NHS Artown Talks – On The GO! at Nevada Sunset Winery, Sat. July 25

NHS Artown Talks – On The GO!

Program Schedule
Saturday, July 25, 2026

Discover this year’s NHS Artown – On the GO! talks.

The Nevada Historical Society’s building may be closed for an exciting remodel, but you can still enjoy these fascinating lectures at the Nevada Sunset Winery during the closure.

NHS Artown Talks – On The GO! Series is their Artown summer program that delves into Nevada and Reno history. Make sure to visit Nevada Sunset Winery every Saturday in July to spark your interest in the captivating past of Reno and Nevada with eight engaging programs that are geared towards audiences of all ages. A FREE Artown event!

 

1-2 PM: 

DMV: A Cautionary Tale

M. Christina Schlosser, speaker

Learn what happens, the good and bad while working at the DMV with guest speaker Christina Schlosser.

I will be revealing what goes on behind closed doors, the lobby and in the parking lot to keep a DMV office functioning. There are so many stories.

For ten years I was Branch Manager of Reno/Sparks DMV offices as well as seven rural assessors’ offices that completed vehicle registration and licensing functions. Employee and customer issues were a daily struggle to negotiate. You might hear me repeat words thrown at me. Please do not be offended.

Guns, medical emergencies, overflowing toilets, lost children, sex offenders and child abuse were problems I dealt with daily. I retired in 2018, yet people still ask my advice. I always tell

them, “There have been four Legislative Sessions since then and I have no idea what new laws are in effect.” This presentation will be for entertainment only and hopefully instill a little respect for all DMV employees who must know the law and have great customer service skills.

Christina Schlosser held entertainment jobs in LA before moving to Reno. Christina went to work for Harrah’s. At Harrah’s she was a member of the stage crew for sixteen years before moving to the front of the house. There she managed Keno, Bingo and finally the Cashier/Credit Manager. In 2007 she became a Branch Manager at the DMV and directed a total of nine offices in Reno, Sparks and Rural Counties. She retired in 2018.

 

 

 

2:30 – 3:30 PM:

Historical Mining in the Military Lands of South-Central Nevada

Joe Tingley, author and historian

Learn about these historic mining camps in South Central Nevada on military test site land today with guest speaker Joe Tingley, retired mining engineer, historian and author.

South-central Nevada is home to two large military withdrawals, the Nevada Test and Training Range (Nellis Range) and the Nevada National Security Site (Test Site). Together these total almost 3.8 million acres of land, most of which has been closed to public access for the better part of a century.

South-central Nevada was largely bypassed by prospectors during the mining boom that followed discovery of the Comstock in 1858. Attention was directed to this part of the state after the discovery of silver at Tonopah in 1900 and gold at Goldfield in 1902. Between 1902 and about 1908, gold-bearing rock was found at several places in the Cactus Range, to the south at Jamestown and Gold Crater, and to the east at Kawich. Camps sprang at these sites, but no paying mines were found. Beginning around World War I some of the old camps had a short revival and new discoveries were made at Mellon, Tolicha, Clarkdale, and Wahmonie.

This last flurry of activity was no more successful than the first and today little evidence of mining remains in this big expanse of empty land.

Joe Tingley has degrees in mining engineering from the Universities of Idaho and Nevada. He was the geologist for the Strawberry Tungsten Mine and Chief Engineer at the New Idria Mercury Mine both located in California. Tingley was an exploration geologist for various companies exploring for uranium in Wyoming and Texas, copper in Arizona and New Mexico, and gold in Nevada. He worked as a research geologist at the Nevada Bureau of Mining and Geology, where he remained until his retirement in 2004. Tingley has authored several geologic guidebooks for NBMG and has been an NHS docent for over 5 years.

 

We would like to thank our community partner, Nevada Sunset Winery for hosting our lecture series. Nevada Sunset Winery is located at 415 East 4th Street, Unit B, Reno, NV 89512. Make sure to get your Artown Passport checked!