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When a new exhibit recently opened at the Nevada Museum of Art, we were definitely curious why an art museum would be promoting an exhibit about the Army… so we invited Colin Robertson and Rebecca Eckland to sit down with us in the podcast studio and give us the 411. What we learned really surprised us, and we hope you’ll enjoy listening in on our conversation and learning about this unique US Army unit that helped the Allied effort in WWII and defeat the Axis powers in Europe. This captivating exhibition sheds light on a little-known chapter of World War II history, showcasing the incredible ingenuity and artistic talents of a group of courageous soldiers.







Ghost Army Origins







During our conversation, the Rebecca and Colin enlightened us about the origins of the Ghost Army. The group, officially known as the 23rd Headquarters Special Troops, consisted of a diverse array of artists, designers, and creative thinkers who used their talents to deceive the enemy during World War II. Through the use of inflatable tanks, sound effects, and visual trickery, they successfully misled German forces and saved countless lives. Inspiration for the creation of this group came from the British, who had used these techniques and shared them with the US Army.







Ghost Army Tactics and Deception Techniques







One of the most interesting parts of our chat was the discussion surrounding the artistic techniques employed by the Ghost Army. The curators revealed how these talented soldiers used their artistic skills to create elaborate stage sets, props, and even entire fake armies. The attention to detail was awe-inspiring, and it was incredible to learn how their creativity played a significant role in their success.







Our conversation also delved into the long-lasting impact the Ghost Army had on post-war art and culture, as well as their various connections to Nevada. Colin and Rebecca also highlighted how many of these talented soldiers went on to become influential artists, designers, and filmmakers, leaving an indelible mark on the creative world. The Ghost Army’s legacy is a testament to the power of art and innovation in times of conflict.







Exploring the tactics, artistry, and personal stories of these remarkable soldiers truly showcased their bravery and ingenuity. We’d definitely recommend a visit to the Nevada Museum of Art and getting immersed in the captivating world of the Ghost Army. This exhibit serves as a reminder of the extraordinary lengths people will go to protect and defend our freedom.







So, grab your family, make a plan, and embark on a journey through history like no other at the Nevada Museum of Art’s Ghost Army exhibit. You won’t want to miss this captivating experience that celebrates the incredible contributions of these unsung heroes.







More Links:









* Reno Dads Article on Ghost Army







* Nevada Museum of Art







* National World War II Museum – New Orleans







* Ghost Army on Wikipedia

After we published the article from Floss Dental Boutique, we thought it might be fun to invite Dr. Summer Holloway, the owner and founder, to join us in the podcast booth and chat all about teeth! Well, we covered a lot more ground than just teeth, of course, but that’s how it goes when you sit down with the Reno Dads for a podcast….







Meet Dr. Holloway







Dr. Holloway is a Reno native and said she’s known for a long time that she wanted to be a dentist. She founded her practice a few years ago in Old Southwest Reno and was able to find a building that needed some renovation in 2020 that now is the home of her dental boutique. Turns out that you can find some interesting things when you renovate a 100-year-old building, including old newspapers, ironworks from the original boiler, and an old leather shoe. Some of these items are actually on display in their office as a tribute to the history of the building and Reno.







Floss Dental Boutique







Floss Dental Boutique is a general dentistry practice, which means that patients of all ages are welcome. We chatted about the different stages of dentistry services for the youngest patients (as early as 1 year old) to the teenage years, adults, and older adults. The bottom line, according to Dr. Holloway, is that it’s never too late, or too early, to start building good habits for dental self-care. Parents have a particularly important role in modeling this behavior for their kids, and dads can always help by bringing their own fun ways to encourage their kids to keep their mouths healthy. Dr. Holloway also made a great point that keeping up with oral hygiene at home and making regular visits to the dentist for cleaning and exams is important to your health overall, as the mouth is a gateway to overall health.







