Notable Nevadan
» People Rajan Zed
May/June 2013
In February, Northern Nevada clergy belonging to various religions and denominations organized a reception in honor of interfaith leader and Hindu statesman Rajan Zed in Reno. Sparks Mayor Geno R. Martini, who presided, garlanded Zed on the occasion.
Zed, who is president of the Universal Society of Hinduism and Director Interfaith Relations of Nevada Clergy Association, was invited to participate in the prestigious World Economic Forum in November organized by a Geneva-based (Switzerland) international organization, which brought together about 500 global and regional business leaders, heads of state and government and ministers, as well as leaders from media, academia,…
» People Jones-ing for Lake Tahoe
March/April 2013
Dewitt Jones and his younger brother Terry have, in many ways, conquered the world. In his younger years, Dewitt bypassed Harvard Business School to join an adventurous group that kayaked more than 1,000 miles up the coast of Japan. He later lived—more like camped—for a year in Yosemite National Park, researching for books and films he would produce about the life of John Muir.
You can imagine the people he met and the scenery he explored in his two decades as a photographer for National Geographic, from 1972 to ’92. There were such daring assignments as a chopper…
» People Wayne Burke
January February 2013
Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe
July 16, 1974 – October 28, 2012
Just months after his appointment by Governor Brian Sandoval to the Nevada Commission on Tourism, Pyramid Lake Tribal Chairman Wayne Burke passed away unexpectedly on Sunday, October 28, 2012. Burke was the first Native American appointed to the 11-member commission since its creation in 1983.
The 38-year-old Burke was elected to the Pyramid Lake Tribal Council in 2010 and as Tribal Chairman the following year. A champion for the wellbeing and longevity of the lake that has supported his people for generations, Burke leveraged his role in…
» People Ross Miller
November/December 2012
Secretary of State Ross Miller won the 2010 election with more than 53 percent of the popular vote; his closest competition came in at 37 percent. But even that convincing of a win pales in comparison to the victory over his latest opponent.
In addition to being the State of Nevada’s third-highest ranking official, Miller is a mixed martial arts fighter, and in his first—and he says only—bout on August 18, the 6-foot-4, 203-pound politician won a mere 30 seconds into the fight’s second round.
We caught up with Miller in September during a workout at Reno’s…
» People Steven Jackson
September/October 2012
It’s hard to imagine Steven Jackson looking small next to his football peers. But that was the case, he says, before he hit his growth spurt at age 16—and opposing defenses have struggled to tackle him ever since.
Listed at 6-foot-2, 240 pounds on his ESPN.com Player Profile, the can’t-miss power running back known for his long dreadlocks has amassed 60 touchdowns and more than 12,000 all-purpose yards in his stellar eight-year career with the St. Louis Rams. Jackson is 907 rushing yards shy of the 10,000-yard mark, a feat that only 26 players…
» People Marshall Ulrich
July/August 2012
In 2008, at age 57, ultramarathoner, adventure runner, and mountaineer Marshall Ulrich ran 3,063 miles from San Francisco to New York City in a record 52 days. Slightly more than 400 miles of that journey were spent traversing “The Loneliest Road in America,” Nevada’s U.S. Highway 50. We recently caught up with Ulrich (figuratively, of course) to learn about his impressions of the Silver State and inquire about his next desert dash.
Q: In your 2008 record-setting cross-country run, you spent six days running across Nevada. All told, how was your time…
» People Tony Hsieh
May/June 2012
In 1999, at the age of 24, Tony Hsieh (pronounced “Shay”) sold the internet advertising cooperative LinkExchange, which he co-founded, to Microsoft for $265 million. He then joined the upstart online shoe and apparel shop Zappos.com—then based in San Francisco—as an advisor and investor, eventually becoming CEO and helping build it into the $1.2 billion company that sold to Amazon.com in 2009.
