Transcript of interview with Nellie Bunch by Robin Ducharme, November 20, 1975

UNLV University Libraries Nellie Bunch 1 An Interview with Nellie Bunch An Oral History Conducted by C.A. Ducharme Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas Special Collections and Archives Oral History Research Center University Libraries University of Nevada, Las Vegas UNLV University Libraries Nellie Bunch 2 © Ralph Roske Oral History Project on Early Las Vegas University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 2018 UNLV University Libraries Nellie Bunch 3 The Oral History Research Center (OHRC) was formally established by the Board of Regents of the University of Nevada System in September 2003 as an entity of the UNLV University Libraries’ Special Collections Division. The OHRC conducts oral interviews with individuals who are selected for their ability to provide first-hand observations on a variety of historical topics in Las Vegas and Southern Nevada. The OHRC is also home to legacy oral history interviews conducted prior to its establishment including many conducted by UNLV History Professor Ralph Roske and his students. This legacy interview transcript received minimal editing, such as the elimination of fragments, false starts, and repetitions in order to enhance the reader's understanding of the material. All measures have been taken to preserve the style and language of the narrator. The interviewee/narrator was not involved in the editing process. UNLV University Libraries Nellie Bunch 4 Abstract On November 20, 1975, C.A. (Robin) Ducharme interviewed Nellie Bunch (born 1902 in Chariton County, MO) about her life in Southern Nevada. Bunch first talks about her settlement into the Whitney Ranch area and her knowledge about the building of Hoover (Boulder) Dam. She also talks about the early utilization of water resources from Lake Mead, early sources of power, and the early use of evaporative coolers. Bunch also speaks about her experience as a postmaster and later discusses telephone technology and the early churches of Las Vegas. UNLV University Libraries Nellie Bunch 5 November 20th, 1975, East Las Vegas, Nevada. Nellie Bunch, 5894 Bunch Street, East Las Vegas, Nevada. This is Robin Ducharme. I’m talking to Mrs. Nellie Bunch, and we’re going to discuss her arrival in the Las Vegas area. Mrs. Bunch, when did you come to the Las Vegas area? July the 1st, 1931. Where did you come from? Kansas City, Missouri. Can you tell us how you came to choose Las Vegas? It was through my sister that had come through, and they were just beginning to start on the same in ’31, they started in April. And as they came through, they stayed over a few days in Las Vegas and discovered that they were going to subdivide the Whitney Ranch and that the highway would be going through. So they came back to Kansas City to visit us, and then when they came back, just in a joking way, they said, “Why don’t you come out there?” And my husband was one that had said, he had just got out of the Navy not too long before, and he had said that he was going to work for himself—he would never have anyone looking down his neck, working for someone. So, we came out here. We set the back bunny, and they bought us a lot before we ever got here. So you came sight unseen? Sight unseen. And what was it like when you arrived at this lovely Whitney Ranch? (Laughs) That’s a joke what we came here. I had never been on the desert before, and there was nothing green, and I got in here at night around 10:30, something like that, and as we came in, why, the dust was blowing (unintelligible) the wind, and we didn’t think too much about it until the next morning. We got up and you could hardly see your hand in front of you. And it rode for UNLV University Libraries Nellie Bunch 6 three days, oh so hard, and didn’t, no let up. Well, I didn’t unpack anything, and I cried the whole first three days. That was quite an introduction, wasn’t it? Yes, it was, to come to a strange place and nothing but sand blowing at you. You couldn’t hardly see in front of you, but one of those terrible times—we have had very few that bad since I have been here now. What was here at this location when you first arrived? There were a few starting cabins for them to live in—that’s what they called them then—they were just small, and it’s more like a mountain cabin they have in the mountains now. And that’s what everyone was building, and some of them had tents, but they came a little later. They came in the fall, but at that time, they were just beginning to build here. Roughly in July when you came, could you give me any estimate of, in this particular area, was the Whitney Ranch, how many came within that month or two and were beginning to make their buildings? Oh, probably 150 to 200, something like that. 150 to 200 homes, or? No, no, people. People. Families that had children, and that was the population. I see. So, there was really the beginning of a village. Right. Or the beginning of a town right there. Right there, and they all kinda settled here, mm-hmm. UNLV University Libraries Nellie Bunch 7 Now, were most of those people who settled here people who worked on the dam or people who worked in Las Vegas and made supplies for the dam or were service personnel for the dam, or were they the dam workers themselves? Both. Most of them were the dam workers, and the other people that were