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Nevada Lore Series: The invention of the famous blue jean and the Reno, Levi connection

If you looked in your closet for pants right now, I can almost guarantee what comes to mind first is that traditional blue jean. Everyone likes blue jeans, right? They’re almost as American as the U.S Flag and apple pie.

Did you know we have Reno to thank for blue jeans?

It all started with a man by the name of Jacob Davis, who was born in 1831 in what is now Latvia, then the Russian city Riga. His given name was Jacob Youphes, but when he immigrated to the U.S. in 1854, he changed his name to Davis.

He worked as a tailor in the East Coast before setting his sites on the west and California In 1856. He then moved to Canada to pan for gold, before coming south again where he sold pork and tobacco in Virginia City.

Finally, in 1868 at the age of 37, he settled in Reno.

At the time, Reno was little more than a railway station with a tiny town attached. Davis helped build the Reno Brewing Company owned by Frederick Hertlein before returning to his earlier work as a tailor.

Davis opened a tail shop on the main street of town and got to work. He made tents, riding blankets; anything people might need out on the road, especially those working for the Central Pacific Railroad.

He bought wholesale fabric that was a mixture of denim and white duck twill from none other than San Fransisco-based Levi Strauss.

The story goes, in 1870 a woman asked Davis to make a hearty pair of pants for her husband who was a woodcutter. He whipped her up a pair of pants using the denim-duck cloth, adding copper rivets to the seams for strength.

Soon, everyone, especially rail road workers, was asking Davis for work pants, and he quickly found himself overwhelmed with the sheer number of orders.

He then sent a message to Strauss with a business proposition.

On May 20, 1873, the new business of Jacob W. Davis and Levi Strauss & Company received patent no. 139121 for copper-riveted pants.

After the patent was granted, Davis sold his Reno property and holdings and moved his family to San Fransisco, where he oversaw his creation at the Levi Strauss factory.

He supervised almost 500 employees for the rest of his life as they made variations of his original design, including overalls and work shirts, which soon became a standard of the fashion industry.

Davis died in San Fransisco in 1908, but his legacy lives on.

In 2006, a plaque was erected in Reno where Davis’s original Reno-based tailor shop was based, and within it, the legendary blue jean.

— The Nevada Lore Series focuses on the legends of Nevada and the surrounding areas that help build our culture, from ancient Washoe stories, to Old West ghostly visions, to modern day urban legends.

Nevada Lore Series: The Missing Treasure of Prison Hill

Nevada Lore Series: The Ormsby House

Nevada Lore Series: The Curse of Bodie

Nevada Lore Series: The murder of Julia Bulette, Virginia City’s beloved Madam and Firefighter

Nevada Lore Series: 'Captain' and the bizarre history of the Thunderbird Lodge at Lake Tahoe

Nevada Lore Series: The Birth and Death of the American Flats

Nevada Lore Series: Genoa's Hanging Tree, and Adam Uber's Dying Curse

Nevada Lore Series: The Extortion Bombing of Harvey's Lake Tahoe Resort

Nevada Lore Series: the Making of a State, Part 1

Nevada Lore Series: the Making of a State, Part 2

Nevada Lore Series: the Infamous Hauntings of the Goldfield Hotel

Nevada Lore Series: 50 year old Tahoe mystery includes an assassination, a secret safe, and Oprah Winfrey

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We’re back, bigger and better than ever! Please welcome the second annual Mark Twain Days, May 10-12. For a listing of events take a gander at the website here.

You will find something of interest or my name’s not Mark Twain, or used to be anyways. And this year Virginia City is joining in on the fun along with Carson City. Wow!

Nevada Division of Forestry state nursery is open for business beginning Thursday, May 9. When we first bought our home in 1988 with its 2.5 acres, there were some poplars, pines, blue spruce, willows, and grass, but little else. I soon discovered the state nursery and filled the yard with flowering shrubs and other plants. I added lilacs, sand cherries, golden and Nevada currants, sumacs, Apache plumes, and incense cedars.

The Lyon County Sheriff's Office arrested a Dayton man Saturday for possession of child pornography. During the investigation, officers also learned the man was a local little league coach.

Mrs. Carson City America, Kassandra Tapia, is set to grace the stage of the Mrs. Nevada America Pageant, scheduled to take place on June 9, 2024, in Las Vegas. She is proudly representing the Capital City, and she aims to not only showcase her poise and grace but also advocate for her powerful platform, Cycle Breakers.

Nevada Author, Sandie La Nae will be selling her Carson City and Virginia City books the three days of the Mark Twain Days, May 10, 11, and 12.

As part of Smokey Bear’s 80th birthday celebration, the Smokey Reading Challenge is underway. Launched this morning at the Nevada State Library, Archives and Public Records in Carson City, the program is designed to engage children across Nevada in an exciting reading journey to learn about wildfire prevention, forests, and careers in natural resources with Smokey Bear.

The Nevada Jeep Club held their first Washoe Valley Cleanup on Saturday, May 4 and collected more than 450 pounds of trash along Highway 395.

Partnership Carson City has launched “Rediscovering Your Mental Health Series,” a five-week program aimed at promoting mental wellness during Mental Health Awareness Month this May. Each week, participants will have the opportunity to learn new skills and techniques to enhance their mental well-being and foster a healthy community.

The Carson City Leisure Hour Club members continue celebrating the organization’s 127th year with a presentation on the upcoming Jazz and Beyond festival.

At the club’s dinner meeting on Thursday, May 16, Cherie Shipley, a member of the event planning committee, will talk about the annual Jazz and Beyond festival, how it formed, and the impact it has had on the community. Jazz and Beyond is scheduled for August 16 to August 25, 2024.

