Transcript of interview with Clarles Alvin (Todd) Early conducted by Brenda Sue Cody, March 25, 1981

UNLV University Libraries Charles Alvin (Todd) Early, Jr. i An Interview with Charles Alvin (Todd) Early, Jr. An Oral History Conducted by Brenda Sue Cody Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas Special Collections and Archives Oral History Research Center University Libraries University of Nevada, Las Vegas UNLV University Libraries Charles Alvin (Todd) Early, Jr. ii © Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 2017 UNLV University Libraries Charles Alvin (Todd) Early, Jr. iii 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 Charles Alvin (Todd) Early, Jr. iv Abstract On March 25, 1981, Brenda Sue Cody interviewed local business owner, Charles Alvin (Todd) Early, Jr. (born in Yerington, Nevada) at his Central Credit office in Las Vegas, Nevada. The interview covers the history of Nevada. During the interview, Charles discusses mining, the building of Boulder (Hoover) Dam, and travelling by train as the central mode of transportation, in the early days. He also discusses a quick and easy divorce process and gambling as the main tourist attractions in Nevada. UNLV University Libraries Charles Alvin (Todd) Early, Jr. 1 Okay. This is a taped interview with Mr. Todd Early by Brenda Cody, at the Central Credit offices on March 25th, 1981. When I first lived here, you mean, well I was born in Yerington and then moved away, I don’t remember anything. You don’t remember anything. Okay. When you moved back. Okay. Yes. Let’s start when you moved back. Now you were twenty-six when you moved back, right? Yes. Twenty-seven. Twenty-seven, okay, what did you do when you came back? What was your employment? I was—I worked for the Fishing and Gaming Commission in Birdeye, Nevada. In Birdeye? Is that up near Reno. Yes. It’s eight miles north of Birdeye, toward California. Mm. Okay. Fishing and Gaming, what were you lie a ranger? Well, it was on the game farm there in Birdeye. We were raising pheasants and chukar partridges. Mm. So you were never actually educated in Nevada? No. I went to school entirely in California and then I graduated in from the (Unintelligible) Academy and then (unintelligible) Uh-huh. Okay. You never had any dealings within the school system, other than your children? That’s right. What was it like, say, twenty-five years ago? What kind of school system was it? UNLV University Libraries Charles Alvin (Todd) Early, Jr. 2 It was very good. They had the county-run school systems. Proctor Hug in Reno was in charge of the schools. He was a very, very devoted man, to the school system and to education and to taxpayers. What do you think is better? Do you think the school system is better today? No way. Or better, back then? Much better then. We had the county school board system and the counties ran it and we didn’t have any interference of a lot of other things. We didn’t have certain of the advantages that we do now. They assumed the mission of education was to bring the youth to a point of productivity within that, which would be the community now. And that they could read and write and know how to read a ballot (unintelligible) and have a rudimentary understanding of (unintelligible) (Laughs) That’s good. They do sums and could essentially manage large portions of (unintelligible). We didn’t have a minority problem then that we dare have. We didn’t have a lot of the problems we had previously. But we had the Indians and we had, the minority in those days wasn’t even spoken of, minorities talked about anything. So the Indians instead of Blacks? Yes. As opposed to other parts of the country. Absolutely. We had an Indian reservation in mostly all counties of Nevada, you know, all the counties, you know, had their Indian population. Mm. UNLV University Libraries Charles Alvin (Todd) Early, Jr. 3 That was our, we thought it was a minority group. And they were given second class citizenship. Really? Yes. It was quite— Did they live on the reservation? Yes. Okay. All of them? Well not all of them. Most of them. And then you had some that were, got along quite well, and were very productive. And then you had some very, very productive kids who come off of the reservation and moved into town. Mm. I would say places like Fallon, Yerington, Mason Valley, they were very well accepted when they’d come off the reservation. And they’d take the Western (unintelligible) and the Indian (unintelligible) Mm-hm. Were you ever into agriculture out in Northern Nevada? Well, I