Ann Brewington Papers (1984-1987) consist of letters and clippings related to Nevada history. Correspondence is primarily from Anne Brewington's sister, Ida Brewington, to Brewington regarding Ida Pittman's death. This collection also contains a letter from Florence Cahlan and copies of letters sent to Cahlan about an article she had written on Ida Brewington Pittman. Also included is another article about Pittman that appeared in the December 2, 1984 Nevadan that has a few hand written notes in the margins, as do a few of the letters.
Teacher, librarian, and writer Clarabelle H. Decker was born Clarabelle Douglas in Bellevue, Colorado on November 03, 1900. She and her family moved to Oatman, Arizona, where Decker attended Northern Arizona State Teachers College (now Northern Arizona University) and received her Bachelor of Arts degree. She later earned a Master of Arts degree in English and School Supervision from the University of Washington, and a degree in library sciences from the University of Southern California.
Oral history interview with Florence and Jerry Vallen conducted by Kenneth "K. J." Evans in 1999 for the Las Vegas Review-Journal First 100 Oral History Project. In the interview, Jerome "Jerry" Vallen discusses his early life in Philadelphia, focusing on his family history and marrying Florence. Jerry then talks about his children, his education in hotel management, and his arrival to Las Vegas, Nevada with Florence in 1967. Jerry and Florence recall the establishment of the College of Hotel Administration, later known as the William F. Harrah College of Hospitality, at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). Other subjects they cover include the Clark County school system and the programs available for the students' professional development.
Ina Porter recalls the story of choosing to move to the John S. Park Neighborhood in the 1940s. She and her husband Burdell were accustom to paying cash for everything and needed to establish credit with Sears to purchase their $5000 home, which was not considered inexpensive. They were among the earlier homeowners and soon the neighborhood grew to include a Mormon Church that would become so integral to the Porter family's life and to the John S. Park community. Ina was born 1917 in the small southern Utah town of Kanab. She describes her youth and speaks of the Great Depression. Ina graduated from high school in 1935, married in 1936 and moved to Las Vegas, where there were jobs for her husband. Finding work after his graduation from college was not easy, but because he had been a bus driver he was able to secure a position driving a bus for the Union Pacific Railroad and later Greyhound Bus Line. Years later Ina, Burdell and their family were part of the fiber of the Joh
Gwendolyn K. Walker arrived in North Las Vegas in 1962 from Houston, Texas, as a five-year-old with her parents, two brothers, and her cousins. The Walker family at first moved to a rented house on D Street, and Gwen attended Kit Carson Elementary School for first grade. Her mother enrolled in nursing school, so she sent Gwen back to Delhi, Louisiana, to be raised by her grandmother. In Delhi Gwen picked cotton with her aunt while she was in the second grade. Gwen returned to North Las Vegas to live with her mother and complete elementary school at Jo Mackey before matriculating to J. D. Smith Elementary School for junior high school and then to Clark High School. Later she attended UNLV. Gwen and her mother joined Saint James Catholic Church at H Street and Washington Avenue, but after she returned from Delhi she joined Second Baptist Church, where she became close with a cohort of friends that remained strong even as she experienced racism and bullying and love for the first time.