Carson City Historical Society presents Jan. 18 talk on the Meder family
The Carson City Historical Society presents "The Meder Family of Carson City," a lecture by David Bugli, Secretary of the Carson City Historical Society. The lecture mainly focuses on talented composer, musician, and all around "useful man," J.P. Meder, and his father, B.H. Meder.
Other members of the family contributed to the daily life of Carson City starting in the mid-1860s. The lecture is on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024, at 6:30 p.m. in the Carriage House behind the Foreman-Roberts House at 1207 N. Carson Street, Carson City, NV. Admission is free, but seating is limited. Donations are accepted.
Born in New England in 1848, John P. Meder came to the young town of Carson as a teenager in 1864 with his father, B.H. Meder, and the rest of the family. While his father, an industrious yet adventurous idealist, began to make his mark in the lumber business and in politics, young John began to make his mark on the cultural life of Carson City, Virginia City, and Reno.
He showed skill as a composer early in his life and published several piano pieces. He is most famous for his "Hank Monk Schottische" and the "Nevada Stale March." Although he made most of his living as a butcher, freight agent for the V&T Railroad, or whatever work a talented individual might find, he was also known to all the residents for his musical, theatrical, and educational contributions throughout his life. He served as manager of the Carson Opera House and a long tenure as president of the Carson City school board until his death in 1908.
J.P. Meder's father, B.H. Meder, was a native of Maine. He co-owned a fulling mill in Brunswick, Maine; served in the Maine legislature from 1842 to 1844, where he promoted the concept of school district consolidation; served as a newspaper publisher in Bath; did some mining in California; was elected justice of the peace in Yuba (Cal.) County in 1842; moved to Boston in 1844, where he owned a carriage building and stagecoach business; and moved to Carson City in 1863, where he built the first planing mill in the state. He was elected to the state Senate twice and, like his son after him, served as president of the Carson City school board.
Presenter David C. Bugli has music degrees from Ithaca College and the University of Massachusetts. He moved to Carson City in late 1983 and became involved in the musical life of the city. He founded Carson City Symphony in 1984, which he has conducted since its beginning. He founded the Mile High Jazz Band and its associated annual Jazz & Beyond music festival, performs on piano and tuba, composes and arranges, and serves as Secretary of the Carson City Historical Society. He is the recipient of the 2007 Nevada Governor's Arts Award for Distinguished Service to the Arts.
For more information please visit the website CCHistorical.org or send an email to carsoncityhistoricalsociety@gmail.com.