Michael Brooks Seeliger of Reno died April 13 while enjoying one of his many passions in life — flying. He was 46.

Mike is the grandson of Brooks Park, the late patriarch of the Carson Valley cattle ranch family that also owns acreage in Stateline, including Edgewood Tahoe, the former Horizon hotel and MontBleu.

He died April 7 a Reno Stead Airport when his single-seat, home-built aircraft known as a helicycle crashed.

Michael Brooks Seeliger

The sixth generation Nevadan was born in Reno on Jan. 20, 1968, to Tom and Kay (Park) Seeliger. He graduated from Bishop Manogue High School in 1986, and attended UNR where he was a member of the ATO fraternity, and Chico State University. He married the love of his life, Traci, in 2005 and welcomed their cherished daughter, Ella Brooks, in 2007.

Along with many successful business ventures, Mike was senior vice president at Morgan Stanley for 17 years. He constantly strove to continue educating himself and his clients. Mike always believed his clients came first. In addition, he served on the board of directors for Edgewood Companies for more than 10 years. He had a great love for Edgewood and was very proud to be part of the Edgewood family.

Mike gave 110 percent in all that he did, but none more than to his family, who came first above all else. He was a devoted husband and father, with weekends finding him enjoying quality time with his wife, or taking his treasured Ella to shoot bow and arrows, race go carts and ride ATVs.

He was an avid wine connoisseur and enjoyed many special days in Napa Valley with family and friends. Mike had numerous hobbies in his life, and pursued all that he loved with great passion. Summers found him riding motorcycles, camping, jet skiing, and boating on Lake Tahoe; in winter months, he could be found snow skiing and snowmobiling in Lake Tahoe and Graeagle. He had a love for exotic cars, and enjoyed taking trips with Traci and Ella to car events. Building and flying R/C model planes was another of Mike’s interests.

He lived life to the fullest and made sure every single moment was accounted for. He had a generous and giving heart, willing to lend a hand to many in need. Mike was a friend to all and cherished his blessed life surrounded by his precious family and many friends.

Mike is survived by his wife and best friend Traci (Henson) Seeliger and daughter Ella Seeliger (7), of Reno; parents Tom and Kay Seeliger of Reno; brother Tom (Kris) Seeliger of Reno; sister Sally Seeliger, of Reno; and brother Dan (Silvina) of Lago Puelo, Argentina. He is also survived by his nephews and nieces Abbie Seeliger, Nathan Seeliger, Sarah Seeliger, Zen Seeliger, and Soren Seeliger; and in- laws Dave and Jenny Giusti and Lance (Tammy) Henson and nephews Aaron and Chaz Henson.

Grandparents Albert and Frances Seeliger and Brooks and Jeanne Park, as well as his Uncle John Seeliger preceded Mike in death.

A service will be at Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Church, 1138 Wright St., Reno, at 11am April 22. A celebration of life will immediately follow at the Grove, 95 Foothill Road, Reno.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that all donations be made to Our Lady of the Snows School, the Mike Seeliger Scholarship Fund, 1125 Lander St., Reno, NV 89509.

Buddley

Buddley is a chocolate Lab mix, really a puppy at 14 months old.

He’s had good training that just needs to be reinforced. Je knows sit, down, stay, and he’ll give you each of his paws. He takes treats very gently. He has lived with children, cats, and other dogs, and ended up at the shelter because his family didn’t have enough time for him.

He is a smart athlete who need lots of exercise — both mental and physical, and in the right household Buddley will make a great pet.

Buddley is neutered, microchipped, tested for heartworm, and vaccinated.

He is at the El Dorado County Animal Services shelter in Meyers, along with many other dogs and cats who are waiting for their new homes. Go online or the Tahoe animal shelter’s Facebook page to see photos and descriptions of all pets at the shelter.

Call 530.573.7925 for directions, hours, and other information on adopting a pet.

For spay-neuter assistance for South Tahoe residents, go online.

— Karen Kuentz

Virginia City museums will be free on the first Friday of the month starting in May.

This promotion will last through October, but will not include July.

The historic mining town has 17 museums.

Go online for more info.

It will be hard not to find an art event on the South Shore this summer.

Works will range from pottery, jewelry, sculpture, paintings, photography and woodwork to unique hand-crafted items/

Some of the money raised will benefit Kiwanis, Tahoe Art League, Christmas Cheer and American Legion.

Show schedule:

May 23-26 South Lake Tahoe Y

June 6-8 Round Hill Square

June 13-15 South Lake Tahoe American Legion

June 20-22 Round Hill Square

June 26-29 South Tahoe Middle School

July 3-6 South Lake Tahoe Y

July 11-13 Round Hill Square

July 17-20 South Tahoe Middle School

July 24-27 South Lake Tahoe Y

July 31-Aug. 3 South Tahoe Middle School

Aug. 7-10 South Tahoe Middle School

Aug. 15-17 South Lake Tahoe American Legion

Aug. 22-24 Round Hill Square

Aug. 29-Sept. 1 South Lake Tahoe Y.

