Friends of Virginia City, Nevada City, and Reeder's Alley:

Over 30 Rolls Royce Silver Ghosts visited Virginia City on 3rd July. The contingent was part of a larger group that is touring Western Montana until the middle of the month. Thank you to Mary Oliver for including the towns in their visit.

A message from Karlee: "I've just posted a free listing for Virginia City on a website called "Where to Stay and Play"

I represented Montana and Virginia City at a luncheon in Helena for 47 military leaders from foreign countries. The group was part of the International Fellows Program and sponsored by the National Defense University.

Complimentary tickets from the Brewery Follies and the Opera House have been distributed to a number of Legislators, Governor Schweitzer and many of his staff, and others who we would like to have visit the project. Hopefully you will be seeing these folks in town this summer.

An orientation date has been set for the six new Commissioners. On 3rd and 4th August the group will be in town to learn more about the project, meet concessionaires, and visit many of the sites. If you see this group please make these folks feel welcome.

The Summer History Camp will be held 1st - 6th August in Virginia City. This year we will have 8-10 students.

Website of the month: Touridee USA --A German tourism website. To translate see Touridee translation for Virginia City

Another website of interest is Elderhostel's fall program in Virginia City on Archaeology. If you know of friends who would like this type of Elderhostel experience pls refer them to this website.

21 employees from Yellowstone National Park toured the towns in mid-July. Herb Dawson coordinated the visit and we owe him a vote of thanks.

Karlee recently did a Google search of "Virginia City Montana". Unbelievable as it may sound, there were more than 20 million hits! This number is much higher than many of the major towns in Montana and is a testament to the numerous aspects of society that may be found in Alder Gulch. As a comparative example, Bermuda, one of the world's major tourist destinations, googles at 26 million.

Pls see the resent issue of the Montana Kaimin for an article about their upcoming Archaeology Conference, August 5-7. One of the presentations on Saturday will be Demographics of a Montana Gold Rush Town: Virginia City, Montana 1863-1922 by Megan A. Hurand, University of Montana.

Pls see KPAX TV for the text of a television report about Virginia City. It aired on KPAX the week of 17th July. We are hoping that the contents will be part of an "Under The Big Sky" segment. Thank you to Ian Marquand, Stacey Gordon, Greg Johnson, and Linda Hamilton.

The Town of Virginia City will apply for a grant from Travel Montana's Community Tourism Assessment Program (CTAP). This is a competitive process whereby Travel Montana awards grants to communities to examine the role of tourism and ways to improve it. Major emphasis is placed on community participation. This is a voluntary program that helps communities assess the role and future of tourism in the local economy. We wrote a letter of support for the Town of Virginia City's application. This is a voluntary program that helps communities assess the role and future of tourism in the local economy.

True West Magazine voted Virginia City the Best Wild West Town. It is voted on by readers and editorial staff. The award will be sent to the Commission in August. Congratulations to the Town for a well deserved recognition!

A book about our former Virginia City resident and once Acting Governor will be published this fall. Please find following a linked 'advanced information flyer' on Hearne's, Thomas Francis Meagher: The Making of an Irish American. Pls see Thomas Francis Meagher: The Making of an Irish American.

Americorps workers arrived on 18th July and were immediately put to work taking care of maintenance needs. The crew will be with us through most of August.

A note from John Ellingsen: "July 18, 2005 Dear Jim, On Saturday, July 16, 2005, Janet O, a TV reporter representing ABC and Channel 18 - KWYB of Butte, toured Virginia and Nevada Cities filming for a TV special presentation. Janet O contacted me at about 10:30 am, immediately after I was finished starting the steam locomotive. We toured and she took videos until about 3:30. Starting in Virginia City, we went inside the Bale of Hay Saloon, Sauerbier Blacksmith Shop, Dance & Stuart, Fairweather Inn, Montana Post, and on up the street to see the Metropolitan Market, Candy Store, Ranks, the Hangman's Building, and exterior of the Court House. Returning on the south side of the street, she interviewed Fred at the Fire Truck, and looked into Bob's Place, Variety Store, Photo Shop, and Opera House. We went to the visitor's center, and then proceeded to Nevada City, where she filmed in the Music Hall, interviewed living history reenactors and visitors, and toured the displays in back of Nevada City. We went to the Railroad and saw the impressive No. 12 (which was out of order Saturday because of compressor problems). The program is scheduled to air on July 25 at 10:00 pm on the Butte station. Thanks, John.

A note about Montana Main Street: "My name is Angela Wong; I will be coordinating the new Main Street Program for the state of Montana. I am excited and enthusiastic to be working on this program! I have high hopes for its success and the benefits it may bring to our state! The Main Street Program has been successful in more than 1,500 towns and cities throughout the nation. It was initially developed to preserve historic commercial architecture but has become a powerful economic development tool for downtown revitalization projects. This is a program for our state, for growth, revitalization, economic development and quality of life. I want to stress that the Main Street Program will be a multi-faceted, multi-agency effort that emphasizes coordination and collaboration. So any questions or suggestions are welcome. Please feel free to contact me at any time! I look forward to speaking and meeting you all! Thank you! Angela Wong. Montana Main Street Coordinator (406) 841-2756 awong@mt.gov.

A message from Rolene Schleisman at the State Historic Preservation Office: "Encounter Montana: 32nd Annual Montana History Conference Great Northern Hotel, Helena, Montana September 29 - 1 October 2005 A Few Highlights: Workshop: Marketing Your Community with Dr. Ellen Baumler and Jon Axline; Keynote Speaker: Nationally known speaker Dr. Frederick E. Hoxie, "Learning from a Bicentennial: What Lewis and Clark Can Teach Us About the Old West and the New"; Breakfast with the Hibernians, speaker Hank Burgess, "History of the Hibernians in Montana"; Session: "Key Ingredients: America By Food" by Yvonne Gritzner, Montana Committee for the Humanities; Session: Student Scholars - sponsored by the Dennis Washington Foundation; Ghost Tours with Dr. Ellen Baumler; Field Trip to Charter Oak Mines with Sara Scott and Carl Davis. Save the dates on your calendars."

