Andre, Joseph Otto, 1890-1982

Joseph (Joe) Otto Andre was born in Carlow, Missouri in 1890. He joined the United States Marine Corps (USMC) around 1906. He became part of the United States Marine Band, learning how to play clarinet and other instruments. After completing his military service, Andre pursued a career in music, traveling around the northwestern United States with a small band. While traveling, Andre met Dorothy Engel in Astoria, Oregon. The couple married, had a child, and opened a music store there, but the store was unsuccessful. Andre then went to San Francisco, California to find work as a musician. He found two opportunities abroad and one in the United States as a band leader for the Big Casino in Tonopah, Nevada. The Andres chose to move to Tonopah because they wanted to stay in the United States.

Joe and Dorothy Andre settled in Tonopah, Nevada in 1921 and Joe worked at the Big Casino until it burned down on August 23, 1922. The couple left Tonopah and moved back to California. Joe eventually found work in several other Nevada mining communities before he and Dorothy moved to Beatty, Nevada in 1942. They bought the Exchange Club and two buildings across the street which became the Silver Diner and Fountain Drugs. These establishments were popular rest stops for buses traveling through the west. After running the businesses for several years, Joe and Dorothy sold them and travelled throughout the southwest United States before retiring in Las Vegas, Nevada. Joe Andre died in 1982 and Dorothy Engel Andre died in 1983.

Source:

McCracken, Bob. “In Bygone Era, Federal Government Once Operated Tonopah Brothel.” Pahrump Valley Times, September 5, 2014. Accessed November 6, 2019. https://pvtimes.com/news/in-bygone-era-federal-government-once-operated-tonopah-brothel/