Joyce Cox, Author and Research Librarian: Visit Reno on the Way: the History of the Reno Chamber of Commerce

The Reno Chamber began as the Reno Improvement Society in 1898 and the Reno Commercial Club in 1906. The goals of these two groups, typical for any small community, were to support local businesses and to make Reno, Sparks, Lake Tahoe, and Northern Nevada a good place to live. But the way the Chamber promoted the area was unique and innovative with such slogans as "You'll Like Reno" in 1924, "Visit Reno on the Way" in 1939, "Reno, Let's Tell the World" in 1949 and "Reno Gateway to Wonders" in 1968.

• Date: Wednesday, April 18, 2018
• Time: 5:30 PM
• Location: Northwest Library, 2325 Robb Drive, Reno

ZoAnn Campana, Historic Preservation Consultant and HRC Architectural Historian: Reno's Early Meatpacking Industry

Join us for a discussion of Reno's early meatpacking industry, as illustrated by the rise and fall of the Nevada Packing Company on East 4th Street. Founded by Patrick Flanagan as the Nevada Meat Company in 1902, the Nevada Packing Company grew into Nevada's only Federally-inspected packing plant. More than just a slaughterhouse, the company manufactured butter and ice, distributed beer and liquor, and smoked its own bacon and hams. Most notably, the company foreshadowed the locavore movement as we know it today, sourcing its animals and other materials from local ranches and farms.

• Date: Sunday, April 22, 2018
• Time: 1:30 PM
• Location: Sierra View Library, 4001 South Virginia in Reno Town Mall

David Hansen, Emeritus Director Hot August Nights: The Hot August Nights Story

During an evening night on August 1, 1986, the Reno-Sparks Convention Center was bursting at the seams with hundreds of revelers who were partying, cheering and pushing to be let in to a first-time event of a magnitude yet to be realized. Inside, 10,000 spectators were massed together in anticipation of seeing and hearing a live event of the Righteous Brothers, Wolfman Jack, and Jan & Dean! It was that night when nostalgia was unleashed among an audience who excitedly relived their childhood years of the 1950s and 60s — a time of innocence, prosperity, cars and the birth of Rock and Roll. The weather was HOT, the month of AUGUST was right, therefore, HOT AUGUST NIGHTS was born! The memories flooded back and so did the desire for more!

• Date: Wednesday, May, 16, 2018
• Time: 5:30 PM
• Location: Northwest Library, 2325 Robb Drive, Reno

Fran Tryon, Hillside Cemetery Activist: Families of Hillside Cemetery

In 1875, the State of Nevada granted a patent of 40 acres on the north side of Reno for use as a cemetery — to be known as Hillside Cemetery. It was a privately-owned cemetery — not necessarily the best plan for perpetual care and maintenance. Sanders, the owner, sold plots but maintained ownership of the area between the plots — a complicated ownership structure. Frances Tryon will take us on a virtual tour of Hillside Cemetery, featuring stories about the founding families of Reno and their connections to the history of our community, country, and world. She will briefly touch on the importance of saving historic cemeteries for future generation and their importance in understanding our past, present and the journey into our future.

• Date: Wednesday, January 17, 2018
• Time: 5:30 PM
• Location: Northwest Library, 2325 Robb Drive, Reno

Jeff Auer, American History and Humanities instructor and LGBTQ Scholar: History of LGBTQ Reno

Researchers of LGBTQ history in the United States have focused predominantly on major cities such as San Francisco and New York City. This focus has led researchers to overlook a rich tradition of LGBTQ communities and individuals in small to mid-sized American cities that date from at least the late nineteenth century and throughout the twentieth century. Reno is one of many examples of a small but thriving LGBTQ community from this time period. As far back as 1882, Reno had an LGBTQ presence, which Jeff will cover through the Great Recession, including the history of the Reno Gay Rodeo and its effects on the world.

• Date: Sunday, January 28, 2018
• Time: 1:30 PM
• Location: Sierra View Library, 4001 South Virginia in Reno Town Mall

Dana Munkelt: Truckee Meadows Irrigation Ditches

Did you know there are 9 hand-dug irrigation ditches still operating from the Truckee River in Reno? From short ones for the hydroelectric plants at Verdi, Fleisch, and Washoe, to the big one, the Steamboat Ditch, more than 30 miles long. Most have access along at least part of their routes, winding through suburbs and golf courses, north past Kiley Ranch and south to Steamboat Hot Springs. Come to a talk about the history of these water channels and how they have survived today.

• Date: Wednesday, February 21, 2018
• Time: 5:30 PM
• Location: Northwest Library, 2325 Robb Drive, Reno

Edan Strekal, Project Archivist, Special Collections, University of Nevada, Reno: Reno Chinatown

Reno, Nevada, like other mining and railroad towns in the American West, had a Chinatown that originated with the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad. The Sacramento-to-Reno section of the Central Pacific Railroad was completed in May 1868 and the first train traveled the route on June 18, 1868. The displaced Chinese laborers were paid off and left along the tracks. In Reno, they built a bare-wood shantytown along the Truckee River out of any available material. First Street between Virginia and Center streets became Chinatown. Reno's Chinese population existed along the periphery of the larger white community for nearly 40 years, although Chinatown burned down and was relocated several times.

• Date: Sunday, February 25, 2018
• Time: 1:30 PM
• Location: Sierra View Library, 4001 South Virginia in Reno Town Mall

Debbie Hinman, HRPS FootPrints Editor and HRC Commissioner: A Tale of Two Cities

Historian, author, walking tour guide and Reno expert, Debbie Hinman will present "A Tale of Two Cities, Virginia City and Reno." It's an overview of the beginnings of Nevada and the two significant early towns, Virginia City and Reno, and the symbiotic relationship between the two. Starting with the events that brought these early Nevada towns into existence, we learn how their survival depended on coexisting.

• Date: Wednesday, March 21, 2018
• Time: 5:30 PM
• Location: Northwest Library, 2325 Robb Drive, Reno

Kelly Rigby and Joyce Cox: Flick Ranch

In 1857, George F. Stone and Charles C. Gates opened a trading post east of Reno on the Truckee River and in 1860 erected a toll bridge crossing the river, known as Stone and Gates Crossing. By 1862, George Alt purchased the property for a ranch. George Mapes, grandfather of Charlie Mapes of the Mapes Hotel, bought the property in 1918. Margaret Flick and family bought the property from Mrs. C. W. Mapes in 1941. The ranch house was built in 1942 and purchased by the Reno Catholic Diocese in 1948 to become the first Bishop Manogue High School. In 1958, the Brothers of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary moved into the house using it as their monastery for the next 39 years. In 1997, SageWind opened an adolescent substance abuse treatment center; in 2002, they became Bristlecone Family Resources. The Truckee River Flood Project bought the ranch house and property in 2007 planning to terrace the land to reduce flooding, requiring demolition of the ranch house. Kelly Rigby, President of the Flick Ranch Project, is attempting to save the Flick ranch house from demolition.

• Date: Sunday, March 25, 2018
• Time: 1:30 PM
• Location: Sierra View Library, 4001 South Virginia in Reno Town Mall