Reno, , where the silver dollars never cease to clink, where some casino doors are never locked, is a town of character- and of characters

Guy Michaels, restaurateur. Patrons admire his mahogany-broiled steaks and lion cub.

Raymond I. Smith, ex-Vermont farmer, is general manager of Harolds Club, Reno's biggest casino. His lady dealers and croupiers are furnished $20 Stetson hats, on the house.

Mrs. Robert Z. Hawkins is the great lady of Reno. The silver service (foreground) was made by Tiffany of ore taken from the by her grandfather, John Mackay; her sister is Mrs. . William Harrah, another big club operator, is a passionate collector of antique automobiles. Here he is with his wife, Sherry, at the wheel of a Thomas F lyer. Edward J. Questa, president of the gigantic First National Bank of Nevada, sits in his vault up to his chin in silver dollars.

George Wingfield is Nevada's best-loved citizen. Despite his wealth he never forgets a friend-or a friend's first name. by Lucius Beebe

PHOTOGRAPHS BY ELLIOTT ERWJTT

• In Reno, Nevada, a community variously celebrated as one of the last outposts of the Old West (which it is) and as the divorce capital of the universe (which it isn't), there is an element known as the see-our-schools-and-churches group. These worthy folk deplore Reno's fame for its glittering night life and social nip-ups and make a practice of button­ holing visiting firemen, especially writers, with entreaties to depict Reno as a normal, wholesome American community. Tell the world about the University of Nevada's ever­ growing enrollment, they implore, or the swelling deposits in the swaggering quarter-of-a-billion-dollar First National Bank, but forget Harolds Club and the nocturnal traps that flourish, raw and neon-lit, in town and for miles on U. S. 395 and South Virginia Road. What the schools-and-churches group fails to understand is that these conventional, conservative qualities are a com­ monplace elsewhere in the land and that people don't come to Nevada to see more of t~e same. They visit Reno to get away from precisely these things and to find a relaxed, unin­ hibited way of life. Largely, they find it, too, which is just as well, for without the tourist trade Nevada would soon be bankrupt. The classic example of what visitors want of Reno-and one that causes head shaking among the schools-af)d­ churches contingent-is the spanking-new Holiday Hotel which glitters decorously beside the Truckee River. The Holiday was opened two years ago by Norman Biltz, Reno moneybags and real-estate operator who has been called the Duke of Nevada. In what his associates considered a moment of whimsy, Mr. Biltz opened with no gambling EveLyn 21 , is the mother of two children, the daughter of a local attorney, and hostess on Harolds Club TV programs. 91 She is shown in one of Reno's rare soda fountains. on the premises except the ubiquitous The hotel was advertised as a place Having proved his point to the sat­ foolish and now you can't fight your slot machines which no one in Nevada where visitors who disapproved of gam­ isfaction of everybody save the schools­ way through the customers happily considers games of chance anyway. ing wouldn't have to encounter it. and-churches element, Mr. Biltz then · rolling snake-eyes and pushing chips Gambling or no gambling, people no­ As a result, patrons stayed away leased the property with option to buy onto green in the Holiday casino. ticed, however, that although the Holi­ in droves. Even visitors who didn't to Newt Crumley, a hotel man of long The whole episode had a pro· day was conspicuously devoid of craps gamble, it soon appeared, wanted the experience, retaining a prudent and foundly depressing effect on the and roulette, it was laid out so that cheerful twenty-four-hour-a-day tumult substantial interest for himself, and the schools-and-churches partisans. it could open a full-time casino at a of a casino around them. A Nevada hotel promptly reopened with games · Reno's population of 52,000 moment's notice should the manage­ hotel without gambling depressed the past all counting. Overnight the Holiday wouldn't rate passing mention i ment change its mind. customers beyond all endurance. achieved what the French call a success Ohio or Pennsylvania, and Nevada$ estimated one hundred millionai;es, most of whom live in and around Reno, would be considered lpugh· able in Texas. Nevertheles~, the average Reno resident finds _life in the One Sound Stat~ ~as Nevada likes to call itself because of its a!J. sence of any trace of public deb~ eminently satisfactory. The average income in Nevada in recent years has been either the highest or second highest in the . Life is easy and good in Reno. Some residents might be hard put to find expression of the fact, but everyone takes satisfaction in being heirs-only slightly removed-to the traditions and spacious way of life of the Old West. Less than half a century ago the last great gold rushes in the continental United States at Goldfield and Tonopah saw Reno swaggering in bonanza. Look from the picture windows of the Sky Room at the Mapes, and on three sides you see the seemingly il· limitable reaches of the Great Amer· ican Desert, a perpetual reminderof the elsewhere-vanished frontier; on the fourth the snow-topped Sierra Nevada rears a last continental bar· rier between the rest of the United States and the Golden. There are Stetsons and the broad plainsman's hats known locally as Mormons in the hat racks of the city's hotels. It is difficult to escape a consciousness of the West of only yesterday wherever you go in Reno. Being West as hell is easily the city's greatest asset. It dwarfs all other aspects of the community to in· significance. Oddly enough, Reno business­ men, save those involved in tourism, IN THE SMOKY HAZE of "The Hollow" display a curious lack of enthusiasm at Lynchburg, Tennessee, we can see Jack Daniel NO OTHER WHISKEY IS for the state's largest and, indeed, a~ CHARCOAL most only industry of considerable watching us, making sure we Charcoal Mellow dimensions. And residents of the MELLOWED city never tire of telling the rest of his sippin' whiskey just as he did it long ·ago. THE OLD the world that Renoites themselves seldom frequent the town's pleasure Today we're the only distillers who gentle our TENNESSEE WAY palaces. Yet they can hardly wait product the ancient Tennessee way ... 6 . for a visiting fireman who must be trickling every drop . through 10 feet of charcoal DROP taken on the grand tour. This per· mits the native to insist at length .J~r 8 to 12 days. The sippin'-smooth result is 6 that he is proof against the blandish· Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey-made so BY DROP ments of sin while experiencingthem to the fullest. slowly and patiently that we can't always keep Visitor and native, on such a tour, will find that the old-fashioned your dealer properly supplied. If he runs out, TENNESSEE WHISKEY • 90 PROOF BY CHOICE we hope you'll bear with us and try again later. DISTILLED AND BOTTLED BY JACK DANIEL DISTILLERY gambling games of the West-faro, LYNCHBURG (POP. 402), TENNESSEE ~ontinued on Page 166

