Louise LeClair interview, March 21, 1978: transcript

UNLV University Libraries Louise LeClair 1 An Interview with Louise LeClair An Oral History Conducted by Dennis Luppens 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 Louise LeClair 2 © Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 2020 UNLV University Libraries Louise LeClair 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 Louise LeClair 4 Abstract On March 21, 1978, collector Dennis Luppens interviewed Louise LeClair (born July 28th, 1910 in Mesquite, Nevada) at her home in Las Vegas, Nevada. In this interview, Mrs. LeClair discusses her family history and education in Las Vegas, Nevada. She also discusses healthcare and talks about the flu epidemic of 1918 and how it affected Southern Nevada. UNLV University Libraries Louise LeClair 5 The informant, Mrs. Louise Leclair, with some interjections by her son Michael LeClair, March 21st 1978. One p.m. The interview takes place in the residence and Mrs. LeClair. 12 Sycamore, Las Vegas, Nevada. My name is Dennis Luppens. 1157 Tony Drive, Number Six, Las Vegas, Nevada. Oral history report. Would you state your name and present address? My name is Louise LeClair. I live at 12 Sycamore Lane, Las Vegas, Nevada. Okay. Date of birth? I was born July 28th, 1910. And place of birth? In Mesquite, Nevada. Okay. How many people? You mean my immediate family? Yes. I have four children. And brothers and sisters? I have six brothers and three sisters. Okay. Can you tell me a little bit about your family here? Well— Starting with why your parents came to Las Vegas? They came to Las Vegas in October of 1923. My father came here to work on the railroad as a machinist in what was known as the Back Shot, the railroad yards. And we went to school, the Fifth Street School, which is now where that federal building is. And then we moved to Eleventh Street. We bought a home on Eleventh Street and moved there, and we had just lived there a year when my father died. My brother and I were in the first year of high school. And he went to work UNLV University Libraries Louise LeClair 6 as an apprentice for a while in the back shops, and I went to work part time and went to school part time until I completed my high school. And he went to school nights through his education. But in the meantime, of course, he was transferred. He worked for the railroad transfer to (unintelligible). But I don’t know what else. What about from your father’s side of the family? Well, my father was born in Gunlock, Utah, which is just out of St. George. And my grandfather Barnum and his family were—lived in Enterprise in town which is just out of St. George a little ways. My mother was born in Virgin City, Utah, which is just as you go to the (unintelligible), and my mother taught school in Mesquite, and that's how come she met my father. And after they were married, she of course quit teaching school. And I was born in Mesquite, and then they moved to Cedar City, because my mother thought my father should have more education. In those days, there weren't too many older people going to school, you know. It just—you completed grammar school, and you were considered—that was enough and you went right out, went to work. Well, he had done this, but she had him go to school. It was called the Normal. I don't know whether it was sort of a high school-community college thing or not, but he went to school two years there. And two of my brothers were born in Cedar City. And then we moved to Hurricane, which was where my mother's family was living at the time. All of her people lived there. My father was City Marshal in Hurricane. And during the 1918—during the big flu epidemic, the first one we had that was so terrible. And he (unintelligible), he herded sheep, and then he went to work on the railroad in (Unintelligible) as a brick layer. And then he was transferred down here. And through a fluke of one kind or another, he became a machinist in the back shops. UNLV University Libraries Louise LeClair 7 And of course, he was active in civic affairs here and became—was elected to the school board. One of the reasons they elected him the school board they said was because he had a child in every grade in school and they figured that if anybody knew what was going on in school, it would be him. But he died in 1928. But the family continue to live here, and we had our house that we lived in on 1129 North Eleventh Street, was mortgaged to Von Tobel, Mr. Von Tobel, because the man that built the house had gotten all these numbers from Mr. Von Tobel. So, when my father died with no insurance and all his family, my mother went to Mr. Von Tobel and asked him what she could do, you know, about the house and he said “Don't worry”, he said, “I'm not going to turn that family of children out on the street.” He said “We'll find some way of working this out.” So of course, I went to work, my brother went to work. And my mother got my father's wages from the railroad for one year just by working every month, she got a check for the first year. But after that, I—we were on our own. But in the meantime, this was a large double lot with two small storage houses on the one side. So by dividing them up and selling the one half