Oral history interview with Ruthe Deskin conducted by Anthony Ferri on April 17, 2000 for the Communication and Community in Las Vegas research study. In this interview, Deskin talks about her upbringing in Yerington, Nevada, her degree in journalism from the University of Nevada, Reno (UNR), and her permanent move to Las Vegas, Nevada in 1945. She discusses her early jobs working for KENO and KLAS radio stations as an advertising and continuity editor, her public relations work for the Last Frontier Hotel, and then starting what would become her life work with Hank Greenspun's Las Vegas Sun newspaper in 1954. Later, she talks about her column "Memo to Hank" and Greenspun's "Where I Stand" column, about how Las Vegas changed over her fifty year tenure at the newspaper, politicians, racial inequality, and highlights of her career.
Archival Collection
The Thomas A. Turner Structural Engineering Papers (approximately 1952-1990) consist of structural engineering plans, calculations, and correspondence for a variety of construction projects Turner worked on as a founding partner of the firm Jack Miller and Associates (JMA). The projects include hotels and casinos, municipal buildings, commercial businesses, and private residences throughout Clark and Nye counties, with the majority located in Las Vegas and Henderson, Nevada.
Archival Collection
The Danny Cassella Papers are comprised of materials dating from 1934 to 1953, focusing on musician Danny Cassella and His Orchestra, who had performances in Las Vegas, Nevada. The materials include biographical information about Danny Cassella, photographs, newspaper clippings, correspondence, postcards, programs, articles and tune-dex cards.
Archival Collection
The Sidney R. Whitmore Collection (approximately 1885-1970) contains land deeds and other documents about Mount Diablo, Nevada; documents detailing parts of his family history; and eight framed paintings of landscapes and portraits.
Archival Collection
The Elmo and Charlotte Ellsworth Papers (1948-1977) are comprised of business correspondence, room reservation records, promotional materials, and photographs from Elmo's employment at the Flamingo and Riviera Hotels in his work of securing conventions. There is also correspondence and promotional materials from his wife Charlotte Ellsworth, who worked as a reservations manager at the Riviera Hotel and the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada and the MGM Grand Hotel in Reno, Nevada.
Archival Collection
The Maria Burston Wheeler Papers date from approximately the 1850s to 1933 and record Maria Walker's childhood and voyage from Liverpool, England to Salt Lake City, Utah in the United States through her manuscript "My History." The manuscript details her and her family's trans-Atlantic journey as well as her own journey as a married woman, Maria Burston Wheeler, to Las Vegas, Nevada to establish the Mormon Fort located there. Her manuscript details daily life at the fort.
Archival Collection
The Fred Houghton Papers (1909-1998) consist of Houghton’s legal and personal files on his Blue Chip Ranch property in Las Vegas, Nevada. The materials include legal cases, maps, reports, and correspondence concerning water access on the property, and his work with the Las Vegas Well Users Association, which primarily contains correspondence in conjunction with Las Vegas's water politics. The collection also contains court cases during the 1930s when Houghton worked as a lawyer in Chicago, Illinois, as well as legal files for his time as a public defender for the State of California. The personal files in the collection primarily consist of correspondence, banking records, diaries, and notebooks.
Archival Collection
The Willard H. George Furrier, Ltd. Scrapbooks are comprised primarily of three leatherbound scrapbooks containing black-and-white and sepia toned photographs taken from the 1920s through 1955. The scrapbooks feature actresses from Hollywood, California wearing furs designed and created by furrier Willard H. George. Actresses of note include Lucille Ball, Rita Hayworth, and Greta Garbo.
Archival Collection
The Anna Dean Kepper Postcard Collection (approximately 1930-1977) contains postcards and photographic negatives depicting Southern Nevada and California. The images portray Scotty’s Castle in Death Valley, California, street scenes from Southern Nevada mining towns, and Nevada deserts and flora.
Archival Collection
The Cork Proctor Photograph Collection (1960s-1980s) primarily contains black-and-white photographic reproductions of early Las Vegas, Nevada; the Cal-Neva Lodge at Lake Tahoe, Nevada; and various celebrities. The collection also includes black-and-white photographic prints of the Helldorado Parade. Cork Proctor was a comedian who performed throughout Nevada and the United States.
Archival Collection
