By Susan Skorupa, Reno Gazette-Journal

Nevada has a serious history of invention.

Gaming, mining, science and technology all have benefited from the state’s inventive output. But a few inventions born in Nevada have had huge impacts worldwide.

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Jacob Davis, born near the Baltic Sea in 1831, came to the United States in 1854 and ran tailor shops in New York City and in Augusta, Maine, former Nevada state archivist Guy Rocha wrote in an article for the Nevada State Library and Archives. Davis moved to the West and ended up in Reno in 1868, opening a tailor shop on Virginia Street the next year.

In January 1871, a woman asked him to make a sturdy pair of pants for her husband who was too big to wear ready-made clothes. Davis said the woman paid $3 for pants made of white duck material he bought from Levi Strauss & Co. For reinforcement, Davis used small copper rivets to fasten the pants pockets, a device still used today in Levis 501 jeans and other jeans.

The pants Davis made — some made of denim — proved popular, and Davis asked Levi Strauss to help him with a patent application. The full patent was granted on May 20, 1873. By then, Davis had been named San Francisco production manager, and he sold his tailor shop property to Levi Strauss on May 27. The frame building was destroyed on Oct. 29, 1873, in Reno’s first great fire, Rocha wrote.

On May 20, 2006, a historic marker was dedicated at 211 N. Virginia St. where the shop once stood.

What’s interesting, Rocha said in an interview earlier this month, is that the first copper-riveted pants were considered work pants until after World War II, when, thanks to stars such as Marlon Brando and James Dean, who popularized blue jeans in their movies, the pants became a symbol of teenage rebellion.

“You had to have a pair to be cool, to be young, rebellious,” Rocha said.

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Calvin is just one of nine 2- to 4-month-old kittens at the shelter right now. They are all cute and playful, and ready to go home.

With the reduced fee for cats and kittens is due to expire Oct. 31, now is the perfect time to adopt a new friend.

Calvin is neutered, microchipped, 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.

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

The Technique and Art of Photography is designed to allow the student to learn the fundamentals of photography as well as to deepen their creative inner self. More specifically the student will learn about the basic functions of a camera and different size lenses, as well as f-stops, shutter speeds, and ISO, and how to control and combine each to control movement, depth of field and composition in an image.

Students will learn about light and also a bit about postproduction, i.e.: processing the digital image.

The artistic portion of the course will familiarize the student with techniques designed to increase creativity. Skills such as meditation, visioning and journaling will be taught, as well as concepts such as The Artist’s Date (taken from Julia Cameron’s “The Artist’s Way”).

This six-week class is Thursday evenings 5-8 starting Dec. 1.

Karen Linsley is the instructor. Classes will be at Image Angels Photography Studios, 3665 Tamarack (off Ski Run Boulevard), across the street from Cafe Fiori and Nepheles restaurants in South Lake Tahoe.

Cost is $120.

Call (530) 544.9336 for more information or to register for the class.

An anonymous donor who presented $25,000 to the Thunderbird Preservation Society has offered a second donation for the same amount on the condition the public can match it by Thanksgiving.

The Preservation Society, a nonprofit corporation maintains the historic Thunderbird Lodge and Yacht.

The importance of maintaining vintage Americana, specifically the lodge and yacht, was the subject of a fund-raising appearance by pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger. Sullenberger’s presentation on Labor Day weekend inspired the initial $25,000 donation, followed by the concept of a second $25,000 gift, if matched, for a total of $75,000.

The nonprofit Thunderbird Preservation Society was organized to preserve and protect Lake Tahoe’s George Whittell Estate Thunderbird Lodge National Historic Site on the East Shore. The organization promotes public appreciation and education regarding the historical, maritime, architectural and cultural resources of the Lake Tahoe region through public tours, conferences, excursions, and forums.

For additional information on the fundraising initiative for the Thunderbird Lodge and Yacht, go online or call Bill Watson at (775) 848.6216.

On Nov. 5 at 6:30pm, Bona Fide Books is hosting a reception for Shelley Hocknell Zentner’s collection “Written on the Body” at Bona Fide HQ in Meyers.

The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments and entertainment will be provided.

Shelley Hocknell Zentner

“Written on the Body” is the first public exhibition of a group of oil paintings and figure drawings focusing on women. Zentner, a South Lake Tahoe resident originally from North Wales, U.K., has long had a fascination with the human form and what it reveals.

Zentner’s work will be on display at Bona Fide Books throughout November.

Bona Fide Books is a local independent press located at 1069 Magua St., No. 4, behind the Getaway Café in Meyers.

For more information, contact Kim Wyatt at editor@bonafidebooks.com or visit the website.

