Rotary party at Jack Woods' ranch at the southeast intersection of Flamingo and Maryland Parkway in Las Vegas, Nevada. Standing in the front row on deck: Robert Russell, Allye Lawson, Frances Butterfield, Dr. Stan Hardy, Major Sweeney. Seen sitting in the second row: Mrs. James Shaver, Mrs. Harvey Luce, Bess Gatewood, Maxwell Kelch, Laura Belle Kelch, William J. Moore, Pat Moore, ?, Pop Squires, Al Sharp, Mrs. Fred O'Donnell, Anna Fayle, Vanita Sharp, Ora Sells. Standing in the third row: Mrs. Harry Miller, Mathilda Russell, Jack Wollenzine, Mrs. Wollenzine, ?, ?, Charlie Dimock, Mrs. Dimmock, ?, ?, Leo McNamee, Florence Lawson, Mrs. O.W. Yates, Delphine Squires, Mrs. Frank Case, ?, ?, Nola Hardy, Les Edwards, Muriel Edwards, Cecile Oram. Seen in the fourth row: Mrs. Rosemary Ruymann, Hary Miller, Carl Hyde, James Cashman Sr., Dr. ?, Mrs. ?, Bryan Bunker, Al Wendelboe, Mrs. Cashman, Mrs. B. Bunker, Juanita Gusewelle, ?, Marge Allen, R.J. Willstead, Frank Case, Chris Rasmussen, Mrs. ?, Reine Underhill, Otto Underhill, Lola Woodbury, Clare Woodbury, Charlie Sells, Leonard Fayle, ?, ?, Dalton Buck, Mrs. ?, Fran McNamee, J.W. Wilson. Seen in the top row: Frank Gusewelle, Jim Shaver, Jack Wood, ?, Dick Clough, Mrs. Clough, ?, Coach Harvey Stanford, Cliff Leonard, ?, Harvey Luce, Harry Allen, Marion Earl, Vic Shurtleff, Mrs. ?, Myrtle Ronnow, ?, Lorin Ronnow.
An unidentified man (left) stands with U. S. Nevada Senator Howard Cannon (Center), and Las Vegas Mayor Oran K. Gragson (right). The location where the photograph was taken is unknown. Oran Kenneth Gragson (February 14, 1911 – October 7, 2002) was an American businessman and politician. He was the longest-serving mayor of Las Vegas, Nevada, from 1959 to 1975. Gragson, a member of the Republican Party, was a small business owner who was elected Mayor on a reform platform against police corruption and for equal opportunity for people of all socio-economic and racial categories. Gragson died in a Las Vegas hospice on October 7, 2002, at the age of 91. The Oran K. Gragson Elementary School located at 555 N. Honolulu Street, Las Vegas, NV 89110 was named in his honor. Howard Walter Cannon (January 26, 1912 – March 5, 2002) was an American politician. He served as a United States Senator from Nevada from 1959 until 1983 as a member of the Democratic Party. In 1956, Cannon ran for the United States House of Representatives to succeed Republican incumbent Clarence Clifton Young, who ran for the U.S. Senate, but lost the Democratic primary to former Congressman Walter Baring, who then won the general election. In 1958, he was elected to the United States Senate, unseating Republican Senator George W. Malone with 58% of the vote.. Cannon was nearly defeated in his first re-election bid in 1964, holding off Republican Lieutenant Governor Paul Laxalt in one of the closest Senate elections ever.
Arthur Godfrey (2nd from left), and Las Vegas Mayor Oran K. Gragson (2nd from right) standing in front of a small plane with "Executive Jet" on the tail. The location where the photograph was taken is unknown. Oran Kenneth Gragson (February 14, 1911 – October 7, 2002) was an American businessman and politician. He was the longest-serving mayor of Las Vegas, Nevada, from 1959 to 1975. Gragson, a member of the Republican Party, was a small business owner who was elected Mayor on a reform platform against police corruption and for equal opportunity for people of all socio-economic and racial categories. Gragson died in a Las Vegas hospice on October 7, 2002, at the age of 91. The Oran K. Gragson Elementary School located at 555 N. Honolulu Street, Las Vegas, NV 89110 was named in his honor. Arthur Morton Godfrey (August 31, 1903 – March 16, 1983) was an American radio and television broadcaster and entertainer who was sometimes introduced by his nickname, The Old Redhead. No TV personality in 1950s America enjoyed more clout or fame than Godfrey until an infamous on-air incident undermined his folksy image and triggered a gradual decline. At the peak of his success, Godfrey helmed two CBS-TV weekly series and a daily 90-minute television mid-morning show, but, by the early 1960s, his presence had been reduced to hosting the occasional TV special.