here were owners; they were the proprietors of the businesses and all of the rentals and everything. So some of the people were landlords? Mm-hmm. So you really did have a variety of people living here in the East Las Vegas or Whitney area? Oh, yes, it used to be the Whitney area, and it was called (unintelligible) just a few years ago. At the time that there were tents and cabins being built here, I understand there was a tent city at Boulder City? There was, yes, away from Boulder City. It wasn’t right in Boulder City. And it was on the side of the hill, and they called it tent city because you could just look out, it was a sea of tents. Now, at that time, between Las Vegas and the tent city and the same, was there anything else? No. There was, about two miles, they had started a little while before, and they called it—it’s had several names: Jericho Heights, Sierra Vista—I forgot what the other names were. It had four different names. And then they finally, at the time of the war before Henderson started, they changed it to Pittman right quick because Henderson, they were going to name that Pittman after Senator Key Pittman. But they got busy, this little group down there, had changed it to Pittman, which made the Henderson people very unhappy. UNLV University Libraries Nellie Bunch 8 Oh, I guess it would. So, then between Las Vegas and the tent city, there was the Whitney area and village starting, and the Pittman tent city. But it wasn’t Pittman; it was Sierra Vista. Sierra Vista, and then did you say Jericho? Jericho Heights. Jericho Heights. They changed it to that name, you see. Then they changed it to Midway, and then they changed it then to Pittman. Some of them found out that the Henderson group was going to name it Pittman, they got together and called it Pittman, of course, and they had to change their name then, too. They snuck in ahead of time? Yes. Now, I understand when you came here that the highway between Las Vegas and the Boulder Dam area is not at the location that it is now? Oh, no. The old highway is about a mile north of us. And it was just a gravel highway from Las Vegas, and it made a curve and went through Railroad Pass so they could go on down to Searchlight and Needles. So that was the old road to the Eldorado Canyon area from Las Vegas? Yes. Then they surveyed, and I understand they were surveying when you came here—? Oh, yes, they were. For the location of the new highway? UNLV University Libraries Nellie Bunch 9 In the new highway. And when we came, we had to go around on the old highway about a mile down and then turn and come back up to get into our lot because our lot was on the new highway. Oh, I see. And they were working on it, see. Oh, it was a detour, then, at that time? Yes. I see. Although they didn’t consider a detour at that time, although, because that was the road to Railroad Pass and Searchlight. I see. That was the main road, and— Mm-hmm, the only road. And now we would consider it a detour to come that way? Yes, because it isn’t there anymore. When you moved into your home here—not that current home, but when you moved into a moving establishment, shall we say, I understand there was no water. Oh, no, we had no water here. Everyone had to haul their water. We all had to haul it from Las Vegas. However, there was water here, but it was not suitable for drinking. It was contaminated with alkalis and that? Too many chemicals in it. How long did you have to haul your water? Oh, probably about four years, something like that. How did you do so? UNLV University Libraries Nellie Bunch 10 We had a big tank that, it held 500 gallons, and then we had it on a trailer, and then we had four ten-gallon (unintelligible), and we would go and fill them up at one of the service stations in Las Vegas. And then you would dip your water for your household? We had faucets. My husband was handy that way, and there was a facet on everything, and we just left it on the little trailer, the tank, see, that way we could go and get our water—it didn’t get dirty, it wasn’t contaminated in any way. So then you had a tank with a faucet that you could draw your water from it just as you would a tap? That’s right. Only it was a portable tank. That’s right. So that you could drive in. Oh, that must have been interesting driving back and forth. Oh, yes. Whose service station did you go to, do you know, do you remember? I don’t remember which one it was now. It was at Tenth and Fremont, but I don’t remember what the station— At Tenth Street and Fremont? Mm-hmm. Did everyone—? No, they just went anywhere in Vegas and get their water. So the people at the various business establishments or service stations would just gladly give them the water? UNLV University Libraries Nellie Bunch 11 Oh, yes, because, you see, the water was free. They all didn’t have to pay like they do now. There were no water meters at that time? Oh, no. So, just through friendship, you would go in and fill it up? In the business, oh sure. Well, that’s very interesting. I didn’t know about that. Mm-hmm. You didn’t have any electricity? Oh, no electricity. Nothing. We didn’t have anything at all here for conveniences. And so, the ones that had rentals and things, we bought our own light plant, we had our own electricity. Did that serve just your home, or? That served just only us, and then there was another couple that had a plant, a light plant. We