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.
Connie Hill Sheldon and her identical twin, Billie, also were members of Rancho High School 's first graduating class of 1962. Connie and Billie were born in 1944 in Oklahoma and spent their early years in southern California before moving to Las Vegas in 1956 with their mother, brother, and stepfather, Gerald Elmore. In Las Vegas Connie and her siblings attended Sunrise Acres Elementary School before going to Rancho, and the family was active with Homesite Baptist Church. While she was at Rancho Connie worked at the Huntridge Theater, and she continued working there after she graduated. In 1968 Connie married fellow Rancho '62 classmate Clyde Sheldon in Goldfield, Nevada. At the time of their marriage Clyde was an active-duty Marine. Over the course of his twenty-year USMC career the Sheldons lived in several places, but following his 1983 retirement they returned to Las Vegas and then moved to Pahrump. In this interview Connie particularly focuses on military life in New Yo
Folder contains: law school questionnaire and responses, 1973; press release about a statewide advisory board charged with developing preliminary plans for a law school at UNLV, June 20, 1973; Minutes of the Joint Senate-Assembly Education Committee Meeting for a Law School, March 16, 1973; press releases about donations; notes; and newspaper clippings. From the University of Nevada, Las Vegas William S. Boyd School of Law Records (UA-00048).
A resident of Southern Nevada from the age of three, Susan Watson shares her memories of growing up and living in Las Vegas. After a year in Boulder City, Susan's father bought an old army barrack and converted it to a home in North Las Vegas; Susan remembers playing in the desert with her siblings and attending elementary and middle school before starting at Rancho High. Watching her mother design costumes for Strip performers and beautiful dresses for her own high school dances no doubt helped Susan develop her own sense of taste and style - something that she would put to good use over many years as an interior designer. Before that though, Susan shares her memories of what life was like in the Las Vegas of the 1950s and 1960s: cruising Fremont Street; movie nights; after-school work; favorite teachers; lunches on the lawn; and dance club. All combine to paint a vivid picture of a smaller town and a simpler time in the Las Vegas valley.