Transcript of interview with Bertha Gresh by James M. Green, November 1, 1974

UNLV University Libraries Bertha Gresh 1 An Interview with Bertha Gresh An Oral History Conducted by James M. Greene 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 Bertha Gresh 2 © Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 2018 UNLV University Libraries Bertha Gresh 3 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 Bertha Gresh 4 Abstract On November 1, 1974, collector James M. Greene, interviewed widow and mine leaser, Bertha Gresh (born August 29th, 1883, in Cedarburg, Wisconsin) in her home in Nelson, Nevada. This interview covers early mining days, Bertha’s personal history, and the history of Nelson County. She also discusses her art, social activities, and the prizes she won as a visual artist in Nevada. UNLV University Libraries Bertha Gresh 5 (Tape begins midsentence) Bertha Gresh in Nelson, Nevada, on November 1st, 1974, at 2 P. M. We’re going to discuss Mrs. Gresh’s early days in Nelson, Nevada. She is commonly called the queen of Nelson and El Dorado Canyon. But I think most people do not esteem her for being (Laughs) Queen of Nelson and El Dorado Canyon, but for her personal charm. The purpose of this interview is to place these tapes in the Special Collection of Nevada History in the University of Nevada Las Vegas Library. It will be used for historical research and also for the master thesis project of the interviewer. Mrs. Gresh, would you please tell us when you were born and where? I was born in Cedarburg, Wisconsin, on the 29th day of August, 1883. 1883? And this is not far from—? Milwaukie. Milwaukie, wasn’t it? Yes. Nineteen miles north. Okay. You went to school or early school in Cedarburg, did you not? In Cedarburg. Yes, up to eighth grade. And you spoke or had to learn German and English. Is that correct? Oh yes. I see. And also, I understand there was no high school at that time. No. There was no high school. And—but some of your other social work, social activities were, of course, church, and where you were soloist for a number of years, were you not? Yes. From the time I was twelve years old to twenty-four. To twenty-four. UNLV University Libraries Bertha Gresh 6 Uh-huh. And then you became a seamstress, did you not? Yes. And in a, is a Border Brother Store? Boerner Brothers. Burder? Boerner. B-O-E-R-N-E-R. Uh-huh. Boerner Brothers Store was my first job. And how old were you, then? I don’t know. I must’ve been about Seven—Eighteen, Seventeen or Eighteen. My goodness! You learned your trades early, didn’t you? Yes. All your skills came early. Yes. By necessity. By necessity. Uh-huh. That’s right. And then you—isn’t there something about beautician skills that you acquired after that? Well, later on, I took a course in beauty culture in Milwaukie and one in Chicago. In? La Madam Ca Vive. UNLV University Libraries Bertha Gresh 7 Yes. Special facial course. Uh-huh. Which was fascinating. And that took you about six months? Six months. Just six months. And you live in the YWCA. Yes. Young Women’s Christian Association. Uh-huh. On Michigan Avenue. I see. In Chicago. Seems like shortly thereafter you came west for your health in 1912, is that not true? That’s it. And what seemed to be the trouble? Respiratory troubles? Well, I’d had pure pneumonia and had silver tubes in my side for about six or seven months. And I couldn’t seem to get my strength back and then I got ulcers of the stomach. And my doctor says, you can’t have an—spend another winter here near that Lake Michigan. I see. You better get—get somewhere to Arizona or so. So a friend of mine’s sister came and I came west with her. I see. And you practiced as a your skills of beautician? Your trade? Beautician. Yes. Yes. UNLV University Libraries Bertha Gresh 8 In California? In California. But I had a beauty practice of my own in my home. How long did you do this? You came in 1912. I came in 1912 and I was in Chicago in 1910 for two years, over a little, over two years. Oh, three years. Okay. And then, when—and coming to California to Hollywood in 1912 or ’13, was it? Number—1912. 