Autumn Keyes Ita interview, February 26, 1980: transcript

UNLV University Libraries Autumn Keyes Ita i An Interview with Autumn Keyes Ita An Oral History Conducted by Steven McKenzy 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 Autumn Keyes Ita ii © Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 2019 UNLV University Libraries Autumn Keyes Ita 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 Autumn Keyes Ita iv Abstract On February 26, 1980, collector Steven McKenzy interviewed Clark County Community College coordinator of rehabilitation, Autumn Keyes Ita (born December 8th, 1936 in Port-au-Prince, Haiti) at the Clark County Community College. This interview offers a personal historical account on home and family life in Las Vegas, Nevada. Autumn also discusses entertainers such as Wayne Newton and Sammy Davis, Jr., and the role that entertainment played in the development of Southern Nevada. UNLV University Libraries Autumn Keyes Ita 1 My name is Steven McKenzy, and I’m interviewing, Mrs. Autumn Keyes. Ita. Ita? Ita. Ita? Ita. Ita. It’s pronounced just like the Greek E but it’s I, I-T-A. Ita. Can you—so say the whole word for me. Ita. Ita? So it’s not Keyes? No. No? My (Laughs) name before, from—I married, was Keyes. And I just used the whole name. (Unintelligible) Autumn Keyes Ita. Most people know me by Autumn Keyes. Okay. And we’re at the community college, Clark County Community College. Mm-hmm. Las Vegas, Nevada. Today is February 26th, 1980. Mrs. Keyes, could you just tell me some basic background as to the opposition here at the community college? Okay. I’m coordinator of rehabilitation for rooms with (unintelligible) community college. This—I’ve been here for seven years. Okay. And just what does your job entail? UNLV University Libraries Autumn Keyes Ita 2 My job pertains working with the handicap students. Also I do counseling with all other students, but primarily my job is to serve the handicap students. That is directing and writing programs to make the student just like any other student, and to get around his handicap. I started the program before the (unintelligible) came into being. So the college was that much ahead, of the United States government, in setting up standards, for the handicap student. Could you tell me, where did you go to school? Where do you want me to start? (Laughs) Let’s start from grade school. Grade school—Illinois. High school—mostly Illinois. I went to school in Europe. The schools in Europe—oh, and I graduated from Dominion University. It’s now—it was, is with the University of Wisconsin now. I don’t—hey, I can even tell you the year that closed. I went to Kyoto University, in Kyoto, Japan. I went to the University—well, I should say, free university, in Berlin. Then I’ve taken classes out at UNLV. Where you—? And I remember (unintelligible) (Laughs) (Unintelligible) Where you born in Nevada? No. I was born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Oh, really? Yes. And that was just a stroke of luck. My mother was there (Laughs) visiting her mother, and I came along. Okay. How long have you been in Nevada? At a continuous rate, I’ve been here—alright, I would say, most of my adult life. When I wasn’t out of the United States. And I spent a great deal of my time out of the United States. The UNLV University Libraries Autumn Keyes Ita 3 continual part has been, well, I can’t say. Because really, I’m in and out, in and out. 1957, 1958, I came here and I was here for oh, seven years. I went to Europe, I came back. And I was here, well, for another seven years. So I’ve con—you know, it’s been continued, I’d say since the early fifties. Okay. Could you describe the first seven years as to what was happening in Las Vegas at that time, and the changes that were going about, as far as community development? (Unintelligible) education and things (unintelligible)? Okay. I came here—when I came here back in ’57, let me back up a little bit. In 19—in the early forties, I came here, with my father visiting another friend of his down at Searchlight that was just in and out. And so—as a child, I visited Nevada quite a bit. But my first husband was with the support team for the Thunderbirds. And we came here—we came out of Japan when—then to Texas and then here. There was a housing shortage. A severe housing shortage. Because Air force families, and other families that were connected with the military were advised to leave their families where they were and for a fifty-two week wait, before there would be adequate housing. But because of my husband’s position and the Thunderbird’s position within the United States, we were put into the (Unintelligible) officer’s quarters (unintelligible) (Laughs) and I had three small boys and we shared the other quarters with another major which had—who had five children. (Laughs) (Unintelligible) So it was really a mess. And we were there for about, oh, three months, before we purchased our home. And I don’t know how long it would have been, probably longer if we would have waited for base housing. But because of my husband’s position, he felt like he could never relax on the base. UNLV University Libraries Autumn Keyes Ita 4 Mm-hmm. And see because of being (unintelligible) place (unintelligible) and etcetera. Right. Well, I’m glad now we did buy it. Because real estate at that time was not as expensive (Laughs) as it is now. How much was real estate during those days? Well, I bought a home for ten thousand dollars at that time. (Unintelligible) today? Yes. That’s about—the home now is five hundred percent (Laughs) more than—(Laughs) Yes. (Unintelligible) What that ten thousand dollars was really. What was the population like at that time? I couldn’t tell you. It was very small. It was—well, where the college is now, I have gotten— In this area? In this area—I have gotten caught in the desert— Uh-huh. In a flash flood in this area. Is that, right? (Laughs) In fact, just about a quarter of a mile from here. Was this still North Vegas at that time? (Unintelligible) No. It—North Las Vegas was here but this was just the county, I think. Oh. UNLV University Libraries Autumn Keyes Ita 5 ‘Cause I don’t think the county—I can remember here recently—it’s been about eight or nine years ago, maybe ten years ago—one of the counties started adding things out this far. Oh really. And it had to be just the county, at that time. Which area? Did you buy your home in the side of town? Or? No. On the Westside. On the Westside? Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Where I still live. What was the Westside like, then? Well, in what areas? What—okay, there was really two new housing areas: one was Highland Square and Berkeley Square. Those were the two housing areas at that time. And I cannot remember what the—there was the same housing area that’s directly below the cemetery off of North Las Vegas. Oh really? And they were built by the same (unintelligible) Burk and Wyatt. And the houses are identical, you know, and before when it (unintelligible) and etcetera. Jackson Street was very much the center part of west Las Vegas, for entertainment. Jackson Street? Jackson Street. Yes. Not Bonanza? No. Jackson Street was. There were things on Bonanza. The Moulin Rouge had opened and the Moulin Rouge closed. Uh-huh. UNLV University Libraries Autumn Keyes Ita 6 But most of the entertainment was Jackson Street. What clubs were they? I can remember the Louisiana Club, the Brown Derby. Were they Black owned? Yes. There were Chinese in the Louisiana Club up here. What kind of employment were people doing in those days? There were not as many people in—they were mostly in the service industry with the hotels. There were a lot of people working at Nellis. And also at the—I can’t—at the Las Vegas Naval Station. The Naval Air Station—Lake Mead Naval Station, (Laughs) which is now part of the Air Base. Quite a few people worked there, which they were working at Boulder Dam, as they are now, and most of the government areas. Mercury was a big thing. And some of ‘ems still testing, all during that time, all. But as far as Black dealers, Black pit bosses, and stuff like that, there were not any, except in the Black owned clubs. But they worked as teachers, etcetera— school, school. And that’s the first seven years? Yes. Now that’s—and we did have one Black principle that was Mr. Fitzgerald. Is he our—? At Kit Carson. At Kit Carson? Yes. Is there a park or something, named after him? Not that I’m aware of. There might be—but I’m not aware of it. Fitz is still in West Las Vegas, in fact, in the same house. UNLV University Libraries Autumn Keyes Ita 7 That’s on—? On H Street. He’s still in business though, isn’t he? Yes. He’s now working with—I think women, in programs that would not be looked at as for me. Women’s apprenticeship programs, like in the building programs and things like that. Uh-huh. What would you say, was the general attitude towards Black people during that time? Where they having problems (unintelligible)? Well, for—yes. I heard that they were. I never did have problems. Mm. Again, I—you’re looking at me as a military wife. Okay. And maybe the things that I was exposed to was a little bit different than the average wife being in Las Vegas. One of the things that I found, when my son started school—and my son did start school in (Unintelligible) Okay. (Unintelligible) was built after we purchased our home, because he first went to Kit Carson—was that there were a lot of children that had not been exposed to just a magazine or a book in the home. And this made a difference on how people would be accepted anywhere. (Unintelligible) The—the things that we did, were just a little bit different. Because we were a military family. And so— How did the community relate to you? No problems. I— UNLV University Libraries Autumn Keyes Ita 8 No problems? In fact, I’m still in the same community that I lived in then. And, I wouldn’t move. Uh-huh. Because I—(Laughs)—can turn over—my neighbors know where I am. They know where I work. They know my kids. Just like a family affair. And I mean, we talk about ghetto, but I wouldn’t move out of my ghetto for nothing. (Laughs) (Laughs) Because we—everybody knows everyone. I think there have been three new families, in the last ten or twelve years (Laughs) that’s moved in the neighborhood. How many schools are there on the Westside, today? There’s (Unintelligible), there’s Kit