On Nevada Day
By Bobbie Ann Howell
Growing up in Nevada, one of the coolest things was our celebration of Nevada Day. Out of school, often heading to a theme park in California filled with kids from Nevada, or heading out to Lake Mead or hiking the Valley of Fire and, of course, planning for the best places to secure a trick-or-treat haul. Nevada Day is special for many reasons, we are a state often only thought of by outsiders in terms of the images of Las Vegas, Reno, and Lake Tahoe. But those of us who call it home find a certain pride in calling ourselves Nevadans. We know Nevada was born in the midst of an epic national crisis, thus our motto, “Battle Born”. I still love the fact that Nevada sent its constitution in the midst of the Civil War, to Washington, D.C. At the time it was the longest Morse code telegraph sent just in the nick of time to secure our electoral votes in the 1864 “election of a lifetime.” Nevada still impacts national events even in these modern times, still relevant in reminding each of us of our national duty on election day.
Nevada’s vast beauty and contrasting landscapes are amazing in a myriad of ways. Still a land of the unknown, discoveries can be made, places where ancient creatures once swam around what are now our highest peaks, receding waters carving signature contours across landscapes, rocks telling us stories of those who walked these meadows, valleys, and lived along its rivers in times past. We have the Bristlecone Pine, creosote, Joshua trees, and sagebrush that have been sentinels reminding us of the fragility of nature while bearing witness to change. Deep artesian wells that have held life-sustaining water from our snowy ridges as the mighty Colorado passes beside us. Nevada keeps its waters in the Great Basin, holds its deep dark sky to show off the Milky Way. It finds a place for thousands to visit together in the tourist-filled valley or leaving space to explore the quiet of the Ruby’s, hear the wind on the Black Rock Desert, or be amazed at the smallest of wildflowers within the desert crust.
“Still a land of the unknown, discoveries can be made.”
Nevada encompasses a vast area, yet we are still relatively small in population; even like all the Western states, we are growing. Many of our basin and mountain ranges are part of public lands, belonging not just to us but to the nation. The balance of the West is hard won, and keeping an eye on it is a task we must all embrace. We want to show this place to our future ancestors and know that love of place, of home, of what is needed to secure the blessings of Liberty is an ongoing responsibility.
Home means Nevada if that is what you choose. It is something Nevada Humanities strives to share with everyone and each Nevada Day, we take joy in sending a Happy Nevada Day card across the state, hoping everyone will take a moment and reflect on the privilege it is to be here. The 2025 Nevada Day eCard was created from a sampling of the hundreds of people of Nevada who have taken a moment to join us in creating their own Nevada, P.S. I Love You Postcard, sharing a note about what they love about Nevada with someone they love or maybe even a Silver State stranger. Thank you. Keep up the good work.
Images courtesy of Bobbie Ann Howell.
Bobbie Ann Howell grew up in beautiful Lee Canyon, Nevada, a mountain community northwest of the Las Vegas valley. Born in a state that has dramatic contrasts from the desert valleys to high mountain vistas, from crowed urban centers to the open windswept spaces that are a part of her life and in turn her art. Howell attended school in Indian Springs, NV, and graduated from Western High School in Las Vegas, NV. Her bachelor of fine arts is from Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas. She received her master of fine arts in sculpture and drawing from Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, Ill.
Her experience includes working in the arts and humanities in cultural centers, museums, as an educator, curator, and artist in residence. She is currently a program manager for Nevada Humanities. She works from her studio, B.E.S.T. Arts 4 U, in Las Vegas, Nevada. Her artworks are in public and private collections and exhibited in regional and national exhibitions, and through public art projects. Howell was part of the 2017 ArtPop Street Gallery where one of her artworks was displayed on a billboard along Interstate 15 in Las Vegas, NV, and in 2023 and 2018 she was awarded the Nevada Arts Council Visual Art Fellowship Award.