Oral history interview with Helen E. La Plant conducted by Claytee D. White on October 08, 2003 for the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. La Plant begins by discussing her early life in Minneapolis, Minnesota during the 1920s and 1930s and joining the United States Army at the age of twenty-one. La Plant then describes serving in Okinawa, Japan after World War II as a photographer for the Signal Corps. La Plant describes her return from Japan and decision to attend photography school in New York City, New York. La Plant then chronicles her experiences moving to Las Vegas, Nevada in the late 1950s to work at the Nevada Test Site as a photographer. She then recounts the shift from aboveground atomic testing to underground testing and her role as head of the photography department at the Nevada Test Site. Lastly, La Plant talks about entertainment during the 1960s in Las Vegas.
The Nevada Division of State Parks Photograph Collection (approximately 1910-1940) contains black-and-white photographic prints and some corresponding negatives that depict state parks and recreational areas throughout southern Nevada. The images also portray Lake Mead, Hoover Dam, Logandale, the Valley of Fire, and Mount Charleston as well as images of actors filming on location in southern Nevada.
The Charles A. Hendel Notebook is comprised of one notebook of poetry and prose written by Charlie Hendel between 1960 and 1976. Topics include the state of Nevada, World War II, American nationalism, and biographical materials about Charles Hendel.
The Hazel Baker Denton Photograph Collection (1910-1961) is comprised of photographic prints and one negative of the Denton family and friends, primarily taken in Nevada and Utah. Many photographs depict life in small Nevada towns, particularly Caliente. Photographs also depict Utah, Oregon, Washington D.C., and California, and unidentified desert and forest landscapes throughout the American West.
The Frank Scott Papers date from 1940 to 1984 and contain promotional materials, photographs, and menus from the Union Plaza Hotel; University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) basketball memorabilia; and KRLR TV documentation, correspondence, and news clippings. The collection also contains a scrapbook and photographs of the re-opening of the Mizpah Hotel in Tonopah, Nevada.
Tower of Jewels is one of those iconic Las Vegas businesses that continues to thrive. At the time of this interview, Jack Weinstein is in his nineties and “retired.” With him is his daughter Polly Weinstein, who in addition to being involved in the business management has her own custom designed jewelry line, aptly named The Jeweler’s Daughter. As the youngest of six children born to Jewish Russian immigrants Joseph and Pauline (Polly is named for her grandmother), Jack was raised in a dangerous neighborhood of Detroit, Michigan. His youthful enterprise included collaborating and then splitting up with his brothers in a jewelry business, before eventually moving west to Los Angles in the early 1960s. On his own, Jack became a wholesale salesperson representing lines of watches to other businesses. Included in his list of clients was Al Sanford’s Tower of Jewels in Las Vegas. The two became friends and Al suggested setting up a partnership between Al’s son and Jack in 1964. Eventually