used ours, I don’t know, maybe four or five years. And then, we bought a larger plant. Then after we had had that one, that was about ’36, people began leaving here, and after they had left and, oh, there was only a few people here for about a year. And they started coming back, so we bought a larger light plant, and then a couple months later, we bought another one for an auxiliary so that we always had lights. So, my husband put up light poles and boosters and got meters and things for everyone to have lights, that was in here, so we served to people here with lights for, oh, four or five years before we finally got electricity. So, you were, in effect, a power and light company, a franchised power and light company, for several years. That’s very interesting. The cooking, however, was not— No, no, we had gas. We bought gas in large tanks, Standard Oil Company, which we just, that was where our service station was at that time. And they had huge tanks about as tall as your UNLV University Libraries Nellie Bunch 12 head, and then a meter, and you could tell how much you let so much in and out. So we used gas for every—we got that when we first came here. The first summer in ’31, we started with the gas, we bought a gas refrigerator, a Servel, we called it. And that was gas. So, you see, that had ice cubes, cold water—had everything, you see, and we could keep vegetables and things like that, everything, and because we had the large side and never gave us a bit of trouble. We had it and used it and kept it full, you might say, all the time, because up to that time, we had iceboxes, just little old, you know. And that’s what most everyone was using. So, I think, it seems to me like, that there was another family that had the gas refrigerator, but I can’t recall for sure because we were the first ones that had the best refrigerator. And so we cooked on gas and heated because the tanks were up too high, and although we had a wood stove, so that if it did begin to get too high, using too much of the winter cold. Now, it wasn’t cold like it is now; we’re having much colder weather than we had because there was, oh, two or three of the Christmases that we ate our Christmas dinner out in the yard, put our picnic tables out, and ate outside the sun, so warm, and it was really warm. Is it hotter now in the summer? No, mm-mm. When you came, if you cooked and you heated and you kept your refrigeration on gas, how did you keep yourself cool in those summers? Well, we just let it be hot, that’s all you could do. The first year that we were here, we didn’t do anything because greenhorns didn’t know a thing about, you know, the desert or about cooling it or anything. And then the second summer that we were here, everyone got the idea to do it, to make a box frame and then cover it with burlap, and then you set a can up on top of the burlap with a nail hole in the center of the can. And once that burlap got wet, then it kept wet as long as UNLV University Libraries Nellie Bunch 13 you left that can on there with water, and that was in the windows, in a window, and the wind would blow through the burlap and would cool it to a certain extent. You’d be surprised how much cooling that it was. That would be, like, the beginning of the evaporative coolers that you still see today. Yes. And I have one of the original that was made in ’31. Everything is supposed to be antique when it’s fifty years old. This is not fifty years old; yet, it is an antique because it was one of the very first, really, cooling apparatuses we had around here. A valuable historical relic, then? Yes, yes. And we had, of course, and I have that yet today. After you were here a while and got yourself settled, I understand that once the highway opened where, in the present location, that you opened a store? Service station and rentals; we built two cabins, that’s the way we started, two cabins, and garage, and service station. And then it was during that period of time when you had the service station that you became postmaster for the area? Oh, yes because we had, we had a service station up until about 1959 or something like that, we had a service station. And what year did you become postmaster? 1934. 1934. At that time, were there any postal facilities other than in the City of Las Vegas in this—was there a post office at the dam? Oh, no. Not then, not yet, no. When we came here—in ’32, the fall of ’32, several of them got together and made an application signing a petition for a post office out here. And we got that UNLV University Libraries Nellie Bunch 14 through, but up till that time, we went to Las Vegas and had mailboxes in the office and picked up our mail. And everyone living at the dam, they had to do the same? Do the same until it got—uh-huh. So, then you were a postmaster starting in 1934. Were you the first postmaster for this area? No. There was one before me. Do you remember his name or her name? It was a he—Charles Varney, V-A-R-N-E-Y. So, he was the postmaster of—was it called East Las Vegas, or was that called the Whitney Post Office? It was called Whitney because they had decided to name this Whitney after Mr. Whitney, Stoll Whitney, that owned the ranch. So that’s why it’s named Whitney. So you were the Whitney postmaster, then, from 1934 until it was changed to East Las Vegas Post Office? No, no. I was there when we changed it to East Las Vegas, but I was