William G. ‘Wheezer’ Dell
Wheezer was the first Nevada native (and the first Eskimo) to play major league baseball. He played briefly for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Brooklyn Robins — later the Dodgers — and pitched an inning in the 1916 World Series against the Red Sox.
W.J. Forbes
He was famous as “a twister of words who hid a pun in a sentence . . . Unfortunately most of his good things are now considered too broad for reproduction.” He ran newspapers all over northern Nevada and was widely quoted around the USA.
Marion Jones
She was a four-time tennis champion at the U.S. National Women’s Championships. At the 1900 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, Jones became the first American woman to earn an Olympic distinction (medals were not awarded until 1904).
Wovoka
Wovoka introduced the Ghost Dance as a vehicle to reunite Native Americans with dead friends and family. At Wounded Knee in December 1890, 300 Sioux were massacred by soldiers who lost 25 killed when a Ghost Dance erupted in violence.
Lewis ‘Doc’ Sherman
During his recovery after a severe stroke Doc was out walking one day and found a glove by the side of the road. After reflection he sprayed it full of insulating foam, popped it onto a fencepost and proclaimed the Permanent Wave Society.
Joe Conforte
Despite violent competitors, law enforcement vendettas, prison terms, exile, and life as a fugitive, Joe made the Mustang Ranch east of Reno into the biggest, brightest whorehouse in all the world. He is now living happily ever after in a penthouse in Rio.