with the two little buildings on it, which Mike (Unintelligible) bought, which is the father of the commissioner. She sold it for just enough to pay for our home. So Von Tobel was paid. And we had a home, which we only lived in for oh, many years, I can't remember, nearly all the children were gone. And my mother finally sold it and moved back to Utah. Back to Hurricane. (Unintelligible) I would explain. Well, when they had this terrible flu epidemic in 1918, people just died like flies everywhere. And they quarantined whole towns to try to stop it. Everybody had to wear a mask like you were going to the hospital, you know? My father never got it. He was the marshal, of course, this is a small town, you know, but he rode the horse. He rode up and down the streets, and he called the UNLV University Libraries Louise LeClair 8 different people, especially if he knew it was an older couple, you know, and that were sick. He'd go in and see that they had water and if they needed food, he’d take a list and go to the store for them. And they close the schools. And it was just a really bad time for everyone because it was really bad. How long did it last? Well, it just lasted—I'm trying to think whether it was winter or summer. It was fall because the schools were closed. So I think it lasted about three or four months, mostly. It was over by that time. As soon as it got summertime, why it seemed to clear up. My husband's father died the same flu epidemic in May. So it was nationwide? Yes, it was nationwide. This was just at the end of the First World War. Or just at the start of it I should say. 1918. Yes. Start of World War I. Earlier you mentioned your family background and how you (unintelligible). Could you tell me about your descendants? My great grandmother? Sure. Was an Indian lady. Well, she was stolen as a baby from her tribe. Evidently, these two tribes were at war, arguing or something and they probably had a chance to kidnap this baby and get it, and then they didn't know what to do with it and they were going to kill it. They hadn't (unintelligible) and push it out and the thing which way. John Smith, he was a man that owned cattle up in that neighborhood was riding by and saw that what was happening and he went over and bargained for the baby. And they sold it to him for a steer, and a horse, and saddle. And so he took it home to his family. And it was raised just like one of his children. And then as she got UNLV University Libraries Louise LeClair 9 to being older, she went to live with a Dr. McFarland and his family in Cedar City, and she was training as a nurse. And when she married Dudley Leavitt, and moved to Mesquite as a young bride, she became the midwife for that district. In fact, she was the lady that delivered me when I was born. So, she was a polygamist wife. They were Mormons. She was a polygamist wife. Somewhere, I have a picture of her, and she's (unintelligible). In fact, to talk about my uncle, my father's brother, you can see my father. You never think that he was Indian. No. A very good looking man. And—but they all have that squat, short built of the Paiute Indians. Most of ‘em except my Uncle Murray, who is a large, large man. But the rest of ‘em are. And Reinhold Miller, whose story was in the paper here in The Nevadan, what, about three or four months ago. This is him right here. He was married to my father's youngest sister. You’ve lived here, I would say, a long time. Could you place maybe the major events that have happened in Las Vegas? Well, one of the things—at the time of the Depression in 1929 is when they started building Hoover Dam. And this made a boomtown out of Las Vegas, so that we didn't know too much about the Depression because things were really booming here. I tell everyone that I’m a landmark because I was here before Hoover Dam (laughs). No. Some friends of ours went fishing down on the river one time and took me with them. And they went down to what is known as (Unintelligible) Camp, which is right at the mountain of Black Canyon, which is now, you know, where you turn and go down into the canyon, you go through the storage to go down to the, to the dam. Oh, it’s right at the mountain there is where this place was. We went down there, stayed overnight and went fishing. It was a real nice place. There was an old log cabin there, and meadows, and cottonwood trees, was real nice camping UNLV University Libraries Louise LeClair 10 spot. And of course, we, during the building of the dam, we’d go down every week or two and take pictures. And I don't have very many of those pictures left of that, I just had a little (unintelligible) Kodak, you know, and it didn’t take too good pictures. I wish I had known more about what you were going to ask. I have a picture that my husband prizes (unintelligible) but it would take me quite a while to dig it out. Also— And of course, like I said, I was in high school and they were just starting to build the present Las Vegas High School. But your Memorial Field was just a piece of desert. They leveled it off and marked it out, and that played their first football game there. Who played? Do you know—let's see. I know he just resigned as head of the state highway engineer, what was his