Thursday, January 7, 2016

Yerington Monday: Weed Heights

Yerington Monday: Weed Heights

Just a few miles from Yerington was the Anaconda Copper mine and the miners housing, which we called Weed Heights. Many of my classmates were from there and we attended the same schools. I used to go visit my cousins, go swimming in their pool and took my first golf lesson at their golf course. I have too many wonderful memories to mention of my visits with family and classmates at Weed Heights.


Anaconda Pit The Anaconda Mine Pit as viewed from the lookout point at Weed Heights. This pit was in production of copper from 1950 through 1978.


Weed Heights, just above the old Anaconda open-pit, the dumps of which are visible from the town of Yerington.


Weed Heights Map The whole town was laid out on 7 streets (rows)


Weed Heights Post Office


Weed Heights Administrative Offices

Weed Heights Guard Shack


The Pit - Today there’s just one good place for looking down into the pit, this overlook at the far west end, at the edge of Weed Heights. Two old tires frame signs that tell us about the pit.

Posted on Facebook Dec 1, 2014

Comments

  • Meredith Mayeroff Yes, I had many friends at Weed Heights too. You might mention that before the public pool was built in Yerington, the pool at Weed Heights was the only place to swim, but you needed to be accompanied by a resident and the girls had to wear a swimming cap. Remember those?

  • Marilyn Betz Peterie A lot of us lived there after We married and raised our children there until it shut down. My Dad was a guard.

  • Linda Edwards moved there in 1952, from Sibnite ,IDAHO..have so many memories growing up there, such a close community, everyone knew each other.Fun times!

  • Dawnette Kelley I lived there from age 3 until age 15 @ 318 Dayton St. Right on the corner of Tahoe and across the street were my cousins, Stephen and Patty Estep in front of the Estep’s on Comstock were Connie and Ronnie Provost. Karla Robinson-Carlos lived two houses over and Linda n Debbie Peterson lived behind us on Eureka St. Linda and Ronnie Carey lived one block over. I could go on n on:-) I loved my life there. We had so much fun playing kick the can at night and swimming all day long as you might well imagine.  Sleeping out in the summer n chasing after the mosquito sprayer so no one could see us in the spray.

  • Owen Barton twin peaks, horse corrals, bus stops,commissary,cart races,Santa at Christmas giving gifts, baseball fields,swimming pool ,kool-aid stands ,so many kids in the town site playing,--a child could not of grown up in a better environment, or place.

  • Sylvia Banta Best place in the world to grow up. Loved it so much. When kids could be kids. Never wanted to stay indoors. So many great memories.

  • Randy Provost Best place ever!.. Great friends. Swimming Pool, Playground, Baseball Field, Golf Course, Commissary, Bowling Alley and the surrounding desert/mountains and old mines to play in/explore. The Company went all out for most holidays. Not a bad way to grow up.

  • Chere Brown I use to love to "Trick or Treat" at Weed Heights, because the mine manager gave out WHOLE Hersey's chocolate bars, that cost him 5 cents each. At the time, I thought he must have been the richest man in the world.

  • Randy Provost You know!!. We had more stuff than most "Country Clubs" have now and everyone actually liked each other.

  • Sylvia Banta Randy I remember homemade go carts on the hill next to your house. Wagons and baby strollers came up missing their wheels in the summer.

  • Randy Provost Sylvia!!.. Lol... Yep, we "borrowed" wheels off anything to make our race car carts!! Didn't think anyone would remember.
  • Dawnette Kelley I learned to ride my bike on that same hill Randy:-)  I'd start at the top of our driveway and head straight toward your house. Once I laid the bike down n skid right under the front of a car coming up the hill, scared my mom half to death as she watched from the kitchen. Memories!

  • Liz Merrill Mason I lived at 303 Dayton. Sparkle Martin lived on the corner. Barry and Tim Pittman lived on one side and Ostrander’s on the other. Dave Stewart and Ronnie and Gloria Pickett lived in front of us and Bobby Bassett lived behind. Pat and Tom Rippe lived at the other end of the block below us. On the corner. I remember the games of hide and seek all the kids would join in on in the summer when it was too hot to be indoors. I also remember the Rippe boys having inner tube races down the hill from 6th row to the post office and almost getting run over. I remember when Kathy Monninger fell off her horse and hit her head. I remember Corky McDorman getting thrown out of the pool for cannonballing off the diving board and almost drowning us LOL. I remember packing lunches and hiking to twin peaks. I remember always being outside and never being bored. Fun times.

  • Chere Brown Many of you may remember the Crouse family on the last row. They had 12 children and for a while they babysat us, while my mother worked. That made 16 children at the dinner table. I still marvel how Mrs. Crouse managed us all.


Barbara Humphreys Frolich It was wonderful, growing up there!!!

14 comments:

  1. I was born at the Yerington hospital by Doctor Beams in 1961. My dad Fred Taylor Jr., my grandpa Fred Taylor Sr. And my uncle Everett Harris all worked at Anaconda and lived in Weed Heights. My parents and brother and I lived on Belmont St. Front row 3rd house from corner on end by desert. My grandparents lived in a mobile home bellow Belmont from my parents. My aunt & uncle Harris and cousins Kenny, Mike and Steve lived on Eurika St 3rd hous in on desert end. It was so cool having so much family around in one neighborhood. I learned how to swim, ride a bike and go out in the desert and catch horn toads. My best friend lived in the mobile home at the end of Belmont. We moved in 67 before the big strike. My grandparents stayed in Weed Heights and grandpa retired in I believe 72. They moved to Yerington. I remember the flash flood that went thru town in I'm guessing 65 or 66? I remember hearing the Dart dump trucks running at night and the sound off in the distance always put me to sleep. When I came back to visit in 78 it just was not the same hearing them trucks. In June taking my family to Yerington, Weed Heights, Virginia City, Carson City and Reno. Going to document it all and show my kids that dad did live in a ghost town.