Carson, Navajo Garden, which really is going—well, that’s Westside. It used to be the old Westside School. And, oh, and there’s Madison. Are these all sixth grade centers? You have two of the sixth grade centers. Oh, Kit Carson, is a sixth grade center, too. What would you say, would you say the Westside is completely Black? Not completely. Or is it a mixture? There is—there’s a mixture. Of what nationalities? I would say when—when you say the Westside, what are you going to use as your boundary lines? That’s a good question. Could you answer that for me? UNLV University Libraries Autumn Keyes Ita 9 Well, what I consider the Westside—I would say, from Owens, (unintelligible) from Las Vegas Boulevard North, all the way over to the Tonopah Highway, its west. Anything going west from Main Street. Yes. Would be considered west. Mm-hmm. And if you look at any map—anyone that’s giving a description of where they live, they will say west. Okay. So that (Laughs) is west Las Vegas now. But one of the things that I think it should be, is that Old Town, Old Town borders on Bonanza, and I don’t know what the other bordering street is. Because this is the houses that was the original old Las Vegas. Ah ha. And you’re looking at the railroad track and some place where the Salvation Army, has their halfway house. It was a spring. And I don’t—I (Laughs) can’t tell you just exactly where that spring is now. It might be cemented over. I think the spring is where, you know, where the meadows is now? No. That’s another part of it. That’s another spring? No. There’s one that’s by the railroad track, and the railroad track hasn’t moved that much. Because it used to be a swimming hole there. Yes. UNLV University Libraries Autumn Keyes Ita 10 And that’s old Las Vegas. They call that Old Town. And if you talk to just about anyone that’s been here for eighty years, they will tell you that’s Old Town. Old Town. They will call—that’s by McWilliams, and in that area. And some of the houses are very, very old in there. In fact, my church, Saint James Catholic Church, which is on H Street. Yes. Was one of the first Catholic Churches, and its part—well, the main part of the church is out of a box car. Oh really? And—I mean, you can’t tell that, but that’s the original part of the church. And the other part has been added on. When the settler’s first came, how was that impression that West Las Vegas was—where they originally settled? And— You mean Blacks? Or just anyone? Just any settlers. Because (unintelligible) where the water was. Well, I think it settled—you look at the history, Nevada history will tell you from the Mormon Fort. Mm-hmm. From the springs there. That’s West Washington. Yes. That’s on Washington. And just about any spring was here in North Las Vegas, over by the Kyle Ranch—that was another spring. Okay. UNLV University Libraries Autumn Keyes Ita 11 And so people really looked, you know, to settle clear, near water. Mm-hmm. And in the Meadows, near the Meadows, which is I think it’s owned now by the water department. If it’s not. That’s why I thought the first spring was. No. There’s a spring there, too. Artesian wells. Mm-hmm. There are quite a few of them out in Paradise Valley. And I know, I’ve talked to friends of mine, in Paradise Valley, they were talking about where you used to walk, and find Indian Arrowheads, and there would be water coming up. Because of the, you know, building now, the water table has dropped so, there’s nothing. (Unintelligible) Also that’s probably why we have so much flooding, in this area, are still very low. And water drainage, the natural water drainage—if it rains then it goes right back down there. Okay. That’s the first seven years. When you left, where did you go to? We went to Japan. Japan. Went back to Japan. Were there about six months and then we went to Turkey. We were in Turkey, in Istanbul. And after Istanbul, we went to Rome, and back here then. Oh, had Vegas changed a little? No. Not that—not that much. Not that much? UNLV University Libraries Autumn Keyes Ita 12 No. (Laughs) It’s just that, you know, I’m looking at it again, as some place that I had been involved with. I think that during the time we had a terrible strike. Oh really? A building strike. People—that was—that almost closed—that was like a recession here. People were really hurting. Because we had had a big building boom. And then, you know, there was nothing. And so, I think that’s when the houses, that’s across from the Boulevard Mall. Okay. I think a lot of those—that’s part of (Unintelligible) Park now. But a lot of those houses when into receivership in the build-up. What do you mean when you say receivership? People wouldn’t buy—think they’d have money to buy them. You could buy them for like (Laughs) a hundred and fifty dollars, or a dollar—(Laughs)—a dollar down. And those are the—you know, homes now, hundred—hundred thousand dollars. What years were these? This was about 1965. Really? And there was a really bad strike here. I know my neighbor, who is a carpenter, said it took him a year and a half to get back to where he was, when the strike started. Mm-hmm. So things like that—that has been a major thing. I would say, on the Test Site—the shifting