The company moved its headquarters to Henderson in 2004 and is set to move to downtown Las Vegas’ former city hall next year. With the move, Hsieh takes the same…
» People Jim Marsh
March/April 2012
It’s Saturday morning, and Jim Marsh is discussing business with his staff at Jim Marsh Automotive (a Kia-Mitsubishi-Suzuki dealership) in northwest Las Vegas. This is “game day” in the car business, when most sales are made.
You wouldn’t know it given his entrepreneurial success, but this is an atypical beginning to the weekend for Marsh, who refers to his age as “north of 70.” Instead, he is often bound for rural Nevada to relax and enjoy the history of the Silver State.
You’d have to look hard to find anyone who loves Nevada as much as Marsh, who has…
» People Mike Pegram
January/February 2012
There was a time in Mike Pegram’s life that he and his friends would unwind at lovely Lake Tahoe. Whether it was boating, fishing, or golfing, Pegram relished it, but he also felt his buddies were missing out on a lesser-known Nevada gem. “I always gravitated to Minden and Gardnerville,” he says. “Carson Valley is one of the most beautiful places in the world—the quaintness of the valley, the character of the people—it’s the way the West should be.”
This was the early 1980s, when Pegram lived in Sacramento but was becoming more and more smitten with Carson…
» People Mark Twain
November/December 2011
In a very real way—tossed with a healthy dose of ironic hyperbole—Mark Twain, the writer, legendary curmudgeon, social commentator, and humorist—was born in Nevada. While it is a historical fact that Samuel Langhorne Clemens was born on November 30, 1835 in Florida, Missouri, the nom de plume for the man many claim is the greatest of American authors was first used in February 1863 in Virginia City.
Clemens had come to Nevada to find his fortune, whether it came from silver, timber, or political largesse. Had these ventures not failed spectacularly, Mark Twain may never have been born,…
» People Ferminia Sarras
September/October 2011
Her gaze is steady and frank. Her hands are sure at their task, as she has done this many times before. Her gear has been stacked and is being wrapped expertly in canvas into a pack she will soon hoist on her back.
It’s early in Luning, 1901. The sun has just begun to touch the Garfield Hills to the west, a rugged up thrust of multi-hued rock with stern outcroppings, strange curves, and whorls of sedimentary layers. Colors emerge in the first rays of light: tan, chocolate, rosy blushes, and drops of blood red; stains of amber…
» People cultural guardians
July/August 2011
During a lunch conversation with Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe elders at the senior center in Nixon, Editor Matthew B. Brown and I hear the all-too-familiar lament of older generations the world over: The youth are letting our traditions and culture die. “My granddaughter won’t even eat Cui-ui fish!” says one exasperated elder. This revelation is particularly poignant, as the girl, like her grandmother, is a Pyramid Lake Paiute, or Cui-ui Ticcuta—which translates to “Cui-ui eater.”
Such grief at the loss of indigenous cultures isn’t isolated to our lunchtime companions. It is a global epidemic…
» People Waddie Mitchell
May/June 2011
The Nevada Arts Council is proud to honor cowboy poet Bruce “Waddie” Mitchell, from Spring Creek, with the 2012 Nevada Heritage Award. Nevada Heritage awardees are among our state’s living cultural treasures. They embody the highest level of artistic achievement in their work and the highest levels of service in their communities and in their commitment to ensuring that their traditions stay strong.
Mitchell was nominated by the Western Folklife Center and supported by letters from his community of Elko, as well as the community of cowboy and western poets. “Waddie Mitchell has become…
» People Paul Sebesta
March/April 2011
Almost four years ago, Paul Sebesta decided to get to know Nevada a little better—OK, a lot better. To accomplish this, he set out to visit every historic marker in the state—all 267 of them.