92 HOLIDAY / N OVEMBER PLACES TO STAY DIRECTORY Continued from Page 163 "Which one?" Write to these advertisers for reservations and descriptive literature. There was one picture, though, de­ "The good-by scene between Jane tailing a plumed helmet lying next Arizona Darwell-she played my mother­ to a stubbed-out cigarette on a much and me. We did it in a single take; worn wardrobe trunk, which by John Ford likes to shoot that way. LOTS OF FOLKS LIKE AUTUMN BEST sheer juxtaposition breathed out a One technical rehearsal for lighting ••• IN ARIZONA'S whiff of melancholy. and so on, but no dialogue so the "Oh, that's an old one," Fonda emotions wouldn't go stale. And Valley of the Sun said. "I did that in Italy. On the set then we went through with it. Me The Fall months are truly delightful here. Every day of War and Peace." Almost angrily he tiptoeing into the tent at dawn ...." is Indian Summer, every night is sparkling clear. turned his back on the helmet. There's Everything under the Sun to do and see ... Suddenly Fonda enacted the scene; excellent golf and swimming; scenic center of the "God, I had to fight that movie ev­ drawing his fatigues-covered bones fascinating Southwest. Or enjoy the sheer luxury ery inch of the way. Remember, I together into lean heaps of loneli· of doing nothing in superb surroundings. played Pierre, who's kind of a All at inexpensive pre-season rates! ness. " ... and tapping Mom on the chubby, ungainly fellow? When I shoulder ..." There was a gentle SEND TODAY arrived, I found they'd already made touch on my arm. ". . . saying for places·IO·>Iay book­ a complete wardrobe for me, every­ 'Mom, Mom .. .' And Mom com­ let and coler brochure. PHOENIX \lJ ARIZONA Write to: Volley of the thing cut as slimly and elegantly as ing out after me, all sleepy and sigh· Sun Visitors lureau. :Jnd fhB Valley of fhB ~un possible. Just so I'd look like a movie ing . . . out of the tent . . . like star and the hell with Tolstoi. And that ... and me telling her I have to they had a hairpiece ready for me go, I have to go away ... And she 17Atar,_-·· =swt= • Camelback Inn ,. .,,,J! copied from Robert Taylor. But understands. She knows what it's AI PHOENIX. ARIZONA ,~~e$~ ARIZONA ; . I' that I fought them out of. And wear­ all about even though she's still half Open October 10 to M a y l. Escape city p res­ sure for golf under Arizona's clear sunny des­ ,. Heart ol tho Scenic Southwest ' ' ing spectacles, that I had to fight for asleep. And me almost wishing she Western Gateway to Mexico ert skies. Play exciting Paradise Valley Count ry too. But as soon as the producer ap­ wouldn't understand that fast. ..." Club. Thanksgiving and Christmas-New Year's Free color booklet write: · · · are two great stand-out vacations for family Sunshine Climate Club, 5815-C Pueblo, Tucson, Ariz. peared I had to take them off again. His voice had melted into a very fun. Mouth-watering food makes our American (World Famous) Wild Horse Ranch Every time you see me suddenly young masculinity; the gray on his Plan appealing and at modest rates, quality Opens 19th season. For the best vacation you wiU ever conAideretl. For resf'rvations write, wire have I Rates from $72 to $130 weekly for every thin~. No or extras. Horseback riding, heated swimming pool, delicious with no glasses in that movie, you temples began to look paradoxical; p hone WHitney 5-8441. food. Arizona at its best. Write for illustrated folder. Mr. & Mrs. Howard W. Miller, P.O. Box 5505, Tucson, Ariz. . know the boss just showed up." he really was, that moment, a farm Circle Z-The West's Best Riding "Which would you call your fa­ boy lost in an uncanny world. grop­ Hotel Valley Ho-Scottsdale Famed. working ranch between Tucson and Mexican Bor· Arizona•s newest and finest year around hotel. European der oow in its 32nd year. Superb riding in scenic country, vorite picture here?'' I asked, look­ ing through the attic of a strange plan. Luxury living at sensible rates. In the fabulous Scotts­ locale of many movies. Swimming, Tennis. Recommended: dale. Paradtse Valley. and Camelback Mountain area. just Duncan Hines & AAA. Write for illustrated brochure. ing around as Fonda rummagod star-millionaire-until suddenly the 12 miles northeast of downtown Phoenix. Fred Fendig, Circle Z Ranch, Patagonia, Ari ze na ScoHsdale, Arizona. Robert Foehl, Manager Lazy K Bar Ranch, Tucson, Arizona through the canvases. telephone rang. Plan Thanksgiving on this picture-story-book ranch ftState. "Mr. RlJberts, Twelve Angry Men," Colorado 160 Run-blessed acres, 2200 ft. altitude, fabutous desert­ Some servant answered it. But the mountain setting. Modern pool, riding, steak fries. square dancing. delicious food. Highly recommended. Write: said Fonda, misunderstanding. "I'm sound had propelled Fonda out of The Spauldings, Route 1, Box 560, Tucson, Arizona not mad at them all. The Grapes of Tom Joad into his town-house self. Sierra Vista Lodge For the utmost in quiet. comfort & real good fooc.:l. Heated Wrath." He let go the canvases. He straightened up with a tart lit­ SKI pool. New rumpus room for cards & TV. City bus at door. Sensible rates. Open all year. Am. or Eu. plan. Literature "The Grapes of Wrath. That must be tle sigh. "Guess I better find that ON on reQuest. Don & Margaret Williams, PO WDER 2512 E. Grant Rd., Tucson, Ariz., phone EA 5-9289 eighteen years ago. I've got a real painting for the celebrity show," he SNOW Nevv York City Hotels favorite scene in that." said. THE END You belong to the