Las Vegas Mayor Oran K. Gragson (standing), and Arthur Godfrey (seated, right), with two unidentified people, attending the International Exposition of Flight and General Aviation Conference. The location where the photograph was taken is unknown. Oran Kenneth Gragson (February 14, 1911 – October 7, 2002) was an American businessman and politician. He was the longest-serving mayor of Las Vegas, Nevada, from 1959 to 1975. Gragson, a member of the Republican Party, was a small business owner who was elected Mayor on a reform platform against police corruption and for equal opportunity for people of all socio-economic and racial categories. Gragson died in a Las Vegas hospice on October 7, 2002, at the age of 91. The Oran K. Gragson Elementary School located at 555 N. Honolulu Street, Las Vegas, NV 89110 was named in his honor. Arthur Morton Godfrey (August 31, 1903 – March 16, 1983) was an American radio and television broadcaster and entertainer who was sometimes introduced by his nickname, The Old Redhead. No TV personality in 1950s America enjoyed more clout or fame than Godfrey until an infamous on-air incident undermined his folksy image and triggered a gradual decline. At the peak of his success, Godfrey helmed two CBS-TV weekly series and a daily 90-minute television mid-morning show, but, by the early 1960s, his presence had been reduced to hosting the occasional TV special.
Several people, including two Pageant contestants, look on as Las Vegas Mayor Oran K. Gragson (left) assists Sammy Davis, Jr. (center) in cutting the ribbon for the Las Vegas Pageant of Progress. Oran Kenneth Gragson (February 14, 1911 – October 7, 2002) was an American businessman and politician. He was the longest-serving mayor of Las Vegas, Nevada, from 1959 to 1975. Gragson, a member of the Republican Party, was a small business owner who was elected Mayor on a reform platform against police corruption and for equal opportunity for people of all socio-economic and racial categories. Gragson died in a Las Vegas hospice on October 7, 2002, at the age of 91. The Oran K. Gragson Elementary School located at 555 N. Honolulu Street, Las Vegas, NV 89110 was named in his honor. Samuel George "Sammy" Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American Jewish entertainer. Primarily a dancer and singer, he was also an actor of stage and screen, musician, and impressionist, noted for his impersonations of actors, musicians and other celebrities. Davis was awarded the Spingarn Medal by the NAACP and was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award for his television performances. He was the recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors in 1987, and in 2001, he was posthumously awarded the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Las Vegas Mayor Oran K. Gragson (left) appears to be giving the key to the city to actor James Garner. Oran Kenneth Gragson (February 14, 1911 – October 7, 2002) was an American businessman and politician. He was the longest-serving mayor of Las Vegas, Nevada, from 1959 to 1975. Gragson, a member of the Republican Party, was a small business owner who was elected Mayor on a reform platform against police corruption and for equal opportunity for people of all socio-economic and racial categories. Gragson died in a Las Vegas hospice on October 7, 2002, at the age of 91. The Oran K. Gragson Elementary School located at 555 N. Honolulu Street, Las Vegas, NV 89110 was named in his honor. James Garner (born James Scott Bumgarner; April 7, 1928 – July 19, 2014) was an American actor, voice artist, singer, producer, and comedian. He starred in several television series over more than five decades, including such popular roles as Bret Maverick in the 1950s western comedy series Maverick and Jim Rockford in the 1970s detective comedic drama series The Rockford Files,[2] and played leading roles in more than 50 theatrical films, including The Great Escape (1963) with Steve McQueen, Paddy Chayefsky's The Americanization of Emily (1964), Grand Prix (1966), Blake Edwards' Victor Victoria (1982), Murphy's Romance (1985), for which he received an Academy Award nomination, Space Cowboys (2000) with Clint Eastwood, and The Notebook (2004).
Pictured L-R: Las Vegas Mayor Oran K. Gragson, his wife Bonnie, with Mrs. Ed Sullivan and Mr. Ed Sullivan. Oran Kenneth Gragson (February 14, 1911 – October 7, 2002) was an American businessman and politician. He was the longest-serving mayor of Las Vegas, Nevada, from 1959 to 1975. Gragson, a member of the Republican Party, was a small business owner who was elected Mayor on a reform platform against police corruption and for equal opportunity for people of all socio-economic and racial categories. Gragson died in a Las Vegas hospice on October 7, 2002, at the age of 91. The Oran K. Gragson Elementary School located at 555 N. Honolulu Street, Las Vegas, NV 89110 was named in his honor. Edward Vincent "Ed" Sullivan (September 28, 1901 – October 13, 1974) was an American television personality, sports and entertainment reporter, and longtime syndicated columnist for the New York Daily News. He is principally remembered as the creator and host of the television variety program The Toast of the Town, later popularly—and, eventually, officially—renamed The Ed Sullivan Show. Broadcast for 23 years from 1948 to 1971, it set a record as the longest-running variety show in US broadcast history. "It was, by almost any measure, the last great TV show," proclaimed television critic David Hinckley. "It's one of our fondest, dearest pop culture memories."
