mint edition€¦ · the curator 10:00 am friday, february 22nd: historic coin press no. 1...
TRANSCRIPT
IN THIS ISSUE:
1. New Exhibit
2. Message From the Director
3. Anna Bailey Mills
4. Frances Humphrey Lecture Series
5. Calendar of Events
6. Clothing & Textile Day Camp
7. Welcome New Members
and Editor’s Note
8. Contact the Museum
Above: Bodie, CA, 1908
Left: Apollonia Morrill, Chinese Camp (stump),
2015–2018; © Apollonia Morrill
Chinese woodcutters labored in the piñon
-juniper forests between Aurora, Nevada
and Bodie and Masonic, California at the
turn of the twentieth century to provide
those mining towns with cordwood and
charcoal for homes and businesses. The
upcoming exhibition Fueling the Boom:
Chinese Woodcutters in the Great Basin
explores the lives of these immigrants and
their woodcutting camps through
historical and archaeological records, as
interpreted by Professor Emily Dale of
Northern Arizona University and
Professor Emerita Sue Fawn Chung of
UNLV, and through the fine art
photography of Apollonia Morrill. These
mining towns, like most nineteenth
century Great Basin mining camps, were
fueled and powered by piñon wood and
charcoal, and the Chinese woodcutters
were among the estimated 2,000 men
living in 150 wood camps supplying these
mining camps.
The exhibition is arranged around five
major themes: self-sufficiency in a harsh
environment, making a living, community
and recreation, health and health issues,
and finally, food. In many ways the lives
New Exhibit to Open in February
Mint Edition
of these Chinese Camp woodcutters were like those
of Chinese loggers who worked elsewhere in the
Great Basin, such as the Truckee and Dayton areas.
The artifacts in the exhibition were collected by
Robert Morrill and the late congressman Jim Santini
in the 1960s and 70s at nine Chinese woodcutting
camps in Mineral County, Nevada, high – over 7,000
feet – in the mountains in dry piñon-juniper
forests. The Chinese loggers lived in cabins made of
piñon logs, with roofs of thatched willow covered
Photos: Mina Stafford
Message from the Director
What an exciting time to be part of the
Nevada State Museum! In just one year
we look forward to marking the 150th
anniversary of the opening of the U.S.
Branch Mint in Carson City in January
of 2020, and the first coins to be
minted on Coin Press No. 1 in
February of 2020. But heads up! The
“Mint 150” celebration begins
immediately as we commemorate the
press’s 1868 arrival, and the 1869
appointment of Abraham Curry as the
Mint’s first superintendent. Look for
our new Mint 150 program series that
will be held on the third Saturday of
each month where we focus on a
fascinating aspect of Mint history. How
grateful the NSM staff is for all of you,
our members, volunteers, and Friends,
and this opportunity to share once-in-a-
lifetime events with you celebrating
Nevada’s beloved Mint!
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with soil, which were set into the hillsides. They
worked twelve months of the year through the
heat of summer and snow of the winter, using the
same types of axes and saws as other North
American loggers. Cutting occurred in spring,
summer and fall, and transportation of wood and
charcoal by muleback over the mountains eight
miles or more to the mining towns took place all
year, but particularly in the winter. The piñon
forests have regrown, but the thousands of
hundred-year-old cut stumps remaining in the hills
bear witness to the industry and hard work of
these Chinese wood cutters.
Among the interesting artifacts in the show are a
well-used inkstone, indicating that someone in the
camps (probably the headman or leader) was able
to read and write Chinese. The show also features
pottery bottles, jugs and jars used for importing
foodstuffs from China, opium containers and
paraphernalia, animal husbandry artifacts, axes and
saws, blacksmithing tools, and artifacts used for
amusement and games.
Accompanying the artifact collection are
photographs of the woodcutters’ camps taken by
Robert Morrill in the 1960s, as well as recent fine
art photographs of the sites and artifacts by his
daughter, Apollonia Morrill.
The exhibit will open to the public as part of our
Chinese New Year Celebration on February 9,
2019.
On December 15th we kicked off our 150th anniversary celebration of the Mint with the Coin Press Arrival party. We had a
special cake and cupcakes made by the Carson High Culinary Arts Program. We had guests from the 1860s and a busy day minting the new Abe Curry medallion.
Mint 150 Update
“Hauling wood on burros in Bodie, CA, 1908.” Photograph
by J. Holman Buck.
Courtesy of the Nevada Historical Society.
