Tom Muzzio editor and publisher of the Territorial Enterprise This photo of Muzzio was, taken in the 1980s, shows him as he was when he first staked his claim in Virginia City.

VIRGINIA CITY, NEVADA--When Tom Muzzio first came to town in the 1980s looking for a home to call his own, the realtor asked him if he'd like to buy the local paper. It was a perfectly logical question as Muzzio had spent time in Europe and Vietnam as a military illustrator and photographer. He would soon find out how important this "local paper" was to the history of the West and American literature.

Muzzio had to put all his skills to work ~journalistic and otherwise. He sold ads, designed the newspaper, wrote stories and took photographs. All the while, he was learning about his neighbors ~ the few that had hung on to their place plus all the new people who had come in to make the town a tourist spot. He found some quite friendly while others were resistant to change, new people and new ideas.

Never one to give up easily, Muzzio continues with his efforts to keep the Territorial Enterprise [fondly called the TE for short] alive in the minds of those who treasure the past. The only reason some people are aware of the TE is because of Mark Twain and the story of how he started his writing career there. At the Historical Gazette we found that the stories that Dan DeQuille told of the mining operations of the Comstock Lode were fascinating. Mark Twain being there was like a cherry on the top of an already delicious chocolate sundae.

A linquist of many languages, Muzzio remains sensitive to what is important to Americans as we enter into a new millenium. Once he found the internet he knew that the TE needed to be added to the growing bank of information available around the world. The fame of Mark Twain to all those who learn English as a second language took on a special meaning to him. His enthusasim for the medium of the internet would be hard to match. It is our pleasure to work with him to put the TE on the internet. The past is a way that we can measure our future ~ viewing the boom and bust in society ~ with thoughts that stimulate a better picture of the world that we leave our descendants.
~Bridget E. Smith, editor/publisher of the Historical Gazette.

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