there until 1969 when I retired—no, it wasn’t ’69—I retired in ’65, December 30th, 1965. And then, see, we didn’t have house delivery at that time. But we did get it, and they changed, and instead of having this as a separate post office, it’s a branch of Las Vegas because we’d get house delivery. And see, up to that time, everyone had to come to the post office. And instead of having a postmaster, they were called superintendent of mails. So your title, officially, at that time then was superintendent—? No, no. I was postmaster right up to the end of postmaster. UNLV University Libraries Nellie Bunch 15 Oh, I see. Then when you’re in charge of the branch—? You’re superintendent of mails. You’re superintendent of mails. But I didn’t stay. See, that’s when they changed it, see. I see. After you moved here and you had a village started of several hundred people, there were quite a few children? Oh, yes. How did those children reach their schooling? At first, everyone took their youngsters into Las Vegas to school, and then when we had the big boom that came, we had the Greyhound Bus, made arrangements through them, and they hauled them for five cents a child. Five? Five cents a child. That’s what they charged, is five cents a child. And it was barracks where, Charleston and Fremont, kept together up there, there was a, I think about five big barracks that they had used up the dam, or Boulder City rather, and they had the school and hired teachers—shuffled around and desks and things—makeshift you might say. Now that was called, then, the Duck Creek School District? Yeah, this is the Duck Creek School District, but when we sent our youngsters up there, they were no longer in the Duck Creek School District, they were in the Las Vegas School District, because that’s where the separation was. But at that time, they didn’t pay any attention as to what district they were in; it was to get the youngsters into school of some description. So, there wasn’t that much legal discussion over where a child lived? No, no. UNLV University Libraries Nellie Bunch 16 Just get a school started? Just get them to school, and that was all. The very first children, though, had to go into Las Vegas? Yes, and when they had just a few, there, we had two people that took me in, and they took me in a station wagon, we had station wagons. And they could take one (unintelligible). Do you remember with any, just approximately, when this school might have—the barracks might have been used, and the school begun up at the Charleston/Fremont intersection? That was at the beginning of the Basic—Basic, they called it Basic instead of Henderson—and that was the beginning of the Second [World] War, and that’s when the, and I believe it was about ’46 that we built the school down here, and it was before (unintelligible) when we dedicated it (unintelligible). But somewhere around that, and we built the school out here. And first, they were going to build a six-room school. Well, when so many people moved out to Henderson, we started Henderson up, they called it Basic then. And they started that. Well, of course, they had to have a school right away, you know, because with so many there, with youngsters, so they started a school there. And that way, we didn’t need our school up here the, since they were having their own school out there. So that’s why it was cut down to a three-room school. Is that original small school at the location where the school is now? Yes, except that that they’ve added on. Of course. They’ve added on, I think, about eight rooms now—I think, I’m not sure about that. Your husband, I understand, was involved in the Duck Creek School District? UNLV University Libraries Nellie Bunch 17 Oh, yes. That’s what they called our district. We were called Duck Creek because what we had was a creek that ran down in through here continuously, and it came from springs. And there were so many ducks around at that time, so we named it the Duck Creek School District. Your husband was the head of that district before? Yes, president of the school board. He was appointed to that by the county commission at that time? I believe that that’s the way we got in first, but I’m not just sure how they did that. There was three of them on the school board. But anyway, after that, then they had elections every so often, four years or so, and he left the school board. He was on the school board for over twenty years. So, you see, now, it was at the time that that (unintelligible) that fell off of Tennessee. It started a, you know, where they were making all of the schools into one district, see—Peabody out of Tennessee. Peabody had really instigated, and he had tried for quite some time—he finally got it through where, that they would do away with these small districts. Now, up until that time, we had our own allotment money, we knew what we were going to get. My husband would go to the county auditor, and he would find out how much money we had to run on during the year. And then we would have (unintelligible) where things were donated because we didn’t have enough money to do it. And the same thing happened over the Paradise Valley School. They had money to get along, struggling along, but we were doing all right. We were keeping all the youngsters in school and with all the necessary that they had to have, and we brought extra things as we could. And then when this Peabody deal