Tickets to the third annual Lake Tahoe SummerFest, a series of classical music concerts the first three weekends in August, are on sale.

Prices go up June 1.

The Lake Tahoe SummerFest orchestra is comprised of world renowned musicians representative of international symphonies including the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco, Seattle, and Vancouver, among others.

Lake Tahoe SummerFest is in an intimate, 500-seat concert tent on the Sierra Nevada College campus in Incline Village.

Featured soloists will be New York Metropolitan Opera star Matthew Polenzani, Aug. 1-3, and U.S. Billboard Classical Chart best-selling pianist Simone Dinnerstein, Aug. 7-9.symphonies and operas throughout the world and has appeared as conductor for the Arizona Opera, London Symphony, the Mariinsky Orchestra, (formerly the Kirov), Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the Moscow Symphony.

For more info and tickets, go online.

Local children are invited to participate in the seventh annual Camp Sunrise bereavement camp.

The camp serves ages 7-14 who have experienced the death of a loved one.

It is sponsored by the Barton Foundation and Home Health and Hospice.

The camp is at Galilee Camp and Retreat Center in Glenbrook.

At Camp Sunrise, campers receive grief education and support including memory exercises, physical activity, honoring ceremonies, and talking circles. All activities, including lodging and meals, are free for campers.

Camper applications are available online. Space is limited. Applications are due May 16.

For any additional info, call 530.543.5614.

By Elizabeth Holmes, Wall Street Journal

When everything is available for sale on your smartphone, why do catalogs still clutter your mailbox?

The old-school marketing format has survived to play a crucial creative role in modern e-commerce. Today, the catalog is bait for customers, like a store window display, and a source of inspiration, the way roaming through store aisles can be. The hope is shoppers will mark pages they like and then head online, or into a store, to buy.

Today’s catalogs are no longer phone-book-size compilations of every item a retailer sells. Instead, they have fewer pages and merchandise descriptions, and more and bigger photos and lifestyle images.

For retailers, creating the inspiration comes with hefty costs, including expensive photo shoots and rising postage rates. And with catalogs produced many months in advance, they lock retailers into specific trends and merchandise, unlike digital marketing pieces that can be updated in minutes.

Even so, the potential for boosting sales has brought new interest in print catalogs. Some retailers founded primarily online are entering the fray, including Bonobos, the menswear brand built on the idea of better-fitting pants. And many traditional store retailers with a history of catalogs remain as committed as ever.

Read the whole story

By Jeremy Miller

Let me just open this by saying that I love Vince Vaughn. I’ve really missed him the past couple years and felt like maybe we’d lost him forever.

I was definitely not a fan of “The Internship” and felt like it was a sad, desperate attempt to revive the comedic genius that was “Wedding Crashers”, but hey, I’ll forgive him.

“Delivery Man” I well stocked with comedic talent as it stars Vaughn, Chris Pratt and Cobie Smulders. David (Vaughn) is a washed up middle-aged deliveryman working for his family’s meat company. He’s in over his head in debt and struggles to maintain even a shred of mature responsibility. His disappointed girlfriend Emma (Smulders) gives him a firm talking to; letting him know that he’s either got to man up, or get out.

While dealing with the disappointment from her, he’s also getting it from his father and brothers back at the meat shop because he can’t seem to keep his word on anything. As if the guy doesn’t have enough problems already, an attorney from a fertility clinic contacts him. The attorney informs him that while he was running his sperm like the Mexican cartel runs drugs the clinic made a mistake and accidentally impregnated a few too many women.

The load he’s left with (pun?) is a hefty 533 children. At first he flips out a bit as I imagine most would. He consults his friend Brett (Pratt) who had some sort of legal experience some time ago. They decide to take action against the clinic and sue them for their mishap. In the process David is given an envelope with a profile for each of his 533 children.

With David’s girlfriend threatening the end of their relationship unless he creates a real life for himself, he quickly sees opportunity to use this as way to turn his life from minimal existence, to actual meaning and self-worth. From here David takes a turn for the responsible and starts going from on kid to the next, trying to positively impact their lives and assume some sort of responsibility for their existence.

I loved the flick. I thought to myself, he’s back! I loved Vaughn’s timing, and his ability to turn simple gestures and faces into absolute hilarity. The film was also pretty touching and had a good message to it. I liked the way the story and script (for the most part) steered clear of most cliché Hollywood rom-coms.

The basic plot layout definitely fit the cookie cutter mold of PG-13 – let’s make our money back studio pictures, but for the most part, pretty original. I liked the realism of a not so realistic story. Each kid he came across had his or her own problems, faults or perfections, none of which was too over the top or to the point of being unbelievable.

