Transcript of interview with Jeanne P. Chretien by Cynthia L. Reeves, February 26, 1979

UNLV University Libraries Jeanne Chretien i An Interview with Jeanne P. Chretien An Oral History Conducted by Cynthia L. Reeves 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 Jeanne Chretien ii © Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 2018 UNLV University Libraries Jeanne Chretien 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 Jeanne Chretien iv Abstract On February 26, 1979, Cynthia L. Reeves interviewed Jeanne P. Chretien (born 1923 in Marshalltown, Iowa) about her life in Southern Nevada. Chretien first talks about her move to Las Vegas and her beginning education, including how the educational system has changed over time. She also describes her first occupations, political activity, involvement in groups such as the Girl Scouts, and early recreational activities. The two later discuss Block 16, entertainment, the atomic testing, the effects of World War II, and flooding in Las Vegas. The latter part of the interview includes topics on Chretien’s religious activity, her enrollment into Nevada Southern University, and the changes in Las Vegas over time. The interview concludes with Chretien’s thoughts on rearing children in Las Vegas as well as how she believes the city will continue to grow in the future. UNLV University Libraries Jeanne Chretien 1 The interviewer is Cynthia Lynn Reeves. The narrator is Mrs. Jeanne P. Chretien, English teacher at Las Vegas High School. Mrs. Chretien, when did you first come to Las Vegas? October 31st, 1939—it was Halloween, I remember. (Laughs) Why did you and your family come here? For my mother’s health, mainly. We had been living in Iowa, and she had pretty severe winters back there. She had the flu almost every winter, and they said perhaps she would not survive another winter, so we moved to the dry climate of the desert. Did the dry climate help? Yes. Oh. Very much so. I just lost my mother last spring. At the time of your arrival, what was the approximate population of Las Vegas? Around 8,000. Eight thousand, okay. What were the main buildings of the city? Well, the nightlife was mostly on what is Boulder Highway now. The only one that’s still out there, I think, that I recall, is the Green Shack; it was there at that time. And that was quite a place for nightlife. The Yucca across the street from it that burned down a few years after I came was probably our favorite spot for most of the dating people at that time. And as far as Downtown, most of the buildings are not changed. Facelifts are gone entirely—Sears and Roebuck was a little tiny store down at the first block on Fremont Street, and Safeway had a store Downtown. Just right after I came, they built a new store, which is now a parking lot, Downtown. But White Cross Drug is Downtown on the corner of Second and Fremont. But most of the buildings have now moved out. When I moved here, there were, between Third and Fifth UNLV University Libraries Jeanne Chretien 2 Street, homes on Fremont Street, so that actually the Downtown area was only from Main down to about Third Street. About how much were there at that time of Henderson and Boulder City? Just a few scattered houses. Boulder had—I don’t know what the population of Boulder, but they had a small school. In fact, when I went to high school here in Las Vegas, we played Boulder City. Was that their closest competition? One of the most rival, uh-huh. Our biggest rival was Boulder. We played Moapa Valley, too. But we hadn’t yet grown into the big time. Then you were educated in Las Vegas? I took the finishing years of high school in Las Vegas. How many schools were there here at this time? The grammar school and the high school. One grammar school and one high school? That’s—well, there was a small grammar school over on the Westside, and then the grammar school on Fifth Street, and the high school right here, Las Vegas High School, was on Seventh and Bridger, way out of town. And what year did you graduate from high school? 1941. You recently celebrated your reunion with your class—you took a tour of Las Vegas High School? We had our thirty-fifth, uh-huh. The thirty-fifth reunion? UNLV University Libraries Jeanne Chretien 3 Mm-hmm. Did you notice any changes in the administrative function of the school or the students or the teachers’ attitudes that had changed from the time you had gone to school to the time now that you are teaching at the same school from which you graduated? We had a great more respect for the teachers when I went to school. Today, most of the students treat a teacher, I guess, just as another human being, and if they’re there first, they’re there first, but when I went to school, a teacher was something to be revered, and to step aside if the teacher walked past, and so forth. The school has changed a lot; we just had the main building then and the small gym. The auditorium was built shortly after I came over there, because all, from Eighth Street on, was just desert way on out away from Vegas Hi—Vegas was right on the edge of the desert, really, when I went to school here. So it was literally outside of the town? Well, it was on the edge of the town, mm-hmm. I see. The