Transcript of interview with Patricia Deverell by Patrick Kiser, April 26, 1986

UNLV University Libraries Patricia Deverell 1 Interview with Patricia Deverell An Oral History Conducted by Patrick Kaiser UNLV University Libraries Oral History Collection Special Collections Oral History Research Center University Libraries University of Nevada, Las Vegas UNLV University Libraries Patricia Deverell 2 The Oral History Research Center (OHRC) was formally established by the Board of Regents of the University of Nevada System in September 2003 as an entity of the UNLV University Libraries’ Special Collections Division. The OHRC conducts oral interviews with individuals who are selected for their ability to provide first-hand observations on a variety of historical topics in Las Vegas and Southern Nevada. The OHRC is also home to legacy oral history interviews conducted prior to its establishment including many conducted by UNLV History Professor Ralph Roske and his students. This legacy interview transcript received minimal editing, such as the elimination of fragments, false starts, and repetitions in order to enhance the reader's understanding of the material. All measures have been taken to preserve the style and language of the narrator. The interviewee/narrator was not involved in the editing process. UNLV University Libraries Patricia Deverell 3 Abstract Patrick Kaiser interviews Patricia Deverell (b. 1929) in her home about her experiences while growing up in Nevada after arriving in 1937. Patricia discusses the various population and climate changes that she has witnessed, as well as major events such as the above-ground atomic testing. Patricia also mentions her occupation in the gaming industry and describes some of those changes over time. UNLV University Libraries Patricia Deverell 4 Project, oral interview for Nevada history. Patrick Sean Kaiser, April 26th, 1986. The home of Patty Deverell, 1639 Parkchester Drive, Las Vegas, Nevada. The time is 4:30. Patty Deverell, 857, phone number is 648-3347. Where were you born? In Butler, New Jersey. What were your parents’ names? My father’s name was John Roach, R-O-A-C-H, and my mother’s name – you want her maiden name or? Yeah. Her name was Janette Henry. What were your parents’ occupations? My father was a carpenter, and my mother was housewife. Where were your parents born? They were both born in New Jersey. Jersey. My mother was born in Blairstown, New Jersey, and my father in Ringwood, New Jersey. Is there an ethnic group that you identify with? No. As a child, did you celebrate any ethnic or special holidays? No. Can you tell me about your childhood, like games played, chores, or responsibilities? Well, we lived in a very small town in New Jersey, it was in a farming community. My father worked in a mill as a carpenter and we lived in close proximity to a large family. My UNLV University Libraries Patricia Deverell 5 grandmother, aunts, and uncles, and so forth. And we just had a very outdoor, normal sort of life, you know. Okay, then it says, where do you – where did you live? You just said that, didn’t you? Yeah, really, I covered that. (Laughs) Do you have brothers and sisters? Yes, I have a brother and a sister. Can you give me their names and ages? Um, Blair Roach, 54, and Gail – married name, Gail Roach. She’s 50, she was just 50 this year. Okay. Was your extended family important – your aunts, uncles, grandparents? Oh yeah, oh absolutely. Okay. What aspects of your life have your parents influenced? Oh, I would say every aspect of your life, when they teach right from wrong and set you on the path that you want to, they hope you’re going to go on. Do you remember any special events in your childhood that had a great effect on your life? No, not as, not any traumatic things that ever changed my life. I just think, you know, everything that happens to you when you’re a child affects your life later on. Okay. When did you move to Nevada? 1937, November of 1937. Why did you move to Nevada? Because my father came here to better himself and his job, to find a better, you know, job situation. How did you get here? By car, we drove. UNLV University Libraries Patricia Deverell 6 How long did it take you? Five days. Can you give me a more detailed description of your life before and after you moved to Nevada? Well, it was a big change. I mean, in New Jersey, we were completely surrounded by family, and, of course, just the geographical location is entirely different. New Jersey is green and full of people, and we came to Nevada and it was a desert none of us had ever seen before. We had absolutely no family here. And the climate was different, everything about it was different. When you arrived in Nevada, what was your first impression? The mountains. In New Jersey, everything is green, and you see trees, but you never see mountains. And I can remember, from the time we came into, drove into this area, that I was just absolutely overwhelmed by the fact that you could see mountains every place all around here. Generally, what changes have there been in your life since you moved to Nevada? Well, I mean, total change because I’ve gone from being a child to a grownup. I mean, my life has changed just for that reason alone. Though I would imagine, had I stayed in New Jersey, I would’ve had a completely different life than what I’ve had in Nevada. What changes have you seen in the