Observations by Pop Squires 1957-1958

OBSERVATIONS by Pop Squires

FEBRUARY 23, 1957

LAS VEGAS

CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

ON FEBRUARY 12 Ihe Las

Vegas Chamber of Commerce

held its regular monthly

membership luncheon at the

Hotel Fremont and gave well deserved

honor to its past presidents with a

short account of the activities of each

who were able to be present that day

as guests.

The program was conducted under

the leadership of Art Ham. Sr., eldest

surviving past president of the Cham-

ber. The meeting was well attended

and was of considerable interest to

all present. However, few if any of the

recent members of the Chamber real-

ized that our Chamber of Commerce

was not a new idea in Las Vegas when

it was formed. Early in January of

1911 there had been several organiza-

tions in Las Vegas created, financed

and kept going solely for the benefit

of the community.

The first was born in June, 1905,

through the urgent necessity of saving

our lives. Sanitary conditions were

terrible in the little, new town, housed

in tents set in the brush, without

sewers, lights or water, save that

which we dipped out of the small

creek fed by the small creek fed by

the “Big Springs,” or pumped from

shallow wells six or eight feet deep

which some of the people had dug in

their back yards. Approximately a

thousand horses and mules were kept

in large corrals on all sides of the

town, and flies by the millions

swarmed over our bodies, our food and

everything about us. There was little

protection against the fierce heat and

(Continued on Page 30)

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RARE COINS

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Ben Stack

2401 So. 5th St.

FLYING "A" SERVICE

800 South Main

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Guaranteed Lubrication .. Washing

Motor Tune-Up . . Tires & Tubes

Brake Service . . Wheel Balancing

- pete bommarito -

Flying A Ethyl

Eddie Lawrence Beverly Lawrence CharlieBoyer

Flamingo Hotel

Mac McDonald Trombone

Larry McKenna Drums

OBSERVATIONS

(Continued from Page 5)

every day new cases of sickness were

developing, until we realized that there

was serious danger of a general epi-

demic.

After talking with several of the

Las Vegas men who seemed the most

responsible (we were all strangers then)

I posted a notice calling a meeting

for the next evening at Hotel Las

Vegas. A dozen or more men showed

up. After we had discussed the situa-

tion it was agreed to form a Las Vegas

Sanitary Committee. I was asked to

put the matter into writing and present

it at another meeting the next night.

There was more interest shown at

this second meeting and of course more

discussion and disagreement. The chief

point of disagreement was: “If we do

adopt regulations we have no law in

Las Vegas and no authority to enforce

them.”

We adopted sanitary regulations and

enforced them, even though in a few

cases they worked a seeming hardship

on a few. However these sanitary regu-

lations improved conditions and very

likely saved a lot of us from shallow

graves in the desert brush.

Our next public service organization

was the “Las Vegas Board of Trade”

formed in August, 1905, to prevent

Los Angeles creditors of failing mer-

cantile establishments from seizing all

of the assets, leaving nothing for the

Las Vegas creditors. It was a desperate

move, yet it served to save Las Vegas

from considerable loss on several oc-

casions.

The next community organization

was the “Lincoln County Division

Club.” It began its active operations

in 1907 and continued until after the

county was divided by the legislature

and Clark County was formed on July

1, 1909. It was a strenuous, and for

us at that time, an expensive cam-

paign. But when our new county of

Clark was organized and we were “on

our own,” all agreed that it was well

worth the effort.

Our next public service organization

was a purely booster one. It was

planned by one of our very distin-

guished citizens, an attorney whom we

called “Judge” M. S. Beal. The name

FABULOUS LAS VEGAS

of it was the “Las Vegas Promotion

Society” and its motto was “Nothing

to Sell,” which was printed on every

piece of literature. Judge Beal wrote

most of the publicity, which was very

good, touting the Vegas Valley as a

second Imperial Valley, a valley which

would produce every kind of crop,

with irrigation.

A new citizen came to Las Vegas

about 1909. James G. Givens was a

sincere hard working man, I believe,

and most anxious to benefit the com-

munity. It was entirely natural that

he should become the first president

of the Las Vegas Chamber of Com-

merce. Very few of the present mem-

bers ever heard his name. I have

copies of some of the things he wrote

about Las Vegas Valley and I am sure

some of that publicity would do credit

to present day writers.

Now, in closing this column on the

Las Vegas Chamber of Commerce, per-

haps I should mention its first duly

elected officers as they appeared on

its official records of January 18, 1911:

President, James G. Givens; Vice

President, E. W. Griffith; Second Vice

President, W. D. Worrell; Treasurer,

W. R. Bracken, Additional directors

and chairmen of committees: Com-

merce, Frank A. Clark; Manufacturers

and Mercantile Affairs, Charles P.

Squires; Agricultural and Horticultural

Problems, E. A. Eixon; Mining, H. M.

Lillis; Transportation, John M. Heaton;

County & Municipal Affairs, W. E.

Hawkins; Hotels, Dan V. O’Leary;

Finance, W. R. Thomas; and Member-

ship, W. B. Mundy.

Many ex-husbands have found out

that the cost of LIVING doesn’t com-

pare with the cost of LEAVING!

LOUNGE STARS

(Continued from Page 7)

back of you? There I was at the STAR-

LITE LOUNGE at the RIVIERA, try-

ing to see RUSH ADAMS and you had

me blocked. You just wouldn’t move,

either, no matter how many times I

yelled and punched at you. Can’t blame

you, however, that RUSH fella com-

mands that kind of abject attention.

This lad can really put over a song,

especially his rendition of “It’s Later

Than You Think.” This is one number

that makes you pause and think a

plenty. . . .

For rafter shakin’ rock ’n roll, sans

sideburns, THE RUSSO BROTHERS

can really beat it out. Drums, bass,

piano and sax make up this quartet

at THE CLOUD 9 LOUNGE, NEW

FRONTIER. Doing the same good biz

for this lounge as they did for THE

KEYNOTER in Hollywood, looks like

a holdover at option time. ’Tho many

groups are tagged as “brothers,” few

really are; but it is easy to see that

THE RUSSO BROTHERS are honest

to goodness syblings. ... At this same

spot, the FOUR BITS OF RHYTHM,

together with their “Million Dollar

Doll,” ELEANOR FRANKLIN, are

show stoppers. That frantic comedy

duo in the group, JUCIE BRUCIE and

SIR CHARLES GRAY, knock collec-

tive funnybones together so rapidly it

sounds like a skeleton hoedown at the

CLOUD 9 LOUNGE. Pulled myself

away to conserve strength enough to

get myself down the Strip for another

date at the SANDS HOTEL, where

ROMAINE BROWN and THE RO-

MAINES are making calypso history.

You walk away singing “Hold Her,

Joe, Don’t Let Her Go” — and that’s

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YOUR CREDIT<—

IS GOOD

FEBRUARY 23, 1957

Observations by Pop Squires — Fabulous Las Vegas Magazine — July 6, 1957

WESTERN AND BONANZA

THE OTHER morning when I

came to breakfast. Delphine

opened a Western Union mes-

sage which began, "Western

Air Lines takes great pleasure in an-

nouncing inauguration of de-luxe non-

stop service between Los Angeles and

Mexico City—and so on."

Of course I had a pleasant thrill of

delight as I visioned the pleasures of

such a trip and eagerly seized the en-

velope in which the message came,

fully expecting to find a neatly folded

ticket for Delphine and me with a

week's accommodations at Mexico's

finest hotel. But after looking on the

floor and all around, I found nothing

and decided that Western Union must

have been careless. However 1 was

quickly reconciled at the omission as.

at 92. the trip might be too tiresome

for me. Nevertheless, that message

brought back many interesting mem-

ories of Western Air Express, the first

name of Las Vegas' first air line.

I recall the first flight providing air

mail service by this new company in

April 1926. Jimmie James was the pilot,

and we all thought that Las Vegas was

at last receiving suitable recognition.