buildings now consist of about seven or eight—eight buildings? Are there that many? I guess there are with the new gym. But we just had the gym and main when I went to school here. How many students were going here, approximately, at that time? Oh, heck, I don’t remember. Can you tell us of any occupations you had while you were growing up here in Las Vegas? Well, right after graduation, before I married, I went to work in the telephone office in Las Vegas, and that was just prior to the bombing of Pearl Harbor. I was engaged at that time and got married during the war. But other than working in the telephone office, both here and back in Washington when I went to Washington, my husband was secretary to the United States Senator UNLV University Libraries Jeanne Chretien 4 from Nevada. So, until I went back there, I just worked as a telephone operator both here and at Henderson during the early stages of, just prior to the war. When did you decide to become a teacher? When I was a little kid. (Laughs) A lifelong ambition? (Laughs) Yes. But my father was in fifth grade before I went to college. I see. Since you husband was secretary to the senator from Nevada—? Senator Scrugham, yes. Did that involve you in any type of political activity? Oh, somewhat. It opened my eyes as to what went on politically, how I saw the seamy side of politics as well as some of the really good sides of politics. But I was the first one that the Nevada law applied to where a person working in Washington, D.C. on official business has his twenty-first birthday, he can vote for the first time as a Nevada resident in Washington, D.C. And this happened to me—as far as I know, I’m the only one that it’s ever applied to. I voted in the United States Capitol my first election that I voted, as a Nevada resident. That’s a unique opportunity. (Laughs) Which party were you involved in? Democratic. Democrat? Mm-hmm. And how were you involved other than that? Were you involved in any civic things that went on pertaining to the Democratic Party? UNLV University Libraries Jeanne Chretien 5 Just an active member of the Democratic Party for years—my husband and I both were. He was president of the Young Democrats, and I just was a Democrat. That’s about it. Most of my involvement was with Little Theatre and the Girl Scouts and the Cub Scouts and things of that sort so that I was very busy, other than politics. Do you remember any visits made here by famous people—politicians, movie stars? My first dinner guest was the United States Senator after I got married. I remember that quite well because my husband called and said he’s bringing home a dinner guest—we hadn’t been married very long—and he was bringing the senator for dinner. I said, “Oh, my gosh!” Well, he was just as common as an old shoe, helped me fixed the steaks and so forth in the kitchen—no problem at all. But then I was very familiar with Jim Scrugham by that time anyway. I met him when we were dating anyhow. In fact, the first time I met him was when we came home from a date and he was sitting on my front steps in the dark waiting for my husband to get there to say good night to me and take him on to Reno, because my husband drove the state for him at that time, too. You were married in Las Vegas? Prescott, Arizona. Oh, okay. Were you involved in any other groups in the town, volunteer-wise or any other social groups? Well, when I was a young married woman, just about every organization there was, from Mothers Club on to president in charge of heart fund, in charge of the cancer, in charge of the mothers march. I worked at Girl Scout camp all summer for about seven years, and assistant camp director, director of the campfire programs, arts and crafts director, things of that sort, and I had quite a large troop of scouts. We took them into Mexico, we took our troop into Canada up UNLV University Libraries Jeanne Chretien 6 to Banff National Park and on up to Lake Louise—probably the most active Girl Scout troop in Las Vegas that ever has been recorded, because we took so many trips this way, other than one group, I guess, that did go to Europe, but we travelled quite extensively in the States. There were twenty-four girls in my troops. In present day, the Girl Scout troops don’t seem to take very many trips at all unless it’s to Disneyland. All depends on their advisors. Oh, I see. What were the main political topics, in Nevada specifically, at the time when you were a young married woman? Well, gee, I can’t recall anything along that line. I do know that, thanks to Jim Scrugham, we got the road built out around Lake Mead. He got that bill passed through Congress to get enough for the road, to build the road as well as just to lay it out and so forth—he got enough passed through to where they built the highway in Nevada. Highway, at that time, were probably as good if not better than any in the nation when he was back there. But he was quite an active senator and was known throughout Nevada. At one time, I think my husband knew just about everybody in Nevada, ‘cause he travelled the state with the senator. Were there very many highways in Las Vegas at that time in or around Las Vegas? L.A. Highway, the one going to Boulder was