The Pine Valley Puzzle, by Floyd Slagowski

We absolutely cannot keep this book on our shelves! It is the history book of the Pine Valley area of Eureka County, Nevada, by Floyd Slagowski (a long-time resident of the valley) with the help and encouragement of his wife, Charlene (a life-long resident). This is a wonderfully written, entertaining and historically educational 390-page volume!

Family records, friendships, first-person accounts, photographs - color as well as black-and-white - a complete ranching history of the Valley from 1860 through the present, with geography lessons and a chapter of hand-drawn maps...from "The First Road" through the years to "The New Paved Highway," the chapters take the reader from the "Decade of 1860" to the "Present Ranches in Pine Valley" and everything in between, including interesting chapters such as "The Pine Valley Crank Phone" with, later in the book, an update on the "Pine Valley Communication System."

Mr. Slagowski was born in Wyoming in 1916, and spent his working youth learning about haying, horses and cowboying. He arrived in Eureka, Nevada in 1937 and hired on at the Edgar Saddler and Sons Ranch in Diamond Valley, 35 miles north of Eureka. He worked various ranches in the area, until 1942 when he was called upon for three years' Army service during WWI, then returned to Pine Valley. In 1946, he married Charlene Walker Rand and began his own ranch life of 63 years as they raised their family. To this day, the couple live in Pine Valley (representing the eldest generation) and Floyd actively helps with the gather and branding.  

Pine Valley itself, located in north-central Nevada bordering Elko County, is an area extending south from the Humboldt River for 60 miles, surrounded by five mountain ranges. 

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