name, Jack Barban was one of the fellas that played football. And Harvey (Unintelligible), Rex Jared, and his brother Glen were on that team. I can’t remember any more of ‘em. One of the Van Garten boys was on that team. Lyle Van Garten (unintelligible) was our arch rivals at that time. Okay. You’ve basically had all your education in Las Vegas? Yes. And I was the star—should I tell him this one? (Laughs) I was a star athlete at the school as far as the girls were concerned. Talk about it. Well, the first three years, I placed first in all of the athletic competition as far as high jump, Rod jump, 50 yard dash, and the relay race. I always made (unintelligible). (Unintelligible) UNLV University Libraries Louise LeClair 11 No. Not, well I naturally, if I was—went to all of those events, I had to be there. And I was captain of the baseball team from the time I was in high school—in grammar school, up through high school, we beat everybody. And finally they had us play the boys and of course they beat us (laughs). And I was on the class basketball team, and on the varsity basketball team for girls. Girls had a lot more athletic competition at that time they did later. They had what they called play day, where they do it now. But in those days, we really had competition with other schools. And also, I went to Reno for the home economics class. Every year they had a big home economics meet in Reno. And Tonopah and Mesquite, Las Vegas, all of the little towns went there to compete for cooking and sewing. And I won first prize for my demonstration on the electric refrigerator. They were just coming out at that time. And I demonstrated the electric refrigerator. My teacher—my home economics teacher was Miss Aiken. Her mother was the house mother at the Reno college at Nevada College in Reno. And she made arrangements for us to stay at the new then Artemesia Hall, so we stayed there. And that was several girls from here. We were up there going to school. They came over and (unintelligible) she did our room and gave us the full treatment, you know, all that sort of stuff. We had a wonderful time. We went up in a big old McFarlane car, drove all the way from here. And the teacher went with us and they hired a driver. We stay the first night at the Mizpah Hotel in Tonopah, and then we went on to Reno the second day which was a long, long trip, but as a reward because we— between us and Overton and Mesquite, we won the majority of the prizes. Southern Nevada took most of the prizes that year, so as a reward on our way home, the teacher had the driver go around by Lake Tahoe. We got to see Lake Tahoe (laughs). How was Las Vegas before World War II, then afterwards? How was what? UNLV University Libraries Louise LeClair 12 Las Vegas pre-World War II, and then afterwards? When World War II came about, (unintelligible) Yes. Well, of course, the van brought a lot of people. When we first came here, they figured they had a population of about five thousand. And my father was a very outgoing man and he used to walk home from work. He’d come from the railroad yard, where from the depot, where the Plaza Hotel is now, walk right down Fremont Street to about Eighth Street, and then he kept through (unintelligible) Eleventh Street where we lived. But he never passed anybody without saying hello to them. Even if he didn't know, he knew who they were, even if he wasn't a direct acquaintance of them, and that's the way it was in those days. And the Tomiyasu’s, the Chinese that had the—they had a vegetable farm out in Paradise Valley where one of the big exclusive home areas is now. And he used to go up and down the streets with a little, with a horse and a little, not a cart, sort of a buggy fare. There was one back here, and then he had a top with another (unintelligible) come here and he had melons and all kinds of fresh vegetables, because they didn't carry too many fresh vegetables in the stores in those days, because they had to use ice to keep them fresh. It was hard. But one of the first things I remember when we moved here was him coming down the alley behind our place. And he didn't speak too good of English. It was quite broken, you know. And so he’d sing song his wares. He’d say “Waterloupe and Cantemelons!” (Laughs) So, you’ve mainly commented on the large population of Las Vegas. (Unintelligible) Boulder Dam (Hoover Dam)? Yes. Yes. And of course, then, after the Flamingo Hotel was the first hotel on the Strip. We could have bought property out there for nothing. That was the sand dunes—that’s where UNLV University Libraries Louise LeClair 13 everybody went to do their making you know, (laughs) was out at the sand dunes. But then it became the Strip and of course they built the El Rancho. Wow. And, of course, (unintelligible) too. And, of course, the railroad was the first thing that started those things. But he used to know practically everyone in town. (Unintelligible) you know, it was a small town. Everybody knew everyone, and you always spoke, you knew they were like me or something like that. So you never pass anybody by without saying hello to them. Now you go out and never see a soul that you used to (unintelligible). It’s sad. How many old friends do you still have living in