any
harm. They became so conditioned to this that they all laid down whenever they
saw him. He was quite an attraction and had grown into a beautiful animal.
My mother was entertaining a group of ladies one day and they asked about the
coyote. I let him in. He took a look around at the ladies and they admired him.
Then, he spotted the refreshments on the table. In one smooth bound he was on
a chair, grabbed as many slices of jelly roll as he could, and dashed out the screen
door. Poor Mother was so embarrassed!
A truck driver, who was hauling copper ore form the Rio Tinto mine near
Mountain City, offered us $15 for him. This was an unheard of amount of $5
each. With the urging of our parents, we sold him. The driver often stopped by
Snowball.
�43
and let us hug and pet him.
Not all our coyote experiences were good ones. After my brothers had gone to
high school in Battle Mountain, our dog , Reno , went to school with me. One day ,
while we were out for recess, a coyote fearlessly approached us. This behavior was
most unusual, and our teacher quickly herded us inside . Reno challenged the coyote
and a fight ensued. Reno was bitten on the tongue and the coyote left.
The word spread in the little community that there was a rabid coyote loose. All
the men rode out with guns to search for it. The animal avoided being seen all
afternoon. That night, however, the Bilbao family was awakened when the coyote
attacked their dog and puppies. They killed the coyote. The dog and her puppies
had to be destroyed .
We knew time was short for any chance to save Reno . The Pasteur treatment
was in our hands in two days. My dad injected him each day , but we lost the
battle. He became rabid and had to be shot. This devastated our family and , even
now, is a sad memory.
Haying season was the time extra help was hired. All implements were
horse-drawn . The mowing machine was first, followed by a dump-rake that
gathered the mowed hay into rows. A buckrake bunched it into piles the right size
for the net that was raised to the stack. A derrick horse patiently went back and
forth to raise the hay and lower the net for the next load. A trip mechanism
dumped the hay and stackers placed the hay with pitchforks. It took a sturdy man
to handle the stacking job. They were the highest paid of hay hands. Their pay
was two to three dollars a day. Other hands received a dollar to a dollar-and-a-half
a day. They were glad to have this work during the Depression. They also received
three good meals a day, plus a mid-morning snack and one in the afternoon.
Our main water supply was Jack Creek. Water was piped in from a spring that
was often dried up. Dad made an unsuccessful attempt to dig a well. We mostly
carried creek water to the house in buckets .
On wash day, everyone was recruited to fill the large tub on the kitchen stove.
Everything, including linens from the rental rooms , was scrubbed on a washboard.
The first rinsing was in another big tub. The final rinse was in the creek. This
made hands ache in the middle of August. Wringing by hand was a two-person job.
Hanging the laundry on clotheslines was my responsibility, followed by folding after
drying. If things did not dry, it all came indoors to be re-hung until it was .
A Maytag salesman came and demonstrated a gasoline-powered washing
machine . My hopes went up , and I tried to sell my mother on it as well. She
decided that she didn 't need it - so, back to the washboard!
Perhaps it would appear that we lived a sheltered life growing up in Jack Creek.
However, it seemed there were more than the normal number of "characters" in
the area and they usually came to our place.
An old gentleman came to work on the roads in the spring and stayed with us
while he graded in both directions. His name was Tillman Hunt Lisby. He spun
yarns by the hour. We were fascinated by him and looked forward to his coming
each year.
Another story teller was " Dutchie. " He was a relative of the Achabals . A chain
smoker. he rolled the next one from the Bull Durham sack before he finished the
first one . Usually his visits lasted half-a-day. He didn 't seem to have much else to
occupy him.
People we knew furnished us with a whole spectrum of human conditions . Often,
we were exposed to the seamier side of human behavior. People lost their
inhibitions when they were out in the sticks. On the other hand , we had all that
�44
was good in our close-knit family. Also, the people in our little community rallied
around to help when there was a real need.
Although we sometimes felt we had missed experiences in growing up, such as
learning to ride a bicycle and to play a musical instrument, we did learn that hard
work was the secret to success. We grew up healthy and strong. Our early
education was good enough to do well in high school and provided a background
for future endeavors.
Mary B. Urriola Smith
Mary Urriola Smith was born in Elko, Nevada at Shaw Hospital on
Court Street. Her parents, Ysidro and Esperanza Urriola were living in
Independence Valley at the time . The family moved to Jack Creek when
the author was three or four.
She studied in the one-room Jack Creek School through the eighth
grade and then attended Elko County High School in Elko where she
graduated. Smith then went to Henager Business College in Salt Lake City,
Utah.
She met Bill Smith in Salt Lake City and the couple was married in
1939 at Elko. They lived in Rigby, Idaho where he worked for
International Harvester. He passed away on April 24, 1990. They have
three children, a son and two daughters. There are eight grandchildren.
Smith is interested in sewing, needlepoint, art and writing. She does
volunteer work for the Jefferson County Historical Society and Museum.
The organization is currently raising funds to build a new museum that will
feature Rigby resident Philo T. Farnsworth, the inventor of television.
Farnsworth developed the idea when he was in high school there. His wife
lives in Salt Lake City. The family has donated some of his original tubes
to the historical society.
�
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Northeastern Nevada Museum Quarterly
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Quarterly journal of the Northeastern Nevada Museum, located in Elko, Nevada.