!Beekman 80wer RENO bodyguards, and while his compan­ HOTEL ions pursued some less strenuous learn Continued from Page 92 to relaxation, Ross would hole up in a SKI Weeks rondo coolo, chuck-a-luck and fan­ back room with a group of old­ December 1 through January 31 •. , (except December 24 through January 2) tan-have largely disappeared from timers for days on end. Ross boasted Includes 7 nights lodging, 21 meals, 6 days ski 1choo/ Fashionable Beekman Hill­ the Reno casinos. Occasionally a of his winnings at these sessions, but instruction and 7 days unlimited use of all Jci lilts. a walk from all midtown Roaring Fork Inn or Prince Albert Hotel $ 99 centers. Besides spectacular wheel of fortune is encountered but reliable witnesses have seen him -two and three to a r?Om • • views of the city's skyline, Hotel Jerome-double occupcmcy, it's mostly for atmosphere since the emerging on occasion from Western room without bath • • • • • • $129 East River and United Nations ••. a pleasant outlook house percentage is notoriously the Union in Center Street, a sure indi­ Hotel Jerome-double occupancy, on rates, too, room with private both • • • • $146 singles from $7.50; doubles from $12. highest of all legal operations. Nor cation of membership in the !-Was­ New Aspen Meadows-double Write for Booklet H. occupancy, room with private both. $162 does the elaborate Monte Carlo Robbed Club. HOME OF n East 49th St., (at East River) Peaturlng thirty miles of down hill tr ails f or game of chemin de fer have any ap­ Aside from its spurious repute as ~~~~;.~~~~~:: : 8 New York 17 beginner, novice, intermed iate and expert peal in Reno although there are a divorce center, the skiers. rive high capacity chair Uits. Write Every NEW YORK visit most celebrated for free color folder. several roulette tables with only a thing about Reno is Harolds Club, HOTEL JEROME AND ALLIED PROPERTIES is like a HOLIDAY single zero in the continental manner. a monstrous Dept. S, Aspen, Colorado Enjoy the luxury of this magnificent perpetual-motion de­ 40-story hotel overlooking Central Park Draw poker, the cutthroat game partment store of chance that has favj]red fGr its flawless continental Ranch service and cuisine. In Mid -Manhatt.an, of all time, is still encountered at the been made a national institution by close to terminals, transit facilities; two blocks from new Co·Jiseum; Radio City, Bank-Golden, a casino patronized some 2300 highway signs in such t:. theatres, Fifth Av.,nue a step away. by old-timers and out-of-town distant places as U.S. Route I in / "' , , Choice single rooms, private bath, radio, ranchers, TV, $8.5{) to $12, doubles $121o $19.50. and at a few of the less Florida or on the same route outside t!'..: " ... ""' Every room I 00% 3lr·conditloned opulent resorts in the vicinity of the Bangor, Maine. Harolds i~ the first for seasonal comfort. For teletype reserntlons railroad tracks and Commercial thing visitors want to see. It's the GAL:lliAGHER NY 1· 3949. Write for bookl et HM. t~;~1% (0~~---;,~ Row. Tourists want none of it al­ largest casino in the state, a phil­ R ;: A NC' H BARBIZON ·PLAZA though, until his death a few years anthropic agency of formidable di­ ~ ,~~. ~\~-~ : ::: 106 CENTRAL PARK SOUTH ago, Harold Ross, then editor of mensions and a tourist trap through A historic working ranch for families of For discriminating men and women good taste who enjoy charming accom­ The New Yorker, made an annual whose gaudy portals 20,000 visitors modations and excellent food. 10,000 · Louisiana acres oftralls and game-filled hills. Reser­ visit to Reno just to play poker at pass to pay tribute each summer day. vations essential-references exchanged. New Orleans-Southern Hospitality Creole Mansion Hotel- S min. from French Quarter-offers the Bank-Golden. He usually ar­ Occupying a seven-story building Write Mrs. V. H. McNutt, Box #1138, you grace o£ a romantic ante-bellum hotel, lazy living, gar- San Antonio, Texas. rived with Nunnally Johnson and in North Virginia g;~a~f::!~: N~;;~o~~han~~~rf~St~~~~Wr~~~~ ~~~~: Street, Harolds Ma nsion Hotel, The Fan Room, '437 Washington Ave. Dave Chasen from Hollywood as Continued on Page 169

