Before we get started with the actual interview, I (Anthony Crosby) would like to give a big shout-out to Ellen Meshefski of the Carlin Ace Hardware store! I had back-to-back interviews with two separate people who are living/doing business in Carlin, and both brought up Ellen’s name and how wonderful she is to the community. Therefore, I knew I had to meet Ellen for myself. Following my interviews, I drove over to Ace to introduce myself to her. The people were not exaggerating; she was just as pleasant and passionate about her community as she had been made out to be. Thank you, Ellen, for caring about Carlin with such joy!
This week, we sat down with Kytrina Neubert, a long-time Carlin, Nevada resident, to get a homegrown perspective of the town! Admittedly, AAT has not done a great job of including Carlin in the “around town” part of Anthony Around Town, so this week, we wanted to change that! Kytrina currently works at both a trucking company as well as a casino in the community. Although she has left and returned a time or two, overall, she’s called the area home for quite some time, so we’re thankful and excited to have her share her thoughts and feelings with us today!
Thank you for joining us this week, Kytrina! What led to you calling Carlin home, and what was the town like when you first arrived?
“Having to call Carlin home came from my parents’ doing. We were living in Wyoming before my dad got a mining job out here with Newmont. We made the move out here in 1991, which means I’ve been here for about twenty-eight years.
“When we first moved here, this town had nothing. We had a market, some bars, and an old Pilot gas station, so coming here, even from a small town in Wyoming, was a culture shock. However, I came to realize that Carlin has a nice community of people. Everybody comes together for one another here.”
Kytrina, what else have you come to love and appreciate about Carlin over your time here?
“The friendliness. In a big city, it can be easy to feel like you’re just part of a crowd and are not really noticed. Here, you are noticed, and people will look out for you, so you don’t have to worry! It’s rare to find someone here with a “help yourself” type attitude. Also, people here are here with longevity; there are people I grew up with who are still here, and there are people who lived here before me who are still here because if you want to make a life here, you can.”
Kytrina, most of AAT’s readers live in the Elko/Spring Creek area, and Carlin is merely a town they pass through to and from a work site or heading west. What can you share about the realities of actually living in Carlin to those living elsewhere?
“We don’t have many of the things some of the Elko residents may take for granted. We don’t have things like Johnny Appleseed Park or even a community pool. Every time one of the mines would have a company picnic, they would always be in Elko. We have to go to Elko for a lot of things, and that can get tricky, especially in the winter because going through those tunnels can get dangerous. I would love to see some more meshing between the communities; it would be neat for some Elko people to consider Carlin and maybe come out here for things!
“Honestly, I’m a little surprised that you (Anthony Crosby) actually showed up to do this interview about Carlin because people always say they’re going to reach out here, and they never do. People kind of forget about Carlin, especially when it comes to support programs and resources.”
I wouldn’t miss coming out here and learning about the community for anything; I’m thankful for the opportunity! However, my time in Carlin is about to come to an end (at least for today), so is there anything else you’d like to share before I take the twenty-minute drive back to Elko?
“There’s more to Carlin than a couple of bars and a truck stop. We have a lot of beauty here; a person only needs to open their eyes to really see it without the “oh, it’s just Carlin” type of attitude. So, please don’t forget about us! Yes, we are an old railroad town, but there is so much here!”
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See you around, Elko!
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Welcome to the C-Town Anthony!!!! Great interview Kytrina, Thank you!!!! We hope to see you more Anthony, we do have a pretty amazing little town!!!!!!