And if you’re the type who hasn’t been to the dentist in a while, Dr. Holloway wants you to know that regardless of how long it’s been, that they’d gladly welcome you in to start back on a regular schedule. “No judgment; we’re just really glad you came in to take the first step!”







More Links:









* Floss Dental Boutique







* Q&A With Floss Dental Boutique









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Reno Dads invited Family Coach and Advocate, Charitie Carpenter, into the studio to talk about her approach to helping families navigate some of the trickiest parts of being parents. Her company, My Family Connection, is a resource for families to find help with everything from solving co-parenting issues, to managing Individual Education Plans (IEPs) for kids in school.







My Family Connection – A different approach to family coaching







Charitie describes her approach to helping families as “action-oriented and goal-focused,” which doesn’t try to compete with or replace therapy, but rather helps families focus on the here and now to solve their challenges. By working with families to identify their common goals and work on strategies to achieve them, she is hoping to help families find ways to foster healthy environments and raise happy, well-adjusted children.







More Links:









* My Family Connection









Do you have a story you’d like to talk about on our podcast? Is there someone we should meet and have on the show? Click on Contact Us, and get in touch!







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As Suicide Awareness and Prevention Month came to a close at the end of September, Reno Dads hosted a conversation with some Nevadans who are raising awareness about teen and youth suicide and working with local resources to help teens and their loved ones find information and learn how to talk to each other about mental health. We hope you’ll take a few minutes to have a listen.







Suicide Prevention / Mental Health Awareness Month







Reno Dads has actually covered the intersection of mental health and men in the past, interviewing Clint Malarchuk (former NHL hockey player) and Chris Malenab (Reno 1868 FC assistant coach) who both survived suicide attempts. In this episode, we’re taking a look at a campaign launched here in Nevada aimed at reducing teen and youth suicide, which is the second leading cause of death in the 8-24 year old age group. September has been designated as Suicide Prevention Month, and the team at Nevada Medical Center’s “Hope Means Nevada” has organized a campaign to raise awareness about this issue and to help teens and their families find the information they need to help reduce the number of teen and youth suicides in Nevada.







Where to Find Information







Nevada Medical Center launched a program in Nevada called “Hope Means Nevada” in 2020 and has been creating content and social media campaigns to reach teens where they are — on their devices — with content aimed at providing more uplifting messages. Ciera Bellavance is the Executive Director of Hope Means Nevada and she explained the background of the program and why it was created. The directors of NMC recognized a need to try to pull together different resources that were available, but not widely known, that could be helpful for teens and their families. Things like contact information for crisis hotlines, signs to recognize when someone might be considering self-harm, and other important info. They’ve collected it and created a “one-stop” website for Nevadans to find it on mentalhealthresourcesnv.org







Dr. Sheldon Jacobs and Dr. Steve Evans also provided great insight regarding the causes and indicators of mental health crises in teens that might lead someone to consider suicide. We discussed a common misconception that talking about suicide somehow encourages an individual to attempt it. The bottom line is that it’s more important than ever that parents, especially dads, stay connected with their kids through their middle school and high school years so they can notice the signs of when someone might be entering into a period of mental health trouble. The way to recognize the signs is to first learn what they are, and then to be involved in your teen’s life to see how they’re handling the stress of being a teenager.







A Teen’s Perspective







Having the perspective of a teenager on the podcast was something new for Reno Dads, and we were glad to have Shane Taylor join us to do just that.

We were excited to host a few awesome local dads for our latest episode. Rick and Brandon, from Family First Chiropractic, stopped by to talk about an important topic that they have dedicated their practice to helping dads (and families) with: their health. We hope you’ll take a few minutes to have a listen!