The company then announced inau-

guration of speedier service using the

newly developed Lockheed planes with

a cruising speed of 140 miles per hour.

About the first of June in 1928, I re-

ceived a telegram from Will Rogers

saying he would be a passenger on the

initial flight of the new plane. Del-

phine, our son James, and I drove out

to the air field, then located about a

quarter of a mile east of where Wilbur

Clark’s Desert Inn now is.

(Continued on Page 36)

SHOWBOAT

IS PROUD

To Bring Back for the Third Time

THE HILARIOUS COMEDIANS

FORD & REYNOLDS

miere performance, July 28th, at the

HACIENDA HOTEL. This is a real

thriller and we plan to put this ve-

hicle on our “must attend” list. . . .

We’re sorry to learn of GEORGE

SCHNURLE’s being bedded. He is be-

ing kept on a full-rest-schedule at

home, due to a heart condition that is

keeping him inactive. . . .

We watched the new FORD hard-

top convertible in operation and found

quite an intriguing little road traveler.

Attorney MURRAY POSIN showed us

the unique vehicle and we would have

been tempted to acquire one ourselves,

if our car weren’t a late model, itself.

Among the top Hosts in our FLV is

JOHNNY McGOWAN. He is Bar Man-

ager at the SHOWBOAT and has a

pleasing personality that bids you to

return. . . .

Sure is a grand feeling to witness

the wonderful business going on at

the SADDLE CLUB, under the able

guidance of BILLY PARKER. It is al-

ways busy for it offers the full nos-

talgia of the Old West, with proper

music by TEX MARSHALL and his

PHILHARMONIC FOUR. Plenty of

music emanates from this little band.

The atmosphere is gay, light and hap-

py; a real “natural.” . . .

DAVE VICTORSON is the new Host-

Manager of the Luau Room at the

ROYAL NEVADA HOTEL. We under-

stand the management has new plans

to introduce here, including a more

versatile menu. . . .

The distaff half of CHIQUITA &

JOHNSON (fabulous dance team of

the FLAMINGO HOTEL) is a very ac-

complished linquist. She speaks nine

languages with equal fluency. . . .

Our July birthday and Anniversary

list (as space permits): July 5th —

CAROLE MACE July6th—E-

DITH KATZ July 7th — LINDA

ROSE GRECO July 9th — Sixth

Wedding Anniversary of EVA and

MORY GREEN July9th —

BRUCE BARTON CORTEZ July

9th — HANK HENRY (Max has one

two days earlier) July9th —

SHEILA PRELL July9th —

SAM TUCKER July 12th —

BRENDA BINION July12th —

CEIL CHIARELLI. ... To one and

all we extend our fondest wishes for

a very happy occasion . . . and that’s

for sure.

OBSERVATIONS

(Continued from Page 5)

Right on time the Lockheed, piloted

by Fred Kelly, appeared but was ap-

proaching at too swift a speed for a

landing. A second time the plane sped

past the field without attempting to

land. On the third try the Lockheed

came whizzing up the air strip. It

stirred up a big cloud of dust and the

right wheel hit a hummock and

smashed. The right wing crumpled, the

plane rammed her propeller into the

ground, standing on her nose for an

instant and then crashed over flat on

her back. We were horrified! Jim and

I ran as quickly as possible over to

the plane and were the first to reach it.

We managed to get the door to the two-

seater passenger compartment opened

and there was Will Rogers hanging

head down, held up by his safety belt.

We loosened him as quickly as possible

and Will fell down, getting a slight cut

on the head which bled a little, but

was not serious.

I blurted out, “Will, what are you

trying to do?”

Even though he was badly shaken

up, he replied, “I was trying to go to

Cirque Room

El Cortez

Cradle of the stars presents

George Arnold's rhythm on ice

the Colts

buster Hallett Orchestra

El Cortez hotel

Sherman Hayes Dante Varela

Imperial coin company rare coins ben stack 2401 S. 5th St. on the strip just north of hotel Sahara

The old boulder club 118 Fremont Jimmy Young, Jim Young, J Kell houssels, Ross page Connie Hurley Margo Goumond Hines, Larry Hezzelwood, Lillian Witcher, Maurice Pinkerton, bar manager, old crowbar whiskey, Ferro, Kino, roulette, cramps, Poker, Pam, bridge, ladies welcome, liberal slot machines,

the Democratic National Convention.

I suppose that I should have gone to

the Republican Convention and then

this would not have happened.”

Will’s chief concern was that his wife

might hear of the accident and fear that

he was badly injured, so we drove to

the Western Union Office at the depot

and sent her a reasuring message. That

afternoon Western Air had another

plane ready to continue the flight to

Salt Lake City and Will continued on

his journey. The next day at Edmonton,

Wyoming, Will had another similar ex-

perience, but kept right on. As some

of you may remember, Will Rogers

came to his death with Wiley Post on

a flight to the Arctic regions about 1935.

I well remember an evening early in

January of the middle thirties. It was

one of those unusual seasons when

snow had fallen in Las Vegas. I heard

the drone of the Western Air Express

mail plane as it passed over Las Vegas,

and could dimly see the lights of the

plane as it flew through the snow. I

probably was the last person to see

that plane, flown by Maury Graham.

The plane became lost and his body

was not found until the middle of the

following June, some distance down a

canyon from the point where the plane

had crashed.

I do not recall any other mishaps to

Western Air Express equipment. But 1

do remember that this company was

a leader in making air travel safer,

quicker, easier and cheaper than any

other form of public conveyance, and

that its growth and popularity have

been phenomenal, even in this age of

miracles.

But the part of this story I am trying

to write is that dealing with our own

Las Vegas Bonanza Airlines, operated

by its President Ed Converse and his

able Vice-President and Assistant, Flor-

ence Murphy. Bonanza was granted the

right to operate planes between Las

Vegas and Reno in 1946. With no other

source of revenue and only an occa-

sional passenger. This situation was

remedied to some extent in 1949 when

Bonanza was awarded an air mail con-

tract. In 1949 Bonanza was also granted

an extension of its Las Vegas to Reno

run allowing it to operate service to

Phoenix. This extension was the fore-

runner of other new routes and Bonan-

za now schedules daily flights from

Phoenix to Los Angeles via Coachella

and Imperial Valley, and Phoenix to

Los Angeles via Palm Springs.

July 6, 1957

Bonanza will soon be putting into

operation another new flight. Las Vegas

to Los Angeles by way of Apple Valley.

The company has on order, and will

soon receive, six new Fairchild “Turbo-

Prop” ships and will then undertake

operation of its most important exten-

sion, Phoenix to Salt Lake City via

Prescott, Grand Canyon, Kanab, Cedar

City and Provo.

Bonanza, while not yet a giant like

Western Air Lines, United, TWA or

several others, has made rapid and

very substantial growth and has NEV-

ER LOST A PLANE OR INJURED

A PASSENGER.

Since that notable day in April, 1926

—when Western Air Express made its

first flight to Las Vegas, and our air-

port was only a strip of the desert sands

with some of the brush scraped off,

until today when our McCarran Field

has miles of paved runways, fine build-

ings and all other prerequisites of a

great airport—we have seen miracles

wrought by those courageous souls who

visualized some of the wonders of pres-

ent day air travel. Yes, from its ex-

tremely humble start, with the raw

desert as a landing place, to a very

busy port where hundreds of passen-

gers disembark each day, we have wit-

nessed many miracles.

ROUND THE TOWN

(Continued from Page 13)

MIKE FOSTER. Actually the trip

serves a double purpose for the couple.

A belated honeymoon and a visit with

PAT’S folks. MIKE FOSTER is a popu-

lar song stylist and comedian in the

East. He recently concluded a suc-

cessful engagement at the Edgewater

Beach Hotel in Chicago. Previous to

career in show-biz, MIKE was enter-

tainment director at the Waikiki Bilt-

more in Hawaii for seventeen months.