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Northeastern Nevada Museum
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Northeastern Nevada Museum
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1978-2015
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Scott A. Gavorsky
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Northeastern Nevada Museum
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.pdf files
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Title
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"Memories of Jack Creek, 1925-1935"
Description
An account of the resource
<p>Mary B. Urriola Smith lived at Jack Creek Ranch as a young girl from 1925 until 1935, during the period in which her parents Ysidro and Esperanza Urriola leased the ranch. Her childhood memories recount the characters of the day-to-day life on the rural sheep ranch.</p>
<p><a title="Memories of Jack Creek article" href="/omeka/files/original/de0832fbaf8af01861afcbb5b7f7ce66.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">View "Memories of Jack Creek" as a pdf</a></p>
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Mary B. Urriola Smith
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<em>Northeastern Nevada Historical Society Quarterly</em> 90.2 (1990): 30-44.
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Northeastern Nevada Museum
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1990
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Gretchen Skivington [GBC]; Scott A. Gavorsky [VHC]
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pdf; 18 pages
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English
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1925-1935
Basques
Community
Crossroads
Jack Creek
NNM
ranching
Story
-
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PDF Text
Text
-
J.M. CAPRIOLA COMPANY
BY Bill NaSON
PAPA
JACK ERRECART
BY KIMBERLY ERRECART
TOM EAG~'5HEEPMAN
BY GRACE - . C>AtssEN ERSKINE
I
'
...
�91
PAPA
JACK ERRECART
BY KIMBERLY ERRECART
Jack Errecart at age 25.
"This time, fifty-three years ago, I get off the train, front to the Commercial Hotel."
Essentially a man of few w ords, Papa had said very little regarding his early life until he came
out with this at the d inner table on February 22, 1983. Papa is Jack Errecart.
I knew that Papa had immigrated to America from France. I knew that he had been a
sheepherder from some of the comments he'd made: "Bah! I don't work in the sheepcamp
fifteen years to eat on the ground and pee in the bushes now!" I also knew Papa had
worked at'the Telescope Hotel in Elko for some time before I was born. I knew little else and
decided it was time I learned more about this man, my is-year-old father.
Papa was born on September 16, 1907, in Bussunaritz, France, to Bridgette Gachen and
Sauveur Errecart. The family farm where Papa grew up is called Eskansuval. "In Basque
society, al l houses are named and the house-name provides each of its occupants with his
or her socia l identity." 1 When he was 12-years-old, Papa was sent to St. Jean-Pied-dePort to
work at the Samuel Hotel. Since the farms tended to be small and barely capable of
supporting a fa mily, the p ractice of "lending" children was common. 2 Papa lived and
worked at the hotel two years or so, earning board and keep, before returning to
Eskansuval. 3
Formal education among the Basque peasant farmers was minima l. Papa said he went to
school about three years, and missed many days because he had to work. He was fortunate
that his mother was able to teach him to read and write. Later in the sheepcamp, he taught
himself from books and newspapers.
When Papa was 19, he was inducted into the army. In the frontier vi llages of the Pyrenees,
there is a long-standing tradition of refusing to do military service. Most youths opted to
escape the draft by crossing the border, usually emigrating to a New World destination.4
This often caused problems when the draftee wished to return to his home. Papa did want
to return, so he spent two years with the ground troop artillery forces in Germany. He was
discharged January 19, 1930.
Papa returned to France, but not for long. He'd made the decision to emigrate. At that
time, many Basques emigrated to South American countries. In 1945 it was estimated that
there were "more than one million Basques in South America." 5 Papa didn't want to go
there. " I have a chance to go to South America. My mother's brother, he was there. They
want to take me there. I never like it, though. That's all I have all time my mind, to come to the
United States." 6 "Before I got here, I heard all time it was reallygood." 7 "Few Basque vi llages
lacked at least one fabulous success story of a native son in the New World." 8
Less than a month after his discharge from the service, Papa boarded a boat at Le Havre,
France. Six days later, the boat docked at Ellis Island, February 18, 1930. Papa recalls, "I have
�92
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Jack Errecart at age 50.
Bar.
his bar in the Clifton Hotel and
Jack Errecart, age 75, tending
�93
it chance to come down. I have one friend in the United States and I ask him money to
come. He send me right away that money, and I make it papers and come down."9 His one
friend, Jean-Baptiste lrribarren, also lined up a job with the McBride-Heguy sheep outfit in
Elko County, Nevada. After one day in New York, Papa boarded a train and arrived at the
Commercial Hotel on February 22, 1930. The next day he went to work for McBride.
A constant stream of Basque immigrants had arrived between 1903 and 1910. They were
welcomed by ranchers and sheep owners "who found the new immigrants to be a
dependable, hard-working group." 10 The Basques soon proved their worth in the sheep
industry. 11 Because the first wave of immigrants "had succeeded with sheep, those who
followed herded sheep." 12 Although most had not been in the sheep business in the
Pyrenees. Basques were ideal herders. They were " highly regarded for their honesty, loyalty,
and propensity for hard physica l work." 13 High wages were paid to them and soon sheep
companies began paying passage for Basques. That is how it was in 1930 when Papa came
to this country.
"Despite the cutback in wages following the war, sheepherders in Nevada were soon
again paid quite well. Sa laries in 1926 were approximately $100 per month. Th is was $10 to
$40 more than wages in other sheep range states." 1 ' When Papa came to Nevada, he made
$100 a month. Then the Depression hit. "Elko County salaries dropped to around $75 by
early 1931 ." 15 By late spring of 1931, wages were down to $45 a month. Even at this rate,
sheepowners cou ld not afford to pay their herders' wages. "Nobody pay nothing. They
can't afford it to pay anybody. Lucky to buy groceries." 16
Papa continued to work for McBride and Heguy until 1934. During this ti me McBride sent
money to Papa's mother, but paid no wages to Papa . In 1935 the sheep business started
picking up, but it wasn't until 1939 that Papa received his back wages. "Anyway, old man
McBride- I quit in 1934 - in 1939 he pay me last penny, everything he owe. It don't was very
much because I pay my trip to (from) old country and everything, and I send some money
to home. That time the (wages) was $45 (a month for) one and a half years. Something like
that. They take it clothes every month, and you need it pair of shoes, too. Sometimes two.
