Published by Haunted America
A Division of The History Press
Charleston, SC
www.historypress.com
Copyright 2018 by Janice Oberding
All rights reserved
Cover photo by Bill Oberding.
First published 2018
e-book edition 2018
ISBN 978.1.43966.509.1
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018942445
print edition ISBN 978.1.46713.944.1
Notice: The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. It is offered without guarantee on the part of the author or The History Press. The author and The History Press disclaim all liability in connection with the use of this book.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form whatsoever without prior written permission from the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
CONTENTS
FOREWORD
Writing a foreword is a different role than I am used to performing. Im the guy who does the photography. And the driving. I do most of the driving while were on a book writing adventure. I am honored to write the foreword for this book and, yes, a bit intimidated as well. Janice and I have been married a long time. Weve taken many treks across Nevada; one of our favorites is the Loneliest Road, Highway 50. I still laugh at the memory of an early trip to Ely. Wed just purchased a new Buick, a beautiful and road-worthy car. But not so worthy for off-road, which is what we did. Janice wanted to see the Ward Charcoal Ovens, located on another lonely road south of Ely. The road was not paved and full of ruts and potholes. We did it, with no problems. We were lucky, I suppose.
Before retiring from the University of NevadaReno, I wasnt always able to go ghost hunting and traveling with Janice. She would go first without me, and we would return later for photographs and any final interviews she might need.
This book was especially fun because it is about an area of Nevada that is filled with history and natural wonder. But it sometimes gets overlooked, and it shouldnt. While Janice worked on this book, we met some interesting and unique individualsa lot of people throughout the little towns along the loneliest road, and every one of them was friendly and happy to share their knowledge of their town.
If you have an interest in Nevadas history and ghosts, you will no doubt appreciate this book. Janice put a lot of hard work into it, I can tell you that. Although I have taken a slew of photos of this area of Nevada over the years, many of the photos in the book are recent. When Janice presented the idea for this book, she knew that we had the photographs. But there was a problem: many of our photos were taken with an early model Sony Mavica with less than 1 megapixel of resolution. That was great for the year 2000, not so much now. So, trips were planned.
In all, we took three special trips, ghost hunting, gathering information and reshooting photos. Along the way, we met some new friends as well as rekindled old friendships. Not much has changed in the old towns along Highway 50 since our first trip several years ago. Its still a lonely road, unless you get caught behind heavy-duty mining equipment being transported from one location to anotherwhich of course we did, and then we were traveling at Pony Express speed. While we were complaining about slow going, we stopped ourselves and thought about the young Pony Express riders who traveled this same route at what they saw as breakneck speed.
Like all of Janices books, this book is a tribute to Nevada, the state she loves. Its a tribute to the small out-of-the-way towns and unique people with which Nevada abounds. We always have favorites. One of my favorite places that we visited again was the Nevada Northern Railway Museum in Ely. There we met some fascinating and friendly people. Being cat lovers, we especially enjoyed meeting Shop Kitty, our nickname for a little orange and white kitty that has taken up residence in the engine house building.
In her writing, Janice has a way of making you feel that you are experiencing what we experienced. I say that not because she is my wife, but because it is the truth. Those of you who are fans and readers of her books already know this. So, take a ride with us across the Loneliest Road in America. Enjoy!
BILL OBERDING,
photographer, researcher, technical advisor, driver and,
most importantly, husband
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Writing means sharing. Its part of the human condition to want to share thingsthoughts, ideas, opinions.
Paulo Coelho
This is so true. And in writing a book such as this, the writer doesnt do it alone. Sure I may sit here at my cluttered desk all alone, tapping out words that will become sentences, paragraphs and ultimately a book. But I couldnt do it without the help of a lot of people. First, I would like to acknowledge my husband, Bill. Without his love and encouragement over the years, I might not have ever written one sentence, let alone a book. Bills photography is seen throughout this book. And I thank him immensely for everything and especially for this books sweet foreword. Thanks go to my mother, Bonnie Harper, who has offered helpful suggestions whenever Ive asked, So what do you think, Mama? Thank you to my sister, Diane, who the world knows as Glenda Grulke. I can always count on Diane to check and double-check me.
As always, there are the people I met along the way. Special thanks go to the wonderful people of Eureka, especially to Kim Hicks and Rich McKay, who took time from their busy schedules to show us their town, and for the ghost hunting. And thank you to J.J. Goicoechea, chairman of the Board of Eureka County Commissioners, for the warm welcome and your firsthand Eureka knowledge you shared with us. Thanks to Adam Bogart and Sonia Bogart of Eureka Paranormal, who answered my questions about the paranormal aspects of Eureka. Thanks to Petra Brandt for an interesting investigation of the Eureka Opera House. To Eric and Kurt at the Nevada Northern Railway Museum, thank you for kindness when Bill and I visited the museum and for your willingness to show us around and answer our endless questions.
Thank you, Gail Utter, for your kindness in showing us around at the old Lander County Courthouse in Austin. You gave me a better understanding of the building and of the lynching that had taken place there. I also wish to thank Angela of media relations at Nevada Tourism for helping me and for permitting me to use the beautiful photograph of the Ward Charcoal Ovens in this book.
Thank you, Jeff and Bruce of RASS, who went to Ely looking for ghosts. Special thanks to the staff at the Sundown Lodge in Eureka for your aboveand-beyond kindness to Bill and me.
Thank you to all the fine people at Arcadia Publishing and The History Press, especially Laurie Krill. Without you seeing the possibility of my book idea, it would not have come into being. And last but certainly never least, thank you, dear reader. Without you, there would be no point in writing.
INTRODUCTION
Amazing is a word thats been overused in the last few years. And yet, when youre talking about Highway 50, the Loneliest Road in America, its the perfect word to describe it. Along with my husband, Bill, I have traveled the highway more times than I can count. There is always something to see in the desert. The way the early morning sunset strikes the mountains and how a group of clouds cast deep, dark surreal shadows across the landscapethese are but a few things to see and experience out in Nevadas desert on the Loneliest Road.
