Bell Family Scrapbook scanning, Set 4, proofed 11.04.2010 Group of cowboys at Walking Box Ranch. Rex Bell (George Francis Beldam) is second from the left on horseback
Bell Family Scrapbook scanning, Set 4, proofed 11.04.2010 Rex Bell (George Francis Beldam)and Curley Fletcher (with hand on chin) seated at a bar at an unknown location, having drinks. Curley was a cowboy poet and songwriter
Bell Family Scrapbook scanning, Set 4, proofed 11.04.2010 Rex Bell (George Francis Beldam)and Clara Bow center, with four unidentified men. One of the men is Bill Froelich (man without a hat)" They are standing outside the ranch house at Walking Box Ranch
Album contains Wieking family photos, photos of Hoover Dam construction, Black Canyon, ferries on the Colorado River, ruins of Fort Callville, Englers Camp, Las Vegas Ranch, Mt. Charleston, deserts in Nevada and Arizona, Hoover Dam laboratory workers, the first train in Railroad Pass, and snow in Las Vegas. Also included are one color postcard titled "The Grand Canyon Bridge, Arizona," and prints of two poems, "Mornin' On The Desert" and "Nevada" (authors unknown). A paper finding aid is available in the album box.
Group photograph of Boulder City (Nevada) Elementary School teachers and faculty. Front row, L-R: unknown woman, Emma Wood, Cecelia Thomas, Dorothy Johnson, Mabel Arnold, Edna French, Mae Hale. Second row: Nell Jones, Merle Lyon, Catherine Keese, Addie Heddens, Ada Robeson, Eileen Conners, Marian Sutherland, Paula Donlin. Third row: Andrew Mitchell, Lee Norman, Cal Smith, unknown woman, Evelyn Childress, unknown woman, Violet Muchow, Catherine Willis, Louise Newell, Marge Wallon, Virginia Arp, Thelma Parmelee, Neosha Norman, Rebecca Nalley.
Floyd Francis (center), Jake Beckley (right), and unidentified man in the "Old Swimming Hole" on the Von Tobel and Beckley property
Transcribed Notes: Transcribed from photo sleeve: "Floyd Francis (center), Jake Beckley (right), and unidentified man (on left) in an old swimming hole formed on the property of Von Tobel and Beckley."; Transcribed background history: "Early Las Vegas History by Florence Lee Jones, April 1969: Creating their own oasis in the Las Vegas Valley was the hobby of the late Ed Von Tobel, Sr., and his partner, the late Jake Beckley, when they came to Las Vegas in 1905 as gay young bachelors. At their ranch in Paradise Valley, where they owned the 120 acres now comprising the Sierra Vista Ranchos, exclusive residential area, they used the facilities at hand to form an 'old swimming hole.' From one of the three wells they drilled they diverted the free-flowing water into a nearby creek bed, built a cement dam to contain the water, and had their own pleasure resort. In this picture, from left, an unidentified man; Floyd Francis, early employee of the Von Tobel Lumber Company; and Jake Beckley, a partner in the fi
Floyd Francis, an unidentified man, and Jake Beckley in the "old swimming hole" on the Von Tobel and Beckley property
Transcribed Notes: Transcribed from photo sleeve: "Another view of Floyd Francis, an unidentified man and Jake Beckley in the swimming hole on the property in Paradise Valley owned by Von Tobel and Beckley."; Transcribed from background history: "Early Las Vegas History by Florence Lee Jones, April 1969: In the years immediately after the auction of lots and the start of Las Vegas in 1905, a swimming pool was unknown in the area - but the late Ed Von Tobel, Sr., and his partner in the lumber business, Jake Beckley, solved that problem, as this picture shows. Von Tobel took this picture, showing from left Floyd Francis, who worked for more than 20 years at the Von Tobel Lumber Company; an unidentified man; and at right, Beckley. At their 120-acre ranch in Paradise Valley, which was a week-end retreat for the partners, they drilled three wells so they could irrigate their fruit orchard and truck garden. One of the wells had such a heavy flow that they dammed up a natural wash and created a swimming pool, a
