Rena Lees interview, March 19, 1978: transcript

UNLV University Libraries Rena Lees 1 An Interview with Rena Lees An Oral History Conducted by Bill Young 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 Rena Lees 2 © Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 2019 UNLV University Libraries Rena Lees 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 Rena Lees 4 Abstract On March 19, 1978, collector Bill Young interviewed Rena Lees (born October 15th, 1934 in Las Vegas, Nevada) at her home in Las Vegas, Nevada. In this interview, Rena Lees talks about growing up in Las Vegas and the activities she was involved in as a teenager. She also discusses her family and her career working at Sunrise Hospital. UNLV University Libraries Rena Lees 5 Alright. Today is Sunday March 19th, 1978. I’m interviewing Rena Lees, a native Las Vegan. My name is Bill Young. My address is 1801 Melinda, Las Vegas, Nevada. And Rena, what’s your address here? 3067 Garnet Court. Alright. And we’re doing this project for Nevada History, for Dr. Roske. This is an oral interview of a native Las Vegan, and she’s gonna describe some recollections she has of Las Vegas. Rena, you were born in Las Vegas, correct? Yes. I was born on October the 15th, 1934, in the old Las Vegas Hospital. I was delivered by Dr. Clare Woodbury. Later, in 1956, I had my first child and was in the same room. Dr. Woodbury was still a doctor, but I had Dr. Sylvain deliver her. Alright. Dr. Woodbury has been around Las Vegas quite a while, hasn’t he? Yes. He’s on the school board. University regents or something like that. He’s still living. In fact, I just saw him about oh, it’s been last summer, I—he was coming out of the medical building, and he was with a walker. And I opened the door for him and I said “I guess it’s polite for someone that you delivered to open the door for you.” (Laughs) And he laughed and said, “Did I deliver you?” And I said, “Yes, you did.” And he said, “Well, thank you for opening the door. What was your name?” And I said it was “Rena Pulliam” and he says “Oh yes. I remember you.” (Laughs) Oh he did, huh? (Laughs) Yes. Okay. So your family name—your maiden name is Pulliam? UNLV University Libraries Rena Lees 6 Yes. My maiden name—my name was Rena Pulliam. And my grandfather was C.C. McDaniel here in Las Vegas. Alright. From what you’ve told me before, Rena, your grandfather was the one that moved out here and kind of established roots. Can you tell me where he’s from and how he came out here, and you know, something about how your family got started here in Southern Nevada? Yes. He came from Bisbee, Arizona during the Depression. He got here in July of 1932. The first night he was here, he slept on the park lawn. Well, it was the old courthouse lawn. And he only had fifteen cents in his pocket. And he went around and I guess it was either the next day or the day after, he was given a job with Cashman Cadillac. At that time, they were selling Cadillac’s and Buick’s. Where was that located? Do you know? It was located on Main Street. On Main Street, where? Uh-huh. Right there where they all—next to the old train depot? Across the street from Las Vegas Boulevard? Yes. Yes. No, it was right next door to the Las Vegas Club. Oh it was—? The original Cashman’s was right— It was on that side of the street? Yes. It was right there. ‘Cause I remember when I was a little boy, it was— UNLV University Libraries Rena Lees 7 It was across the street. Right next to the train depot. Yes. Kind of like. Yes. Well, the original one was right there, next to the old Las Vegas Club. So Cashman Cadillac’s been around here since the 30s at least, huh? Oh yes. That must be James Cashman Sr. that started that. Right. Yes. It was James Cashman Sr, now James Cashman Jr. And how long did he work for them, would you say? I believe he worked there for maybe a year. A year? And then he went to work for Desert Chevrolet. That was across Fremont Street. I can’t remember the name, I think it was the Sal Sagev Hotel that was on that corner. Uh-huh. On the south side of Fremont. And it was right south from that, the Desert Chevrolet. Mm-hmm. And he worked there for about six years. Uh-huh. And then in, I believe it was 1938, he started the Chrysler Plymouth Garage. It was on the corner of First and Ogden. It was 132 North First and Ogden. (Unintelligible) C.C. McDaniel’s Chrysler Plymouth Garage. UNLV University Libraries Rena Lees 8 