state? Oh, monumental, fantastic changes in growth, in population, in development. Even the climate has changed over the years. And it says city, county – what change have you seen in the city and the county? Well, they’ve just become, I think when we came here, there were probably six to seven thousand people, so they multiplied – Populations. UNLV University Libraries Patricia Deverell 7 Population-wise, and size, the size of the town, and everywhere you imagine. What changes would you like to see? Well, probably better control of the development. I think that it’s been kind of a Helter Skelter development here. If you attended school here, can you tell me about your school experiences? Well, when I came here, there was only one grammar school and one high school. The grammar school was located on South 5th Street where the big federal building is now, and it was a small school. Everybody knew everybody. Do you know the name of it? The Las Vegas Grammar School. Okay. And then from there, you went to Las Vegas High School. There was no junior high schools, just (unintelligible). Are you married? Yes. Did you meet your spouse in Nevada? Yes. If so, can you tell me how you met and something of their life? We met when we both worked at the Golden Nugget when it first started in 1946. He was a dealer, and I worked in the casino cashiers cage. Okay. Do you have children? Yes, three. Give me their names and ages? UNLV University Libraries Patricia Deverell 8 Mimi Henry, thirty- Six. 36? Okay. I think that’s what it is. Nancy Mays, M-A-Y-S, 37, Kelly Deverell, 26. Okay. Does your spouse belong to any civic or political organizations? No. What occupations has your spouse had while in Nevada? He has always worked in the gambling business. Gambling business. What occupations have you had? I worked in the gambling business also. That’s all. Okay. Have the jobs you’ve held changed through town? Have they what? Changed, the job that you’ve had. Oh, I haven’t worked in years, so I mean, I don’t think that really applies in my case. I haven’t worked since my children (unintelligible). What and how did you decide to get in this occupation? Well, at that time, basically, at that time, that was the principal industry here. The gambling business was what the, the main place that you wanted to work if you wanted to make a decent living. Okay. Was your occupation a major reason for moving to Nevada? No. Were the changes in your job that you consider important or helpful? UNLV University Libraries Patricia Deverell 9 That doesn’t apply to me, really, because I didn’t have, you know, that doesn’t really apply to me at all. How does the standard of living in Nevada compare with other areas where you have you lived? That wouldn’t apply either because I’ve really lived here, you know, too long for to have – Most of your life? Yeah. Do you prefer Nevada to other areas? Do you think that means as a place to live, I mean (unintelligible), yes I prefer to live here. Okay. It says why or why not? Basically, because it’s my home. I mean, this is where I feel at home, and where I feel that I belong, and where, now, my entire family is. But it’s basically, I think, a good place to live. Okay. Do you belong to a civic organization? No. Do you belong to a political organization? No. How important has this been to your life? That’s – I couldn’t – What is your religious, what is that, affiliation? Methodist. Methodist. Have you participated in the religion while in Nevada? Not since I was a child. Not since you were a child. What are some of your hobbies and interests? UNLV University Libraries Patricia Deverell 10 Oh, I like photography and sports, reading. How have these affected your life in Nevada? In Nevada, well, I don’t know that they had any special effect. Probably, I’m interested in sports because there’s a great deal of sports that go on here, and they’ve always been part of the Nevada lifestyle. At what address have you lived in Nevada? 1639 Parkchester Drive (Laughs) for most, 27 years I’ve lived here, so. Okay. Why have you moved within the city? I basically haven’t – moved to a larger home when our children were small. Okay. Is or was gambling an important recreational activity for you and your family? No, not at all. I don’t think that we’ve ever participated in it except as an occupation. Have you witnessed changes in Nevada gambling? Oh, absolutely. Can you tell me some of them that you know? I think the major, the major, major change, other than the phenomenal growth of it has been that the state has taken control of the gambling, whereas years before, each gambling house was just like a little independently operated business. There was really no general control. Anybody that had a deck of cards or dice could open up a place and run it any way they saw fit, whereas now, they have to meet all sorts of standards and criteria and so forth in order to get the license. Was gambling a factor in moving to or in leaving the state? No, not for me. What would you list as advantages or disadvantages of living in Nevada or Las Vegas? UNLV University Libraries Patricia Deverell 11 Well, I mean, again, that wasn’t really a matter of choice with me, because I came here with my family. I’m sure people come here because of the weather, would be one of the primary things. The economy has always been above the national average, and I just think people come here because they