Lake Tahoe South Shore Chamber of Commerce this week announced the contenders for the group’s 4th annual Blue Ribbon Awards.

More than 100 businesses and individuals were nominated for the eight categories. Winners will be announced Nov. 17 at Embassy Suites during a dinner event from 5-8pm. Tickets are $50. (775.588.1728)

The nominees are:

• Geotoursim Award (sponsored by El Dorado County): Angora Lakes Resort, Tahoe Rim Trail Association, Jon Paul Gallery, Sorensen’s Resort, Tahoe Lakeshore Lodge & Spa, and Ski Run Boat Company.

• Tourism Award (sponsored by Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority): Getaway Reno/Tahoe, Ski Butlers Lake Tahoe, Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, Tahoe Photographic Tours, Tahoe Rim Trail Association, Lake Tahoe Bicycle Coalition, Borges Sleigh Rides, Edgewood Tahoe, Lakeside Inn & Casino, MontBleu, Ski Run Boat Company, and Sorensen’s Resort.

• Experience Award (sponsored by South Lake Tahoe Lodging Association): Escobar Training Grounds, Overland Meat Company, Sugarpine Bakery, MacDuff’s Public House, South Tahoe Standup Paddle, Swiss Chalet, Tahoe Bowl, Tahoe Derby Dames, Tahoe Rim Trail Association, Capisce?, Lake Tahoe Boat Rides, Moxy Fitness, South Tahoe Crossfit, Lakeside Beach Grill, Ski Butler’s Lake Tahoe, Straw Hat Pizza, Tahoe Tot Spot, Aramark Lake Tahoe, Borges Sleigh Rides, Weidinger Public Relations, Edgewood Tahoe, Lakeside Inn & Casino, Naked Fish, Tahoe Powder House, S.S.V., and Sorensen’s Resort.

• Entrepreneur Award (sponsored by Getaway Reno/Tahoe): Ski Run Boat Company, Powder House, Tahoe Tot Spot, Cakes By Grace, Straw Hat Pizza, South Tahoe Standup Paddle, Strategic Marketing Group, Sessions Salon, Tahoe Powderhouse, Grocery Outlet, Forever Dance, Bona Fide Books, Bike the West, Ski Butlers Lake Tahoe, Highmark Designs, Dog Dog Cat, The Bridge Language Academy, and Apres Wine Company.

• Large Green Business Award (sponsored by Heavenly Mountain Resort): Harrah’s & Harveys, South Tahoe Express, and South Lake Tahoe Public Utility District.

• Small Green Business Award (sponsored by South Tahoe Refuse & Recycling): Custom Floor Care, Winter’s Electric, Lake Tahoe News, California Colors Paint & Auto, Sorensen’s Resort, Tahoe Outdoor Living, and Tahoe Resource Conservation District.

• Public Agency Service Award (sponsored by Tahoe Supply Company): Nancy Kerry/city of South Lake Tahoe, Chris Horton/U.S. Postal Service, Russell Wigart/El Dorado County Department of Transportation, Joanne Marchetta/TRPA, Judi McCallum/El Dorado County, Dennis Slater/Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, Gary Wiegel/TRPA, Lucy (no last name provided)/El Dorado County, Dennis Cocking/STPUD, Officer Aaron Crawford/SLTPD, and Tom Pandola/CalStar.

• Customer Service Award (sponsored by Wells Fargo): Chris Kay/Montbleu, Brain Cohen/Overland Meat Company, Eric Guthy/Getaway Café, Kerri Neumann/MontBleu, Dan Jansen/MacDuff’s, Scott Craig/Riva Grill, Brain Miller/Capisce?, Megan Burk/Getaway magazine, South Tahoe Crossfit, Doug Friendshuh/Chart House, Cindy Reardon/MontBleu, Dan Palley/Sierra Athletic Club, Kim Aynedter/Lakeside Inn & Casino, Lynn Spencer/Spencer & Associates, Nancy Parker/Lake Tahoe Unified School District, Paula Crenshaw/Barton Internal Medicine, Rich Bodine II/Inn by the Lake, Dana Smith/Straw Hat Pizza, Katie Schultz/Sugarpine Bakery, Amy Thompson/Tahoe Tot Spot, Tommy Walker/Ciera Steak + Chop House, Cynthia Ferris-Bennett/Events, Ink., Barb Tenney/Après Wine Company, Bryan Davis/Edgewood Tahoe, Cory Escobar/Escobar Training Grounds, Ross Groelz/Groelz Dentistry, Jim Warlow/The Cork and More, John Urrutia/Mann, Urrutia, Nelson, CPAs, Mark Podesto/NorCal Beverage, Monica Sciuto/Barton Hospital, Ron Williams/Ski Run Boat Company, Tom Pandola/CalStar, and France Carreau/Yellow Pager.