Rick and Brandon







Dr. Rick and Dr. Brandon are both part of local chiropractic practice, Family First, which has been helping patients in the Reno and Sparks community live more healthy lives since 2000. Dr. Brandon is a new dad — his daughter is 3 months old – and it was great to chat with him about how he and his wife have been adjusting to the new arrival at home. Dr. Rick has been practicing chiropractic medicine for a while and says that he’s been encouraged to see a trend in dads taking a much more active role in managing not just their own health, but the healthcare of their families, as well. (side note: Dr. Rick has his own podcast, too!)







The Four Pillars







The core principles that Rick and Brandon use to define their practice, and how they work with their patients are what they call the “Four Pillars”: Move Well, Think Well, Eat Well, and Recover Well. We spent a few minutes diving into what each of those pillars means, and how Rick and Brandon use them to help guide their patients to making healthier choices in their daily lives.







It was great to have a chance to meet Rick and Brandon and learn about how dads are becoming more engaged in setting a good example for their families when it comes to healthy living.







Hope you enjoy this episode!







More Links:







* Family First Chiropractic







Do you have a story you’d like to talk about on our podcast? Is there someone we should meet and have on the show? Click on Contact Us, and get in touch!







You can find all of our podcast episodes here at Reno Dads.







More Reno Dads!







* Remember, you are now able to subscribe on iTunes, Google Play, Spotify and through the RSS feed. Please leave a rating so others can find our content!* If you enjoyed this podcast, please go rate it on iTunes! 







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Reno Dad Josh Shinn asked a great question to our group about how we were managing a year into the pandemic. What have we learned? What are we looking forward to when we return to “normal?” What should “normal” be, anyway? Jake, David, and Jonathan all hopped on Zoom (naturally) to chat about how things are going a year into the Covid-19 global pandemic.







LEGOs and Conversations







To kick things off, Josh told us about the way he’s been able to see this time as having given him the opportunity to spend more time with his young family, and how that has led him to reassess what he used to consider as being his primary focus in terms of being recognized at work. Now, he says, he’s more aware of his connections at home, and that he’s trying to focus more on being “recognized” at home — being present, being an engaged dad — all of those things that don’t necessarily lead to higher pay or promotions, but certainly have provided Josh with greater happiness. How playing with his son and LEGOs has allowed him to have some pretty meaningful conversations with his son and that has led to his feeling that much more connected to him, as well. And he reminded us that the Dodgers won some big game or something…







Reframing the Question







Jake chimed in with some wisdom (as usual) about reframing the whole idea of what we “have” to do vs. what we “get” to do as a result of this time at home (for those of us who are able to work that way). We all spent some time reflecting on just how fortunate our group has been in this respect. We all know people who have been deeply affected by this virus and the economic disruption, and we know that not everyone will see a silver lining. Josh had a great comment that there is always an abundance of something when there’s a deficit in some area or another. If you have a deficit of time, you might have more money, or if you lose your job, there’s an abundance of time that you can use to learn or devote to a project. We know that this past year hasn’t been easy for everyone, but trying to reframe the situation with this mindset is one way for us to look for positive outcomes in what has been a year full of negative ones.







Baseball Soothes the Soul







David described how he’s been able to give his kids the ongoing opportunity to play baseball on a number of different teams, including with their travel team, and how that he understands that opportunity isn’t available for a lot of people. So he’s been really focused on making sure that whatever baseball can be made available here locally is available — putting his time and attention towards little league here in Reno has been an important part of his life before COVID-19, but has been even more important because he knows just how important having some sports available for kids can be. And while baseball can’t solve the problem for everyone, it does brighten those kids’ lives and gets them feeling a bit more “normal.”







Where We’re At







While the pandemic is far from over, we can start to see some light at the end of the tunnel and we thought we would take stock in how we’ve managed and what we’ve learned in the past 13 months. For this group of Reno Dads, we learned that one of our most important roles as fathers is to lead with love and compassion, as much as possible, since it’s that example that we set for our kids that will provide a foundation for how they respond to adversity and how they learn to persevere through challenges throughout their lives. As dads, we have to try to be the light in whatever part of the world...