And how—he started that in ’38, huh? Yes. And how long was he in business there? He retired in 1958. In ’58. So he had that for twenty years. He had the Chrysler Plymouth dealership? Mm-hmm. Is that the only one in town? Yes. There’s always only been one Chrysler dealership in town. I think only one Cadillac also. Mm-hmm. And he had it all that time. There were a couple other Plymouth dealerships, but only one Chrysler dealership. Mm-hmm. And what part of town did you grow up? You know, where did your family live at? Well, when he came to town, as he could, he established the fact that North Las Vegas was the place where people lived that wanted to have horses and sort of small ranches. And he went out to North Las Vegas and started buying that property as he could afford it. Uh-huh. At that time, Paradise Valley was really slummy. People lived in tar paper shacks and they lived in old cars and mesquite bushes, and the garbage dump was out there. (Laughs) Is that right? Little did anybody know that that was gonna be the richest property in the community. But in the 30s and 40s, North Las Vegas was one of the nicest places to live, huh? UNLV University Libraries Rena Lees 9 Yes. That was where people lived if they wanted to have that, and along Bonanza, where the Binion’s live. Oh. Yes. Along in that area. People with—that wanted to have horses and chickens, and you know, sort of like a small, little ranch. That’s where they lived. So you had horses and everything there? Yes. We had horses and chickens, and we had an alfalfa field, and— Was there quite a few people living out in that area? Oh yes. Do you remember what street it was on? Was it—? Oh yes. It was 1852 Princeton. 1852 Princeton? Uh-huh. Okay. That was—that was our home. It’s changed quite a bit. (Laughs) Today I’m pretty familiar with that street now. It’s— Yes. It’s—the Westside of town at that time was contained with, you know, the railroad. Uh-huh. Like, I grew—when I was growing up, we were never allowed to go across the street. I think the last street was called Goldfield Street. Uh-huh. Behind Princeton. Right. UNLV University Libraries Rena Lees 10 And then from there, there was a barb wire fence that went along, and that’s where the railroad property started. We were never allowed to go past the barb wire fence, because that’s where the hobo jungle was, up in there. The hobo’s all—you know, from, that rode the rails? Yes. They all had their little—well it was just like a complete little town. Little shanty town, huh? Yes, a little town up there by the railroad track, in the mesquite bushes. And how long was that there? In the mesquite bushes? How long was that—was that there? For as long as I can remember. I don’t know if it was cleaned. I think it was cleaned out by the time I left. I left to go to college in 1953, in the fall of ’53, and I don’t know if it was still there or not. I can remember, like I say, when I was young, that we weren’t allowed to go through the barb wire fence. Mm-hmm. We did occasionally. (Laughs) Okay. (Laughs) Check out the hobos, huh? Right. Alright. Okay. You lived in the north part of town in—was it actually called North Las Vegas? Was it a city at the time or can you tell us something about—? Well, they referred to it as North Las Vegas but I can remember as I was growing up that we didn’t have paved streets, and we didn’t have sewers, and all kinds of things like that. So the people that lived in North Las Vegas, they decided that if they incorporated with Las Vegas, that we would be the last to ever get anything. Uh-huh. UNLV University Libraries Rena Lees 11 So I can remember my grandfather always going to meetings and then establishing that they did not want to be incorporated with Las Vegas. That they preferred to be an incorporated town of their own. And he was instrumental in getting North Las Vegas charter for their own city. Right. And he didn’t ever intend to be in politics. He worked very hard to get the community built up, and set it up, and then turn it over, you know, to the politicians. But— Uh-huh. The first mayor that they had—I don’t know if he served a full term. I remember his name was Tucker. His last name was Tucker. Right. I don’t know that much about him, other than—I don’t know if he served a full term or what, but I know that the North Las Vegas people were not happy with him. And then they came to my grandfather and convinced him to run for office. And he