Silver Queen owner remembers when celebrities haunted VC's boardwalks

Charles "Tiny" Carlson remembers the good old days of the Comstock.

Not the Big Bonanza of the 1860s and 1870s, of course, but the 1960s and 1970s, when he said there were 32 saloons in town and celebrities everywhere.

"When I came here there was a lot of personality," he said. "We had all the celebrities in the world come up here from Reno and the lake. Now, nobody comes."

Pianist and showman Liberace, singer John Davidson, trumpeter Al Hirt, country star Tennessee Ernie Ford are only a few of the folks Carlson said a visitor to Virginia City could bump into.

Many of the musicians would jam in the local jazz club, the Silver Stope, he said. Now, the Silver Stope is a gift shop.

Carlson, 82, is the owner of the Silver Queen Hotel and the Cole Mansion in Virginia City, a place where the Captain and Tennille got married, and 10 years later renewed their vows. More>>