MCDERMITT - McDermitt Combined School alumni Jason Hill's grandfather, Alphonso Naveran, was only 16-years-old when he left his parents home in Erina, Viscaya Spain, never to return.
He arrived at Ellis Island around 1918 on his way to Winnemucca, Nev., to herd sheep for his uncle, Mitchell Cobiaga. Jason's other maternal great-grandparents, Dora and Mary Lasa, also emigrated from Viscaya to McDermitt, Nev., and their daughter, Annie, and Alphonso married in 1932.
Alphonso and Annie moved to McDermitt in 1941 and raised seven children, Aurelia (Jaca), Dorthea (Smith), Jim, John (MHS 1962), and Ron (MHS 1965), followed by Jason's mother, Mary Lynn (MHS 1969) and Tonya (Jones) (MHS 1970).
It may be difficult for Jason to trace his paternal grandfather's roots. William (Bill) Hill was left at an orphanage in Los Angeles with instructions that he could not be adopted. (Possibly his parents planned to come back for him?)
He was placed in several foster homes, but when he was 12 years old he left a home due to excessive abuse and never returned, not even to the orphanage.
He was able to find work when an Irishman hired him to help bale hay with a stationary bailer. (The hay was brought to the bailer, bailed and then hauled off.) When Bill was 17 he lied about his age and went to work near Bakersfield in the oil fields, close to a farm belonging to Hiram and Irene Wells.
Bill married their daughter, Hannah, and formed a partnership with his new father-in-law, taking out homesteads in the Sierra foothills and creating a sizable farm. Bill also worked as buckaroo boss for Miller and Lux on the Manzanita Ranch near Santa Marie, Calif.
He and Hannah had five children: Bill, Larry (long time Orovada resident), Leola, Lonnie and Jason's dad Chuck.
Chuck was 2-years-old in 1946, when his dad, on a fishing trip at the Clear Creek Ranch on the Sonoma Range near Winnemucca, liked it there so well that he bought the ranch.
He moved the family to Nevada, but Hannah suffered a respiratory condition that flared up in the high desert keeping her in California to care for the farm there. Later, Bill sold Clear Creek and bought Dutch Flat Farms. He sold Dutch Flat to Kracaws in 1970, and retired to Winnemucca, where he lived until he passed away at age 93.
Chuck attended school in California, coming to Nevada to work during the summers. He moved to Nevada permanently in 1960, continuing to work at area mines and ranches, including Garvey's in Paradise Valley for buckaroo boss Las Mendietta.
He was at the UC Ranch near McDermitt when he began dating Mary Lynn Naveran. Chuck and Mary Lynn, who has worked at MHS for 20 years, were married on March 21, 1969, and lived in McDermitt as Chuck was employed at the Ruja Mine 11 miles west of town.
Their family increased when Jason was born on June 11, 1970. Later, Chuck helped build houses on the reservation for Humboldt Builders before going to work at the McDermitt Mine for Placer Amex/Placer Dome in 1974. One of the last to leave the McDermitt Mine after it closed in 1991, he worked several years at the Sleeper Mine before going to work for NDOT.
Jason remembers living in a trailer located on a lot belonging to kindergarten teacher Dolores Armknecht and her son Lonnie walking him to school his first day.
He enjoyed spending time with his Uncle Jess Jaca, in Jess's truck hauling cattle. In 1977, his grandpa Alphonso passed away and his uncle, Dora Lasa, hooked on to their home with his backhoe and moved it next to Grandma Annie Naveran's house.
Jason says there was always room for his friends and classmates, such as David Elordi and David Souza at their house. He believes that they were fortunate in grade school with good teachers like Miss Groover for second grade, LaRena Bengoa for third grade, and Bob Barnes for fifth grade. In junior high they had Neil Stevens, Mindy Sherburn, Darlene Albisu and Ruth Alcorta. Jason played football, coached by Todd Murrah, basketball and track.