1912? Yes. Mm-hmm. Left home in April of 1912. I see. And you travelled out on the train to Los Angeles, of course? Yes. It seems that your life began to change now, in ways that perhaps you weren’t even aware of; could you tell me what happened on New Year’s 1912 or ’13? We were invited to a— You met someone there that was to influence the rest of your life. Yes, yes. Yes. I met Cyrus Gresh. Mr. Cyrus Gresh. Who later became my husband. Yes. And we went to a New Year’s party, the Elk’s party. UNLV University Libraries Bertha Gresh 9 Yes ma’am. And we had one grand time. I don’t know a better way to say it. Okay. Shortly after that, Mr. Gresh resumed his travelling in the interest of mining? Mining. And mining claims? Yes. And one time it seems to me that you made a visit to Searchlight and Nelson, did you not? Didn’t you come up here to El Dorado Canyon and Nelson? Yes, but I—yes. In 1913, May of 1913. Could you tell us about it? Yes. Okay, how’d you make that trip by automobile? Well, (Laughs) Yes. We came in a brand new Buick from Hollywood. We start—left at five o’clock in the morning. We got unto an asphalt road. Yes. And the men had to walk three miles for water if they didn’t have—had just a bit of water in a canteen. Was Mr. Gresh driving? No. Mr. Gresh was waiting for me. In Searchlight? For us—not for me but for the party, in Searchlight. I see. We had quite a time. We arrived in Searchlight at twelve o’clock at night. UNLV University Libraries Bertha Gresh 10 Oh. On a rim and used to tires. In the summertime? In the summertime. May, it was hot. Oh. You ladies— 20th of May, it was hot. You certainly must’ve been exhausted. Oh yes. We were hungry, we were worried, we were sick, we were everything. Well, what did you have to eat before you went to that (unintelligible)? Oh. I’ll tell you. We had beer and limburger cheese—(Laughs)—which happens to be a favorite of mine. And the next—all the men in Searchlight worked all night so we could take a trip the next morning over into El Dorado Canyon. Uh-huh. And the car was ready for us. Did you have any complaints about eating limburger cheese? Yes. (Laughs) The girl I shared the room with, she says, “You’re not gonna eat that in this room.” I said, “I’m gonna open the window and hold my head out.” Which I did. (Laughs) Okay. The next day after your trip from Los Angeles, you visited the Nelson, or El Dorado Canyon? El Dorado Canyon, we stopped at the— Coming in a truck? No. In the car, it was running. Really? UNLV University Libraries Bertha Gresh 11 In the Buick. Yes. Yes. And we stopped, of course, at Ciruss’s babies place, the Old Ran. And they had a— That’s the mine? That’s the mine. And they had a Chinaman cook and he prepared the nicest lunch for us. It was tea and sliced ham and the most delicious lettuce salad you ever tasted with a dressing made of prepared mustard and canned milk. And where did you eat that meal? Right up at the Ran property. But when we first came in, the man that owned the Ran, a friend of my husband’s set a big bottle of liquor right in the middle of the table. (Laughs) With water glasses around it and everybody looked at each other. (Laughs) (Laughs) And finally the man said, “What kind of girls did you bring this time?” (Laughs) And I thought, “Why did I come to this place—to see this fella?” (Laughs) Did you like it? Did you like it here? Oh— Or did you know what to think about it? I didn’t know what to think about it. But no, I didn’t like it—it was too hot. I see. It was too hot and there was such a scarcity of water. That’s all we heard, “Watch the water, watch the water you’re using.” UNLV University Libraries Bertha Gresh 12 Uh-huh. “Watch the water.” So we went to the river. Naturally, we had to see the Colorado River. Oh yes. And coming back the car got stuck and we had to walk four miles. Uphill? Uphill to our place. Oh goodness. How long were you here on the visit? One week. One week. And you were ready for California again? We were ready for California. (Laughs) And we were—didn’t know anything about conditions out here. The freighter came and brought food once a week and they weren’t prepared so we had cabbage and ham and ham and cabbage and ham and cabbage and hot cakes and ham and cabbage and hot cakes. (Laughs) All the time we were here and we girls never had our clothes off our back. The men slept in the cabin. We slept on the, on the—in the back of the truck. In the back (Laughs) of the truck. Yes. And when we were ready to leave, my friend Cyrus Gresh says, “How did you like it, kid?” And I said, “Mm. I guess it’s alright.” And I thought— (Laughs) If I never see this place again, I won’t feel badly. This is the place that God forgot. UNLV University Libraries