The Nevada State Museum, Carson City is
fortunate to hold over 230 lifelike taxidermy
mounts of Nevada birds. The collection began
with 115+ specimens obtained just before or
soon after the museum’s opening in 1941
(Accession # G-19). I would imagine many
people consider the art of taxidermy to be
practiced almost exclusively by men. It might
surprise them to know that our original bird
collection was created by a woman, Mrs. Anna
Bailey Mills.
Born in Minnesota, 10 October 1872, Anna
Bailey acquired her interest and skills in
studying nature at a young age. By her early
teens her older brother, Vernon Bailey, who
would become Chief Naturalist for the U.S.
Biological Survey, was collecting and preparing
animal specimens for noted biologists. In his
unpublished account of his family, he states
Anna “was my naturalist pupil and companion,
insisting on knowing all that I knew and
sometimes more.” He goes on to say “Anna,
now thirteen year old, was my constant
companion in trapping, hunting and making
specimens, and soon learned to skin and
prepare birds and mammals as rapidly and more
skillfully than I could . . . .” He considered her a
good wing-shot who could bring down a bird
“with the certainty of an experienced hunter.”
She continued to pursue these interests after
marriage to John S. Mills, starting a family, and
moving to homestead on the Sheckler District
of Fallon, Nevada. Her taxidermy skills are
evident in the specimens she prepared for the
museum. Some of these animals are still on
display. I have had them examined by birders,
research ornithologists, taxidermists, and
hunters and all agree they are quite good and
lifelike. Though over 75 years old, specimens
prepared by Anna Bailey Mills continue to be
enjoyed by our visitors to the Nevada State
Museum and be used in our displays and
education programs.
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by George Baumgardener, Ph.D.,
Curator of Natural History
A Unique Source for the Original Bird Collection at NSM
Left: Anna Bailey Mills.
Above: Female Greater Sage-Grouse (Centrocercus
urophasianus) and chicks, skillfully prepared by Mills,
Right: Anna Bailey Mills with her brother, Vernon Bailey.
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January 24, 2019 Bonanza King
by Gregory
Crouch
Gregory Crouch,
author of Bonanza
King: John Mackay
and the Battle Over the
Greatest Riches in the
American West, will discuss local legend John
Mackay, who got his start in the United States
as a destitute Irish immigrant brought here
when he was 9 years old. Mackay grew up in
New York City’s Five Points slum, came of
age amid the violent mayhem of the
California Gold Rush, and rose to the full
power of his manhood in the deep, rich, and
outrageously dangerous mines of the
Comstock Lode beneath Virginia City,
Nevada, the ultimate Old West boomtown.
Gregory Crouch is a writer who specializes in
adventurous and historic subjects. He is the
author of the Comstock epic, The Bonanza
King: John Mackay and the Battle Over the Greatest
Riches in the American West, the World War II
flying adventure China’s Wings: War, Romance,
Intrigue, and Adventure in the Middle Kingdom
During the Golden Age of Flight, and the
mountaineering memoir Enduring Patagonia.
Frances Humphrey Lecture Series Join us on the last Thursday of each month from 6:30 – 8:00 pm
Doors open at 6:00 pm; $8 for adults; free for museum members & ages 17 & under
Reserve a seat for each lecture 30 days in advance on our website events page:
nvculture.org/nevadastatemuseumcarsoncity/events. For more info: (775) 687-4810 ext. 243.
March 28, 2019 Women Artists of the Great Basin
by Mary Lee Fulkerson
Author Mary Lee
Fulkerson will present
some of the thirty-one
women artists scattered
over 200,000 miles
whose challenges
became opportunities
beyond their wildest
dreams. Opening their
studios and sharing their lives, each artist reveals
how this vast Great Basin brings challenge,
inspiration, and vision as they boldly move forward,
sometimes circling outside the conventional routes
and creating art as independent and authentic as the
land itself. They are indeed true originals, rooted in
a land of unique geography, a stew of cultures, and
stories like no other.
Mary Lee Fulkerson is a fourth generation
Nevadan. Her works have been shown in
numerous galleries and photographed for national
magazines. She is the author of Weavers of Tradition
and Beauty: Basketmakers of the Great Basin, with
photographer Kathleen Curtis. She lives in Reno,
Nevada. Women Artists of the Great Basin recently
received the Willa first place award in creative non-
fiction by Women Writing the West.
February 28, 2019 Boxcar Diplomacy by Jane Sweetland
Boxcar Diplomacy is about two trains that crossed
the Atlantic after WWII. “The Friendship Train”
sent by Americans to France in 1947 showcasing
American democracy with gifts of food. Fourteen
months later, in February of 1949, France
reciprocated with a “Merci Train” filled with
thousands of gifts of gratitude. This lecture will
take you back to the very beginning of the Cold
War, when America united in a gesture of
friendship designed to showcase what people living
in a free country could do without government
permission or support.