From easy-to-find markers such as number seven in Dayton and number 30 near the courthouse in downtown Reno, to off-the-beaten-track markers such as number 158 on State Route 266 at the site of the former mining camp of Palmetto, Sebesta would eventually see them all. You have no doubt seen the large Nevada-shaped markers scattered around along Nevada’s highways, in town centers, and…
» People Q&A with Governor Brian Sandoval
January/February 2011
Extended Online Version
If you talk to Brian Sandoval long enough you realize that his politician persona belies a man whose core is as Nevadan as they come. He graduated from University of Nevada, Reno and is for all intents and purposes a lifelong Nevada resident. He has made cutting down a Christmas tree in rural Nevada an annual family tradition. He fishes and hikes in the mountains of Northern Nevada. He’s a husband and a family man, and his campaign that won him the Nevada Governorship was on the strength of listening to state business leaders and…
» People Adam Bradley
September/October 2010
Adam Bradley, 38, is what is called a thru-hiker. A pioneer in the relatively unknown sport of fastpacking (a seemingly masochistic union of backpacking and trail running), he holds the current speed record on the 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail at a mere 65 days, nine hours, 58 minutes, and 47 seconds—21 hours faster than the previous record. While substantially shorter in distance than this transcontinental adventure, Bradley recently underwent a Nevada trek of far greater significance.
In the energy-hungry world in which we live, people rarely take the time to think of what it takes to power our homes,…
» People Madeleine Pickens
July/August 2010
It all began with a John Wayne movie.
While she herself has an exotic background—born in Kirkuk, Iraq to a British father and a Lebanese mother, Madeleine Pickens grew up in various locales around the world—it was America’s Wild West heritage that captured her imagination. After going to the then-British Bahamas in 1966, she arrived in the United States in 1969 on a green card, later becoming an American citizen and eventually a resident of Dallas.
When asked what attracted her to America, she is effusive. “Oh, gosh! Watching all the American movies—John Wayne and cowboys—oh, it was so…
» People Gary & Kathwren Jenkins
May/June 2010
Gary and Kathwren Jenkins have been painting a long time—roughly a century combined. The Carson City pair is best known as the hosts of the popular PBS television series, “The Beauty of Oil Painting.” The two broke into the art world in the 1960s and ’70s. The couple met in 1980, each already laying claim to impressive résumés as artists. During the ’80s and ’90s the pair continued to share their passion for painting through teaching, instructional videos, art books, and “The Jenkins Art Studio,” which also aired on PBS.
The pair’s work can be found in numerous…
» People Julia Wells
March/April 2010
Julia Wells’ story starts like something from a Hollywood tragedy—a child from a broken home, abused and molested, desperately searching for acceptance, turning to alcohol, and fighting with depression. But Wells’ story is, in fact, anything but a tragedy.
The 40-year Nevada resident found strength in religion and fought through these afflictions. Her faith guided her through cancer, poverty, and the loss of four loved ones in a mere fortnight. When Wells’ husband of 30 years, Roger, was himself diagnosed with cancer, she was inspired to write about her struggles and redemption through religion.
Blessed Be is…
» People John Jay Lee
January/February 2010
In August 2008 Senator John Jay Lee of Clark County Senate District 1 (North Las Vegas) was diagnosed with cancer in his spine, neck, and head. Over the following months of radiation treatment, Lee, 54, lost his hair and about 70 pounds. His appearance changed so significantly that he was almost refused admittance to the Legislature at the start of the 2009 Legislative Session.
In the summer of 2009, Lee came across the July/August issue of Nevada Magazine, specifically a backpacking story entitled “King of the Crests.” “That story inspired me to fight,” he says. “I told myself, ‘If…
» People Helen Weimer
November/December 2009
Extended Online Version
Helen Wiemer always wanted to be in charge. Didn’t matter what she was in charge of, she just knew she’d be in charge. After a decades-spanning career in retail management, Wiemer has the ultimate in-charge job: she runs the Governor’s Mansion.
And she does it well. Nonprofit groups from around the state use the mansion for hundreds of events a year, morning, noon, and night. Wiemer has served as mansion coordinator for many of the past 20 years. “Governor Bob Miller and his wife Sandy were my first administration,” she says, having spent eight…
» People Q&A with John Ascuaga
September/October 2009
Extended Online Version
John Ascuaga, president of John Ascuaga’s Nugget in Sparks and one of the most recognized Basques in Nevada, has emphasized care, quality, and integrity since the casino-hotel opened as a 60-seat coffee shop in March 1955. The mantra has proved successful for the 54-year-old property, which features eight award-winning restaurants.