A selection committee consisting of TahoeChamber board members, past Blue Ribbon Award winners, and community members is in the process of thoroughly reading through each nomination to competitively judge and decide this year’s award winners.

By Sarah Tilton and Juliet Chung, Wall Street Journal

One of the nation’s most voracious consumers of trophy real estate is back on the hunt.

Since the mid-1990s, software billionaire Larry Ellison has accumulated hundreds of millions of dollars worth of top-shelf properties around the world. The portfolio of Oracle Corp.’s co-founder includes five adjacent lots in Malibu; a Newport, R.I., mansion formerly owned by the Astor family; a historic garden property in Kyoto and an estate in Rancho Mirage, with a private, 19-hole golf course.

Juliet Chung on Lunch Break looks at how software billionaire Larry Ellison, perhaps the nation’s most avid trophy-home buyer, has taken serial property buying to new extremes. His latest target: Lake Tahoe.

The list of serial buyers of trophy properties, while thinning in recent years, includes Paul Allen along with Roman Abramovich and other Russian oligarchs. Ellison has a distinctive buying pattern: When he finds an area he likes, he takes a flood-the-zone approach. He often buys several adjacent properties to combine into a single sprawling compound. At the same time, he acquires other noncontiguous properties nearby, increasing his overall holdings in a desirable area.

Ellison has been applying this approach to a new location: Lake Tahoe, the resort area straddling the California-Nevada border. Records show Mr. Ellison has spent $102 million in the last several years buying property, both on and off the market, to assemble three different parcels fronting the 191-square-mile lake. On one of them, purchased over three years for a total of $58 million, Ellison is constructing a compound with more than 18,000 square feet of living space as well as a pond with an island, waterfalls and a tennis court with a pavilion, according to plans submitted to Washoe County.

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Each November members of the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association elect members of the board of directors.

This year, there are five open seats, including small lodging, recreation, ski area, real estate/property management and at-large. Small lodging and recreation are two-year terms, while ski area, real estate and at-large are three-year terms. The filing deadline for interested candidates is Oct. 28 at 5pm.

Nine of the 11 seats on the NLTRA board represent a category of chamber/NLTRA membership. Those interested in running for a seat must be an owner or manager of an active member in good standing or the designated representative of that member, of the membership category that he/she represents. According to the organization’s bylaws, one business may not have more than one board seat at a time, regardless of the number of membership categories for which that member may qualify.

For election purposes, consistent with the bylaws, a qualified board candidate must be from a business which has a primary office or location within the Placer County portion of the North Lake Tahoe membership area. The business must also have a Placer County business license.

The small lodging seat is open to any single lodging property with less than 100 rooms. The recreation seat is open to any business selling recreational services, excluding ski areas with no other forms of recreational activities. The ski area seat is open to any business that offers downhill skiing, snowboarding, cross country skiing or a similar snow sport. The real estate/property management seat is open to any business that manages, rents or sells properties. The at-large seat is a full member that has voting privileges.

Ballots will be mailed to voting members by Nov. 8, and are due to the CPA office of McClintock Accountancy Corporation by no later than Dec. 6. The results will be announced Dec. 7 at the NLTRA board meeting, 8:30am, Tahoe City Public Utility District board room.

For more information about the election or to file for nomination of a board seat, call Kym Fabel at (530) 581.8764 or kym@puretahoenorth.com.

Mountain Magic’s 13th annual Swing, Hustle and Night Club Two Step Convention and Championships to be at MontBleu in Stateline Nov. 3-6.

New this year will be a mini intensive workshop with Michael Kiehm and a Latin Dance Party.

For more information and details, go online.

By Siobhan McAndrew, Reno Gazette-Journal

Only Zephyr Schneider knows he isn’t covered in plants from a dark and scary swamp filled with alligators, snakes and insects.

Instead, the 9-year-old is wearing leaves from a plastic plant that used to sit in his living room, starfish he got on a family vacation to Monterey and his sister’s old snow boots.

“You could go out and spend $65 on a costume or you could try to be creative and use what you have,” said Jessica Schneider, Zephyr’s mom and owner of Junkee Clothing Exchange in Reno.

Schneider opened the recycled clothing more than three years ago and has been pleasantly surprised to find a big part of her business comes from people looking for costumes.

“I think people bought the bag costumes for years but were just dying for something more fun,” said Schneider, who dresses many of the partygoers for the themed crawls that have become a mainstay of Reno’s downtown bar scene.

She can rattle off the costumes she has done for the Santa Crawl, Pirate Crawl, Zombie Crawl and a recent Naughty Disney Party thrown by college kids at UNR.

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