paved at that time; when my husband came, it was a dirt road, but it was paved when I was here. Although, I remember the paving of Charleston—Charleston was a dirt road when I came here—and going north to Reno and the two-lane highway to L.A. Do you remember anything about Tule Springs? UNLV University Libraries Jeanne Chretien 7 Yes, it was quite far out. We used to take long hikes and our lunches out there to hike out there, to have picnics and so forth out at Tule Springs—and some other artesian wells that were out West Charleston that have been capped off recently, but we used to take, there were several springs out there we used to go out to when I was in high school. Out on West Charleston? Mm-hmm. They were covered over, or they just disappeared? I guess so, part of, capped off, I don’t know what happened to them in developments. They just disappeared. Yeah, disappeared. Do you remember anything about the old Stewart Ranch, now called the Mormon Fort? That, too, was a place where we used to have a lot of activities. The old Helldorado Village was in that area, and we used to have many dances. At that time, though, Helldorado was a big thing in Vegas, and everybody in town took part. The parades were something, everybody dressed for it—I would say probably ninety percent of the population really took part in Helldorado at that time. Now, they’ve become so blasé, it’s just something else. But at that time, it was a big thing, and the old Helldorado grounds were down in that area by the Fort. Do you remember anything about the appearance of the Fort, the landscaping compared to what it is today? In the way, very much different—visited there a few times, but nothing that really impressed me in particular. UNLV University Libraries Jeanne Chretien 8 You said that Helldorado was a very big event in Las Vegas then, and of course the peope have become very blasé about the whole idea, but, today—were there a lot of rodeos, different rodeos around that time, that came in, and—? Mostly about Helldorado time is when the rodeos were a big fan. Rest of the year, you didn’t pay too much attention to it. What kind of recreational activities were you involved in? Well, we had quite an active Little Theatre in Las Vegas back in the early forties—met around in people’s houses and put on shows, and then we worked, we got, finally, the little playhouse out on the Strip for the Last Frontier, and put shows on there for quite a while till we lost that one. That was in the fifties when we were showing out there. But I was in the Little Theatre when I met my husband; that’s where I met him. He was handling the treasury, and I was on stage, so we met at the Little Theatre when I was—well, just right after graduation. Did you have any specific things that you did, like, after school to have fun, ride horses, or any kind of activity? Oh, we used to go horseback riding, yes, around the area, certainly. But after school, I was usually tied up with practices. I was the main tumbler in the cheerleading group, and Elma Dodge and I were the first mascots for the high school team. So, we had to work out our routines and so forth, make our own uniforms, do everything then, you know. Today, kids get their uniforms—we had to make ours. But that, plus the Art Gala—I was president of the Art Gala for four years and president of the Tumbling Club for four years, so most of my activity was either art or tumbling, something of that sort, after school. And I didn’t date much, but then I wasn’t allowed to date much till after I was sixteen, seventeen. By that time, you got out of high school anyway? UNLV University Libraries Jeanne Chretien 9 Just about. I had dates with eight guys besides my husband. Oh. (Laughs) (Laughs) Was your husband educated here also? No, no. He came to Nevada to work on the dam, 1933. And the dam was finished in 1936, and you had stayed? Mm-hmm. Yes, he’s been here ever since. Do you remember any of the changing of the names, the controversy? Oh, yes. We still call it Boulder Dam most of the time. What was the reasoning for the changing of the names, do you remember? Hoover? Yeah. Just gave it Hoover’s name, I don’t know. And then they switched it back in 1947, just out of respect for Hoover, I guess. Was gambling and important activity for your or your family? We’ve never been gamblers. I guess if we were gamblers, we’d own half of Vegas today, but we’ve never been gamblers. It was here, it’s always been here, and when you grow up with something, you just kind of, it’s there, you expect it, you don’t—you’re not really mesmerized by it. You know what it costs to open Vegas every day, and you know you can’t win. So, as most old timers, we don’t bother too much with it. At that time, did very many people come in just for the purpose of gambling as they do today? Not as many, no. UNLV University Libraries Jeanne Chretien 10 Not as many? Most of the people, were they miners, or were they just coming here to start a new life from the East. Well, Vegas has always been kind of a happy-go-lucky town where people could have a good time, and the weather was good, and it’s always attracted people because of that, I think—and their open laws, too. When I was in high school