served two full terms. Four years each or? Yes. Four years each. So he was actually the second mayor of North Las Vegas? Right. The first ten years of the actual—? Yes. Where they did the—the streets, the paving the streets, and putting in the sewers, and— Did he accomplish most of that stuff that? That was accomplished during his term of office, huh? Right. Do you remember how many people approximately lived in North Las Vegas? UNLV University Libraries Rena Lees 12 Have absolutely no idea. No idea? Uh-uh. I don’t even know how many were in the Las Vegas area. But it’s—? Was very, very small. Quite a bit different than it is now? The railroad track is behind us was one border. Right. And the street that I think is called Lake Mead Boulevard— Uh-huh. Was now— Right? Was the other border. And it went across—it went across Las Vegas Boulevard, which then was called Fifth Street. Right. And then it started up—the borders started up by the cemetery. Uh-huh. Las Vegas came down to the cemetery. Right off of Owens, right? Yes. So it’s pretty close to the borders they have today, but it—North Las Vegas—? Oh, it’s expanding. It’s expanded quite a bit, huh? UNLV University Libraries Rena Lees 13 Yes. ‘Cause when we used to ride our horses, we’d go out under the old underpass, and which is, I can’t—Kyle Ranch or something out there that has that huge, great, big house that used to be a guest ranch. Right. Right. We used to ride our horses out through there. There was absolutely nothing. Just all desert, that whole area, huh? Just desert from there on out. We used to ride all the way out past by where the Craig Ranch is. Through there, there was nothing. Uh-huh. Every once in a while, there’d be a ranch house or something like that. So there was actually ranches in this area? Right. At that time, you know, was there cattle on ‘em and—? No, not really. Not a lot—not a lot of cattle? No. Just mostly people living out there with horses and whatnot? Yes. And like, alfalfa fields and different things like that. Did you ever know any of these people like the Kyle’s or the Craig’s or? No. If I did, I don’t know. You don’t know? I don’t remember it. UNLV University Libraries Rena Lees 14 What elementary school did you go to? There’s one right over there off of Lake Mead isn’t there? I went—there were two of them. The first one I went to, I don’t know what it was called. It was—I don’t even know the name of the street that it was on. But it was on the west—yes, the Westside of the main street that goes to North Las Vegas. And I went to kindergarten, first, and second grade there. Uh-huh. And then the third and fourth grade, I went across the highway. That’s the way we used to refer to it. Right. Across the highway to the school that is now I believe the part of city hall and things like that, that have to do with the North Las Vegas agencies. Right. Is it that one that’s next door to McDonald’s over there? Yes. Right by the chamber of commerce there? Right. ‘Cause I remember when I was a little kid that was—that was still a school. Yes. You know, when I was small. That was the school. And the like, the mayor’s office and the fire department and everything were right there on the main drag. I think around where the Palomino Club is now. Uh-huh. Were there any casinos or anything in North Las Vegas in those days? No. Uh-uh. They had bars. UNLV University Libraries Rena Lees 15 They had bars there? Yes. They had bars. And we had a drug store, and a couple of grocery stores. Was it kind of a separate community to have its own identity, or was it, you just considered yourself you know, Las Vegan, rather than a North Las Vegan? Well, the people in North Las Vegas con—you know, they, they said that they lived in North Las Vegas. Uh-huh. But we still like, after fourth grade went to school at Fifth Street Grammar School. Uh-huh. And then to Las Vegas High School, which was the only one. What year did you graduate from Las Vegas High School? 