Silver State Backroads

Red Rooster Emporium A Yerington Treasure

by Glenn Franco Simmons

Red Rooster Emporium is a refuge from the daily grind, a time-lapse in real time.

Located in Yerington, it is much more: a vintage antique shop that has expanded its offerings that appeal to diverse interests in antiques, collectibles and more.

At 37 North Main St. in Yerington, you will be greeted by the friendly owner and welcoming owner, Jane Montalbano. On my last visit, her daughter, Chrissy Montalbano, was there.

The business located within a historic 115-year-old building that originally served as the Farmers Bank of Yerington.

It features a blue two-story façade, with “Red Rooster Emporium” in red letters, white trim and a hand-painted rooster sign above the entrance. Its two large display windows are updated seasonally.

“The business, formerly known as Red Rooster Antiques, rebranded to Red Rooster Emporium in 2022 to reflect its expanded inventory of antiques, vintage jewelry, Western collectibles, local artisan pieces, and gift items,” according to Grok AI.

It's open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

“Ms. Montalbano leased the building in 2015 and opened the store on or around Black Friday 2016 after an 18-month restoration,” Grok noted.

“The project included repairing pressed-tin ceilings, refinishing original fir floors, and converting the old bank vault secured by the original 1907 Mosler safe door,” according to Grok. “Ms. Montalbano, listed as the sole proprietor in 2020 records, co-owns the business with her daughter as of 2024.”

The emporium draws locals from Yerington's population of 3,100, as well as visitors from Carson City, Fallon, the Bay Area and from many other places ~ some far away.

Its Red Rooster Emporium Facebook page could use more followers, so please visit it and like it!

The collection emphasizes Nevada history, including gold-mining tools from the Pine Grove and Ludwig districts, 1930s’ casino tokens from defunct Yerington establishments, and Pioneer Hotel & Gambling Hall ashtrays from before the 1960s. (Please note, some items may or may not be there.)

“On Nov. 9, 2025, the store held its ninth annual ‘Yerington Christmas Story’ open house, covered in the Nov. 13 Pizen Switch Times,” according to Grok. “The event featured a 1940s’–1950s’ holiday setup with four operational Lionel train sets around a 20-foot tree, more than 200 Shiny Brite ornaments, and mannequins in period attire sourced from the Lyon County Museum. Attendance exceeded 400 people more than four hours.”

The Pizen Switch Times also has another excellent article, which I recommend reading. If you are interested in Yerington, Mason Valley and surrounding areas, be sure to visit the nonprofit newspaper (more on that, I hope, in a future story.) It features excellently written journalistic articles.

Writer Richard Massey included in his story some of the building’s history.

“First the Bank, then Crawford’s jewelry store and beauty salon, a delicious deli, and the Bank Club Bar, before becoming a vacant store front housing theater props for the local dance studio,” he wrote in his article that has some really good photos. I recommend reading it.

Inside are roosters, many different signs for kitchens, homes, barns, etc. There are countless knick-knacks.

Red Rooster also has World War II-type era army men that are offered for free. I have one from my first of several trips there from Carson City.

The front windows showcase holiday items. The store extends hours to 6 p.m. on the two Saturdays before Christmas.

On weekdays, Jane or Chrissy typically handles transactions at the counter, using a 1930s’ National cash register.

Reviews describe the proprietors as kind and patient, with one 2019 Yelp account noting a female staff member assisting a child with vintage marbles selections.

I can attest to their friendliness.

A 2025 review highlights the owner's helpfulness in gift selection.

Coffee is available, and the 1907 bank clock on the wall maintains accurate time. Plus, sometimes the shop smells heavenly with an onion fragrance that permeates everything, thanks to some yummy fresh rolls.

“The emporium has become a local landmark, referenced in community milestones like the 2020 reopening after COVID-19 closures, when Montalbano wheeled out a 5-foot-tall metal rooster statue to signal operations resuming,” Grok noted.

A rooster remains outside. Not for sale.

The tile floor, laid in May 1915 with assistance from boxer Jack Dempsey, is the last surviving example from that era in Yerington, according to Mr. Massey’s article.

Six Mile Canyon Whispers

by Glenn Franco Simmons

I am the type of person who has always loved history and investigating whatever local history there was where I lived, as time allowed. And there was not much free time.

With semi-retirement, I have much more time, and for many years, I have been amassing a collection of Virginia City and Comstock Lode photos.

