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$1.50 | TheEurekaCountyStar.com | Vol. 3 No. 40 | e Week of March 26, 2026
Shining a light on all of Eureka County. Our Mission: Inform, enlighten, educate and entertain—Enjoy the journey.
Is this you? Birthday Surprises By Trina Machacek Everyday is somebody’s birthday. Every day somebody somewhere is getting surprised with cake and laughter and balloons and presents. ere are those who for some unexplainable reasons hide their birthday. en on the other end of the line of life there are those who really get into their birthdays. I am of the second nature. I love birthdays. Mine, yours, the guy down the street. Having another birthday is truly something to celebrate. But! Yes, a birthday candle holding “but.” ere is etiquette to birthday celebrations too. When putting on a birthday party you have at least two options. You can include the birthday boy or girl, or you can go all out and travel the SURPRISE party route. I may be in the minority here, I like both. Big bashes down to intimate celebrations can invoke memory making times. Like—well here’s the story. Turning 40 seems to be a major turning point in the guise of society. at 40 years on Mother Earth seems to call forth some hill that has been climbed and as we reach the peak, we then start the downhill slide towards the end of the road. Wheeeeeeee, we go down the hill. Well, when my other half turned forty, I planned a surprise party for him that in some circles is still talked about. And that was some forty-plus years ago. In the 1950s there was a television program, “is Is Your Life” hosted by none other than Ralph Edwards. Bringing a surprise to people, entertainers mostly but a few regular people too. Bringing their life to light with people from the life and times of the surprised guest. Well, I did that for my husband’s fortieth. What a hoot! I highly recommend doing this to anyone you are close to. I got stories from many of his friends and family. Even talked about his little kid friends. He was surprised and I think enjoyed it. e topper was that I created a booklet he could read and follow as his life unfolded in our living room. en at the end the real surprise was a trip to Maine to the LL Bean store. Where he would be taking the 4-day fly fishing school they offered. Yes, that is the kind of surprise birthday parties I like to have and go to for others. e birthday is not something I take lightly. I can tell you now, that it took me maybe three years to pay off that birthday trip. It was worth every penny and hair pulling out that it took to pay off my Master Card. at’s the thing though. e memory now, now that he has passed away, is something I cherish. at trip, from Nevada to Maine was amazing. It started a travel revolution in our lives. We went back to Maine about ten more times before we had to quit traveling because of health issues. Was it worth it? Holy cats and kittens Batman, was it ever. Going into debt is not something I would recommend but missing the boat of a lifetime of memories is also something I hope you never do. Summer time is approaching and plans are starting to bubble up to the surface in many households. e prices of gas and hotels and restaurants and air fare or train travel. It is all expensive. It can all be just a pipe dream. OR! It can be a time of engagement of you and life. It’s like saying, “We’ll get married when we can afford it.” Or “We’ll start a family when we can afford it.” Trust this chick-a-dee, you will never get to that point. It takes years to learn your limitations. e secret is to test your limitations by stepping a little further than. you think you can. As we boarded that airplane for our first trip back east, I knew I was going in over my head. It was a leap of faith for sure. Every new experience we had, every “lobsta and butta” meal we had I knew I would be making payments for the next three years. “Lobsta and butta” is Maine speak for lobster and butter. When he got to the point of the fishing school, he said he would go if I took the school too. So I signed up for it. Cha-ching more money. More expense. But at the end of the school the teacher, some guy who had written several books on fly fishing, graded us all on our fishing techniques and the flies we all got to make. I got a better grade than my life long fisherman husband. So again. Was it worth that three years of payments? You bet it was. No guts: no glory. No magic: no memories. Trina lives in Diamond Valley, north of Eureka, Nevada. She loves to hear from readers. Email her at itybytrina@yahoo. Really!
