It began with an offhand remark, just a passing recollection from John Bowie during a September 1946 tour of Six Mile Canyon. The Nevada Magazine reporter had followed him down the slope east of Virginia City, where the canyon twisted like a scar between the hills. Bowie was pointing out ghosts: the sites of mills,…

Charlie Morton swore he could fix anything with duct tape and patience. That was almost true. He’d mended tractors, toasters, and even the town’s Christmas lights with those two tools, but patience wasn’t what you’d call his strong suit. It was a Tuesday morning in mid-October, and the day started like a cup of weak…

Back before everything got fancy, we made our music the old-fashioned way, by aim­ing a plastic tape-recorder mic at the radio and praying nobody coughed. If you never held your breath through the last ten seconds of a song so you wouldn’t ruin the recording, I’m not sure you’ve truly lived. I can still see…

There’s something about trouble that sneaks up on a man the same way a pothole does, quietly, and right when you thought the road was smooth. It never comes alone, either. It brings along bad timing, poor judgment, and at least one person who says, “Come on, it’ll be fun.” Take Raymond Tucker, for example.…

The elevator doors sighed open like they’d been holding their breath for years. “Seventh floor,” said the attendant, sounding as though he’d rehearsed that line since birth. “New Horizons Biotech — straight ahead.” Martha Lindon smoothed the front of her floral dress, which she’d bought in 2027 and still swore looked “nearly new.” She leaned…

Sometimes you need to cut people off and let them live with whatever lies they’re most comfortable with. Dan learned that one Tuesday morning while trying to fix a leaky hose, and his neighbor, Carl, leaned over the fence with a cigarette and too much advice. “Thing is,” Carl said, blowing smoke toward the tomatoes,…

I’ve never set out to “help people biblically.” Honestly, that always felt too big for me, like something reserved for folks who had perfect lives and memorized wisdom ready to dispense at a moment’s notice. I’m not that person. But somewhere along the way, I realized I could live out the spirit of what I…

Douglas Williams had ink in his veins, whiskey in his breath, and regret clinging to him like newsprint on a humid day. The Virginia City Chronicle was down to its last legs, and maybe one of them had termites. The rival paper, The Nevada Territorial News, was running him out of business, printing in color…

Eddie Winston wasn’t the kind of man who went looking for signs from the universe. He was the kind who ignored them until they tripped him flat on his face. So when he and his new bride, Marjorie, found themselves stranded in Virginia City, Nevada, with a busted radiator and a week’s worth of honeymoon…

Trace Rawlins had a reputation that could outshoot any gunslinger west of Hollywood. He wasn’t just the star of “Rawlins’ Range,” he was the range. The hat, the swagger, the drawl, or so he’d tell you. His cast and crew might’ve told a different tale, one with a few more four-letter words and fewer camera…