was superintendent of the public shooting ground out in Fallon while I was down there. I worked with the farmers. I was never directly into it, except for raising birds there at Birdeye. Mm-hm. My father was superintendent of a game farm. What was politics like? I mean was it, was there more politics in Nevada than nowadays, back then? Or was it kinda less? Oh. I don’t think so. I think there’s always politics, in any growing town in a state. Yes. UNLV University Libraries Charles Alvin (Todd) Early, Jr. 4 And they took their politics very seriously. I remember one day, the first election I can remember, I guess was, Hoover’s a second of course, we were willing perhaps (unintelligible). And guys would push each other in wheelbarrows up and down the street. (Laughs) And there were fistfights the night before the election and there was some shooting. They took it very serious. Man, kinda rough back then? Yes. And then they, you know, if you were a favorite or something you lived your politics and they didn’t mind fighting about it. And they had these stupid bets, election bets. (Laughs) Which would be if my candidate loses then I’ll put on my red handle underwear and we could push together down Main Street in a wheelbarrow. (Laughs) And I would if I lost, if my candidate lost, I’d put on red handle underwear and stand out there and they can expect, you know, myself, and he pushed me up and down the street, you see. And so these are the things that they would do. ‘Cause they’d work for their candidates. Yes. They were activists. Were you deeply involved in politics or no? Well, not deeply. I voted as a Republican (unintelligible) Mm-hm. And (unintelligible) convention. And they got locked out (unintelligible) Mm-hm. UNLV University Libraries Charles Alvin (Todd) Early, Jr. 5 Oh, yes. I always do that. Mm-mm. That’s good. In general, what was life like in Nevada? Life like in Nevada, well it was a poor state, you had ten times more demands on the public paupers than there was money to pay for. Mm. People wouldn’t stand for additional taxes and we had people in the legislature who were very, you know, (unintelligible) they were dodgy. There’s a lot of ‘em that are still active today that were serving in the late fifties, early sixties. And very dedicated people who tried to find out what it was we wanted and give a fair hearing, to do the best they could with the funds that were available. But they, you know, there was only just so much money. Mm-hm. More good cause by far and little money to pay for it. (Unintelligible) No matter how much money (unintelligible) came up with, you know, the budget’s gone up fantastically since those years. Oh yes. It has almost doubled. Oh double is not even the word as much as it’s ten times now since the—I can’t remember what the budget for Nevada was in those days. But (unintelligible) Mm-mm. Quite tiny. (Laughs) I can have a look. Compared to many other states there wasn’t that many people. No. We had a very small state. Mm-mm. To see the growth now. UNLV University Libraries Charles Alvin (Todd) Early, Jr. 6 Yes. We were a poor state. Yes. And (unintelligible) Nevada and it was not through the Depression in ‘21 we built in mine (unintelligible) the Depression and the end of ’29 they have the next big one. So, we were not hurt too much compared to other states in ’29. ‘Cause we were already in a very bad condition. And so we didn’t suffer nearly as much ‘cause we’d already gotten rid of all of the surplus. So, coming out of the Depression, we only have two areas over to Henderson and Hawthorne we received much aid and of course with the Air Base, and Tonopah had an Air Base. Mm-hm. And then the gunnery range. Those were the only things that we had much of to assist, you know, the warriors. So they’re many others, like California and Texas and others have great big plants and things. We didn’t have any plants. The only plant we had was Basic Magnesium in a complex out in Henderson. We brought in a payroll and working people and then the Air Force and the Navy base. So those were the only things that really kept Nevada alive? Well, they’re the only thing that could bring it out of the Depression period we had. So when the kids, you see the little town of Nevada, they stayed in a permanent population to some degree. Mm-mm. And they export the kids, ‘cause they can’t stay there, you see. Mm. They split ‘em up. Well, then when it starts building and growing, well, the kids can move in the city within the state, instead of moving to California, (unintelligible) or