Eureka County Eyes Purchase of Downtown Property By Trina Machacek Much buzz around Eureka County concerns the possible purchase of what is known as e Alpine Lodge and Louie’s Lounge properties on Main Street in Eureka. e properties together equal approximately just under 3/4 of an acre, measuring from the corner down to the 180 Gallery and Gi Shop. Including the Alpine, Louie’s Lounge and the empty lot next to Louie’s. e Alpine is owned by Jake Brown and Louie’s and the lot are owned by Janelle Dietrich’s daughter and husband, the Cambell’s. e two families are in talks with the county commissioners about the possible sale of the land to the county. e county has talked about hiring an appraiser to get a good value of the properties. e County is planning on holding a public hearing to hear what the public feels about this purchase. It should be noted here that there are no set plans as of this date. e public hearing will be advertised for a future date. So far, the talks are to demolish the buildings then possibly sell to another party, (unknown at this time) to create something new and amazing downtown in Eureka. e owner of the Alpine, Jake Brown who inherited the property from his father John Brown when he passed away, said the asbestos factor has all but been taken care of previously. He says the building is pretty sound, but the project is too overwhelming at this point and that brought about the commission approaching him about the sale. ere is both a shared and separate walls between the Alpine and Louie’s that are falling apart. Some places the walls are leaning and falling down towards the Alpine and in some places towards Louies. e three-story Alpine with a full basement, was in the process of being dismantled and taken down several years ago when there were complaints filed about the structural nature of that dismantling and the fear of harm to the Louie’s Lounge building. at stopped the work at that time. Sadly the roof had already been taken off so the third floor has been all but destroyed. Under the third floor down through the entire building, has seen many years of weather. A restoration would be a major undertaking. ere has been, over the years, talks several times of restoration. By local and out of area entities. At this time Mr. Brown is going to see what the county comes up with. A small group of business owners and other residents had thoughts of obtaining the Alpine and creating some kind of business sites. At this point that plan is no longer being pursued. e last businesses that were housed in the Alpine were the bar and Walt’s Wester Art. Both closed down in the 1980’s and the buildings have sat empty since then. A Little History of e Alpine Lodge & Louie’s e Hotel Zadow, also known as the Alpine Lodge, in Eureka, Nevada, was built around 1873, originally serving as a mercantile store on the ground floor with professional offices above. is historic building,
Google image. located in our significant 19th-century mining town, later operated as the Zadow Hotel. It has a long history. Most of the history, of recent time, comes from the death of its owner, Blanche Olinger the owner. Lee and Blanche bought the hotel in 1946. Lee passed away in 1966 leaving Blanche and her parrot to run the place. e parrot sat on his perch in the front and when someone would come in, he would squawk out, “Where’s old Blanche.” In 1968 someone came in and killed Old Blanche and it is said had gotten away with an unknown amount of silver dollars. e murder was never solved. ere was a trial at one point where a local rancher stood accused but the jury at that time was not able to find him guilty. Oh, the stories of that time and that lasting episodes of e Alpine Lodge are many, varied and understandably insatiable. Louie’s was owned by Louie Gibellini (1907-1996). Aer Louie died the property passed to his daughter Janelle until her death and now is owned by Janelle’s daughter and son-in-law, the Cambell’s Louie was a hard rock miner and was the world record holder of drilling with a Single Jack Hammer and drill. Aer his mining days ended, on mornings you could hear Louie hammering and drilling on a huge piece of granite he had in his yard, with his hammer and drill steel. He would bring his coveted drill steel to Jerry Machacek as he was the only one Louie trusted to sharpen and reshape the drills. Louie competed into his later years in Single Jack events coming home with win aer win. Long time residents of Eureka will remember this… Louie’s had the most amazing flat and long shuffle board game in the bar. Many nights were spent sliding the discs. Until one day Louie told his son-inlaw at that time, Hank, to cut it up with a chainsaw and haul it to the dump. at was Louie. Kind hearted, strong, quiet and direct. As more information of this possible sale comes about, e Star will report the steps all concerned will be taking. A building assessment public hearing for these properties is scheduled for April 21 at 10 a.m.
TIDDLES-N-BITTLES April Community Calendar If you have an event or know of someone who is having a birthday, anniversary, or other special day in April, send the information to us to add to the April Community Calendar we put on the back page of each edition or e Eureka County Star! Send your add to the calendar to: trina@theeurekacountystar.com or call 775-778-5829.
Annual Easter Egg Hunt April 4 Robin Blanco is again hosting an Easter Egg hunt out at Country Roads on Hwy 278. e event is for kids 12 and under. Please see the ad for the egg hunt on page 2.
Nevada Youth Range Camp Save the date: June 21-27, 2026. e kids have such a great time and learn many valuable time-tested outdoor secrets and lessons. is year the camp will be held at Berry Creek, NE of McGill, Nevada. Sponsored by the Nevada Section of the Society of Range Management and scholarships are available for the $250 fee per person. For more information contact Ethen Mower, Camp Director at 775-726-3564.
IN THIS EDITION Commissioners News & Notes . . . . . .2 Market Prices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 Johnny’s Tech Corner . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Our Little Ants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Senior Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Crossword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4
Worship Directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 From Our Past . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Arrests, Courts & Meetings . . . . . . . . .5 Classified and Legal Ads . . . . . . . . . . .5 Business Directory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 March Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8