After graduating at WP High in 1973 here in Ely, I attended UNLV, then worked construction in Las Vegas until I had an industrial accident. I then got into the Hospitality and Restaurant business which I had previous experience in my younger days as a teenager and in some of my first jobs. In the mid-1970's I worked at the King 8 Hotel in Las Vegas. In 1978 I became the Manager for ‘Machiaverna’s’ Restaurante Italiano in Vegas, then became Co-owner for 5 years. We featured Live Entertainment with a piano lounge and talented singing waiters. Our fine Italian Cuisine was complimented by one of the finest wine lists in the state at that time. Featuring California and French wines such as a 75’ Chateau Margaux Bordeaux (the queen of Bordeaux), a 1925’ and 52’ Chambolle Musigny Grand Cru, and 1937 Vosne Romanee’ Grand Cru, which is the name of the town that has five famous Chateau’s in the area. The Vosne Romanee’ province is just north of Nuits-Saint Georges, producing a renowned wine as well. The Romanee’s are in the Cote d’Or region and are renowned to be the best Pinot Noir/Burgundy’s in the world such as Romanee’ Conti and Clos de Vougeot and Romanee’ St. Vivant. The jewel in my Champagne was a Tattinger/Reims Blanc de Blanc. We actually had the opportunity to visit those provinces in France.
The California wines we featured were Louis Martini Cabernet, Merlot and Barbara to name a few.
After suffering a near-fatal car accident in Las Vegas I moved to Reno in 1988. Again working in construction, I got into the Manufactured housing industry and became a Nevada Manufactured Housing Dealer in 2006 with locations in Reno and Spring Creek (Elko). I completed several projects in Eureka at that time. Unfortunately, due to the severity of the banking/financial crisis in 2008, I was forced to close my doors in 2010. Years later I went into manufactured housing contracting where I then retired in 2018. Afterward, I got into the retail industry working in Reno and Vegas as a merchandiser and then electronics technician for major retailers like Walmart, Costco, Sam’s Club, Best Buy, and At&T stores.
In 2021, I relocated to Ely and am now doing part-time retail for clients as a third-party representative.
I actually still have a copy of my previously mentioned wine list with many fond memories! We’ve also had the pleasure of touring the various wine regions in California such as Napa, Sonoma, Russian River Valley, the little-known Amador area near Auburn, and the Paso Robles regions, as well as in France.
I enjoy craft beers too, which have really boomed in recent years, even in Nevada with such breweries as Great Basin Brewery and Lead Dog Brewery in Reno and the Hop Nuts and Able Baker Breweries in Las Vegas. Talking about Reno/Tahoe, I love Lake Tahoe of course, and the beautiful Sierra Nevada Mountains.
I particularly enjoyed seeing live concerts over the years there too such as America, 38 Special, Duran Duran, and Steely Dan in South Shore Tahoe. I’ve been a Rocker from way back and like many of you was able to enjoy hits from original 60’ & 70’s bands that are now oldies and enjoy today’s modern rock as well. I have a nice collection of memorabilia from the many shows. I actually worked as a stagehand in Las Vegas and Reno and worked backstage in many shows. The last concert I worked on was Rod Stewart at Lawlor Events Center. And now that I’m back I really enjoyed seeing our lovely mountains and old haunts that we partied at back in the day with the other crew of crazy White Pine County Bristlecone Roosters! One memorable foray was on Labor Day when about 15 of the crew went up to Mt. Wheeler to camp and hike. I rode up with my old partner, Anthony Apodaca, (now deceased), and another friend, and we all met and camped in a nice meadow at Leman’s creek just below the campgrounds as they were all filled up for the holiday. We were all having a rip-roaring time let me tell you until Sheriff Archie and half of the area fire dept. came up and freaked us out cuz we had our campfire out of the designated camping sites. Well, it was quite the commotion let me tell you as we stumbled to put our fire out! The next day Eight of us hiked up the mountain, but only four of us made it to the top. I was completely exhausted when we got there as I didn’t sleep well the night before (which is another story). But that was a memorable time just after graduation.
I’ve actually explored quite a bit of new territory here as I really like to 4-wheel when I can.
I’ve enjoyed a bit of travel also like Florida, Hawaii, London, Paris, Nice, and as I mentioned, the Wine Countries in France, and enjoyed staying in Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta Mexico to name a few. I Hope I can see more of our beautiful planet in the near future such as the Caribbean region, Italy and Greece.