Happy 150th Birthday, Nevada!

Postcard US-3017742 was sent to Germany with warm greetings from Nevada. On October 31, 1864, Nevada became the 36th state of the United State during the Civil War. Today marks the 150th birthday of the "Silver State" Nevada.

Las Vegas hosted a special Nevada Day Parade for the first time started at 10 a.m. to celebrate the State’s Sesquicentennial, highlighting the legacy of Southern Nevada. 150 groups marched up 4th Street in Downtown Las Vegas, consisting of floats, antique cars, horses, motorcycles, and marching bands. Hard to miss were larger-than-life Birthday Cake, Elvis, and American Eagle balloons.

Celebrations continue tomorrow including the 76th annual Nevada Day Parade in Carson City on November 1, 2014.

You can purchase a copy of the Greetings from Nevada postcards from Zazzle.

Home Means Nevada

Postcard US-3038783 to Latvia shows a maxi card that has a big-letter "NEVADA" rubber stamp imprint and a Nevada Statehood Forever stamp with a first-day-of-issue cancellation.

As part of the Nevada’s Sesquicentennial celebration, more than 500 groups around the state participated #NevadaSings to sing the Nevada State Song "Home Means Nevada" at 10 a.m. today, attempting to set a record for people singing one state song at the same time, with one group singing from as high as 25,000 feet or 7,620 meters in the sky. For those who had participated, video or photo proof are still accepted on www.Nevada150.org web site.

Written & Music by Bertha Raffetto, the lyrics of the official song of the State of Nevada are:

Way out in the land of the setting sun,
Where the wind blows wild and free,
There’s a lovely spot, just the only one
That means home sweet home to me.
If you follow the old Kit Carson trail,
Until desert meets the hills,
Oh you certainly will agree with me,
It’s the place of a thousand thrills.Home means Nevada
Home means the hills,
Home means the sage and the pine.
Out by the Truckee, silvery rills,
Out where the sun always shines,
Here is the land which I love the best,
Fairer than all I can see.
Right in the heart of the golden west
Home means Nevada to me.

Whenever the sun at the close of day,
Colors all the western sky,
Oh my heart returns to the desert grey
And the mountains tow’ring high.
Where the moon beams play in shadowed glen,
With the spotted fawn and doe,
All the live long night until morning light,
Is the loveliest place I know.

Home means Nevada
Home means the hills,
Home means the sage and the pines.
Out by the Truckee’s silvery rills,
Out where the sun always shines,
There is the land that I love the best,
Fairer than all I can see.
Right in the heart of the golden west
Home means Nevada to me.

All Star Concert at the Smith Center Celebrates Nevada's Sesquicentennial

Nevada’s 150-year history was condensed into a two-hour 250-cast 27-act concert at Reynolds Hall in the Smith Center for the Performing Arts in Las Vegas tonight on September 22, 2014.  It was one of the 450 statewide events that celebrate the 150th anniversary of Nevada Statehood.

Outgoing postcard US-3000615 to New Zealand was a variation of the Las Vegas Springs Preserve postcard, sent in to obtain a first-day-of-issue postmark on the Nevada Statehood Forever stamp by mail on July 26, 2014. The turn around time is usually around 30 days. However, it took longer than usual this time as I just received the order on September 20, 2014.

Discover Nevada State Parks Day

As an official Nevada 150 event of the Silver State’s Sesquicentennial celebration, and in conjunction with National Get Outdoors Day, “Discover Nevada State Parks Day” offers visitors free day use admission and free fishing (no license required) at all of Nevada’s 23 State Parks on June 14, 2014.

I went to see the Old Mormon Fort in Las Vegas, a state historic park located next to the Las Vegas Natural History Museum. It was the first European settlement in Las Vegas, Nevada. One hundred fifty nine years ago, thirty missionaries arrived and started to build a 46-meter or 150-foot square adobe fort on June 14, 1855. Therefore, June 14th is remembered as Settlement Day, the day the first non-native permanent residents set foot in the Las Vegas valley. The Mormon outpost served as a way station for travelers. The first post office in Las Vegas was established on site in 1893.

The postcard, featuring art work by local artist Ali Tenney Boyer, was a gift from completing a survey after the visit.

Greeting from Searchlight, Nevada

During the Nevada 150th Year Sesquicentennial celebration, people around the world are getting to know many other places in Nevada in addition to the well-known Las Vegas, Reno and Carson City. Searchlight is one of such small unincorporated towns in Nevada. Located 90 kilometers or 57 miles from Las Vegas at the topographic saddle between two mountain ranges in Clark County, it had a population of 539 as a census-designated place (CDP) in 2010.

Senator Reid Spoke at the Commemorative Nevada Statehood Stamp
First-Day-of-Issue Event on May 29, 2014

Searchlight is the hometown of the U.S. Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid. Edith Head (October 28, 1897 – October 24, 1981) also lived there. She was a Hollywood costume designer who won eight Oscars, still a record in its category and more than any other woman.

The postcard was purchased from Zazzle.com. You can personalized the postcard with any place name in Nevada.