Pictured L-R: Las Vegas Mayor Oran K. Gragson, his wife Bonnie, with Mrs. Ed Sullivan, and Mr. Ed Sullivan. Oran Kenneth Gragson (February 14, 1911 – October 7, 2002) was an American businessman and politician. He was the longest-serving mayor of Las Vegas, Nevada, from 1959 to 1975. Gragson, a member of the Republican Party, was a small business owner who was elected Mayor on a reform platform against police corruption and for equal opportunity for people of all socio-economic and racial categories. Gragson died in a Las Vegas hospice on October 7, 2002, at the age of 91. The Oran K. Gragson Elementary School located at 555 N. Honolulu Street, Las Vegas, NV 89110 was named in his honor. Edward Vincent "Ed" Sullivan (September 28, 1901 – October 13, 1974) was an American television personality, sports and entertainment reporter, and longtime syndicated columnist for the New York Daily News. He is principally remembered as the creator and host of the television variety program The Toast of the Town, later popularly—and, eventually, officially—renamed The Ed Sullivan Show. Broadcast for 23 years from 1948 to 1971, it set a record as the longest-running variety show in US broadcast history. "It was, by almost any measure, the last great TV show," proclaimed television critic David Hinckley. "It's one of our fondest, dearest pop culture memories."
Judy Bayley and Senator Howard Walter Cannon at one of the trailrides, circa 1968-1971. Senator Cannon is pinning a ribbon on Judy Bayley. Judith “Judy” Bayley, namesake of the Judy Bayley Theatre at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, was once known as “The First Lady of Gambling.” Judy and her husband Warren “Doc” Bayley opened the Hacienda Hotel and Casino on October 17, 1956. After Warren’s unexpected death from a heart attack on December, 26, 1964, Judy Bayley took over the ownership and operations of the Hacienda. By doing so, she became the first woman in Nevada history to be the sole owner and operator of a hotel-casino. An avid horsewoman, as a publicity campaign, Judy started “The Hacienda Trailrides.” Which some considered the social event of the year. The first trailride was held in December, 1968 to commemorate Pearl Harbor. The ride began at the Valley of Fire State Park and Ended in Overton, Nevada. Judy donated all proceeds from the trailride to benefit the local Veterans of Foreign Wars. Four Trailrides were held over the next four years, leaving from Tule Springs (now Floyd Lamb State Park), and from the Hacienda itself before they were discontinued after her death. After Judy’s death from cancer on December 31, 1971, the Hacienda was sold in 1972. The Hacienda’s doors closed to the public on December 10, 1996. The hotel was imploded on December 31, 1996 on the 25th anniversary of Judy Bayley’s death, and was broadcast on the Fox news network as part of their New Year’s Eve 1996 telecast. In March 1999, it was replaced with the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino.
Several boats are moored close to shore, and a few tents have been pitched close to the water's edge. Three small buildings are visible. Overton Beach is located on the northern end of the Overton Arm, a long extension of the lake that follows the former channel of the Virgin River. In 1939, shortly after Lake Mead was impounded, Overton Beach was one of only three sites on the reservoir to have facilities for the public. Overton Beach offered access to a public launch ramp, restrooms, fish cleaning station and ranger station. A concessioner operated a RV park, store, fuel station, dry boat storage, long-term trailer village, and a marina with 125 slips. In the spring of 2007, the marina facilities were divided into two smaller sections and moved to other concessioner operations on the lake at Temple Bar and Callville Bay. Shortly after that, the store was boarded up and the trailer village was dismantled. What remained are the boat launch and the ranger station. On Sunday, April 25, 2010, the National Park Service locked the gate leading to Overton Beach at its intersection with Northshore Road, although the area will still be open to visitors who choose to enter on foot or by boat. Only vehicle access is restricted, making the area in effect a backcountry site. The move was considered temporary, but it could prove permanent depending on how long it takes Lake Mead to recover from over a decade of drought on the overdrawn Colorado River. The Overton Beach water treatment facility was also shut down on April 25, 2010. Without water and sewage services, the park wasn't able to operate restrooms, the fish cleaning station or RV pump-out stations. These services are now available at Echo Bay, which is located ten miles south of Overton Beach.