Abstract
Oral history interview with Vivian "Viv" Frehner conducted by Gregg Carter on July 20, 1974 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Frehner talks about his upbringing in St. Thomas, Nevada, his marriage, his early work as a sheriff's deputy, a rancher, farmer, and road maintenance worker. He recalls going to the movies for twenty cents as a child, catching wild horses to ride in rodeos as a teenager, and the heat of Las Vegas, Nevada summers after he moved there for work as a young man for work. He remembers seeing dozens of artisan wells in Las Vegas well into the 1940s, the opening of Flamingo Hotel and Casino, the death of actress Carole Lombard in a 1941 plane crash outside Las Vegas, and the 1950s above-ground nuclear testing by the U. S. government.
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Scope and Contents Note
Oral history interview with Vivian "Viv" Frehner conducted by Gregg Carter on July 20, 1974 for the Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas. In this interview, Frehner talks about his upbringing in St. Thomas, Nevada, his marriage, his early work as a sheriff's deputy, a rancher, farmer, and road maintenance worker. He recalls going to the movies for twenty cents as a child, catching wild horses to ride in rodeos as a teenager, and the heat of Las Vegas, Nevada summers after he moved there for work as a young man for work. He remembers seeing dozens of artisan wells in Las Vegas well into the 1940s, the opening of Flamingo Hotel and Casino, the death of actress Carole Lombard in a 1941 plane crash outside Las Vegas, and the 1950s above-ground nuclear testing by the U. S. government. Digital audio available; no transcript available.
Access Note
Collection is open for research. Where use copies do not exist, production of use copies is required before access will be granted; this may delay research requests. Advanced notice is required.
Publication Rights
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish. Some transcripts do not exist in final form, therefore any editing marks in a transcript (deletions, additions, corrections) are to be quoted as marked. No release form is on file for this interview. The interview is accessible onsite only, and researchers must seek permission from the interviewee or heirs for quotation, reproduction, or publication. Please contact special.collections@unlv.edu for further information.
Preferred Citation
Vivian "Viv" Frehner oral history interview, 1974 July 20. OH-00626. [Cite format consulted: Audio recording or Transcript.] Oral History Research Center, Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Acquisition Note
University of Nevada, Las Vegas History Professor Ralph Roske donated materials for this oral history project to UNLV Libraries Special Collections and Archives in the 1980s.
Processing Note
Interview materials were processed by UNLV Libraries Special Collections and Archives in 2015 and 2023. Melise Leech wrote the collection description. Access copies were created for born-digital audio and/or transcript files. The audio has been minimally reviewed and all readily available information has been included in the description.