Back in 2007 Alan and I played the role of Harrison and Harley Smith for a Cemetery Ghost Walk with the Churchill County Museum. In our research we visited with Jim and Margaret Perazzo and Elbert Mills. I have cut and pasted those notes into this post as well.
Perhaps when I create the final version of this report I would include copies of the parcel maps, telephone book entries, articles from the newspapers, maps from the time period, obituaries, even pictures of the tombstones.
I begin this post with basic summaries of the vital information for Harley and Harrison:
Harley Tillman Smith
27 Feb 1883 - born in Prairie City, Fulton Co., Illinois. Oldest of six children born to Dresden and Mary Smith. Four sons and two daughters.
1903 - At the age of 20 he moved with his family to Merrick Co, Nebraska.
1906 Sept. 12 - Married Cora Myers in Central City, NE.
1907 Aug 21 - Noma Marie Smith born in Central City, NE
1909 Feb 20 - Selma Jeanette Smith born. She lived 9 days.
1916 Feb 20 - Ada Lucile Smith born
1921 September - Came to Churchill County, NV Settled first in Soda Lake area (Cox Road)
Moved to Harrigan Road (4625) was a farmer and a rancher
Thursday night pulled out in front of Andy Drumm who was driving a heavy coupe at 80 mph. Body thrown 72 feet. Skull fractured.
1930 Sunday 5 May age 47 - died as a result of the auto accident.
PHOTOS OF SODA LAKE HOMESTEAD:
In looking at MapQuest of the area one can see the area that was left in it's natural state (to the east) and the bit where they tried to farm.
A look down Cox Road with the homestead to the left.
A couple pictures of the sandy irrigation ditch on the homestead.
A new concrete ditch is nearby (out of the view of the picture).
Read elsewhere on this page about the family's attempt at irrigating with sandy ditches.
Read elsewhere on this page about the family's attempt at irrigating with sandy ditches.
Dad mentioned that they did not live at the homestead long and instead moved to the ranch on Harrigan Road.
PHOTOS OF THE SMITH RANCH ON HARRIGAN ROAD:
This photo is of the Smith dairy barn at the Harrigan Road property. The carrels around the barn have changed, but the barn is pretty much the was it was 80 years ago (except for natural aging and decay).
An irrigation ditch on the ranch.
Harrison Lyle Smith
1888 June 28 - I was born in Fulton County, Illinois, the third child and third son of Dresden and Mary Smith. My siblings included:
Harvey was 2 years, 10 months my senior. (b. 1885)
I was born 28 June 1888.
May was 5 years, 11 months my junior. (b. 1894)
Hobart was 8 years, 3 months younger than I was. (b. 1896)
1901 - Lived in Jefferson County, Iowa for two years.
1903 - Family moved to Central City, Merrick Co., Nebraska. My father was a farmer.
1911 November - Arthur Candee called to the pastorate at Central City, Nebraska.
1912 January - Mabel and Ruth Candee joined family in Central City, Nebraska.
1913 June 4 - Married Mabel Deborah Candee in the Baptist Church in Central City, Nebraska a week before the renovated church was officially dedicated. My father-in-law, Reverend Arthur Candee performed the ceremony. There were 100 guests at the ceremony. I was 3 weeks shy of my 25th birthday. Mabel was 23 and a half years old.
1914 March 24 - My son Sidney Lyle Smith was born in Hordville (Honderville), Hamilton Co., Nebraska.
It was during this time that Mabel’s father (Baptist Reverend Arthur Candee) and her brother Harry spend summers in Golden, Colorado at a fruit farm. They would haul fruit to the Denver Market. He would preach sermons on Sundays.
1917 February - Arthur and Harry Candee moved to Fallon, Nevada to homestead.
1917 April 9 - My son Clinton Arthur Smith was born in Denver, Colorado.
1918 October - Harrison, Mable, Lyle and Clinton moved to Fallon, Nevada. They settled on a homestead in the Sheckler district.
1921 September - My brother Harley Smith moved to Fallon, Nevada settled in Soda Lake area with his wife Cora and two daughters, Noma and Ada.
