When I learned that our friend, Stephen, was teaching an Introduction to Letterpress class, at the historic Fourth Ward School in Virginia City, Nevada, and that it fit in my very full calendar, I booked it. It was extra special that Stephen would give me a ride. What a day!

I have to admit, the location was a huge draw. Of all the times we've been to Virginia City, we had never had the opportunity to tour this magnificent testimony to successful mining. In 1876, the excited residents of Virginia City christened their new monument to education, the Fourth Ward School. Built to honor the nation’s centennial, the majestic four-story building could accommodate over 1000 students, and it boasted state-of-the-art heating, ventilation, and sanitation systems, as well as water piped to all floors.
The Territorial Enterprise* called the new Fourth Ward School “The finest structure of the kind in Nevada,” adding “If it is our pride today, the time is not far distant when it will be our glory as well.” Virginia City, at the center of the vibrant Comstock Mining District founded in 1859, suffered from serious overcrowding of its public and private schools. The community welcomed the addition of sixteen classrooms.
Students of all ages, and ethnicities, attended this new school, situated at the south end of Virginia City’s C Street. The Primary Department contained first through fourth grades. Fifth and sixth graders were enrolled in the Second Grammar Department. Eighth and ninth graders pursued their education in the Fourth Ward’s High School Department, which earned the distinction of awarding diplomas to the first students in Nevada to complete all nine grades. By 1909, the Fourth Ward’s curriculum had expanded to include instruction through the twelfth grade.
From the turn of the century through the 1920s, Fourth Ward teachers educated hundreds of students, but the declining fortunes of the mining district and diminishing population caused the student body to shrink. By the mid-1930s, less than 200 students attended the Fourth Ward School. The building was in need of repair and it seemed to be an obsolete relic from another era. When federal New Deal funding provided an opportunity to build a modern structure, the community jumped at the chance. Its last seniors graduated in 1936.
Abandoned to the elements, the Fourth Ward School seemed doomed. State grants in 1964 and 1984 rescued the structure, giving it the promise of a brighter future. A grant from the Nevada Humanities Committee funded a museum in the building, which reopened in 1986, fifty years after closing. Since that time, the Fourth Ward School Museum has received hundreds of thousands of visitors ranging from school groups to foreign tourists. With diverse programming, a changing gallery, and engaging exhibits, the Fourth Ward School has once again become a community center and a remarkable setting for those wishing to learn about the glorious past of Virginia City and the Comstock Lode. I will definitely return with other history lovers in tow.
Back to the Territorial Enterprise*. Stephen began the class with an incredible history lesson about this local newspaper and one of its most famous employees. From 1862 to 1865, Samuel Clemens wrote for this leading newspaper of Virginia City. There, his literary skills were first realized and he first used the pen name Mark Twain. The history is a lengthy one but what is extremely amazing is that much of the type archived at the Fourth Ward School came from the Territorial Enterprise. Six degrees of separation, indeed.
For those who don't know, Letterpress is a historic printing method where raised surfaces are inked and then pressed onto paper. It involves several key steps: composition (setting type), lock-up (preparing the type for printing), inking, and printing.

We were given thorough instructions, a California Job Class of a font of our choosing, and set free to compose our quote we wished to print.


How apropos that we were in the Business School classroom. The enclosed room behind we was where typing was taught. It was too loud to not be separated from the rest of the school. Wow.



And while we didn't use this ancient press, it was wonderful to see it in action. What a fantastic day lost in history, at least for a few hours!

We have known the name Langston Hughes but never knew much about the man or his writings. Then we went to the Nevada Museum of Art and learned there is not only an exhibit on him but an event which celebrates him and the era from which he came... we were IN.

