Lilli Moffit was born in Germany and raised in Iowa. In the 1990s, she and her husband, Bill, moved to Reno, where he worked for Sierra Pacific (now Nevada Energy). In 1998, the Moffits bought and renovated a former Chinese restaurant at 1229 East 4th Street and opened Reno Rails, a model train store. Lilli continued to operate the business after her husband passed away in 2010. Photo by Patrick Cummings
Full Oral History TranscriptLilli Moffit, who founded Reno Rails with her husband, Bill, discusses the effort it took to renovate their building before opening for business. Recorded by Bethany Underhill.
Lilli Moffit, owner of Reno Rails, counters common misperceptions of East 4th Street, explaining that unique businesses will be sought out by customers, no matter their location. Recorded by Bethany Underhill.
Born and raised in Ely, Nevada, Gaye Canepa moved to Reno after completing high school. At the time of her interview, she and her husband, Fred Canepa, owned and operated Fred’s Auto Repair and Supply at 500 East Sixth Street. She was the longtime president of the Reno-Sparks Business Corridor Association (RSCBA), spearheading community efforts to promote redevelopment and resist efforts by the City of Reno to locate a new homeless shelter along East 4th Street.
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Ed Scalzo and his wife, Susan, own Forever Yours Fine Furniture, located in the historic Flanigan Warehouse building at 701 East Fourth Street. They started the business in 1976 in Kings Beach, Lake Tahoe, moving to an old Ford dealership building on Virginia and Fourth Streets in Reno in 1980. Around 1982 they began to lease the historic IXL Laundry building at 601 East Fourth Street, operating there until 1998, when they purchased the Flanigan building.
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John Feroah grew up in Reno, where his father worked for the Reno Police Department. After high school, John joined the Air Guard and worked briefly for the City of Reno. In 1969, he joined the Reno Police Department, part-time, while working security for the Cal-Neva. In 1971, he began to work for the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office, retiring in 2003. He has since worked for the Reno Police Department Reserve and the University of Nevada Police Department.
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