166 HOLIDAY /NOVEMBER Continued from Page 166 than ninety venerable Whites, Olds­ was Senator William Sharon, vice­ Another social notable is Mrs. Charles employs more than I 000 specialists, mobiles, Locomobiles and Stanley roy of the Bank of California in Vir­ Mapes, mother of the owner of the including roulette spinners, dice Steamers, restored or being restored ginia City; she is related by marriage town's towering Mapes Hotel, widow throwers, barmen, engineers, repair­ to impeccable operating condition. to a formidable array of Sharons, of a Nevada cattle baron and a woman men, decorators and custodians of He is a big wheel, if the expression Tevises, Newlands and Breckenridges of unflagging energy in local charities one of the most sumptuous collec­ may be excused, in the affairs of the in , and the Fermor­ and civic matters. tions of firearms and other artifacts Horseless Carriage Club of America Hesketh clan in England. Only a few New York's cafe society is occasion­ of Western America in the world. and biennially stages a monster cav­ years ago she disposed of a minor prop­ ally represented by temporary residents Silver dollars are supplied daily from alcade which starts in Reno and erty, the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, at the dude ranches of the Valley. Reno­ the Federal Reserve Bank by the takes in Virginia City, Carson City to the Sheraton group for $6,000,000. ites still recall the hilarious interlude ton; there is a silver-dollar bar with and Lake Tahoe, with mechanics 3000 cart wheels in its make-up, and and tow cars in attendance in case a whisky waterfall-Harolds sells a breakdown should occur. enough hard liquor annually to With Harrah's and Harolds' pal­ fill swimming pools. aces of chance surrounded by the Over the years it has given mil­ less vast Nevada Club, the Palace, lions of dollars in scholarships at and innumerable slot-machine par­ the University of Nevada, one of the lors, these half dozen city blocks provisions being that no Harolds probably constitute the gambling scholar may en~er Harolds Club; at center of the known universe whose improbable times it doubles all pay­ only rivals are elsewhere in Nevada­ offs on winning bets-and almost at Stateline, at Lake Tahoe and Las singlehandedly it finances every im­ Vegas. portant civic project in the Reno In the normal run of events the community, including the Reno overwhelming bulk of revenue at Chamber of Commerce. Sponsors of Harrah's and Harolds, as in other philanthropies, legitimate or suspect, popular resorts in downtown Reno, turn to Harolds with such regularity derives from slot machines and rela­ that a full-time staff of lawyers and tively small-time players in such un­ investigators is maintained to screen sophisticated games as craps and requests. blackjack, but now and then reports Harolds is a family corporation of big-time play in North Virginia dominated by the founder, Raymond Street bug the eyes of citizenry. I. Smith, and owned by his sons­ Harold, for whom the project was Formal society does not exist in named, and Raymond A. Smith. Reno, except on an almost micro­ The patriarchal Smith, one of the scopic scale, and is limited to a few last men in the West still to wear old established families who enter­ congress boots, believes firmly in tain with something approaching the power of advertising. In the the urban grand manner. The un­ formative days of Harolds he is re­ questioned great lady of the town is ported to have gone without food Mrs. Robert Hawkins, a daughter of in order to invest additional dollars Clarence Mackay and sister of Ellin in the promotion of fun and games Mackay Berlin and a direct descend­ and Reno generally. Although his ant of John Mackay, richest of all family does not figure prominently the bonanza nabobs of Comstock in Reno's modest social sarabands, times. Mrs. Hawkins is a woman of realistic Nevadans without hesita­ charm and sophistication and her tion describe the senior Smith as Reno town house is furnished with Mr. Reno. paintings, keepsakes and furniture The reverse of the general concept that her grandmother used in of a big-time gambler is William where she reigned as queen of Harrah, whose Harrah's Club up American expatriates in the Gen­ the street a spell from Harolds and eral Grant era. Mrs. Hawkins its allied establishments at Lake serves guests dinner on the Mackay Tahoe have a joint payroll of service of Comstock silver whose $6,000,000 a year. Bill Harrah is a 1000 pieces took 200 silversmiths at quiet, shy, graying former U.C.L.A. Tiffany's a full year to fashion. The student who left college to come to Hawkins menage boasts the best Reno and run his father's bingo chef in private service anywhere in game in 1938. In manner and ap­ Nevada and it is to its chatelaine pearance he resembles a conserva­ that visiting celebrities from New tive, extremely unchatty profes­ York, London and Rome present sional man. Harrah's is run on their credentials. strictly business lines. Business con­ Another grande dame with Com­ sultants are always studying its stock background is Mrs. William sperations, Stanford University Re­ B. Johnston, whose California A v­ search makes a survey of its affairs enue mansion was built for Senator and Harrah's maintains its own George Nixon during the Goldfield • For the 32-page fact-filled booklet, school for croupiers, dealers and boom in I 907 and was the first "A GUIDE TO WINEs", send name, other functionaries of chance. decorative assignment of Elsie De address, and 25¢ IN COIN to: Harrah's promotional gimmick is Wolfe, who later became Lady tntique motorcars and he has more Mend!. Mrs. Johnston's grandfather WINE ADVISORY BOARD, DEPT. H-5, 717 MARKET STREET, SAN FRANCISCO 3, CALIFORNIA

