Transcript of interview with Dr. Nell Jeffers by Yatska Aldarondo, February 26, 1980

UNLV University Libraries Nell Jeffers i An Interview with Nell Jeffers An Oral History Conducted by Yatska Aldarondo 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 Nell Jeffers ii © Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 2019 UNLV University Libraries Nell Jeffers 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 Nell Jeffers iv Abstract On February 26, 1980, Yatska Aldarondo interviewed psychiatric counselor, Dr. Nell Jeffers (born in Houston Texas) about her life in Las Vegas, Nevada. Dr. Jeffers discusses her work as the student and faculty counselor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The two also discuss some of the hardships of living in a desert, as well Dr. Jeffers’ plans to move into private psychiatric practice.UNLV University Libraries Nell Jeffers 1 This one. Okay. I’m going to interview a lady. The name is Dr. Nell Jeffers. She’s a psychiatrist— Psychologist. Psychologist? Yes. And we are now in humanity building, third floor, and we going to try a little interview about herself, with Nevada. Today’s date is Wednesday, twenty-sixth, 1980, February. How long you lived here in Nevada? I’ve lived here since 1961. Where do you live here? I live close by the university, over here by, on Spencer. What is your occupation here? I’m a counseling psychologist here with—the shrink for the students and faculty. And how you like your work? (Laughs) Well, I like it fine. I’ve been here a long time. Long time. Can you tell me a little more about your work? You know. Well, you mean, like what kind of problems do students have? Mm-hmm. You name ‘em, students have it. Yes. (Laughs) Every kind. Yes. Loneliness is a big one. UNLV University Libraries Nell Jeffers 2 Do you like your work? Sure. Enjoy your work? I wouldn’t change it if I could. Yes? (Laughs) Do you—you was born here? No, no. I came here in 1961, and I came here to work here at the university—that’s when I came. I came from Houston. Do you think—what were some other things that you remember when you were growing up in Nevada? No, now, I didn’t grow up in Nevada. (Laughs) No, well you know. You mean, when I first came here? Yes. Oh, I came here the year they planted the grass at the university. I remember that, because I like to say it now, “I came the year of the grass.” That’s kind of fun to remember. We just had a road coming out, the last real, thoroughfare, at that time, was Sahara. Sahara? Yes. And jump from Sahara to Tropicana was the next main thoroughfare, and it was called something else, I forget the name of it. It wasn’t Tropicana. So this university, when I hear, is new, right? Yes. UNLV University Libraries Nell Jeffers 3 How long this university been here, in Maryland Parkway? Mm, let’s see. I think, seems to me, that on the plaque on the front of Grant, says nineteen—1958. Mm-hmm? Mm-hmm. How—do you think that, the, in Nevada, they have tremendous progress about population here, especially Las Vegas? It’s kind of growing up, you know? And it presents problems, you mean? Yes. Well, that’s problems in some ways, yes. Those that have been here for a long time, say that the traffic problems. Those that have come from the big city, and they don’t think this is bad. And about, how is social life here, in Nevada? What do you think about the social life here? I’m not a very social person I guess. (Laughs) I don’t know, I can remember the university community years ago when we were, you know, we had fewer than fifty faculty members when I came here, and we were very close, all of us, so we got together for social occasions, which doesn’t happen anymore. You know, necessity had to be broken up into smaller groups. But I don’t know if that’s what you want to talk about or social life in general? Do we go, since I’ve lived here a long time, do we go to the Strip? Well— That’s what a lot of people want to know about? “Do you leave town?” They say. “Oh, how much time do you spend gambling?” “How much time—?” You know, “Do you go to the shows? Do you go to the casinos?” UNLV University Libraries Nell Jeffers 4 How about the young life people here, you know? They not are boring here? Because you have only here, you know, gamblers, and that’s it, or you need twenty one years old to go someplace, you know, how the young people have a good times here? I think it must be terribly hard growing up here. In family, right? I don’t know, I don’t know but, I just, I just think it must be a hard way to go. Yes, about, in the education, how is education here in elementary, first the elementary school here? How’s the what? The education here? You know, the education in high school, junior high school—? You mean what, is it considered good? Or whatever? Yes. I