Look how much is left. Anyway I don't remember how much it was, I tell you true. " 11 In
1939, the day after he had paid all his debts, McBride killed himself. 18
The Depression also left many sheepherders with broken dreams. "To the capable
Basques, the wages always seem amp le to put some aside, to buy herds, to send home for
brides, or perhaps to return to the homeland for family or sweethearts or to establish
homes." 19 After the Depression this was no longer true, and many plans were put on hold.
Papa was the same. "I have idea, maybe five years, I make one round to old country, but
everything go a little bit rough, you know. Wages went really down, and I lost my idea to go.
I have it idea, yes, but I quit that idea." 20 In 1978 Papa finally did make his "one round"tothe
old country.
Papa's luck didn't improve after 1931. "The winter of 1932 was terrible. First it was dry
and cold. Then on January 22 it started snowing and didn't stop for forty-eight hours
straight. When it was over there were two feet of snow on the level. Then it turned cold and
windy. The weather stayed Ii ke that for forty days. " 21 Papa was sti 1 working for McBride and
1
Heguy at Duck Water between Ely and Eureka. They had four bands of sheep on the flats
there. For such a bad winter, he and the other herders at Duck Water came out pretty good.
"We don't lose much sheep that year. Maybe they have around nine thousand sheep time
we go south that fall. Maybe one thousand we lost."22 Others were not so lucky. At Currie,
"ltcaina and those fellows, they lost lot of sheep, thousands and thousands maybe. Ellison,
he lost two bands of sheep, seven thousand sheep right there. 23
If the winter of 1932 was bad, the winter of 1935 was worse. By then Papa was working
�94
for Andres Tourreuil at Charleston. "That one, he was bad. We lost a lot of sheep. Andres
Tourreuil, he lost a lot of sheep at Currie. Everybody they lost a lot of animals." 24 To
emphasize this point he told me about a ranch just outside of Currie that belonged to a Mrs.
Riley. "Maybe she have around seventy-five, eight cows. All outside winter time. And you
see lot of those cows, stand up, froze in the big ditches, you know. Right there, they die,
froze, standing up. I know one night I was cold, too. That time we got a teepee tent with
one little stove inside. Everybody we got cold, and my gosh, I got up in (from) the bed and I
make fire in the little stove. If I don't, I never get up in the bed - too cold!" 25
The solitary life led by many herders was worse for some than the bad winters. "In his
near total isolation the herder had to struggle to maintain his sanity. More than one Basque
Clifton Hotel and Bar before Its facelift. It is located at 516 Commffdal Strut In EJko.
�95
herder was committed and the 'Crazy Basco' herder was a stereotypic figure in sheep
districts."26 When I asked Papa about the crazy sheepherder his comment was, "Well sure,
crazy sheepherder. That's crazy sheepherder to stay up there in the mountain like that, but if
you want to do something you gotta stay."
Papa was one of those sheepherders that "seemed to have an indomitably cheerful
philosphy which sustained them in such solitary lives. They understood and enjoyed their
work."27 Papa was prepared for this life. "I know I gonna be alone time I go to the hill
herding. One week day you got camptender there to make your camp, every week in
summer time. And winter time, you got three men in the camp, two herders and camptender cooking, and move it camp and everything like that." 2•
The longest time Papa stayed alone was fifteen days. He didn't think he would go crazy.
He explained, "If you keep it in your mind you gonna go crazy like that, you don't do
nothing EXCEPT go crazy. Must be, before he (the crazy herder) got herding sheep, he got
crazy, too."
Papa worked fifteen years in the sheep camps - herding, camptending, and driving truck
for a number of outfits - but never had his own sheep. Since that was the dream of many
Basque immigrants, I asked him why he hadn't. He answered, "I have chance, one time, to
buy, but I figure if I got very much sheep, I gotta work worse than I did before, so I don't. I
come to town and start working Telescope Hotel."29 He never went back to work as a
herder, but maintained close ties with several sheep outfits in Elko and White Pine Counties.
He often went out in the fal l to help with docking and shipping lambs, sharing a familiar
dinner prepared by the camptender at the end of a long and hard, but satisfying day.
Papa stayed at the Telescope for twelve years. At that time the Basque hotels were the
most important ethnic institution for the Basques, providing a mailing address, a place to
stay and store his possessions, and a source of job information. Papa and others like him
also served as interpreters and unofficial bankers, extending credit and cashing checks for
the herders, while for his part, the sheepherder might well turn over his savings to the
hotelkeeper to hold and/or invest for him.30 Explaining how things had changed, Papa said,
"Oh, they were important, find it work (for) people like that. We took a lot of orders,
ranchers, sheepmen, everything. Now they got to go to employment office. They don't call
my place like that anymore to ask me if I got jobs someplace."31
Having saved enough money to go into business for himself, Papa bought first the Palace
Bar, and later the Si Iver Dollar, both on Commercial Street in Elko. He built each business up
and sold it at a profit. While at the Silver Dollar, he met and married Barbara Roylance. In
1960 Papa and his wife bought the Clifton Hotel and Bar. To this day, he opens the Clifton at
six-thirty in the morning to serve coffee royals to a select group of his "regulars."