Bertha Gresh 13 (Laughs) Mrs. Gresh, I think by now we owe it to Mr. Gresh’s memory to discuss some of the information that’s pertinent to him. Where was he born? And on what day? He was born in Milton, Pennsylvania, on October the 14th, 1875. And what was his name? Did he have a middle name? Or anything? It’s—his mother, his mother wanted her name, which was Lurch. Yes. And the father wanted Edward, so he got them all. So his name was (Laughs) Cyrus Edward Lurch— Edward Lurch Gresh. Gresh. C.E.L. Gresh. (Laughs) (Laughs) The—and the date of his birth, you said was what? The 14th of October, 1875. And he went to—? (Unintelligible) University. Uh-huh. In Norristown, Pennsylvania. It was a divinity school he was in. They were Dutch reforms. And he graduated in 1897? Ninety-seven. Uh-huh. And— Because of his chemistry he became a—? An assayer. UNLV University Libraries Bertha Gresh 14 An assayer? Yes. They needed, oh I (unintelligible) okay. As an assayer just getting out of school— But this was— Mr. Gresh asked his family for some money, did he not? Yes. Yes. To—? To recoup the Gresh fortune. And he was headed for where? For Alaska. Alaska? Yes. In the Klondike? Klondike. Really? Yes. But he had to promise the family that he wouldn’t take the last boat. He had a pal there whose father had a big bakery shop and they were going to go together, in which they did go. Yes. And they didn’t take the last boat. They joined a government survey on an inland route to Alaska. Yes. And they were missing for ten months. No one heard from them. Mm-hmm. UNLV University Libraries Bertha Gresh 15 And when they finally did show up in Edmonton, they had lost four men with scurvy. Never getting to Alaska? Never getting to Alaska at all. Mm-hmm. From there he got interested in mining. Mm-hm. And again in mining and got interested in the state of Washington in a plaster mine. Just to go back one minute, wasn’t a creek named for—? There was a, yes, yes, Cyrus Creek. He was the youngest one and had supposed to have the best eyesight and he said, “Mr. Brimner.” He says, “I see a bank there, bank up there.” And he says, “Now Ci, if there isn’t a creek there when we get there, look out.” And there was. And it’s on the map. Cyrus Creek? Cyrus Creek. I think it was named. (Laughs) From Washington, Mr. Gresh went to where? Los Angeles. And his friend said to him—he says, “They need an assayer in Nelson—in Searchlight.” And he said. That was 1904? Or? 1904. During the big boom in Searchlight. Yes. Uh-huh. It was towards the end of the big boom. UNLV University Libraries Bertha Gresh 16 I see. And so he went there and became an assayer in Searchlight. Mm-hmm. And (unintelligible) in Nelson in Searchlight that he wanted to come over here and he did come over and the natives in Searchlight, which was natural, he always said, “Nothing goes below the eighty foot level.” Because they took the first million out. Yes. Of the Wall Street, above the eighty foot level. I see. He got a job with Nelson. Yes. And he went back and told his people about it. Oh yes. And he said, “I wish father that you both, mother and father could both come out and look at this country over. I think it’s a promising place.” So they, father came out and they began to pick up properties. Yes. And formed a company. The Black Hawk? The Black Hawk Consolidated Mining Company. Mm-hmm. And he bought his—all his claims from an old-timer here that owned almost the west end of the Canyon. UNLV University Libraries Bertha Gresh 17 John? John Powers. And that was in 1905? That was in 1905, yes. Mm-hmm. Well, you mentioned, Mr. Powers having five claims that he sold to Cyrus. Sold, yes, at five hundred dollars a claim. And— And when he (unintelligible). That would make twenty-five hundred dollars for five claims. Mm-hmm. And they took out how much? Well, they took out about a half a million. About a half a million dollars. Yes. Yes. That was a nice profit. Yes. Yes. That was a good profit. That’s an exciting thing mining, isn’t it? Yes. It’s either chicken or feathers. It’s exciting both ways. (Laughs) It’s really thrilling. Oh of course. Sure it is! And— UNLV University Libraries Bertha Gresh 18 Never an idle moment. You had to travel clear to Pioche to consummate this sale, didn’t you? Yes. Pay your taxes and look up in mining property. Mr. Mackame, Senior, was his attorney, and he lived in Pioche. There was no Clark County at that