If we could turn back the clock 100 years and peer into the life of Fallon at the end of November 1924, what might we find? We will never have a complete picture, of course, as time sweeps away most of the unpublished bits and pieces of the past that make up the real story. We’re left with what remains in history books and public records. Nevertheless, out of curiosity, I opened the pages of the November and December 1924 “Fallon Eagle” and “Fallon Standard” newspapers, which are stored in the archives of the Churchill County Museum and Archives, to see what I could learn.
What did I find? Way too much to cover in this column, but I will take a stab at it, with the caveat that what I have selected to write about is selective based on my very personal relationship with the material I read.
Much of the front page of both papers was taken up by optimistic reportage of the Newlands Project and the success of the past agricultural year. Full-length articles covered turkey production and sales, honey exports, the demand for Fallon-grown celery, and experiments in winter head lettuce production. A small article proposed that innovative use might be made of the mountains of turkey feathers resulting from all the turkey picking…by manufacturing turkey feather dusters. Mining news was second in scope. New discoveries of silver-lead ore at Chalk Mountain were announced by the headline, “The Boom is On!” It was also reported that mercury mines near Ione had shipped 2 tons of quicksilver by Ione Stage to Fallon.
The economic news was educational, but the ads were captivating. On the eve of the Christmas Season in 1924, the list of goods for sale in our small rural place was remarkable. The “Eagle” touted, “Fallon Business Houses Show Splendid Christmas Spirit. No Need to Shop Out of Town.” At the I.H. Kent Santa Claus Toy Shop, one could choose from a variety of dolls (30 cents to $7.00) or wagons ($3.50 to $11.75) or buy a set of blocks ($.75). At Gray Reid Company, “Boudoir slippers” for her cost $1.25. At Saunders Smart Shop, an all-leather boot for him cost $6. Laveaga’s offered boxes of candy, books, cards, and Christmas wrappings and trimmings. Morris and Loring drug store offered panaceas for Christmas overeating.
People then, as well as now, loved entertainment. Fallon had two movie houses, the Rex Theater and the Palace Theater. The theaters took out promotional ads, but the papers also presented the movie lineups as news. An upcoming showing of “The City That Never Sleeps” would deliver a “new Twist in the flapper-and-jazz films with Mother-love as the theme…filled with heart throbs, thrills, comedy, lavish clothes and settings.” An actor named “Hoot” Gibson was featured in “Broadway or Bust.” Newspaper readers were urged to view this “riding romance” wherein “thrill follows thrill in the sensational romance of the cow country.” My personal favorite was the synopsis of “Galloping Gallagher,” wherein a horse named Silver King was trained to throw a blanket over himself and thereafter wanted a blanket thrown over him wherever he roamed.
And now, to the story of the month as it unfolded in the local November news, 1924. The Churchill County High School football team was on a path to winning the state championship title, having won victory after victory due in no small part to a remarkably talented quarterback whom I will call “the player.” Following a regional championship game with Yerington, which Fallon won, the principal of CCHS received a phone call from the principal of YHS, who alleged that “the player” was at least 21 years old and playing illegally. The Fallon principal, George McCracken, investigated and discovered that “the player” was, indeed, 21, not 17 as he had claimed. McCracken immediately withdrew his team from competition. The whole town mourned. In a letter to the newspaper, McCracken stated that while he wasn’t exonerating “the player,” he felt that “the player” had been an honorable student at CCHS and believed that he was acting for the good of the school.
Be sure to visit the Churchill County Museum and Archives and view the new exhibit, “Green Energy in Churchill County.” And while you’re there, think about the history of our place and send your own story to [email protected].
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