of the Test Site. When there was a lot of nuclear testing going on. You know, people made good money, at that time. And—but then, they closed down, and they shifted over to, you know, doing other things. UNLV University Libraries Autumn Keyes Ita 13 What do you call good money? Well, at that time, people were bringing home, I’d say, six to seven hundred a week. In the ‘60s? Well, the late fifties and the sixties. And that’s where—that was before (unintelligible) I think we started at three ninety-five. They used to call that, the Widow Maker. The Widow Maker? Yes. Because— Meaning? Meaning there were—just what is says. There were so many men that was killed. Not only men but (unintelligible) but mostly men, coming from Mercury. Really? And they called it, the Widow Maker. Because of the speed and all. Wasn’t a four lane highway as it is now, you know divided, and I would be putting to (unintelligible) but that’s how we got some of the legislation through to get—to make that a four lane highway. Because of the (Unintelligible) that was (unintelligible) With the building boom, what side of town developed, majorly? I’d say, Paradise Valley. I had did a course in statistics, I can’t even remember what year it was. But the highway department had did a study. And I think the study was done in 1949. And it said that by 1985, Paradise Valley would be completely built. We were just about at ’85, and Paradise Valley is already built. I see. And the commercial areas. And I would say, whoever did that study, really did a good study. Because of the way that the commercial area is going, the heavy industrial area is going, all that UNLV University Libraries Autumn Keyes Ita 14 was in the study. And now we look at section eleven, which is west, and West Tropicana, in that area going toward North Charleston. Its building. That’s the most—that’s the area of (unintelligible) See, if you live in Nevada. Well—the Black community on the Westside, I see a lot of property, surrounded. There seemed to be no building or any type of a construction going down, well, maybe like the (unintelligible) or stuff like that, to that effect, or shopping centers. I see a number— That’s true. (Unintelligible) That’s true. Why you think that’s still existing today? Well, I think a lot of the property is privately owned. Not by the state? Not by the state. You got private owners, I mean, and I don’t mean great big private owners. I mean, small individual owners. (Laughs) That’s not about to release the property. You know, say—for Golden West Shopping Center, when Golden West Shopping Center was built. I think people had great ideas on what Golden West was going to be. But the people in the community just (unintelligible) shopping area. They go wherever they can get the best buys. And I think if possibly, in the last three years, I’ve seen Smith Food King, close its doors there. Now maybe because Smith Food King closed its doors, that could have been—maybe it wasn’t related just to West Las Vegas. It could have been, they closed quite a few stores, and made the big, you know, a huge shopping area. So that could be, you know, one of the things I would look at. UNLV University Libraries Autumn Keyes Ita 15 Okay. Let me ask you something about the cultural aspect. Since, well, from the beginning of time, that you came in, up until maybe like say the early seventies, have you seen any kind of cultural growth? Yes. Within the west communities? Oh of course. With the different type of people coming in. People that have that interest. Mm-hmm. And with the growth—your children. Your children have grown and community things that the parents would want to do. I would not even—then it was the other way. Things that parents would not know about, children are exposed to other things, so when they get to be an adult, they bring things into the community that they were exposed to. Let’s see, I’ve been in Vegas like two years, and when I first came it was like a regression to me, like going back sixty years. Because things were much slower. The basic attitudes, the basic amount of facilities, the basic activities did not exist. So basically, I think that’s why I’m staying here, so that I can get involved and help develop those kinds of things. Well, I think you—judge it by all of Las Vegas. You think so? Why do you say that? Because all of Las Vegas—if you look, it’s only been in the last ten years, that we’ve had a big move into say, cultural claims, Artemus Ham Hall. Okay. The university. Judy Bayley Theatre. UNLV University Libraries Autumn Keyes Ita 16 Yes. All of these things, The Meadows. No one—you did the little things but they were not—we were still—this is a western town. Mm-hmm. And it’s you know, but people are looking for it. You can’t be a city if you’re not a city. And we’re now becoming a city. We used to be a town. A town. Okay. And I think we still have things that were pertaining to towns. Small groups getting together. Your—most of your entertainment originated from the church. And I think if you look at any small community—small town—those things are going to be the same way, originating from the church. Mm-hmm. I think the—Las Vegas is a goldmine, what I say that I mean that, if