The following is posted on behalf of Tom Muzzio of the Territorial Enterprise. K.B. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE contact: David Delacroix http://www.Territorial-Enterprise.com November 28, 1998 TERRITORIAL ENTERPRISE COMES ONLINE: CELEBRATES 140 YEARS Virginia City, Nevada - The oldest publication in Nevada and one of the few surviving newspapers of the "Old West" anticipates the new century by inaugurating its website on December first, exactly one hundred forty years to the day after its first issue came off the hand operated press in 1858. Site of the richest silver strike in history, Virginia City has been famous not only for the legendary Comstock Lode, but for the numerous well known personalities who have lived at its 6200 ft. heights over the years. The most notorious of all is the former editor of the TERRITORIAL ENTERPRISE, Samuel Langhorn Clemens, who began using his universally known pen name, MARK TWAIN, during his tenure on the paper between 1862 and 1864. As the primary source of mining information during the American Civil War, the paper was regularly sent with dispatch to the office of President ABRAHAM LINCOLN who promoted Nevada's statehood in 1864 in order to tap the resources of the Comstock silver mines on behalf of the Union war effort. But the big bonanza on the Comstock took place in the 1880s. The extent of the silver deposits had never been realized until technology caught up, and modern machinery facilitated the excavation of more silver than ever before in human history. The wealth of the Comstock mines found its way in part to fund the growth of San Francisco. During the first half of this century, the ENTERPRISE shared the fate of Virginia City, and declined in importance until it was purchased in 1954 by New York writer and bon-vivant, LUCIUS BEEBE, who built the publication to a national level with his wit and eccentricity. Following the advice offered to Twain by the first ENTERPRISE publisher, "Never let the truth stand in the way of a good story," Beebe re-introduced great writing to the Comstock. The 1950s saw not only the revival of the TERRITORIAL ENTERPRISE, but of the town as well, hosting the long-running NBC television series, BONANZA which was filmed in and around Virginia City and Lake Tahoe. The current owner and publisher (since 1984), Tom Muzzio, a Twain enthusiast, plans to continue publishing "in the spirit of MARK TWAIN." According to Muzzio, "Ever since the likes of Mark Twain and Dan DeQuille sat around the wood stove at night, spinning yarns while the snow piled up around the Comstock, people have enjoyed the kind of journalism and humor they created. We have every intention of keeping it that way!"