really don’t know, I’m in no position to judge it. But when they came from the high school for university, do you think they have problems, you know, to go to university? Well, I don’t know if it’s different from any place else, that one. Mm-hmm. It’s the same old thing, kids come to the university, they’re accustomed to being told when to go to class, when to do this and that, and they need classes every day. They come to the university, and you know, they can’t stand the freedom, a lot of them. Mm-hmm. Until they adjust or not adjust, whatever. But that’s a transition all over the country, kids off to college. UNLV University Libraries Nell Jeffers 5 It is true that the state of Nevada has a very good employment rates here? It does have, yes. Especially in what kind of job? Well, I would guess it’s all related in some way, no matter how far we move, related to the gaming industry and tourist industry. About the weather—what do you think about the weather here? Well, you mean, that’s why so many people are here. That’s one of the main factors. It’s not why I came, it’s certainly not why I would stay. But sunshine, yes. Before, when you came here, how would you expect Las Vegas, you know, Nevada? How would you thought Vegas before you came here? (Laughs) Well, to tell you the truth, I didn’t give it that much thought, ‘cause I had no intention to stay in Vegas. I stayed because I was offered a contract here at the university and I thought, “Why not?” And it’s been almost twenty years, and I’m still here. (Laughs) Yes, twenty years is a long time. And can you tell me some more about your life here? About your life, by yourself? You know, experiences that you’ve had here? Relating to Nevada? Related to Nevada. Well, I’ve been active in the political scene—off and on—not always. My husband is an attorney, and he did run for public office one year, which was disastrous. Cost us a whole lot of money and he didn’t win, thank heaven. He would have been worse had he won, from my standpoint. Let’s see—you should just ask me some more things about—what focus did you want? UNLV University Libraries Nell Jeffers 6 Well, I wanted, you know, for example, you hobbies, you know, what do you do, after you know—? No hobby. No hobby at all? No, my chief hobby is fishin’—that’s what I really like to do. I guess I should say my—the thing I like most is travel, and that’s to get away from Las Vegas. But since I am here, and live here, I fish. We have a boat. Where? Go to the lake or the river. Uh-huh. Do you, are you married? Yes, I’m married. Talk me about your family here. I have a daughter and son-in-law who life here. I have a grandson, and we’re not—we’re close to the, our grandchild, ‘cause he spends every weekend with us. But you know, it’s not a close family thing, as far as—its Sunday dinner together, or anything like that. We go to different, we’re affiliated with different church groups. You know, I go to the Catholic Church and some of the others go to non-and this and that. Everybody to his own interests. About the religion—people here, they’re used to go to the church, most of the time, especially you know, Sunder—Sunday? I don’t know, I don’t have any way of knowing. When you say most of the people, I don’t know. Because you know, this city, you know, is— Sin City. UNLV University Libraries Nell Jeffers 7 Sin City, you know, and I think that is very kind of hard to take this people to the church, to the religion, you know, they want more (unintelligible). I don’t know, I don’t know if anybody’s ever really looked carefully at that, as far as gathering accurate data on it. The—there’s a strong Mormon community. Of course. There’s a strong Jewish community too. And then the rest of the church going population, is pretty divided. About that then, the religion, you know, what do you think are the prostitution here, legal in Vegas? Seems to me that it would be better to have legalized prostitution, and I’ll tell you why. It’s because it cannot be, there’s no way to control it. It’s not legalized, except to roust the prostitutes and take ‘em to jail. Let ‘em out on bail, make the bail bondsmen rich, and here we go, round and round, put ‘em on the street in an hour and right back, right back. If you had legalized prostitution, there would be fewer cases where the prostitutes get into some sort of jam either with their pimp, or the prostitute attacks in some way, or steals from, the tourist, which gives Las Vegas a bad name. That’s right. About the government, who is the government here? The governor? Uh-huh. List, yes. What do you—do you think that he’s a good governor? Oh, I don’t know. I believe right now, it seems to me, this is purely a personal opinion, I rather like the way he’s hitting the federal people on the MX