One of the prettiest areas in the Virginia Range of mountains is Six Mile Canyon Road that runs from Virginia City to Dayton Valley.

Fall, winter and spring all have their charms. In summer, on hot days, driving along Six Mile Canyon remains as enchanting as the other seasons as the day’s hot air cools and you can feel the afternoon wind starting.

Huge, colorful Fremont Cottonwoods (Populus fremontii), native to Nevada, grow along what is known as Six Mile Creek or Six Mile, a common water source along the State Route 79, according to Grok AI and Google AI.

Their bright yellow in the morning golden light was quite a contrast with the washed-out color of sagebrush green, dried-out grass, and what I believe is the green of single leaf pinyon pines (scientific name: Pinus monophyla) and Utah junipers.

The pinyon is one of two official Nevada state trees, adopted in 1953. The other is the bristlecone pine.

Pinyons produce edible pine nuts and often grow with Utah juniper on dry, rocky slopes.

Many people roar by several pull-outs on Six Mile Canyon Road. Some are on their way to work, some own the businesses where they work, and some are coming up to Virginia City for a good time.

The hills here quiet down once you hike away from the road, where cars can be seen and heard no more. (Except for occasional motorcycles.)

I often stop close to Sugarloaf Mountain, where I can hike far beyond State Route 79, which is what Six Mile Canyon Road is officially named.

Sugar Loaf Mountain’s GPS, according to Grok AI, is: 39.3066, -119.6046. I hike a bit north of that.

It was here in the middle of nowhere on the Virginia City side of Sugar Loaf Mountain, that Charles Butters saw potential in the mining waste piles that dotted The Comstock Lode.

He felt there was enough gold and silver in those “waste” piles to justify building Butters Mill (or the Butters Plant or Butters Cyanide Mill), a cyanide-processing plant that would import ore waste from throughout Nevada. The facility was located below Sugarloaf Mountain on the Virginia City side.

“{It} was described in contemporary and historical sources as the largest cyanide mill in the United States (and sometimes implied as the world at that exact moment),” according to Grok AI. “It had an initial capacity of around 100–200 tons per day, employed hundreds of workers, and was a pioneering large-scale application of the cyanide leaching process on the Comstock’s old tailings piles.”

The Comstock Lode had world-renown professionals, from architects, miners, builders, businessmen to many others.

Butters, one of those geniuses, was a globally recognized cyanide technology expert.

“He helped perfect {cyanide-based process} in South Africa,” Grok AI said, “and {that} mill was a major engineering achievement for its era.”

The Six Mile Mill “was one of the largest cyanide mills in the United States at the time, designed to reprocess massive tailings piles from earlier 19th-century silver and gold mining operations using the new cyanide leaching process to extract remaining precious metals,” Grok AI noted.

“The mill featured a large wooden structure with an aerial tramway system and processed around 100 tons of material per day at its peak, employing hundreds of workers,” Grok continued. “It also handled ore from places like Tonopah later. Operations continued into the 1920s or 1930s, after which it was abandoned.”

I have not yet hiked that side of Sugarloaf Mountain or explored the facility’s ruins which stretch up the mountain from its base, all the way to the road’s edge.

Whether you stop at the base of Sugarloaf Mountain or a pull-out, take some time to listen. Maybe you might hear the Northern Flickers and Red-tailed Hawks, as I did. Both are fantastically beautiful birds.

And, if the remnants of a Zephyr filter through the canyons, let the ghosts have their say. They are quieter than they used to be, but they are still talking. You only need to listen.

My wife Kathleen (Kathy Howard) is a fifth-generation Ormsby County (now Carson City) native. Her grandfather worked on the historic Virginia & Truckee Railroad, and her great-grandmother owned the land where medical offices now stand in Carson City’s Historic District.

Kathleen is a Cal Poly Humboldt (formerly Humboldt State University) honors graduate. She served many years as a highly respected city clerk in the state of California, having served Eureka and Sunnyvale with the highest professionalism.

I grew up in rural Freshwater, Calif., just outside Eureka, which is known as The Victorian Seaport. I’m a proud alumnus of the charming 1880s-era, two-story, four-room Garfield Elementary School and an honors alumnus of HSU, now CPH.

In Freshwater, before half our neighborhood moved away, we played a lot of football. Our fields were literally a choice between a neighbor’s field until we irritated them, a blackberry-lined cow pasture — my brother and I learned quickly to watch our steps, and a school’s field a couple miles away.