someplace they used to UNLV University Libraries Charles Alvin (Todd) Early, Jr. 7 live in order to work. But during those years if you lived Yerington or Fallon (unintelligible) Elko, you graduated, you had to leave, you couldn’t stay home. There was no economic opportunities for them in the state. What were you doing during this time? You were working at the Fishing and Gaming? I was working for Fish in (unintelligible) state. On a major part of the (unintelligible) Mm-hm. We didn’t have a big schooling system, because our county wasn’t recognized as a major employer. It was that, was a major employer. (Unintelligible) major employers in the state. You lived in the Reno area, right? Yes. When did you move? I moved down to Nevada (unintelligible) Korean War from ’51 to ’53. Mm-hm. That time I got my master’s (unintelligible). Then I came back to Nevada (unintelligible) Mavis Hotel. The Mavis Hotel? Yes. I took the job there, before I was trying to go into business and I was trying to get financing (unintelligible) full time job, it was just for three months, so. Mm-hm. And The Mavis Hotel was paying me as a cashier. What was it like working in a hotel back then? Was it different? Oh yes. Like nowadays? UNLV University Libraries Charles Alvin (Todd) Early, Jr. 8 Oh, well, it still is a small hotel. But (Unintelligible) was the bigger hotel. The Riverside and—were actually the two biggest hotels. Now it was built in ’48. But (unintelligible) big hotel and, by those standards. (Laughs) How many like, how many rooms was it? Two hundred and something odd rooms. It was a medium sized hotel. Yes. It was. In those days it was a big hotel. ‘Cause, it, yes. Other big hotels out there. Mm. You were one of the cashiers? Yes. I was a cashier. Mm-hm. I worked there for, well, from May over from ’54, till July of ’57. And then that’s when you started your own business? Well, I started Central in ’56. But I had to keep working at the Mavis. Because Central wasn’t making enough money to support me. Mm-hm. Supporting, I had three other employees and I’d work one shift at Central and another shift. Mm-hm. Was politics and organized crime more in gambling than it is now? (Laughs) (Laughs) Or do you know? (Laughs) Well, I don’t know. You hear there was and they say it’s (unintelligible). In the north, in Reno, there was very little effect of that. It had the shootouts, we had of course, UNLV University Libraries Charles Alvin (Todd) Early, Jr. 9 (unintelligible) Fitzgerald. (Unintelligible) Fitzgerald Hotel in Reno. Common knowledge (unintelligible) Detroit. And he was our star (unintelligible) (Laughs) And another (unintelligible) Who were the big names up there in Reno, that—he was one of them and—? Yes. He was one of them and of course Harold Smith. Greg (Unintelligible) Nevada thinks he’s one of the greatest. Who really did more to bring gaming into, unto a form of acceptability, social acceptability, with the premise that you don’t gamble more than you can afford to lose. Mm-hm. And he was a great and wonderful man. Mm-hm. He believed that the public should always be given every opportunity, if there was any complaint, as we call it, the customer was always right. He got the first (unintelligible) Did he own the club? He owned Harold’s Club. Mm. He started it, it started off as a little bitty tiny place. (Laughs) Grew into the biggest casino in the state of Nevada. Then he sold it to Hughes. (Unintelligible) O’hara, I worked for the same hotel which he gambled and lost it there. (Unintelligible) Then he had that—on First. And he had a lot of people who moved to, a lot of people who moved from Reno down to Vegas. Reno in those years was really the capital in those days. Mm-hm. UNLV University Libraries Charles Alvin (Todd) Early, Jr. 10 (Unintelligible) That somewhere in the 1960 came to Vegas. But until then, Reno was the center of or the capital of Nevada. Was it still very small? It was still very small, though, wasn’t it? Oh yes. (Unintelligible) was on Virginia Street. Mm-hm. And then, Center Street there was the Boulder Hotel (unintelligible) So there was about six main clubs then? No. There were ten clubs. Ten? Altogether. (Unintelligible) Sparks and Boulder. Mm-hm. (Unintelligible) expanded tremendously in Nevada. Sold that to (unintelligible) in Tahoe we had the (Unintelligible), which was the big high roller casino, and right beside that, we had the South Tahoe Country Club. And that was (unintelligible) or excuse me Eddie (unintelligible) he was very well regarded in the community (unintelligible). See, in those days there was a thing of pride and being a man of your word. Mm-hm. And so most of ‘em, you, come out of illegal gaming, back east. Yes. A lot of the dealers dealt for twelve or fifteen years, twenty years, and they never been in a legal casino in their life. (Laughs) UNLV University Libraries Charles Alvin (Todd) Early, Jr. 11 But they dealt in (unintelligible) or Texas or New Orleans, Alabama, or out there, (unintelligible) Caliente, and the big casinos there. New York, Oregon, Washington, San Francisco, they all had gaming. A lot of the clubs relocated from illegal places? Oh yes. And the dealers would train and then they’d come here. They didn’t know how to deal double odds, you see. There was something that they didn’t have to do it in an illegal casino. Mm-hm. And so they’d have to learn some of those things. But they were darn good. I mean the guys in Montana, they were all really good poker players and a lot of them deal 21. So a lot of them came down. Course then they were in Reno, for a while. Then they came down to Vegas. That was when the momentum shifted, see, around ’48, Nevada picked up enormously. And Vegas and Reno did not welcome the expansion. See now, they did not like it, outsiders coming in and going. All the trouble the MGM had years and years later (Laughs) when they went up there to grow and they (unintelligible). They’re not too excited about too much growth. They want Reno to stay small? Well, yes. Or just, they don’t want the outsiders coming in? No. (Unintelligible) and the city well they laid out a city for a certain size and it becomes bigger you (unintelligible) the city. The streets aren’t wide enough, you don’t have enough (unintelligible) the city wasn’t ready for growth. Yes. And we thought they had better than we did in the early years. When I came down very (unintelligible) was laid out. The plan went with them. (Unintelligible) we set up the UNLV University Libraries Charles Alvin (Todd) Early, Jr. 12 (unintelligible) office in ’64. And you could see the vitality and the growth. They designed for growth in those years. (Unintelligible) pay for the growth was a lot cheaper. Mm-hm. And you could lay out (unintelligible). Try to plan for (unintelligible) So you think Las Vegas is a lot better planned than Reno? Yes, for growth, yes. It was planned better. Course you have a section of competition between Vegas and Reno. Yes. And right now that is very apparent. Reno was around, another thing with this state, Reno and Elko ran the state of Nevada for—and the south didn’t like it. Mm-hm. Or the south (Unintelligible) (Laughs) Yes. (Laughs) Yes. So when they did they came in very heavy handed. Because they’ve been shoved into the back for so long, that they didn’t enjoy that repressive atmosphere any longer. And they said, “Hey, we got the votes now. We carry the center. We carry the cost of (unintelligible).” Wow. (Unintelligible) pay attention to us, and they threw a bunch of people off all these years. Had the people from Clark County. Clark County loved the legislature. Now there’s a lot of very, very fine men who still consider the well-being of the state first. Mm-hm. Clark County, second. For a while (Laughs) (Unintelligible) Yes. When did tourism really get to be the main industry? When was it? UNLV University Libraries Charles Alvin (Todd) Early, Jr. 13 Oh. Tourism had been the main industry for years. It was always there? Oh yes. We’d die without it, (Laughs) you know. Mm. We tried to hook everything we could on the tourists, US 40 and US 50 and 395 and going across that was, you know, the dam was a great pull to the south. That was a tourist attraction, you could come see the dam and see Las Vegas. And up north (unintelligible) you went up further, Elko, for hunting and fishing and divorces, course it was the divorce capital. (Laughs) That was a big thing? Yes. Divorces? We’d get a lot of publicity. Mm-hm. (Unintelligible) legally get divorced in the country, in Reno. (Unintelligible) was just for divorces. (Laughs) (Unintelligible) divorce. Oh no. All you need are those six weeks. Six weeks. You were a resident of the state of Nevada and you get a divorce in one day. (Laughs) That’s pretty good if you want to get a divorce real quick. (Laughs) Well, that was worth it, what it was for. In those days, you know, California had and New York had very, had to have adultery was the only grounds and you had to wait a year. You know the reason why divorce was so quick here? UNLV University Libraries Charles Alvin (Todd) Early, Jr. 