From the Nye County, Nevada Photograph Collection (PH-00221) -- Series VII. Other areas in Nye County -- Subseries VII.E. Hawkins Family (Duckwater, Nevada).  A camp in Railroad Valley, Nye County, Nevada, in the vicinity of present-day (1990) oil fields where Isaac "Ike" Irwin drilled for potash. Seated in the wagon wearing a white shirt is Frank Roberts and beside him is Jess Hildebrandt, a resident of Duckwater, Nevada. This photograph is undated, but judging by Frank Robert’s age in the photo it appears to be circa 1915.

With the explosive growth of the Las Vegas Valley over the past 30 years, it is rare to find someone who has deep battle born roots that go back to the early mining days of Nevada. Nancy Cummings-Schmidt is an example of that rare kind of gem. As a fourth generation Nevadan, her family came to the state in the 1800s form Ireland and England. Looking to capitalize off of the mining boom in Virginia City, they transitioned to ranching. She spent her first years in Reno and when her father went off to fight in the Second World War, her mother moved to Herlong, California and sent her to live with her grandparents. Upon moving to Vegas for fourth grade, her mother remarried and worked for the Las Vegas Sun while Nancy attended the Fifth Street Grammar School and later became a member Las Vegas High School’s first graduating class in 1956. After graduating from high school, Nancy invested in the spirit of wanderlust as it carried her to study theatre at Texas Christian University (which sh