Where I Stand — Mike O’Callaghan: Mountain City, Nev.

Friday, Sept. 15, 2000 | 9:40 a.m.

Mike O'Callaghan is the Las Vegas Sun executive editor.

Every Nevadan should read Gregory Martin's "Mountain City." Old-timers will be able to identify with the names of people and places, and newcomers can learn to appreciate the heartbeat of their new home. It's a special book written by a talented young man who makes readers laugh or cry with every one of its 192 pages.

"Mountain City," published by North Point Press, qualified for a full-page review by Richard Eder in the New York Times Book Review. It's a piece of work that will gain recognition in book review circles from Boston to Seattle, where Martin now lives with his wife. For me the book brings back memories of the place I would stop to buy some goods and visit when fishing in the nearby streams and Wild Horse Reservoir.

Eder begins his book review: "From Nevada's Mountain City the highway runs 84 desolate miles south to Elko with not a settlement or a house in between. North, it leads 16 miles through an Indian reservation and on up to the Idaho line. At the start of Gregory Martin's 'Mountain City' the townspeople number 33; at the end, 31. They are old -- stranded there long after the ranches died and the mine closed."

The author is not only a good writer and storyteller, he reflects the products of a good listener. The stories he picked up from relatives and others take the reader back to the hard times of his great-grandparents on the ranch they lost during the Great Depression. Pride and courage of Cornish miners and Basque sheepherders made northeastern Nevada a livable place. Martin is a descendant of both.

After reading "Mountain City" I called one of my favorite Bascos, Roger Trounday, and told him to buy two copies of the book. One for him to read and the other for our mutual friend and Roger's fellow Basque, John Ascuaga. The Basque brought their sense of humor with them when leaving the Pyrenees to herd sheep in Idaho and Nevada. Only men with quiet strength and a sense of humor could spend long months alone in the hills with their dog and hundreds of sheep.

I first came to know the Basques in Southern Idaho where my boxing coach, Al Berro, spent long hours with me. Later I was the sparring partner for Jose Ochea when he came to the United States with the goal of becoming world heavyweight champion. Boise had to be the Basque capital of the United States 50 years ago. There was nothing better than being invited to a Basque party or wedding.

Thirty years ago, when putting together my state administration after being elected governor, I reached out to Bascos named Borda, Trounday and Echeverria among others for executives. The weekend I interviewed Trounday, then a high school principal, he was found on a ranch working with friends. He still smelled like sheep pens when arriving unshaved in the governor's office.

Martin gives readers a rare look into the Basques when he describes them as having a sense of humor that allows them to become the butt of their own jokes. This quality shows a gentle soul in the bodies of people hard from physical work and burned by the summer sun and winter winds.

The book revolves around the only store in Mountain City, where the author spends long hours with his grandparents and his aunt and uncle. His uncle Mel and aunt Lori play special roles, but Gramps and Grandma are the real stars in Martin's eyes. They played key roles in showing him how to appreciate life and learn from the lessons of others. The love of these two people is felt by the reader, and the death of Grandma is a loss that must have brought tears to Martin's eyes when writing about it.

The people of Mountain City are rugged and survive despite the brutal weather and isolation during winter months. Aunt Lou is strong and silent, but she has time to rescue and care for a frozen kitten. The kitten, later named JB for Just Bones, lived with her at the store for 19 years. JB had several batches of kittens but spent life without a tail, ears or toes. She was just as strong as Lou and the people around her.

The author moves rapidly from one personality to another while weaving story after story into a blanket that warms the heart and soul of the reader. It's the real-life story of a town, a people and a family who have helped make the Silver State a better place to live and love.