Roughing it with Rob Alvey and Mark Twain

Roughing It With Mark Twain- Alvey Returns from Virginia City

Rob Alvey, a geologist with EPA's Superfund Division and a geology professor at York (CUNY) College in Jamaica Queens, had the recent privilege of an historical and geological research expedition in Nevada and California. The research effort was funded by the City University of NY based on a creative and unusual grant application Professor Alvey submitted under the CUNY professional development program for adjuncts. Routinely, these grants are provided to enable part time faculty to attend professional scientific conferences or take educational classes. Alvey focused his research on Samuel Clemens during the period 1861 through 1865, when the 21-year-old young man lost his job as a river boat pilot and headed west to seek his fortune in the booming mining towns of Virginia City, Carson City, and Silver City, Nevada. Rob was accompanied by his wife, Suzie Alvey, currently Village of Garden City Assistant Historian, and their daughter KC.

The young Clemens tried prospecting, mining, timbering, and even homesteading, but was a complete failure as a geologist. However, he found his true means to wealth through writing and through a fortunate series of circumstances gifted the world with the writings of the man we now know as Mark Twain. Rob Alvey has a remarkable resemblance to the elderly Mark Twain and he wanted to learn more about the life and times of people who lived during the exciting times of the mining boom years when Samuel Clemens was young. The Comstock Load, Big Bonanza, and other significant discoveries of gold and silver drew thousands of people to the formerly remote desert area. Money flowed more than water as a result of the riches being tapped from the rock, but fortunes were made and frequently lost overnight.

Nevada's motto today is the Silver State, and it continues to employ a significant amount of mine operators. Aurora and other “busted” mining locations may be ghost towns, but Virginia City still stands with many historic buildings, saloons, and small museums honoring where Mark Twain first worked as a reporter for the ‘Territorial Enterprise’ newspaper. It was here where Clemens first began to write ‘Mark Twain’ as his name as a byline for his articles. It was a term he learned while a river pilot on the Mississippi. He also apparently used that name on his bar tab at the local saloons.

Alvey was able to stand by the desk Samuel Clemens wrote at, and see the table where the young newspaperman and others napped after putting the paper ‘to bed’. A highlight of the trip was Alvey's opportunity to be on stage, in full Mark Twain regalia, at the historic Piper's Opera House and give an impromptu performance as a fund raising effort for restoring the building. Suzie recorded the short video presentation and it is available for viewing on “YouTube” at:

Piper's Opera House, rebuilt in the 1880s after a disastrous fire that consumed a good portion of the city in 1877, has seating for 1100 people. This seems surprising for a city that currently has roughly 700 residents, but during the "boom years" Virginia City's population was over 25,000 and there were over 40 trains coming and going to the city each day. The opera house also has a small window next to the ticket window where patrons were asked to store their guns while attending a performance. Mark Twain performed at Piper's Opera House as did Lillian Russell, John Philip Sousa, Al Jolson, William Gillette, John Barrymore, David Belasco (think Belasco Theatre on Broadway) and more recently Hal Holbrook - doing his famous play "Mark Twain Tonight". Alvey now has the satisfaction of having also been on this historic stage.

Samuel Clemens’ experiences were chronicled in his successful book, Roughing It, and the Alveys visited mines and hiked at places the young Clemens referenced in his book. Rob and Suzie were graciously given a personal tour of the Comstock Mine in nearby Gold Hill and Silver City by the current mine geologist and mining engineer thanks to inquiries to Larry Gorell, their director of public affairs. Tim George and Larry Martin, the geologist and mining engineer for Comstock Mines generously donated their time for a tour. The Alveys were shown the mining facilities associated with abandoned mines in the area and the main shaft that was dug 3,000 feet into the ground over 100 years ago to drain the mining tunnels in the region to be able to reach further deposits.

The tour was extremely informative, and Suzie had only a minor difficulty when the group stopped to watch a large female tarantula building her nest in the hillside. Apparently, a local recreational activity is during the cooler October season when folks set up chairs to watch the migration of males across the desert as they seek mates. Mrs. Alvey respectfully declined an invitation to come back for the show. Mining was both dangerous and exciting. As Mark Twain described it, "A mine is a hole in the ground with a fool at the bottom, and a liar at the top".

The travel extended next to Carson City to visit the Nevada History Museum and former Carson Mint that made gold and silver coins for the US currency. Samuel Clemens came to Carson City with his older brother, Orion, who had been appointed Secretary to the Governor of the new Nevada Territories. Mono Lake and Lake Tahoe were also visited as these areas were frequented by the young Clemens. At Mono Lake, the Alveys were blocked by a large brush fire, named the Marina Fire, which closed the highway, burning over 800 acres and threatening a small resort. He was able to take videos of helicopters loading large buckets of water from Mono Lake and dumping them on the steep hills to try to contain the flames. Alvey remarked that Twain's book, Roughing It, described a similar fire near Lake Tahoe where Twain's hoped for homestake for timbering, caught fire and burned the hill clear to the lakefront.

While at Lake Tahoe, the Alveys joined up with another daughter Erin Alvey and her companion Jack Matthias, and all were able to book a short cruise on the Ms Dixie II, a genuine paddle wheeled steam ship. The boat sailed from Zephyr Cove to Emerald Bay and Rob was treated to hearing the captain announce Mark Twain was on board, and posed for a number of photos with the passengers.

An unanticipated highlight of the research was an opportunity to attend a performance of a well-known Mark Twain impersonator McAvoy Layne. Mr. Layne has spent nearly 30 years researching Samuel Clemens and regularly performs as the Ghost of Mark Twain at schools and stages in the area. He has read innumerable books, letters and essays by Twain, and also has an extensive collection of Mark Twain memorabilia. And, Layne looks the part-- with or without a white linen suit. Layne noted, however, that Alvey had an unsurpassed physical resemblance to Mark Twain, “so much so that when I first saw you I thought Twain had come back from the grave himself to heckle me.” Layne remarked that he and Alvey must be long lost separated twins or perhaps brothers from different mothers. The main difference between the two is Layne’s preference for holding a pipe rather than a cigar. The Alveys were treated to a visit to his home in Incline Village, learned a good bit about Clemens younger days, and exchanged stories about how each became influenced by Mark Twain. Layne is most familiar with Twain’s reputation as a young man in the West, while Alvey’s main influence is of Twain as a senior citizen during his residence in NYC and Connecticut. The visit also included a short hike with Layne to view an overlook of Lake Tahoe, and passed by the original "Ponderosa", the log house and other buildings from the 1960's classic TV show, "Bonanza". A memorable trip with much to admire and reflect on long after returning to New York.