here and shortly after, right until World War I, the Block 16 was wide open; that was the prostitution block. And when I was in high school, we used to drive by just to see them shake their fists at the girls. But I wasn’t supposed to be down near there, but we used to drive by anyway just for fun, just to see what it was like, what they looked like. I think that still appeals to kids today. Mm-hmm. Block 16—did that consist of several different houses of prostitution, or was it—? Yes, yes. It was a long block, it was all prostitution; it was confined into that one area of Las Vegas at that time. It was legal for that one area, they had prostitution? Yes, it was, it was legal right there. Were there very many houses of prostitution around the area, places that were just for—? When Block 16 was open, no. And later, when they closed down Block 16 and made it out of bounds for the servicemen that were coming in 1940 and ’41, they closed it down. First they put it off limits, and they closed it entirely, and then it went undercover and went out right outside the town and so forth. What type of entertainment did you have? Do you mean like the movie? UNLV University Libraries Jeanne Chretien 11 Movies, television, radio? Oh, no, it was long before television when I was a kid. Radio, yes, and dancing certainly. We had a lot of picnics and parties, just real good times, but kids then, the gang I went around with, we didn’t smoke or drink or anything like that; we just had a lot of fun. Our idea of fun was to build a campfire and roast marshmallows and weenies and have hot chocolate or something. But we did, we had a marvelous time, so I don’t think you have to have the beer and the cigarettes and all that kind of stuff. That’s changed quite a bit. It has changed a lot. I think most of the kids nowadays just really want that. Well, that’s the day when you, on the third date, you might kiss her goodnight at the door. On the third date? That’s changed quite a bit, too. (Laughs) Was there even any thought of anything, such as Planned Parenthood, or anything at that time? We didn’t discuss such things. (Laughs) All kept under wraps? Right. Las Vegas is built on a ridge fault; do you remember any earthquakes or anything pertaining to that in this area? None that I can recall, uh-uh. I remember all the underground water over there on the hill, on Bonanza Hill, when that was all pasture and water running down there in the pasture when it was full of cows when I first came here and for years after. But I don’t remember anything about the UNLV University Libraries Jeanne Chretien 12 ridge fault or any earthquakes or anything. The only earthquake we thought we were having was the first atomic bomb. The first atomic bomb? How did that affect you? Well, we didn’t know it was coming—it hadn’t been announced—and the first we knew, my husband and I were both on the floor out of bed and wondered what happened until the next day when everyone just speculating as to what had happened until we heard it was the atomic bomb had gone off. But that was unannounced the first time; we didn’t know anything about it. How did the aboveground bombs affect you from then on? Well, we kinda took in a stride after a while after the first gasps of ohs and ahs and watching the mushroom clouds go up and feeling the ground shake and so forth. But after a while, when something happens so close to you and you’ve had several of them, you just kind of take it in your stride and before long it’s just, “Oh, well, they shot off another bomb this morning.” At that time, were you worried about any type of radiation poisoning? No. Or any fallout or anything of that type? You hadn’t even thought about it. We were told that it was harmless, and we believed them. That was—the government had just told you— Many people in Vegas had pictures, of course, of the mushroom clouds and so forth in color hanging in their homes, and I know of several that were made at that time. But I don’t recall anybody really being afraid of radiation or anything of that sort. A lot of people wanted to drive out, and we got up very early and drive to see them go off, but we were told not to stand too close and stare directly into it and that kind of thing, but as far as physical harm, I don’t recall that we even worried about it. UNLV University Libraries Jeanne Chretien 13 Were you aware why they were having the atomic tests? You said that you weren’t told that you were going to have the first one. Were you even aware of the reason why they were doing it? Was it just for technology, or did you think it was for other reasons. No, we thought they would be very useful, yes, and they proved to be. Approximately World War II? Mm-hmm. This, of course, was in the beginning of World War II. How did the effects of World War II affect you and your family? Well, it disrupted the whole family; all my brothers were in the service, and my husband was turned down for the service. He had a commission but couldn’t pass the physical for it, so we went back to Washington with the senator, and we were stationed back there all during World War I. And my husband went back there, my brothers were all in the service, all four of them—Jack in the Air Corps and