The fifty-three years Papa has been in America have been filled with hard work, but he
found contentment in this land of opportunity. His first years as a sheepherder did not
discourage him. Jean-Baptiste Iribarren and almost all of his friends from those early years
are gone now. " Everyone they die now. Martin (Inda), he die. Simon (Bengoechea), he die.
Joe (Madariaga), even Benny (Arrascada, much younger), everyone of them they die
now."3 2 With his wealth of good memories, Papa still thinks America is the best place to be
and has never regretted his decision to come here. "I come from old country, I don't know
nothing, so I find out time I get here. To make one dollar, I think, man he got to suffer little bit.
That's all I did."33
�96
Jack Errecart once owned the SHver Dollar Club at 400 Commercial Street In Elko. This photograph was taken In the earty 1950's.
FOOTNOTES:_
1
William A Douglass, ed ., Beltran: Basque Sheepman of the American West (Reno:
University of Nevada Press, 1979), p. 1.
2
Ibid., p. 2.
3
Jack Errecart, author's father, interview in Elko, April 7, 1983, concerning Jack's life in
France and America.
4
Douglass, ed., p. 1.
5
Quoted by Sister Flavia M. McCullough, The Basques of the Northwest(San Francisco:
Rand E Research Associates, 1974), p. 20.
• Errecart, April 7, 1983.
1
Jack Errecart, Author's father, interview in Elko, March 2, 1983, concerning Jack's
emigration and his life in America.
• William A Douglass and Jon Bilbao, Amerikanuak: Basques in the New World (Reno:
University of Nevada Press, 1975), p. 135.
9
Errecart, March 2, 1983.
10
Quoted by Henry C. Blaud, The Basques (San Francisco: R and E Research Associates,
1974), p . 74.
11
Blaud, p. 74.
12
McCullough, p . 26.
13
Douglass, ed., p. 38.
14
Richard Harris Lane, The Cultural Ecology of Sheep Nomadism: Northeastern
Nevada. 1870-1972 (Ann Arbor, Michisan : Xerox University Microfi Ims, 197 5),
p. 274.
�97
15
11
17
11
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
21
21
21
29
30
31
32
33
Ibid.
Errecart, March 2, 1983.
Errecart, April 7, 1983.
Barbara Errecart, author's mother, comment made while reviewing author's research
notes, April 2, 1983.
McCullough, p. 26.
Errecart, April 7, 1983.
Beltran Paris, Beltran: Basque Sheepman of the American West (Reno: University of
Nevada Press, 1979), p. 124.
Errecart, April 7, 1983.
Ibid.
Errecart, March 2, 1983.
Ibid.
Douglass, ed., p. 32.
McCullough, p. 25.
Errecart, April 7, 1983.
Ibid.
Douglass, ed., p. 38.
Errecart, April 7, 1983.
Errecart, March 2, 1983
Ibid.
SOURCES:
Bilbao, Jon, and William A. Douglass. Amerikanuak: Basques in the New World. Reno:
University of Nevada Press, 1975.
Blaud, Henry C. The Basques. San Francisco: R and E Research Associates, 1974.
Lane, Richard Harris. The Cultural Ecology of Sheep Nomadism: Northeastern Nevada.
1870-1972. Ann Arbor, Michigan: Xerox University Microfilms, 1975.
McCullough, Sister Flavia M. The Basques of the Northwest. San Francisco: R and E
Research Associates, 1974.
Paris, Beltran, as told to William A. Douglass. Beltran: Basque Sheepman of the American
West. Reno: University of Nevada Press, 1979.
�98
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: KIMBERLY ERRECART
Kimberly Errecart was born and raised in Elko. A graduate of Elko High School, s
studied psychology at State University of New York at Stonybrook from 1976 to 1979.
1983 she graduated from Northern Nevada Community College in Elko.
The monograph about her father is her first published work.
Her hobbies include hiking, camping, nature photography, reading and gourmet ca<
ing.
�
Dublin Core
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Title
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Northeastern Nevada Museum Quarterly
Subject
The topic of the resource
Collection of the Northeastern Nevada Museum Quarterly journal.
Description
An account of the resource
Quarterly journal of the Northeastern Nevada Museum, located in Elko, Nevada.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Northeastern Nevada Museum
Publisher
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Northeastern Nevada Museum
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1978-2015
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Scott A. Gavorsky
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Northeastern Nevada Museum
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.pdf files
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English
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"Papa Jack Errecart"
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An account of the resource
<p>Kimberly Errecart's personal biography of her father, Basque immigrant and long-time Elko resident Jack Errecart. After spending over a decade sheep-herding, Mr. Errecart became an entrepreneur, owning at various times over the years the Palace Bar, the Silver Dollar Club, and the Clifton Bar and Hotel.</p>
<p><a title="Papa Jack Errecart biography" href="/omeka/files/original/81687976a07d8d518ef69bed006612af.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">View "Papa Jack Errecart" as pdf</a></p>
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Kimberly Errecart
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<em>Northeastern Nevada Historical Society Quarterly</em> 83.3 (Summer 1983): 91-98.