Jane Sweetland is a
former dean and
associate vice president
at California State
University Channel
Islands. She has
master’s degrees in
Counseling and Writing
and a doctorate in Education and has written three
books: The Other College Guide; Sons at War, and
Boxcar Diplomacy. She has taught English and
history and sailed with her husband and two
children in a small boat from Canada to the South
Pacific and from California to the Caribbean via
the Panama Canal. Jane has deep roots in Nevada.
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January 2019
Saturday, January 12th: Family Fun
Saturday: Beastly Encounters 10:00am-3:00pm
Saturday, January 19th: Mint 150: CC Below
Ground: Archeology at the Carson City Mint
by Gene Hattori, Ph.D. and Historic Coin
Press No. 1 Demonstrations 11:00 am-4:00
pm
Thursday, January 24th: Frances Humphrey
Lecture Series Bonanza King by Gregory
Crouch 6:30 pm-8:00 pm
Friday, January 25th: Behind-The-Scenes
Tours in Natural History and Anthropology
with the Curator 10:00 am
Friday, January 25th: Historic Coin Press
No. 1 Demonstrations 10:00 am-4:00 pm
February 2019
Saturday, February 9th:
Family Fun Saturday: Chinese
New Year 10:00 am-3:00 pm
Saturday, February 16th:
Mint 150: Steam-Powered
Machinery of the Carson City U.S. Mint By
Chris DeWitt and Historic Coin Press No. 1
Demonstrations 11:00 am-4:00 pm
Calendar of Events Check nvculture.org/nevadastatemuseumcarsoncity/events for more detailed information.
Friday, February 22nd: Behind-The-Scenes
Tours in Natural History and Anthropology with
the Curator 10:00 am
Friday, February 22nd: Historic Coin Press
No. 1 Demonstrations 10:00 am-4:00 pm
Monday & Tuesday, February 25th & 26th:
Day 1 & 2 of Spring Tour Guide Training
Thursday, February 28th: Frances Humphrey
Lecture Series Boxcar Diplomacy by Jane
Sweetland 6:30 pm-8:00 pm
March 2019
Monday & Tuesday, March 4th & 5th: Day 3
& 4 of Spring Tour Guide Training
Saturday, March 9th: Family Fun Saturday:
Build a Bird’s Nest 10:00 am-3:00 pm
Saturday, March 16th: Mint 150: Women
Workers at the Carson City U.S. Mint by Robert
Nylen and Historic Coin Press No. 1
Demonstrations 11:00 am-4:00 pm
Tuesday, March 19th: Museum Showcase:
presented by the Nevada Museum Association.
Free Day 8:30 am-4:30 pm
Thursday, March 28th: Frances Humphrey
Lecture Series Women Artists of the Great Basin
by Mary Lee Fulkerson 6:30 pm-8:00 pm
Congratulations to Mary Covington,
the museum’s new Registrar!
Ph
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: Je
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Friday, March 29th: Behind-The-Scenes Tours
in Natural History and Anthropology with the
Curator 10:00 am
Friday, March 29th: Historic Coin Press No. 1
Demonstrations 10:00 am-4:00 pm
Day camp is usually for children, but I participated in the first annual Historic Clothing and Textile Day Camp in Breckenridge, Colorado this past summer. It was a one day event sponsored by the Costume Society of America, Summit County Historical Society, Mather Archives and Breckenridge Heritage Alliance. Colleagues Vicki Berger, former Costume Curator at North Carolina history Museum, and Sally Queen, former Director of the Costume Design Center at Colonial Williamsburg, invited me to be the 3rd presenter in this one day camp.
Organizer Sally Queen noticed that her community needed help….how to develop a collections policy, how to co-ordinate collecting between institutions, how to identify textile fibers, and (my part) how to dress mannequins. So my husband, Jim and I flew to Denver and drove to Breckenridge, a beautiful historic and resort town in the high Rockies (altitude was over 10,000') and stayed with our hosts.
This one day camp drew over 35 participants from all parts of Colorado, and a few from Texas. I titled my presentation, “How to Dress a Mannequin: The Fun 6
Part” because as many of you know, it is anything BUT fun and can be very challenging! So, I brought many different types of padding materials (batting, organza, tulle, fine net) and I demonstrated how to start by matching up the waist of the garment with the waist of the form, padding as needed. Then I shared with them the quirky but incredibly functional way to use women’s pantyhose to fit over the form and secure the padding in place. They loved it!
It was a fun getaway and I appreciate being able to share our knowledge.