Following the route of many, the FOS-

TERS have fallen in love with FLV

and may make our town—their town

too. Father-in-law ARTURO is gracious

Captain in the Lady Luck Lounge of

the DESERT INN and assistant to Host

TOMMY CLAIRE. ... A personal note

to friends, MARGE and BILL PEN-

SEVERS back in Buffalo, New York.

Congratulations on the birth of LINDA

Aim. nope io see you al. in FLV later

this summer. . . . MR. and MRS. DAN

FRANZEN of Burbank, California and

their seven-year old daughter DA-

Observations by Charles "Pop" Squires

Fabulous Las Vegas Magazine

1957 - 1958

-Glitter Gulch -Fabulous Las Vegas Magazine — Oct 5, 1957

The 'Glitter Gulch' column by Harry Parker up here in fabulous Las Vegas magazine occasionally during the 50s. Harry Parker reported on the shows, the people, and gossip of downtown Las Vegas.

COACHIE Sigmuller was a

“good Indian,’’ and was

trusted by his white friends.

His trouble was started by a small in-

sect of some kind, probably a black

widow spider, which bit George Lattimer on the arm causing that member

to swell to twice its normal size and

giving him great pain.

George and Bell Lattimer owned

the Indian Springs Ranch forty-five

miles northwest of Las Vegas, more

than fifty years ago and befriended

the good Indian boy, Coachie Sigmuller, by giving him food and let-

ting him live with them and do chores

around the ranch.

It was necessary to get George to

civilization and help if his life was

to be saved, so Bell harnessed the

team and, after making George as

near comfortable as possible on a bed

of alfalfa hay in the back of the

wagon, started for Las Vegas. After

a wearisome journey over a rough

trail, they reached Vegas on the morn-

ing of the second day where they

took the evening train for Los Angeles

and, “miracle of miracles,” George’s

life was saved, but it was more than

a week before they returned to the

ranch.

In the meantime, Coachie was very

proud of being left in full charge of

the ranch, but he soon had troubles

of his own. One morning he noticed

a puff of dust far down the trail, and

(Continued on Page 32)

Las Vegas Hacienda

Four Tunes

ALL NEW SHOW WITH

The FOUR TUNES

AND SPECIAL FEATURED ATTRACTION

JOE FORNARO

Phone DU 2-7800

she emerges as another great star on

the Las Vegas horizon. . . . DICK

SHAWN definitely has scaled a new

high as he appears in specially cre-

ated sequences that vividly frame his

sparkling wit. Always a great mono-

logue performer he now steps into

his own as a clever musical-comedy

personality besides. . . . Throughout

the entire show are a series of colorful

“musical vignettes” starring a tre-

mendous array of high calibre singing

and dancing talent. Featured in these

capsule size musical gems are NEILE

ADAMS:DANTE DE PAULO;

MARY ELLEN; LEONA GAGE,

“Miss U.S.A. for a Dav”; dancer

L1ZANNE TRUEX; BOBBY MI-

LANO; BETTY JEAN HANSEN;

KITTY DOLAN and the bouncy BILL

NORVAS SINGERS. . . . Each of

the TROPICANA GIRLS is a major

beauty contest winner and their col-

lective beauty is impossible to de-

scribe. They complete the picture like

loveliness of the exquisitely staged

production numbers. . . . Maestro

NAT BRANDWYNNE and His OR-

CHESTRA have mastered the diffi-

cult Broadway type musical score and

their musicianship affords excellent

support for the entire cast.

OBSERVATIONS

(Continued from Page 5)

as he watched it the puff drew nearer

and nearer. He saw that the moving

object was a man and that he would

have to stop at the ranch for water.

Then, to his horror, he recognized

that the man was Indian “Wild Bill.”

Coachie was not on friendly terms

with Wild Bill, who was of the over-

bearing, abusive type and who, in

the past, had often cuffed Coachie

around

After drinking his fill at the cool

stream flowing from the spring. Wild

Bill seated himself on the edge of

the porch for a little rest before

searching for food. Soon, due to his

long walk in the hot sun, he was fast

asleep. Coachie was a good Indian

and knew his duty was protecting the

property of the Lattimer’s as they had

placed him in charge. With this idea

in mind, Coachie, who had remained

out of sight, noiselessly crept into

the kitchen and took the loaded rifle

from behind the back door of the

house, took careful aim at the sleep-

ing form and did what he thought

was his duty.

After making sure that Wild Bill

was dead, Coachie hurriedly left for

Moapa to his parents and proudly

told of the good act he had performed.

In due time officers of the law ar-

rested Coachie and threw him into

jail in Pioche. Then that fall, the Dis-

trict Court, Judge George S. Brown

presiding, tried him for the murder

of Wild Bill. He was convicted and

sent to the State Prison at Carson

City. Knowing that Coachie was a

good Indian the sentence was not

made too severe, and after serving

about three years he was released to

the custody of his tribe at Moapa.

Coachie, the good Indian, had paid

the penalty for his crime.

The story of Coachie Sigmuller was

FABULOUS LAS VEGAS

told to us by Judge Brown one night

after Coachie had been released as

we sat before our fireplace in our old

home on Fremont street. He also told

us of the funeral of Wild Bill whose

remains were found on the porch of

the Lattimer house when they re-

turned to the ranch. It was neces-

sary to shovel them into a gunny sack

at once and bury them in a shallow

grave on the hill about one hundred

feet from the ranch house.

It has always been sort of a paradox

to me that Queho, the bad Indian,

should be able to starve himself to

death after committing four vicious

crimes, while Coachie Sigmuller, the

good Indian, was sent to prison for

what was really a good deed.

The final touches of this story were

given to us by our friend, Emmett

D. Boyle, who was state engineer

under Governor Tasker L. Oddie and

later became Governor himself. One

evening Emmett drove up to the In-

dian Springs Ranch after a long hard

day of driving over rough roads full

of fine, white dust. He stopped near

the pasture fence where he saw Bell

Lattimer trying to corral some hogs

that had escaped. As a good sized

porker tried to pass her Bell made a

dive and caught the hog by the hind

leg, swung him about her head and

sent him quealing over the fence.

Then she turned to Emmett and asked

him what he wanted. He replied that

he would like something to eat and

a place to sleep, and he was promptly

and cordially invited into the house.

As Bell was serving dinner to her

guest she suddenly got to her feet and

stepped to the door, sniffed a few

times, then siezed a shovel and started

outside, remarking as she went “Them

damned dogs has dug up Wild Bill

again."

CRISWELL PREDICTS

(Continued from Page 7)

discovery of land across the sea means

bloodshed, for this land will be found

so rich that European nations will

fight each other to gain possession.

Spain will be the controlling language

spoken, with English second and

French a poor third!” This fantastic

prediction came to pass, for more

people speak Spanish in Mexico and

all of South America than in North

America, where English is spoken and

French is a poor third in Canada. It

came to pass!

YOUR WORLD OF TOMORROW

You can expect five great changes

by this time next year!

(1) Distribution of food and manu-

factured items simplified!

(2) Greater care given the aged,

infirm, and defective!

(3) A bolder foreign policy on the

gold standard basis!

(4) Fantastic new inventions that

will cut household drudgerv at least

25%!

(5) The greatest own-your-own-

home movement in all recorded his-

tory where Uncle Sam will help even

man and woman to own their own

home and to pay it off like rent, with

insurance and taxes included! Yes, we

face an active, profitable five years

ahead, with 1958 as the keystone of

our coming prosperity and personal

well being!

HUSH HUSH EVENTS

I predict a revolution in the world

of entertainment! Major Hollywood

film studios have lost millions on

ordinary pictures with ordinary peo-

ple and ordinary themes! Some of

the independents found that special

exploitation films would return the

money more quickly and have greater

popularity! Films costing less than

$75,000 have outdrawn many super-

RELAX and LISTEN . . .

To the SENSATIONAL Recording of .

