Pahranagat Valley Web Site

By Jonelle Wood   

    In the desert about one hundred miles north of Las Vegas Nevada lays a beautiful green valley that stretches from miles in length.  Called Pahranagat Valley, meaning land of many waters.  Such a great place should never go unnoticed.

My service-learning project is a web page.  I decided to create a web page all about the history of Alamo NV, and Pahranagat Valley.  I learned that it was quit an undertaking, but I learned a lot.  I had been told a lot of stories about Alamo.  How it was founded, when the first school was built, or even about the town dances held.  I really loved these stories and wanted more people to here them.  When I talked and asked people how I should begin, they said simple, start small.  So with that advice I just looked up information about Alamo when it was first settled, and took out some excerpts.  I also put a little information about the schools.  I was able to find some pictures, so I also added them.  It was so much fun to look up the information and learn even more about the background of the town I grew up in and will always call home.  I am very excited because there are so many members of our town that have a lot of history there.  There families have lived there for a number of years.  This will give them the chance to have others know more about them and their heritage.  It is also again great form me because my ancestors are the founders of the town.

          Living here in Cedar City away from home has made me more aware that everyone has there own life.  What I mean is that just because I grew up in Alamo and loved it doesn’t mean everyone else knows where it is.  I’m hoping that this will give others that don’t even live in the valley or near it a chance to learn a little information about a great place.

          I began by, like I said by starting small.  I had to decide what information I wanted to put on first because I would not be able to put all of it at once.  I made a list of what things were important to the town, family, ranching, and sports is what I came up with first.  I decided sports could be left out for the first little while because, most of the towns people all know about our high school sports, and those places we go to play know about us because we have always been the team to beat.  I decided to forgo ranching because most people know that many of the small towns out west were ranching communities, and those who even drive through our valley can’t help but realize it.  So I was left with family, and it was such a big topic that the best place to start would be at the beginning or the founding of Alamo.  I also wanted those who would be looking at the web site to be able to see a little of what Alamo actually looks like so pictures of the valley were put on it. 

          Our small little community loves to share stories and we also have some great storytellers.  I am hoping that this web site will provide a place for those stories to be told, and also written down for everyone to enjoy.  The community of Alamo or Pahranagat Valley has always been a close one.  Many of the members are somehow related to one another.  But in the past few years many people have come to live in the valley that have no relationship to anyone.  So in a way they are outsiders.  Not that the towns folk ignore them or treat them that way, but some do feel left out when community events take place and many families get together.  I hope that maybe by telling the stories of the older generations of Alamo that more people will feel a connection to the present generations of families in the town. And soon many of the new comers will have their own stories to tell and share, and they might feel like they are more of a part of our little community family.  Another way I am hoping this might help the community is to bring out all the different stories of events that have happened in the Valley.  This way misconceptions or the fish stories might be cleared up.  I know that there have been many people who have asked a question about an event that took place or something in the past and ten different people give them an account of what happened.  Which confuse everyone even more, especially the younger generations and the new comers.  I know that all the false hoods will not be able to be taken care of but at least all the stories might be available for everyone to have, and then they can make their own judgments.

          My future plans for this project are many.  I would love to be able to have every family living in the valley write a small history about them that could be posted on the site.  I would also love to be able to get family history stories together about many of the earliest settlers.  Another thing would be to have a high school history, where all the sporting achievements were listed including championships, runner-ups, divisions, and even individual awards, along with personal stories that might go along with them.  Also listed might be who was in the student councils and when.  What teachers have taught there?  Maybe a list of alumni, and added to that possibly a way to contact old high school buddies.  Also along with a history of the school, to list what is presently going on there, such as the sports schedules, when dances with be.  And a great thing for the alumni would be when homecoming would be and what events will take place.  There are also many old buildings in the town; finding out a history about them would be great to put on it as well.  I was very excited, because when I began this project so many people were also excited for it.  In the high school we have an FFA chapter.  They are always looking for new things to do and ways to better the community.  They love new project and have been trying to decide on something to make into a web page.  I talked to them about what I was doing and they really were interested.  So after discussing with them more they want to take over.  Which would be that the would do researching projects for new articles, take pictures and pretty much add to and maintain the web site. 

          This has been a great experience.  I always like to learn new things and experience new things.  I know that history is a very important thing in everything.  For example playing sports in high school is a great experience, but what made it such a great experience was the history behind the team, all the championships and hard work that they had accomplished I was now able to be a part of.  Which is a lot like living in Alamo or anywhere else.  Because knowing the history behind something gives you more of a connection to it.  Knowing what the generations past have gone through to get you to where you are gives you something to work for yourself.  Sometimes knowing the trials that others went through before you helps you realize your life isn’t so bad.  Also knowing about events in the past and mistakes people made especially when you have a connection to the people helps you to not make the same mistake.  This project has given me a greater sense of home.  Alamo has always been may home, but now it is a home that was built from the ground up by people who didn’t even know I would one day exist.

          My web site can be found at http://geocities.com/jonelle_w/