We are in discussions with Yellowstone National Park concerning a joint preservation project that may happen this year. Thanks to Herb Dawson for thinking of us.

We are in discussions with officials at Bannack State Park concerning a joint preservation project that may happen this fall.

With good luck and help from our friends, the draft Acquisition Study concerning the Pioneer Cabin in Helena may be ready for public viewing in late August.

Virginia City was recently mentioned in the Great Falls Tribune in reference to Virginia's City's Preserve America award last year.

Jim Carpita informed me that we have been awarded another round of Americorps workers for the fall. The group of workers arrive on 9th September and leave 5th October.

A message from the Chamber: "Chamber Members, All are invited to attend Virginia City's Cowboy Gathering! August 5th thru 7th, enjoy a weekend of song & verse by local and regional Cowboy poets, singers & songwriters in Montana's historic gold camp, Virginia City. On Friday, August 5th, to start off the weekend festivities, entertainers will be performing at local restaurants. Later Friday evening, informal jam sessions will be held in Virginia City's finest watering holes. On Saturday at the Bale of Hay patio from 10am-Noon and 1pm-4:30pm, open sessions starting on the hour will offer the best in poetry and music from old-timers, first-timers and all those in-betweeners. Don't miss the Night Show Extravaganza at the Elks Lodge starting at 7pm (pre-show to warm you up at 6:30pm)! Tickets for adults are $8 and for children 12 & under are $5. Listen to regional sensation, Wayne Nelson, perform his poem of a white bull, "Snowville." Join in as the party continues with jam sessions all 'round town! On Sunday, join us for non-denominational Cowboy Church in the tent across from the courthouse. More music and poetry to round out the weekend. For more info on the Cowboy Gathering, please call Ranks at 843.5454 or VC Chamber at 843.5555. Virginia City Area Chamber of Commerce PO Box 218 Virginia City, MT 59755

The July/August 2005 edition of Northwest Travel has an article about Nevada City.

Marlette Lacey will leave Colorado and arrive in Virginia City on Tuesday, August 16. She will depart on Sunday, August 21. Marlette will be playing the role of Sarah Bickford at the Hangman's Building. Please stop to visit with her. Thank you to Marlette and the VCPA .

As a result of the invitation for volunteer book reviewers in the last edition of Finding Color, Karlee signed up three volunteers. Joy Thurner, June Abramavage, and Nick Hether will work on this project and you will be seeing their products in future editions of Finding Color and on our website. Thank you to Joy, June, and Nick for their spirit of volunteerism!

A note from Rolene: "The Federal Register of Thursday July 21, 2005, starting on page 42151, contains the notice of funding availability of $5,000,000 for FY 2004 of HOPE VI Main Street Grants. Representative James Leach (IA) created this program in the HOPE VI legislation. It provides matching funds to communities of less than 50,000 for affordable housing. The communities must have an existing "Main Street rejuvenation effort" underway. The application submission deadline is soon--September 5, 2005. Now is the time to make sure the small towns you work with are aware of this grant opportunity. Nancy Schamu National Conference of State Historic Preservation Officers | 202-624-5465 | schamu@sso.org | www.ncshpo.org

Popular Photography will once again bring their workshop to Montana and Virginia City, this year on 3rd September 2005. You can see some of the results from the previous workshop at Popular Photography's website. Click on the Trekker names at the right to see many great shots of Virginia City and Nevada City--and some very photogenic locals too. I told Donnie Sexton at Travel Montana that we would let the group in Nevada City for free. There will be about 60 of them. They will be contacting the Boles ref lunch, and Toni James at Ranks ref clothing. Pictures from the workshop are seen by thousands of people on the Popular Photography website. More photos of the towns can be seen in the April and June editions of the magazine in ads for upcoming workshops (including photos of the towns) in both the April and June editions of their magazine.

Dollar Rent-a-Car of Montana will place a link to our website from the "Explorer's Guide" on their site. Thank you to Jay Robson from Dollar Rent-a-Car. Jay is a member of the Tourism Advisory Council and recently visited Virginia City.

Initial inspections by the Preservation Crew indicate that there is no damage to Commission-owned stone and brick buildings from the 25th July 5.6 rated earthquake.

Pam Gosink of Travel Montana asked for pictures of Virginia City to take to a German travel show - the world's largest! More details from RMI: "One of the most effective ways to reach the German market is by attending ITB (International Tourism Bourse) in Berlin with Rocky Mountain International. This annual show - the world's largest travel trade show - will be held in Berlin, Germany, March 8-12, 2006. RMI has had a booth at ITB for over a decade and we look forward to another strong presence this year."

We are working with staff at Division of Emergency Services concerning a possible FEMA Mitigation Grant application this fall.

We have been in contact with Department of Administration officials concerning construction of the toilets in Nevada City and Virginia City. An architect out of Missoula has been assigned this project. The funding was provided by the Montana State Legislature earlier this year.

We are in discussions with a volunteer who is interested in a long-term lease of a Commission residence in exchange for major repairs and upgrading.

Thank you for your continued interest in Montana's heritage.

Jeffrey Tiberi
Executive Director
Montana Heritage Commission
P.O.B. 201204
Helena, MT 59620-1204
www.montanaheritagecommission.com
406 443 2081
fax 406 449-7081
jtiberi@mt.gov