By junior high school, my closest friend lived about 10 miles away. Thus, I spent countless hours hiking with my faithful Irish Setter, Shannon of The Redwoods.

My journalism journey started at Eureka High School on “The Redwood Bark.”

Professionally, I became a newspaper publisher and longtime editor of both dailies and weeklies along California’s remote North Coast.

Since 2012 I’ve exhibited on Zenfolio (glennthomasfrancosimmons.com) and remain a Society of Professional Journalists’ member. I continue to write an occasional column.

My commercial photography career included shooting roses for Meilland International, Star Roses & Conard-Pyle (ads, catalogs, magazines, and websites) as well as automotive work. My images have appeared in publications across the U.S. and Eastern Europe.

Kathleen and I recently celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary. Together we share a lively household with two dogs (Rosie and Sammy), four cats, two roosters, and a flock of chickens.

This site is dedicated to my late parents Helen and Lee, to my former in-laws Freda and Frank, to Clayton Taylor Sr. — the high-school teacher who changed my life — and most of all to my remarkable wife Kathleen, who supported and encouraged me every step of the way as I left newspapers behind and followed my passion into photography.

The Red Rooster in Yerington, Nev. © GTFS. CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

Red Rooster Features Antiques

Two years ago, just as I started to blog about local places, my wife hurt her back. Nearly two years later, she had surgery to repair it as best as can be done. Thus, I have some limited time to still blog.

Two years ago this December, one of my blog posts on Blogger was about Yerington's endearing The Red Rooster. I was so enchanted by it, I wrote a poem.

I vowed to go back and ask if I could take photos inside, but my wife's injury and family illnesses have so far prevented a return trip.

The Red Rooster

In Yerington, dressed in rustic attire, Red Rooster’s gems, set Christmas hearts afire. Antiques, collectibles, a nostalgic spree, Americana at heart, for you and me.

A rooster’s call, crimson, bold and loud, In this Nevada town, stands proud. Farm’s treasures and trinkets that enchant, Every child’s wish, the perfect grant.

Shelves of memories, glass shines so clear, Catching winter’s glow, spreading cheer. Embroidery threads, in festive hue, Weave stories old yet feel so new.

Large roosters, chickens, adorning yards with glee, Reflect the soul of the community, you'll agree. In Yerington’s embrace, beneath the Christmas star, At Red Rooster's realm, we’re all never far.

Mining past, agriculture’s present day, In each item’s charm, their tales lay. So come gather round, let your holiday heart roam, At the Red Rooster Emporium, a Nevada home. ~ Glenn Franco Simmons

Carson Valley In November

Muller Lane, Genoa

Gold Hill Had Masonic Lodge

by Glenn Franco Simmons

Masons have helped shaped the state of Nevada's history since before its territorial status.

In mining communities bustling with Masons, there was a selfless desire to construct Temples in each community that could sustain an active membership.

Gold Hill Masons felt such a calling and were responsible for the establishment of Silver Star Lodge No. 5.

“The brethren at Gold Hill were led in their undertaking {to establish a Lodge} by Bro. Charles E. Ollney and Duane L. Bliss. … ,” according to “History of Masonry in Nevada” (©) by C.W. Torrence (Western Printing & Publishing Co., Sparks, Nev.).

“On the 11th of April, 1863, Wm. G. Alban, R. R. Barnes, Levi W. Lee, M. Frankenheimer, Lewis B. Frankel, Sigmund Ettinger, A. C. Hollingshead, Hugh McLeod, Henry Donnelly, N. A. H. Ball, Robert Webber, Charles E. Olney, Duane Bliss, Samuel Robinson, and H. H. Veasy framed a petition to the Grand Lodge of California asking permission to establish a lodge at Gold Hill. On the 20th of June, 1863, the document for which they petitioned was issued, and on July 11th the dispensation was delivered, and W. G. Alban was installed Worshipful Master; E. R. Barnes, Senior Warden; L. W. Lee, Junior Warden; S. H. Robinson, Treasurer; S. Ettinger, Secretary; L. B. Frankel, Senior Deacon; A. C. Hollingshead, Junior Deacon; H. McLeod and M. Frankenheimer, Stewards; H. N. Veasy, Tyler. …”

Sadly, as Mr. Torrence noted in his excellent book, the decline in Comstock mining led to the demise of numerous Lodges.