1953. Fifty three? Yes. And there was the only one in—only one in town in those days? Yes. Rancho was being built. I can’t—I can’t remember if the class after me or my class was the last senior single senior graduating class in town. Somewhere around there. Yes. I think Gorman, where I went to high school, was built right around ’52, ’51 or ’52. It started a pretty small school. Yes. But I can remember the boundaries of the city stopped at Huntridge. Huntridge? Which is, the Huntridge Theater you mean? Yes. Yes, by where the Huntridge Theater. That was—that was the first housing area built, you know— UNLV University Libraries Rena Lees 16 Tract homes? What you would call the tract homes. Right. Yes, was Huntridge. It was called the Huntridge? Yes. It was called Huntridge. Explain to me what the boundaries of Las Vegas were in the 30s and 40s, you know. What would you say? Well, out by the county hospital, there were some— Okay. The county hospital is Southern—? That’s what now is Southern Nevada Memorial Hospital. Uh-huh. On West Charleston? Right. You go under the underpass to get to that. Right. And then down from there, there were some—a lot of mesquite trees. And there were a lot of artesian wells all over every place. I remember there was a big field out there with, with an artesian well we used to go. Right. That’s where the—where the Vegas Valley Water District is now. Yes. And then there was one even closer than—the one I’m talking about used to be across the street from Southern Nevada Memorial Hospital. Uh-huh. Back in there someplace. And—? UNLV University Libraries Rena Lees 17 And that—there were homes around there, around Rancho. Rancho Drive? Yes. Uh-huh. And it just kind of stopped right in there. Stopped there, huh? Yes. Just kind of you know, went off into the desert. And— That’s the western boundaries of town. How about the southern boundaries? The southern boundaries were—let’s see, they stopped at, around Tenth, Eleventh, around in there. Let me think now, there’s a street, it’s not, maybe it’s Bruce. I think it is Bruce where it stopped. Bruce runs through— Right there on that hill. Yes. It runs right in front of the Charleston Plaza, where the Charleston Plaza is today. Yes. It’s right there on that hill, you know, before it goes down over. Uh-huh. You come—you start down the hill. That was—that was where Las Vegas just sort of stopped and went into great, big like fields. They used to go duck hunting down in there, in those big fields. Oh, do you mean the Bonanza Hill? Yes. Oh, Bonanza Hill. Oh, I see. Yes. UNLV University Libraries Rena Lees 18 What’s greater Las Vegas now. Yes. Okay. The old ranch is up there, near there, wasn’t it? Yes. Do you remember very much about that? Well, we used to go swimming at the old ranch. We used to ride our bicycles up there. It was kind of off by itself? Yes. It sat by itself. And down below it, on the flat part— Right. Before you go up the hill to the old ranch, were pastures for the dairy. I can’t remember which dairy it was. Wow, that’s been so long ago. There was a dairy that was on Main Street. Uh-huh. It wasn’t Anderson Dairy, was it? No. Uh-uh. Was it the Arden one that’s there now? No. It’s—oh well, I can remember stopping there. That’s where we used to stop and get ice cream, at that dairy, and I can’t think of its name, but its right there before you go down the hill. Uh-huh. Right above where Palm Mortuary is now. Right. And like, there was a big ice house there. Yes. It’s still there. There’s a dairy there. It’s Arden Dairy. Is it Arden Dairy now? And the ice—the ice place is still there. UNLV University Libraries Rena Lees 19 Yes. Right there. It’s where you get to the highway (unintelligible) And then straight through, if you drew a straight line from that dairy over to Las Vegas Boulevard, which was then Fifth Street— Right. It would be the old ranch. Uh-huh. And they had a swimming pool there, huh? Yes. Was it a regular swimming pool or? Oh yes. Oh, it was a big swimming pool. And lots of trees, and the old fort buildings were there. They really didn’t do much with the old fort until after I got out of school. Then they started trying to save it. During that time, people were living in it. You know, had fixed it up and were living in it. Yes. I remember my granddad built that swimming pool there. Did he? My dad’s dad. He was a contractor all around Nevada. And I think that was the first swimming pool in Las Vegas. There was one there and then there was Lorenzi or— Twin Lakes? Twin Lakes. That’s it. Yes. Yes. There’s one out of Tule Springs that’s quite old too, I’d say. Yes. Tule Springs we used to go out for Girl Scout trips. Oh yes? It was—was it like it is now? UNLV University Libraries Rena Lees 20 Yes. There wasn’t any place to swim, but they had like an artesian well out there. Uh-huh. We used to (unintelligible) but it’s pretty much the same. Getting back to the