The Hotel Las Vegas was the first hotel in Las Vegas, a tent set up for people who came to participate in the land auction. Managed by Pop Squires." Transcribed from back of photo: "Hotel Las Vegas 1905. Hotel Las Vegas, built by Las Vegas Trading Co. in 1905 was located on North Main Street between Stewart and the creek across from Woodards Down Town Camp on grounds later occupied by Elwells Ware House. All canvas and lumber used in building was cut to size and holes bored in Los Angeles, ready to be bolted together on arrival in Las Vegas. Hotel had 20 rooms. Floor space was 40 x 130 ft. Kitchen and Dining Room are seen next door to Hotel on the right. This Hotel was managed by Chas. P. Squires. Photo by Eddie Gillette, 1905." Transcribed from Special Collections sheet: "Selling of L.V. First L.V. Hotel pic cap. First Las Vegas Hotel -- The Hotel Las Vegas was made ready for the first buyers of real estate at the 1905 auction when the Las Vegas Trading Co., managed by Charles (Pop) Squires, opened the registry. All canvas and lumber used in building was cut to size and holes bored in Los Angeles, a prefab forerunner. Hotel Las Vegas boasted 20 rooms and was regarded as the top 'night spot' of its day." Site Name: Hotel Las Vegas Address: 1 Fremont Street
Las Vegas Mayor Oran K. Gragson cutting the ribbon at the opening of Nevada State Bank. The white-haired gentlemen standing to his left is former Nevada Governor Vail Pittman. Oran Kenneth Gragson (February 14, 1911 – October 7, 2002) was an American businessman and politician. He was the longest-serving mayor of Las Vegas, Nevada, from 1959 to 1975. Gragson, a member of the Republican Party, was a small business owner who was elected Mayor on a reform platform against police corruption and for equal opportunity for people of all socio-economic and racial categories. Gragson died in a Las Vegas hospice on October 7, 2002, at the age of 91. The Oran K. Gragson Elementary School located at 555 N. Honolulu Street, Las Vegas, NV 89110 was named in his honor. Vail Montgomery Pittman (September 17, 1880[a] – January 29, 1964) was an American politician. He was the 19th Governor of Nevada. He was a member of the Democratic Party. Pittman moved to Tonopah, Nevada in 1904 and began a successful newspaper publishing career. He met Ida Louise Brewington there and they married in Reno, Nevada on May 20, 1919. He and his wife bought the "Ely Daily Times" in Ely, Nevada and moved there in April of 1920 and began what was to be a very successful business. Elected to the Nevada State Senate, Pittman was in the position from 1925 to 1928. Pittman was elected the 19th Lieutenant Governor of Nevada in 1942. He was a candidate in the Democratic primary for United States Senate in 1944, but was defeated by the incumbent, Pat McCarran. He became governor when Edward P. Carville resigned in 1945. He was elected in 1946 to a term of his own and Pittman served until 1951. He and his wife moved back to Ely and continued operating the "Ely Daily Times" and traveling extensively. He served as a member of the 1960 Democratic National Committee.
A plaque portraying the Governors of Nevada, acting and elected, in the Chamber of Commerce in Boulder City, Nevada. Description provided with image: "Pictured: 1. James W. Nye (1861-1864), 2. H.G. Blasdel (1864-1870), 3. L.R. Bradley (1871-1878), 4. John H. Kinkead (1879- 1882), 5. Jewett W. Adams (1883-1886), 6. C.C. Stevenson (1887-1890), 7. Frank Bell (1890), 8. R.K. Colcord (1891-1894), 9. John E. Jones (1895-1896), 10. Reinhold Sadler (1896-1902), 11. John Sparks (1903-1908), 12. Denver S. Dickerson (1908-1910), 13. Tasker L. Oddie (1911-1914), 14. Emmet D. Boyle (1915-1922), 15. Jas G. Scrugham (1923-1926), 16. Fred B. Balzar (1927-1934), 17. Morley Griswwold (1934), 18. Richard Kirman Sr. (1935-1938), 19. E.P. Carville (1939-1945), 20. Vail M. Pittman (1945- 1950), 21. Charles H. Russell (1951-1958), 22. Grant Sawyer (1959-1966), 23. Paul D. Laxalt (1967-)."