1922 April 21 - My wife, Mable Candee died of a ruptured appendix in Fallon, Nevada. Lyle was 8 years old, Clinton was 5. “Mrs. Harrison L. Smith was taken ill while calling at the Indian Mission Sunday afternoon and was hurried to her home on the Williamson ranch in the Sheckler district. Her condition grew worse and early Monday morning she was taken to the Fallon General Hospital where an operation was performed Tuesday for appendicitis. Following the operation the patient seemed to be gaining but a turn for the worse came Thursday night and death followed shortly after midnight.”
1925 June 26 - Clinton died in Fallon, Nevada following an operation for a burst appendix. Clinton “makes his home with is grand parents, Rev. and Mrs. A.L. Candee” and “for some time had made his home with his uncle and aunt, Mr. and Mrs. H.T. Smith, east of town.” Lyle and Clint also stayed with their aunt and uncle Ruth and Percy Mills during this time after Harrison had lost his wife.
1926 Jan 4 - My mother, Mary Luper Smith, passed away in Central City, Nebraska. For the past 11 years of her life she had been an invalid, confined to her bed most of the time. She was very patient through
all her sufferings and was an inspiration to all that visited her. (Harrison is listed in the obituary as living in Central City at this time.)
1927 May 5 - My father, Dresden Corvada Smith, passed away in Central City, Nebraska. He was 71 years old. Dad was born in Knoxville, Illinois and grew to manhood there. He married mom in neighboring Fulton County in 1880 where they lived for 21 years. They spent a couple years in Iowa, but they had lived in Central City, Nebraska for the last 24 years of his life. His illness was of short duration but was attended with extreme suffering. This he endured with remarkable patience. (Harrison is listed as living in Central City in the obituary.)
1930 June 1 - Harley Smith died after an auto accident.
1931 April 15 - Harrison married Cora Myers Smith.
PHOTO OF ROGER MILLS DRIVEWAY
Harrison, Mable, Lyle and Clinton began their life in the valley at a homestead where Roger and Margot Mills live at what was once the end of Candee Lane.
Harrison gave the homestead up after the death of his wife Mabel in 1922.
Harrison married his brother's widow Cora in 1931 and lived at the Harrigan Road ranch.
In the 1956 Churchill County Telephone directory Harrison Smith indicated that he lived on Alcorn. Prior to 1956 the telephone directory listed the family as living in "rural". Rural would be the Harrigan Road Ranch.
The home does not look the way it did when Harrison and Cora lived there.
Current address on Alcorn of the property where Harrigan and Cora lived.
It is located just to the south of Alcorn Road at the crook in the road.
Harrison is listed in the telephone directory living at the Alcorn address in 1956, 1957, 1958 and 1959. In the 1960 directory they are listed living at 360 W. Virgina Street.
PHOTO OF WEST VIRGINIA STREET RESIDENCE
The top of these two photos is the home where Harrison and Cora lived. The second photo shows what looks like a converted garage and beyond that the home in the back that school teachers rented.
When Harley and Cora had their place in the Soda Lake area (Cox Lane) Noma tells the story of irrigating. Noma and Ada went out irrigating with Harley and Cora and if a ditch bank would break then they would jump in to stop the water and Harley and Cora would shovel dirt/sand against them to stop the water.
There are tamarix trees (also known as Salt Cedars) planted up there to hold the sand and to serve as wind breaks. The tree would spread/weep out salt around them that would present other plants from growing in the same area.
From Wikipedia: "They are evergreen or deciduous shrubs or trees growing to 1–18 m in height and forming dense thickets. The largest, Tamarix aphylla, is an evergreen tree that can grow to 18 m tall. They usually grow on saline soils, tolerating up to 15,000 ppm soluble salt and can also tolerate alkali conditions. Tamarisks are characterized by slender branches and grey-green foliage. The bark of young branches is smooth and reddish-brown. As the plants age, the bark becomes bluish-purple, ridged and furrowed. The leaves are scale-like, 1–2 mm long, and overlap each other along the stem. They are often encrusted with salt secretions. The pink to white flowers appear in dense masses on 5–10 cm long spikes at branch tips from March to September, though some species (e.g. T. aphylla) tend to flower during the winter."