old ranch, there was people living there, huh? Yes. In the old—in the actual old buildings? In the old adobe buildings. Did they have—do you know if they had facilities in there or did they—? I have no idea. I mean, those are things you don’t pay any attention to when you’re a kid. Yes. You just remember seeing people you know, living in ‘em. Hm. And do you remember anything else about it? You know? No. Because like I said, during that period of time, they were not too involved historically in the community. And they didn’t really care about the old ranch, huh? Uh-uh. They didn’t really pay any attention to it. Do you remember when they tore most of the buildings down or? Uh-uh. That was after I left. Oh, that was after you left? Uh-huh. Okay. It’s like the old Helldorado village that used to be on the corner of Bonanza and Las Vegas Boulevard. It was all—it was like an old fort. UNLV University Libraries Rena Lees 21 Uh-huh. With the—with the wood, you know, fence. Big tall wood fence around it. Uh-huh. And they tore all that down (unintelligible) Was it actually an old fort or was it something somebody built? It was something they built for the Helldorado celebration. I’m sure you’re aware of the Helldorado. (Unintelligible) right. Right. Well, during my time growing up, that was really a big deal. A big celebration. People used to come from all over. There was a lot of cowboy type people here. Oh yes. And people used to come from all over. It was one of the notorious western times all over the West. Can you just—? People would come from Utah, California, Arizona. Is that right? Washington, Oregon, Idaho, for the rodeo and the parades. The parades were huge. The floats on Sunday for the beauty parades were equivalent to the kind of floats they have in the Rose Parade. Absolutely gorgeous. Beautiful. Would you—it’s a lot better then than the Helldorado celebration is now, huh? Oh yes. Oh, I haven’t even been to one in a long time. The last time I went to one, it was just nothing. It was really a big deal during that time. Hm. UNLV University Libraries Rena Lees 22 They even made a movie of it, called The Helldorado. I can’t remember who played in it, but it was really a big deal. Okay. Do you remember—I’ve always been interested, what is now Paradise Valley? What, I mean, what actually is out there? What streets were out there? Was there Eastern, and Tropicana, and Flamingo, and Desert Inn Road or any of those streets? No, uh-uh. Paradise Road went off down there. And it—it just kind of then fizzled out into a dirt road. Uh-huh. And we—we used to go down there. There was a place that everybody called the frog pond. I don’t know—that was another—another artesian well. Uh-huh. And was lots of trees around it, and everybody used to go out there and meet, and have parties. You know, like wiener roasts and things like that at night. And it was all—the rest of it was just desert and mesquite jungles. And people were out living in, like I say, in cars. People were living in cars? (Laughs) Cars and tar paper shacks, and all kinds of things like that. And it was really a—it was really a mess out there. The garbage dump was out there. (Unintelligible) It was crazy. There was no Tropicana or Flamingo? What was the last street out towards that way? The last street I think was the one— Sahara? Sahara wasn’t even there. It was— UNLV University Libraries Rena Lees 23 (Laughs) No Sahara? It didn’t even go past Sahara, huh? No. You—Saint Louis I think was the last street. I can’t imagine Las Vegas that small. I mean, it was really a little town in those days. It was a real small town. That’s amazing how much it’s grown. It’s—it, while I was gone—I was gone for about fifteen years, and when I came back, I couldn’t believe it. What year did you leave? I left in ’56. Fifty-six and—? I used to come home for visits. You came home for visits? And then I came back to live in ’68. And what years would you say the biggest change took place in Las Vegas from you know, how you remembered it when you grew up here? I would say the sixties. The sixties? Yes. That’s when the really big change was. Because in the fifties, they started—they started building more and more hotels. Like, the two original hotels were the El Rancho and the Last Frontier. Uh-huh. And then there’s a hotel that used to—that was built on the corner off Bonanza and Main Street. It was called the Biltmore Hotel. UNLV University Libraries