the twins were in the Army, and Tom was in the Navy. And my dad went to work in a Defense plant out in Henderson, and that’s where he was in a Defense plant accident when we all came back on leave because he was blown up out there with dynamite, and they thought he wasn’t going to survive. But he did, and he is still surviving, ninety-three years old. Ninety-three? You said the Defense plant in Henderson? Mm-hmm. They were built specifically for the war? Oh, yes. Is that the titanium—? Magnesium plants, titanium. And they took the—? UNLV University Libraries Jeanne Chretien 14 The early part of the war, I went to work out there at Basic Magnesium, too, mm-hmm. So most people in Las Vegas— Making magnesium for bombs and so forth, yes. They commuted out to Henderson to work out there? Some did. Was that literally how—? Although we moved out there. We lived in Henderson out there, my husband and I, before we went to Washington. I see. Was that how Henderson grew, do you think? Yes. From all of the people having to go out there to work? It started there at that time, yes. And the magnesium plants. That’s when they built so much of the housing that you see out there now, they built right around Basic Magnesium. Can you tell us anything about any other natural occurrences? You said that there weren’t really any earthquakes, but there were records of flooding and heavy snowfalls—how these might have affected you? Well, we didn’t have very many heavy snowfalls, but in the winter of ’47, we had a doozie. It was the heaviest one I can recall up until this year. That’s the year that I molded a life-sized Saint Bernard of ice in the front yard—‘cause I do a lot of artwork—and I sculpted this Saint Bernard, and he stayed there for two weeks in the front yard without melting. But my husband drove a UNLV University Libraries Jeanne Chretien 15 record that winter because he had to pull so many cars out of—he was in the NASH business at that time—and he had to pull so many cars out of snowbanks and so forth, including mine. Including yours—did you have any responsibilities at that time getting to work that might have, the snow might have kept you from? In that winter I wasn’t working. My daughter was very young, and I was home in ’47. What about any flooding? Flooding periodically has bothered people in Las Vegas whose homes have been lower than the streets or that have lived along washes and so forth. Yes, I remember many of them over in the Mayfair area had their homes flooded out one year. They had sandbags and everything in the front yards because those homes were built lower than the street in that area. We had several friends over there that everything in the house was floating practically in water. But in the higher parts of town, it has never been a problem, and it’s just where flash flood waters have washed through, like out the Caesars Palace parking lot, things of that sort. Right, that was just recently. Mm-hmm. Do you remember the incident with Nelson’s Landing? Yes, I lost a friend in that. It just wiped away the whole town, or what happened? Mm-hmm, yeah. Well, again, when the flood come down the gorge, if you’ve ever seen it, it’s frighteningly spectacular to see this wall of water coming toward you, but you just can’t escape it if you are caught in it, and Jack was caught in it and his friend of ours that we lost in that flood, Nelson’s Landing. But the desert’s been that way for always, and they have many warnings up. They do up in the canyons above Cedar City, too, to watch up in the narrows and so forth not to UNLV University Libraries Jeanne Chretien 16 go at certain times or not to go without giving the rangers warning, because those flash floods come down, and that wall of water eight, ten, twelve feet high just comes down on you, and that’s it. Today in Las Vegas, there aren’t very many flood control precautions around town. The drainage ditches are very small, and every time we have the slightest rainfall, it really gets, well, very wet. At that time, didn’t the city council think about doing anything to possibly curb the flooding of the town specifically? I suppose so, they probably thought about it. But they didn’t act on it. (Laughs) (Laughs) Well, that’s what you said, then they’d think about it. Yes. I don’t think we’ve ever really solved the problem of flooding. Do you think at that time, they didn’t expect the town would grow as fast as it has? No one ever did. Every year you hear that. “Well, it can’t get much bigger.” Do you think it’s going to get much bigger from today? Certainly. Always gonna get bigger. Mm-hmm. Did you ever go up to Mt. Charleston or have any experiences with Mt. Charleston when you were younger? Oh, sure. I guess it’s always been Charleston and Lake Mead—still is, isn’t it? Yes, there were two of the spots if you had somebody that had a car to go there when I was young. Do you remember any specific incidents? UNLV University Libraries Jeanne Chretien 17 Some forest fires up there and so forth. I was only up there once—of course, I went up there to Lee Canyon when my daughter was young when I was up there with the Scouts—I was up there all summer for about seven years, all summer. And I do remember one forest fire