"LOUNGE STARS IN

FABULOUS LAS VEGAS

October 5, 1957 33

California Club

CASINO • BAR • RESTAURANT

For a Limited Time only

You will Receive One

Carson City Silver Dollar

with Each Jackpot Hit

during Double Jackpot Time

which is in progress nearly

100 Timas Per Day.

PROOF POSITIVE —

Our SLOTS Are TOPS!

And Still Going

UP-UP-UP

First and Fremont

-Glitter Gulch -Fabulous Las Vegas Magazine — Oct 5, 1957

THAT colorful Carnival Room

in the FREMONT HOTEL

is one of the “jumpincst”

spots in all of Ims Vegas! Showgoers

there seem to favor the rock and roll

style of musical entertainment and the

Hotel lias certainly seen to it that they

get what they want. Currently head-

lining the attractions there arc the

frantic SATELLITES. This combo

specializes in visual “rock and roll’’

and there couldn’t be many groups

any better at the job. Along about

time for their first set it’s all you can

do to find a seat, and it stays that way

until the early, early hours of the

morning when the boys lay down their

instruments and head out to accumu-

late a fresh store of energy. . . .

THE MAKE BELIEVES, featuring

BEV MARSHALL, top the entertain-

ment on the early evening shift in

the same room, and this foursome

present a delightful mixture of song

and comedy built around one after

another of the craziest records you’ve

ever hear.

BEV’S timing is flawless

and her flair for comedv a pleasure

to watch. . . . THE STARDUSTERS

are another group of rock and rollers

who alternate with THE MAKE BELIEVES and help set the blinding

musical pace with vivid and bouncy

arrangements of all the rock and roll

favorites. . . . SYL GREGORY,

WESTERNER CLUB Bar Manager,

is taking a three-week vacation with

his wife, PEGGY, and the two boys,

CHICKIE and LOU. They’ll spend

some time at Lake Tahoe and then

to SYL’S hometown of Sacramento to

visit with family and friends. . . .

Another vacationing “out-of-towner”

is HARRY LAHR of the PIONEER

CLUB. ... If you are interested in

collecting “miniatures," and this is a

fast growing hobby with a large fol-

lowing, stop in MIKE’S LIQUOR

STORE on South First Street and look

over the selection offered by AL

RIPPS. This is one of the finest col-

lections of miniatures in Las Vegas

and includes most of the "hard to

get" brands. . . . JEAN IE DALASSIS

is the new day shift cocktail waitress

at the WESTERNER, and a very

lovely addition to the club she is! . . .

RICK WILLIAMS is back in town

once again, having just returned from

a very successful PRESS CLUB iun-

ket to San Francisco where members

of the local "fourth estate” were

hosted by the San Francisco Press

Club. . . . When vou’re downtown and

the sound of old fashioned “home-

made style" beef stew sounds good.

Thunderbird Hotel

MONDAY, OCTOBER 7th

JOHNNY DESMOND

SHELLEY BERMAN

THE BRUXELLOS

-NOW-

ELLA LOGAN

DON TANNEN

- THE THUNDERBIRD DANCERS -

Dances Staged by . . . Gayle Robbins

REX JOHNSON — M.C.AL JAHNS and His Orchestra

Showtimes 8:15 P.M. & 12 MidnightForReservations Call Dudley 2-5100

Rex Johnson - M.C. Al Jahns and his orchestra

STAGE BAR LOUNGE — Featuring JACKIE & ROY

run, don’t walk, into THE MINT and

ive yourself an eating sensation sel-

om equalled on this gourmet’s “tra-

ditional favorite.” . . .

NORM LITTLE, relief floor boss at

the NEVADA CLUB, was really rush-

ing around the other night checking

off big payoffs during that club’s

double jackpot time. Poor guy was

hustling so fast he scarcely had time

to slow down long enough to say

“hello.” . . . While spending a few

moments passing the time of day

with Bar Manager SYL GREGORY

in the WESTERNER CLUB, the

senior “mixologist” at that popular

spot called my attention to three new

drinks now being served there that,

because of the titles alone, are cer-

tain to cause more than mild curiosity.

They are the “Orange Snapper”;

“Green Devil” and “Purple Passion”

and SYL says they are guaranteed to

get results and to AT LEAST get you

started. . . . BILL GARVEY, Grave-

yard Shift Boss at the PIONEER

CLUB, is one of the oldest employees

(Continued on Page 35)

Bond's Jewelers

300 Fremont St. Las Vegas, Nev NV Nevada

"GUTTER GULCH"

(Continued from Page 12)

in that spot, from point of service

that is, and one of the verv nicest.

Beautiful ELAINE SWAFFORD,

long recognized as one of the most

friendly and cordial cocktail wait-

resses in Las Vegas, has been induced

to pose for high fashion photos from

time to time. This popular FRE-

MONT HOTEL gal proved after the

first “sitting” that the choice was a

wise one. She adds that necessary

“something extra” that makes any-

thing she models stand out with just a

little more glamour than is normal. . . .

There are still many folks who

remember the terrific baritone vocal

work of JOHNNY O BRIEN, now a

top floor-man in the slot department

at the GOLDEN NUGGET. JOHN-

NY only sings for pleasure now, but

believe me if you are fortunate

enough to catch one of his infrequent

singing engagements, you’ll think the

pleasure is all yours! . . . Lovely

JEANIE EBELL is a frequent “ring-

sider” in the FREMONT HOTEL’S

Carnival Room these days. Seems to

miss very few of the frantic and en-

tertaining sets by the popular SATEL-

LITES.

KENNY MAPEL, PIONEER CLUB

Floor Manager, has made the shift

from swing to graveyard. . . . The

current lineup in the GOLDEN NUG-

GET Showroom is one of the best

balanced ever presented in that spot.

Something for everybody and the

attendance is proving it out. For

novelty and Western tunes it’s the

great HANK PENNY and SUE

THOMPSON, perennial favorites

here; JIG ADAMS and His Band

knock out the best jazz available for

the “Dixie lovers” and FRANKIE

MAYO and His NEW YORKERS

really break loose with jumping music-

in the rock and roll vein. . . . Stop in

the VEGAS VIC Cocktail Lounge

anytime on the graveyard shift and

you’ll see why business is growing

by leaps and bounds. Congenial Bar-

tender CHARLIE GORGELOUS is

the main reason. Here’s a “Mixer”

who delights in conversing on any

subject and makes friends with every-

one. An unbeatable combination! . . .

Our sincere sympathy and con-

dolences are extended to PAUL

WYERMAN of the FREMONT

HOTEL whose wife, ANN, passed

away several days ago. . . . We’ll

look for you between now and next

week along the neon blazed trail of

glamorous Fremont Street, the world's

greatest gambling center.

LOUNGE STARS

(Continued from Page 17)

of that bistro. Their background music

is provided by the chib organist,

CLYDE ROGERS who made the trip

with them. . . . Rounding out the

entertainment fare in this spot are

NICK ESPOSITO, THE FABULOUS

McCLEVERTY S and BOBBY PAGE

with the WILDER BROTHERS

opening this coming Wednesday. . . .

The Stage Bar of the FLAMINGO

HOTEL once again features LOUIS

BELLSON and His QUINTETTE

and their excellent program of synco-

pated selections. ... In the same spot

are DAVE BURTON and THE BUR-

TON BOYS and pianist REMARK-

ABLE RUBIN who joins with the

others to bring as outstanding a va-

riety of top Lounge entertainment as

can be found anywhere. . . . Watch

for an all-new group of routines by

DEBBIE HAYES and Her SIX MAD-

MEN late this week or early next.

"LOUNGE STARS IN FABULOUS LAS VEGAS"

PRESCOTT RECORD L.P. 1004

Now On Sale At All Resort Hotels News Stands & Music Stores

• REALISM IN SOUND •

- Something NEW In Recording -

Observations by Pop Squires — Fabulous Las Vegas Magazine — Oct 5, 1957

Observations by Pop Squires — Fabulous Las Vegas Magazine — Oct 19, 1957

FIFTH STREET

LAST WEEK in this column

I had an entirely inadequate

account of the growth, de-

velopment and great increase in values

of property along Fremont Street.

