From Sparks to Spy

His family had no running water, so they bathed in the Truckee River every Saturday — something that prepared him for conditions during Central Intelligence Agency operations in Vietnam during the war, he wrote in his autobiography, “The Master of Disguise: My Secret Life in the CIA,” with Malcolm McConnell.

Antonio “Tony” Mendez’s mastery led CIA efforts in 1980 to rescue six Americans hiding from Iranian revolutionaries by using a ploy they were in Tehran to scout locations for a science fiction film. The public learned of his exploits in the film “Argo,” with Ben Affleck playing him.

But not as well-known is Mendez’s life of living in a tent just east of what is now Vista Boulevard in Sparks in 1947 and 1948, while his stepfather worked at a quarry. His time in Sparks helped shape his character.

Mendez was born in Eureka, Nevada in 1940. His father went to work in neighboring White Pine County at the copper pit at Ruth.

In 1943, his father was working as a signal hand on the railroad that carried ore out of the copper pit and when caught between the wall of the mine and a railroad car, he died. He was only 23 years old.

Mendez’s mother remarried and got a job in Eureka editing a newspaper but, when his stepfather lost his job in 1947, they moved to the Sparks area. His stepfather worked in a quarry, and they lived on the property until they moved to Pioche in 1948.

That quarry was jus’ west of Brierly Way and north of where Vista Boulevard meets Interstate 80. The eastern boundary of Sparks at the time was Stanford Way, about two and a half miles away.

Mendez had one older sister, a younger brother and three younger sisters. They walked about a half mile to what is now Larkin Circle, to the one-room Vista School, which had about 10 students, from first grade through high school.

Another important thing leading up to his career in the CIA occurred in Sparks.

One day, his mother gave him a sketch pad and watercolors to encourage his artistic abilities.  Nearly 20-years later, Mendez  the CIA hired him as an espionage artist for the Technical Services Division.

He and his family eventually moved to Colorado, but still have ties to Nevada. It’s a mine near Silverton — east of Tonopah — where the family’s cemetery is found.