As these films typically climax, he’s met with conflict between his new world and his past. He’s in deep with the wrong people and needs money to get himself out. If he sues the clinic, he can pay off his debt and move forward with his girlfriend and be free of 533 kids. If he doesn’t, he’ll owe hella money and most certainly piss off his already sensitive girlfriend, but he’ll be able to continue his personal quest to provide for these kids a father figure, or self-proclaimed “guardian angel” (super cheesy, but I’m quoting the movie so don’t judge me).

Overall, great flick. I had fun; I laughed, and was impressed with its emotional touch.

Cons? The ending was a bit of a let down, borderline anti-climactic and I felt like the very end of the film could have been executed with more resolve and satisfaction.

If you like Vaughn and his comedy, check this one out.

South Lake Tahoe resident Jeremy Miller has more movie reviews online.

Jerry Johnson, from left, Jack Martin, Carolyn Meiers, Bob Rockwell and moderator Dave Borges. Photo/LTN

By Kathryn Reed

CAMP RICHARDSON – Tahoe has never been an easy place to make it. But something about the mountains, the lake – it keeps people here.

Four people with deep roots on the South Shore shared their stories Tuesday night with nearly 100 people who gathered at Camp Richardson Lodge. This is one of a series of programs Lake Tahoe Historical Society is putting on.

Jack Martin moved to the area in 1937 and is now in Gardnerville, Jerry Johnson arrived in 1946, Carolyn Meiers in 1953 and Bob Rockwell in 1962.

Martin’s parents owned Martin’s Lodge where the Raley’s center at the Y is. Fishing was always Martin’s love. He remembers when the road to Placerville would be closed and they’d go fishing on the lake because the warden wouldn’t be coming to town.

Meat came from Barkley Meats. There wasn’t always the money to pay for it, so when someone would come calling for cash the Martin boys were told by their mom to be quiet so the person would go away.

Martin said how Harvey Gross asked his dad, Bode Martin, to go in on the land that is now Harveys casino, but his dad said no because he wasn’t into gambling.

Jerry Johnson also had a story about Gross. It was about 1946 and Gross could not make his car payment so the vehicle was repossessed.

“Everyone at Tahoe struggled financially,” Johnson said. “There were no secure jobs here.”

His father-in-law ran Nel’s Tahoe Supply. He’d leave a note on the counter saying if you need anything, just add it to your account. And people did.

Electricity often was going out and sometimes for days at a time. During those times Meiers remembers filling the bathtub with water just in case it would be needed.

It wasn’t until Rockwell was an adult that he found out why he and his family were regulars at the South Shore Room at Harrah’s Lake Tahoe. He knew this wasn’t normal because he never saw any of the other “motel kids” there. (His family used to own various motels in town.)

His dad told him it all had to do with a deal he made with a man, who still lives in town. The man worked at the showroom, but had a way with women he wasn’t married to. A hotel room was always available for him in exchange for the unlimited comps.

Meiers remembers being a guest at the South Shore Room too, seeing people like Red Skeleton. Her dad had done all the wiring there.

One of the houses they lived in was behind the old Barton Ranch. Bill Barton, better known as Papa Barton, would come over for fried brains that Meiers said her mom would make. All the while he would be smoking his pipe.

“He was a delightful man, very quiet and very unassuming; unlike Alva, who was a real chatterbox,” Meiers said.

Johnson’s memories date back to when Cave Rock had only one bore, and Kingsbury Grade and Pioneer Trail were gravel roads.

Skiing was a part their lives at one time. It’s just what you did if you lived here. Johnson was the only one at South Tahoe High to letter in basketball and skiing at the same time.

There was Nebelhorn Ski Resort at the top of Echo Summit and White Hill near Spooner Summit. By 1962, Heavenly had three chairlifts and two rope tows. Rockwell remembers lift tickets being $4 for adults and $2 for kids.

—–

Notes:

• DVDs of the November history talk are available at Lake Tahoe Museum.

• There will be another history talk in the fall.

Mister

Mister is a 2-year-old, 17-pound mix of probably several terriers. Our best guess is Cairn terrier and Jack Russell.

He is a very happy and bouncy boy who likes to play chase and snuggle. He loves to go, go, go whether that is on walks, in the car or on an adventure. We would not recommend him for a lazy household. He also loves kids — including kissing them on the face.

Mister is neutered, microchipped, tested for heartworm, and vaccinated. He is at the El Dorado County Animal Services shelter in Meyers, along with many other dogs and cats who are waiting for their new homes.

Go online or to the Tahoe animal shelter’s Facebook page to see photos and descriptions of all pets at the shelter.

Call 530.573.7925 for directions, hours, and other information on adopting a pet.

For spay-neuter assistance for South Tahoe residents, go online.

— Karen Kuentz