The stories of Virginia City by Juliette Marsden, Outpost Staff Faces of Virginia City The way things used to be Today's Virginia City What's in store David Wierbach discovered Virginia City on his way home to Los Angeles from a tour in Ely in 1961. The ragtime Dixieland banjo-player and his piano-playing friend stopped off at the Silver Queen saloon. It was noon. The place was nearly empty except for owner Carol Eaton, who sat in the cage. Wierbach's friend asked if he could play a tune on the bar's calliopy (steam organ). Eaton agreed and, as Wierbach's friend played, listened intently. After he played a tune, he and Wierbach turned to leave. But Eaton stopped them. "She yelled over the mike, 'Where the hell do you think you're going? You get up there and play the piano,'" Wierbach recounted. After another hour of playing the calliopy, Eaton hired them both on the spot. For Wierbach, now retired from his banjo playing days, it is the quiet life which attracts him most to Virginia City. At age 67, he spends much of his time reading and teaching music lessons. Photo by Juliette Marsden The Way it Was museum, on Virginia City's Main Street, boasts of authentic replicas from the time of Virginia City's heyday.     copyright 4/24/98 Nevada Outpost http://www.jour.unr.edu/outpost Nevada Outpost is produced by students at the Reynolds School of Journalism, University of Nevada, Reno Copyright 1999 Nevada Outpost http://www.jour.unr.edu/outpost