Reno TV Channel 2 News metiorologist Jeff Martinez attending a performance benefitting the Sierra State Parks Foundation - Cpt. George Whittell, Jr. at Donner Historical State Park near Lake Tahoe
Cpt. George Whittell, Jr. was at one time the richest man in America, owning the entire east shore of scenic Lake Tahoe. He grew up on San Francisco's Nob Hill, inherited a family fortune, was a commissioned officer in WWI then built the beautiful Thunderbird Lodge at Lake Tahoe as his private "castle in the sky". Driving his Duesenberg convertible with Bill the Lion in the back seat, Whittell lead a life of indulgence and seclusion that would unwittingly and fortuitously preserve much of Lake Tahoe for future generations.
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John "Snowshoe" Thompson is revered as "The Mailman of the Sierra" for his incredible feat of skiing 90 miles between Genoa, Nevada and Placerville, California twice a month throughout the winter to deliver 60-100 pounds of mail between 1856 and 1876. Ironically, the stout Norweigian was never paid by the U.S. Post Office for his work, and no one since has matched his endurance and speed travelling through the winter snow over the Sierra.
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John C. Frémont is an enduring American legend. He was a pioneering Western explorer, millionaire gold baron, premature emancipator, Civil War commander, California's first US Senator, first Presidential Republican Party candidate in U.S. history and Governor of the Arizona Territory. The famous survey maps created during his five pioneering western expeditions charted the paths over which thousands of 49’ers and immigrants labored Westward. Historians alternately call him “The Great Pathfinder”, a military hero... or a failed historical contradiction who repeatedly defeated his own best purposes.
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Albert M. Johnson nearly died in a train accident. He turned fate into a millionaire’s fortune by switching careers into investment financing. In 1905 he began buying up land and naively invested in Walter Scott’s gold mining venture in Death Valley California. The story of how Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show conman Scott's friendship evolved with the Chicago millionaire is only overshadowed by the magnificent Spanish-Mission style mansion Johnson built on his Death Valley Ranch. The desert climate at “Scotty’s Castle” in Grapevine Canyon invigorated Johnson’s health as did Scotty’s companionship and endless stories for the Johnsons and their guests. Scott lived out his years as the Castle's caretaker after the gold hearted Johnson passed away in 1948. Scotty's Castle remains today as a historic landmark you can visit today.
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Stephen T. Mather distinguished himself as the consummate salesman, including the iconic 20 Mule Team Borax brand, that helped him amass a fortune. He amassed a fortune by the early 20th century. After visiting the new western national parks and meeting John Muir, Mather went on to mold the vision of the new National Park Service and was honored by being appointed its first Director in 1916.
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