a person could stay in the city, work themselves into an environment, or an area of development, and stay there and continue to work to put themselves together. Could really achieve something, (unintelligible) self. Now I think that’s why I stay here. Because there’s so much to do, as to development of the state, and the community itself, like on the Westside. I am an artist myself. And I see so many things I can go into the churches go into the (unintelligible) children’s theatre, adult theatre, musical programs, art programs, things of that sort. Just from the artistic point-of-view. Then again, you got, the sciences, the math, and things like that. And understand and grow, what is your opinion about the Westside? Well, I wouldn’t say just the Westside. I’d say Nevada, period. Nevada, period. There’s so many things that Nevada has that nobody else has. (Unintelligible) UNLV University Libraries Autumn Keyes Ita 17 We can do just about anything we want to do here. And you can find the people and the untouched talent to do it. That’s a good point. I mean, there hasn’t been any—it’s just if you’ve got the energy to put into it you can do it. I think you can accomplish anything in Nevada that you want to accomplish. Okay. So, when you came back from Japan then, you been here since then? Have you—did you depart? No. I’ve been to Africa. Uh-huh. I was in Africa ’78. What parts? Seventy-nine. Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, (Unintelligible), Togo. (Unintelligible) (Laughs) Do you think that we have any of our Africanisms within us that you could see over there? Or is a comparison to (unintelligible)? Yes. There’s a comparison. One of the things that—wanted to go back to roots. And some of the things that he could remember passed on. Mm-hmm. Yes. A lot of things have been passed on. But we haven’t did it just like Alex Haley did. The (unintelligible) there’s a difference in food. The—well, I should say, the difference in food, we have brought over some of the same food stuff. And we’ve just—well, we, I shouldn’t say Americanized it, because it isn’t Americanized, it’s simply because of the type of food that was used in Africa, and still used in Africa, we do not have those kind of plants, and food stuff here. Mm-hmm. UNLV University Libraries Autumn Keyes Ita 18 So we have to do some substituting. And I think that this is one of—that was one of the first things that I noticed about Africa. Mm-hmm. Our family relations are about the same, and I would like to say, some of this stuff doesn’t only just affect Blacks. It is just as much in the white community as it is. Though, true it might be because of having slaves. And some of this has passed on. Because the slaves were raising the whites children. Things like that, it could have been. But I think that on the whole and having travelled a great deal, I see the same kind of family structure, anywhere. So would you say acculturalization is universally (unintelligible)? Yes. (Unintelligible) I take Africa and I lived in Japan for many years. Mm-hmm. And Africa to me—(Laughs) well, Nigeria, I should say, specifically, is just a Black Japan. Really? They have not developed and used all their resources like Japan is. They are not a technical society. I don’t think that anyone is as technical as America. I see. Probably we (unintelligible) And you know, who all can, and we (unintelligible) we push a button, now we push a button and we think everything has gotta work, we know it’s gotta work. What about mannerisms? I think that—you mean, from Africa? Yes. UNLV University Libraries Autumn Keyes Ita 19 Africa is hurting where manners are concerned because of the British influence. And I think that’s going to hold them back quite a bit. We—especially, we are—the America people are an in formidable people. And I’m judging by the American people. You know, we don’t hold all of this—no, I—what shall we say, the things that you should do, and I have to do this, because this is the rouse. We shortcut everything. And get on with the bout of life. (Laughs) And I see the Africans wasting so much time (Laughs)—by the way, I’m married to an African. Oh really? (Laughs) And I can say, I can say this—I mean, it’s a waste of time. Going through all the rules, and things like this. Mm-hmm. I (unintelligible) it to the bourgeois vie, the Black bourgeois vie. Okay. And—(Laughs) you know, they don’t like to hear that. But it’s—it’s about the same. Let me ask you about the political growth development based on the time you’ve been in and out of the states. Okay. Politics—politics in Nevada has always been very fascinating to me. Having been involved politically all my life. I always will. Yes. I say, I won’t but I always will. It’s because I like politics. Politics have been—people to the east have called it crude. But it serves our needs. Fact. UNLV University Libraries Autumn Keyes Ita 20 And I hope politics in Nevada never changes. Let it be like it is. Rough-tumble. Because we’re serving those people. And I hope we’ll never get to the place where I can’t walk in and see the government when I want to and tell me what I think of him. (Laughs) Or our mayor or whoever is there. And I think we have an open door