HOLIDAY/NOVEMBER 169 1 back through a when Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jr. and the time, that the weapon was a .22 Elinor Glyn, then basking m the brought the men in front of his Peter Arno, who were taking the cure caliber pistol and the distance more profitable notoriety of her daring mob of strikers right of nothing. on adjacent premises back in 1931, than 500 yards, gave Reno something novel, Three Weeks, made it briefly bank. He was afraid out came to fisticuffs over the favors of a to laugh about for weeks. the literary capital of North Amer­ When the strikers tried to knock publishing by third New Yorker who was also taking Oldest and most institutional of ica. The hotel has been entirely re­ a newspaper he was off the the cure. One night Vanderbilt emp­ Reno's hotels is the Riverside. There built since those vanished times and frightening the newsboys the papers him· tied a revolver in the direction of Arno's has been a Riverside of sorts on the today is the center of Reno's public streets, he peddled waylaid him, quarters and then dramatically gave present site beside the Truckee for moments of entertainment, relaxa­ self. One of the strikers him down himself up. The fact that the creator of ninety years and the hotel was given tion or civic rejoicing. The death but Wingfield knocked a gun. George the Whoops Sisters was elsewhere at international prominence in 1908 when within a year of each other of its with the butt of two most recent owners, Lou and Wingfield was the best shot I ever Mert Wertheimer, was widely re- saw. You could throw a bottle garded as a public calamity and up-behind him-and he'd wheel they were mourned editorially as and draw in a single motion and gamblers in the grand manner who shatter the bottle." established continuity with the great A familiar figure in the lobby of days of the Old West. the RiversiQe Hotel, which he owned Within the Riverside, too, are for many years and finally sold to conducted the affairs of the Pros­ Lou and Mert Wertheimer, Wing­ pector's Club, the town's most field today is an authentic giant out choosey confraternity of business of the heroic Nevada past. Only and professional men with a mem­ last year he complained to his San limited to 300 and waiting Francisco tailor that the cutter 1. COLOR BY CANDLELIGHT. No flashbulbs 2. BUILT -IN LIGHT METER. Sensitive, accurate, bership needed with super-fast f:l.S lens on AIRES V. compact. No need to buy a separate meter. list reportedly twice that long. Here wasn't making his waistcoats prop­ at lunch or cocktails can be dis­ erly. "He doesn't cut the armpits covered such local notables as Ed­ low enough to accommodate shoul· ward Questa, president of the First der holsters," he explained. National Bank, Norman Biltz, the Although the dude ranches in aforementioned Duke of Nevada, The Valley south of Reno such as Noble Getchell of the Getchell Mine, Washoe Pines and the celebrated Judge Milton Badt, the highly re­ Flying M-E conducted by Mrs. spected Supreme Court Justice and Emily Wood rank so large in the attorneys William Woodburn and general imagination that Washoe William Cashill. Pines was immortalized as the set­ 3.1NTERCHANGE OF LENSES. Wide-angle and 4. BUILT-IN VIEWFINDERS. Give field of view Reno's most durable link with the ting for an act in Claire Booth for normal, wide· angle, and telephoto lenses. telephoto lenses also available for A I RES V. legendary past is George Wingfield, Brokaw Luce's play, The Women, a retired mine operator in the grand ·divorce is actually fairly smaU NOTE : You will find one, two, or perhaps three of the four manner of the old frontier and, at punkins in the overall Reno econ· important features shown here in other quality cameras. But eighty-two, still as rugged as one of omy. Divorces granted in Reno the twelve by twelve timbers that courts in 1957 numbered only 4468 onlv the new AIRES V has allfow-! stopes in his mines. while 19,450 marriage licenses were ;.>' to -- supported In 1901 Wingfield was just a smart issued. A king's size slice-about 50 young cowboy who rode into Nevada $25,000- of the Reno wedding trade Announcing New AIRES V... only $159 from Oregon on hearing of strikes goes to Justice of the P~ce William in the Southern Desert. He turned R. Beemer, a magistrate of such out to be the coolest-headed poker charm that Nevadans say paying player in camp, a handsome loser traffic fines in his court is actually a and an even handsomer spender pleasure. amongst the champagne bottles and Legend, folklore and New York cigars when he won . His first twenty­ columnists to the contrary, the hotel two hundred dollars came over the lobbies and cocktail bars around " poker table from Frank Golden, Reno are not populated with slinky later proprietor of the Golden divorcees in diaphanous garments, Hotel in Reno, and in a few years and the adventuress trade on the Wingfield had parlayed this into a banks of the Truckee is approxi­ fortune that for a time was the mately on a par with that in Brook· greatest in Nevada. line, Massachusetts, or Cedar "I remember George Wingfield," Rapids, Iowa. recalled Bernard Baruch, who had been in Nevada during the Tonopah Not so long ago Nevada aptly excitements, more than half a cen­ could have been described as the tury later. "Wingfield was a man poor farm of American gastronomy. f:3.2 Wide-Angle Lens .. $59.50 JOOmm f:3.5 Telephoto lens .. $89.50 Case packaged with camera .. $15.00 35mm with a gun .. . . The first time I ever Few native Nevadans dined in pub­ Ask your photo dealer about the AIRES free lens saw him was when I went to Gold­ lic and those who did ordered fried offer, good until Christmas when you buy the cow with ~utomatic p~rallax compensa- field .. . . He was carrying five re­ shrimp and overcooked For liter­ AIRES IIIC AIRES V "Correspondent Case" and kit. tton, self-ttmer, f:1.9 lens, volvers. He also had four Pinker­ French fries. But the tremendous ature, write Dept. H A11. 1/500 sec. MFX shutter with EVS. $11 0. Case packaged with tons with him. Wingfield told me he upsurge of tourism has changed all camera, $13.50. with a11d today Reno's standards of New accesso­ had been having labor trouble that kal~ . ries available: some of the I.W.W. boys in his dining and wining are well above the AIRES Exposure 1909 S. Kingshighway St.louis 10, Mo. Meter, Auxiliary mine ... . They had beaten up his level of mere respectability. DISTRIBUTORS Telephoto lens, superintendent and some of his fore­ Basically Reno's gastronomy is CANADA: Shriro (Canada) ltd.; CUBA: Caribbean Photo Co.; Close-Up AI· HAWAII: Movie Supply of Hawaii; PUERTO RICO: Alvarez & tachment. men and left them out in the desert. that of cow, but cow of such mag· Pascual, .Inc.; UNITED STATES : Arel Inc.; VENEZUELA : Delvalle Hermanos, C.A. Wingfield rode out himself and Continued on Page 172