Las Vegas, roughly, you went to high school with? (Unintelligible) Well, I didn't have any boyfriends. I was too busy working. But I used to know, used to be good friends of (unintelligible) Sal Sagev Hotel, which is now the Golden. In fact, I worked (unintelligible) for a while in the hotel as a chambermaid. And he (unintelligible) kids in school, he had a sister Ellen, they both went to school at the same time, and of course Busicks, Dorothy and Howie Busick. They’re old timers here, and they're still here, she's still here. I don't know what the married name is now. I can’t remember. What kind of job—you say you had a lot of jobs. Did you have a lot of jobs? And what were they? Well, I worked in the laundry when I first started out. I—where the, on Sixth and Fremont, where the telephone company is now used to be a (unintelligible) there. It was a vacant lot, but a little further back, there's a little house with a little lady (unintelligible) and I used to go over and run the Mango Burger in the afternoons, while I was going to school, and then after a couple of years, in fact after three years, I got a chance to go to the Las Vegas Laundry and work for UNLV University Libraries Louise LeClair 14 eighteen fifty a week, which was big money. And I've got family needed it, so I quit school and went to work in the laundry. And I have worked as a waitress, worked in the record store at the soda fountain, and I worked at the El Rancho laundry. (Unintelligible) I was talking to Big Bob Albright—comes in there for some work the other day, and I told him I remember when that building used to be a grocery store. And we met there, we worked at Fisher Drug, which was just across the yard from it. Let's see, Tom Adams is an old timer that I know (unintelligible) been here a long time and of course, (Unintelligible) all of those those people were young people just here from Panaca at that time, just getting their start. The Edwards that wrote the articles in the paper, you know, up at (unintelligible), he was a teacher in Las Vegas at school, although I didn't have him for a teacher. He didn't teach there for a couple years before he went to Boulder City to teach. Have you ever (unintelligible) fishing out of town? (Unintelligible) Yes. I heard it was a dry town. (Unintelligible) No, it wasn't dry. (Laughs) And that's of course, that's another story that was several places out toward Red Rock, where moonshine stills. I didn't know anything about it but my husband did. (Laughs) He knew these different people that have a Wilson's head still, and then oh, I’m sure at the end of the day, this fellow was telling how to make moonshine was here. Nellis. Yes. Were there a lot of speakeasies back then? Well, I don't remember. Well, the Red Light District was here. First (unintelligible) First from Stewart to (unintelligible). That was, that was off limits as far as I was concerned. I never did go UNLV University Libraries Louise LeClair 15 down there of course (unintelligible). And my husband still feels that it was a good idea because he thinks that we would not have all of these rapes if we had legalized prostitution. (Unintelligible) even today. And I knew Maude Frazier. She was the principal of the high school when I went to high school, later became the head of the education. What do you call it? She was the head of the school district. Yes. And I worked for—personally besides knowing them personally. And I knew (unintelligible), I knew most of those. In fact, we lived just two blocks from Mr. Craig and his son. He only had one son. And he used to come over and play with my brothers. Mr. Pike owned Pike Apartments. He was huge in laws and insurance. And, of course, Craig and have the Majestic Theatre, the first movie house and also he had the (unintelligible). He knows some people quite well. So, what year did the Flamingo first arrive? How long until—? Well, the El Rancho was the next (unintelligible). Of course, Fremont Street was the center of everything until there had to be (unintelligible) hotels down on the Strip. (Tape one ends) Okay. I guess, what? You got any (unintelligible), and active social affair? No. Have you ever? No. Not really. I guess in the last 20 years you’ve probably seen (unintelligible)? Oh yes. Yes. Used to be that if they gave an address, my husband, his (unintelligible) right over here where (unintelligible) is now, in fact, Martin bought him out. And he and I both used to deliver mail, so we knew every street and address and back alley of different blocks. And now UNLV University Libraries Louise LeClair 16 they tell us an address and we don't have any idea where it is. There's so many new subdivisions. It’s just grown so much that we don’t know the town right anymore. So just (unintelligible) Just growing out all over. Of course, North Las Vegas used to be known as Hoover Town because people that came to Las Vegas to find work, couldn’t find work, went down there and lived in the bushes. They built houses out of cardboard, and whatever they could. Was this in the Depression? Yes. It was really the Depression in that area there. And they had a hard time coming out of it, but they have I guess what? Third, fourth largest city in this state