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    1. I was born there. My Dad was Pete Miller and I li ed at 203 Comstock, next to the Tanners and behind the Windsors. Sparkle Martin was my baby sitter. I loved it there

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  2. I lived there in 1982 until 1986 when my dad... hmc 1st class united states navy retired... i remember don tibbals making the swings out of yellow straps back then. We lived on austin street in the first house beside the old bowling alley. My most fond and happiest childhood memories were there. Would love to go back and walk the hallowed ground of my childhood memories once more
    Planning a trip there in 2020.

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  3. My mother lived in Weed Heights as a child. Her parents were Elmo and Janette Guinn. Sister Mildred(born in 1942) graduated from Yerington High school. My mom is Connie and they moved to Utah right before she would have graduated HS. And her little brother Don.She has told me so many memories of living there that I feel like I know the place myself. Yesterday I pulled up the google maps image of Weed Heights to have her show me their home there, but the names of the streets have changed and she had a hard time finding the home they lived in. Would anyone by chance have a map or know where I can find a map of the old street names?

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    1. Austin, Belmont, Comstock, Dayton, Eureka, Fairview, Gibbon

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  4. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  5. I found a map or blue print of Weed Heights before it was built. It has all the street names on it. But I do not know how to post it on here. But I can name them for you.
    TOP TO BOTTOM
    Goldfield St.
    Fairview St.
    Eurika St.
    Dayton St.
    Comstock St.
    Bonanza St.
    Austin St.

    LEFT TO RIGHT
    Mead Ave.
    Pyramid Ave
    Tahoe Ave.
    Topaz Ave.
    Walker Ave.

    With Virginia St. entering Weed Heights.
    I hope that helps. For the most part the names of the streets have remained. Goldfield St is now Gabbs St. Bonanza St. is now Belmont St. and Virginia St. is now Burch St.

    My son and I were just their June 6th through the 12th doing a documentary for the family. The old Sage Crest Drive-In will be torn down and filled in with old tailings from Anaconda Copper Mine. There are talks that Weed Heights may be bought from the Tibbals and leveled and filled in with old tailings. They are wanting to lower the waist rock tailing mounds that are so tall I guess so that it isn't as ugly? I know the locals have a renewed interest in the drive-in now and hoping to save it and fix it up and reopen it. Not sure that will happen but I hope so and I hope the Tibbals family does not sale Weed Heights to Arco who owns the mine now.

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  6. Thank you Doug. That does help! She actually lived at 114 Bonanza. Would there be a way that you could email me the map? tiggertoo73110@yahoo.com
    Very interesting information you shared. I will have to let my mom know so she can go visit before it is completely gone. When did your family live there?

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    1. Yes, I would be happy to do so. My parents moved there in 1960, I was born in 1961 and we moved in the summer of 1967. My parents first moved into a 4 unit apartment with 2 two bedroom units on the ends and 2 one bedroom units in the middle on Eurika in one of the one bedroom units until I was born then the moved to Bonanza Street into another 4 unit apartment right behind the rec center in a two bedroom unit but then moved into a 2 bedroom house on Bonanza at 298. It was three houses in from Walker Ave. My grandparents lived below us in the trailer park and my aunt, uncle and three cousins lived on Eurika St 3 houses in from Walker Ave. As a little boy my family was all very close. Was the only life I knew then. We didn't live far apart, I found 114 on google map. The road name has changed to Belmont. It is amazing how many of the old homes are all boarded up still to this day! I remember seeing it soon after the mine had closed and it was a ghost town! I would say 2/3 or less is lived in and the rest are empty. I remember everything being so green and pretty but not much green anymore. The swim pool is all shut down and small tree's growing along the pool edge. The lady who lives in our old home actually allowed me to come in and see the inside. It was so strange seeing it after so many years!

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  7. I've been visiting my in-laws in Yerington for years now, never knew about Weed Heights. Last week, we drove through Weed Heights, it is mostly abandoned, but the few homes that are still being lived in now, are so cute and charming and one word that comes to mind is, nostalgic. That little community should come to life again, but sadly I heard that would never happen. I hope I heard wrong.

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  8. If you weed once a month, with a hoe, it will take very little time. The most important weeding is early spring when water is abundant and seedlings are just sprouting. weed games

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  9. I spent alot of my childhood there in the 1980s. We were poor and I went to Yerrington high. I hated it then...couldn't wait to leave. I did...traveled the world,have my own family now. In some strange way i miss it there.

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  10. I lived in Weed Heights from 99 to 02 and then again from 12/02 until 07. First time we lived at 102 Belmont st
    And the second time we lived at 233 Comstock st. I remember watching Donkey Baseball being played every year. When we first moved in their was a small 9 hole golf course. While living there in 2003 we helped the owner of the golf course Gary remodel the golf course into an actual Driving Range and club house

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