program. He’s not just sitting down and UNLV University Libraries Nell Jeffers 8 saying, “Yes, just take it and do whatever you want,” to it. Seems to me he’s standing up to them pretty good. So I like him. I have an interest to know, how Vegas, have a good, good economic, if they don’t have agriculture, industry, you know, something that they can go off, you know, how they do that, Nevada? What is the economics of the, Nevada? Well, the base, the economic base, is of course, gaming. Gaming, so they control it, everything? You can see how far reaching it is, you know. Sure reaches us right here on this campus. Look at right here, at the hotel program, hotel administration program? Which has blossomed and bloomed in just a few years, and that’s because of our tourist industry. And, is, well, let me see. So, do you like here? How you feel, living Las Vegas, Nevada? In Nevada? Oh, like I said before, it’s alright, I really shouldn’t complain, since I’ve been here as long as I have. I don’t, don’t like the dry weather. I would rather live on the coast. I grew up on a coast, and I feel land-locked here many times. I don’t really have the appreciation of the desert that I hear other people talking about. Other people, up here where I work, people I work with, oh, they go out on the weekends and they go, you know, ride in the desert, and they see things that I don’t see. It just looks like old dry desert to me. And so I envy them, they see the beauty. I know the beauty’s out there, I don’t see it. Mm. I look at the same thing but it doesn’t look beautiful to me. How long you been here at university? UNLV University Libraries Nell Jeffers 9 Well, I’m glad you asked. This is my last year here. I’ve given notice, I’m going into private practice this summer. But there’s something else that I’m doing, and have been for some time, and that is working on another degree. I’m not going to throw my PhD away, but I’m getting a Bachelor of Fine Arts, through the art department here at UNLV. My plan is to use both my art degree as well as my psychology in private practice for art therapy. It’s a new field, completely new field. I’ve been interested in art forever, and do a lot of it just for my own pleasure. But at this juncture, I’m finding something very practical with these. Are you going to stay here? Yes, I’ll stay in Nevada. My husband really doesn’t have any mobility as far as his work, he works for the county, he’s a prosecutor. He likes the work? Yes, yes he does. I can give an unqualified yes. And how ‘bout your daughter? Daughter, yes. Where she live? Well, she lives out th—here in the Valley too. She works at Caesar’s Palace at the front desk. Again, the gamblers right? Yes. And she’s married? Yes. How ‘bout your son? Son-in-law. Well, he’s a building contractor, so he has no direct connection with the gaming. Are you member for any organization here in Las Vegas, Nevada? UNLV University Libraries Nell Jeffers 10 You mean outside the university? Yes, I’m a member of the Las Vegas Art League, for one; and I’ve been an active member for fifteen years. And what you doing over there? At the Art League? Well, to just, to be a member, I don’t know really why to be a member, but I do show my own artwork in their shows. Shows are juried, so you submit paintings, and you have a judge that comes in and says, “Yes, this one’s okay, that one’s not.” But anyway, it’s fun to be in the art shows, and I enjoy it, really. Other organizations, let’s see. I’m on the board of directors for Marriage and Family Counseling, which is a public agency for people that—well that need therapy. Marriage and Family therapist. Now, I don’t do the therapy, I’m just on the board of directors that sets policy and that sort of thing. You think there need therapy? Yes. Why? Well, there’s an awful lot of people that really don’t have anybody to talk to, certainly not about very intimate problems. Then there’s drug abuse, substance abuse, and all that. Do you think that here in Ve—Nevada, they had a lot of these kind of problems? Because you know, the social life here, the people where are live here, they’re really, they don’t know each other, they only thinking about work and work and take some money? Are you asking me then, if I feel that there are more of those kinds of problems here than other places? Mm-hmm. I don’t know, I do know that the crime rate is higher per capita than any place in the United States. The crime rate is related to drug and alcohol abuse. So you know, depends on how far UNLV University Libraries Nell Jeffers 11 you want to carry it, and to extend it, to bring it to the point of your question. Going at it from direction I would say yes, there’s probably more. You told me that you like to travel, right? Right. Can you tell me little bit where you