Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review.
This newspaper, this city and I lost a good friend on Christmas Day. Beth Miramon died peacefully at home while napping after a celebration of Christmas with her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. That’s a pretty good way to go—a fine capstone to a good life.
I see the obituary in the Reno Gazette-Journal focused on her life as a historian, and she was that, having written the book “Reno’s Axle, Historic 4th Street.” But my memories of her are almost all about Beth Miramon: Activist.
She told me one time that she got involved in government when there was a plan to extend Socrates Drive to Virginia Street—must have been early ‘90s. We became friends during battles over the train trench, and she appeared on our cover on Oct. 14, 1999. It was a horrible cover. I remember taking the picture on the train tracks, us laughing, her trying to keep a straight face while staring into the sun. All those factors combined to make her look like somebody was cutting her toes off.
Later, I was investigating some weird contributions to a Reno City Council member, Sherrie Doyle. Beth’s name came up with a $12,600 loan. I called Beth to ask her what was going on, and she wouldn’t say much—just that there was more to the story, but she wasn’t ready to go public. Weeks later, Beth came in with a manila folder full of documentation that told the story of hidden loans made to the councilmember. That story, which still resides in the internet (www.pyramid.net/burghart/Doyle.htm) resulted in Doyle being indicted. That was in February 2000. We didn’t laugh much about that stuff.
Occasionally, she’d stop by or drop me a note—gentle chiding to do the right thing.
There will be a memorial to celebrate her life on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 11 a.m. at St. Rose of Lima Catholic Church. Everyone is invited to share their stories about her. In lieu of flowers, send donations to Reno Historic Preservation Society at 747-4478.