(Roger Mills lives on the place that Harrison homesteaded. He mentioned that there are tamarix trees there that Harrison had planted and also cottonwoods (or shoots growing from the trunks or cottonwoods) that Harrison had planted.)
There are also tamarix by Harrison and Cora’s Harrigan Road home.
I have a small map in my notes that show that Harley lived on Harrigan Road where Alfred Facha lives now 4625 Harrigan Road. The home is down near Union Lane. The ranch is to the west while Pomeroy is directly to the east.
Harrigan Road was the Lincoln Highway.
In 1949 Lyle and Ann came and lived with Harrison and Cora to help with the farming. Lyle sold cars to supplement the farming income. Lyle became a car salesman.
The home that Harrison and Cora had in town was bought off of Davis Brothers Construction where Speedway is now. It was a prefabricated house. The pieces were cut and shipped to where ever and then one would follow the construction plans and construct their home.
Harrison retired when he was about 60. They bought a place out on Alcorn. A two story shag (?) wood home by Wendal and Peggy Wheat. They kept a Guernsey cow for milk, but did not farm there …
Harrison moved to town before 1958 there about. Ask dad if they lived in town when he was married…
Dad went to 7th or 8th grade in town. UJ doesn’t recall attending Harmon School. Perhaps first grade.
Harrison and Cora moved out to the river in 50 or 51 and they were still there when UJ graduated from CCHS in 1955. Still there in 1957.
They had one Guernsey cow. They hated to give up fresh milk and butter. Guernsey milk made yellow butter while Holstein’s milk made white butter.
They lived there a few years and then moved to town.
At their home in town (which is located on Virginia Street just north of Bradley Field) they had a house in back that they rented out to teachers. They even had a superintendent that lived there for awhile.
Cora loved chickens and AM tells of finding Cora sitting out holding a chicken on her lap petting and visiting with it. During the winter she would bring warm water out to the chickens.
Cora loved to bake.
****
The above notes following the photos is a transcription of notes from a visit with Jim and Margaret. Below are more notes from that visit without attempt at editing or organizing:
Physically Harrison was the larger of the two—Harley was smaller and Harrison was biggest. Their two sisters Maude and May also contrasted in such manner:
Harrison went to pieces and started farming the kids out to whomever and so some places were better than others. Sometimes Lyle had enough to eat and sometimes not so. When Clint died Harrison got even worse. Harrison gave away everything the family owned.
Funny story that Hobart Smith relates: Hobart (the youngest of six children) showed up for breakfast one morning and there was one pancake left. “It’s not even worth getting started”.
The Candees, Mills and Smiths all came to Fallon about the same time. Harley must’ve had a home with an upstairs somewhere at some time as the story is told about he upstairs balcony without railing and Noma sleep walked and they caught Noma teetering on the edge of the balcony.
They traveled to Fallon by motorized vehicle.
Harrison was always a pillar in the Baptist church. In the Fallon Memorized coffee table book that the LVN published there is a picture of Harrison with other members of the Baptist church. (The May 7, 1930 Fallon Standard reported that “H.L. Smith had been elected superintendent of the Baptist Sunday School.—so in looking at this, his brother Harley didn’t die until June 1930, so he must’ve returned to Fallon from his wanderings…)
Harrison loved Joe Pritchard’s sermons and so he ended up with the Methodists. Jim indicated that he enjoyed the sermons too.
Pat Tubbs has a quilt signed by members of A.L. Candees’s church. Each family made a block and gave it to Mable and Harrison as a wedding gift. (Short aside: Mable was born in Hamilton, NY 15 Dec 1889 and moved with her parents to Golden, Colorado (a community/suburb directly west of Denver). There she went to high school and later attended the Women’s Baptist college at Denver, receiving a fine musical training in voice culture. She became a teacher and taught school. In Nov. 1911 he father Arthur Candee was called to the pastorate at Central City, Nebraska and Ruth and Mabel joined him in January. Even though our Family Group Sheets show that Harrison and Mable were married in Denver, Rev. Candee records that he married them in Central City, NE.)
