Transcript of interview with Laura & Don Garvin by Michael Martocci, March 3, 1979

UNLV University Libraries Laura and Don Garvin i An Interview with Laura and Don Garvin An Oral History Conducted by Michael Martocci 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 Laura and Don Garvin ii © Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 2018 UNLV University Libraries Laura and Don Garvin 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 Laura and Don Garvin iv Abstract On March 3, 1979, Michael Martocci interviewed Laura (born in California) and Don Garvin (born in Goldfield, Nevada) about their lives in Las Vegas, Nevada. The two provide details on their family background, the first sources of water in Las Vegas, and the early city limits. They also describe their early occupations, religion, gambling, the Mormon Fort, and the effects of the Great Depression. The interview concludes with a brief discussion on the development of the Las Vegas Strip and recreational activities. UNLV University Libraries Laura and Don Garvin 1 Name of person or persons being interviewed: Don and Laura Garvin. Date of interview and time: 3/3/79, elven o’clock. Place of interview: 1041 Sweeney Avenue. Name of collector and address: Michael Martocci, 1130 University Road, Tonopah Hall. Name of project: Historical Project. Okay. Mr. and Mrs. Garvin, good morning, and I’m gonna ask you some questions, and I want you to be very open, and don’t let anything bother you, okay? I’d like to start with Don, and I’d like to ask your nationality and basically tell me where you came from. I’m American. I was born and raised in the river country northwest of Reno in California. I went to school there and went to high school in (unintelligible). All right. Laura? I’m Laura Garvin, and I was born in Goldfield, Nevada. I went to grade school and high school in Goldfield, and I went to Los Angeles and entered nurse’s training. After that, I returned to Nevada and worked until the war years when we lived in California again. I returned to Nevada in 1946 and lived here since then. Okay, very good. Do any of you speak a different language besides English? I speak a little Spanish. Okay. Could you tell me, Don, your father’s name and place of birth? Father’s name was Sylvester Garvin, born in Illinois. All right. And your mother’s name and place of birth? Sally Williams, maiden name was Sally Names, and she was born in Louisiana. My father’s name was Edward (unintelligible), and he was born in Iowa. And my mother’s name was Florence (unintelligible), and she was born in Michigan. All right. Good, very good. Okay, paternal grandfather’s place of birth? UNLV University Libraries Laura and Don Garvin 2 I know nothing about my grandparents. Okay. My father’s mother’s name was Hite, and she was born Laura Hite, and she was born in Virginia. And my father’s father’s name was Edward (unintelligible) and he was born in Illinois. All right, good. Okay, maternal grandmother’s place of birth? Nothing— Okay. My grandmother, my mother’s mother, was born in Ireland; her name was Caroline—I can’t think of the last name right now—and her father’s name was (unintelligible) and he was born in Michigan, I believe. Okay, very good. Has the geography of the Las Vegas area changed much since you have been here, such as the water tables, the general topography of the land—has it changed much? Could you describe to me how, basically, it’s changed? What do you mean, the city, or the—could you ask the question again? The city—all right, has the geography of Las Vegas been changed much, such as the water tables and? When we came here, there was a large artesian basin under Las Vegas, and our big wells were the early gateway of getting water. Right, okay. And our artesian basin was used up, and had to bring in the water—dig much deeper wells and bring in water from Lake Mead. Right. Do you remember when this was, what date it was, what year? Oh, I would say in the fifties. UNLV University Libraries Laura and Don Garvin 3 During the early fifties? Where the water—brought in from Lake Mead. It was brought in from—there were thirty-six inch water lines from Lake Mead to Henderson where the Henderson complex—during the war. And they tapped onto that with a twenty-four inch line to come into Las Vegas. That was in the late fifties. And later on, around 1962 or ’63, I think it was, they ran a five-foot line from Lake Mead direct to Las Vegas. And now they’re in the process of bringing in another six-foot line into Las Vegas. So, it wasn’t very easy, then, to get water, once the artesian wells were dry? The water table went way down. Everybody had wells around—even the hotels had their own wells and their own sewage disposal plants, and after a while, when the water came in from Lake Mead, then they brought the Lake Mead water down the Strip and (unintelligible) and the sewer plant come in—that was 1958 and ’59. Thirty miles really isn’t very far. I think we were fortunate having Lake