This week I shall comment on the

development of Fifth Street from a

country lane into a brilliant street

eight miles long with most of the

frontage on it valued at One Thou-

sand Dollars, or more, per foot.

When the townsite was laid out, it

extended only from Stewart Street on

the north to Garces on the south, a

matter of just six blocks The north

end was extended to the Stewart

Ranch about 1908, but the south end

of Fifth Street remained at Garces. If

we wished to go to one of the ranches

south of Vegas we walked through

the brush because there was no

wagon road.

The first building of anv size built

on Fifth Street was the grammar

school between Fourth and Fifth at

Bridger. The town had outgrown the

three small school rooms at Second

and Lewis Streets and a contract had

been awarded to a Las Vegas con-

tractor, named A. W. Jurden, in April,

1910. When the picture of the pro-

posed new building was published in

“The Las Vegas Age” in May, 1910,

complaints began to pour in. “Why

such a big building?”; “Such a waste

of money!”; “A fourteen-room school

(Continued on Page 33)

To cap the show, there are two bril-

liant production numbers featuring

the beautiful THUNDERBIRD

DANCERS in routines created bv

GAYLE ROBBINS. . . . Handsome

REX JOHNSON vocally leads the

THUNDERBIRD DANCERS in all

production efforts and doubles as

emcee for the show.

TROPICANA

(Continued from Page 21)

selections to satisfy even the most dis-

criminating or jaded taste. It co-

stars screen and musical comedy star

VIVIAN BLAINE and comedian

DICK SHAWN and features an origi-

nal musical score of ten tunes com-

posed by GORDON “Manhattan

Towers” JENKINS, plus a sturdy cast

of supporting talent. . . . VIVIAN

sings five of the great, new show tunes

as she appears in several skillfully

staged “show within a show” presen-

tations showcasing her glamour and

talent to perfection and adding lustre

to the production. This great star, as

lovely as she is talented, emerges as

another bright, new show personality

on the Las Vegas scene. . . . Comedian

DICK SHAWN has scaled a new

high in his spectacular career with

this performance. He comes into his

own, not only as a terrific cabaret

comic, but also emerges as an exciting

find for future musical comedy rolls.

... In support of the stars, and ex-

ecuting the series of colorful “musical

vignettes” to perfection, is an impres-

sive array of high ranking singing and

dancing talent. Starring in and out of

these capsule size musical gems are

NEILE ADAMS; DANTE DE

PAULO; MARY ELLEN; LEONA,

“Miss U.S.A. for a Dav,” GAGE;

“pixie-ish” dancer LIZANNE TRUEX;

BOBBY MILANO; BETTY JEAN

HANSEN; KITTY DOLAN and the

bouncy and brash BILL NORVAS

SINGERS. ... The TROPICANA

GIRLS lend their exquisite beauty

and appear in all of the spectacular

production numbers. . . . NAT

BRANDWYNNE and His ORCHES-

TRA have the difficult, Broadway

style musical score down to perfection

OCTOBER 19, 1957

and their playing provides really ter-

rific support for every phase of the

show.

OBSERVATIONS

(Continued from Page 5)

will never be needed!”; but, fortunate-

ly, the bond money had been paid and

we were assured of a building for

years to come for both grammar and

high school.

Then complaints again poured in

that the contractor was not living up

to the contract. The school board ap-

pointed E. W. Griffith as inspector

for the school board. Then, when the

building was finished and the con-

tractor tried to turn it over to the

school board as completed according

to the contract, Mr. Griffith pointed

out certain things that were necessary

to comply with the contract. These

Jurden refused to do, and the much

needed school stood vacant for an

entire year until the school board

made some kind of settlement with

the contractor and the school was

opened in the fall of 1911. Mr. Jurden

refused to be reconciled and would

not let his daughter attend school

there, “as the building was unsafe.”

But, in spite of the fact that many

people were certain that the building

was far too large, by the time the

year 1916 rolled around, it was neces-

sary for the high school board, which

had been renting the south wing of

the building, to vacate and find other

quarters because of lack of space. The

high school board immediately pur-

chased the entire block south of the

Fifth Street School, had the street be-

tween closed and then built Las

Vegas’ first High School building.

These buildings were the first great

improvements along Fifth Street, and

really put that street on the map.

In the early 1920’s, we started a

campaign for an automobile road di-

rectly to Los Angeles, instead of go-

ing by wagon road by way of El-

dorado Canyon and Searchlight to

Highway 66 at Goffs. It seemed like

an almost impossible undertaking but

we figured that the proposed new

route would save ninety-three miles

The Capital Photographer of

the Entertainment Capital

Bernard of Hollywood

Riviera hotel

PENTHOUSE STUDIO

• Telephone Dudley 2-7344

Artistic Photography

at Sensible Prices

• Take a tip from the Stars of The Strip. For professional photography it’s

Bernard.

Above is a portrait of enchantress Lili St. Cyr.

and one weary day of travel. In 1914,

Charles McCarthy, then county sur-

veyor, now Col. McCarthy, Retired,

with a team fastened to each end of

a steel rail, dragged the brush off a

new road to Goodsprings. That really

was the beginning of our present high-

way to Los Angeles and also the rea-

son for opening Fifth Street south

of Garces. Surveys for the extension

southward on Fifth Street were made

by the State Highway Department

and C. C. Boyer, State Highway En-

gineer for this district in 1923.

The extension of Fifth Street south-

ward was a grand victory for Las

Vegas. Just to show the necessity for

that enterprise, the highway depart-

ment made a count of the traffic for

one week and found that twenty-

three automobiles passed over that

road every twenty-four hours. That

was the start of the busiest highway

in the State of Nevada.

For a year the extension of Fifth

Street southward was unpaved, and,

of course, nobody dreamed that it

would ever become the thoroughfare

it is today, but a Casino and night

club was built called the Pair-O-Dice.

As travel increased that name was

changed to the 91 Club. Guy Mc-

Afee, I think, was the moving spirit

in that enterprise. The Red Rooster

and several other night clubs fol-

lowed.

It was not until Tom Hull planned,

financed and built the El Rancho

Vegas that Fifth Street began to as-

sume importance. El Rancho Vegas

was opened in 1940 and then it was

rumored that a hotel larger and finer

than the El Rancho was about to be

erected on the property of the Pair-

O-Dice by a man named Griffith from

Texas who owned a string of moving

picture theatres. He financed what

was called the Last Frontier with Bill

Moore as architect and builder.

Next came the Flamingo, and we

were sure that Vegas at last was on

her way to greatness. “Bugsy” Siegel

was the heart of this venture, but he

was killed by a bullet fired through

a window while he was seated in a

friend’s house in Hollywood one eve-

FABULOUS LAS VEGAS

ning in June, 1946, and then we were

sure that Las Vegas’ future was

blighted. But Siegel’s friends took up

the burden of completing the Fla-

mingo. Delphine and 1 have been

particularly interested in the Fla-

mingo because for some twenty years

we owned the forty acres on which

the Flamingo was built. We sold it

to Mrs. Folsum for $7500, which at

that time seemed an outrageous price.

She was intending to build an auto

court there, but never carried out her

plans, and the Siegel interests took it

over. Today the Flamingo is rated

at more than ten million dollars.

After the Flamingo came a parade

of other fine resort hotels. Wilbur

Clark’s Desert Inn had its troubles

and delays, but Mr. Clark never ad-

mitted defeat even when things

looked dark for his enterprise. Follow-

ing Wilbur Clark’s Desert Inn came

more resort hotels. I am not sure of

the order — The Thunderbird, The

Sahara, The Sands, The Dunes, The

Royal Nevada, The Hacienda and The

Tropicana, estimated as costing more

than fifteen million dollars, and there

are probably some others which for

the moment have slipped my memory.

