Journalist and photographer Sherwin "Scoop" Garside was born in Tonopah, Nevada in 1915. He was the son of Frank Garside, an owner of many newspapers, including the Las Vegas Review, which became the Las Vegas Review-Journal in 1929. Sherwin Garside moved to Las Vegas, Nevada when his father purchased the Las Vegas Review in 1926. Garside graduated from Las Vegas High School, where he earned the nickname "Scoop" writing for the school newspaper, The Desert Breeze.

William Hillman Shockley was born on September 18, 1855 in New Bedford, Massachusetts to William, a whaling captain, and Sarah Shockley. He had two younger brothers, George and Walter. Shockley graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1875. He worked for a time in Florida and California before moving to Nevada.