Mead. Yes, true. Close proximity as it is. Okay. Has the climate of the area changed much since you’ve been here? Has it basically stayed the same? It has become more humid after Lake Mead was filled, and also all of the lawn and the country and the cultivation in this large city. Right. It’s pretty much drier. Agricultural-wise, is there much—the soil isn’t very good for growing things many things, is there? UNLV University Libraries Laura and Don Garvin 4 It has to be fertilized. Right. Soil is very, very acid here. And the area has caliche underneath the soil (unintelligible). It’s very alkaline, too. What kind of roads were out here in the early sixties, fifties, and forties, and what improvements have been made since then? When we first come down here, I guess it was about 20,000 population, 1946. Okay. And the Huntridge, where we live now, was way out. There were a lot of vacant lots in between there. And the only hotel when we came here was the El Rancho, built in ’43; Last Frontier was built in ’45, and the Flamingo was built in ’46. McCarran Air Field was over in Nellis Air Base. So, then, you were not within the limits? We were in the city limits. Sahara, on the south, and Owens on the north, is (unintelligible) city limits. What were the city limits at that time? Sahara. Sahara, and that was it? Of course, they’ve annexed on the west and on the east. I think when I was here early in the thirties, Charleston was probably (unintelligible). Okay. Seventh Street was about the end of the pavement in the thirties (unintelligible) Third Street in the thirties. Have you noticed any peculiarities of pronunciation, dialect, and traditions of the natives of Southern Nevada? UNLV University Libraries Laura and Don Garvin 5 I’m a native, so of course (unintelligible). Right, okay. What kind of education did the locals receive as opposed to the children back east, and how much as the educational system changed or progressed in the past twenty years? Well, I think that the primary education has disintegrated, and the higher education, of course, has been much better, more available. Right, okay. Could you explain that a little bit more, your reasoning behind that? Well, I think the primary education is probably (unintelligible) difficulties because of the lack of discipline. And you feel that the higher education is—? Well, there are more people, and more demand, and more people and more taxes that (unintelligible) education can be. What is the most common religion of the native Southern Nevada? Mormons, and then the Methodist Church. Are both of you active in the Mormon faith? No, we’re Methodist. Methodist, okay. All right. What was the basic occupations of the people back in the early sixties, in the fifties, and the forties, opposed to now? Like, now, it’s mostly construction and the gambling scene? Well, the gambling, of course—gambling and tourism (unintelligible) biggest. Right. And there wasn’t too much tourism in the late forties. It was the hotel that brought that on for us. UNLV University Libraries Laura and Don Garvin 6 Right. But what brought people out here during the late thirties and early forties? Because there was no gambling at that time. Well, the gambling (unintelligible). There was gambling? I think ’29 was when they first legalized the gambling. Right, okay. So, then, you’re saying that was the basic occupation of most of the people around here? And having Boulder Dam here, the tourist attraction, brought in people. Okay. And Boulder Dam and the gambling, that’s what started it. Started the tourism boom, right, okay. Las Vegas was the division point of the railroad, and there were many more people employed in railroading in the thirties and forties than there are now. How has the economic structure of Las Vegas changed since the early sixties? The standard of living, prices, things like that—has it changed much since the sixties? The base has gotten much broader, and wages are higher. Right. Prices are higher. Yes, that’s true. 1947, the engineers, carpenters, painters, and electricians were a dollar and a quarter an hour. That’s something to say about the economic changes; yeah, that’s good. Has the political atmosphere changed in Las Vegas in the last twenty years? Have the people always been happy with the governors they’ve elected? UNLV University Libraries Laura and Don Garvin 7 I think most of them (unintelligible) governors. Could you just describe a few of the governors? Also tell me what you feel about them and what they had done at that time to improve? I don’t know what each governor did to improve (unintelligible) try to wrestle with (unintelligible) Republican. What year? It had to be in the early fifties. Grant Sawyer, he was a good governor. And Paul Laxalt, he was a good governor. O’Callaghan was a good governor. And I think that List is going to be a good governor. Okay, that’s good. Are there any special traditions which are unique to the Southern Nevadans, and if so, what are they? Are there any special