170 HOLIDAY/ NOVEMRER Continued from Page 170 trucco and Gilbert Vasserot, that a new Bearnaise, double entrecote and ciscans surfeited with French cuisine nificence as to be comparable to the restaurant doubling the former capac­ tenderloin of beef, marchand de vin. motor up for weekends among the legendary beef restaurants of Chicago ity has blossomed with a sommelier, There is also in downtown Reno filets and ·porterhouse cuts, and and Kansas City. The only HoLIDAY the first seen in full regalia of office in an entirely satisfactory restaurant Nevadans themselves consume cow culinary award in Nevada is given to the Silver State, a formidable cellar of called Bundox at River House where in the best tradition of the departed Eugene's in South Virginia Road, a chateau bottlings and vintage years and the grand manner of presentation buffalo hunters who consumed eight premise at which the author has never a menu boasting such exalted fare as with flaming desserts and liveried pounds of red meat a day. The din· in a decade of rather constant patron­ breast of capon Kiev, pompano mar­ attendants is all very like New ner hour at Varia's or the Mesa, age been disappointed. Such has been iniere, broiled langoustine and, of York's Colony and where patrons with the waiters tottering in under the prosperity of its owners, Joe Pa- course, the conventional chateaubriand are handed the soft-sell menu in­ trays resembling nothing so much as vented by Ernie Byfield at the Pump Belshazzar's Feast in a Cecil de FREEl FOR THIS AD IN POSTER FORM. WRITE T . C . DEPT. BOX 3415 (A) RINCON ANNEX SAN FRANCISCO 20. Room, on which the lowliest ham­ Mille epic, and even the kiddies hav· burg is invested with transcendental ing at a pound or two of rare sir· overtones of rapture. loin, is a spectacle to warm the heart Suburban Reno along South Vir­ of a Chicago packer or sadden a ginia Street and Mount Rose Road vegetarian, as the case might be. is the setting for what many ama­ In the realm of culture Reno rises teurs agree are three superlative little above a rating of flat zero. Wal· steak houses: Varia's, the Christmas ter Van Tilburg Clark, author of Tree and the Mesa, the last two of The Ox Bow Incident, is the only which are owned by an engaging Nevadan who has achieved national personality named Guy Michaels celebrity in the field of belles-lettres who takes on all comers in his own and he no longer resides within the bars and is usually found in com­ state. No Nevada-born novelist, his· pany with a tame lion cub and a torian, painter, actor or musician, huge St. Bernard named Clancey. in half a century, has impinged on In winter when the skiers from the national consciousness or ar.ound Lake Tahoe are out in achieved recognition in Who's Who. force a big evening at the Christmas Nor does Reno often witness le· Tree resembles nothing so much as gitimate stage productions or mus~ a synthesis of the Swiss Alps and the cal organizations of consequence, Central Park Zoo. although eight years ago a ballet At all three of these restaurants troupe danced briefly and to the the rite of steer meat takes on over­ apparent bafflement of audiences tones of the supernal. San Fran- at the municipal auditorium, and