now. But, (unintelligible) we've been here a long time too, but my kids were, well, when we lived here, my children were little. They went to school down around the corner here about three blocks from Helen J. Stewart School. The original school. It was donated by (unintelligible) Stewart because her daughter was a retarded child, and they owned property. And it was the retarded school. She went to school there for several years, never got beyond the third grade, but this is the reason that new handicap school out on Eastern is called Helen J. Stewart. (Unintelligible) to me that that was the name of the girl that was the handicapped child. And of course, the Stewart’s owned where McCarran Field is, and where, you know where, over here where the ball park used to be and where the rodeo’s used to be held and the—? The old Stewart Ranch? That was the old Stewart Ranch (unintelligible) and Carson. This was part of it, where the school was. Of course, that’s where Bunker Brothers Mortuary is, and where the old 40 is, all of that. Where Eden Bay lives, that was all farm land when I was a girl. It was all (unintelligible) Do you remember, was the old ranch really big? UNLV University Libraries Louise LeClair 17 Yes, they used to have a swimming pool there. I had went swimming there many times, many, many times at the Old Ranch swimming pool. And Sumner Stewart and his family, and the (unintelligible) all the way down there, and worked the ranch and it was a dairy there, and farming. And of course, (unintelligible). Now, does anything distinctive stand out? Something about the swimming pool (unintelligible)? Now, the swimming pool, mostly because my brother had a very bad accident there. He fell off the high dive, and he hit his head in the pool, and half on the edge. Broke his jaw, split his leg open (laughs). He was in pretty bad shape. What about medical facilities? Well, they had a hospital for Long Brown’s mother. Come a Long Brown, senior, not the one that's the judge. This is his father. His mother was a nurse in the hospital, and the hospital was started by the railroad. And it was the regular old doctors that worked in it. And it used to be on the corner of let’s see, Bridger, Lewis something, Lewis and no, no. Second or third, but I don’t remember which. It was a two story building, used to be, had been a home that was made into a hospital. So it was pretty small? What about—did they take care of most things? Operations and stuff? Well, now my father—this is what my father—my father had a ruptured gallbladder and they took him to this hospital. He stayed overnight and the doctor wasn’t well. He shouldn’t have been practicing. He was old. He was very ill. So he decided (unintelligible) worked on the railroad. He (unintelligible) to Los Angeles, and the railroad cars on the train. He left here five o'clock at night, he arrived in Los Angeles at ten in the morning. This was the second day after UNLV University Libraries Louise LeClair 18 his gallbladder had broken. In those days, they didn’t have penicillin or sulfur or anything like that. So he was taken to the railroad (unintelligible) hospital in Los Angeles. And he was taken there, and well, immediately into surgery. (Unintelligible) gangrene set in, and he died on the operating table. So, he had to (unintelligible) operated immediately that night. Because he was a young man, never had any problems. He was only working three years. The prime of life, but what caused this? We don't know. In the middle of the night, it was a great pain and just appreciating or speaking (unintelligible). The doctor thought he had a ruptured appendix, is what he thought. But he knew it would be a major operation, and he didn’t think he (unintelligible) Los Angeles, thirty six hours before he got down here. And by that time, it was too late. So basically the hospital here was just one doctor? A one doctor hospital with about four or five then rooms. There was only one nurse. I can't remember what the doctor’s name was. He should not (unintelligible) everybody in those days. How did you meet your husband? Oh, I don’t want to tell that one. (Laughs) My younger brother Frankie, and my brother (unintelligible) my brother didn’t care taking home because (unintelligible). So he rallied down at our house. (Unintelligible) And he was just, as much as (unintelligible) and laughing. That kind of fun. And I'm betting orange juice, tomato juice, coffee, and (unintelligible). My brother took this guy home and then brought him back here again. I go “I never want to see you!” So he took him home, I’d never seen him again. I married at another (unintelligible). I was married for six years and got a divorce. And it was while I was divorced, I was working at the Sal Sagev hotel as a chambermaid. And I think in North Las Vegas (unintelligible) from the Sal Sagev hotel down in UNLV University Libraries Louise LeClair 19 North Las Vegas. We lived in a place over behind the Indian Reservation down in where they have that new district now. Had a little house down in there, and then my husband of course is working (unintelligible) and they (unintelligible). And he was, yapping in front on the dock all the time, you know, and I'd walk by and of course, he knew me. And he