After Mable died, Harrison traveled. Pamona, California and back to NE.
Harley farmed. Cora farmed. Cora was very energetic and hard working.
Regarding the death of Harley: Lyle said that Harley was mad about something Cora had said and he stormed out of the house. Harley backed into the road where Andy Drumm collided with his car. There was another man with him. The newspaper articles share more details.
Andy Drumm has interesting stories about him. Margaret told of the time he went to Carson City (to the DMV?) and just parked the car on the sidewalk? Because there was no parking spots. Andy had a temper. If he was in bidding for a contract and he didn’t get it he yell and throw his cap to the ground. (then there’s the Andy Drumm story that I like best about speeding to Reno(?) and he got pulled over for speeding and the he told the policeman he might as well write two tickets because he was going to be speeding right past here again on the way home).
Jim told the story of Harrison working in Denver along side of where the streetcars passed. Harrison had been working hard all day while, he felt, the other men were rather slacking. Then later in the day all the men starting working real had. At this same time Harrison took a little break and watch the streetcar go by. Well, it ends up that the boss was on that streetcar and Harrison got fired. All the other men knew what car the boss rode on.
Margaret has a picture of Harley and Harrison sheering sheep.
Harley had a temper. Harrison didn’t—just about the opposite. Harrison was tallest, Harley shortest. Harrison was meek and mild while Harley was rather wild. Their two sister also had this contrast. May was little, while Maude was a large woman. Hobart was also a small man.
Percy Mills had siblings: Claude and Laura. Claude and Laura never married. (Female teachers were expected to be single. Laura taught school.) Roger has a friendly outgoing personality that UJ compared to Percy Mills’ personality.
Harley homesteaded in the Soda Lake area.
Harmon School closed in about 1956.
(In my notes I have written “story of Lyle working(?) and was a couple(?). This was suppose to remind me of a story to write. I don’t recall what story it is suppose to be.)
UJ tells of the dances that were held around the valley at the different districts. One weekend they dance would be in Stillwater, another time it would be in Sheckler, St. Clair, etc. Once when Lyle was 18 and a senior in high school he went with Joe Keller, Leonard Macey, Jack and Ken Tedford out to a dance at the Stillwater School. Jack had borrowed his father’s (Jack) brand new Buick without telling his father. Well, down at the corner by Lee’s they rolled the car and it caught fire. Lyle was skinny so he was able to quickly get out of the car. There was another guy that was fat and chubby and they had to pull him out.
Noma played the piano by ear. During high school she played for a dance band.
Harrison worked at Kent’s lumber yard at one time and down in Pamona, CA.
Kent’s played a great role in the early economic situation in the lives of many people in the valley. One would buy their seeds and other items from Kents and also put your groceries on account and then when it was harvesting time they would sell their crops / product back to Kents.
Farming was done by horse. Clear some land at Cox Lane. Blackberries at Harrigan. The old barn is still there. They milked 5 or 6 Guernsey cows and sold the cream. If the cow kicked, UJ remembers they would tie their leg back to the wall.
During WW2 Otto went to work at the base building barracks for sailors. Since Otto had a truck and brought and used it at / for work, he got two checks—one for him and one for the truck.
Several sailors married local girls and stayed around.
Fallon had several hospitals. There was a map at the extension office on the wall. The map had red crosses which showed where the various hospitals were. David was born in the hospital that is now the Manpower building. There was a hospital out on Auction Road. Etc. etc.
Re. farming. They would cut hay with a horse drawn sycle. They would stack they hay with a Jackson fork and a derrick.
They would level the ground with a Fresnel Scrapper. Survey equipment: they would use a transit. Fishish with a tail board. Reference to a 4 horse tail board or a 4 horse Fresnel.
95 to Trinity Junction was not paved until 1958 or so. It was muddy and alkily. To get to Lovelock one would drive to Fernley and then get on 80 to go east. The mud would build up on the tires and you’d have to get out with a stick and clear the mud from around the tires / wheel well.
Fallon was rather fortunate to have both Drumm and Dodge in Fallon. Both built good roads. The roads that they built lasted 50 years. We have heavy trucks today and more traffic which cause our modern roads to not last as long.