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Northeastern Nevada Museum
Date
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Summer 1983
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Gretchen Skivington [GBC]; Scott A. Gavorsky [VHC]
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VHC Deposit Agreement on file:
http://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/items/show/185
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pdf; 9 pages
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English
Basques
Community
Crossroads
GBC50
NNM
Story
-
https://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/files/original/f0e23813722a4c18a76827af38476a11.pdf
1ece69d8fc466aa985059d973d675bd5
PDF Text
Text
NORTHEASTERN NEVADA HISTORICAL SOCIETY
SPANISH
RINGH
SPANISH RANCH [ETIERS
COMPILED BY EDNA B. PATIERSON
_,...--,-
CIVILIAN CONSERVATION CORPS
ELKO COUNTY: 1933-1942
BY DIANA L. NEEF
QUARTERLY INDEX: 1983
COMPILED BY LAURA HAWKINS
WINTER 1984 (84-1)
ELKO, NEVADA
�2
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t.City • Jarbidge
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eTenn~ssee Gulch
•Gol(i Creek
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eCharleston
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Tuscarora4'~
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ELKO COUNTY
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Cherry Creek
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SPANISH RANCH, INDEPENDENCE VALLEY
NORTHEASTERN
NEVADA
�3
SPANISH RANCH LETTERS
COMPILED BY EDNA B. PATIERSON
In the 1840's five Basque brothers left their native Spain and sailed for South America.
Here they developed a bonanza in the Argentine cattle: industry. After ten years of
prosperity two of the brothers, Pedro (born in 1829) and Bernardo (born in 1831),
liquidated their assets and came to the United States while the other three remained in
Argentina.
Settling near San Mateo, California, Pedro and Bernardo Al tube ran a dairy until the town
of Sarr-Mateo bought their property for a cemetery. Pedro moved to Palo Alto and Bernardo
to Fresno, both acqu iring land and cattle interests. Finally they decided to seek less
populated country. They sold their California property, became equal partners and began
plans for a cattle operation in Nevada.
Purchasi ng 3,000 head of cattle in Mexico, they drove them to Nevada. In 1871 they
reached Independence Valley in the Tuscarora area of Elko County and established the
Spanish Ranch which became a thriving cattle kingdom .
Both men were in their forties when they launched their new enterprise. They first lived in
a log cabin and then built a larger home, bunkhouse, storehouse and blacksmith shop.
The Altubes adopted the common practice of acquiring more land by having
employees fi le land claims then later buying the property from the workers. Bernardo
handled the livestock while Pedro supervised the Home Ranch. It was a privilege working
for them - pay was good and paid in gold coin.
The brothers reigned over their kingdom until the severe winter of 1889-1890 wiped out
years of work. By selling property, tapping financial sources in California and borrowing
from the Henderson Bank in Elko they rebuilt the herd. The ranch extended 20 miles in
length and four or five miles in width besides occupying thousands of acres of open
country. Spani sh Ranch cattle grazed from Independence Va lley in northern Elko County to
Parad ise Val ley in Humboldt County and north into Idaho.
After 1890 haying grass meadows provided winter feeding and barbed wire fences
began to surround some of the land. The operaton required 15 to 20 cowboys with more
added for seasonal work.
The A ltube family helped smaller local spreads by purchasing supplies from them but
their world was centered on the ranch . Pedro's four daughters rode as well as the best
vaqueros and Bernardo's wife and two sons, Felix and Jules, participated in ranch work.
�4
't
..
Pedro Altube, one of the founders of the Spanish Ranch in northern Elko County.
~
;
~
�Felix, an all around cowboy, died while a young man. Jules eventually managed the ranch .
As Pedro grew older, his family insisted upon a move to California. He built a palatial
home on Pacific Avenue in San Francisco and entertained on a lavish scale. He died in 1905.
Bernardo retired to Berkeley, California where he passed away in 1916. His son Jules and
Amelia had twin sons named Pedro and Bernardo after their grandfathers. Soon after the
birth of the boys Amelia died and Jules later married the Spanish nurse who had cared for
his wife. Jules died in California in 1944.
In 1902 the ranch operated on a grand scale. In addition to the Spanish Ranch, the Palo
Alto Land and Livestock Company owned the Thompson, Taylor and IL ranches and their
range extended over thousands of acres.
When the Altube properties were liquidated in 1907 there were 20,000 cattle, 2,000
horses and 20,000 sheep. Land controlled by the company consisted of 400,000 acres with
66,000 in meadow and 40,000 acres fenced .
The ranch still operates in Independence Valley. Ownership over the years has passed
from the A ltubes to H.G. Humphrey et al (Humphrey, WH Moffat, Peter S. Garat and Lewis
L. Bradley); Union Land and Cattle Company; E.P. El li son and Associates; and finally to the
Ellison Ranching Company.
The following letters are from Theodore Dierks of San Francisco to Ramon Lugea who
worked at the Spanish Ranch . Dierks was 55 when the letters began and about seventy
when the last was written. Lugea was eleven years older than Dierks.
In 1902, young Theodore Dierks was in a doctor's office in San Francisco and passed
through the waiting room where Jules Altube, son of Bernardo, was waiting to see the
doctor. Jules was the next patient called into the doctor's office.
The physician remarked, "That young man who just walked out of my office will be dead
in six months. He has tuberculosis. This damp climate and the disease will kill him unless he
gets to a drier climate."
Bernardo Altube.
�6
Jules thought for a few moments, then said, "He can go to the the Spanish Ranch near
Tuscarora. There the climate is dry, the sun shines bright and the air will be conducive for his
recovery."
