<p>In the remote mining camp of Reveille, Nevada, Herman Reischke, sold a mine in 1905 to Charles Schwab for $50,000. Herman was already 41 years old and could not find a wife. At the same time, an accomplished musician and school teacher in Crestline, Ohio, Alvena Kroegel age 32, could not find a husband. Herman placed an ad in a newspaper looking for a wife and Alvena read the ad and answered. This began a two-year letter-writing courtship filled with twists and turns before Herman finally made it back to Ohio to meet Alvena. Two hours after they said "I do," the couple hopped a train and did a quick Skidoo to Nevada. Their first home was in a lonely canyon, raising two infant daughters and traveling 70 miles by horse and wagon to shop for supplies in the nearest town of Tonopah. When the mines ran out of ore, they moved to Railroad Valley and ran a staton, store, ranch, and the Nyala Post Office along the Midland Trail. Eventually they settled in the mining town of Tonopah and operated Reischke's Store for thirty years. This story is told through Alvena's letters, diaries, memoranda books, photographs, and other documents kept by the family for over 100 years. These documents give a detailed first-hand account of what life was like on the western frontier. It recounts the hardships of raising children in desolate areas and trying to educate them. The book contains 160 photographs, most previously unpublished, along with maps of the region. It is a remarkable and intriguing look into family life in early Nevada.</p>

Skidoo: The true story of a mail-order bride in the mining camp of Reveille, Nevada

Jeanne Sharp Howerton

Western Places

Railroad Valley lies in a remote region in eastcentral Nevada in the heart of the Great Basin. In spite of its isolation, Railroad Valley has been witness to much history--timber operations, salt works, cattle ranching, farming, a great automobile race, oil wells, catfish farm, Indian reservation. It has been smacked by a blazing meteorite, dusted with fallout from atomic tests, and had its soil tainted by blood from a massacre. The text of this book is based on published sources as well as on recently collected oral history interviews with past and present residents. More than 100 photographs and maps illustrate this history.

Railroad Valley: Too tough for others, just right for us

Robert D. McCracken

Central Nevada Historical Society

<p>The diary of a 10-year old girl tells what it was like growing up on a cattle ranch near the atomic test range in rural Nevada. Written in 1957 with explanations and stories included.</p>

1957: The Diary of a Nevada Ranch Girl

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Jeanne Sharp Howerton. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Jeanne Sharp Howerton

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Jeanne Sharp Howerton. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Skidoo: The true story of a mail-order bride in the mining camp of Reveille, Nevada

Railroad Valley: Too tough for others, just right for us

1957: The Diary of a Nevada Ranch Girl