Joseph Thiriot is a longtime Las Vegas resident who served the community as an educator. He was born in 1906 in Provo, Utah; one of five sons bom to George W. and Elvira Thiriot. He has vivid memories of moving about, including living in Idaho where his father sold a typing machine , a forerunner to the typewriter. Eventually the family moved to a ranch in Pahranagat Valley, Nevada, where the limits of educational opportunities compelled his paients to send him back to Provo to finish his education while living with family there. Gaining a teaching certificate enabled Joseph to teach in rural Nevada. He completed his degree at the University of Utah and after meeting Las Vegas Superintendent Maude Frazier he relocated to Las Vegas to become a teacher. He reminisces about his life and the changes that have occurred over the years in Las Vegas.

Hotel Nevada after the addition of a balcony. Transcribed from photo sleeve: "by Florence Lee Jones ... March, 1969. Early Las Vegas History. The Hotel Nevada, at the Southeast corner of Main and Fremont Streets, is the oldest continuous hotel business in Las Vegas, although it has been known as Sal Sagev (Las Vegas spelled backward) since 1928. The hostelry started as a tent in 1905, but the late John Miller soon erected a permanent building, shown above, which provided the most luxurious accommodations and the best food in Las Vegas for many years. In the 1930's the Sal Sagev Hotel had one of the three elevators in town. A private dining room was a popular place for private parties for the elite of the town. The hotel is now owned and operated by Miller's son, Abe Miller, and his daughter, Mrs. Sherman E. Nugent. The Golden Gate Club now occupies much of the first floor of the building. On the North side of the building is a sign "Bank of Southern Nevada", which was the second bank established in Las Vegas. (The other was the First State Bank.) Started by John F. Miller, Ed Von Tobel, Sr., Will Beckley, Attorney Frank Stevens, and Hal D. Buzick, the Bank of Southern Nevada was an important factor in Southern Nevada's economy. During the 1930's and the Depression, the federal government issued restrictive orders on bank operations. The reaction of the independent Las Vegans was 'No guy in Washington is going to tell us how to run our bank.' ... So they paid off all the depositors and closed the bank. The Rhoads & Rhoads General Machine Works (extreme right) was one of the first automobile agencies in town - the start of Community Chevrolet."
Site Name: Hotel Nevada
Address: 1 Fremont Street