Here is the Carson City area road report for the week of May 6-12, 2024. Closures are expected at the following locations due to road and utility work:

Organized by Carol Park, the Elks held an open to the public, two-day indoor garage sale at the lodge in March as a fundraiser for Holiday with a Hero. Lodge members donated all items sold and assisted at the event which received excellent support from the community.

An 18-year-old Carson City man was arrested at a local diner after allegedly stealing a car from a used car lot two days prior to test drive it.

Friday May 10 at 7:30PM, Valhalla Tahoe kicks off their season with a living history presentation, “The Reno Cure,” at the Boathouse Theater. Reno has long been known as “The Biggest Little City.”

The Carson City Symphony Association will present a concert, "Pleasures of Music," on Friday, May 10, 2024, at 7:30 p.m. at Shepherd of the Sierra Lutheran Church, 3680 N. Hwy. 395, south of Best Buy, Carson City. The concert is a Mark Twain Days event. Admission is free, donations welcome,

Members of the Rotary Club of Carson City will learn how its annual Educational Grant has helped local students at the club’s next meeting. Carson School District K-12 Curriculum & Assessment Coordinator Brittany Witter received the club’s Carson City School District’s Professional Development Center Grant last year with the goal of funding the “Literacy and Love of Reading through Social Studies” project.

Western Nevada College hosted a ceremony to celebrate students succeeding in training to reestablish themselves in the workforce on Thursday.

Perfection in a fur coat is the best way to describe Cher, our cat of the week. Just 7 months old, she is a pretty little short-haired girl with a sweet and social personality.

Carson High School's Senior in the Spotlight this week is Parker Schmid, a remarkable young man whose sparkle radiates in every aspect of his life. From academics to extracurriculars, Parker's journey embodies excellence and compassion, traits that set him apart from his peers.

UPDATE 6 p.m.: Courtesy of the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office: On May 3, 2024 at approximately 1430 hours, Lyon County Sheriff’s Deputies responded along with Central Lyon County, Carson City and Storey County Fire personnel to the area of 34 Newman Ln. for a report of motorhome on fire. Upon arrival, it was discovered that the fire had spread and multiple other abandoned vehicles caught fire as well. No one was hurt or injured during the incident. The incident is currently under investigation, which is being conducted by the Nevada State Fire Marshall’s Division.

UPDATE 2:38 p.m.: Firefighters from Storey are also now responding.

UPDATE 2:33 p.m.: Multiple vehicles on the property are engulfed in flame.

***

Around 2:15 p.m. a fire was reported at 34 Newman Lane in Mound House.

Firefighters from Carson City and Lyon County are enroute to the scene.

UPDATE 1:20 p.m.: According to Sheriff Ken Furlong, a student reported they saw a weapon. The incident was investigated and there was no weapon found. The lockdown has now been lifted and students are leaving the school.

UPDATE 1:15 p.m.: Update 05-03-24 at 1:15 p.m.
One student has reported an alleged weapon sighting. It has not been corroborated, but school officials and the sheriff’s office are investigating out an abundance of caution.

***

UPDATE 12:50 p.m.: The following update was provided by the district:

Carson High School was put on lockdown this afternoon around 12:15 p.m. No person was injured. There is an active situation being investigated in cooperation with the Carson City Sheriff’s Office. We will provide more information as it becomes known. The school is secure. Do not go to the school. No entrances will be permitted at time. The district will provide updates every 30 minutes. Expect the next update at 1:15 p.m.

***

Carson High School is currently on a lockdown as of 12:40 p.m. Friday, but there has been no incident reported according to Sheriff Ken Furlong.

Two School Resource Officers are on scene investigating why the alarm went off.

The Lyon County Board of County Commissioners heard a presentation from the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) on the current status of the Highway 50 Preservation Project in Dayton.

Kids ages 8-14: Join Skiing is Believing at Western Nevada college for our multidiscplinary sport & fitness camp! Every day of every week, Skiing is Believing staff will help provide a variety of sports for kids to develop their physical skills and promote emotional development through exercise and community service.

After months of thorough community engagement and meticulous deliberation, Douglas County has announced the completion of its new Strategic Plan. This document, which will guide the County's decisions and resource allocation for the next five years, is the result of extensive input from both internal and external stakeholders.

The unpredictability of spring this first weekend of May continues with the threat of snow showers in the Sierra on Saturday, along with gusty winds and rain down to the valley floors for Carson City and surrounding areas. The storm system should moved out by Sunday morning.

Carson High School Culinary Arts and Early Childhood Education students competed at the three-day state conference last month for Nevada Family, Career and Community Leaders of America. This was the first time the school’s programs participated in the conference. A total of 25 students competed in eight events.

Family fun, lively bands and historical characters return to Dangberg Historic Park in Minden beginning in May. Favorite presenters, bands and Chautauquans will be joined by new ones as well.

Carson City’s former Board of Supervisor and business owner Stan Jones was posthumously awarded Thursday the Historic Preservation Award for his long time work for downtown Carson City.

Each year, a Historic Preservation Award is awarded by the Historic Resources Commission to Carson City residents or organizations who have gone above and beyond in their dedication to historic preservation.

The Nevada Law Enforcement Officers Memorial is today, Thursday, May 2 at the Nevada State Capitol in Carson City. The memorial brings hundreds to the capitol grounds. The ceremony begins at 1 p.m.

Douglas County Sheriff's Office arrested three for their alleged involvement in business thefts last month on Topsy Lane south of Carson City.

The national issue of suicide — particularly among veterans — touched many people who attended the Walk for Hope on Wednesday morning at Western Nevada College in Carson City.