Howard Hughes Event a great success

 

Author Geoff Schumacher signs a book for Patti Haack

 

I want to thank everyone that helped make our event, "Power, Paranoia and Palace Intrique: Howard Hughes in Las Vegas" at the State Museum last Tuesday such a success.  The book signing, coordinated by Stephens Press, was a rousing success.  The Staff and Volunteers of the Nevada State Museum provided an excellent venue, refreshments and support.  The Friends of Classic Las Vegas helped to co-sponsor the event.

 

Though Robert Maheu was ill and unable to attend we send him our best wishes for a speedy recovery.  The other panelists, Mr. Paul Winn, Mrs. Peg Crockett, Mr. Gordon Margulis and the author, Geofff Schumacher shared their memories and their stories of Mr. Hughes.  It was a wonderful evening and the panelists held the audience entranced as they each described the Howard Hughes they had encountered over the years.

 

A special thanks to all who attended and helped make this a very memorable evening for all involved.
 

Upcoming Howard Hughes event

 The Classic Las Vegas Roadshow in partnership with the Nevada State Museum and Stephens Press:

Tuesday, February 5th:

Howard Hughes:  Power, Paranoia and Palace Intrique

On the eve of Thanksgiving 1966, Howard Hughes came to Las Vegas via train.  He was then escorted via ambulance to the Desert Inn Hotel.  He checked into the penthouse.  He was only expected to stay about a month and be gone before the high rollers returned for the New Years celebration.

Well, Hughes ended up staying in Las Vegas longer than a month.  Rather than move from the Desert Inn when Moe Dalitz insisted that he needed the Penthouse for his customers, Hughes bought the hotel and stayed ensconsed in the Penthouse until he left Las Vegas two years later.

He went on a buying spree and bought the Silver Slipper, the Frontier, the Castaways, the Landmark and the Sands.  He was attempting to buy the Stardust when the federal government stepped in and stopped the sale due to anti-trust and monopoly concerns.

Was Hughes sent by the government to rid the town of mob ownership of casinos or was he just an eccentric billionaire who was always intriqued by this oasis in the desert? 

Author Geoff Schumacher's new book explores the facts and the fiction behind Hughes and his love affair with Las Vegas.

A book signing for this eagerly anticipated tome will begin at 5:30 pm. 

After the book signing, there will be a roundtable discussion with not only Geoff but those who knew or worked with Hughes during his stay in Las Vegas 

CONFIRMED panelists include:

Robert Maheu

Peg Crockett

Paul Winn

Gordon Margulis 

Geoff Schumacher

Tuesday, February 5th

Nevada State Museum

700 Twin Lakes Drive

Lorenzi Park

5:30 pm Book Signing

6:45 pm Roundtable Discussion

 
You won't want to miss this exciting evening of history!

Donations:  $3 / Free to Museum Members

Book available for sale in the Museum Store

Please RSVP by Feb. 1st at 702-486-5205  x 120

Our Events this Month

 

October Events!  Scroll Down as we have many events this month that you won't want to miss! 

PLEASE NOTE NEW START TIME: 

Saturday, Oct. 20th 

The Pioneering Women of Southern Nevada Aviation

In Memory of Aviatrix, Florence Murphy

Women in Southern Nevada were at the forefront of aviation in those early days.  Florence Murphy learned to fly and fell in love with airplanes.  She and her husband, Red opened Sky Haven Airport on Dec. 7, 1941 and Florence went on train pilots at the old Gunnery School during WWII.  After the War, she became Vice-President of Bonanza Airlines.  She finally sold Sky Haven Airport to her good friend,  Howard Hughes, in the mid-1960s 

Peg Crockett and her husband George started Alamo Airways in the early 1940s which was located near where McCarren Airport is today.

Marie McMillan, former Test Site worker and widow of Civil Rights Activist, Dr. James McMillan, is the fastest woman alive.  She has the most aviation speed records  and has logged thousands and thousands of miles in the sky.