On other streets are also fine resorts

and in downtown Las Vegas are more

lavish hotels and casinos including the

thirteen story Fremont, but I am try-

ing to picture the brilliant Fifth Street

as it now is.

When Fifth Street began to assume

importance, it was dark and dismal.

Neon signs began to appear here and

there, until now, for six or eight miles

from where it crosses Fremont, it is

reasonable to assume that when the

one-thousand room Star Dust is re-

financed and finished, it will add

more luster to the already brilliant

Fifth Street.

CRISWELL PREDICTS

(Continued from Page 7)

the Mideast, brought on bv the sharp

demands of Great Britian for more oil

rights on an exclusive and low price

basis! ... I predict that the next in-

ternational scandal will center around

an ex-king and the roving wife of an

OCTOBER 19, 1957

American tycoon, which will rock the

political, social and the theatrical

world and uncover many secret skele-

tons in many closets!

FOR PEOPLE AND PLACES:

Frank Sinatra: Your next tv venture

will be a one-hour Variety program

with the highest ratings across the

board! London: You can expect the

greatest tie-up strike in all history

with the lawless bands roaming your

empty streets! . . . Hildegarde! Your

musical version of the famous play

“Camille” will be an international

smash hit! . . . Las Vegas: Your new

auditorium will make you the Con-

vention City of the West! . . . Tom

Watson: Your next public announce-

ment for IBM will concern a com-

bined machine which can keep books

with the mere touch of a button! . . .

Canada: Your new export and im-

port laws will increase the cost of

hard liquors by 100% within the next

90 days: . . . Mike Wallace: You will

be given the coveted Celebrity Award

as the most dynamic personality of

the year for your tearless approach to

the problems of today! . . . New

Orleans: Funds will be voted for the

dredging ot the delta resulting in a

boom tor your area in 19o8! . . .

Francis Townsend:Your famous

Townsend Plan will be revived and

become a political issue in 1968 and

19b0 with slight revisions to take care

of our Aged! . . . Erie, Penn.! You will

be chosen as the test advertising city

for new products in 1958! The Erie

housewives will be given about a ton

of samples each, but will be expected

to voice their opinions about the new

products! . . . Vice President Nixon:

Your official autobiography will prove

to be the best seller of the year, and

will be used as a text book in schools,

colleges and universities!

YOUR INCREDIBLE FUTURE:

Yes, we are all interested in the

future, for that is where you and 1

are going to spend the rest of our

lives, and remember my friend, each

and every coming event will effect

your personal life in some way! At

this very moment, we have our scien-

tists deep at work on the mystery of

Joe Brown's Horseshoe club

Pioneer Club Riviera Mamie Van Doren

GLITTER GULCH

By HARRY PARKER

wiTHIN the last few weeks,

the World got a brand new

baseball champion; Speedy

Hawaii Kai 111 repeated again in the

SAHARA GOLD CUP RACES that

were well attended by “Glitter Gulch”

personalities; The Los Angeles Rams

started the league season as dismally

as last year and the first snows have

hit the Charleston resort area. Mean-

while, back along Fremont Street, the

visitors and locals have taken it all

in stride and have gained a few, lost

a few and promoted a few of the fa-

miliar faces all along that busy

thoroughfare. . . . Co-owner LIDO

COSTELLO of the CALIFORNIA

CLUB, a Nevada resident since 1927,

who was affiliated with Reno’s famed

BANK CLUB for twenty-two active

years, recently celebrated his sixty-

first birthday. Fabulous, along with

his many friends throughout the state,

extend him “Many Happy Returns

of the Day!” . . .

Former Bar Manager of the FRE-

MONT HOTEL, FRANK CUTI-

NELLE, has resigned and his place

will be taken by the well-known and

well-liked “MICKEY” MORENO

You’ll look a long while before you

find a friendlier, more efficient and

even tempered bartender as JOHN

DELGADO, the day shift mixerman

at the Casino Bar of the PIONEER

CLUB. JOHN hasn’t had a single

“beef” with co-worker or customer

in all of the two years he's been at

that stationMICKEY PHILLIPS,

pretty and shapely brunette, is the

new dav shift cocktail waitress at the

CALIFORNIA CLUB. . . . Everyone

is happy to see RUTH AGATUCCI,

FREMONT HOTEL waitress back at

her station after a surgery session in

Southern Nevada Memorial Hospital.

. . . FORTUNE Room C W. LA-

VERNE BATTAGLIA is just about

the happiest one gal in FLV. Her

three-year-old son, MIKE, who has

been staying with his grandparents in

Michigan for the past seven months

trained back home the other day and

“Mama” could hardly wait for the

“iron horse” to come to a full stop

before smothering the boy with a

typical motherly greeting! . . . SAM

FRANKOVICH, former CALIFOR-

NIA CLUB bartender, has been pro-

moted to day shift “21 dealer” at the

same spot. His cousin is MIKE

FRANKOVICH, former UCLA foot-

ball great and Los Angeles Sports An-

nouncer who is now a major movie

producer on the European scene. . . .

(Continued on Page 39)

FROSTY JAY JENSEN, BILL

DEER - October 22nd, CARL WIL-

LIAMS, MITZI GREEN PEVNEY,

and JIMMY BLAKE - October 23rd.

DOROTHY and JACK ENTRAT-

TER’s Nineteenth Wedding Anniver-

sary - October 25th, NICK KELLY’S

Birthday.

FABULOUS lifts a toast to each

and every one, wishing you good

health, happiness and good fortune

. . . and that’s for sure.

GLITTER GULCH

(Continued from Page 11)

BOULDER CLUB Pit Boss LYNN

BERGER spent a few weeks in the

Tonopah area tracking down the

elusive deer. . . . GOLDEN NUG-

GET Bar Manager ROLAND

GREEN passed out the cigars recent-

ly and celebrated the birth of his

almost seven pound son, ROLAND

ARTHUR. . . .

When COCKY POWERS, CALI-

FORNIA CLUB Co-Owner, was elim-

inated from the State Toumey at the

D.I. Gold Course, it took one whale

of a trick to do it. COCKY was elimi-

nated when DESERT INN Executive

ALLARD ROEN sunk an almost un-

believable forty-foot putt to ice a

“sudden death’ victorv. . . . HANK

KOVELL, FREMONT HOTEL Pub-

licity Director, is spending his ten day

vacation in the San Francisco Bav

Area. . . . DOUG BARRYMORE,

handsome and personable suing shift

floor-man at the FORTUNE ROOM,

makes a perfect club host on the

nightly club sponsored sojourns with

visiting firemen along the strip and

into the shows. He makes a very im-

pressive good-will ambassador for the

VAN SANTEN enterprises. . . . PAT

KENDRICK just recentlv joined the

staff of the GOLDEN NUGGET in

the capacity of Cocktail toter on the

swing shift. This cute gal has adopted

Las Vegas as her home since coming

here last February from Redwood

City, California. . . . The “personality

kid” mingling with the patrons at the

CALIFORNIA CLUB is none other

than HARRY TABAK, co-owner. . . .

The PIONEER CLUB has added

OCTOBER 19, 1957

a new twist to their interesting TV

game of “VEGAS VIC-O.” Winners

who participate in this game on the

MARTIN BLACK “Night Owl Show”

now get two delicious VEGAS VIC

Hotdogs plus whatever number comes

up in beautiful VEGAS VIC glasses.

. . ARNY ECKHERT, Security of-

ficer at the FREMONT HOTEL,

spent two weeks vacationing through

the midwest. Along the way ne nicked

up a new Oldsmobile 88 to make the

joumev home a little more pleasant.

. . BOULDER CLUB Cashiers

JOHNNY FRANKS and BOB WAY

are back in town following deer hunt-

ing efforts in northern part of the

state. One did — one didn’t! . . .

EVELYN CROSBY has recently been

placed in charge of the Snack Bar

at the PIONEER CLUB. Here’s a

hard working personable gal who has

made the organization a flock of

friends. . . .

