Parson, Clip 01

There were no paved streets or street lights. Whether you would say housing was adequate—now most people were buying lots and building their own homes. Around that time, there were no government housing projects or anything like that. You didn't get into that 'til almost, oh, it must have been 1955. I think the first contractors ventured out to build some housing there. Collector: Was financing difficult to obtain, at that time, for housing? C. Parson: Well, it was almost nil as far as banks loaning money to build houses. Most people just sort of built them from what they could buy and they just took their time. Might take them three or four years to build a home, but they just sort of, from their paychecks, built little by little. There was almost no financing at all for building in West Las Vegas until around '55. Collector: Then, at that time, they opened up tract homes? C. Parson: Yes, the Berkley Square tract — that' s not too far from here— the first tract that was built. They must have put up a couple hundred homes at that time because there were so many Blacks living in that area wanting homes. It took them very little time to sell them out. I think they sold all of them within a year. They saw that there was such a need for housing. Blacks were working pretty steady and the money coming in, and right after they sold those hundred they put up another couple hundred on the other end of the Westside.