Schurz, Nevada

During the school year 1968-1969 I was the principal and 7th and 8th grade teacher in Schurz Nevada.  This was the Walker River Piaute Indian Reservation, but the school was not operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, but was under the auspices of the Mineral County Public Schools.  I also on occassion was the bus driver.  Oh, the stories I could tell about that year.  I was drinking pretty heavily during that year which made for some interesting happenings.  I was with my second wife, Linda, during this year.  When we first came there, we arrived with a bassett hound which was very pregnant.  On the very night that we arrived at our new home which was a teacherage on the school grounds, that hound decided to deliver.  Now, I had prepared for this eventuality by reading all I could get my hands on about what to do do help in the delivery of a littler of dogs.  I can't remember the hound's name, but she delivered 10 puppies, all still-born.  Well, my reading told me exactly what to do.  I'm not kidding.  I was up all night and with a great deal of work and sweat morning came with 10 healthy bassett puppies.  I had literally brought all ten of them back from the dead.  Of course, we had promised 3-4 of them to friends, but the remainder when to Indian families.  Now, when you are in abject poverty, the last thing you can take care of is a dog.  To this day, I am sure if you went to Schurz you would see the influence of my puppies which became strays and went about seeing to it that all future generation of dogs in Schurz would be influenced by that mamma bassett hound.  There's lots more about Schurz, but that will have to wait for another day or I will nevery finish this project.