came through and they took us in, we really (unintelligible), and Paradise Valley—now, because at that time, you see, there was enough valuation here that we were getting so much more money that we would have been able to buy all these little extra things that the schools have now. And that’s why we were all up in arms about the school going UNLV University Libraries Nellie Bunch 18 in and then them taking us in. So, now, you see, it’s the Clark County School District. That’s what we hear it now, Clark County School District. And all of the teachers, janitor, everything, and the maintenance of the building is all taken care of by the Clark County School District. It’s not a village or community school now? No. It’s just a county school, just like all over the county. Now, you mentioned that there were springs and Duck Creek ran continually at that time. At that time. It does not now, as all know. Oh, no. Only during rainstorms? Yes, yes. You and your husband were instrumental in using that creek springs to form a water company in this area? Yes, but we didn’t use any of the water through that. Oh, I see. It was just wild water, you would call it, just running (unintelligible), but you see, it dried up, oh, probably fifteen years ago. And all the kids out there went swimming in kind of a pool, and you’d always find kids in the summertime up at the spring because they were up there in a kind of a pond you would call it, swimming. Could you tell us about the formation of the water district that was established locally in the Whitney area? Well, we got everyone together and had a meeting, we called a meeting, and everyone was, “Let’s get some water. We must have water. We have to have water. So, they were all very UNLV University Libraries Nellie Bunch 19 anxious to start the water company.” So, we had our meeting, and then we gave receipts for all of what money that they all paid in. And the electric and water board—we had five on the water board at that time. John, my husband, was president of the water company at that time when they began, and he was until they resold it to the Las Vegas Water District. And the water [audio cuts out] and it was all sort of a family up there. We had no outside money. All the money was from here (unintelligible), and we put up so much money, and then we had the water mains running all around, and then everyone had a water pipe to the pass, and they could use their well, had showers, and everything we needed was (unintelligible). About when was that—you mentioned you hauled water for ten years? Something like that. So, it was in the early 1940s that you began the water company? It was before that, ‘30s. [Audio ends] It was in the late 1930s, then, that the water company was formed in this area? Mm-hmm. Approximately when, do you remember, did you sell the water company, or was it taken over by the Las Vegas Valley Water District? We sold it to the Las Vegas Valley Water District after they started, and they were going to bring water in from the lake. And we were the first ones here that got water from the [audio cuts out] Nellis up there through their tank that the Valley Water District gets now. And so we were (unintelligible) on the Las Vegas Valley Water District line before Las Vegas was. And we also had dial telephones before Las Vegas did. How did you manage that? UNLV University Libraries Nellie Bunch 20 We didn’t do it. It just so happened, and the company (unintelligible). Now, that it was because we were small and it would (unintelligible), I don’t know why, but I have dial telephone. Was that the present Centel? Well, they changed it to Centel, oh, four or five years. I can’t just remember when they changed it to Centel. It was the Southern Nevada Telephone Company. The Whitney area water company, your machinery (unintelligible) and the source of your water was located, I understand, where the corner of Tropicana— And Nellis. And because we could not—we had to have a well built for ourselves, and we could use it for irrigation, but you couldn’t drink it, but every (unintelligible) we had tested it and everything, and we never used it for drinking or any household use or anything like that. You used it for watering, you know, irrigation, and then that’s when (unintelligible) for the water company, because we found we could not get good water here (unintelligible) 400 feet and (unintelligible) tap water—good water, I should say. So, then when we formed the water company and we put in pipelines from Nellis to Tropicana right now, everyone in town would get (unintelligible) water (unintelligible). So, your community of Whitney, then had its own school district for a good many years? Oh, yes. Its own water district? Yes. For a good many years. So, you really were a community in every sense of the word? Oh, yes. Did you ever incorporate in this area? UNLV University Libraries Nellie Bunch 21 No, we didn’t, because it took 250 registered voters at the last general election in order to incorporate that. We didn’t have that many. There was one time, we were going to, but we didn’t have (unintelligible) so since, then we have not been, really no advantage. Whitney, then, was here, and between this area and Boulder Dam was nothing? No, nothing. Then the war started. Mm-hmm. And some things started developing out at what is now Henderson. What is now Henderson. Can you describe what it was like to