When Langston Hughes Came to Town explores the history and legacy of Langston Hughes through the lens of his largely unknown travels to Nevada and highlights the vital role Hughes played in the Harlem Renaissance and beyond. James Mercer Langston Hughes (1901-1967) was born in Joplin, Missouri. Hughes studied at Columbia University in 1921 for one year and would eventually become one of leading writers of the Harlem Renaissance. A writer with a distinctive style inspired by jazz rhythms, Hughes documented all facets of Black culture but became renowned for his incisive poetry.
The exhibition begins by examining the relationship of this literary giant to the state of Nevada through a unique presentation of archival photographs, ephemera, and short stories he wrote that were informed by his visit to the area. The writer’s first trip to the Silver State took place in 1932, when he investigated the working conditions at the Hoover Dam Project. He returned to the state in 1934, at the height of his career, making an unexpected trip to Reno, and found solace and a great night life in the city.

In Reno, Hughes developed a new artistic perspective shaped by his experiences in the American West, contrasting the region’s promise with the severe poverty he encountered. Traveling through the South and California, and experiencing homelessness firsthand, he created two of his most powerful stories, Slice ‘Em Down and On the Road.

In a letter written by Martin Luther King, Jr, Dr. King acknowledges Langston Hughes' poem I Dream A World as influencing his own I Have A Dream Speech, "I dream a world where man, No other man will scorn, Where love will bless the earth And peace its paths adorn I dream a world where all Will know sweet freedom's way, Where greed no longer saps the soul Nor avarice blights our day. A world I dream where black or white, Whatever race you be, Will share the bounties of the earth And every man is free..." Wow!

The presentation continues with work created by leading artists of the Harlem Renaissance who had close ties to Hughes, including sculptures and paintings. The range of work on display foregrounds the rich expressions of dance, music, and fashion prevalent during the influential movement.
Here we met Augusta Savage. In 1937, Augusta was commissioned to craft a large-scale plaster sculpture for the 1939 New York World's Fair- the only African American woman to receive this distinction. The resulting work showed Black singers dressed in choir robes- their bodies, arranged in descending height, forming the shape of a harp. The title was inspired by the poem "Lift Every Voice and Sing" (1900) by James Weldon Johnson, which was later set to music by his brother, J. Rosamond Johnson. Savage created the monument (later dubbed The Harp) to symbolize the significant contributions African Americans had made to music. This maquette, fashioned as a souvenir for the fair, is a small replica of the larger work. The original was destroyed after the exposition because there wasn't enough funding to move and preserve it.


We concluded our night with An Evening of Jazz and Poetry where we had the fantastic opportunity to "Celebrate the music of the 1920s and the poetry of Langston Hughes at this event, featuring live jazz by Sapphire Jazz Ensemble and local poets reading Hughes’ works."

Karen joined me in transporting Cindy back to the Sacramento Airport. Afterward, we made plans, in our State Capital, to have lunch with our relocated Tahoe friend, Mary Jo.

In 1941, Russ Solomon began his once very famous Tower Records in his father’s drugstore (now the café).  The name was tower from the Tower Theatre. Ten years ago, we came to the theatre to see Colin Hanks' All Things Must Pass: The Rise and Fall of Tower Records, a documentary of the phenomenon that was Tower Records. It was fantastic to see the film in the location where it all began.

It had been a couple of years since Cindy and I hiked down to the shores of Emerald Bay (last year we boated in with Bob and Jenny). Today's foray was worth the wait.

I have often described the hike to the lakeshore as being one mile down and three miles up. The effort is always rewarded.
What a treat to discover that Lower Eagle Falls was still impressive. Roland R. Kemler said it best, "There’s no better place to find yourself than sitting by a waterfall and listening to its music."
We were in Botanical Bliss as so many flowers were still in bloom.





I love this photo. There is so much artistry found in the roots of this fallen tree.

Cindy and I have been friends for almost 30 years. Our time spent together is a comfortable ease. I thoroughly enjoy this Lake Tahoe tradition and now that it has come to an end, I'm already anticipating the next time. "The pain of parting is nothing to the joy of meeting again," says Charles Dickens. So true!