Speedv get well wishes to flu bitten

GEORGE ARQUILLA of the CALI-

FORNIA CLUB. . . . We were very

sorry to hear of the untimely and un-

expected passing awav last Sundav of

JAMES STOKES, iiopular CALI-

FORNIA CLUB dealer. His remains

were shipped to his Winnsboro, Texas

home for services and burial. . . .

Sometime between now and next

week, give yourself a true gourmet’s

treat and try one of BIFF’S famous

Hamburgers. They’re located in the

West wing of the popular LAS

VEGAS CLUB and the food is as

“more-ish” as any you’ve tasted in a

long while.

Poodle Pups

Panorama's Black Boy

Oscar Ferguson

Observations by Pop Squires —

Fabulous Las Vegas Magazine —

Oct 26, 1957

THE BOOM IN NEVADA

REPRINTED recently in the

Las Vegas Review Journal

was an article which had ap-

peared in the “United States News

and World Report” entitled, “The

Boom in Nevada.”

The article was well written by

someone who had taken the trouble

to get the truth, and it should be

reprinted in every newsfxiper in this

State. It is devoted mainly to Reno

and Las Vegas, the only towns in the

State of more than five thousand

population. Naturally, as every such

article must, it pertains largely to the

gambling casinos, which have gained

importance because, for the first time

in this country, gangsters and crooks

are being eliminated as fast as the

power of the state can act and gamb-

ling has been placed on a strictly

“percentage basis” upon which casinos

must depend for their profits. But it

does not ignore the important indus-

tries growing up in all jxirts of the

state as the result of cheap power

from Hoover Dam.

In most of Nevada, water is so

scarce that a trickle of rain is played

up in the newspapers as a “Cloud-

burst,” but both Reno and Las Vegas

have made sure of a water supply

sufficient to last for many years. In

all of Clark County, of which Las

Vegas is the county seat, there were,

in 1940, only sixteen thousand people,

(Continued on Page 35)

FABULOUS LAS VEGAS MAGAZINE - PUBLISHED WEEKLY, 1210 Stewart Ave. Publisher: Jack Cortez.

Managing Editor: Bruce Barton Cortez. Business Manager: Lou Ellenson. Associate Editor: Harry Parker.

Art Editor: Joe Vergara. Advertising Manager: Hal Halstead. Staff Photographer: Bernard of Hollywood •

Las Vegas. Address P. O Box 748, Las Vegas, Nevada. Telephone Dudley 4-4922. Accepted as Controlled

Circulation at Las Vegas, Nevada.

VOLUME IX, NUMBER 32 '**5£**> OCTOBER 26, 1957

reserved. No part of this periodical may be reproduced without the consent of Fabulous Las Vegas

Magazine. Subscription rates: One year $8, United States and possessions; $15.00 per year, foreign.

Photo-engraving by A Bar A Engraving Co., 124 S. 3rd St., Phoenix, Ariz.

Printed by Lebeau Printing Co., 2216 W. Granada, Phoenix, Ariz.

OCTOBER 26, 19575

created by BARRY ASHTON, show-

case the beauty and precision dancing

prowess of this top dancing troupe

to perfection. . . . GEORGE RED-

MAN and His ORCHESTRA play

strong musical support for the entire

show.

TROPICANA

(Continued from Page 25)

PROSEr'S “Tropicana Revue" en-

titled “You Gotta Be In Love.” Here

is a smartly tailored musical-comedy

package, cohesive in structure and

containing all original music by the

famous composer of “Manhattan Tow-

ers,” GORDON JENKINS. . . . The

show co-stars screen and musical-

comedy star VIVIAN BLAINE and

comedian DICK SHAWN. VIVIAN

sings five of the great, new show tunes

as she appears in several skillfully pre-

sented snow within a show” skits that

showcase her glamour and talent to

perfection and add lustre to the over-

all effort. . . . Comedian DICK

SHAWN has hit an all-time high in

his short, zooming career and comes

into his own, not only as an outstand-

ing cabaret comic, but also as an ex-

citing new find for future big musical-

comedy rolls. . . . Supporting the two

brilliant co-stars and appearing

throughout the parade of colorful

“musical vignettes” is an impressive

array of higb ranking talent. Starring

in and out of th^se musical “gems’

are NEILE ADAMS; DANTE D’

PAULO; MARY ELLEN; LEONA

GAGE; pixie-ish dancer LIZANNE

TRUEX; BOBBY MILANO; BETTY

JEAN HANSEN; KITTY DOLAN

and the wonderful BILL NORVAS

SINGERS. . . . Each of the spectacu-

lar production numbers feature the

rare beauty of the TROPICANA

GIRLS, amazing choreography and

lavish staging. . . . NAT BRAND-

WYNNE and His ORCHESTRA play

the exultant Broadway type musical

score to perfection and provide power-

ful support to the entire package.

To escape criticism . . . live openly.

Who ever heard any scandal about a

goldfish?

OCTOBER 26, 1957

OBSERVATIONS

(Continued from Page 5)

now there are more than one hundred

thousand, with fifty-one thousand two

hundred and ninety five living in Las

Vegas. In the growth of industries

there is also expansion of great sig-

nificance.

In the industrial plants in Hender-

son, a city of twelve thousand people

just to the east of Las Vegas, all are

prosperous because of the large pay-

rolls. In 1956, the sale of products of

the Henderson plants amounted to

one hundred ten million dollars, only

ten million less than the returns from

gambling throughout the entire state.

These Henderson industries are made

possible by electric power from

Hoover Dam.

When the long campaign to make

possible the building of the dam was

underway, the whole State of Ne-

vada, outside of Las Vegas, con-

sidered the project as “purely local”

and that Las Vegas would reap prac-

tically the whole benefit from the

project through the payroll of the

workers. They felt that when the dam

was completed and the workers

moved away then the partv would be

over.

However, some of the farsighted

people in Las Vegas believed that the

chief benefit would come from the

use of power, and wanted the state to

make sure that Nevada should secure,

in advance, its full share of this

power. The people of the other coun-

ties of the state laughed at the idea

and made it quite clear that the state

as a whole would not help finance

such a crazy idea, but a way was

found to partially overcome this dif-

ficulty.

The Southern California Edison

Company, while loudly declaring that

it was not interested in Hoover Dam

power, which must be paid for

whether put to use or not, agreed to

finance the Nevada share of the

power and would release it to Nevada

when needed. This provided a means

where the electric output of the dam

could be financed, assuring, at the

same time, that Nevada could get

power to meet her needs.

The war created a demand for mag-

nesium, and Howard Eeles, who had

a large deposit of the ore, three hun-

dred miles north of Las Vegas,

planned and built the Basic Mag-

nesium Plant Inc., at Henderson.

Politics came into the picture and Mr.

Eeles was crowded out so the gov-

ernment turned the job of completing

the big plant to Anaconda Copper

Company. That corporation sent

Frank O. Case here to take charge,

and he did a wonderful piece of work.

When the war ended, and there was

no further need of magnesium for war

urposes, Mr. Case went back to his

ig job as Vice-President of Anaconda

in New York. It was feared that the

great B.M.I. Plant, a full mile long

and as high as a seven story building,

might be torn down, but the State

of Nevada finally secured the right

to take over the plant and sell or lease

the units to such industries as might

have use for them.

The purely Nevada side of this

story is by no means the most im-

portant one. Some of our Las Vegas

people still remember that a few years

ago Howard Hughes secured from the

government some twenty or twenty-

five acres of unoccupied land west of

Las Vegas. The enterprise was called

“Husite’ and great things were ex-

pected to come of it

For some reason Husite did not ma-

terialize into anything concrete, but

it is understood that Howard Hughes,

the multi-millionaire, still holds the

title to this large body of land.

The important thing from the Las

Vegas viewpoint is that Southern

California, especially the Los Angeles

area, is already pretty well crowded

with great plants and the smog

nuisance has become serious. Some

of the great plants, especially those

manufacturing airplanes in whole, or

in part, are already looking to the Las

Vegas area for sites for new factories

employing tens of thousands of men.