that we had up there that got pretty close to camp; we were a little worried about that one—another one that one of my brothers was fighting up there in the fire when a mountain lion came out of the flames, and my brother dashed right off the side of the mountain. Well, mountain lion when the other way—I think his scream scared the mountain lion as much as he was scared, and the two parted company. But he landed in a treetop, or he might not have been here today. (Laughs) Because he just took off over the side of the mountain. But, yes, periodically there have been fires, particularly in dry seasons, where they’ve called upon Vegas volunteers to go up and fight. Was there any type of ranger system or anything like that up there? Yes, there’s always been rangers, mm-hmm. Did people live up there at that time, or was it just the rangers? Yes, a few, a few cabins—not like it is today, but there were a few cabins. It must’ve been cabins without children, I guess, was, ‘cause there wasn’t any school, was there? Not to my knowledge. What type of air conditioning did you have? Oh, we had a regular swamp cooler; we were one of the wealthy ones. (Laughs) When my husband came, he said that there was nothing, and he used to work the nightshift and sleep days, so his grandmother, every half hour, would wring out the sheets and hang them in front of UNLV University Libraries Jeanne Chretien 18 windows and let them drip into buckets. And then every half hour she’d dunk them again and hang them up so he could possibly sleep during the daytime. [Audio cuts out] Were you involved in any type of religious activity, or are you still today? Yes, I’m very active even today. I’ve been a Baptist; I was baptized a Baptist. Today, I’m quite active in the Presbyterian Church in Cedar City where we have our second home. We go up there most every weekend. But for years, I was a Sunday school teacher and very active with the First Baptist Church in Las Vegas. In fact, I have a seven-year pin for seven years without missing a Sunday in Sunday school. And I taught several different ages, as I’ve always been interested in teaching wherever the need was, but I was one of the first baptized in the new church—well it really isn’t new now—the one at Ninth and Bridger right next to the high school. That was the First Baptist Church? First Baptist, yes. When the First Baptist was first organized here, they met in a railroad down on the railroad tracks, and they met there for a long time. Then they moved to a little two-story wood building, which was down on Seventh Street, and it has now been moved and refinished into a dance studio. It’s now down Eighth, I believe, I’m not sure where it is, but it’s in that area. I think I was the ninth person baptized in the new church—simply because my lucky number’s always been nine, I wanted to be number nine—I could’ve been number one, but I didn’t. (Laughs) But my husband and I have been active Baptists; he was on the National Board of Baptists as the national finance chairman for the Baptist churches. And I’ve been on the state board and been quite active in Baptist for the past thirty years, perhaps, going to national conventions and so forth. And then I got so involved in school teaching that I couldn’t be quite as active in my UNLV University Libraries Jeanne Chretien 19 church as I was before I was really working full time. Because at that time, I was devoting all of my time to the different drives, as I said before—the cancer, this, that, and the other thing—and active in the Las Vegas Mothers Club, active in the Little Theatre, active in the Girl Scouts, and in church. And finally I just decided—well, I’ll tell you, what really decided me, the Girl Scouts asked me if I would like to take the course in camp counseling to get college credit. And they said there was a new college branch opening in Las Vegas, and they would like to have me take this course that was an extension of the University of Nevada in Las Vegas. And so I signed up for that course at the Las Vegas High School auditorium, and took that and that whetted my interest in any other courses they might be offering, so I investigated what they were having and went over and signed up as a full-fledged freshman to take courses that year, and I came home, told my husband I was going to college. And he says, “Well, what college?’ And I said—(Laughs)—“Well, Nevada Southern.” And he said, “Nevada Southern?” He said, “Oh, they’ve been talking about that’s gonna start here or something,” and I said, “Yeah, and I’m a full-fledged freshman, I’m going to school.” So, at that time, they had the freshman and sophomore classes. And I told him then, I said, “Well, I guess I’m going four years and get my degree,” and they said, “No, you’re not, because there’s only two years of college here; you can’t go four years here.” I said, “Well, yeah, but they’ll be increasing it every year, and I’ll go anyhow, and each year it would be increased so that when I go I’ll get my degree.” And I didn’t take any summer work or any Saturday work or any night work at all—just a straight full course. Of course, I did carry as many as twenty hours in a semester. Oh. In fact, one semester, I carried twenty-one hours,