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172 occasional musicians perform at the derous slices of numerous other enter­ side or North Virginia Street is Gov­ direction of California in the governor's home of the artistically inclined prises, has an aversion to neckties and ernor Charles Russell, a handsome and car, a slightly outmoded vehicle of Mrs. Hawkins. Though the cultural favors flannel shirts open at the neck. urbane chief executive whom most extremely modest facade. For a time life cannot be said to flourish Affluence in Reno seldom manifests it­ Nevadans regard as a fine advertise­ all went well and the defecting flunky abundantly in Reno, neither do its self in rich attire, Harvard accents or ment for the One Sound State both at returned the salutes of respectful state less enviable by-products, art colo­ imported motorcars. home and abroad. It was upon one of troopers who, not unnaturally, imag­ nies, or little nests of bohemians or Although Carson City is Nevada's his periodic visits to Reno that the gov­ ined Nevada car No. I contained the the rancid and self-conscious im­ state capital, Reno is in fact the focus ernor's chauffeur, a trusty from the governor in an informal mood. At postors of the "beat generation" of most of its business and professional state prison, decided to take it on the length, however, the alarm went out who hold forth on San Francisco's life, and a familiar figure in the River- lam and headed down U.S. 40 in the Continued on Page 175 North Beach. Reno is a normal, extrovert American community, tak­ ing its pleasures in the simple tradi­ tion of the West. The city abounds in millionaires To the 10,000 families who will buy of varying degrees of picturesque­ ness. Many are refugees from taxes in more avaricious commonwealths . .... Yet all subscribe to the Nevada a spinet organ in the next 30 days· tradition of shunning ostentation. Visitors to the Comstock Lode in the bonanza years commented on the democracy of speech, attire and You are about to experience a new kind of pleasure and social conduct which made John You-and an estimated 100,000 other families Mackay and George Hearst indis­ relaxation. tinguishable, at least superficially, this year. Before you buy, the Conn Organ Corporation from the hard-rock miners who stood beside them in the town's suggests you ask these 6 vital questions: saloons. A staple of folklore con­ cerns the wealthy woman visitor who, having taken the conducted 1. Is the electronic organ easy to master? 4. Is the organ fully electronic? Some tour of the lower level of Con­ The feeling of musical achievement are not. Some use vibrating reeds or Virginia, handed her shabby guide a arrives quickly, because each note mechanical discs to reproduce tone. The silver dollar only to encounter him develops and holds its own rich tone. Conn is fully electronic. Starting at just re.splendent in evening dress at the However, organs that feature "gadgets" $995, Conn is the only popular-priced opera that night in the person of produce a limited number of effects, organ whose range of musical color is James G. Fair, one of the co- for a limited repertoire of music ... and not restricted to one single type of tone. owners of everything in sight. ~ are soon outgrown. In marked contrast, This means that the Conn has greater Similarly a visitor to Reno today the Conn Organ is extremely easy for a versatility and· tonal contrast. .. with might be excused for mistaking beginner to play ... yet it offers tonal the "full orchestra" sound of a mighty some of the town's most solvent quality and versatility to thrill even a pipe organ. citizens for well-spoken cow hands concert artist. on their day off. No one encounter­ 5. Will its size fit gracefully into my Laverne Redfield playing the up as ing 2. How well do the musical qualities com­ home? The Conn Organ takes the Riverside quarter machine in pare with the deep rich tone of a pipe little space as a drop-leaf table! Because back would imagine that a few years organ? A fine pipe organ, of course, is it is all-electronic, the Conn is smaller, home of burglars robbed his modest the standard ofexcellence. An electronic with more music built in! in currency more than $2,000,000 organ of limited range or shallow tone 6. Will its styling be easy to live with? that'he had absent-mindedly stashed may sound fine until the novelty wears drawer. An electronic organ will quickly become among the shirts in a bureau off. The accomplished musician can tell the center of entertainment in your On being informed of the theft, Red­ you about true tone. Though, in tests, a home, as well as the decorative focal field's principal concern was for even trained ears sometimes confuse the point. Its styling should look "at home" pet dog that had been at home. sound of a Conn-with a pipe organ! When h!! learned that the dog had forever. The Conn Organ is designed for enduring beauty by Raymond Loewy, been fed an entire ham from the 3. What is the most important quality to in modern or traditional styles, in a family icebox while the house was seek in an organ? Tone truly indicates for wide range of fine woods and finishes. being pillaged, Redfield was all an organ's superiority. Only the Conn dropping the whole thing-the $2,- Organ has a complete, individual tone When you visit your Conn dealer for a 000,000 and all. for each and every note, re­ generator demonstration, you'll find there is a A hilarious sequel was the arrival in a precise, identifiable, lovely sulting noticeable difference in a . .. of Federal-income-tax agents who tone. And nobody knows tone like theorized that the presence of so Conn! The Conn Organ is the product much cash indicated possible tax of almost a century of musical tradition. CONN evasion. Nevadans were delighted to It is made by the world's largest manu­ hear that, far from evading taxes, facturer of orchestra and band instru­ ORGAN Redfield had overpaid his obliga­ ments-specialists in tonal research. ticns to Washington and was in line for a refund...... • ...... Norman Biltz, the Duke of . CoNN ORGAN CoRPORATION, Elkhart, Indiana. Dept. H-1 Nevada, who started as a Reno taxi Please send me your free booklet, "How To Choose The Organ For Your Home." driver and today owns most of the Nanre ______Adareu ______real estate around Donner Lake, a CUy ______.Zone_____5mre ______sizable chunk of Tahoe and pon-