Back to farming: They would make wind rolls with a rake and then go through bunches / shocks. Used nets and the whole wagon load would be emptied at a time. When using the Jackson fork it would take 6 to 8 grabs of the fork to unload a wagon.
UJ had probably a 1938 tractor when they came here in 1940. The current red tractors at 1951 and 1953. They started chopping hay in 1948 or 1949.
Brought the cream to the railroad and it was express shipped to CA for processing.
Where the recycle yard is today is where the Milk Producers Association (MPA) was located.
There were Grade A and Grade B dairies in the valley. There were 55 Grade A dairies. There was a milk-processing place on Front Street where Budweiser has their distribution center. Cann also had their dairy and processing plant. The dairies would bottle their own milk.
Lack of modern refrigeration. The Truckee River was harvested for ice each winter. The Ice House up by Keystone was actually the place where they would keep the ice. The iceman would make deliveries of ice blocks just like the milk man would make his rounds. Some homes (Noma’s) had a dumbwaiter that would lower the refrigerated items down into the cold icebox.
Without refrigeration, things weren’t transported. Farmers were self-sufficient. Pigs, chickens, milk. You would perhaps go in with a neighbor and kill my pig this time and your pig next time. Most people in the west survived the depression because they had a plot of land and they could grow their own food.
Wainscott built the cement house that Otto and Noma bought in 1941 when they moved to the valley. They lived in the cellar as they built the house. They ran out of money before finishing. It was suppose to be a two story house. George Luke’s home (there south of Harmon School on Harmon Road) was built about the same time using the same cement brick method. There were three big chicken buildings out here. (Though we didn’t discuss it, I take it these were the chicken houses that were here when Alan decided to climb hand over hand on the electric wires. These chicken houses were torn down so UJ and AM could build their home.) The ranch up west belonged to a Long. Henry Williams remembers milking cows up at the dairy that was there. Frank Adell (or O’Dell) lived at the adobe house back yonder when one goes directly south off of Stillwater Road by Bogdanowitz’s (by the canal by the triangle field). When Frank died they he was buried between what is now a couple of fields where there is a roll of cottonwood trees (directly south of the diagonal canal). Mr. Wainscott’s wife died or was dead. Mrs. O’Dell married Mr. Wainscott.
Notes from visit with Elbert Mills 22 April 2007 (again, unedited and simply transcribed):
Mable and Harrison homesteaded the place that Roger has now. He let the homestead go when Mable died.
There was a marginal tract sale in 1951 and Ruth bought the place and gave half of it to Roger.
Cora was such a neat lady. She had a heart of gold. Smiths Myers and Scotts all came here about the same time. Susan Grace may know better. Roger Johnson visited with Elbert about the family some time ago and suggested that Roger knows more about this then Elbert can remember. Elbert is six of nine children.
Harrison was an easy going person.
Arthur Candee homestead David Barkley’s place. (a note that Arthur kept 20 (acres?)).
1947 Kelly and Ruth Johnson moved here. They had been living in Austin.
1919 – Harry (Mable’s older brother) Harrison and Mable and Paul also came at the same time. Fred Facha bought the Harrigan Road place from Cora and Harrison. [When Dad and I dropped in on Mr. Facha yesterday, Mr. Facha said his dad bought the property from Johnsons.]
Ruth Candee (Mable’s sister) came here in the spring of 1920 from Rocky Ford, CO. when school got out. She married Percy Mills on 25 Dec 1920 at the house on the homestead in Sheckler district.
Ruth Mills died in 1979 at 80 years old. She taught 1st grade at West End for many years except for a time in 1942/1943 when she taught in the basement of Oats Park School.
In 1947 Percy and Ruth divorced and then Percy remarried to a Helen Harriman. There were three daughters born to this union. a set of twins and a singleton. Percy was her 4th husband and she left after about 4 years and left the girls with Percy to raise. And then she returned and got the kids and then gave them to the Mormon church to raise. …
Percy died in 1957.
Percy and Ruth had:
Alfred (1922- deceased). Alfred graduated in 1942 from UNR and went to Treasure Island and sent to VA. Degossing He got a PhD and lived in Flordia.
