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History of Blue Diamond Village in Nevada Oral History Project
This is the history of Blue Diamond Village. Blue Diamond is located 26 miles southwest of Las Vegas. The village, originally known as Cottonwood Springs, changed its name when the Blue Diamond Company took ownership of the Gypsum mine and built corporate housing for the workers in the early '20s. Near the base of the Red Rock canyon, Blue Diamond Village was originally a stop on the Old Spanish Trail for traders from Santa Fe, N.M., to California between 1830 and 1848, according to the history committee's findings.
Corporate Body
JMA Architecture Studios
JMA (Jack Miller & Associates) was established by Jack Miller (1914-1999) in 1945 and is one of the oldest architectural firms in Las Vegas. Jack Miller came to Las Vegas in 1942 to assist in the design of the Basic Magnesium Plant in Henderson. As one of only a few architects working in Las Vegas after the war, Miller was able to establish a thriving practice designing all types of buildings: schools, residences, commercial and government buildings, hospitals and the original Stardust Hotel.
Corporate Body
Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. Theta Theta Omega Chapter (Las Vegas, Nev.)
Corporate Body Alternate Name
Alpha Kappa Alpha, Incorporated (AKA), is one of the oldest Black sororities in the United States, and was
founded on January 15, 1908 at Howard University in Washington, D.C. AKA is an international service
organization that comprises nearly 300,000 members in over 1,000 graduate and undergraduate chapters
worldwide.
Theta Theta Omega originally started in 1962 when six members of AKA sought to create a graduate
chapter in Las Vegas, Nevada. AKA recruited members by posting notices throughout the Clark County
Corporate Body
Maurice, Dick
Talk show host and columnist Dick Maurice was born on November 5, 1946 in Connecticut where he spent his formative years. In 1965, he enrolled at Northeast Broadcasting School in Boston, Massachusetts. After graduation he moved to New York City, New York where he stayed until the fall of 1975 when an agreement was reached with Red Gilson, general manager of KSHO-TV, an ABC affiliate, to give Maurice his own morning TV talk show in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Person
Bruner, Elmo C., 1906-1973
Elmo C. Bruner came to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1947 and established himself as an architect and appraiser. Born in Texas, he grew up in Oklahoma and attended Oklahoma State University. He graduated in 1931 with a BA and BS in architecture and engineering. He married Lucile Spire that same year. The couple went on to have four children: Elmo, Allen, Jerry, and Janice. After graduation, he worked for the Oklahoma State Highway Department and for several oil companies. From 1945 to 1947, he worked as an architectural engineer on the Los Alamos Project.
Person