Florence McClure worked on behalf of women in Las Vegas, co-founding the organization Community Action Against Rape (CAAR) and advocating for incarcerated women. Born Florence Alberta Schilling in Centralia, Illinois on September 26, 1919, she attended MacMurray College for Women before transferring to Hardin Business College where she graduated in October 1941.

James "Big Jim" Cashman was born to Benjamin Franklin Cashman and Ella Mary Stovall in Ladue, Missouri on December 16, 1884. Cashman moved to Searchlight, Nevada in 1904 and began working a variety of jobs until he opened an automobile garage in approximately 1910. Cashman later sold automobiles and operated in Searchlight until the mining boom halted around 1920. As a result, Cashman decided to move his business to the growing city of Las Vegas, Nevada. Cashman met his future wife, Leah Barker, in Las Vegas and they married in 1923.