Silver City: This Town is Forever

Silver City, Nevada - This year, Lyon County (as a community and region) was named among the top ten in the national Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Culture of Health Prize competition. Last week a team with members from five different states and four different health policy organizations visited the Lyon County community to help RWJF understand the region’s unique cross-sector work to give all residents opportunities to lead their healthiest lives. If the Lyon County region is designated a Culture of Health Community - a national designation - there will be a ceremony at Princeton and extensive publicity through film, press releases, etc. Winners will be announced in October of 2018.

The team had time for a three hour tour of several initiatives that showed some of the Lyon County community’s work to become a “culture of health.” After the tour, they met in Dayton with twenty selected community members from throughout the region to attend a dinner discussion on the topic.

The next morning, the team met with several of the Lyon County area's denizens to discuss how Lyon County, as a community, is using cross-sector collaboration and commonly held goals and strategy plans to increase opportunities for health and wellness. Those attending the breakfast meeting included Lyon School Superintendent Wayne Workman; Lyon County Human Services Director Edrie LaVoie; Healthy Communities Coalition of Lyon and Storey Counties Director Wendy Madson; Lyon Juvenile Probation Chief Eric Smith; and Turning Point, Inc Director Deborah Loesch Griffin. I also attended as the Resident Artist Program in Silver City Director and organizer for Silver City’s annual children’s arts and science program.

I was delighted that the morning discussion was held on the Comstock at the lovely Silver City School House/community center. As the team and community leaders gathered for the early morning discussion, they asked questions about the tiny but mighty mountain town and its commitment to a healthy environment.

I explained that although this Lyon County town has its roots in underground mining in the 1800s, over the last fifty years locals have leveraged the town’s social capital and collaborated with regional, state and national groups to create a very different focus.

We Silver City folks take great pains to preserve our rich history, which began with gold rush mining of the 1800s. For instance in 2007, the Nevada State Historic Preservation Office officially recognized Ron Reno and the Town of Silver City “for a remarkable effort, donated to excavate and document the Old School House.” In May, 2008, the Board of Lyon County Commissioners passed a resolution congratulating the citizens and community of Silver City’s “contribution towards the quality of life in the community through the completion of the Schoolhouse and subsequent dedication of the State Historical Marker 264.”

Although we’re careful to preserve our town’s history, we also understand that early mining operations caused environmental contamination. Over the last fifty years, the townspeople have worked hard to transform the town.

Part of that fifty year transformation involved making sure that the County’s land use zoning reflected the town’s modern manifestation as a residential community rather than as an industrial site.

In 1986, the American Planning Association gave the Silver City Residents Association its Outstanding Citizen Contribution to Planning in Nevada award for its successful opposition to Nevex Gold Company’s open pit mine proposal. In that year and for many years before and afterward, Lyon County Commissioners agreed that the town was not to be used for open pit mining. With continual civic involvement from the folks of the town, the County Commissioners affirmed through Master Plans of the 1970s, 1980s and 2010 that Silver City was zoned as a residential community rather than as a spot for heavy industrial use such as modern pit mining.

But in 2014 a new set of Commissioners made a radical departure from the common sense of the last fifty years on this issue.

Silver City continues to strive to be a "community of health" even as it faces a whole group of Goliaths who are hostile to that goal. The town has continued to oppose open pit mining in and adjacent to the townsite where drilling, blasting, exploration and pit mining disturbs and distributes contaminated material from 19th century mining operations. Residents continue to preserve the things that make the town worth fighting for, cultivating an organic community garden, organizing monthly community dinners, celebrating outdoor activity (a local women's hiking club was featured recently by the Nevada Conservation League through photos), and hosting public programming in music, art, science and more at the town's outdoor performance stage, community center and park.

*First published as a column by Quest Lakes in the MVN in June 2018.

Here Come the Nazis

In elementary school, we were slowly introduced to the fact that Nazis once roamed the world, and that their ideas must never again take hold. In 5th grade, I recall writing a book report on The Diary of Anne Frank. Then in 7th grade, I remember being given an assignment to create an illustration for The Hiding Place. The book was written by Corrie ten Boom, a Dutch woman who ended up in the concentration camp Ravensbrück for hiding Jewish people in her home.