see the development of a good-sized town in a few years? Oh, yes, because, it’d take the company—the company built the houses in Henderson—they called it Lacy then and Basic Magnesium. And they built the houses and rented the (unintelligible) and then later years, they sold them to the ones that were living in each house, if they wanted the house they were in, and basically sold to the people. And now they’re (unintelligible) Incorporated, and they have all their own (unintelligible). I understand that it was during this time that you were postmaster, that Henderson had no post office of its own and that you were very, very busy during the war years serving the people of the Henderson area. And some went into Las Vegas had bought some in there until they started (unintelligible) Henderson. When was that, do you remember? UNLV University Libraries Nellie Bunch 22 No, I don’t, because it was after the war store before they (unintelligible). Basic Magnesium really, itself, did not start—only when the war started. It was (unintelligible) bought their own houses and their own business. I understand that on payday, when Henderson was just beginning, on Friday paydays, you had some very, very busy days. Oh, yes. They paid on Friday, and (unintelligible) stay open until six, the post office, at that time. The post office would stay open till six—on Friday night, we would never close before nine or ten because just had so many (unintelligible) and sending money home to them. We had a lot of (unintelligible) in here, and (unintelligible) to tell them, and I could understand and know what they wanted and their name (unintelligible) and they got money orders (unintelligible) that way. The one fellow that was wonderful (unintelligible) the Mexican (unintelligible) speak good English, so he would be around there (unintelligible) and (unintelligible) him to give me a boost, which I (unintelligible). So, the men who were working out there sent the money to their families, and then later, the families came out to find them? Oh, yes. And the same with the (unintelligible). And the men would come and go to work and soon when they got their own money, why, they’d send (unintelligible). I understand that, even though it was hard times, and there were a lot of men here alone without their families, that you still felt more secure here, and there wasn’t the problems that you encounter sometimes today. You mentioned that you felt quite comfortable in your home and you weren’t afraid of anyone. No, and really and truly, it was an honest group of people because you didn’t have to pin ‘em down and, if you was gonna check, have their life history, which is now they almost do, and I do UNLV University Libraries Nellie Bunch 23 not blame anyone that doesn’t cash a check. So it never hurts my feelings if I go in, you know, some strange place and I give you a check, and with First—you see, I have it for the First National Bank identification card right now, I have no trouble. But up until that time, they would want your address, identification and everything. And then some of them, they wouldn’t cash, and I really didn’t feel bad at all, because I was very good (unintelligible) checks because now, (unintelligible). But during those days, those people were, well, they were just as honest, they might get a little behind on their rent, or one fellow back two months behind on his rent—well, that’s a (unintelligible) but he got the money, he paid up. And they weren’t trying to steal everything—you didn’t have to put everything under lock and key, but you do now. And of course, they had their (unintelligible) and they were making their own (unintelligible). And we had a big place right back here that, only about a hundred feet behind me where I live now that, where they—oh, they have that huge place back there, and they called it the Pea Patch. And so, three fellas back there, and they were just as (unintelligible) and everybody knew where it was. There was another place back across the street, but it wasn’t as busy over there because (unintelligible) and got it (unintelligible) and more pests where the (unintelligible) are, so they knew where the Pea Patch was. So that was one of the major business establishments? Right, yes. Do you know, did they supply the establishments in town, or was this all private individuals? You couldn’t serve to anyone. You wasn’t supposed to. See, that was before it was legalized. And so, whatever you (unintelligible) they would come and get it if anyone come and got, but they served it under their own with no one. UNLV University Libraries Nellie Bunch 24 So, each individual in town would find out where to go, and they would say, “You go out Boulder Highway to the Pea Patch.” And that’s where they got their— Their go-ahead, I guess you’d call it, because it was always—see, at that time, we didn’t have what we have now. They said, and it’s always been said, that during (unintelligible) and people from every country and every state, and they (unintelligible). They were all (unintelligible) kind of people. Now, I don’t mean that every one of them was, because there’s always a bad apple in every barrel, but the majority of (unintelligible), they were just as good (unintelligible). They (unintelligible) they were there. And it was such a different time and feeling, and they come in late at night, eleven, twelve o’clock, have to run out of bed