Another significant thing is that

the Las Vegas area is about the only

OCTOBER 26, 1957

— Scan from the Over50Vegas.com Collection — Fabulous Las Vegas Magazine —

Oct 26,1957 —

part of the United States offering the

advantages of an ample supply of

water and all of the other things

needed for great plants. When, in the

not too distant future, the march of

great plants to more expansive and

secure areas becomes acute, Las

Vegas will become a “boom town” in

truth, and property in this area will

reach valuations never before

dreamed of. There is no moral to this

story. A few of the wise ones already

see the picture and are preparing to

profit by the growth of the new Las

Vegas.

CRISWELL PREDICTS

(Continued from Page 7)

few of the larger companies have on

certain areas. This is known to be a

fight to the bitter end. Miiny motor-

ists are storing gasoline in one-hun-

dred gallon drums in their garages!

Fire departments have issued warn-

ings on how to store it! . . . April 18,

1958: The first successful push-but-

ton airplane, loaded with United

States Mail, was flown today from

New York to Los Angeles, non-stop,

but with the mechanical dropping of

mail bags by parachute in ten dif-

ferent pre-selected spots!

FOR PEOPLE AND PLACES:

Vice President Nixon: You will pre-

side over a top level Diplomatic Meet

in Paris before 1957 becomes his-

tory. In this gathering the fate of

Gibraltar will be decided! . . . Holly-

wood: You will vote Mike Todd your

number one citizen for his amazing

motion pictures, and for his knack of

getting favorable publicity! . . . Skia-

tron: You will find many bugs in

your method of selling paid TV to

the home owner! . . . Movie House

Owners: Your two biggest motion

picture box office successes for 1958

will be “Raintree County” and “Pey-

ton Place” with “St. Louis Blues” run-

ning third! . . . Mickey Rooney: Your

next venture will be a series of movies

based on the “Earthworm Tractor

Salesman,” the famed Saturday Eve-

ning Post series! C. W. Westin, Jr.:

Your new Precon (ESP) for control-

ling the emotion of a movie viewer

Observations by Pop Squires —

Fabulous Las Vegas Magazine —

July 12, 1958

THE OLIVER RANCH

NOT LONG ago we had the

pleasure of visiting one of

the most interesting old

ranches in this part of the country —

the ranch of Mr. and Mrs. C. B. Oliver — about twenty miles southwest

of Las Vegas, near the road to the

old Potosi Mine. The place was more

interesting to me because more than

forty years ago, when as part owner

of the famous Potosi mine, I passed

that way many times in a wagon

drawn by a tired team. In those days

teams were always tired, and the

speed of travel was approximately

two miles an hour.

Enclosed by sheltering hills with a

background of the gigantic sandstone

cliff to the west, this ranch seems like

a little world of its own, planned espe-

cially for the comfort and conveni-

ence of those trying to get close to

the heart of nature. Rambling stone

ranch buildings, the grateful shade of

many trees, streams of running wa-

ter, a beautiful swimming pool, fields

of grain, gardens and orchards, all

add their charm to the place.

However, to me, the most interest-

ing thing about this locality is the

history connected with it.

It was about one hundred and four-

teen years ago that a tired, thirsty

and harassed band of men led by

General John C. Fremont came strug-

gling through Mountain Pass at the

west end of Potosi Mountain and

camped the night of May 2, 1844, at

(Continued on Page 10)

BLISS ICE CREAM

in the

GOLDEN STATE CARTON

BLISS Hand Packed

ICE CREAM at:

SILL'S DRIVE-IN

TOM DAVIDSON

1401 North 5th Streot

PANORAMA MARKET

West Charleston Blvd.

DANTE'S DRIVE INN

Henderson, Nevada

REXALL DRUG STORE

Boulder City, Nevada

(Continued from Page 5)

one of the many springs in the neigh-

borhod. Describing the journey from

Mountain Pass, Fremont wrote:

“The next day, in a short but rough

ride of twelve miles, we crossed the

mountain, and descending to a small

valley plain, encamped at the foot of

the ridge, on the bed of a creek,

where we found good grass in suffi-

cient quantity and an abundance of

water in holes. The range was ex-

tremely broken and rugged, present-

ing on this side a continued precipice,

and probably affords few passes.

Many digger tracks are seen around

us but no Indians were visible.”

So General Fremont gave us this

brief but very accurate description of

the place where his weary party

camped over one hundred and four

years ago, and this bit of stirring his-

tory gives the Oliver Ranch some of

its romance and color.

One of these days, when plans for

complete development of this proper-

ty can be carried out, this famous

ranch — formerly owned by Chet

Lauck, one of the famous Lum and

Abner radio and movie team, but now

the property of Mrs. Vera Krupp, ex-

wife of a German gun manufacturer

— and one or two others in that lo-

cality will be among the most famous

ranch homes in Nevada. For “dude

ranch” enterprises, Las Vegas is for-

tunate in having this foothill region

where the altitude is high enough to

avoid the high summer temperatures

of the valley, to entertain the hun-

dreds of thousands of visitors who

will be seeking our pleasures in the

years to come.

The Krupp Ranch is also a famous

old place. When we first came here

it was owned by an old desert pros-

pector named Wilson, and he with his

Indian wife and her two half breed

sons, Jim and Teed, lived there. In the

early days when Mrs. Helen J. Stew-

art lived at the old Vegas Ranch she

(Continued on Page 12)

Bond's Jewelers

Home of quality diamonds

300 Fremont

DAVID MING'S oriental house

OFFERS THE LATEST AND GREATEST

IN HARD TO FIND GIFT ITEMS .. .

Come in and browse around

Exquisite jewelry in Jade —

Ivory • Hand carved figurines

Chess sets • Planters • Dolls

Ceramics • Baskets • Cos-

tumes • Jars • Vases and many

other Oriental Art Goods.

1. 629 FREMONT ST

1. Oriental Art Carved Blackwood —

Rosewood & Teakwood Furnitures

(Table shown above) $275.

1. White Porcelain

Figures

Wrought Iron

Pictures

(Continued from Page 10)

engaged an Irishman, a graduate of

Oxford, whom she had known in Pi-

oche, to tutor her children, and these

two boys rode their horses to the

Stewart Ranch every morning and at-

tended school there. Later the elder

Wilson died and his body was burned

on a funeral pyre according to the

Indian custom. Jim died many years

ago, but his brother, Teed, was quite

crippled and the last we heard of

him he was still living in a cabin on

the ranch.

The old Potosi Mine figures in the

days when the missionaries were set-

tling the old Ranch here in Las Ve-

gas. The Indians told them that there

was a large quntity of lead ore at the

Potosi Mountain and that it could be

easily mined. A group of the settlers

went out to look at the prospect and

they reported to Brigham Young. He

sent a party down from Salt Lake

City, headed by Nathaniel V. Jones,

to investigate with instruction that if

the ore was found in sufficient quan-

tities to make it worthwhile, to go

ahead and form a company and begin

work at once. He told of the need of

hurrying with this work as the people

in the settlements were eager for lead

with which to make ammunition for

protection.

The group left for the mine early in

August 1856, and took with them six

yoke of cattle, and three wagons in

order to work the road and to dig

out the spring near the mine. The

group was under the leadership of

Almon Fullmer and he was instructed

to begin getting out the lead at once

and to take the loads to the nearest

settlement and barter them for flour.

This seemed to be the only way to

sustain these men who were almost

destitute of provisions. Considerable

ore was taken out, but finally the

workers were called back to Las Ve-

gas as they were constantly in trouble

with the Indians. A few years later,

about 1910, the mine was worked with

great success by a Salt Lake Company

and millions were taken out.

— Scan from the Over50Vegas.com Collection — Fabulous Las Vegas Magazine — July 12, 1958 —

Observations by Pop Squires — Fabulous Las Vegas Magazine — July 12, 1958

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