time. Oh yes. So he’d say to Cyrus, “Go take that book and study it. You went to college. That’s all I can do for you.” Uh-huh. “Just look it up yourself.” This claim, the Black Hawk Claim patented in 1907. In 1907. And he started the El (Unintelligible) Empire Mining Company, then. Right, right here in Nelson. Right here. Property we’re living on. Now it seems to be it’s about time that both of you people go to Pittsburgh. (Laughs) Would you tell us something about Pittsburgh in 1918, please? (Laughs) Oh yes. Yes. Particularly the 3rd of September? (Laughs) Yes. I will. My husband was in the last draft and I was First World War bride. And he asked me to please come. He had nothing more to offer me but maybe some (unintelligible). He said, “Please Bert come.” Well, I did go, but I was afraid to go to Pittsburgh because Harry Thaw had just killed Stanford White because he was playing around with his wife. (Laughs) UNLV University Libraries Bertha Gresh 19 Evelyn Nesbit-Thaw. And I cried and my mother said, “If you’re not going, I’m going. He’s a fine young man.” So I went. And we were married the 3rd of September in Pittsburgh and the 11th of November the Armistice was signed. So he never had to go. And after that time you both traveled extensively? Yes. Back and forth, up and down. Selling stock. Selling stock and coming out here and then going back again and so forth. Until finally you arrived in Las Vegas, both of you, in 1923. Yes. Is that correct? Yes. In ’23. And we lived on Bridger Street, near Seventh. Near Seventh Street? Near Sixth, near Sixth. Okay. Between Fifth and Sixth. Can you remember some of your friends, I think you mentioned Helen Stewart’s son, Bill? Yes. And his wife. And Leo McNamee? Leo and his family. And he was this—Cyrus’s attorney? Attorney. Right? Yes. UNLV University Libraries Bertha Gresh 20 Uh-huh. Some of the other names were Von Tobels. Von Tobels. Very well. (Unintelligible) who had the only newspaper there. Did you say that was a ten cent newspaper? About the—? I don’t remember. I think it was. About the size of a little book, you said, a small one. A little magazine. It had about five pages. A little magazine. Mm-hmm. And Mr. the Papua’s Brothers? Yes. With the white, they had the White Spot Café. And the Rochelle’s—? Rochelle’s Sweet Shop. Uh-huh. And the Mesquite Store was owned by Warred, Eugene Warred. Uh-huh. Who afterwards became a sheriff there out of Las Vegas. Now what—? Had an open air picture house there in the summertime in Las Vegas. You also knew the daughter of the Weizners, did you not? Yes. Very— They were German people. UNLV University Libraries Bertha Gresh 21 Very, very well. I knew her, knew her husband, her second husband, and first husband. And— Ed Cock people. Yes. They had the store. What store? The—it was a general merchandise, I believe. I see. And there was a butcher named, Mr. Landing. Landing had the butcher shop, right above the White Cross drugstore. And his slaughterhouse was on—? On Charles—West Charleston. West Charleston Street. Beyond the track, yes. Where did you get your milk? Ullon Dairy? The Ullon Dairy. U double L-O-N? Yes. Mm-hmm. And the two other boys came from Pennsylvania. One had a hardware store and the other was a treasurer, something in the courthouse, where you pay your taxes. Mm-hmm. Assessor? Assessor. Huh? UNLV University Libraries Bertha Gresh 22 Yes, yes. They were both friends of my husband’s. (Unintelligible). Would you say, Las Vegas about that time, would you say would see, twenty-seven or twenty-three with about six thousand people. Well, about six and then there was a—in ’27 there around, my husband said, “In two years—Mr. Hunt.” Mr. Hunt built a hotel? He was gonna build a hotel and he was, he wanted the neighbors to be sent in. And Cyrus says, “This should be called the Crossroads.” (Unintelligible). I see. But it never came to pass, he didn’t. You’re telling me that you were there when the planes landed in 1927? Yes. We all went out to see them come in. On South Fifth Street? Way at the end of South Fifth Street. Mm-hmm. Was that near where the Griffiths Ranch was? Yes. Griffiths, that’s it. And— The Griffiths Ranch. They grew peaches and grapes. Yes. And the Union Pacific— They bought ‘em. Bought them all. Bought them all. UNLV University Libraries Bertha Gresh 23 Yes. That’s it. Everybody bought ‘em. There was a—Chinaman had a fine place there. He raised