are going, you know, where you go? Well, my travels are taking me all over the world, but I’ve also traveled around in Nevada, around over the state? What part in Nevada? Well, in, it goes when you go, up north it’s like being in a whole new world, to me it is. They still have the flavor of the old west, and I enjoy that. I spent some time, a week for two different summers, I spent each summer for two years, at a painting holiday in Virginia City. It’s colorful, and it’s interesting. I go to Carson City quite often. I have friends there and my husband’s there on business. So it’s kind of a, we make a fun weekend trip. I have a mountain cabin in eastern Nevada, in Pioche. And it’s different there. A different scene, each place. The people, too, are different? I think so. In Pioche, ‘course, it’s not geared for tourists there. It’s a little tiny town, got to the point of being almost a ghost town. And it’s building up again now. There’s some activity, because some of the mines have re-opened. I came from a part of the country where we didn’t have mountains. So mountains were exciting to me, I’d say they are—I think they still are exciting to me. I like the mountains. I don’t have to be in ‘em, but I like to look. Why Reno and Las Vegas have, they no get together very well? You know? (Laughs) They war, the north and the south. Yes, why? UNLV University Libraries Nell Jeffers 12 I don’t know, I just believe it exists in most states, where you have, I understand this is certainly true in California. You know, they’re vying—Reno is older and it’s a more conservative—more conservative in every way. Yes. And then the population explosion is down here. I expect a lot of the, jealousy exists. Certainly the campus jealousies. The campus over there, are more big than here, right? I don’t know, you mean, actual square miles? Probably. But it’s old, and it has atmosphere, and it’s impressive. I think it’s a very beautiful campus. Lot of it due just to age. Where is the capital here in Nevada? Where is—? Oh, Carson City. Carson City. And it’s interesting, the government buildings are very interesting. The capital has been recently refurbished, more than refurbished, the whole thing is just redone, inside and out, and I haven’t seen it since its reopened, which was, is quite recent. But they attempted to retain and have all of the old things that they could. They didn’t just rip it down and put up some kind of mirrored modernistic thing, they kept all that they could of the old. And the old flooring, a lot of it they were able to keep, I understand. And it’s beautiful. Over there, they have more tradition than here in Las Vegas? I would think so. I would think so. Can you tell me one of the—? Well the architecture for one, now that I do know about, because they’ve treasured their old homes, and have made landmarks of them. What do you feel about the state of Nevada as being a place for (unintelligible)? UNLV University Libraries Nell Jeffers 13 Well, I think it’s been mishandled, I do think that. Now, I don’t have any insight or information, it’s just what I see on the news. But it’s—if there were a way to do it, to give some insurance, that those that would live here would be safe. I think it’s the mishandling of it. And then I hear too about it, you know, that states should share this responsibility of being the dumping grounds for the waste materials. I don’t see how that’s practical, for highly populated state to share equally to with the state of Nevada, I just don’t see it as being practical. In conclusion, Dr. Jeffers, if you advise to a person to live in Nevada—? Well, if they were coming, I don’t know. It depends on a lot of things, whether their age, if they were coming here to school, would be one thing. If they were going to take a job, say on faculty, and I’ve had occasion just recently, to talk with some people who are interested in applying for the position—my position here. And so they ask me this question. “How is it to live there?” And that puts me on the spot, you know? My association with the university has been satisfactory. But I always think about my own problem here, has been with the dryness. I say, “Well, the climate, if you can stand the heat, come on in. It’s not hell, but you know, it’s not exactly the kitchen either.” But a person that needs greenery to be happy, you need to look at the green trees and all that, I don’t think they’d be happy here. And I’ve told people that. There are many people that enjoy the desert, and that’s great. Do you? I don’t think so. (Laughs) Well, Dr. Jeffers, thank you— You’re quite welcome. This interview. And I think I know now much better about Nevada. It is a good interview with you. UNLV University Libraries Nell Jeffers 14 (Laughs) Thank you very much. You’re quite welcome.