Desert Rose Ranch: Gold Hill Must-see

by Glenn Franco Simmons

Settle in at whimsically crafted picnic tables, hop aboard donkey-led carriage rides, try your hand at authentic gold panning, embark on artifact scavenger hunts, and admire masterful woodcarvings.

You can do all this and much more at Gold Hill’s Desert Rose Ranch.

With delights tailored for grown-ups and children alike, this enchanting Comstock oasis truly has it all.

Nestled along the historic Highway 341 on Occidental Grade, the ranch is a charming, old-school roadside gem designed to enchant visitors of all ages.

Even though the picturesque ranch is located a few stones’ throw from Fourth Ward School on the Truck Route (not Highway 342), this is Gold Hill, not Virginia City.

In a joint statement on their website, Paul and Amanda, a devoted husband-and-wife team, said, “We built our small ranch on top of the overburden piles from the Ward Mine which operated in the late 1800s. We are open Thursday to Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and we’re looking forward to sharing all of the fun on the Ranch with you!”

From atop the mine piles, you will enjoy priceless vistas of the serene Carson River Watershed and the majestic, purple-hued Sierra Nevada peaks in the distance.

Amanda and Paul have transformed Desert Rose Ranch into a welcoming haven complete with ample parking, open picnic areas, and endless family-friendly adventures.

I have covered small communities for years, and something like Desert Rose Ranch is a one-off in my journalism (now retired) career. It really is. Local schools would be wise to tour it, if they don’t already. It really is a Comstock treasure.

Walking a short distance with Amanda, I was pleased to see a first-class donkey riding arena stocked with rescued BLM burros. The donkeys all had names and stories, Amanda said. (I would like to do a full feature or two on Desert Rose Ranch, so I’ll save what I learned for a more thorough and formal interview, so I get the names and stories accurate, if Amanda and Paul are willing.)

Nearby is the gentle giant Big Ben Franklin ~ a huge but gentle and Mammoth donkey ~ plus chickens, rabbits and really friendly goats.

“All donkeys but our Mammoth Jack Donkey have been adopted from the Bureau of Land Management, gentled and trained to pull wagons,” they noted on their website. “We have a smooth path that meanders around the ranch that our donkeys pull a wagon on. This is a safe, contained space to experience a wagon ride with your family and learn a little about donkeys, wagons and the Ward Mine that is also on the property.”

And those wagons? Ordered from the Amish in Pennsylvania. No, kidding. Quite amazing, isn’t it? What a special place.

When I was there, I also saw goats, chickens and bunnies.

“All of our farmyard animals were adopted, rescued or donated and provided a safe and loving existence here at the Ranch,” they noted. “All of our small barn animals were born and/or raised around people and are very gentle. There is an intimate small barn corral where the pigs, goats, chickens and bunnies enjoy being petted and fed. The animals like to be petted and fed to each person’s comfort level.”

That corral is the perfect place for anyone of any age to go in and interact with traditional farm and/or ranch animals. Worthy of school trips, for sure.

In terms of gold prospecting, Paul found a piece of ore with some gold and gave it to me. He kindly looked at some rocks I had gathered earlier on Six Mile Canyon Road, and he said they had gold in them. He was able to tell by a small magnifying glass, but I couldn’t see it because of my eyesight. But I am sending the rocks to my twin grandsons.

He also demonstrated how to break ore down, so be sure to ask him to show you how to do that.

Their commentary on the website also explains why such ore can be found: “We are located on a mountain of old mine tailings and overburden piles that contain quartz crystals, placer gold and a vast assortment of other rocks and minerals,” they noted. “We provide a small kit, rock identifier map of the Ranch and instructions on how to prospect on the Ranch. It is self-guided, and we are bordered on all sides by BLM land, so you have an unlimited area to explore. It is not hard to find assorted minerals including gold, but it does take some intention and patience, but it does pay off. Yes, gold is found and yes you get to keep all that you find.”

“Placer gold is a form of naturally occurring gold that has been eroded from its original hard rock (lode) source through weathering, water flow, or glacial action, and deposited in loose sediments like riverbeds, stream gravels, or alluvial plains,” according to Grok AI. “Unlike lode gold, which remains embedded in quartz veins or ore bodies, placer gold appears as flakes, nuggets, or dust in these unconsolidated deposits, making it easier to extract without heavy machinery.”