Chautauqua Brings Churchill County History to Life

Five performers brought figures from Churchill County’s past to life Saturday, Sept. 26, during an America 250 Chautauqua program presented by the Churchill County Museum in conjunction with the Fallon Theatre.

The program used historical portrayals to tell the stories of J.W. Flood, Minnie Blair, the Frey family, Margaret “Peg” Wheat, and Georgie Sicking. Churchill County Museum Director Mel Glover helped present the program.

Glenn Perazzo portrayed John Walton “J.W.” Flood, whose history is closely tied to the Fallon Theatre. Flood was the entrepreneur behind the theater, which opened as the Rex Theater in 1920 and was renamed the Fallon Theater in 1930.

Connie Heath portrayed Minnie Blair, known as the “Bird Lady,” who became a successful Fallon poultry farmer. Blair raised turkeys and hundreds of laying hens and shipped birds to markets across the country. She also helped raise money for a transformer to provide electricity to the Fallon Indian Reservation. After leaving the turkey business, Blair opened the Spudnut Shop in Fallon.

Ernie Schank presented the story of Joseph Frey Jr. and his descendants, recounting the successes and hardships experienced by the family. The portrayal connected the family’s early history with later generations farming in Churchill County’s Newlands Project.

Pam Duarte portrayed Margaret “Peg” Wheat, whose interests ranged across archaeology, geology, paleontology, hydrology, photography, and the study of Nevada’s Indigenous cultures. Although Wheat left the University of Nevada before earning a degree, she received an honorary Doctor of Science from the university in 1980. She was honored as an outstanding Nevada woman writer in 1969.

Connie Thomas portrayed Sicking, a Nevada rancher and cowboy poet whose work chronicled ranch life and the experiences of women in the West. Sicking participated in the first Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko in 1985.

Following the portrayals, audience members were invited to ask the performers questions about the historical figures they represented.