Oral history interview with Patty and Harry Todd conducted by Claytee D. White on May 28, 2024 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. In this interview, Patty Todd describes her childhood on the Westside of Las Vegas, and remembers a friendly community. She attended the Westside School and graduated from Rancho High School. Patty met her husband, Harry, at a Military Appreciation Ball on October 15, 1966. Harry Todd grew up in Pennsylvania and moved to Las Vegas, Nevada when he joined the Air Force. The two share memories of living on the Westside and growing up with the city in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Patty shares about her family's long history in Las Vegas, and at one point an earlier generation homesteaded property at the corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Flamingo where the Bellagio stands today. Digital audio available; no transcript available.
Archival Collection
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In 1905 a twenty-two-year-old second-generation Swiss American left Los Angeles with a friend for Lincoln County, Nevada. Edward "Ed" Von Tobel (1873-1967) and his friend Jake Beckley had heard about some land that was going up for auction. Together they purchased a parcel on the second day in the new desert town of Las Vegas, where they established Von Tobel's Lumber Company, which served Southern Nevada from 1905 until it closed in 1976. In Las Vegas Von Tobel met and married fellow German-speaker Mary Hameril, and together the couple raised four children in the city: Jake, Katherine Elizabeth, Ed Jr., and George. Many Von Tobel descendants live here still. Margaret Carnell, granddaughter of Ed Von Tobel and Mary Hameril and the oldest of three daughters of Elizabeth Von Tobel and Kenneth Zahn, was born in Las Vegas in 1939. After attending Arizona State University Margaret married in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1958 Margaret raised two children in Scottsdale, Arizona, before returning to Las Vegas in 1983. Margaret manages the Von Tobel family properties and in her spare time likes to travel. Patricia "Patsy" Brinton is the second daughter of Elizabeth Von Tobel and Kenneth Zahn. Like her sisters Patsy was raised in Las Vegas, where in 1972 she married real estate broker Robert Brinton. The Brintons raised two daughters and a son. Like her cousin Sharon, Patsy donates considerable volunteer hours through Assistance League of Las Vegas and Junior League of Las Vegas. Patsy enjoys traveling and playing golf and tennis. Sharon Schmitt, the second of four daughters of Edward Von Tobel Jr. and Evelyne Leonard, was born in Las Vegas in 1940. In 1963 in Las Vegas Sharon married Larry Schmitt, an agent for Allstate Insurance. Besides enjoying traveling and playing tennis, Sharon has long been an active community volunteer through Assistance League of Las Vegas, Junior League of Las Vegas, and Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church. Together the Schmitts raised a family of three children, who still live in Las Vegas and are raising the next generation of the Von Tobel family.
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