Billy Bates was a young woman living in Boulder City when she became the General Manager for the Boulder City Airport.

Come hear the stories and learn about this underappreciated part of the Las Vegas history.

Saturday, Oct. 20th

Clark County Museum

1850 S. Boulder Highway

Admission:  $1.50

Reception is at 1:00 pm.

Discussion is at 2:00 pm.

We look forward to seeing you there!

 This event made possible, in part, by the support of the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors and Pinto Aviation!

 

             

Wednesday, Oct. 24th

Entertainers of Classic Las Vegas

Nevada State Museum

700 Twin Lakes Drive

Lorenzi Park

Admission $3.00 (Museum members no charge)

Reception is at 6:00 pm

Roundtable is at 7:00

Join the man of a 1,000 voices, Bill Acosta and the legendary Pete Barbutti along with some very special guests as they talk about playing Vegas from the 1950s to today.  Find out how things have changed and why they loved playing Vegas back in the day!

Sunday, Oct. 28th

Dr. Lonnie Hammergren's Nevada Day Celebration

4318 Ridgecrest (cross streets are Flamingo and Sandhill)

1:00 pm to 5:00 pm 

Dr. Lonnie opens up his home  to celebrate Nevada Day and offers tours of his home and his massive collection of Nevada History.

Tours will be given! 

 
Friends of Classic Las Vegas will have a room where you can come and learn more about the group.  Collector Carey Burke will have some of his epherma collection on display, Allen Sandquist will have some of his postcard collection on display and we will be there to answer any questions and hand out brochures on how you can become a Friend of Classic Las Vegas. 

We will also being have an hourly raffle of unique baskets of Las Vegas history as well as face painting and other fun activities so be sure to join us at Dr. Lonnie's on Oct. 28th.

Pioneering Women of Las Vegas Journalism

The Pioneering Women of Las Vegas Journalism

From Florence Lee Jones Cahlan to Paula Francis, women have been at the forefront of journalism in Las Vegas.  As writers, reporters and television anchors, they have worked hard to be taken seriously and to prove that they are as capable of doing the job as men.

Myram Borders, the first female UPI Bureau Chief in Las Vegas.  "They didn't think a woman could handle the job".  She proved them wrong.

Gwen Castaldi, on-air reporter for KLAS-8, reporter and anchor for KVBC-3, news director for Channel 5. She has covered everyone and everything from Frank "Lefty" Rosenthal, Tony Spilotro and the Mob to the Pepcon explosion.  She is being honored by the Southern Nevada Women's History Project this evening.

Mary Hausch has played a role in Las Vegas journalism for more than 35 years.  She worked at the Review-Journal for 19 years as a reporter, assistant city editor, city editor and as managing editor for more than a decade. She was the first woman to be a city editor or managing editor in Las Vegas. For 16 years she has been a journalism professor at UNLV, specializing in media ethics and print journalism courses. She is a past president of the Las Vegas chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists..

Mary Manning, long time reporter with the Las Vegas Sun.

Jane Ann Morrison, long time reporter for the Las Vegas Review Journal and now a columnist for that paper.  She was there with Gwen and Myram covering the "Casino" era scandals of skimming, money laundering and the Mob. 

Liz Wilson Vlaming, former on-air reporter for KLVX-10.  She also worked together at KVBC-3 with Gwen Castaldi.

Wednesday, March 21st

Nevada State Museum

700 Twin Lakes Drive

Lorenzi Park

Reception from 5:00 - 6:30 pm

The Reception includes a book signing of The Skirts That Swept the Desert Floor which features 100 biographical profiles of Nevada Women.

Award Ceremony at 6:30 pm

Discussion to follow.

This event made possible, in part, by the generous support of KVBC-3 and KLAS-8.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Update on 2007-03-25 21:18 by LasVegasLynn

Thank you to all who helped make this event so incredibly successful and thank you to the wonderful women who took the time to share with us their memories and stories!