HOLIDAY/ NOVEMBER 173 Continued from Page 173 buffalo in Africa, the Holiday will over the wires and the culprit was speed him there by its own plane apprehended and returned to the service, arm him with lure or gun­ jailhouse. powder, obtain his license and have "I'd have made a clean getaway," guides, white hunters or beaters he told reporters bitterly, "but for ready at his command. 0 Yes, BolsVodka is that beat-up old heap. Why, you Something of this spaciousness z "Vapor Dry". It has couldn't get forty out of that antique also characterizes Reno's catas­ < 0 no taste at all ... and jalopy!" trophes. When the normally well­ (!) makes the driest The affront to the dignity of the mannered Truckee River overflows, Martini ever. It One Sound State was rectified al­ it does so on an uninhibited scale. enhances the flavor most at once. The legislature was in Caught without sandbags or levees 0.. of orange juice, tomato session and voted Governor Russell during one spring inundation, the "' -' juice or tonic­ a fine up-to-the-minute Lincoln. casino operators rushed in hun­ < a:: deliciously, delightfully. For all its indifference to the for­ dreds of pairs of rubber boots for 1- :;) "Vapor Dry" ... mal fa.;ade of living, Reno spends distribution among their customers z"' Give it a try ! fantastic sums on hunting, fishing as the water rose about the craps z and riding. It has a high concen­ and roulette tables. "We will con­ tration of gun and tackle shops and tinue until the tables float," was the M saddleries,,and Newt Crumley of the edict of Mert Wertheimer at the 0 Holiday Hotel has made a vast suc­ Riverside-and they did. The regu­ 0 "'0 cess Qf., ,~ sports department. If a lar midnight collation was floated ., ;o guest J~hes to fish in the nearby through the' casino as the play 0 0 Truckee or try for black marlin off verged on the sensational. "1'1 the coast of Peru or lion or water On another occasion when Reno < ~ was hit by explosions of illuminating 0 0 gas, downtown blocks caught fire > 0 in the twinkling of an eye and distant ;. newspapers had the entire com­ a: Women Vote 0 munity in ruins with a huge estimate a:: 0 for Holiday .. of dead. When the smoke cleared, 0.. property damage ran to millions, < .•• as the perfect Christmas > but only two fatalities were recorded. B~~~~ ~ gift. 0 ~ Read this month's article Although fire raged just across the -' ; ~ ERVEN LUCAS BOLS DISTILLING CO ., LOUISVILLE , KENTUCKY z "The Day the Women Got street from the Mapes Sky Room, f!le Vote" on page 68. You'll hardly a player left the craps tables find that the distaff side for the hotel's huge picture win­ now influences all the impor­ dows, and the police emergency tant decisions-like who's squads were able to clear the prem­ going to be President, and ises only by circulating the report, h

what Christmas gift Uncle happily unfounded, that the Mapes, - ~ George should receive. And too, would burst into flames any ~ ll't "" each year more women vote minute. for HOLIDAY as the one As Reno faces the dawn of the Christmas gift that bespeaks jet age, it still bows to the days of the sender's good taste, people the pioneers, six guns and wood­ lasts all year long, and is are burning locomotives. The Old West truly economical. friendlier A full year of HOLIDAY still lives in the twenty-four-hour­ reading pleasure costs only a-day saloon life that flourishes so $5, and there are extra robustly, in the legal gaming on savings when you order two every side, in the Western clothes or more one-year gifts at and the Western philosophy of any­ the same time. Order your thing goes. It survives in the bar­ HOLIDAY Christmas gifts now keep's cry of "Fire in the heading," and beat the rush. We'll which dates from mining times and announce each gift with a means the drinks are on the house, beautiful card, hand-signed and it is evident in the Western in your name, and we'll be IN saddles seen on the edges of town. glad to send a bill next January! It maintains continuity with the WARM Send your order to past when the Southern Pacific's HOLIDAY, Dept. 141 3, In­ Overland, one of the oldest name dependence Square, Phila­ trains, hisses to a stop in Reno. SUNNY Heart of the Scenic Southwest delphia, Penna.-or use the Silver cart-wheel dollars are still the handy order form bound in standard of Nevada currency, and most copies of this issue. not until the last one disappears Here, folks share their fun ond nature's blessings. You'll enjoy a wonderful sense of "belonging", for Western hospitality is o from circulation will the Old West woy of making you feel at home. Thrill to new sights •.. be truly a thing of the past. visit Old Mexico, just 63 miles away . .. relax in the sun. 1 1-yr. gift $5 Against this final, unhappy con­ You'll thrive on our dry, clean air in friendly, fun-loving 2 1-yr. gifts $8 Tucson. Modern, comfortable accommodations­ tingency it is cheerful to know that reasonable rates. 3 1-yr. gifts $11 there are 5,000,000 silver dollars 4 1-yr. gifts $14 in storage and still awaiting release in the United States Mint at San Francisco. THE ENH

HOLIOAY/ NOVEMBER 175