chickens and grew such fine vegetables. Everybody drive out there. And one time we went up when we first got our car and got stuck in the sand. And the car stuck out there all Saturday night and all Sunday, we didn’t sleep. (Laughs) Goodness sake! We never slept. What was Mr. Gene Ward to you? Well, he owned the Mesquite Grocery Store. I see. And he was afterwards the sheriff. And your banker was Mr. Hearts? Mr. Hearts. And your doctor? Was Dr. Martin. Uh-huh. And Mr. Ferron was the—? Was the drug—White Cross Drugstore, owned the White Cross Drugstore. And he was located at Second and Fremont, huh? Yes. And look Mr. Ferron and the Dr. Martin started our town site in here in ’22. Did they? Our first town site. Right here in Nelson? Right here in Nelson. UNLV University Libraries Bertha Gresh 24 Goodness sake! You say there were some Von Tobel Brothers that were not in the lumbering business but they started a habit (unintelligible)? No. Friends of Mr. Von Tobel. Oh I see. Came from the same town. I just can’t remember the name. Uh-huh. But you had many railroad people? Oh yes. The town was full of railroad people. The dispatcher and I his son is now our attorney. I see. Not our—my attorney, and Robert. And I met him when he was two years old. He came to me when I lived on Bridger and he’d have his little fingers like this. He’d rap at the door or kick it with his little foot. Mm-hmm. And he’d say, “Cookie! Cookie!” He wanted a cookie. He wanted a cookie. And he put the— (Laughs) I said, “What have you got?” And he put it in my hand. Two grains of sand. (Laughs) Would you tell us what you did for the miners on weekends by bringing them into the Stewarts Ranch and why you brought ‘em in? We didn’t. Cyrus had to. That was before we were married. Yes, yes. We did, we did. I, not personally. I was— Yes. UNLV University Libraries Bertha Gresh 25 Once a month they were paid and had to get to town to get drunk and get a bath and get their mail down at the Old Ranch. Now that was from 1904 to 1907. And that was on the Stewarts Ranch, where they got their bath and mail. Yes. Yes. Mm-hmm. Who was your postmaster, do you recall at that time? Yes. Ferron. Ferron? No. That’s the druggist. I forget. (Laughs) Okay. But you know Mr. Cragin and Mr. Frank had their insurance business. Yes. And you were well acquainted with them. Yes. Yes. They were in the El Portal building, and that was fairly new then. Now the El Portal also was a movie house, was it not? Yes. Oh yes. That was true. Was that the one that didn’t have a roof on it? No, no, no. That was later. (Laughs) No, no. No, no. No. That was different. Yes. That was different. And you had how many gas stations? Well, there were two gas stations. One— Fifth? UNLV University Libraries Bertha Gresh 26 Across the road—street from each other on Fremont, on Fifth, on the corner of Fifth and Fremont. Then one? And one where? Where was the other one? On Third and Fremont. And one at Third and Fremont. That was Pop Simons. And he also had one in Boulder, did he not? Yes. Simon? Yes. Mm-hmm. After that. Okay. There’s one incident that tantalizes me. It perhaps, (Laughs) is the pixie in me but I must have you tell us about your insistence on your husband to take you on a visit to Block 16. (Laughs) Everybody talked about Block 16 and I had no idea what it was and I’d say, “Aren’t you ever gonna take me?” “Oh, Bert, you don’t want to see this. It’s nothing to see.” I said, “Well, the, just drive by, let me just look.” And he took me. (Laughs) And there was nothing to see. (Laughs) Only a lot of girls sitting outside doors. (Laughs) That’s all. (Laughs) (Laughs) That’s the last time you went to Block 16? I never wanted to go again. (Laughs) UNLV University Libraries Bertha Gresh 27 (Laughs) You say there were two schools here at that time? Yes. The Fifth Street and West Charleston School. West Charleston School, yes. Uh-huh. For entertainment. Yes. And your social life, mainly—? All the street, the street dances. On Fremont? In the summertime. In the summertime. Everybody danced. Everybody— You’d danced with anybody that came and asked you to dance with them. Yes. Didn’t know them from Adam. Sometimes they staggered and sometimes they didn’t. But you danced. (Laughs) You never dared to turn them down. Did you have street lights? I don’t remember. We must have had. Uh-huh. We must have had, yes. In any event, besides church and a few other