Portraits of Tahoe's Past

by Brit Flanigan

Memories of Tahoe is a book of vintage photos from the same collector who produced the popular Tahoe's Gilded Age, Jim Bell. Gilded covered the period from 1880 to 1919. Memories picks up from there and follows the history of The Lake through 1959, just prior to the Winter Olympic Games at Squaw Valley. "I needed to finish telling the story," says Bell.

Out of thousands of Tahoe images that Bell has collected over the last 30 years, he chose an entertaining and insightful selection that will delight both long-time Tahoe locals and first-time visitors. The photos follow the Lakeshore in counter-clockwise direction, starting in Tahoe City, and include scenes from many present-day communities, with the notable exception of spots that had yet to be developed, like Incline Village. The photo tour leaves the Basin briefly to travel over the Mount Rose Highway and ends just down the Truckee River in Squaw Valley.

Images are printed one per page with minimal text. They tell of a fascinating era at The Lake, from the Roaring Twenties to the now-seemingly-innocent post-war years—from flappers to gangsters to families on vacation. An introduction from Tahoe Quarterly's editor Chaco Mohler gives background to the images.

The faces you encounter invite you into their world, tempting you to imagine the stories that lie between the pages. "A building is a building; people capture the spirit," says Bell, explaining one of his criteria for choosing images.

This is a collection you will return to again and again, a reminder of a slower time and of the magic that still exists here. Whether you lived it or just wish you did, Memories of Tahoe is a delightful addition to any nostalgia buff's library.