This weekend is graduation for many of our area high schools.

While a diploma is one recognition of their important achievement, some graduates get another participation award. Research indicates that high school graduates who show continued participation in extracurricular activities have higher graduation rates, an increase in college attendance, and greater future wage earnings than similar students who don’t participate in such activities.

Leadership positions in clubs and on teams is shown to directly relate to a greater chance of employment after high school.

Students with career and technical education experience have increased long-term earnings following high school.

Student athletes are about ten percent more likely to graduate than non athletes.

And academic club/STEM students tend to have greater reading and math skills, which additionally increases their chances of earning bachelor degrees. Leading to better longterm career advancement and earnings.

Congratulations to all our high school graduates!

Pictured: Tahoe Fence 20 and 30-ft high, sports netting and ornamental steel fencing for the new soccer fields in downtown Reno (Washoe County.) 2026

College graduations begin this week in our area.

UNR has several Spring graduations that culminate this Saturday. WNC has its ceremony on Monday. And TMCC’s commencement is next Friday.

But did you know that many of today’s graduation traditions, like caps, gowns, and diplomas, are derived from the 12th century?

Caps and gowns were regular attire for clerics to keep warm in drafty medieval buildings. They were the learned few tasked with transcribing and protecting written documents during the Middle Ages.

Diplomas were considered important church papers. Originally used for declaring one’s religious office or position, the 1st universities adopted the use of diplomas to recognize a student’s mastery of a subject.

Even the words graduate and commencement have their origins in medieval Latin. Gradus (steps) relates to the degrees one takes to learn and/or improve themselves. And incepto (beginning) was the process of an apprentice or student being recognized as a professional and/or teacher.

Congratulations to the class of 2026, and the new graduates, enlisted personnel, first responders and journey workers, as you take the next step toward your professional endeavors.

Pictured: Tahoe Fence stepped redwood and wire-panel enclosure in Truckee (Nevada and Placer Counties.) 2026

Historic & Modern

This weekend is the 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby.

Lodgepole pine is a commonly used material in the West historically for ranches, horse corrals, paddocks, and fences. Even Churchill Downs (home of the Derby) had some at one time until the 1930s.

But in recent years, Churchill Downs is said to have invested about 1 billion dollars in new steel construction. This work has been to improve and enlarge areas for both the horses and the spectators. Building enhancements to the stands, replacing paddock gates, and the creation of a new 65-ft starting gate.

The Derby’s starting gate is a padded steel, modern marvel. It’s capable of having 20 horses start simultaneously.

Tahoe Fence gate and install crews have been building lodgepole and steel entrance gates at the Westside of Lake Tahoe. The rustic and rugged look of the lodgepole is eye-catching combined with the modern convenience and strength of steel frames, posts, and ball-bearing hinges.

Pictured: Tahoe Fence steel, wire, & lodgepole gates in Tahoma (El Dorado & Placer County.) 2026

Metal Revelation

The combination of oxygen and acetylene to both weld and cut metal was a revelation in 1903.

Two French engineers, Fouche and Picard, designed a successful torch body that allowed for the precise cutting or joining (melting) of metals depending on the application needed. Almost as important, their design eliminated flashbacks, a dangerous situation where the flame travels back into the supply hoses.

Before this, the joining of metals was primarily done by forge welding, the hammering of hot metals together. But oxy-acetylene welding and cutting was a drastic innovation that advanced an industrial boom in auto manufacturing, shipbuilding, and large steel construction.

Even though this method of welding was largely replaced in the 1930s by electric arcwelding for commercial and industrial projects, oxy-acetylene torches are still used today. Over a century later, their portability and efficiency continue to make them an asset working with steel.

Tahoe Fence recently completed these wire oxygen and acetylene enclosures in Yerington (Lyon County.)

Let us know what you think.

This week we have had a whole lot of shaking going on with the earthquakes around the Lahontan Reservoir.

Hopefully, just a coincidence that this weekend is the anniversary of the 1906 San Andreas earthquake that was catastrophic for San Francisco.

Did you know that wooden fences were used to document significant surface ruptures? According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS,) they’ve been documented to show as much as 18-feet of horizontal grade change, while remaining structurally intact.

And the combination of wood framing and wire panels in fencing is similar to seismic bracing principles. The durability and flexibility of lodgepole combined with the ability of wire panels to bend and sway, makes for a robust structure able to withstand ground movements and deformation.

Not that Tahoe started building this type of fence with earthquakes in mind. But it’s always good to be prepared!

Pictured: Tahoe Fence Lodgepole & Wire Panels in Tahoma (Placer & El Dorado Counties.) 2026

Out of This World & Down to Earth

NASA’s Space Shuttle program launched the 1st of its missions this weekend back in 1981. Columbia, along with its solid rocket boosters, was the first reusable spacecraft. And for those of us that grew up watching, so cool to see them take off as rockets, and successfully return to Earth like airplanes!

The shuttles carried and assembled materials and parts for the International Space Station. Took satellites into orbit. And deployed and repaired the Hubble Space Telescope.

Since the program was retired in 2011, NASA’s assets are now protected by the Space Fence. It’s an out of this world, virtual boundary established by a high-tech, ground-based radar system. The United States Space Force uses it to catalog, identify, map, and track satellites, objects, and debris in low Earth orbit.

With the aid of the Space Fence, NASA is able to plan the trajectories of its current and future space missions to avoid collisions with objects. The Space Fence makes it possible to detect high speed objects as small as a marble.

While Tahoe Fence hasn’t worked in outer space, we do complete some lofty projects down here on Earth. For example, our crews completed this tall, all brown, slatted-wire enclosure at Stateline (Douglas County.)

Let us know what you think.

Pictured: Tahoe Fence tall, all brown, slatted-wire fuel enclosure at Stateline (Douglas County.) 2026

Nature Announces Easter

Easter is this Sunday.

While little kids look for chocolate bunnies and eggs, Easter closely coincides with Spring. Symbolizing new life and a fresh start in nature.

From the first daffodils to the pastel palette of Spring blossoms, Nature’s vibrancy triumphantly announces that Easter is here.

From all of us at Tahoe Fence, Happy Easter.

Pictured: Tahoe Fence chain link with purple wisteria blossoms at dawn, a climbing grapevine on dogear cedar showing pink buds, and a French-gothic picket bench among flowering lilacs and tulips in Carson City (2026.)

When you need dependable driveway access control, keep it simple with a cantilever gate.

Cantilever slide gates are secure and durable. They have few moving parts. And because cantilever gates are suspended above the ground, they have fewer problems caused by regular obstructions for other types of gates, like snow, gravel, uneven terrain, and even wind.

The braced design of a cantilever’s construction also makes them ideal for larger openings.

Let us know what you think.

Pictured: Tahoe Fence slatted-wire cantilever (slide) gate in Washoe Valley 2026.