John A. “Snowshoe” Thompson was born on April 30, 1827, in Tinn, Telemark, Norway, and emigrated to America from Norway on May 30, 1837. From January 1856 to May 1876, he carried the mail twice a month during the winter for 20 years over a 90-mile route between Placerville, California, and Genoa, Nevada. Traversing the Sierra Mountain ridges on homemade long skis and using a single pole for balance, he endured snow depths of 20 to 50 feet, snowdrifts, and blizzards on the three-day trek. He carried a mail bag weighing 50 to 100 pounds strapped to his back, lived on crackers and dried beef, drank melted snow from his hand, and rested only when necessary. During the long winter months, the mail was Genoa’s only contact with the outside world. He was buried in Genoa Cemetery, where his headstone is carved with a pair of crossed skis.