Ascuaga was born in Caldwell, Idaho, in January 1925. His father, Jose, was a Basque sheepherder from Spain who came to America in 1914. Jose and his wife, Marina, had four children. In 1952, Ascuaga met an important figure in his life: restaurateur Dick Graves.…
» People Jerome “Little” Anthony Gourdine
July/August 2009
Extended Online Version
In 1957, Jerome Anthony Gourdine, lead vocalist for The Duponts, joined a Doo-wop group called The Chesters. They changed their name to The Imperials, and the rest is rock ‘n’ roll history. Throughout the years, several members of the group have come and gone, but the lineup of Gourdine, Sammy Strain, Ernest Wright, and Clarence Collins is considered the classic and definitive Imperials. These are the singers that are the best known and had most of the groups’ 1960s hits, such as “Tears on My Pillow” (1958), “I’m on the Outside (Looking In)” (1964), and…
» People Rick Gunn
May/June 2009
Technically, Rick Gunn’s journey began (and ended) on the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. Philosophically, it began much sooner, when his dad took the training wheels off his purple Schwinn Stingray, and he discovered the freedom of pedaling. “I found something in that simple act of motion, atop that simple machine of rubber and steel, that brought me back to myself,” Gunn told an audience of about 100 at Reno’s McKinley Arts Center in March. The center was one of many stops on a tour in which Gunn shared images from his recent three-year, 25,811-mile bicycle journey around…
» People John Harrah
March/April 2009
In Nevada the name Harrah is associated with casino success. Equally synonymous, albeit less known, is the family’s tie to motor sports. Whether it’s on a snowmobile, motorcycle, or 730-horsepower V-10 Dominator desert racer, John Harrah loves going fast. “You can compare it to jumping out of an airplane,” he says. “But you have that rush for hours.”
In November 2008, Harrah and his racing team, Speed Technologies, won the SCORE Baja 1000, considered by many the holy grail of desert racing. “[Winning Baja] was huge,” he says. The team holds top finishes in a plethora of other…
» People Q&A with Katharine Jefferts Schori
January/February 2009
Extended Online Version
Katharine Jefferts Schori has touched many lives, and given the unassuming way she’s acquired her leadership positions in the church, one might say it was her destiny. While enjoying a successful career as an oceanographer, she had a fellow Episcopal Church member ask if she’d ever thought of becoming a priest. Then another. And finally another. “It was a shocking enough experience that I paid attention,” Jefferts Schori says.
Some years later, while on sabbatical, she traveled the Western states, and one of her many stops happened to be
» People Q&A with Willy Vlautin
November/December 2008
Extended Online Version
In 1996, the now-defunct No Depression magazine announced that Willy Vlautin, co-founder of the Richmond Fontaine band, had “relocated to Portland from the musical wasteland of Reno, Nevada.” Although the Reno native has not returned to the Biggest Little City to live, the Northern Nevada burg is far from a wasteland to Vlautin given how it has shaped his career.
More than a decade after he left Nevada, Vlautin’s music has received high acclaim for its unique alternative-country sound, and his back-to-back novels, The Motel Life and…
» People Q&A with Barbara F. Vucanovich
September/October 2008
Extended Online Version
Barbara F. Vucanovich, the first Nevada woman to be elected to federal office, was an “Army brat.” Born at Fort Dix, New Jersey, in 1921, she spent her early years at various Army posts where her father, Tom Farrell, was stationed. Her school years were spent in Albany, New York.
Elected in 1982, Vucanovich was the first woman member of Congress from Nevada and the first female to represent the Second Congressional District. Vucanovich served on the defunct Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs, important to Nevada because it decided public policy on resource issues,…
» People Q&A with Rossi Ralenkotter
July/August 2008
Extended Online Version
If you were to name Las Vegas’ most influential movers and shakers, Rossi Ralenkotter, president and CEO of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), has to be on the short list. The 61-year-old Ralenkotter recently marked 35 years as an executive with the tourism agency, four years as CEO. The quasi-governmental agency hopes to attract 39.8 million visitors during 2008—and keep them happy.