So it was that "Teddy" Dierks came to Tuscarora as a lad of 17 years. He was ill, lonely and
afraid. The boy was lost in the rural environment and spent his days wandering about the
ranch complex finding companionship with the cowboys and other ranch help. He
developed a friend in Ramon Lugea whose father sailed from Spain with the Altubes in their
migration to the Americas. Ramon was the blacksmith at the Spanish Ranch. He later owned
his own ranch in Lamoille Valley, south of Elko.
After Dierk's health improved he returned to San Francisco and he and Ramon Jost
contact with each other. Forty years later they renewed their friendship. It was due to the
death of Al Shannon, an old-time cowboy at the ranch, who died in San Francisco. He was
buried by Halstead-Dierks Funeral Directors.
The Dierks letters follow:
~
'"
~
'"
i
-~
...
'8
~
-~
~
;
>
Jules J. Altube, Spanish Ranch.
San Francisco, Calif
April 24, 1940
Ramon Lugea
Lamoille Valley
South of Elko
Dear Mr. Lugea:
This is to inform you that Mr. Al P. Shannon died April 21, 1940 in San
Francisco - peacefully in his sleep, aged 75 years. Of late he Jived in the past,
in memory of the happy old days on the Spanish Ranch. He spoke often to me
of you and that is why I am writing you, because you knew him then. Funeral is
Thurs. April 25 with internment in the National Cemetery in San Francisco.
Some day I am going to look you up and say hello because I think I knew you
too.that time.
Theo. Dierks
�7
Three vaqueros in the Spanish Ranch bunkhouse.
San Francisco, Calif.
December 9, 1945
Mr. Ramon Lugea
Lamoille, Nevada
Dear Mr. Lugea:
I find an envelope in one of my desk drawers with your name on it and
postmarked Elko, May 18, 1940. As I remember I put it away with the intention
of visiting you the next time I went to Elko, but I haven't been there since. I think
that was the year that Al Shannon died and I wrote you about it as he told me
you were on the Spanish Ranch in 1902 when I was up there. Were you there
then? I remember there was a Ramon who was a blacksmith. Was that you? At
that time I was 17 years of age and sort of a guest at the ranch. A big tall thin
blond boy. If you are the Ramon that was blacksmith there at the time, you will
remember me, for I spent a lot oftime in the blacksmith shop. I'll mention a few
of the names I remember:
Old Al Buker, Mormon
Gene, Italian
Joe, the Mexican
Castro, dropped dead in Elko in 1902
Chappo, milker
Chappo, ex-vaquero foreman
Chappo
Ramon, the blacksmith
Pat, the Chinese cook
�8
Al Shannon in his later years.
�Two of Pedro Altube's daughters.
Joe, the vaquero cook
Old Dan Man
Ben Lainez
These are the only names that I remember, but they whose names they are
and were standout (sic) in my mind in warm memory and friendship . Nearly all
are dead of course, for that was 43 years ago, and they were men then, whereas
I was only a boy.
If you were there then, and if you happen to rem ember one of the vaqueros
that was short, of slight build, brown mustach, wore yellow chaps, and
invariably packed a 45 Colt, and was the only man on the place that packed a
gun, and if you happen to remember his name and what became of him, I will
be very glad to receive what information you might give me about him. But I am
Just as interested in knowing about you. If you are that Ramon you must be
pretty well along in years now, for I am 61. You must be at last ten years older.
I buried Jules Altube last year. In the end he was very humble and a devout
Catholic. May his soul rest in peace! I see his son Bernardo often, but Pete
seldom because he lives at Red Bluff.
I will appreciate it if you will answer my questions. Someday I hope to visit
you .
Yours Truly
Theo Dierks
901 Divisadero St
San Francisco, 15,
Calif.
�10
Spanish Ranch bunkhouse, c.1920.
San Francisco, Ca.
Dec. 23, 1945
/I/Ir. Ramon Lugea
138 Pine St.
Elko, Nevada
Dear Ramon:
So you are that Ramon I knew so well and whom I had for such a warm friend 43
years ago. Well! Well, Well! Shannon told me that you were, but I didn't believe he
was right. Now I know he was and now that you have confirmed it I am most happy to
hear from you. Memories surge through my mind, strange how they come, of those
days and of those friends, pictures from out of the kaleidoscope of memory. Only a
few live to have those memories - they are a section from out of our lives.
Yes, I spent many happy hours, sometimes entire days in the blacksmith shop, and
you were one of those that through your friendliness and interest in me made me feel
that life had some meaning for me. For that I am grateful to you, even today and
always will be. If you remember the people in the house with the fence around it
hardly spoke to me at all and I would have been lost if I had not had the friendship of
the men. I say this without intending any disparagement of my friends; but the .truth is
the truth.
After I left the ranch and came down here with Jim Tunnel (I) and 33 carloads of
cattle, I resolved to complete my education, and did four years of high school work
�11
in one year, and entered the college of Pharmacy in 1903, and completed the course
in 1905, and after clerking around in various stores for one year, was just ready to enter
the University College of Medicine, when the earthquake and fire came along, and I
abandoned that plan to help my father in this business, and have been an undertaker
ever since. That was a big mistake because today I know my father could have gotten
along alright without me. I call it a mistake because I do not have the nature requisite
to success in this business, and the associations and conditions involved in it were
bad insofar as a career went. Sometimes I think ones life is predestined, and one had
to do what a super-natural will ordains. So now you know what I did with virtually my
li fe, virtually because when one reaches 61 it virtually is a lifetime, isn't it?
Yes, I am married. I married when I was 25 and I have one son, now 34 years of age,
just twice the age I was when I was on the ranch . I am glad that the good Lord gave
you a wife and family, and that you have not had to go through all these years alone.