traditions that Nevadans have? I don’t know what you mean by that. Well, I guess not—okay. Could you basically tell me where you were educated and what kind of education have you received? I have a grammar school education in the Feather River area northwest of Reno in high school in (unintelligible). And basically, it was general type studies with English and math? You didn’t specialize in anything? Not in high school. No, not like that? Okay, how about you, Laura? I, as I said, had my grade and high school education in Goldfield and went to Los Angeles and went into nurse’s training. And during the sixties, I accumulated about sixteen to twenty credit at the University of Nevada (unintelligible). UNLV University Libraries Laura and Don Garvin 8 What was this in? Oh, I took statistics and English and a couple of psychology courses and sociology. I attended long workshops in the field of nursing over the years. [Phone rings] We’ll shut this off a second. Okay. My father lived to be eighty-four. My mother was also eighty-four. My grandfather lived to be ninety-seven, my grandmother ninety-eight, and another grandmother, eighty. Wow. They (unintelligible) long life (unintelligible). That’s good. Healthy, I would say. That is good. Do you have any special skills or interests—Don, special skills or interests? Well, I worked there at the Flamingo Hotel from ’47 to ’72. Okay, what did you do there? I was the chief engineer the last nineteen years, so I grew it from ninety-two rooms to 780 when I left there. I understand now, it’s 1,280 rooms. Okay. You were chief engineer? Yes. So could you basically tell me some of the things you did? I was in charge of the engineering and maintenance, and the gardeners and electricians, (unintelligible). Do you have any special interests? UNLV University Libraries Laura and Don Garvin 9 Well, I retired in ’74. About the only special interest now is I got a Winnebago and I got a Model T I’m trying to work on. Laura? I’m especially interested in history, I believe. What type of history are you interested in? Is there a specific area that you like, American history, all types of American history, or? Well, all types. I have a lot of books that I intend to read now that I’m a retired; I retired in October. Lots of books. Just waiting to be read? Yes. What are your views as far as the atomic testing, and how did it affect this area? Well, I think the atomic—had to have progress on that. Originally, the (unintelligible) tower. Right. You could see the flash from here, (unintelligible) and you hear the windows rattle when you got down here, sound vibration. How often did they do this? I imagine every three or four months. Three or four months. (Unintelligible) Then it went underground (unintelligible). Right. Okay. (Unintelligible) afforded a large payroll and worked for many, many people in this area. And Las Vegas not being (unintelligible) winds was helpful. I think that the government tried to order as much protection for inhabitants as they possibly could. UNLV University Libraries Laura and Don Garvin 10 So that definitely helped out on the economic aspects of that. It created a lot of jobs for a lot of people. Yes. Imagine the 10,000 people working up there at one time. And how long did this last, when the atomic testing was done? Are they still—they’re still be done today? Oh, yes. Still being done. Thirty years they’ve been doing it now, right? Okay. I know it was going in the 1950s. Can you relate to a specific incident which happened at the Old Ranch? I can remember the swimming pool that used to be down there. Could you basically describe to me what the Old Ranch was? Well, it was the Stewart Ranch, the original settlement of Las Vegas. It was where the Mormons settled in the early days, and then (unintelligible) Stewart and Stewarts had their huge ranch. That’s part of the area that was given by the Stewarts to the Indians, and (unintelligible) and the most important historical area. Can you describe an individual who worked or was associated with the Old Ranch? No, all I know is what I have read. (Unintelligible) Stewart, Kyle, and all the (unintelligible). The year there was an open ditch, fairly good size open ditch; it originated from the artesian wells just west of the railroad, the yards, and across Main all the way into Washington—had them for years and years. Can you tell me about the early railroad and how it developed? UNLV University Libraries Laura and Don Garvin 11 Well, the mining area was north—needed railroads to ship ore. Right. The east/west lights were being laid, and spurs were built from Las Vegas in the mining areas, and (unintelligible). One time, there were three railroads going into Goldfield and Tonopah—two from the south and one from the north. And Las Vegas went from a—what’s the name of that place—? (Unintelligible) Yeah. Can you describe the location and condition of the walls surrounding the original Mormon settlement, and what years approximately? All I can remember is