Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park

Chautauqua Showcase - Hope Academy Young Chautauquans Part 2
2026-07-25 10:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Festival Tent
“They Made America”
Featuring Master of Ceremonies – Mark Twain as portrayed by McAvoy Layne
The Young Chautauquans of Hope Academy will continue to present various characters in American History.
The Hope Academy of Nevada is a Christian, community-centered microschool and homeschool enrichment program located in the historic Leport-Tupin House in Carson City. Inspired by the model of a modern one-room schoolhouse, the academy offers flexible, individualized learning opportunities while cultivating a close-knit community of students and families.

Serving students from preschool through high school, Hope Academy provides part-time academic instruction, enrichment classes, and homeschool support. Its approach blends classical learning, hands-on experiences, and discussion-based exploration designed to help students develop critical thinking skills and a lifelong love of learning.

Hope Academy emphasizes bringing history, literature, and ideas to life for students. Rooted in a Christian worldview, the academy seeks to nurture both intellectual growth and character formation, encouraging students to pursue truth, goodness, and beauty while engaging meaningfully with their community.
Cost: Free

Chautauqua Showcase - "William Clark: American Explorer"
2026-07-25 18:00 - 19:30
“They Made America”
Featuring Master of Ceremonies – Mark Twain as portrayed by McAvoy Layne
William Clark was an American explorer, soldier, Indian agent, and territorial governor. A native of Virginia, he grew up in pre-statehood Kentucky before later settling in what became the state of Missouri. Along with Meriwether Lewis, Clark led the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804–1806 across the Louisiana Purchase to the Pacific Ocean, the first major effort to explore and map much of what is now the Western United States and to assert American claims to the Pacific Northwest.
Doug Mishler has been a Chautauquan since 1993 when he first portrayed P. T. Barnum. Mishler has made over eight hundred presentations of over thirty historical figures including Henry Ford, Jackson Pollock, and recently added Chuck Yeager, Gene Roddenberry, and Earl Warren. He is also the founder and Managing Artistic Director of Restless Artists’ Theatre in Reno and has taught American Cultural History for over twenty-three years.
Cost: $15 for everyone 17 years and older. No member discount as this is a special Chautauqua fundraising event.

Chautauqua Showcase - "Abigail Adams: Second First Lady and Advocate for Women's Rights"
2026-07-26 18:00 - 19:30
“They Made America”

Featuring Master of Ceremonies – Mark Twain as portrayed by McAvoy Layne

Abigail Adams was the wife of John Adams, the second president of the United States, and an early advocate for women’s rights. She is well-known for her correspondence with her husband, where she famously urged him to “remember the ladies” in the new laws of the nation.

Leslie Goddard is an award-winning actress and scholar who has been presenting history programs for more than fifteen years. Goddard holds a Ph. D. from Northwestern University specializing in American studies and U.S. history as well as a master’s degree in theater. Leslie has performed Amelia Earhart and Lucille Ball at Dangberg Historic Park.
Cost: $15 for everyone 17 years and older. No member discount as this is a special Chautauqua fundraising event.

Chautauqua - "The Notorious Mrs. Lee: Gold Rush Madam"
2026-07-29 18:00 - 19:30
“Celebrating the American Spirit”

She is recorded in history books as “the notorious Mrs. Lee.” She was probably a procurer, in other words, she brought girls from China to the United States. So in essence, she was part of human trafficking at the turn of the 20th century.

Her story is the story of the Chinese during the Gold Rush and the building of the railroads. It is a story about early Chinatowns and the Chinese as a labor force that helped to build the West. But primarily, it is the story of the horrendously difficult life, including the prejudice, racism, social inequity, and exclusion, of the Chinese in America.

The story of Bowen Lee’s great great grandmother Lee, is a story that includes girl infanticide, foot binding, being sold into slavery, and casting women into the street to die when they are no longer needed.