think it’s a place where they’ll have an opportunity to make a good living. Was life in Nevada better at any other time in comparison to today? Well, probably as a child, I think we enjoyed Las Vegas as children, when we were children, more so maybe than kids do now simply because it was a smaller town then. There were a lot of childhood things to do that basically, today, you don’t let your children, they don’t have the freedom. You don’t want them to be out and about and do the sort of things that we used to do – go on your bicycles and be gone all day, and things like that. Do you remember any specific historic events, such as visits of presidents, visits of movie stars, Carol Lombard’s – Clark Gable’s wife’s – plane crash, important divorces or marriages, hotel openings, or Helldorado, etcetera? No, I remember (unintelligible) (Laughs). I was at a girlfriend’s 60th birthday party the night that Carol Lombard’s plane crashed, and I remember we heard the news on the radio, and everyone was absolutely horrified. I mean, at that time, it was one of the most sensational things that had ever happened. And, of course, the hotels, I’ve seen all of the hotels open. And I guess every major movie star that was around Hollywood was here during the war years, and even since then. So there are, yes, there are a lot of, I remember seeing President Eisenhower when he came here to campaign for his first term. That was in 1952. Do you remember any home remedies used when growing up? No, mustard plasters. (Unintelligible) UNLV University Libraries Patricia Deverell 12 For colds, and whiskey and hot water for coughs. (Laughs) All those good things. Do you remember the early above-ground atomic testing? Oh yes, uh-huh. What was your reaction to the test? Well, at the time, we were all so ignorant about what was going on. We just thought it like a, kinda like a carnival or sightseeing thing. We used to bundle the kids up early in the morning when they were small, and go out and watch the mushroom go up in the sky. You could see it from the, you could park on the road and when the bomb would go off, you would just, you would just see the mushroom up in the sky, and then you’d feel the wave of the sonic boomed. And there would be people all along the side of the road, standing by their cars early in the morning watching it. They were probably all exposed to radiation or whatever bad things they were putting out. Do you recall the building of Hoover Dam? No, I wasn’t here then. It was already completed when we moved here. What was the feeling at the time of – well. Did you live in Nevada during World War II? Yes, mm-hmm. How did the way affect your life in Nevada for you and your family? Well, that was when Las Vegas began to change in Nevada, because it brought people here who had never even heard of Las Vegas before, and from that time on, it just became bigger and bigger and bigger. How did the war affect life in Nevada for you and your family? UNLV University Libraries Patricia Deverell 13 Well, as I said, it just, it created more jobs, it brought more people here. I worked at the air base at the time, so it created a job for me. And it just generally changed the whole makeup of Nevada. When you vacationed away from Nevada, where did you go? To California, usually, to the beach, and to California, almost invariably. Did you have much contact with people in other areas of Nevada? Pioche, you know, Tonopah? In fact, I just recently made my first trip through the rest of Nevada. What changes have you seen in Nevada, the economic change? Well, a phenomenal change. I mean, it’s changed totally and completely. There’s, besides the gambling business, which was the primary business when we were here, it’s become, there’s a lot of other industry and business, economic factors here that are coming to the state. How about the social? Same thing with the social. I mean, now we have cultural things that happen here that, years ago, they never happened. The ballet, the theaters, and so forth. How about the political? Well, Nevada’s always been a political state. There’s always – at the time, even years ago before the way, Nevada had, the senator from the Nevada, Senator McCarran was one of the most powerful politicians in the Senate, so Nevada’s always had a great deal of political influence even though it was a small, small-populated state. And environment? Well, our environment, I think, has gotten worse as it, just as it has every place because of the pollution and the increase in the population, and the cars, and so forth. UNLV University Libraries Patricia Deverell 14 Do you plan to stay in Nevada permanently? Yes. What do you think is Nevada’s greatest asset? Well, probably its size. At this moment, at a time when every place else is overcrowded and full of people, and not enough room to do anything, we still have hundreds of thousands of acres to be, yet to be developed. How about Las Vegas’s greatest assets? Oh, I think it has, you know, a great future because of gambling and it has the potential to grow also. It has a great deal of room for expansion. Okay. Is there anything else you would like to discuss? No. Do you have any photos of early Nevada that may be of interest – photos of the dam, atomic testing, hotel openings, politicians, recreational areas, business no longer here, Helldorado, etcetera? Possibly, I’d have to look and see what have. Okay.