Gordon (1926) – lives in TX… broke back in 2 places. Has PhD in Medical Science
Barbara (1927) – lives in FL
Newell (March 30 1929-deceased)
Roger (1932)
Elbert (1935)
They always had the dairy. Milked 30 cows. There were about 120 barns around here in the early 1950s. In 1953 they took only bulk milk tank dairies. About half the dairies just went out of business.
Andy Drumm died in 1971 thereabout. He lived fast and came up with wonderful ideas. He was very innovative. At Montgomery Pass they had a huge amount of blasting to do. Andy under bid all the other contractors. He used a little dynamite to blast a hole and then the hole was filled with ammonium nitrate and diesel fuel with a stick of dynamite at the bottom. The entire mountain pass was blasted out using this method.
Percy Mills did land scraping and leveling. Elbert paid $1500 for 80 acres owned it for 50 years. A lot of the valley was leveled by Percy Mills.
When Mabel died Ruth took care of Lyle and Clint for 3 to 4 months on her own.
Harrison worked for Kent’s and lived with Harley and Cora for awhile.
Harrison lived where Roger lives now. When Mable died he left the place and let the homestead go back to the government. For the homestead rules you had to personally live on the land for five years and make improvements every year. Harrison had 3 to 4 checks leveled. Harrison wasn’t a farmer. He was not an aggressive person. Harrison went to work for Kent's Lumber and Grain Mill. They would bring lumber in by rail and they would unload the lumber from the train cars on racks on both sides.
In 1979, Barbara Mills condensed A.L. Candee’s journals into story form. They made a copy of this for us. They also gave us a sheet of four pictures. In the top right there is a picture of A.L. along with his wife, son Harry and Mrs. Candee. Paul and Ruth Candee were not born when the picture was taken in Lake Crystal, Minnesota. Also individual pictures of Mrs. Candee and her parent’s Debrah and Seth Todd.
Harley died in 1 June 1930 and Harrison married Cora 15 April 1931. They ran the farm on Harrigan Rd. They sold the farm… Berney Road didn’t exist in 1930.
Lyle was selling cars for Jones Boys Motors in about 1950. He was a cool sales man. He could sell you a car whether you needed it or not. He loved cars.
The older Mills family have half sisters: Kristen Burgess (not anymore, she remarried) lived Las Vegas for a time but now lives in Utah. Laurana Howard md. Kitchen lives in AZ. Charolette lives in St. George. All are active in the LDS Church and one (probably Kristen) was active the LasVegas temple dedication?/ Open House?
Percy Mills died of a brain tumor the size of a baseball in March 1957. Homesteading required the staying on the ranch 5 nights a week.
Elbert remembers playing Pinochle at Ruth and Kelly Johnson’s house with Lyle and Ann. Ruth is Cora’s half sister and was about Noma’s age. Ruth was Noma’s aunt.
Harrison was sincere, honest, a neat guy, but not a real take charge type of person. Mable wanted to come out here and Harrison came with his wife.”
-- end of notes from visit with Elbert Mills
Bunny Corkill is researching Homesteading in the valley for me. I’ll have additional information on Monday from Bunny. Here is a run down of topics that relate to Harley and Harrison:
Early life
Moving to the Lahontan Valley.
Homesteading – planting tamarix – details on what was required to homestead.
Story of sandy ditch banks in Soda Lake area and how Harley moved to Harrigan Road side of town for better soil conditions.
Role of Kents in the valley.
Farming – methods use of horses, derricks, jackson forks, when tractors came in, etc.
Dairy farming…# of dairies. Grade A, Grade B dairies. Bulk tanks. Processing plants.
The depression – those in the west survived better as farmers had land to grow on and had animals to eat.
Tragic death of Mable and Clinton. Many young children died farming accidents, drowning, lack of penicillin, fire, etc.
Harley’s death.
Role of Dodge Construction and Drumm Construction. Roads in the valley. The Lincoln highway.
Community centers / schools around valley. Dance bands. Lyle’s accident. Tedford.
And of course family stories along the way.
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