Carl Shelly - Class of 1922
Carl Shelly, a native of Truckee, California, was born on March 18, 1905, the same day Sparks received its city charter. He attended local Sparks’ schools, including the old Robert Mitchell School and Sparks High School. While attending SHS, he was well respected by fellow students and was an active member of the football team. He graduated from SHS in 1922. After graduating, he took a couple years off and worked for the railroad. Later he graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno.
Throughout his life, Carl Shelly held many respectable jobs, ranging from councilman to shop owner. As the fifth president of the Sparks Rotary, he obtained highlights for the SHS football field. Mr. Shelly served on the Sparks City Council from 1933 until 1935 when he began representing Sparks in the Nevada Assembly. Beginning in 1941, he served as Washoe County Commissioner from Sparks for ten years. Carl Shelly served a total of twenty years in public office. He became editor and publisher of the Sparks Tribune after he finished his political career. He owned and ran it for another nine years, working to make it the local Sparks’ community paper. In 1944, Mr. Shelly opened two hardware stores called Shelly’s Hardware, one in Reno and one in Sparks. The Sparks location still serves many people today. Shelly retired from the business in 1983.
Carl Shelly participated in many community service projects. He was a charter member of the Sparks Rotary Club, served on the US Commission to UNESCO, and became the first chairman of the Nevada State Welfare Board. Carl Shelly was also an active member of the Sparks Masonic Lodge for sixty years.
Carl Shelly believed Sparks’ history should be preserved and he founded the Sparks Heritage Museum in 1984. He was a board member until 2001. For all of his dedication and hard work, the Sparks Rotary Club dedicated a park, the Carl B. Shelly Rotary Park, on McCarran and Baring Boulevard in his honor in 1975.
Carl Shelly married Barbara Blumer in 1926. Together they raised two children. They have five grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Carl and Barbara were married 67 years.
Inducted 2002