Movies and television shows I grew up with also reinforced the idea that Nazis and their goals were reprehensible. There were re-runs of Hogan’s Heroes, and old films like The Sound of Music and Casablanca. Movies that came out when I was a teen, such as The Blues Brothers (1980) and Indiana Jones (1981), included scenes celebrating the rejection of Nazis and their propaganda. One of my favorite scenes in The Blues Brother’s ends with John Belushi muttering, “I hate Illinois Nazis.”


By middle school we understood that the Nazi goal of preserving a “pure” or “master” Nordic or Aryan race led to a genocidal campaign against Jewish people. We learned that this goal included imprisoning, brutalizing and murdering those from many other groups as well– Roma people (“Gypsies”), people who were gay, people with disabilities, Jehovah’s Witnesses, etc. Among the first to suffer at the hands of the Nazis were the Communists, Socialists, and trade unionists who opposed Nazi ideology. By high school we understood that Nazism was a form of fascism that fed off extreme nationalism.

Jump ahead to 2016 when the New York Times runs a puff piece on the fashion make-over of “white nationalists” (neo-Nazis) like Richard Spencer.

By 2017 propagandists like Spencer were booking lectures promoting white nationalistm at public universities like Auburn University in Alabama. The argument that the “real Nazis” are the people opposed to giving white nationalist ideology any quarter gained popularity on social media.

In 2017 “white nationalists” (KKK, neo-Nazis, etc.) organized online and descended upon Charlottesville, Virginia where cell phone video captured them chanting things like “Jews Will Not Replace Us”, and chasing and beating women and black men. One man was filmed literally shooting into the crowd of protesters (miraculously not hitting anyone). That gathering ended with a neo-Nazi running down more than a dozen people who were protesting against fascist and racist ideology. Five were critically injured; one woman died. The attack was captured on film by bystanders. Even after viewing that, a growing segment of the U.S. proclaimed that “both sides” were at fault and simply needed to learn to get along.

Today, there are a number of self-described Nazis and white supremacists running for state and national office in the U.S. (for instance, do an online search for Arthur Jones of the American Nazi Party, or Corey Stewart, or Russell Walker).

Certainly, there have been neo-Nazi groups in the U.S. for many decades –there were even references to them in popular films. The difference was that when the Blues Brothers ran a parade of “Illinois Nazis” off of a bridge in the 1980 movie, audiences cheered.

Back then, we knew Nazis were not “very fine people.”

*First published as a column by Quest Lakes in the MVN in July of 2018.

A History Rhyme

Television political commentator Tucker Carlson recently said of the Trump Adminstration’s policy of separating immigrant children from their parents at the southern border, "A lot of people yelling at you on TV don't even have kids, so don't for a second let them take moral high ground. Their goal is to change your country forever." Carlson’s claim was about his frequent lament that demographics in the U.S. are changing. He and his fans fear that in thirty years “non-Hispanic whites” may no longer be the majority. In response to his statement, someone on Twitter noted, “Tucker Carlson came close to saying the 14 words.”

I wasn’t sure what was meant by “the 14 words,” so I researched the term a bit. White supremacist David Lane, the leader of the terrorist organization The Order, coined the term while he was serving a 190-year sentence in federal prison for his role in several armed robberies and the murder of Jewish talk show host Alan Berg. The 14 words are, “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children." Lane also used the phrasing in his manifesto the 88 Precepts, which urged people to reject “miscegenation” and support racial segregation. White supremacists later adopted both terms, and use the numbers 14 and/or 88 as racist dog whistles. Lane publicized his writings through Fourteen Word Press, which helped popularize the concepts and his writing.

Lane was inspired by one of Adolf Hitler's most quoted passages from Mein Kampf,"What we must fight for is to safeguard the existence and reproduction of our race and our people, the sustenance of our children and the purity of our blood, the freedom and independence of the fatherland, so that our people may mature for the fulfillment of the mission allotted it by the creator of the universe. Every thought and every idea, every doctrine and all knowledge, must serve this purpose. And everything must be examined from this point of view and used or rejected according to its utility." ( Mein Kampf, Vol. I, Chapter 8)

As public declarations of white supremacist beliefs become louder and more common in the U.S., I’m reminded that the goal of a humanities education isn’t simply memorizing that “Hitler murdered 6 million Jews.” The point is to recognize when history might be repeating itself. One reason to study history is to understand how millions of Germans were convinced that fascism would “make Germany great again.” How were so many persuaded to disdain democracy, and embrace antisemitism, scientific racism, racial hierarchy, Social Darwinism and eugenics? Many were complicit through their silence. German-American rabbi Joachim Prinz said, “When I was rabbi in Berlin under the Hitler regime, the most important thing that I learned was that bigotry and hatred are not the most urgent problem. The most urgent problem is silence."