talked to me and he’d say “Come on, I'll get on my motorcycle. I'll take you home.” So, I met the motorcycle club. And so we used to ride motorcycles all the time and go with the motorcycle club everywhere, and this is how we met. Finally married. What year was that? Nineteen thirty-seven. In November, 10th, 1978, I will have been married for forty years. What would you say to that? What would you say at this point now, a key (unintelligible)? Oh well high school course was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed high school because we had a lot of firsts there. And, of course, they started another thing that I remember (unintelligible) when they first started Helldorado. It was a town fair. Everybody grew whiskers. Everybody wore Western clothes. Everybody went to the Helldorado because most of the concessions were run by local people. It was a local deal. The firemen had the dance hall, and they had square dances and the old group of firemen, not necessarily firemen, but men in town that was an old time (unintelligible). Of course, we knew all of those people and Boy Scouts used to have the baseball thing where you throw baseballs and (unintelligible) bottles, you know, and then they throw the bottle, try to knock (unintelligible) this was always the scouts. And of course, while he also got some of that money, each organization got some for their people too now that—I don't remember where the first Helldorado was held, but one of them was out where the Greyhound bus line is now. UNLV University Libraries Louise LeClair 20 That used to be—that's already been propagated down there, the big ten, the big, big ten. And they used to have nice parades and all kinds of things (unintelligible). And then another time, the Helldorado, the concessions and all that sort of stuff was (unintelligible). I remember, Sixth and Fremont right where the telephone company is, and then they moved it down to the—behind where the Elks are now. That's called McCarran Field too. And they have it down there. And then, of course, we have the rodeo and that's how they (unintelligible). And it was so nice place to have it. It was outdoors, and the weather was usually very nice there, you know, and of course they always had big parades. And they’d go down Fremont Street or Main Street down to, used to be called Fifth Street, now it’s Las Vegas Boulevard, and over to the (unintelligible). And of course, you knew everybody in the parade mostly, because now they have what they call the old timers parade. And the Potter’s used to live here and then Van Potter was an old (unintelligible). In two years they had a new (unintelligible), but it was such a hard thing to get that many around the coronet, and they cut it down. You had to be a real driver to get that many animals to turn the corner. But he had a big Four X wagon and a (unintelligible) and Miss Fanny used to be a lady that had a dress shop on Fremont Street, and she and all her clerks used to dress in old fashioned bathing suits. Of course, that’s the kind with the ruffled panties you know, and the big full skirts. It came to the knees which is very daring in those days, and the little bonnets that went with them, you know, and they always walked in the parade. And Rex Bell was always the master of, the marshal of the parade, mostly him. And I’m trying to think about something rain—and of course the daughters of Utah pioneers on Saturday. And of course on Saturday, Sue always had a great—I’m trying to think of the principle of the grammar school when I was about this, in that line—her daughter became a movie star. UNLV University Libraries Louise LeClair 21 But anyway, they used to—kids had a parade on Saturday. That was the kids’ parade. And of course Friday night they all—all the cowboys and the cowgirls all had (unintelligible) followed them right down with the (unintelligible) and Helldorado. But on Sunday night was the beauty parade. And they had floats from all the hotels, and everybody had big, big flower. (Unintelligible) contest were there on the photos. It was definitely quite a big thing. I had counted at one time, and I had seen thirty two Helldorados. They were great. They were just great, because you know so many of the people in the parades and all the different groups that paraded. And then I missed a few. I was in Oklahoma for one parade and I was in California for three years. You know, I missed parades there. So—and then it got to be very commercialized, very commercialized (unintelligible) as far as I was concerned, because there wasn't so many hometown people involved and it wasn’t nearly as much fun. But I remember the Helldorados. I remember the old parades. (Unintelligible) Oh yes. We were well, we were at the ice plant. My husband’s (unintelligible) ice plant. Mr. Ice over here. (Unintelligible) and see the flames, see the cloud, and then you’d hear this rumble, and then pretty soon everything would shake. And then they got smart after a while and discovered that by placing it in different spots, that shockwave would miss Las Vegas, so it didn’t do that sort of (unintelligible). (Unintelligible) my brother was living here when he was in the air force at the time, and he was out at ground zero with his (