As I remember you I am sure you made a good husband and father.
Those were happy and comparatively care free days for me that time up on the
ranch, yet I had my worries but had I known then, as I know now, I would have had
none, for they were all imaginary.
It is strange you don't remember old Al Buker. He bunked in the same room with
Shannon and Joe - he was quite old then - partially paralized - brown beard always chewed tobacco - was an old hand under old Pedro and Bernardo Altube.
He couldn't work, so he devised that little water wheel or mill to turn the grindstone
to sharpen mowers teeth, and he also devised a contraption to cut wood by means
of a foot pedal. He usually emerged every morning with a tomato can in his good
hand . Shannon used to have to dress him. When the ranch was sold he and Gene
were placed in the County Home at Elko, and both died there and are buried there.
Both I understand, had been most unfortunate in life, for one had the syphillis (sic)
and the other the gonnerea (sic) of the spine. I tried to find their graves many years
ago, but did not succeed although I looked at almost every headstone in the
cemetery.
Yes, you have identified Jose Urias very well. I think you are mistaken about
Chappo, the milker going to Spain, unless you mean the very youngest Chappo there were three at the time: ex-foreman of vaquero, Chappo the ranch hand or
milker, and the boy Chappo who was younger than I. I understand that Chappo the
ranch hand died heating dynamite in a stove.
Old man Mann owned a small ranch at the foot of the mountain range south of the
ranch and sold out and retired to San Jose, Calif. I am trying to remember the name of
the Mexican that they had up there that year to break broncs, but it just will not come,
but he is alive and living at Hollister, Calif. I'm sure you could remember him if I could
name him. He too is now quite an old man. If you ever hear where Chris Aguillar is I
wi ll appreciate it if you will let me know. Yes, I heard about Ben Loinez dying at
Winnemucca. I didn't know him hardly at all as those days he stayed aloof from us.
They say he became a pretty hard drinker, and that it had a lot to do with the
pneumonia overcoming him.
The two A ltube sons are in California - one has a ranch, Pedro at Red Bluff, and the
other Bernardo a hotel on Jones street in this city. Both are married and have families.
The w ife and daughter of Jules are in Spain. The daughter is by the second wife.
I buried old A l Shannon in the presidia at San Francisco. He was a peacetime
soldier at one time and entitled to burial in a National Cemetery. He was a good
hearted man even though in those days he was so profane and cruel with animals, but
�12
strange to say he became freed of profanity in his last years. Profanity was the
language of those men those days, and while they were profane, I know they were
not conscious of it. Gosh, that was a long time ago, Ramon, when you think there were
no automobiles, no movie, no aeroplane.
I've been back to look at the ranch three times since - the first time in 1904 just
before they sold out to Humphrey and Moffitt. At that time everything was just as it
used to be. There were new faces, of course. Then a second time, years later and I
found all changed and not a familiar face on the place. The same old valley and the
same old hills were there, but all the old landmarks and houses had disappeared and
no where could I find a single one of my old friends. All the romance, adventure, and
friendships had disappeared as though they had been only a dream. The third time it
was even more so, and it was then that I decided that the place held nothing for me
but memories.
I understand that the Garats are still ranching, but all the original Garats are now
dead. Also that the Fairchild family still ranch in the west end of the valley. Of course I
didn't know those people, and know them only through hearsay, although I have
buried some of them.
About the horse bucking me off - it was a big raw boned roan called Cigarette,
and he bucked when Shannon and I were in one of the Fairchild's fields cutting two
horses out of a bunch. I still count myself lucky not to have been killed that time. I
could have very easily have been the way I lit on my head, down hill. I don't
remember Joe Yraguen by name, but would probably recognize him if I saw him.
Some day you and I will go over and visit him. As to Jefferies Francisco Goicoaechea
- maybe you refer to him of the enormous build - he came to the ranch just before
I left. I am sorry to hear that he is dead too.
I am one of those people that just can't realize the passing of time - to me those
days exist as vividedly as though it had been only a couple of years ago - isn't that
strange? It has been almost half a century ago! But when I think how nearly all those
men are gone - it makes me sick with apprehension - apprehension that life is
slipping by and many years are gone forever.
Yes, I am certainly going to look you up the next time that I am in Elko and have the
great pleasure of shaking your hand and giving you a pat on your back, mi amigo! And
now I am going to close this letter, first with thanks for answering my letter and giving
me the information that I asked, second with the best wishes to you and yours for a
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, and thirdly with kindest regards to you
personally.
Yours very truly,
Theo Dierks
Sunday, Dec. 21, 1952
Dear Ramon:
There was a mail delivery this morning and on going through the envelopes I saw
that one was evidently a Christmas Greeting from Elko. I was amazed because I could
think of only one person in all of Elko County who would possibly send me a card
and that would be you. Yet it is hard to believe for we have riot seen each other for
fifty years. I took the mail upstairs to read while at breakfast and when I opened your
envelope and saw who it was from I was overwhelmed. I seld?m pay much attention
�13
Spanish Ranch chuckwagon.
to Christmas cards because so many are sent as a social obligation and without any
reference to the true reason of the occasion and its meaning. But I read every word
of your prayer and a surge of happiness and gratitude welled up within me to know
there was someone who cared enough for me to wish me peace and God's
Blessings. I thank you and Mrs. Lugea for your prayer and for your good wishes and
greetings. I wish to say that I wish the same for you. It has been a great pleasure to
receive a card from you.
