I, Chester Davis, was born in Long Beach, California, June 22, 1929.
There was always music in the home. Two maiden aunts who visited regularly, encouraged their nephew to sing songs. He had a good ear and sang in tune. The wind-up "Victrola" was regularly heard playing Stephen Foster and Victor Herbert.
The Rodney Sumpter Papers on Doe v. Bryan contain the legal files of the lawyer Rodney Sumpter, who represented the appellants in the Nevada District Court case Doe v. Bryan (1985) and subsequent appeal in the Nevada State Supreme Court in 1986. Doe v. Bryan challenged one of Nevada's sodomy laws (NRS 201.190), and the collection contains affidavits, motion requests, correspondence, newspaper clippings, and memoranda regarding the case.
The Betty Ham Dokter Photographs depict the Ham Family from 1850 to 1976. The materials include photographs of the family after they moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1916 and document the early growth of the city. The materials also include photographs of the Colorado River, the Hoover (Boulder) Dam site before and after its construction, dinner parties, family photographs, and citizens of the Las Vegas area. The materials also include photographs of Alta Mereness Ham, Betty Ham Dokter's mother, on the set of the film Water.
The Leslie H. Smith Papers (approximately 1920-2018) contains the personal papers of Leslie H. Smith, who grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada, and mainly documents his involvement with the Las Vegas High School Alumni Association organizing and attending the school's annual reunions. The collection includes personal papers, scrapbooks, and photographs documenting Smith's family, including his father Dr. J. D. Smith, his mother Ruth Weir Smith, and his sister Jeanne Smith Stewart. Reproductions of class photographs from the Las Vegas Grammar School (now known as the Historic Fifth Street School) where Smith attended elementary school are also included this collection.
The Artemus W. Ham Family Papers (1857-1970) contain postcards written by family members, newspaper clippings about the Ham family, and a Nevada Senate Concurrent Resolution memorializing Artemus W. Ham, Sr. Also included are genealogy notes, a commencement program from Michigan Law School, and membership cards of Artemus W. Ham, Sr.
The Ralph Roske Photographs (approximately 1917-1989) depict life in rural Southern Nevada and newspaper clippings from the Goodsprings Gazette. The collection consists of thirty-five images dated from 1917 to 1989. The images consist of unidentified Nevadans, Las Vegas landmarks, and members of the McAllister family in Carraca, Nevada.
The Toni and Wilbur Clark Photographs depict Las Vegas, Nevada casino owner and land developer Wilbur Clark and his wife Toni from 1910 to 1975. The photographs primarily document Wilbur and Toni Clark at the Desert Inn, the hotel and casino Wilbur co-owned. The photographs also depict him with politicians and entertainers, and Wilbur and Toni Clark’s house in Las Vegas.