that it was pretty deteriorated when I first remember seeing it. So it was pretty run down then, huh? Can you remember and locate any of the old trees or other plantings on the Old Ranch? No, I really can’t. No? One of the nurses that I knew and that I worked with, in the forties, lived at the Old Ranch at that time. But I really don’t know. What do you remember of the use of the property as a gravel testing laboratory for Boulder Dam? (Unintelligible) No? Okay. I lived in Goldfield from ’34 to ’38, and we came down west of—(unintelligible) Boulder Dam. UNLV University Libraries Laura and Don Garvin 12 Okay, Don, could you tell me what occupations you had—oh, we went over that, that’s right. Laura, could you tell me the occupations you had back in the late forties in nursing? Oh, the only thing that I’ve ever done was nursing. And right after I graduated, I came up and worked at Boulder City while the dam was under construction. The water had just been diverted into the tunnels, and they were still driving tunnels. And the Depression was in full swing. In fact, it started in 1929 (unintelligible). I remember that Depression very vividly. Could you describe some of that? When I went in training, the dresses were short, and the Depression hit in September, I believe it was, or October, and the dresses became very long. I didn’t even have enough money to buy a new dress. (Laughs) The nurses in training were seeing eight dollars a month after their probationary period, and that was practically all the money that I had to spend was about eight dollars. And then when I graduated in 1932, the nursing jobs were very, very difficult to find; there just weren’t any. Nurses in the Middle West were working for fifteen dollars a month, and even for board and room, there were no paying jobs. So, I felt very fortunate that I worked at Boulder Dam for a while. The hours were long; we used to work ten hours a day, seven days a week. But the pay was good, and it was very interesting work. There were men from all over the country flocking to Boulder City and Las Vegas to try and get work. Work was so scarce all over the country. And there were shacks set up and Hooverville, and out on the Boulder City Highway, and there were bread line in Las Vegas for a long, long time, because people were coming in, flocking in by the thousands, and they were way ahead of the jobs that were available. And the area between Las Vegas and Boulder City was, had a lot of little bars and gambling places off in the ways off of UNLV University Libraries Laura and Don Garvin 13 the road, because liquor was illegal at that time. Everybody in Nevada, however, knew when the feds were going to come through (unintelligible). Everyone always knew when they were on their way, and then they would close up the bars at that time. And I worked in Boulder City during the winter, so (unintelligible) had to be transported from the bunk houses in Boulder City to the dam site, which was seven miles in open (unintelligible). They worked in those tunnels, and it was hot in the tunnels. They had to come out, and no change rooms were available. They had to come back to Boulder City in the open trucks. And there was an awful lot of flu and pneumonia that winter. It was before antibiotics were discovered, before (unintelligible) were discovered, and there was an awful lot of deaths, especially the miners and the high scalers—a lot of deaths. It must have been very scary living at that time. Where were some of the people’s attitudes towards the Depression and Prohibition, and just the general way life was going, I mean—? [Audio cuts out] Laura, what were the attitudes, and how did the people feel toward the Depression and Prohibition, and how did this affect their lifestyle? Could you describe that to me? Prohibition was a very unpopular law, as we all know, because everyone took pleasure in evading it. And as far as the Depression, depressions were cyclic, and they had always been, and even though they seemed to become more pronounced in each one, went to, everyone had hopes that it would be over. And as far as antibiotics are concerned, what you never had, you don’t miss. So, they were one of the wonderful things that came out of the war and the scientific revolution that has occurred. But depressions were just something to live through and do the best that one could. Right. UNLV University Libraries Laura and Don Garvin 14 Made us really appreciate money and possessions, and we were able to have money. Then after—how about, father, do you have any? Did the Depression—I’m sure it did, it must have brought people together, closer than they ever had been before. Yes. They had to help each other. They had to help each other, right. Could you tell me, in what ways—what were some of the feelings? I mean, how did people act to this? I mean, there was no money and there was bread lines—there wasn’t much to live for anymore. How do people get through this? How—could you sort of tell me a little bit about