Rena Lees 24 Uh-huh. I think there’s an old furniture store there now. Right. But that was really a neat hotel. It had great floor shows, good dining, everything like that. The Downtown area was the main—what is now Downtown is the main section of town in those days? Yes. Yes. And this was a really nice—what they refer to as a resort hotel. Is that right? Was there gambling? On that corner. Yes. Gambling. You know, it was a regular hotel with the gambling and everything. Was Las Vegas a tourist orientated town in the 30s? Oh yes. Well, I don’t know about the 30s but I—from what I can remember of the 40s, it was. Like, when I was in high school, they had what they called the Wildcat Lair. Uh-huh. And that was built for—it was owned by the city and built for the teenagers. And it was a teenage club, and it was run by—strictly by teenagers. Uh-huh. And like, the board would make arrangements with the hotels to have their entertainers come in and appear at the teenage club on Friday or Saturday night. So sometimes Friday and Saturday, sometimes just Friday, or just Saturday, we would have top name entertainment from the Strip for free. What do you mean by top name? Can you remember any of the entertainers that would come into this place? UNLV University Libraries Rena Lees 25 Oh, Nat King Cole—oh, I’m trying to, I really remember him ‘cause he was so super. I can’t recall all their names now because it was whoever was appearing out on the Strip. Uh-huh. It was you know, the singers, comedians, dancers, everything. Uh-huh. Where was that located? Do you remember where? By the post office. By the old post office. On Stewart? On Stewart. Yes. There’s a parking lot there now. What year did that disband? That—that got torn down after I got out of high school. Oh. Okay. But it was great because we went out and did the whole thing. We contacted the entertainment directors at the hotels. We would set up the entertainment to come in. And then we would meet ‘em and they would entertain. You know, people like the Four Aces, which I’m sure you’ve never heard of. Nope. Never heard of them. Johnny Ray, you know the “Little White Cloud That Cried”? No. I don’t know about that. (Laughs) And let’s see, The Inkspots, Mills Brothers. I’ve heard of them. Yes. All those people. What did kids do in Las Vegas when you were growing up? What was your main source of entertainment? Was there a lot of sports and stuff like that (unintelligible)? UNLV University Libraries Rena Lees 26 Well, they had a baseball team at that time. I think it was a farm team. I’m not sure from which Major League Baseball. Where did they play at? There was—originally they played over behind the post office. There was a baseball field over there. And years ago, there was also a—it was like a fairgrounds, and they had a racetrack there. Horse racing or car racing? And they used to have—horse racing. Horse racing. Yes. Behind the post office. And then they had the baseball field. Then when they opened Cashman, Cashman Field down on Las Vegas Boulevard, then they changed the baseball team over there. And like, we used to go to baseball games. And of course, all of our high school sports—we went to all those things. And we went to movies, and we used to drag Fremont. Drag Fremont? That was still popular, huh? Yes. That was—that was the thing to do, was to drag Fremont. And at that time, drive-ins—drive-in restaurants were popular. And there was a place called Seal’s and the Roundup. And that was one of the most—that was the “in” thing to do, was go to Seal’s and the Roundup. And like, on a Saturday afternoon or Sunday afternoon, we’d go to the movie, and then we’d go out to Seal’s and see who was around. Okay. Okay, what do you remember about the (unintelligible). Who were the bigshots in town? Was it as much the mafia like they say, and the gangster type? Well I—what I can remember of Las Vegas is you know, I can remember hearing people talk about the element of the mafia in town. Uh-huh. UNLV University Libraries Rena Lees 27 I never knew for sure if it was true or what. I really didn’t really get that much into it until after I went away to college and they kept saying to me, “Gee, it must be terrible to have to live in a place like Las Vegas.” Or that’s when the book The Blackboard Jungle came out. Green Felt. The Green Felt Jungle. Excuse me, The Green Felt Jungle. Right. Which I never read. I was just always defending my community. But