Ralenkotter’s story is not all about crunching numbers. He and his agency invented the catch phrase, “What happens here, stays here,” which has become a worldwide phenomenon. The humorous…
» People Q&A with Paul Laxalt
May/June 2008
Extended Online Version
Senator Paul Laxalt was raised on politics. Born in Reno in 1922, his family later moved to Carson City. Laxalt’s father herded sheep in the Basque tradition, and his mother ran a popular restaurant, the French Hotel, near the U.S. Mint (now the Nevada State Museum, six blocks from the state Capitol). It was at the restaurant that the youngster was captivated by conversations between Senator Patrick McCarran and his political cronies.
Laxalt, a republican, served as Carson City’s district attorney and later was elected Nevada lieutenant governor. He became governor in 1967,…
» People Q&A with Wally Cuchine
March/April 2008
Extended Online Version
We Nevadans are proud of our rugged rural landscape. Others say “desert” while we describe the rainbow of colorful rocks and invigorating aroma of sagebrush.
We’re a proud people, but none more so than Wally Cuchine, a longtime Eureka resident. Cuchine is the unofficial cheerleader of rural Nevada, singing the praises of small-town living. Officially he is the director of Eureka County Facilities. He runs the Eureka Opera House and Eureka Sentinel Museum and is serving his 12th year on the…
» People Q&A with Linda Dufurrena
January/February 2008
A fiery Nevada sunset, horses galloping through a glistening snow-covered field, and a lamb “kissing” a rooster on the beak are just a few unique moments Nevada photographer Linda Dufurrena has captured in a manner that is as exciting as if you are seeing it in real time.
Dufurrena lives on a sheep and cattle ranch 75 miles northwest of Winnemucca between Pine Forest Range and the Jackson Mountains with her husband, Alex (Buster), their three sons and daughters-in-law, and six grandchildren. Dufurrena and her husband are the first generation to own the ranch, although Alex Dufurrena Sr. immigrated…
» People Q&A with Don and Carol Shanks
November/December 2007
Extended Online Version
Don and Carol Shanks of Pioche describe themselves as “gross underachievers.” Hardly. The couple is submerged in activities, projects, and committees that promote their rural economy. They are involved with the Pioche and Greater Lincoln County chambers of commerce, Pioneer Territory, Lincoln Communities Action Team (LCAT), Lincoln County Trails Coalition, the Lincoln County Golf Course, and the Pioche Heritage Plays.
“The Shankses are invaluable to the rural tourism effort for the State of Nevada,” says Larry Friedman, Nevada Commission on Tourism’s (NCOT) deputy director of sales and industry partners. “They give unselfishly and…
» People Q&A with Guy Rocha
September/October 2007
Extended Online Version
Nevada State Archivist Guy Louis Rocha is passionate about uncovering the truth. In addition to his two books and many articles and book reviews, Rocha has written the “Historical Myth a Month” column for the Sierra Sage for 11 years—the column appears on the Nevada State Library and Archives Web site, nevadaculture.org—and his biweekly myth-busting column has appeared in the Reno Gazette-Journal since 2000. Rocha is in his sixth year as a rotating host for the “High Desert Forum” on KUNR 88.7 FM, Reno’s National Public Radio station.
California born, Rocha…
» People Q&A with Bobby Julich
July/August 2007
Extended Online Version
Reno resident Bobby Julich’s Tour de France résumé epitomizes the topsy-turvy nature of professional cycling. In 1998, he stood on the podium after finishing third overall in the world’s most prestigious road race. Last year, a horrific crash robbed Julich of an opportunity to achieve his lifelong goal, to win a stage of “Le Tour” and wear the famed yellow jersey.
From July 7 to 29, the 35-year-old Julich, a Team CSC rider who earned a bronze medal in the 2004 Olympic individual time trial, hopes to compete in what could be his last Tour…