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Photograph of the interior of Hughes Tool Co., Houston, Texas, circa 1950s

Date

1950 to 1959

Description

Transcribed from attached press release: HUGHES TOOL COMPANY Cornerstone of the industrial empire of Howard Hughes is the Hughes Tool Company of Houston, Texas, which last year produced more than half a million rock bits for drilling the kind of deep wells now producing 90 per cent of the world's petroleum. In the company's mechanical testing section (above) engineers test the products under conditions simulating actual drilling. Howard Hughes' father's invention of the rock bit is believed to be one of the most important industrial developments of the century; without such a tool we might still be living in a horse and buggy era."

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Photograph of Mayor Oran K. Gragson (left) with author Earl Wilson, circa 1971

Date

1969 to 1972

Archival Collection

Description

Las Vegas Mayor Oran K. Gragson (left) with author Earl Wilson. Mayor Gragson is holding a copy of Earl's book, The Show Business Nobody Knows. A large cake decorated as a newspaper announcing the publishing of the book sits on the table in front of them. The location where the photograph was taken is unknown. 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. Earl Wilson (May 3, 1907–January 16, 1987), born Harvey Earl Wilson, was an American journalist, gossip columnist and author, perhaps best known for his nationally syndicated newspaper column, It Happened Last Night. Wilson's column originated from the New York Post and ran from 1942 until 1983. His chronicling of the Broadway theatre scene during the "Golden Age" of show business formed the basis for a book published in 1971, The Show Business Nobody Knows. He signed his columns with the tag line, "That's Earl, brother." His nickname was "Midnight Earl". In later years, the name of his column was changed to Last Night With Earl Wilson. In his final years with the Post, he alternated with the paper's entertainment writer and restaurant critic, Martin Burden, in turning out the column. (Burden, who died in 1993, took over the Last Night column full-time upon Wilson's retirement.) Wilson is also the author of two controversial books, Show Business Laid Bare, and an unauthorized biography of Frank Sinatra, Sinatra – An Unauthorized Biography. The former book is notable for revealing the extramarital affairs of President John F. Kennedy.

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Photograph of a man working on rock bit drilling pieces at the Hughes Tool Co., Houston, Texas, circa 1950s

Date

1950 to 1959

Description

Transcribed from attached press release: "HUGHES ROCK BIT PRODUCTION more than 500,000 rock bits produced last year by the Hughes Tool Company, Houston, Texas, for drilling the kind of deep wells which now produce 90 per cent of the world's petroleum. The rock bit was invented by Howard Hughes' father and the resulting business became the cornerstone on which Howard Hughes built his industrial empire. The machinist above is performing an operation on the cones which make up the rotating end of the Hughes rock bit." Transcribed from photo sleeve: "The Kearney and Trecker 4 spindle machine at the Hughes Tool Company in Houston, Texas. Ca. 1950s."

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Postcard showing Scotty's Castle and Death Valley Scotty, Death Valley, California, circa mid 1900s

Date

1920 to 1959

Archival Collection

Description

An image composed of Scotty's Castle, Death Valley Scotty, and a stone covered in petroglyphs. Located within the far northern region of Death Valley in Grapevine Canyon, the Death Valley Ranch, more commonly known as Scotty's Castle, is a prime example of Spanish-Mediterranean styling during the Roaring 1920s and Depression of the 1930s. Death Valley Scotty was a prospector, performer, and con man who was made famous by his scams involving gold mining near Death Valley. The petroglyph-covered rock beside Death Valley Scotty was designed by Native Americans who inhabited the valley hundreds of years ago. Transcribed across the bottom of the image: "The world's most hospitable host, Death Valley Scotty," Scotty's Castle, Death Valley, Calif."