occasions like that, your social life was really quite restricted. The people were really busy with the business of living. Business of living. UNLV University Libraries Bertha Gresh 28 A good many railroad people, I suppose, and the ranch, and a few hands. How are most employed? (Unintelligible) The merchants of course as I understand, they had their place of business. Yes. Yes. Yes. But most are railroad men? Most of them all were railroad people (unintelligible). Were there any state employees or county employees located—? There were—well, there must have been some. Because it was a courthouse. Well, of course. Well, due to such a limited social life in Las Vegas. It would almost be mandatory that you and Cyrus would go to Hollywood to visit old friends, occasionally. Yes, and we did in our new car. I see. And then, when you came to Nelson permanently, what year was that? 1930. 1930. Right here. Mm-hmm. So. And—? Thirtieth of May. Thirtieth of May. And Mr. Gresh was ill from 1928 really, to 1955? ’55 yes. UNLV University Libraries Bertha Gresh 29 And but with—there’s something interesting here. Being ill so long, you mentioned his doctor in town being Clair Woodbury and his doctor out in Searchlight being doctor Finland. Uh-huh. But you called Mr. Gresh’s family’s belief that of a haymens or hanumans. It’s a hanuman. Could you explain that—what the hanuman, hanumans are? The hanuman. A method of a sugar pills and no operations. Sugar pills and no operations? All they got was sugar pills and no operations. (Laughs) And my husband wouldn’t even take the pills. Something like a placebo today, it’s just a fake pill, huh? Yes. Just a sugar pill. He didn’t believe in operations? Oh no. Absolutely not. Mrs. Gresh, would you mind if we go back just for a second here, I think there’s an interesting point you made before coming to Nelson while you were still living in Las Vegas. How you heated in the summer and how you heated in the winter? What was the difference? It seems like newspapers were somewhere. Well, people saved there newspapers and wet them and rolled them into balls and dried them and used them as fuel in the wintertime. In the wintertime? Yes. (Unintelligible). UNLV University Libraries Bertha Gresh 30 And did you burn wood at all? Yes. Of some woods, yes. Some? Some. And then, we had—what did we use for cooking? I forget. You cooked with gas, I believe. Yes. Yes, yes. Uh-huh. And of course you used coal in Nelson. There was no gas down here. Oh yes. Coal and wood out here. Uh-huh. But they makes good fuel. That everybody was looking for old newspapers. Uh-huh. Then the opposite of course to the problem of keeping warm is how did you keep cool in the summertime? How did you get a night’s rest? (Laughs) We didn’t get many. No that’s— Okay. Okay. Well, I don’t know how we kept cool. You put a robe on and slept on the floor, huh? Yes. Yes. That’s what—but that’s what the—my landlady was Mrs. Brockman and she said that my husband had to have rented this house and bought the car while I was in the east trying to get a new housekeeper for mother. And he says, “Your car will be at the station and the chauffeur will be sitting in it and anxiously awaiting you.” So, when I came there I got sick it was so hot. She says, “Now Mr. Gresh you mustn’t open a window in the house ever only at night, if the night isn’t too hot.” Well, I said, “What do you do for air?” Well, she says, “You just lie down on the floor in front of a fan in your robe.” UNLV University Libraries Bertha Gresh 31 (Laughs) And I said, “And gasp.” Yes, she says, “Gasp.” But you’ll become acclimated, she said. And you were determined to do that and you did. And I did, I did. I recall you mentioning as we go to Nelson now permanently that your fuel and ice dealer in Las Vegas was Mr. E.T. Earl, is that correct? Yes. And he was located I suppose near the railroad on Main Street. On Main, yes, on Main. Uh-huh. After thinking about our comments, how limited your social life was in Las Vegas, I’m thinking, it just occurs to me that it’ll be much less in Nelson. So probably, occasionally you went to Las Vegas, which now seems to be a big place. Yes, now. How often did you go? Once a week. And I suppose you wore all your finery to see all your old friends. Yes, yes. And your jewelry? (Laughs) Yes. And my jewelry. (Laughs) Was there much traffic on the roads? Not much. It really wasn’t. Not much, no. Was