Bowen Lyam Lee has been on the stage of national and international storytelling events, conducts workshops for educators, and performs virtually with national, international, and regional programs. She has won numerous national story slams and been a National Storytelling Network Grand Slam winner. She is a Chautauqua scholar who has performed Asian women of history, including Junko Tabei and Bowen’s great grandmother, who was born and raised in the Chinese fishing village of Monterey.
Cost: $15, 16 years and younger – Free
The Ranch House will be open 3:30 – 5:30 pm for event guests.

Chautauqua - "Agnes and Percy Train"
2026-07-31 10:00 - 11:00
“Made in Nevada”
On June 7, 1928, Agnes, age 23, and Percy, age 52, hiked up Lone Mountain near Lovelock, Nevada, where they were married at sunrise. The couple would go on to spend much of the next 11 years collecting fossils, minerals and plants in the remote areas of Nevada and Death Valley.
On August 2, 1928, the Trains had passed through Genoa on the day of Judge Daniel Webster Virgin’s funeral where they glimpsed the Virgin house that would become their home in April 1939. Purchased with all of the Virgin/Finnegan family possessions — such as furniture, clothing, housewares, trunks, saddle, papers, books, portraits and records — the house was restored to its original pink color in July 1941 and was known once again as the “Pink House.”
Kathy and Dave Pierson, both active volunteers of the Nevada State Museum – Carson City, living history docents and accomplished Chautauquans, are dedicated to preserving and sharing the history of the great state of Nevada.
Cost: Free
The Ranch House will be open 11 am – 1 pm for event guests.

Chautauqua - "Libbie Bacon Custer"
2026-08-05 18:00 - 19:30
“Celebrating the American Spirit”
Libbie Bacon Custer was the wife of George Armstrong Custer, U.S. Army. She spent most of their twelve-year marriage in relative proximity to him despite his numerous military campaigns in the American Civil War and subsequent postings on the Great Plains as a commanding officer in the United States Cavalry.
Left nearly destitute in the aftermath of her husband’s death, she became an advocate for his legacy through her books and lectures. Largely as a result of her decades of campaigning on his behalf, General Custer’s image as the gallant fallen hero amid the glory of Custer’s Last Stand was a canon of American history for almost a century after his death.
Kim Harris is an accomplished Chautauquan who has portrayed living history characters at various local venues, and from California to New York. Harris currently serves as Events and Education Manager at Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park in Minden, NV, and is the owner and operator of Western History ALIVE! where she portrays several Chautauqua characters including Wild Horse Annie, Calamity Jane and Lizzie Borden.
Cost: $15, 16 years and younger – Free
The Ranch House will be open 3:30 – 5:30 pm for event guests.

Chautauqua - "Martin Mortensen: Pioneer of Verdi"
2026-08-14 10:00 - 11:00
“Made in Nevada”
Martin Mortensen came to the town of Verdi, Nevada when it was a thriving lumber mill town. The town of Verdi was named after Giuseppe Verdi by Charles Crocker, founder of the Central Pacific Railroad, when he pulled a slip of paper from a hat and read the name of the Italian opera composer in 1868. It was originally known as O’Neil’s Crossing, named for the man who built a bridge there in 1860.
Ross Mortensen portrays his great-grandfather Martin Mortensen, and the adventures he had as a pioneer on his ranch along the Truckee River.
Ross S. Mortensen is a local third-generation decedent of Nevada ranching families. Mortensen became a history enthusiast, beginning at an early age due to his own family history. Throughout his life he has been involved in historical investigations, Chautauqua and reenactments in Nevada and Northern California.
Mortensen is the owner of the Western gunfighting group “Horse Thief Canyon Desperados LLC.” It is his desire to share his knowledge of history with the public through living history, which he has always found engaging.
Cost: Free
The Ranch House will be open 11 am – 1 pm for event guests.

