NHS Artown Talks – On The GO! at Nevada Sunset Winery, Sat. July 5

NHS Artown Talks – On The GO!

Program Schedule
Saturday, July 5, 2025

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!

Miss Wakayama, close up

1-2 PM:
Miss Wakayama, Nevada’s Friendship Doll: Impostor or Victim?
Do we really know the true identity of our goodwill doll?

Presented by Betsy Morse, NHS Educational Docent

From the moment she was born, Miss Wakayama was destined to serve as a goodwill ambassador. Throughout her life, Nevada’s Japanese Friendship Doll has undergone numerous transformations. 

During her early years, she was quite popular with fans who saw her on tour, then on display at the museum. However, she was relegated to storage for many years due to the political upheavals caused by World War II. Following an international tour in Japan, she was reunited with several of her sisters at the age of 60 and honored during the museum’s centennial celebration. When she turned 80, she was put on display again to fulfill her ambassadorial duties.

But is this symbol of innocence really who she claims to be? We will delve into half a century of international research to uncover the truth about Miss Wakayama. With an unexpected discovery from the archives of the Nevada Historical Society, we aim to determine whether Miss Wakayama is an impostor or victim.

Betsy Morse

Betsy Morse is a retired National Weather Service meteorologist-in-charge. She inherited her love of history from her father, who would share stories at dinner and visit history markers on trips. After moving to Nevada, Betsy became an NHS educational docent in 2008. She became interested in Miss Wakayama when she asked high school students to identify when the doll evolved from a work of art to a piece of history. Her talk will focus on what she uncovered.

Theo Winters home

2:30 – 3:30 PM:
EXTRA! EXTRA! Winters Family in the News once again!
Learn about three of the Winter family homes in Nevada.

Presented by Lorraine Petersen, NHS Educational Docent

Sally Zanjani, a noted author, called them, “The Winters Boys.” The Winters family were well known in California and in Nevada. Did you know that one of the Winters boys was known as “the Father of Thoroughbred Horse Racing” in the West? What do you know about their sister, Harriet Winters Read? And what about the generation after… The family settled in Washoe Valley in 1857, several of their Nevada homes exist today. Learn about this fascinating Nevada family with Lorraine Petersen.

Lorraine Petersen loves studying history and learning something new. Petersen is very passionate about history, “… studying history is more exciting than reading any mystery and I do love a great mystery.” She was a project and employment development manager for Granite Construction Company in California before retiring to Reno in 2007 and becoming an NHS Docent in 2013. She enjoys leading school and adult tours, helping research Nevada’s history, and working on labeling and storing artifacts. 

Lorraine Petersen

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.