policy. And I have never seen anyone succeed in the state of Nevada that comes in with a closed door policy. We just don’t have it in Nevada. You can pick up the phone and call any time to the government’s office. You can call anywhere, and you can get in. This is your personal account? Yes. This—and I think if you would ask just about anybody that’s really been here for a long time, they’d tell you the same thing. Okay. But what—what do you see as the communities attitude, say for instance—let’s speak in terms of the—? Apathy. Apathy? Yes. Well, I—and I shouldn’t say, just the Black community. We have apathy in America. True. We don’t have, fifty-two percent of our people are not registered. I mean, the entire American people. But they’ve opened up the vote, they don’t vote. It’s only fifty—less that fifty-two percent of the American population that’s registered to vote. And that says something, in a country that we—we really run this country on voting. Yes. This is a question that when I first came into Las Vegas, basically people say that well, my involvement was immediately to find some kind of ties for myself before I look for a UNLV University Libraries Autumn Keyes Ita 21 Black community. And when I found the Black community, people that I ran into were saying that everybody, all the Blacks in Las Vegas were basically from Alabama, and Mississippi, and they—the attitudes, the education level were very low, and it was very apathetic about most states. That I didn’t find to be true, myself. I found things to be a little slow because I had come from a faster environment, places that moved a little faster. But I think the people here are very progressive in their own ways, and we’re basically struggling now, as the whole country is. But it was that attitude that was constantly representing to be for me, as to the basic concept and attitudes of the Westside. Well, I think you’re going back to say, in the early fifties or the forties, and the fifties, where people—that we have an element in the south—let’s just take the south. Okay. Where we say most Blacks come from. Okay. We have an element of Blacks in the south, that do not work, that live off welfare, just like we have an element of whites. And we call the whites rednecks. Mm-hmm. Or we’ll call ‘em sharecroppers. Okay. That Black person moves west. Or to the north. He hasn’t had any kind of educational training. He’s mostly, I guess he came from the field slaves. You know, that type of person. He hasn’t been trained in any kind of culture. I mean, beside the family culture, and that’s very little. ‘Kay, that person moves west, and then he doesn’t or she does not tell any kind of connections with anyone. So he makes friends with somebody. So he makes friends with somebody from the east. And that person is so much above the person who moves to the south in, with culture. UNLV University Libraries Autumn Keyes Ita 22 Because of the exposure. Because of the—the exposure. So then the person that has never been able to hold a job in the south, primarily Alabama, Arkansas, comes here, starts making a hundred dollars a week, and first thing that person does, is going to buy some of the status symbols that he always longed for in the south. And that’s any of us, whether we’re coming from the south or any place. We go to get something that we’ve always wanted. And I think this is the reason why you hear that that persons from Alabama, or that persons from here to there. It’s really because (unintelligible) and I think people do the same, all over. That’s a good course, different insight (unintelligible) when you think about it. But I was sort of frustrated when I first got here. Because I kept getting this attitude presented to me. Look at the people or the women—one of the things that I’m looking at—I see it primarily more with women—and I suppose there are a great deal of men—that are going back to school and getting their GED. These are people in their 50s and 60s. After the GED, they will go and get something else. People that will tell you, “I never could learn,” or “I never did this.” Learning takes on a great deal, many faucets. And I would like to say, learning could be—learning a trade, a how to, just even survival is learning. But these people are talking about academic. They’re talking about (unintelligible) then all of a sudden—maybe that person couldn’t hear. Maybe the person that needed eyeglasses. All these things have been corrected and they come back to school at 55 and 60 years old. And do it. (Laughs) And you know, this—so this is why I say, you know, Las Vegas is a great place. I like it. UNLV University Libraries Autumn Keyes Ita 23 Anything you wanna do it’s just—you can do it. It just takes a little time, and a little effort. And it’s frustrating anywhere, to start anything. Okay. Let me ask you something about the education programs. There seems to be some kind of conflict between community college and the university programs. I don’t know what it’s about. But there seems to be some kind of conflict. I think its misinformation. In what way? I think it’s a student. If you take a student an hour—I hear people say, well, these—these credits won’t be accepted, and that credit won’t