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Kathy Werstein and parents pictured outside Desert Inn Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada: photographic prints

Date

1994 (year uncertain) to 1996 (year uncertain)

Description

From the Las Vegas: Snapshots of History Photograph Collection (PH-00425)

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Postcard showing Scotty's Castle and Death Valley Scotty, Death Valley, California, circa 1930s

Date

1930 to 1939

Archival Collection

Description

A colored postcard showing an artist's representation of Scotty's Castle, Death Valley Scotty, and a stone covered in petroglyphs in Death Valley, California. Located within the far northern region of Death Valley in Grapevine Canyon, the Death Valley Ranch, more commonly known as Scotty's Castle, is a prime example of Spanish-Mediterranean styling during the Roaring '20s and Depression '30s. Death Valley Scotty, 1872-1954, was a prospector, performer, and con man whose was made famous by his scams involving gold mining near Death Valley. The petroglyph-covered rock beside Death Valley Scotty was designed by Native Americans who inhabited the valley hundreds of years ago. Transcribed across the borders of the image: "Death Valley National Monument, California; Death Valley Scotty And His Castle." The "Frasher's Foto" logo is branded upon the bottom right corner of the postcard.

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Photograph of Mayor Oran K, Gragson speaking at the pre-telethon production meeting, Las Vegas, Nevada, 1974

Date

1974

Archival Collection

Description

Las Vegas Mayor Oran K. Gragson (at the podium) addressing the general session at the pre-telethon production meeting for the Jerry Lewis Muscular Dystrophy Telethon at the Sahara Hotel and Casino. 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. The Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon was an annual telethon held each Labor Day in the United States to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA). The show was founded and hosted by actor and comedian Jerry Lewis, who hosted the broadcast from its 1966 inception until 2010. The history of MDA's telethon dated back to the 1950s, when the Jerry Lewis Thanksgiving Party for MDA raised funds for the organization's New York City area operations. The telethon was held annually on Labor Day weekend beginning in 1966, and would raise $2.45 billion for MDA from its inception through 2009. The telethon aired up to 21½ hours, starting on the Sunday evening preceding Labor Day and continuing until late Monday afternoon on the holiday itself. MDA called its network of participating stations the "Love Network". The show originated from Las Vegas for 28 of the years it was broadcast. Beginning in 2011, coinciding with Lewis's controversial departure, MDA radically reformatted and shortened the telethon's format into that of a benefit concert, shortening the length of the special each successive year. Successive telethons from 2012 to 2014 renamed the show as the MDA Show of Strength and further cut its airtime. The 2012 edition was reduced to three hours as a primetime-only broadcast. The 2012 edition did not refer itself as a "telethon". The 2013 Show of Strength discontinued the long-standing format of being syndicated to individual stations of varying network affiliation and aired on a major national network instead of being syndicated to individual stations, airing on ABC on Sunday, September 1, 2013, and being reduced to two hours. While the 2012 edition did not refer itself as a "telethon", it referred itself as such for the 2013 edition. The final edition, for 2014, aired on ABC on August 31, again as a two-hour special beginning at 9PM ET/PT. This was the final edition for the telethon, as it was announced on May 1, 2015 that the MDA would be discontinuing the annual event.

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Photograph of several influential Las Vegans planting a tree in the courthouse park, Las Vegas, March 1911

Date

1911-03

Description

Description given with photograph: "This photo was taken by C. P. Squires on the occasion of planting the first tree in the courthouse park, Las Vegas, Nevada. Date March 1911, as near as can be fixed. The building shown at left is the first Clark County Courthouse (now used for the LV City Library). Las Vegas City Library had been constructed by popular subscription by Las Vegas businessmen as promised by them during the county division campaign in 1908-1909. This building provided sufficient quarters for the county offices for five years, following which, the present courthouse was built. Persons shown, as far as their identity can be remembered are: (holding the tree) Ed W. Clark, (using the shovel) Judge E. L. Taber. Others, left to right: Charles Ronnow; Judge W. R. Thomas; unidentified; Bob Dillon; Frank A. Stevens; Harley A. Harmon and Dr. R. W. Martin (partly in picture)."

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Transcript of interview with Christopher Phipps by Dennis McBride, November 6, 1998

Date

1998-11-06

Description

Christopher Phipps, attorney in Las Vegas discusses his life. Hailing from Honolulu, Hawaii, and his adventure that led him to Las Vegas, Nevada.

Text

Photograph of a horse belonging to Evelyn Stewart

Date

1869 (year uncertain) to 1930 (year uncertain)

Archival Collection

Description

Weidner Photo is written on the photo.

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