when I look back on it and I see how Las Vegas is now compared to how Las Vegas was then, I know that Las Vegas is a lot larger now, and that everything all over the world is different. But, if the mafia is the one that was running the town when I was growing up in it, then I wish they’d go back and run it again. There was no such thing as rape. If there was dope, it was very limited. They ran this town absolutely spic and span clean. A kid could walk around anyplace. Who do you mean, they? Was there specific people that you can remember? Well, I can remember the sheriff was Glen Jones— Right. And I can remember there was a supposedly a house out at three mile or four mile out on the Boulder Highway. Roxy’s? Roxy’s. We used to drive by and try and peek in. Of course, you never could see in. But you know, there were no such things as prostitutes running all around on the streets. And I’m sure if there—I can’t ever remember of a murder, if it took place. (Tape one ends) That really talk about the mafia influence in Las Vegas. And if what my town was like when I was growing up, if that was the mafia influence, then I really, truly wish they’d go back to it. UNLV University Libraries Rena Lees 28 Because if you’re going to have gambling and that sort of thing, if you’re gonna have that as your way of life, then you ought to have people that know and understand it run it. And they ran it like a business, and the employees tended to their business. And all the people involved tended to their business. And it was really a good, clean town. Maybe everybody else’s town was bad because of it, but I just know that it was really a good place to grow up. So you don’t think that, you know, a kid would come out of Las Vegas (unintelligible) had anything to do with the gangster type or anything like that? Listen, when—I was very naïve and very sheltered until I went to college. When I went to college is whenever all these things started hitting the (unintelligible) So Las Vegas actually was a very conservative town in those days? Right. Okay. As far as our homes and things like that, it was very conservative. Hm. What big Strip hotels—do you remember about them? What was the price in the 40s? The first one was the El Rancho. Then the Last Frontier. And then the Flamingo. And the Flamingo is when the—if like I say mafia influence started. Bugsy Siegel? Yes. That’s when that really started. What year approximately would that be? Right. I have absolutely— It’d be in the 50s, the early 50s? Late—no, it was in the 40s. Late 40s? UNLV University Libraries Rena Lees 29 I think it was late 40s, yes. And then I can remember a place out there on Las Vegas Boulevard, I think it’s where the Sahara is now, that was called—well, the Thunderbird was there too. Uh-huh. ‘Cause we used to go to the Thunderbird a lot. But, it was around where the Sahara is, it was called—first it was called the VFW Club, and then it expanded. You know, a lot of local people went out there to dances and things like that. And then it expanded to the Bingo Club. Got a little bit bigger. And then from there, I think is where the Sahara originated. And then it grew up to be what it is now. And then they started, in the 50s, late 50s, they started adding the Desert Inn and all of them. Then they just started popping out of the Strip. Then they just boomed, huh? Yes. What are most of the tourists in those days? Were they like—it is mostly LA people, or do you remember? All over. All over? Yes. People were coming in from all over? Right. Where was the airport? Was McCarran Field the airport then or? Yes. It was the airport, but it was on the Strip side. Right on Las Vegas Boulevard? Yes. It was on that side, and that was where you went to—where Hughes is now. Hughes Executive is now, huh? UNLV University Libraries Rena Lees 30 Yes. That was the main airfield here in Las Vegas, huh? Yes. That was quite a ways out there though, in those days probably. When I can remember the original—going to the airport originally, I don’t even remember what year, or what was going on or anything like that, but it was where Nellis is. McCarran Field was where Nellis Air Base is. It was called McCarran Field? Uh-huh. And that was the airport? Uh-huh. Part of the—I think it’s where their base ops is. Nellis Air Force Base Ops. I think that was the original airline for McCarran field. And then when they—during the war, when they started to build the air