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An Interview with Isadore Washington An Oral History Conducted by Claytee D. White The Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project Oral History Research Center at UNLV University Libraries University of Nevada Las Vegas i ©The Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project University of Nevada Las Vegas, 2007 Produced by: The Oral History Research Center at UNLV - University Libraries Director: Claytee D. White Editors: Barbara Tabach Transcribers: Kristin Hicks Interviewers and Project Assistants: Barbara Tabach and Claytee D. White ii The recorded interview and transcript have been made possible through the generosity of Dr. Harold Boyer. The Oral History Research Center enables students and staff to work together with community members to generate this selection of first-person narratives. The participants in this project thank the university for the support given that allowed an idea the opportunity to flourish. The transcript received minimal editing that includes 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. In several cases photographic sources accompany the individual interviews. The following interview is part of a series of interviews conducted under the auspices of the Boyer Early Las Vegas Oral History Project. Claytee D. White, Project Director Director, Oral History Research Center University Libraries University Nevada, Las Vegas Table of Contents Son of Isadore and Destelle Washington; born in Tallulah, Louisiana; father came to work on Hoover Dam in the thirties; family came to Las Vegas in 1942; mother worked as maid at El Rancho and Last Frontier; played with Wayne Newton as children; describing Harrison and Shaw apartments; cousins own Town Tavern on Westside; businesses on Jackson Street; family-owned properties 1-6 Attended Westside Elementary, Fifth Street School, and Las Vegas High School; did pioneer survey which identified Peeve as first black mailman; joining sheriffs department as first black deputy sheriff; description of uniform, anecdotes concerning duties; transferring to San Bernadino, 1960; mention of The Cove, Jackson Street Hotel, and Moulin Rouge; serving as transport service for Larry Steel Dancers from the Dunes; story about Pearl Bailey and her brother Bill 7-12 Mention of Southern Memorial Hospital (now UMC); return to Las Vegas, 1982, as chief of security for Town Tavern (owned by relatives); comments on renters Lou Rawls and Sam Cooke; mention of son and daughter; reference to NAACP, Dr. McMillan, and the 1960 march for integration; memories of Diana Ross, Eartha Kitt, and Jimmy Gay; Basic Magnesium Plant and Carver Park in Henderson; Herman Moody, first motorcycle police officer 13-17 Comments on Mob involvement in personal history; discussion about church affiliation; mention of Reverend Bennett and Zion AME; mention of Nevada Test Site and Area 51; opinions on blacks buying clothes and cars in Las Vegas; second mention of NAACP; comments on EOB; second mention of Moulin Rouge and the entertainers who came to party there - Lena Home, Pearl Bailey, Cab Callaway; comments about Sarann Knight and the Moulin Rouge, the architect of Berkeley Square (Paul Williams), and a final reference to Herman Moody 18-23 iv Preface Isadore Washington was born in Tallulah, Louisiana, the son of Isadore Washington, Sr., and Destelle Washington. His father came out to Las Vegas in the '30s to work on Hoover Dam, and the family followed in 1942 when Isadore was eight years old. Isadore recalls playing with Wayne Newton when they were children, his mother working at the El Rancho and Last Frontier Hotels, the Shaw Apartments and Harrison boarding house on the Westside where black entertainers were expected to stay, and attending Westside School. He also lists some of the properties that members of his family have built or owned on the Westside. After high school, Isadore joined the sheriffs department and became the first black deputy sheriff. He describes both the uniform he wore and some of the calls he went on as part of his duties. He left Las Vegas in 1960 to work in San Bernardino, and then returned in 1982 to care for his mother. Isadore recalls people and places on the Westside in the eighties, medical care for blacks as far back as the fifties, and renting a room to entertainers after he bought his first house. He also shares some information about his son and daughter. There are many memories of historical events, famous people and places, and activities that span several decades. Isadore was involved in or has some knowledge of much of the history of the Westside and Las Vegas itself. v This is Claytee White. It is February 7th, 2008. And I'm at First AME Church with Isadore Washington. Could you spell your first name for me, please? I-s-a-d-o-r-e. So how are you doing today? Very good. Beautiful day. Well, I'm so glad that we can do this finally. I've heard a lot of talk about you for years and years now. So tell me a little bit about where you grew up and what that childhood was like. Well, I was born in Louisiana. And my dad came here in the early 40s during the war to work on the dam. Your father worked on the dam? Yes. So you came here in the 30s. No. He came first. Oh, he came before the rest of the family. Yes. So what did he tell you about working on the dam? Well, he told me that he's lucky to be alive because when they were pouring the dam there were men that fell off into the cement. And they couldn't stop pouring. They just kept on pouring. And a lot of people don't know that about that. But there's a lot of bodies inside that concrete when they was building the dam. Did he tell you anything about his exact job on the dam? Well, he was a laborer at the time. Do you know where he lived when he came out here by himself? Oh, yes. He lived in one of Mr. Moody's apartment on D Street. And he was the father of Herman Moody at D and Van Bur en. Oh, yes. I know exactly where that is. Thank you so much. Now, at the time a lot of black people were still living downtown. Well, there were a lot of black people living in tents and shacks when I came here. Now, when did you come to Las Vegas? 1 In I think '42. I think it's '42. So who came with you? My sister and me. My mother had come, oh, about six months before to be with my father. But my godmother was scheduled to come and she brought my sister and me out here on the train. Now, where in are Louisiana are you from? Tallulah, Louisiana. Can you tell me how that migration started — people coming from Tallulah, Louisiana, and Fordyce, Arkansas ~ how did that get started? To work on the dam. It was during the wartime and they needed a lot of black laborers. There were good jobs. People started coming from Arkansas and Louisiana. But your father came in the 30s. Was he one of the first from Tallulah to come here? No. No. My uncle, whose name was Mose Carr, was one of the first that came here. And he sent for my dad and the other relatives. Now, do you know what men did for a living or what families did for a living after the dam was built and before World War II? So from 1935 to about 1941 or '42, what kind of work did they do? Well, they had a plant in Henderson called BMI Plant. They were making war equipment and stuff like that. Right. So before that plant, do you have any idea what they did for a living, between the dam and the plant? No. I don't know. Back before '41,1 wouldn't know that. The war was going on. So tell me how old you were when you came. I was eight years old. So do you remember anything about Tallulah? Not really. I was only in school like about two years when I came out here. My uncle had a barbershop and a grocery store back in Tallulah. What is your father's name? I'm a junior. His name is Isadore Washington. And your mother's name? 2 Destelle Washington. Okay. So did your mother go to work when she arrived? Yes. My mother was one of the maids at the El Rancho hotel, one of the first hotels. It's torn down now. What kind of stories did she tell you about the El Rancho? Oh, not very much. She went to work there like maybe a year before my sister and I arrived with my godmother. But she worked there. And then she transferred over to The Last Frontier hotel. That's where my dad used to pick her up from work. My sister and I used to play with Wayne Newton back in the day. And he was a little chubby, fat boy. So how did you meet him? Well, he was living at the Frontier hotel. And his parents had something to do with it. Had he started performing there at that time? No. No. He wasn't working at all. He was, oh, a few years younger than my sister and me. So tell me what did you do when you saw Wayne Newton at the hotel? Did you go into the swimming pool? What kind of things did you do? Oh, no.

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