In high school his class remained close but competitive, and he especially liked teachers Darlene Albisu, Mike Taylor (both class advisers) and Barb Ferguson. Football was his sport with coaches Moddrell and Stevens.
He recalls the great fundraisers they had - car washes, dinners at the Desert Inn and cake walks. One time he and David Elordi glued two cake mix boxes together, iced them and then sprinkled walnuts on their "cake" that was won by unsuspecting Frank Albisu!
Graduating in 1988, Jason edged out classmate Johnna Falen for salutatory honors by taking more classes than he had planned for his senior year! The class used
- See ALUMNI, Page 23 -
all their
fundraising money to take a week-long senior trip to Orlando, Fla., with chaperones Frank and Darlene Albisu, and Jock and Karen Echave. The layover at O'Hare International Airport was amazing to this bunch of kids from tiny little McDermitt.
During high school summer months Jason worked at Jaca Truck Lines for Joe and Louie Jaca. His senior year he stayed the summer with his cousin, Skeeter Lasa, and worked at Chimney Creek Mine.
He attended UNR for a year and a half. When he decided not to go back to school he asked his summer boss for full-time work at the mine, but mine policy did not allow hiring summer help full time, possibly removing college incentive.
He was able to get on at the Sleeper Mine, returning to Chimney Creek a year later in February of 1991, as shop helper and lube man. Next he was in the main shop learning to rebuild power train components and repair engines, and worked as a mechanic until 1998.
Two staff members of maintenance planning left and Jason was temporarily reassigned to planning and budgeting. Later he was asked to take the job full time, which meant giving up possible overtime for a salaried job. He decided to do it and in a couple of years was promoted to senior maintenance planner, and then to general foreman.
In 2004 he became the mine maintenance superintendent at Twin Creeks Mine, now owned by Newmont.
In the late 1990s he met Colleen (Avery), a Nevada girl whose dad came to Winnemucca working for Standard Slag - currently Hycroft. A Lowery graduate, Colleen and Jason were married March 20, 1999, making their home in Winnemucca.
The first of their three children, Joe, was born 9/4/99 followed by Hannah on 12/12/00. (Jason points out that last December Hannah turned 12 on 12/12/12!) Five years later, their second son Martin was born on 10/5/05. Jason is happy that, although sometimes things were tight at first, Colleen has been able to be a stay at home mom.
By 2005 Newmont operated mines all over northern Nevada, and Jason was promoted to Nevada operations surface maintenance manager, responsible for the maintenance departments at each site.
In 2006, he found himself spending the majority of his time at the Carlin operations and the North American Regional office in Elko. With job demands and travel impacting time with his family, he and Colleen decided to move to Elko.
In 2009, Jason moved out of maintenance to the production side as operations supervisor at Carlin, and was promoted to mine manager in 2011. As of today he has been with Newmont for 22 years and plans to be there till he retires, at which time he will have basically held only one job his whole adult life!
In Elko, Colleen is active in the elementary school PTA, church, and gathers items for Operation Santa Claus. Jason began drag racing while living in Winnemucca and now also races in Boise and Gooding, Idaho, and at Wendover.
He has junior dragsters for Joe and Martin and they had their first junior drag race in Winnemucca recently. Hannah, who loves to dance - taking jazz, tap, hip-hop and contemporary lessons -doesn't want a race car but loves but loves being the guy's pit crew. Both of the boys also play football. Jason and his family have formed an LLC partnership with Colleen's family, and they run about 120 head of cows. Jason says he would never have imagined owning cattle, but believes that it is good for his kids to work cows on horseback and experience a bit of the life style of their grandparents and great-grandparents.
The legacy that Jason leaves to McDermitt kids is, "Believe in yourself and be willing to step out and try new things. Choose a career in a field you enjoy-then it won't seem so much like work! Always be proud of your small town roots. I would still be in a small town if my career allowed it. The support from our little town was great, and I wouldn't trade it for anything!!"
[[In-content Ad]]
