Nevada float in the inaugural parade.

Nevada car in the inaugural parade.

Bert Hood is celebrated in Las Vegas's gay history for his ownership of the Red Barn, one of our most famous gay bars. This is another of those serendipitous interviews I've conducted with someone I very much wanted to interview but didn't know how to find. Bert's in Las Vegas from Oklahoma City for just a short while visiting old friends, and I was lucky enough to have found him through Bill Schafer, president of the Southern Nevada Gay and Lesbian Historical Society. I want to thank you, Bert, for donating these two hours of your vacation time to me so I can preserve your stories for the gay community.

Mary Dale Deacon was born in El Paso, Texas, and grew up in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Her father was a Presbyterian minister who had been called to Las Cruces before she was born. She and her older sister and younger brother loved to read and spent a great deal of time in the public library. They all attended grade school and high school in Las Cruces. Mary earned her undergraduate degree at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, and also took some graduate courses in history. When she transferred to the University of Denver to work on her librarian degree, she was able to use the history credits as her minor. After graduating, she interviewed for a position at the University of British Columbia, requesting government publications as her field of interest, and worked there for the next three years. During this time, she met and married a Canadian who was also a librarian. In 1969, Mary and her husband interviewed at the University of Arizona library, and her husband received a job offer. Mary became a research associate on a book which was published, and also had a research paper published. She was eventually hired as head of government documents at the university, and later took a position as assistant librarian in charge of public services. Mary was recommended for director of libraries at UNLV in 1982. She accepted the job, with all its many challenges, and worked there until she retired in 1992. During those ten years, she was responsible for increasing the book collection and the funding, changing to an integrated automated program, instigating staff development and developing new positions, and finally getting a new library as the number one building project for the university system.