The Story Man

The Story Man

By Rod Jones Artist-Writer

Know one knew. Many tried. One day the mystery was solved. The little mining town in northern Nevada was the home of the curiosity. Most of the mining operations had since left the area, but it had a thriving community surviving off of the tourist trade. There were several rivers that crisscrossed the town with origins hidden away in rocky outcroppings.

The town folks never spoke outside of their community of what took place every Saturday in the town’s historical park bandstand. It was a mystery for most and a curiosity for some. All in all, it was a closely held secret that everyone in the town knew to keep. After all, the town made good money from what happened weekly in that bandstand. Sometimes it drew large crowds and they all needed food to eat and a place to stay. No one was unhappy about that revenue.

The rivers that seemed to start and end out of nowhere were interesting for the tourists to look at, but they had no fish, so no one bothered to fish in those waters. They mostly headed to the center of town, or to the town square that showcased a magnificent historical bandstand. That was the big attraction on Saturdays.

About two years ago something interesting took place in the mining town’s bandstand. At first, most people didn’t pay too much attention to it…