This folder is from "Legal Records" file of the Sadie and Hampton George Papers (MS-00434)

Phil Tobin posing on a white horse at an unknown location. In 1931, as a freshman Assemblyman, Phil Tobin introduced a bill to legalize gambling in Nevada. A Humboldt County rancher and buckaroo, the 29-year old had no interest in gambling himself. Instead, he correctly believed legalized gambling would benefit the public and especially schools thanks to tax revenues. At the time, illicit gambling houses were thriving in Las Vegas, and with Hoover Dam slated to begin construction 40 miles away, many feared the increased Federal presence associated with the Dam construction effort would lead to a clamp-down. The measure passed. After serving out his term, Tobin returned to ranch life for good.

From the Nye County, Nevada Photograph Collection (PH-00221) -- Series IV. Pahrump, Nevada -- Subseries IV.D. Wiley Family. In the years after Roland Wiley acquired John Yount's ranch in Pahrump Valley, Nevada, access was difficult. From Las Vegas the shortest route was to drive through Goodsprings over a paved road, then to Sandy Valley, which was a narrow gravel road; then to the Pahrump Valley and west on the Tecopa Road. The trip took 3-1/2 hours. Wiley notes that from the ranch, it was a 7-hour round trip drive into Las Vegas to buy a 10-cent screw. In 1941, Roland constructed the airstrip pictured here near the ranch in order to make access easier.