it much of a chore for a car you probably go after sundown? Or you’d avoid the heat of the day? UNLV University Libraries Bertha Gresh 32 No. Yes, coming home we did that. I see. We’d go early in the morning and then we’d come home and frequently we’d stay at the Overland overnight. I see. Just for a change, depends on who we met there. See Cyrus knew everyone. Was there—? Mr. Crow, you know the man was the head of the Hoover Dam, Boulder Dam? Mr. Curl? He had full charge of it. We were good friends. He had his wife and two little girls. Oh, I see. (Laughs) He used to stay at the Overland, too. Oh, that’s—those are quite occasions. Yes. I imagine you look forward to Saturday afternoon? Yes. And after that dam was built, after they started Boulder City, everybody that had a car in Nelson would drive out, oh about five miles from here and see those lights, ah, every night. Oh. Oh. Ain’t that good? Oh, look at the lights, oh, that was really something. (Laughs) Tell me how much of a road was there between the Searchlight road and Nelson? Was it just plain old dirt road at that time? Plain old dirt road and coming out here it was the same. And when it rained it was like soap. (Laughs) UNLV University Libraries Bertha Gresh 33 You’d slip from that Four Mile, you know, from there on. You’d slip there. From Four Mile, huh? You’d slip like in the dirt. It was dangerous. Were there any buildings at Railroad Pass then? No. No. The road went on this side. On which side? There was no Railroad Pass. On the east side. It went—? It came through from a little narrow road now, where the (unintelligible). On the Boulder City side of Railroad Pass. That’s the way you went around it, huh? That’s the way we went around it. My goodness. And then there was a road around it, huh? Yes. And then you went down to Dry Lake? Yes. And then a little more and then turned up to, toward home to Nelson? Yes. Yes. And when the—when we sold half interest of the land, which came back to us, we, I said, “Cyrus, don’t you think we oughta do something about this road?” And he said, “Yes.” He said, “I’m gonna put down three hundred dollars and when those commissioners have a meeting tonight, I’m gonna present it.” And they said, he went to all the merchants, course he’d done all this shopping over there, and his name was at the head. And then, they think about it, and pretty soon Mr. Rice came along and was a man from somewhere, Moapa or someplace over there and he and another old-timer used to get a ride from us, every day. UNLV University Libraries Bertha Gresh 34 Is that right? In the new car, they’d stand on the corner of Fremont and look down, see if the car was still there. (Laughs) And I’d say, “Cyrus, they’re still looking. But we’ve gotta go and take them for a ride.” Then he says, “Well, we had another meeting now, Gresh and the county is gonna build that little road.” Oh really? And that’s the little road that you passed that you must never go on anymore. And then, brought it up here and paved it. (Laughs) And we made a good road of it. Brought it right into Nelson. Right into Nelson. And what year was that, Mrs. Gresh? Well, that was—must’ve been in the early ‘30s. In the early ‘30s? (Unintelligible). Okay. Yes. Yes. Okay. They said, “You don’t have to do that, Gresh. We’ve decided that you need a road, you do all your—you fellas do all your shopping there.” Well, Cyrus said, “I happen to have a little money now, I thought I’d get the ball rolling.” We went to all the merchants and they were all willing. UNLV University Libraries Bertha Gresh 35 But they decided, no. We had it coming. They had all our business at that time. A lot of people get on that road and it’s pretty dangerous. You can get stuck on that sand. That little road, you know where that pet cemetery is? Oh yes. Down near my way. That’s the road that we started. Oh, really. That’s the little road that we started. And later on it makes— You’d hardly notice it now. You’d hardly notice it. And, later on they, it made a, they brought it up a little bit higher. Mm-hmm. But that was something to get that new road. All those things were exciting those days. Oh, I should say. You didn’t need to be entertained. Every little move meant something. Yes. After Mr. Gresh’s passing, were you not made an officer in the mining company? I was made president. You were made president? I was secretary before that. And you still administer? I wa