Only this morning as I walked down the street I couldn't help but feel the cold; and
the thought occurred to me that up in Elko County nature prepares one for the change
and one doesn't feel it as much as down here. And then when I got back a message
from Elko!
It has been 50 years since I used to watch you work in the blacksmith shop at the
Spanish Ranch. That is a long time ago. I can still hear your "A dios Amigo" as I left. I
was a peculiar boy. I left without saying goodbye to anyone. I don't know why that
was . It was just my nature I suppose. But even today, I still carry memories of you all just as though it were only yesterday. I have stopped in two or three times to the
ranch just to look around, but no one is there that we used to know. The hills and the
va lley and the spring and the meadow are there but that is al l. Their beauty merely
a es the sorrow of old friends gone. As for you and me, it means not only that,
e 'ay of our youth also. I am 68 now and you must be older. There is one
; w e are wiser.
a d Jules Altube are dead as you know. Al was buried at the Presidio
Cross. Jules became very religious before he died and went to mass
Id me, " I am only human, and I have my sins to repent for." It was
a I became a convert. May all be well with both of them .
�14
I hope that all is well with you and your family, and in closing I wish to again thank
you for thinking of me and your good wishes, and I want to assure you and Mrs. Lugea
that I wish the same for you both. Your voice is truly a voice from out of the past. The
half century that has passed makes it all the more wonderful. God Bless you both.
Sincerely,
Theo Dierks
Spanish Ranch bunkhouse.
Dec. 23, 1955
San Francisco, Calif.
Ramon and Grace Lugea
Dear Friends:
This is to acknowledge receipt of your lovely Christmas card and your very kind
thoughts. I am grateful to you for thinking of me and remembering me in your good
wishes. Please accept my reciprocal good wishes to you:
May the Holy Infant bless you
May His peace enfold you
May His love overshadow you
And may He pour into you abundantly
The graces that He has won for you
By His Holy Incarnation.
I tried hard to get up to Elko this year and couldn't make it. Pete writes that
Bernardo is ill with aheart attack in Spain. Please light a candle for him, and I will do so
too.
�15
A lways regards, best wishes and fond memories.
Adios Amigoes,
Theo Dierks
San Francisco, Calif.
March 2, 1956
Mr. Ramon Lugea
138 Pine St.
Elko, Nevada
Dear Ramon:
This is just a few hurriedly scribbled lines to inform you that Manuel Larios died
yesterday at Hollister, California. He was very old, about 87 years - and looked it.
He, if you will remember, was breaking horses to ride up at the ranch in 1902. He
made pre-need arrangements for his funeral with me and I went to Hollister and
arranged for his funeral at the mortuary there. He will have a mass at Sacred Heart
Church, Monday at 9:30, and then be buried in his grandfather's private cemetery at
San Juan Bautista. His grandfather had a large Spanish Land Grant, when California
was owned by Spain and he donated the land for the township. All the land grants
were raided by Congress and the old Spanish Dons pauperized. The Larios family
was one of them. And so fades out of sight another memory of the days ofouryouth. I
thought it right to let you know. He leaves a sister at Azusa, California, and a nephew,
Anthony Marios at Hollister.
Regards to you and Mrs. Lugea.
Resp.
T. Dierks
Ramon Lugea, born July 2, 1874, died November 27, 1958. He is buried in the Catholic
Cemetery in Elko.
Edna B. Patterson
Condensed Spanish Ranch history from
Nevada's Northeast Frontier
by Edna B. Patterson, Louise A Ulph and Victor Goodwin
�
https://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/files/original/e2fdb54606a8e7b9919a138273d1ec97.jpg
ad55d1d98293e4f5d6d96b76b344a979
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Northeastern Nevada Museum Quarterly
Subject
The topic of the resource
Collection of the Northeastern Nevada Museum Quarterly journal.
Description
An account of the resource
Quarterly journal of the Northeastern Nevada Museum, located in Elko, Nevada.
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Northeastern Nevada Museum
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Northeastern Nevada Museum
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1978-2015
Contributor
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Scott A. Gavorsky
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Northeastern Nevada Museum
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
.pdf files
Language
A language of the resource
English
Document
Documents such as transcripts, pdf files, legal documents, letters, etc.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
"Spanish Ranch Letters"
Description
An account of the resource
<p>A selection of letters from San Franciscan Theodore "Teddy" Dierks and Ramon Lugea from 1940 through 1956. Dierks as a young man had been encouraged by Jules Altube of the Spanish Ranch to stay in Tuscarora in 1902 as a treatment for Dierks' tuberculosis. Dierks struck up a friendship with Ramon Lugea, a Basque immigrant on the ranch, which was renewed through this exchange of letters starting around 1940. Compiled by Edna B. Patterson.</p>
<p><a title="Spanish Ranch Letters article" href="/omeka/files/original/f0e23813722a4c18a76827af38476a11.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">View "Spanish Ranch Letters" as pdf</a></p>
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Edna B. Patterson, editor
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
<em>Northeastern Nevada Historical Society Quarterly</em> 84.1 (Winter 1984): 3-15.
Publisher
An entity responsible for making the resource available
Northeastern Nevada Museum
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1984
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
Scott A. Gavorsky [VHC]
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
VHC Deposit Agreement on file:
http://humanities.gbcnv.edu/omeka/items/show/185
[administrator access only]
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
pdf; 15 pages
Language
A language of the resource
English
Coverage
The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant
1940-1956
Basques
Community
Crossroads
Independence Valley
NNM
ranching
Spanish Ranch
Story