Day Camp by Jan Loverin, Curator of Clothing and Textiles
Left: Jan Loverin presenting at the Historic Clothing and
Textile Day Camp in Breckenridge, Colorado.
Below: Jan Loverin, Sally Queen, and Vicki Berger.
Photos by Jim Loverin
Thank You for enhancing your
support of the museum by
upgrading your membership level
7
Basic
David Adams Christine and Brad Bonhall Erin Cambra Sherry Carrillo Richard Coxon Daela Gibson Elizabeth J. Cameron and David Granish Clare Holland Mary Hofmann Bill Lawelllin Jim and Betts Markle Jack McGough Mr. Henry T. and Charlene Morita Ted Murphy Tamara Nance
Debborah L. Neddenriep James Nielsen Kathleen Plante Shaun and Emily Rahmeyer Phil and Cil Rivera Richard Robinson Bruce Scott Bill and Bonnie Stone Bill Underhill Chuck C. Underhill James R. Underhill Jeff Van Hatten Ashley Wiley Bill Wonderly Deborah Woodcock Ha Yang RongLiang Zhou
Welcome to Our Newest
Members of NSM
Family
Kevin and Sarah Hill Laura and Stony Tennant
Sustaining Robert Millar and Marguerite Weaver
by Mina Stafford, Curator of Education
2019 is a year that includes many interesting anniversaries. Everything from the 50th anniversary of the Apollo Moon Landing in July, the 70th anniversary of the arrival of the Merci Train in February, the 100th anniversary of the first flight over the Sierra Nevada in March and the 150th anniversaries of the completion of the Carson City Mint Building in December and the Transcontinental
Railroad in May. You can learn more about all of these things and many more by attending Tour Guide Training on Feb 25th, 26th and March 4th and 5th and the Frances Humphrey Lecture Series throughout the year.
To get more information about both of these programs contact Mina Stafford at (775)687-4810 ext. 243 [email protected] or visit our website at nvculture.org/nevadastatemuseumcarsoncity.
Editor’s Note
Did you know that some of the benefits
of your membership are invitations to
special events and exhibit openings at
the Nevada State Museum, Carson City?
Ph
oto
: N
ASA
775/687-4810
Fax 775/687-4168 nvculture.org/nevadastatemuseumcarsoncity
Myron Freedman
Museum Director, ext. 226
George Baumgardner,
Curator of Natural History, ext. 236
Nancy Clark
Membership Coordinator, ext. 224 [email protected]
Ray Geiser,
Exhibits Manager, ext. 252
Eugene M. Hattori,
Curator of Anthropology, ext. 230
Rich Parker,
Facility Supervisor, ext. 254
Jan Loverin,
Curator of Clothing and Textiles,
687-6173 [email protected]
Mary Covington,
Registrar, ext. 240
Robert Nylen,
Curator of History, ext. 239
Charmain Phillips,
Museum Store Manager and
Facility Use Coordinator, ext. 244
Mina Stafford
Curator of Education, ext. 243
Indian Hills Curatorial Center
775/687-3002
Marjorie Russell Clothing and Textile
Research Center
775/687-6173
Anthropology Resource Center
775/687-4810, ext. 229
Bretzlaff History Resource Center
775/687-4810, ext. 239 or 245
Natural History Resource Center
775/687-4810, ext. 236
CO
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CT
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MU
SEU
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The Nevada State Museum
in Carson City is an agency
of the Division of Museums
and History within the
Nevada Department of
Tourism & Cultural Affairs.
The museum engages
diverse audiences in
understanding and
celebrating Nevada’s
natural and cultural
heritage.
State of Nevada
Brian Sandoval
Governor
Nevada Department of
Tourism & Cultural Affairs
Brenda Nebesky
Interim Director
Division of Museums and
History
Peter Barton
Division Administrator
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The Friends of the
Nevada State Museum,
a 501(c)(3) private
nonprofit organization,
supports the museum
through volunteer
assistance, fundraising,
and advocacy. For
information contact
Dave Pierson, Chair at
The Nevada State
Museum publishes the
Mint Edition newsletter
for the purpose of
highlighting museum
exhibits, education
programs, special
events, and collection
activities.
The publication is
available online at
www.nvculture.org.
Museum members
receive the Mint Edition
as a benefit of
membership if they
provide an email
address.
Newsletter staff:
Mina Stafford,
Editor
Jeanette McGregor,
Design
Please address all
newsletter
communications to:
Mina Stafford
Nevada State Museum
600 North Carson Street
Carson City, Nevada
89701-4004
775/687-4810 ext. 243
Fax 775-687-4168 [email protected]