that? Well, I think that religion helped. And we knew that things would get better, and they did. We had faith in our country, possibly more than they have now. Do you remember any of the visits of any of the presidents in the earlier years, during the thirties? I remember John F. Kennedy was here. I think most of them have been through here at one time or another. Nixon was here. I really don’t remember too much about that. Could you describe how the Strip looked as far back as you can remember, when it was first being developed? The early day, recreation was more or less centered at Charleston and the Boulder Highway—Meadows is out there, and several other early day gambling houses. And then Red Rooster was about the only one out on the Strip in the early days, the early thirties, and then of course out on the Strip, the El Rancho was, I believe, the first, and then the Last Frontier, and then the Bingo Club, and the Flamingo—the Flamingo first and then the Bingo Club. And the area gradually filled up with small places at first, and eventually hotels were built over the years. UNLV University Libraries Laura and Don Garvin 15 Could you tell me what addresses that you’ve lived at in Southern Nevada? We have both lived here since we came in 19—no, we didn’t. We lived at a little tiny house on Stewart. Made out of ties, railroad ties. Wow. There were no houses available for rent or sale. The power company employees and the telephone company employees would make a list or let their friends know of any rentals that were available, and they were snapped up before they were ever vacant. So, we were fortunate enough in getting this little house. There were no inside doors at all, and the floorboards were laid right on the sand. And it was might primitive. Yes. (Laughs) The first time we came here, I can remember ordering a tank of oil for the oil still, and the man came and delivered the oil, and I went to pay, and all that I had was a twenty-dollar bill. And much to my horror, he took the twenty-dollar bill and tore it in half, and he took half. (Laughs) He wasn’t going to trust me to get change. (Laughs) So then I had get change and go and pay him, and then he gave me the other half of the twenty-dollar bill. Okay. Wow, that’s really good. And soon after that, we bought the house next door and lived in it for a year and a half until this house became vacant. If you could change anything in Las Vegas, what would it be? Would you like to see anything change, or would you have liked to see it develop maybe in a different way? It’s gotten much, much bigger than I ever intended it to. UNLV University Libraries Laura and Don Garvin 16 Yes, okay—a lot more people— I was anxious to get back to Nevada and a scarcer population, but it’s caught up with you, long time ago. Could you tell me something about the recreational aspects of early Nevada, and even today, as far as, besides the gambling—what kind of recreation did you do during the Depression? I mean, you’d sit around, maybe listen to the radio, or was there certain things that everybody just about did? You know, certain games that they play, or? I was young and liked to go out. Right. And drinking and dancing and picnics. Was transportation hard to come by? We didn’t think so. We had cars, and we thought that it was very easy. (Unintelligible) horse and buggies of our fathers’ day, and— What kind of places did you go for picnics? Did you have special areas that you expect to go to more often? We went to Goodsprings fairly frequently. Spend a whole day out there and? Yes. And when we were raising our family, we went to Warm Springs and to Charleston, and Valley of Fire, and most of the places that they do now. Could you tell me why Las Vegas is called Sin City? Haven’t any idea. (Unintelligible) more sin in Las Vegas than there is any other town. (Laughs) I think it’s just a tourist come-on. UNLV University Libraries Laura and Don Garvin 17 Just a tourist come-on, okay. Sin City. Sounds enticing. Yes, very enticing. Do you like living here in Las Vegas? Oh, yes, I do very much. I like the people. Like the people? People are very friendly. Yes. As far as we’re concerned, we don’t even know the Strip (unintelligible) ninety percent of (unintelligible). So, it’s just, like, basically living anywhere else? Okay. How does tourism affect your lifestyle? Do you go out often to some of the shows around here, or? We used to quite frequently, not as much as used to, but we do occasionally. And the tourism has given us a good living over the years. Would you like to change anything in the future? Would you like to see anything be changed, social-wise or environmentally-wise, or anything to that effect? No, I don’t think so, except for the people themselves, (unintelligible), raise their kids the way they want to. We were in the Boy Scouts and in the Girl Scouts. It’s gotten bigger, though. Well, Mr. and Mrs. Garvin, thank you very much for this interview. You’re welcome. It’s been a pleasure. Thank you.