Chautauqua - "Andrew Carnegie"
2026-08-19 18:00 - 19:30
“Celebrating the American Spirit”
Scottish-born Andrew Carnegie was an American industrialist who amassed a fortune in the steel industry then became a major philanthropist. Carnegie worked in a Pittsburgh cotton factory as a boy before rising to the position of division superintendent of the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1859.
While working for the railroad, he invested in various ventures, including iron and oil companies, and made his first fortune by the time he was in his early 30s. In the early 1870s, he entered the steel business, and over the next two decades became a dominant force in the industry.
Doug Mishler has been a Chautauquan since 1993 when he first portrayed P. T. Barnum. Mishler has made over eight hundred presentations of over thirty historical figures including Henry Ford, Jackson Pollock, and recently added Chuck Yeager, Gene Roddenberry, and Earl Warren. He is also the founder and Managing Artistic Director of Restless Artists’ Theatre in Reno and has taught American Cultural History for over twenty-three years.
Cost: $15, 16 years and younger – Free
The Ranch House will be open 3:30 – 5:30 pm for event guests.

Chautauqua - "Felice Cohn: Lawyer and Suffragist"
2026-08-21 10:00 - 11:00
“Made in Nevada”
Felice Cohn, born and reared in Carson City, studied law for several years prior to being admitted to the bar in 1902. Her first cases were focused on land issues, patenting mining claims, and other mining matters. She practiced in both Goldfield and Carson City. In May, 1908, she was admitted to the District Court of Appeals in San Francisco.
Felice became involved in suffrage rights for women in 1911. She was one of the founding members of the State Equal Franchise Society and chaired the legislative committee during the 1911 legislative session. Felice was involved in chartering a Non-Militant Suffrage Society and the Nevada Voter’s Club, both with members numbering in the hundreds. Parades and demonstrations were then considered militant.
Opening a law office in Reno in 1922, she was consistently involved in the legal profession as a persistent and quiet voice shaping and supporting issues to better the quality of life for women and children. She was involved in numerous professional organizations.
Dorothea Phelan has been an historian, living history performer and storyteller for over twenty-eight years. Phelan was born and raised in Yerington, Nevada, where she acted in theatricals and school plays. As an adult, she coached children’s plays and dramas. In 1962 Phelan moved to Ventura, California where she became active with the Rancho Camulos Museum, developing living history programs. She has now returned to Nevada and volunteers at the Nevada State Museum and performs Chautauqua locally.
Cost: Free
The Ranch House will be open 11 am – 1 pm for event guests.

Chautauqua - "Mary Austin - Eastern Sierra Author and Environmentalist"
2026-09-04 10:00 - 11:00
“Made in Nevada”
Mary Hunter Austin was an American writer. One of the early nature writers of the American Southwest, her classic The Land of Little Rain describes the fauna, flora, and people of the region between the High Sierra and the Mojave Desert of southern California
Austin was a prolific novelist, poet, critic, and playwright, as well as an early feminist and defender of Native American and Spanish-American rights.
Barbara Lewicki is an outdoor enthusiast and photographic artist who has travelled all fifty states in the U.S., as well as over forty countries. Lewicki is also a student of Chautauqua and portrayed Etta Place last September at the park.
Cost: Free
The Ranch House will be open 11 am – 1 pm for event guests.

Chautauqua - "Wild Horse Annie"
2026-09-11 10:00 - 11:00
“Made in Nevada”

Velma Johnston, known as Wild Horse Annie, was an American animal welfare activist who fought for the humane treatment of wild horses and burros. She is best known for her efforts that led to the passage of the Wild Horse Annie Act in 1959 and the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act in 1971, which aimed to protect these animals from inhumane capture and slaughter.

Kim Harris is an accomplished Chautauquan who has portrayed living history characters at various local venues, and from California to New York. Harris currently serves as Events and Education Manager at Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park in Minden, NV, and is the owner and operator of Western History ALIVE! where she portrays several Chautauqua characters including Libbie Bacon Custer, Calamity Jane and Lizzie Borden.

Cost: Free

The Ranch House will be open 11 am – 1 pm for event guests.