14 To bring in tourists. ‘Cause we were broke. That’s it? They just put that in the law. Divorce and gambling went in in ’31. Divorce and gambling went in in 1931? (Laughs) Yes. Fifty years old this year, you know. And so, they brought the casinos down from the second floor to the main floor, (unintelligible) Mm-hm. But they hid it, see. The sheriffs said to ‘em, they can’t do it. And so, all of them had gambling that they’d hide. So now they can move it downstairs on the main floor. Well, the divorce law was just a big publicity stunt? Yes. It was a big deal to bring people in, tourists with money, they’d stay here for six weeks. That’s good. (Laughs) And you know, they assumed the people were gonna get a divorce. Spend their money. (Laughs) So we can make it attractive, we’ll bring ‘em in and hold ‘em for that length of time, ‘cause this was the only way we could get tourists in. You know you have to think up some gimmick to bring tourists in. What was the kind of transportation into Las Vegas? Train. By car? Train. Train? Train was a big way to come in. UNLV University Libraries Charles Alvin (Todd) Early, Jr. 15 Yes. Later they actually had an airline that was coming in. You know that was (unintelligible) (Laughs) (Laughs) But initially it was most everyone came in by train. Mm-hm. Until the forties and then World War I came along that was, we had some damn good trains in those days. In spite of (unintelligible) in Nevada. (Laughs) It was till nearly the end of the war, we had transcontinental train-tracks. So when the war started some did tourism kinda go down? Was it gaming and stuff like that? Well, yes, it dropped off but by then they had a lot of the Air Force boys here. Yes. And let’s see, down here you had the, you had, gambling was very heavy, they did all the construction over here, see, out building the dams. We had a lot of active payroll here and so forth. But nothing (unintelligible) make a year what you could make in one night in some of these places. Mm. How come you don’t think Boulder City built up? It couldn’t. I mean with the gambling out there. UNLV University Libraries Charles Alvin (Todd) Early, Jr. 16 It was under the Federal Reserve in a federal city. It did not become a city in the state at least, until many years later, I can’t remember what year. But those years, it was the federal reservation. Mm. And people just stayed after the dam was built? Yes. And stayed here. They stayed at the will of the federal government. Okay. And it wasn’t until later that it became (unintelligible) from the federal government. Mm-hm. Wow. So gaming was just the only industry anywhere? Was there anything— No. Agriculture and mining still continued there. What was—did you ever work in any mines? No. You never worked in any mines? No. I never worked underground there. (Laughs) You never had any dealings with the mines? Not too much, no. I’d go around the casino, but that was about the extent of it. Mm-hm. I remember I wasn’t too excited about going underground. Mm-hm. Yes. I know (Laughs) kind of a dangerous job. But agriculture was quite big, you know. Mm-hm. Yes. UNLV University Libraries Charles Alvin (Todd) Early, Jr. 17 We have some big beautiful ranches here in Nevada. With the—if there was big ranches were there a lot of rich people, say like millionaires or anything living around here? Oh yes. Mm-mm. They all worked for a living. The very, very wealthy guys, even in those days, you know, had the huge spreads, they’re still big, today. Mm-hm. And, but they worked. They worked their own—? (Unintelligible) But they were, I mean they’re wealthy men, anyways. But they, we didn’t, have a classed society here. People didn’t live that way. Mm-hm. It was too small then. Too small a state? Small population. See, agricultural. (Unintelligible) One-acre farm, had just a lot of horses. (Unintelligible) You mentioned Germans. Were there a lot of foreigners, like Europeans and stuff like that? Oh yes. Italians and Germans were all over Nevada, you know. (Laughs) I guess, it, was the influx of all the immigrants that came west settled in Nevada? Well, this is where they hid from the Chinese that came directly into here. ‘Course they burned them and killed a whole mass in Elko (unintelligible) they weren’t too tolerant in Nevada really. I said they were but it was an odd way of being tolerant, you know. Mm-hm. UNLV University Libraries Charles Alvin (Todd) Early, Jr. 18 Other ways. I was very upset about how they treated the inclusion of, the Chinese, weren’t allowed there. (Tape ends)