SEARCHLIGHT, Nev. (KTNV) — Battle born and battle-tested. A hard-working man who never lost touch with his roots. That’s how people in Searchlight, Nevada remember the late Sen. Harry Reid.
Walking through the Searchlight Historic Museum, you’ll come across an exhibit on Searchlight personalities. One famous name, Harry Reid, the tenacious U.S. senator who people here saw as just a friendly neighbor.
“Just as down-home or down-to-earth as you can be. Their home was open to us when needed.”
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Judge Richard Hill had known Sen. Reid and his wife for decades helping tend the garden at their home.
“You would never know when they were home of the titles or the places he’s been and the things he done. He was just Searchlight. He loved Searchlight,” he said.
Sen. Reid’s family had deep roots with his grandfather being one of the first settlers in the community.
“His dad was a hard rock miner. That’s what Searchlight’s existence is. It actually vied for the county seat at the time across the century,” Hill said.
All around Searchlight, Sen. Reid’s name is prominent from the elementary school to a street. Longtime friend Stan Colton says the senator made sure to bring infrastructure to the area like the town’s post office.
“I introduced Harry at the post office, and he made the commemorative speech for the new post office,” he said.
Colton says if Sen. Reid was busy in Washington, he would still make time to keep in touch with his community with phone calls.
“What’s going on in Searchlight. What’s going on anywhere. It was sort of touching base with me so I could give him some information about what was going on in his own hometown,” he said.