Originally published as a column in the MVN in June 2018 by Quest Lakes.

Floral Design for Adults and Teens July 24

Silver City, Nevada – Bring your own vase and create beautiful floral arrangements with wildflowers you’ve collected, or flowers from your own garden, with expert tips from Floral Designer Lynnette Edmondson of Community Roots & Shoots. No flowers? Lynnette can bring some for you.

This class has limited space. To reserve your spot, please RSVP to quest@theodata.com.

The class takes place on Tuesday, July 24 from 10am-noon at the Silver City School House at 385 High Street, Silver City, Nevada (3 miles from Virginia City; 7 miles from Dayton; 12 miles from Carson City).

Community Roots & Shoots is Healthy Communities Coalition’s nonprofit garden center, floral and gift shop where proceeds benefit school gardens, job training programs and more.

For more information, see https://www.communityrootsnv.org/

Morning of Fun for Preschoolers and Parents Tuesday July 17th

Silver City, Nevada- United Way's annual "Tune into Kids" Fun Fair for preschoolers and their parents takes place Tuesday, July 17th from 10am to noon at the Silver City town park (next to the Silver City School House/community center at 385 High Street). Silver City is located on the Comstock, 3 miles from Virginia City and 12 miles from Carson City.

The event, which includes free children's books, plus arts and crafts and hands-on literacy activities provided by United Way of Northern Nevada and the Sierra (UWNNS), is for parents and their children ages 0 to 6 years (babies to 6 year olds). UWNNS supports parents with various resources as they nurture their children’s development, early literacy, health, nutrition and play. One of their goals is to double the number of children in northern Nevada who read proficiently by the end of third grade. With that goal in mind, UWNNS focus on early childhood development and learning, kindergarten readiness, early grade success and strengthening families.

About the Silver City Summer Program: Each summer, the historic Comstock community of Silver City partners with local and regional groups and volunteers to offer free, public programming in science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM), with events at the town's park and community center. This year, activities include a kids’ robotics mini-camp with Society of Women Engineers, a floral design class for teens and adults with Community Roots, a family friendly music concert sponsored by the Resident Artist Program in Silver City, a gentle stretching class for adults, and more. The July 17 Fun Fair is sponsored in partnership with UWNNS and Healthy Communities Coalition of Lyon and Storey Counties.

For more information about the annual summer program and additional upcoming events, contact Quest Lakes at 287-7598.

2018

Science and Art Fun in Silver City Tuesday July 10

Silver City, Nevada - Parents and their children ages 8-12 are invited to a fun class combining science and crafts on Tuesday July 10 from 10am-noon with instructor Jim Barcellos of University Nevada Cooperative Extension (UNCE). The hands-on activity Tuesday will be about chemical changes in paper. Kids will make and take home their own "nature prints."

The free event takes place at the Silver City School House (community center) and Park at 385 High Street. Parents are asked to stay and join in the fun and help with clean up.

About the instructor: For more than ten years Jim Barcellos has served local schools in afterschool programs, bringing science engagement through interactive lessons that stress involvement, curiosity and science vocabulary and literacy. He is a member of the Nevada Afterschool Network

Free Annual Summer Program: Each summer since 2003, Silver City has partnered with Healthy Communities Coalition of Lyon and Storey Counties to make possible a program of free STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) activities led by guest teachers from many different groups. This year, activities include science experiments with UNCE, a robotics mini-camp with Society of Women Engineers, a floral design class with Community Roots, a music concert sponsored by the Resident Artist Program in Silver City, a preschool fun fair with United Way, and more.

Where is Silver City? These events are opportunities to discover Silver City, one of the hidden gems of the Comstock. Silver City is located within a federally designated historic landmark, 3 miles from Virginia City, 7 miles from Dayton, 12 miles from Carson City, and 30 miles from Reno and Lake Tahoe. When you’re exploring western Nevada, Silver City has lots to offer. Throughout the year, the town's many community groups offer free public programming in art, music, theater, poetry, history, and science at the local park, outdoor stage and community center (School House), with something to appeal to every age group, from toddlers to elders.

Questions? Contact Quest Lakes of Healthy Communities at quest@theodata.com