The Horseshoe on Fremont Street in the 1950s. Printed text on back of postcard: "The Horsehoe Club, Fremont Street, Las Vegas, Nevada. The new Horsehoe Club is another notable showplace of Las Vegas, Nevada. The tourists, visitors, and Las Vegans, have found here the perfect combination of restful atmosphere and all modern conveniences for relaxation. There is a restaurant serving de luxe meals at low prices, one of the largest bars in Nevada, nearby parking, and all games of chance for which Nevada is famous." Publication information: "Desert Souvenir Supply, Boulder City, Nevada, C.T.Art-colortone' Reg. U.S. Pat. Off."
Site Name: Horseshoe Club
Address: 128 East Fremont Street

The pre-1981 MGM Grand in the evening. Printed text on back of postcard: "The coming attraction of our time is here. MGM Grand Hotel- Las Vegas, a &100 million dollar fantasy. 2100 rooms and suites. The Celebrity Room, reserved for superstars. The Ziegfeld Room, for lavish revues. The Lion's Den, a lively show lounge. Six restaurants. The MGM movie theatre. Tennis. Swimming pools. Health clubs. Shops. And Jai alai, the world's fastest game, in a 2200-seat arena." The MGM Grand Hotel was burned by a fire in 1980, rebuilt in 1981, and sold to Bally's Corporation to become Bally's Las Vegas in 1985.
Site Name: MGM Grand Hotel
Address: 3645 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Las Vegas, NV

Interview with Gene Collins conducted by Claytee D. White on August 31, 2000. Collins grew up in Lake Providence, Louisiana, and moved to Las Vegas in 1966. While attending college, he worked at the Nevada Test Site and trained to be an electrician. He worked with John Patawski and later joined the Aaron Williams Youth Organization and founded a community baseball organization. As a state assemblyman, Collins was instrumental in getting the Martin Luther King Holiday Bill passed along with establishing the Sarah Allen Credit Union. Because of his involvement with the Ministerial Alliance, he was asked to run for president of the NAACP. Under his presidency, he addressed the lack of African Americans in the gaming industry in addition to filing the largest EEOC discrimination suit filed in the state of Nevada against The Mirage Hotel and Casino.

From the Homer Rissman Architectural Records (MS-00452). Written on the image: "Rissman and Rissman Associates 1011 Swarthmore Avenue Pacific Palisades California Gladstone 4-7519. Architects. Structural Engineer Socoloske, Zelner & Assoc. 14545 Friar Street Van Nuys, Calif. 91401 State 5-6821. Mechanical Engineer Ira Tepper & Associates 1147 So. Beverly Drive Los Angeles, Calif. 90035 Crestview 6-1736. Electrical Engineer J. L. Cusick & Associates 4219 Lankershim Blvd. North Hollywood, Cal. 91602 Triangle 7-6231. 1-25-67 Date. Frontier Village Street Las Vegas Nevada. Perspective view. 1 drawing number". 
Site Location: Highway 91 (Clark County, Nevada)

From the Homer Rissman Architectural Records (MS-00452). Written on the image: "Rissman and Rissman Associates 1011 Swarthmore Avenue Pacific Palisades California Gladstone 4-7519. Architects. Structural Engineer Harold L. Epstein 3324 Barham Blvd. Los Angeles, Calif. 90028 Hollywood 3-7121. Mechanical Engineer Ira Tepper & Associates 1147 So. Beverly Drive Los Angeles, Calif. 90035 Crestview 6-1736. Electrical Engineer J.L. Cusick & Associates 4219 Lankershim Blvd. North Hollywood, Cal. 91602 Triangle 7-6231. Hotel Bonanza of Las Vegas U.S. Highway #91 Las Vegas, Nevada. First floor plan. 5 drawing number". 
Site Location: Highway 91 (Clark County, Nevada)

Helen Smith, born and raised in New Jersey, came to Las Vegas in 1956. She intended to visit relatives for a couple of weeks, but ended up staying. Her aunt convinced her to interview at Southern Nevada Memorial Hospital (SNMH) and Helen worked there for a year. She recalls three hospitals at that time: SNMH, the Eighth Street Hospital, and St. Rose de Lima in Henderson. Helen worked in the emergency room back east, so it was natural for her to start in the newly opened ER at Southern Nevada. She recalls treating many victims of accidents on the "Widow Maker", or route 95 to the Test Site, and compares the more advanced treatment and staffing back east with the Las Vegas small-town conditions. In talking about the medical advances she has seen over the years, Helen gives a detailed explanation of autoclaving, describes the duties of an ER nurse, and mentions the shifts that nurses used to work. She also discusses her own progression from relief nurse to day nurse to supervisor, and comparisons are made between hospital stays 30 and 40 years ago to hospital stays today. Helen refers to doctors and nurses that she worked with or knew of, talks about the types of things children were treated for, and shares several anecdotes and stories of patients and their treatment. She also expounds further on her work history at Sunrise Hospital, with her husband in their air-conditioning business, and as case manager for SIIS in workman's compensation. As Las Vegas grew in population, a process which started in the sixties, Helen notes that more specialists were attracted to local hospitals. She shares her own more recent experience as a patient and gives her opinion on the use of ERs for general care rather than true emergencies. Her closing remarks include descriptions of changes in nurses' responsibilities and comments on her husband's work with the Children's Shrine in telemedicine.